#But damn does this fit Erza too I feel like

[nagirambles]

Ya know, maaaaybe I wouldn’t be against Wendy have the pacification origins on Grandine’s (and other Sky Dragon’s part if she wasn’t (not counting 100yrs) the ONLY FEMALE DRAGON SLAYER OF THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE!! A character having pacifist powers in general isn’t the issue, it’s having the girl character with powers like her male counterparts being used in a pacifist way. I know she was 12 at the start and got development, but the fact is that Mashima never bothered to make another after Wendy.

I mean, she does already have annoyingly pacifist origins in canon (which the ‘she was too young’ excuse makes no sense when compared to Sting and Rogue who never had the same problem), but I digress.

So honestly, canon aside, I hella agree. 

I wish Wendy was more feral and fun like Natsu and Gajeel. I feel Mashima was compelled to make her soft and cute and protectable, because she’s the first ‘little girl’ character we had, and honestly that’s okay. It’s a nice change to have a primarily support-type wizard, and her being a child was appropriate for that role, but it just sucks because it seems like only the girls of the story have this ‘I need to hold back, because girls and women are always kind and cute’ sort of narrative ever-present. It just... ugh, shounen anime of this era, you know? 

It’s kinda like Erza having to watch Natsu fight her ending arc battle with Jellal, even though Gray got to fight Lyon himself. Erza gets the role to be kind and wonderful and save the world after that, but she doesn’t get to go feral and lose her temper and destroy her opponent in a fit of anger, because she is meant to forgive him. Natsu was cool as hell, but Erza was given a random fight with Ikaruga instead of overcoming the core of her trauma like she so damn well deserved in TOH. Like, Gray got to defeat his personal arc opponent (Lyon) by himself, but Lucy and Erza doesn’t, because her role in their main arc is to be saved by Natsu to emphasize how much friendship and family matters to her. 

Was it a bad character arc, no, but why is it only the girls that get an arc like this one? The guys never get an important character arc where their role is to be saved. They always save themselves. 

So yeah, I wish Wendy was more feral too, but alas, Mashima’s set a precedent for the girls at the start. 

Mirajane’s important feral moment in Fantasia is important because she is meant to hold back and have mercy for Freed at the end of it. Elfman’s important feral moment in Phantom is important because he gets to go fucking batshit on Sol, beating him within an inch of death because he’s an ass and he wants to prove he can now protect Mira. I love both of those moments, but it is always the girls that get the ‘I need to be kind because I love my friends that I can rely on’ character arc, and the boys always get the ‘I need to be stronger to protect the ones I love’ arcs. I’m not saying the girls only get arcs like that, (Erza fights a lot of her future battles,) no, but only girls ever get arcs like that.

I wish Chelia was a bit more feral, honestly, I feel she could have fixed this problem because she’s a female God Slayer, that has always been the epitome of viciousness and brutality, in previous arcs. In her fight, she actually seemed like a battle junkie to me, which I found so fun as a character that could heal herself and keep fighting over and over. But after her fight, she was just the other ‘kind, sweet’, little girl that mirrored Wendy. Then around the time they became idols together, they were just the same person in a different font, in terms of personality. 

Like, I don’t expect Wendy to stop being a pacifist now, especially since Wendy’s gotten so much powerup and being a pacifist means a lot to her as a character (her character peaked at FACE for me), but I do wish Mashima allowed the girls to be more feral, violent, and crazy, without being a straight up villain. Seriously, all the girls that have the capacity to not be kind and pacifistic are portrayed as villainous, harmful lesbian stereotypes, psychopaths, or whatever. Flare, Minerva, Dimaria, Seilah, to name a few. And though Flare and Minerva get redeemed, guess what? They’re now meek and kind and gentle. 

Honestly I think Cana would have fit that role well, if only because of the Fairy Glitter scene in GMG. Millianna too, honestly. They’re both fun, mischievous characters that just have the capacity to go wild and ruthless if they want to, but they have the weakness of being not strong enough to do anything important, (Cana vs Freed in Fantasia just being a setup for Mirajane's berserk, and Millianna just being a hostage in Minerva vs Kagura vs Erza) and they’re constantly shoved aside for the more important characters to shine. 

It’s just. The girls always get shafted like this, you know? Wendy’s just plucked the bad straw by also being a child. It sucks sometimes :( 

[phantasmalcalamity-a]

attend a masquerade ball, get a lover

the prince

you had always seemed like a pain in his side. you always announced your idea before he had a chance. you beat him in combat training. you impressed the king, his own father, much more than he did for goodness sake! you were a nuisance. everyday he looked forward to besting you in whatever he could. he wanted to get the upper hand at strategy, intellect, brawn, anything. he enjoyed seeing the little face you made whenever he 'won' a part of your game. he awaited your small petty quarrels each day.  you occupied each thought in his head, and one he realized his feelings toward you, he knew it was over for him.

Stolen from: @more-than-a-princess​

Tagging: Whoever wants to do this

[frostfireft]

Can you headcanons about Natsu being short?

OH BOY CAN I-         

-Natsu is 5'2″ (roughly 157cm for the Non-Americans.) and entirely made of rage and spite, but he’s also far more intelligent than people give him credit for, so he got really good at finding ways to hide it. 

-No one who fights him notices this. They’re too busy getting their ass kicked or avoiding his attacks. he makes sure to keep them busy. 

-And no one in the guild really pays attention to it because they’re so used to it! Besides, he’s so loud and in your face anyways. Height doesn’t matter if he’s about to use you to start a brawl! 

-Also he sits down a lot or dramattically leans in a way that makes people think he’ll be taller than he is when standing. He also avoids standing next to Levy, Romeo, and anyone else who’s relatively short. Because he knows he’s short and doesn’t want to deal with people teasing him for it. 

-He also tends to wear platformed shoes, but only enough that it just looks like a thicker sole. He’s sneaky like that. 

-And before he joined a his team, no one would have thought about it twice. They only ever saw  him in pasisng, and people didn’t know his face well enough to reconize that Bora wasn’t him in Hargeon. After he joined the team though.... They became very well known, and he walks beside them all the time. 

-Gray’s nearly a foot taller than him (6″1′/185cm). Erza’s about half a foot taller than him(5′8″/173cm). Lucy is taller than him by two inches, but she has the tendency to wear heeled shoes too(5′4″/163cm). Even if his shoes even their height, Lucy is taller in her heels. Wendy is catching up to him(5′0″/152cm). 

-So random people on the street? They definitely notice that Fairy Tail’s “Salamander” is a tiny dude, and they tell him as much..... then they get punched, because despite his size, he’s build like a fucking tank (and the dragon magic just makes him more of one than he already is). 

-and because of this, the rumor doesn’t spread much..... at first. 

-Then one day, Jason from Sorcerer’s Weekly gets wind of this rumor, and he disguises the need to validate this information by wanting to do little profiles on all the mages that were willing, including their height. He mainly got away with this because of that years grand magic gaes coming up.

-It’s pretty much checkmate at that. If Natsu refuses, everyone will know it’s because he’s short and doesn’t want people to know how short, and if he does, then everyone finds out his exact height. His hands are tied. A week later everyone in Fiore gets a kick about how “tiny and cute” Natsu is, because he took a photo of him standing next to Elfman(7′3″/221cm) to include.

-They laughed a little less when he let his rage feul him for one of his fights and he absolutely decimated his opponent in seconds. 

-That being said, once the cat was out of the bag, it was out. 

-He can and will climb the tall people to avoid anything he doesn’t want to do. The first time he did this everyone froze, compltely startled. He scaled Elfman in under two seconds and pulled himself into the rafters because he didn’t want to sit at a table. 

Gray: How’d you learn to climb so fast? 

Gajeel: it’s because he’s short. 

Natsu: Fuck you

-It’s half because hes short and half because he grew up cllimbing in the mountains with Igneel. He will stack and climb the most unstable shit just to get to the top shelves. He does not fear falling. 

-He liked to hide in the guild’s rafters even before this, but not he does it even more often now. 

-If you;re the asshole who holds shit over his head, he will climb you to get it back. 

-if someone has to get into something out of a small space (a vent, a drain, ect) he’s the one to go crawling to get it. 

-He actually really likes small spaces, because not only is he small, he’s double jointed. He can comfortably contort in all sorts of ways, and he’s not above hiding in cabinets, beneath booth seats, ect. Sometimes it’s because he wants to be left alone, some times it’s to pop out and spook people, and sometimes just to see if he can fit. 

-So far he’s managed to fit himself into a carry on suitcase, a pillowcase, and one of Erza’s backpacks. she almost punched him when he unzipped it and popped his head out. 

-He can and will steal everyone’s hoodies. He likes that they smell like his nakama, and they’re always huge on him, even when they belong to guild members closer to his size, because they also like large hoodies. 

- He owns several pairs of platform boots and heels, which he can fight in because he tained himself too. He’s fucked up his ankles many times while getting to that point though. 

-The spell that turns someone into a dragon slayer basically makes them into a dragon in human skin, right? So his muscle and bones are stronger, but less dense. That combines with the fact that h’es short means there’s no way he’s more than 100 pounds/45 kilos. 

-This means that when people try to pick him up they damn near throw him. 

-It also means he’s really easy for them to carry when he does dumb shit and gets hurt. 

-Being small causes his center of gravity to be closer to his core, and this aids him in a lot of the gymnastic and arial shit he uses in fights. This plus the fact that he’s a speedy little shit  and the fact that he’s small means he’s really hard to hit. Sure, some people could knock him out in one attack, but that attack has to actually fucking land before he darts in attacks, and zips back away before they can touch him. 

-He’s hug sized. This is his favorite thing about being small, because he can go and sit in the laps of those he’s close to and get tucked under people’s chins. It makes him feel loved when he’s having a bad day. It makes him feel loved, and he’s touch starved anyways so. 

-Not to mention the fact that most of Fairy Tail is touch starved, so somtimes he does that just to help them. (also platonic cuddles are incredible)

-He makes his own clothing anyways, but if he didn’t he could fit in some of the clothing from the kids section. He does tend to buy kids sneakers because they’re cheaper and his size. 

-This also means his clothing is cheaper to make because he needs less fabric.

-He’s absolutely gotten into a theme park or two at the kids price with Wendy. The rest of the team thinks it’s hilarious. 

-The few times he’s watched the parade instead of participating he’s had to watch from a room because he can’t see over the crowds. This happens anytime he and the team go to watch something too, so sometimes Gray will let him sit on his shoulders, and Wendy will sit on Erza’s. 

-When stuff goes flying in the guild, it tends to go right over his head and hit whoever is behind him. 

-So he’s happy being himself as long as people aren’t being assholes about it.

[lucy-and-rebecca]

I know I'm feeding a troll but, oh the so called arguments nalu antis make are so stupid, doing this is actually kinda enjoyable. I'm going to discuss the profound bs that a nalu anti spewed on this post. I'll be honest, I want to do this.

So first we have this.

Wow. Just wow. So first of all, in my post I mentioned antis don't like that Lucy has other male love interests or male friends but it's okay if the male protagonist has a lot of love interest. I specifically said male protagonist because this thing isn't limited to Natsu and Fairy Tail. Whether Lisanna is over him or not is really not the point here. A girl had a crush on him. That's fine. It's both normal and realistic. Just like other male (and female, let's not forget Mimi) characters having a crash on Lucy is realistic and normal. How does Lisanna being over Natsu makes it okay to judge Lucy for just simply interaction with other guys? What does Lisanna being over Natsu has to do with anything?

Second, you have to be a special kind of idiot to actually believe that Lucy is actually Juvia's love rival. For most part I find Juvia's love rival obsession funny but overdone. It feels like fairy tail is mocking the trope of two love rivals fighting over a guy. One can argue that before Grey started seeing Juvia in a romantic way he had a small crush on Lucy. I can see that. But not once have I ever seen Lucy show romantic feelings towards him.

Third, who is Gerald? I assume they mean Jellal but like how does someone make that mistake? Their English seems good enough. So what gives? Also I kinda resent the implication that there only reason Erza doesn't see Natsu romantically is because she has another guy in her life. I mean they grew up together and he is like her little brother but no sure it's because she has Jellal, that's good enough reason I guess.

Next we have this.

I happen to ship GreyLu and even if you don't it's pretty clear that this person absolutely do not. It would take me maybe half an hour to find some actually cute (and canon) GreyLu moments, as opposed to whatever this is.

Here we have Juvia's paranoid fantasy. An unintentional magical mishaps on which they made a love rival joke. Was this necessary? No. Was it romantic? Also no. Lucy and Grey gossiping about blue Pegasus. Lucy teasing Grey about Juvia. And lastly are picture of Lucy standing next to Grey. I'm sorry was this supposed to show Lucy loves Grey? Were these moments supposed to be romantic?

(This is getting too long so more under the cut.)

I might be new to anime but I'm not new to fandoms in general. What makes ship wars so toxic is a lot of antis use a rival ship as an excuse to spread hate on the ship they don't like. This gives that ship and it's fans a bad name. I know this person is not a GreyLu shipper so please don't think all GreyLu shippers are like this. Antis use Lisanna in the exact same way they use Grey. And honestly she deserves better.

Alright up next

Oh the horror! Two entire moments of Nalu being annoyed with each other.

Not that I think this person has taken actual efforts into selection their most likely stolen screenshots but I'm really not surprised by the choice. Like I mentioned in my original post, antis don't like it that Lucy isn't meek, submissive little girl who just sits there and gets pushed around. Showing a screenshot of Lucy getting annoyed because Natsu asked her to summon a boat or a train spirit, the spirits that she doesn't have, just proves that point. I mean she is a person who has right to annoyed and angry. Plus fairy tail has 328 episodes, some 8-ish ovas, 2 movies, 3 crossovers, a bunch of side stories and a sequel which at the time of writing this post has 81 chapters. So if someone tried hard enough they can very easily find a shot ton of moments like these.

What's the point of taking random screenshots and posting them as a proof that NaLu is a bad couple. It will take me five minutes to find a dozen screenshots of Nalu being sweet. But whats the point. (beyond harassing nalu fans that is). We can do this all day. It proves absolutely nothing.

And Mashima has drawn a lot of art about NaLu. Pictures of then bickering and of them being sweet and cute. Nalu is not something you can sum up in two or twenty or even a hundred screenshots.

Grey's girlfriend? Seriously? Again how stupid does one has to be to believe that?

and finally the new obsession of antis edo NaLu.

I was puzzled about this one. Like edo Lucy was pretty rough with edo Natsu. If they had a problem with Lucy being annoyed with Natsu for five seconds then how come edo NaLu is better. Until I realized of course, since we only met edo Lucy for a very short time we don't know if she had other love interests.

Also please don't drag Juvia into this. The girl is a catch and she has dated another guy before she met Grey. Let's not pretend you give a damn about gruvia or Juvia's feeling when you called Lucy his girlfriend and used GreyLu to hate on NaLu.

I've said this in my original post and I'll say it again. Anti NaLu arguments are extremely misogynistic. This whole thing can be summed up by saying natsu-fan-nalushipper wants female lead to obsessively love the male lead, and have the male lead the only important guy in her life. Female lead should not have male friends let alone love interests. They want the female lead to be reduced to one of the many love interests male lead has. They don't like that Lucy doesn't fit that backwards misogynistic view of what a female character should be. She is not ""pure"" enough for Natsu. Hence the hate.

[hematomes]

it’s ok im baby-faced ive accepted ill always be on the cute side of the spectrum

IT DOES NOT TASTE WEIRD MILK TASTES WEIRD

makes grabby hands at hyv bc my weapon selection is. ahem. sub par

natsu + grey + erza . erza. ERZA. also maybe this was just me but i didn’t like lucy that much?? maybe that was just me in middle school hating rlly peppy people tho? VALID KEEP THE NOSTALGIC FEELING <3 and. WAIT LEVY AND GAJEEL WERE YOUR INTRO TO AO3?? THATS SO CUTE

you, seeing itadori: oh no here it comes

but ur right he is u. like i saw ur rb and then thought abt like, the way u talk and i was like. oh my god. OH MY GOD.

sobs at least it’s a compliment,, i was like nAAAH i won’t kin him pls . i should’ve known better. it got progressively worse with each episode like , every time he opened his mouth i fell deeper into the spiral 👍 NO RLLY LIKE MAKI?? I ADORE HER. but ur right ugh like the first time i saw mei i was like. ahem. excuse me miss. AND UTAHIME LISYEN DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED

i haven’t read the manga yet so idk if this is an informed opinion but . we all know i’m (platonically) obsessed with mentor figures. i might have a slight preference for nanami? haven’t don’t much thinking abt gojo yet tbh bc i was. focused on the sorcery system. like a nerd. bc i like magic systems and i wanna understand how it works in detail ajddjj ANYWYAS the point is i don’t rlly have a gojo take yet, i just think he’s neat and also that if i had to deal with him i’d probably bite him in a fit of irritation (derogatory)

MILK TASTES FINE U JUST HAVE A WEAK STOMACH /J

zbdjzj dw im experiencing the lack of weapon agony on my us acc bc im refraining from spending primogems so. im realizing 3* weapons are actually really good tho. i knew abt the tassel for shield zhongli and the harbinger of dawn for any dps but DAMN

HARA I HATE LUCY TOO. she's rly here for full fanservice & to enhance how strong natsu and grey are. always in distress, her best weapon is crying and calling for natsu like come on. it pisses me off bc her powers are so cool like girl please pull yourself together. plus i cannot stand the natsu/lucy ship bc of her, she's so BLAND . at least lisanna is pretty

ZBDJZ YEA..... i can't believe im yuuji itadori . tho i wouldn't mind having sukuna inside m-*gunshots*

MAKI..!!!! ALSO. ALSO. MIWA <333 miwa and mechamaru..... i love them. so much. genuinely cried over them. several times. also nobara fighting momo for maki and momo fighting nobara for mai like... let's go lesbians...!!

NO CUZ. STRONG WOMEN WITH SCARS. NGHHH<333 NGHHZJDKZ BAEKBARKBARKWOFO absolutely hate that we don't see her more

also also also. him.

he's my little meow meow. my skrunkly. sooo insane. i want to eat him

YEAH I SEE FOR GOJO THAT'S VALID.... tbh i don't like him solely bc he's so overrated in the fandom like zbdjz okay he has pretty eyes and he's overpowered but that's it. nanami is so superior. and choso. and sukuna. hell id rather fuck ichiji (ok maybe not. love him tho <3)

[crystallos-sol]

Hey have another meta on Gray & Natsu because I don't think I went deep enough.

Gray is traumatized and can't even voice his emotions sometimes. Natsu understands him WITHOUT any issues even during this time.

Don't believe me? Here look at this:

Natsu knows Gray just basically said:

" I care about you please take care of yourself "

I'm so emotional about these two because they are great and they understand each other on a deeper wavelength than I have ever seen within Fairy Tail.

I'll throw in multiple examples for you to compare but please come up with your own. Rewatch the show or Read the manga if you want to, there's so many examples that I cannot fit into one post so I have to suffer with a few. (Not including Happy has I think it's best to put people that aren't his kid,,,,)

First up: Lisanna.

I'm not hating on the ship at all. I'm picking people CLOSEST to Natsu & Gray. And she was essentially close to Natsu before her death. They raised Happy together and had a secret hideout for fucks sake.

Lisanna has I recall from the episodes we had of her, was close with Natsu. But something changed. Because her death hurt Natsu and changed him into a different person. That's clear to see. But her death drove a wedge between them and changed the entire relationship for good.

Lisanna was Natsu's friend, back before her death but however I believe that we do not know much of her outside of her death and how it affected Fairy Tail. We also do know about her Family and how it hurt them. But not about Lisanna, from what we can gather from the many episodes of Fairy Tail she is kind hearted and genuinely loves her family and doesn't want to lose them again. (Her reactions to her siblings being thrown into danger.)

But again her death drove fear and grief into Natsu and that's why him and Lisanna aren't exactly close anymore, because Natsu runs from his feelings. It's also hard to talk to someone you haven't seen since you where a teenager.

Up next who is/was close with Gray: Erza. We know Gray ran after her and helped to fix her tears, even making a child's promise about it. We also know, Gray was Erza's first real friend. Gray has a child was close with Erza in that regard. I do believe Erza shoved him away like she does with everything in response to what happened to her. (But that's a post for another time.)

Gray is still close with Erza, but due to Erza never feeling as if she can stop being Titania he is not as close to her as he is Natsu.

Lucy, who is one of Natsu's best friends, is actually close with Natsu. But unlike with Gray Natsu usually is (Ignoring Mashima's horrible writting between for now because that's a WHOLE OTHER issue) saving her or protecting her. At least it was like that until recently when Lucy finally got the character development and upgrade she deserves.

Lucy is close to Natsu but Natsu also doesn't want to lean on her. Yes you can qoute multiple instances and scenes where it appears he is leaning on her. But however with this you have to take into account the period of time Natsu has known her. The trust issues Natsu already has and previous trauma he has gotten and even new trauma!

Now it gets worse because this is dipping a little into Mashima's terrible characterization and understanding of how people function and feel. Especially women. Take Lisanna and Lucy, if you think about it they are essentially the same fucking character. Both are kind, stubborn, where hurt by someone they love, left their home behind for a number of years, painted has a badass while also simultaneously being soft and delicate.

Sound familar?

Because that's basically the Mashima guide to write a female character. Now what really gets me is the final thing that really cements it. They both have been/are in the supporting role for Natsu. Don't you dare go saying: But Lucy is the main character!

You, like the rest of is because Mashima wrote her like shit, didn't even know that until the interview or you saw that Fairy Tail fact post. The majority of us thought it was Natsu. Because in reality Mashima did NOT start writting her like a main character. He did not give her the good motivation every single damn Fairy Tail Character has.

Lucy & Lisanna have the same number of things that make up their characterization, and yes so do a number of Fairy Tail characters. But that's not the point. The point is that Lucy reminds Natsu of Lisanna in some ways and Natsu cannot bring himself to trust and lean on her fully like he can with Gray. It is not an attack on Nalu. Nalu is a fine ship if only written correctly (aka: Not Mashima's Version Which Is Horrible And Toxic But That's Another Meta For Another Time.).

This is a post about how Gray and Natsu are close. That's it. Natsu cannot bring himself to fully trust Lucy and lean on her comfortably without 1) forcing himself, 2) it happening outside of his control because of past trauma which by the way knowing Natsu he did not do anything about it and most likely bottled it up.

Wow that was a long session on Lucy but in summary: Natsu is traumatized and is not mentally healthy like the entirety of the Guild.

Now, the last one, which I'm sure you can GUESS. It's Juvia. Because some people think that Gray and Juvia are the " closest people! " And " he doesn't let anyone really touch him other than her! "

1) Bullshit. And 2) Bullshit. Here's why:

Juvia is a toxic character who stalks and uncomfortably idolizes Gray to the point it's fucking ridiculous. There are multiple scenes of her following (stalking) Gray around and being jealous of Lucy. Even declaring her a " Love Rival ".

This is probably because: Gray was the first person that was decent to her. (She was bullied for who knows how long and involved in a toxic guild + an abusive relationship.) Before you say shit about Gajeel: He's not nice. Gajeel before all of this, was an asshole, now he is nice which is pretty cool and a great character development. Back then? He was not nice.

Which brings me to Gray. Who even is okay with being stalked, being grabbed randomly and having someone so obsessed with you they made fucking dolls of you? No one. Before you argue: But he doesn't pull away from her!

Gray is most likely touch starved. Considering his entire background and general tendency to not receive hugs or any sort of affection usually. My evidence for this? Myself. I am touch starved and I often react bad to touches from strangers or creepy people but I also have a late reaction time. Because my body is saying: Oh touch???? And my brain is screaming: No.

He also could be trying to be decent. Which is all he did in the first place. He could be trying to not hurt her feelings and yes you could say he hurt Mira's feelings when he called her stupid for betting on Natsu but he also was apologising and panicky because he didn't want to hurt her.

Also if I even have to explain further why being stalked and basically turned into a fetish and an object is a bad thing then clearly something is fucking wrong with you.

Gray however feels safe likely with Natsu, who's been there from the beginning, took on Deliora, fought too many people just because one of his friends are in danger, has repeatedly stopped Gray from using Iced Shell and was ready to Die with him.

Natsu in return probably feels safe and like he can trust Gray to handle himself because this man has been there since day one and even can take Natsu himself on with no problem. Natsu also probably is happy Gray is nothing like Lisanna or Lucy. Because Gray is Gray and he doesn't remind Natsu of anything traumatizing he's been through.

They both trust one another and stay by one another's side because they are both understanding that they aren't gonna leave. Because think about it, Gray has lost family and his mentor to death. He has suffered through that. You wanna know who's constantly beating death on its ass???? Natsu " I refuse to die " Dragneel.

Natsu has lost family by being abandoned and by Death. He got it both ways and he's suffering because of it. But Gray who's stubborn has shit and stood death in the face at a young age and screamed fuck you at the top of his lungs, wouldn't leave. Gray who fucking went through hell and back, destoryed his own infiltration mission just because Natsu Dragneel rolled up, Keeps Trying To Protect Him, Never once wants to lose Natsu. And Natsu knows that. Because Gray is his constant. Gray is that constant presence in his life he knows for a fact he can trust.

But idfk that's just my thoughts on them.

[a-very-tail-wizard]

Bath Time

Rating: M/nsfw (smut)

Pairing: Nalu/Natsu Dragneel x Lucy Heartfilia

Disclaimer: I don’t own Fairy Tail.

Word Count: 2704

Title: Bath Time

Description: Nalu One Shot/smut – Natsu interrupts Lucy while she’s in the bath and things get wet. (pun intended!)

A/N: Request by anon from AGES AGO. #18, “Looks like we made a mess again.” From these smut prompts.

I hope you guys like this one. Happy reading!

ffn || ao3

Natsu

I growl as I walk out of the guild hall, itching to go back in and finish things with Gray. That popsicle had the nerve to sucker punch me right when Mira brought my dinner. Naturally, I had to get him back for it. Things got kind of blurry after that. Stuff was frozen. Stuff burned. It’s not like we destroyed the whole guild hall, just a few dozen chairs and a couple of tables, some Gray dumplings Juvia made, and maybe some old books Levy was reading. But then Gray, the genius, pushed me into Erza’s strawberry fluff cake, and after that I fled for my life. So now I’m pissed and hungry. Meanwhile, Happy challenged Droy to a fish-eating contest, so he’s still too full to move.

But I bet Lucy probably has something to eat, and her place is pretty close.

When I arrive, I swing in through the window like always because…why bother opening a door? Plus, she’s fun to surprise.

“Lucy?” I call as I drop down to the floor from the window sill. “Are you home?”

I can’t see her anywhere, so I start to head for the kitchen. I guess she’s not here. Weird. Maybe she went to the park to write or something. I’ll just grab a bite and maybe take a nap until she gets back.

I stop halfway to the kitchen when I hear the sound of water followed by a short gasp. I glance over at the bathroom. I forgot she could be in there. I guess I’ll go ask about the food now.

The door is cracked, so I don’t bother knocking. I’m in the middle of opening it when I hear a sound like a whimper, and I pause. It goes quiet again, so I shrug it off before walking in.

“Hey, Luce. Do you mind if I get some–”

“AHHH!” she cuts me off with a screech, dropping something in the water. “Natsu! What are you doing in here!”

“Calm down. It’s just me.”

“I can see that it’s you, you idiot!” she bellows. “Get out!”

I watch as she scrambles to squeeze her huge boobs into one arm, as if they aren’t going to spill out no matter what she does, while the other arm searches the water.

“Stop looking at me!” she wails.

“Seriously?” I frown. “Like I haven’t seen it all before.”

And touched it too.

“It’s—that’s…”

Her face turns red, and I bite my lip. Damn. Sometimes I forget how cute she is.

“Natsu, just go,” she mutters distractedly.

“What are you looking for?” I squint at the murky water she’s stirring around. She must’ve put one of those bubbly potions in it.

“What?” She looks up suddenly. “Nothing,” she blurts. “Just soap.”

I glance over at the ledge where a perfectly good bar of soap is sitting and tilt my head. I almost snort when I hear it, the humming, muffled from the water. I close my eyes and sniff, groaning when I recognize her scent diluted in the frothy liquid she’s submerged in. Now I’m hungry in a very different way.

“You want me to leave?” I ask slowly, crossing my arms.

“Yes,” she hisses. “That’s what I said.”

“Are you sure?” I raise my eyebrows. “Because I can smell the arousal leaking out between your legs.”

She gasps, squeezing her thighs together under the water, and I almost laugh.

“You sure you don’t want help with that?”

“I…I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she mutters angrily. “I’m just soaking–”

“Your pussy is soaking. That’s for sure.”

“Natsu!”

“What? You want me to pretend I can’t hear the vibrator you dropped in the water?”

“What? I…I don’t—That’s not–” she stammers, her blush spreading down her chest.

I carefully remove my scarf and hang it on a hook on the door before stripping off my vest and shirt.

“Wait. What are you doing now?” she whispers.

“What does it look like? I’m getting naked.”

“What!” she shrieks, splashing around some more. “No! Put your shirt back on! Who are you, Gray?”

“Don’t even mention him to me,” I mutter as I turn around. “And scoot back so I can get in.”

“No, you can’t!”

“Why not?” I frown at her. “Because you got caught?”

“N-no,” she answers weakly. “There’s…too much water.”

“You know I can get you off better than a dumb toy,” I remind her, sliding my pants off and standing at my full height. “And we can drain some water.”

Seriously, it’s not like we’ve never done it in the tub before.

I watch as her eyes travel up my legs, stopping on my pelvis, where my cock is growing harder by the second.

“Lucy?”

She ducks her head and slides backward in the tub, giving me room.

“Fine,” she murmurs. “Just…hurry. Before I change my mind.”

I flash her a smile as I step into the water and sit down facing her.

“Get ready, Lucy. Now, I’m going to put a fire in your belly.”

“Oh God.”

I reach for her, ready to pull her into my lap when my leg brushes something.

“Aha.” I grin, leaning forward to grab it. “I found your buzzing friend.”

“Natsu, just…give it here.”

I feel my eyes get wide at it as I lift it out of the water. This is a sex toy?

“Lucy, is this thing even safe?”

“What?” She asks, trying to take it from me as I shift it out of her reach. “What do you mean?”

“This thing is gigantic,” I murmur, still studying the bulbous, phallic-like vibrator. “Does it hurt?”

“Seriously?” She glares at me irately. “Look down, Natsu. You’re at least as big as that, if not bigger.”

Slipping a hand under the water, I fist my cock and compare it to the toy in my other hand. Maybe she has a point.

“Plus, you grow more after you’re inside me,” she adds softly.

“Yeah. I guess that’s true.”

What can I say? All that softness squeezing tight around my shaft does things to it.

“But, Lucy.” I shake my head, turning the toy to the side. “This thing is ridiculously long. I’m nowhere near this length.”

“Which is good,” she answers quickly, “or you’d never fit it all in.”

Oh. Right. Her pussy isn’t very deep, which is one of the best parts of using my mouth on her.

“Natsu, either put the stupid toy down or give it to me.”

“Why?” I raise my eyebrows at her. “Are you going to let me watch?”

“No,” she grunts, lifting up enough to finally snag the toy. “I’m going to turn it off.”

The humming suddenly cuts off as she holds down the power button and drops the toy outside the tub. She sits back, and the only sound is the water shifting around her.

“So…” I lean forward. “Do you want to sit in my lap? Or you can turn around, and we can do it on all fours.”

She bites her lip, and I inhale, the faint scent of fresh wetness hitting my nose.

“Lap,” she replies softly as she rises up slowly and shifts so her legs are spread over mine, her ass resting on my thighs. She scoots forward until my swollen erection is pressed between our bellies, only the head peeking out above the water.

“Natsu…” she whispers. “Now what?”

I bring my hands up to fondle her chest, my fingertips finding her hard nipples. She shifts restlessly, and I groan.

“You’re leaking,” she announces through a gasp, her dainty fingers finding the tip of my cock. I hiss as she drags her thumb over my slit, rubbing the drop of precum around with her velvety touch.

“Lucy,” I choke.

“I want this inside me,” she confesses breathlessly. “Natsu…”

I grit my teeth as she continues stroking my cock, reaching into the water and squeezing the base, trailing her nails ever so lightly up the shaft…

“Dammit!” I hiss, unable to take another second of this torture.

Abandoning her nipples, my hands move to her waist, lifting her up recklessly, water splashing over the side of the tub.

“Natsu!”

I wrap an arm around her ass, holding her up as my other hand grabs my throbbing shaft, sliding it through her slick lips. Her scent is sharper now that her pussy isn’t under water. I savor the smell of it as the angry red head of my cock kisses her narrow opening.

Her hands grab my shoulders, and I start to lower her slowly.

“Faster, Natsu!”

“I’m trying not to hurt you,” I grunt through my clenched teeth.

“I don’t care,” she whines. “Just put it in!”

The tip slips in and she gasps, her walls squeezing it tight.

“Lucy,” I whisper hoarsely.

“Just put it in,” she repeats, her voice weak. “Please, Natsu. I need it all,” she pants, her head tilting down. “Hurry.”

“Dammit.”

Her pleading is too much. My restraint snaps, and a roar tears out of my throat as I drive my hips upward at the same time I yank hers down, burying myself inside of her as water splashes over the side of the tub onto the floor.

Lucy yelps, her fingernails digging into the skin of my shoulders.

“Sorry. I’m sorry,” I groan.

She whimpers softly, and I look up to see her eyelids fluttering as her mouth opens in a silent “oh.”

“So big,” she breathes. “I love it.”

Her arms slide around my shoulders, and before I can move, she starts rolling her hips against me. I suck in air through my teeth, her gentle motion doing wonderful and terrible things to my aching cock.

“Do you mind if I…?” she looks down at me questioningly, and I grin.

“Go for it, Lucy.”

She gets bolder, rising up on her knees and dropping back down, riding me as the water surges around us. Since she’s doing all the work, I turn my attention to her gorgeous, bouncing breasts.

Trying not to think about how close I am to coming, I shift my head and stick out my tongue letting it catch her nipple as it rises and falls.

“Natsu!”

I do it again, snickering as she gasps. The next time, I suck it in and nip it between my teeth.

“Oh God!” she screams.

Lifting my hand, I hold her jiggling swell to my lips as I devour her—licking, nipping, suckling. At the same time, my hips begin shifting to meet hers, powering up as she slams down.

“Natsu, I’m so close!” she chokes.

“Lucy!” I growl around her areola. “Harder!”

“I need to come!”

“One more,” I rumble, tearing my mouth from her, both my hands going to her waist. “We come together.”

“Oh-okay,” she gasps as I lift her up again, her tight heat squelching as my shaft slides out of it.

“Come now!” I pull her down and thrust up simultaneously, my fingers digging into her ass.

She screams as she comes, her walls convulsing wildly, as my own climax erupts inside of her. A harsh sound rips from my throat, and I pull her down to me, burying my face in her shoulder.

We stay like that for a minute, our chests heaving as we come down.

“I can’t catch my breath,” Lucy gasps finally.

“Good,” I grin, my own lungs struggling.

She leans back a little and reaching for my hair, sliding her fingers through the pink strands.

“Thanks for interrupting me,” she murmurs.

“I actually was going to ask you for food,” I confess. “This was much more fun.”

She rolls her eyes, but I can see her blushing. Or I think she is. It’s hard to tell since her face is already red from everything else.

“Oh my God,” she says suddenly. “Natsu, the floor!”

I look over the side of the tub and blink. There’s more water outside of the tub than in it.

“Crap,” I mumble. “Looks like we made a mess again.”

I blink when suddenly, Lucy starts giggling.

“What?” I ask.

“I don’t know,” she chokes out. “I should be angry, but I’m not.”

“What’s a little water?” I shrug. “Just grab some towels.”

Sliding my hands down her sides, I shift them forward, moving to cup her where we’re connected. She gasps and stops laughing immediately.

“Natsu?”

“I love you, Lucy,” I confess softly, my fingers trailing over her lips spread wide around my cock. “I love being with you and doing jobs with you and–”

“Sex?” she volunteers.

“Yeah,” I nod, looking to the side. “But it’s more than that. I love…” I pause, trying to think of the word.

“Natsu…I–”

“I love that you trust me this much,” I finally say. “Enough to let me touch you like this.”

Her face does that crumpling thing, and I watch her eyes get wet.

“Natsu,” she murmurs brokenly, and I brace myself for her tears. “I love you, too.”

Throwing her arms around me, she dissolves into soft sobs. I sigh, but I’m used to it. This is how she is, and I love her, so I’ll take her tears.

After a few minutes, she sits back, and we carefully disengage ourselves, Lucy sliding off slowly and climbing to her feet. I watch her grab a towel and wrap it around herself before she tiptoes through the water on the floor and grabs me one. The rest of them she drops over the wet tile, instantly soaking them.

“Are you still hungry?” she asks as I wrap my towel around my waist. “I can fix something for you if you are.”

“That’d be great. I’ll eat anything.”

“I know,” she murmurs, her eyes rolling softly. “Let me just get dressed first.”

She exits the bathroom, and I move to follow her.

“What the hell!” Lucy shrieks, and I dash into her room.

Happy is sitting on her dresser holding a pair of something lacy.

“You guys sounded busy,” he announces. “I thought I’d wait.”

“Hey, buddy!” I grin at him.

“Natsu!”

“How long have you been here, Cat?” Lucy yells.

“I heard some splashing,” Happy volunteers. “Were you guys taking a bath together?”

“Yeah.” I walk over and pet his head. “Lucy made a mess, too.”

“Lucy, did you look at Natsu naked?” Happy taunts.

“He’s my boyfriend!” she snaps. “And give me my underwear!”

She reaches for him, but he floats into the air out of her reach.

“Why? You can be naked. It’s okay with me,” he says with fake innocence.

“Happy!” she growls.

“Give ‘em to her buddy. She’s gonna make us dinner.”

“What? No!” Lucy spins to look at me. “I said I’d make you something, not him!”

“Aw!” Happy pouts. “But I’m so hungry!”

“Yeah, Luce. That’s not nice,” I join him.

“Fine!” Lucy waves her hand in surrender. “Give me my panties, and I’ll make you something to eat.”

“Aye, sir!” Happy drops the lace underwear in Lucy’s palm and flies to the kitchen. I go back to get dressed and then join him, stealing a few glances at Lucy as she puts on her pajamas.

Happy and I are sitting at the table when she joins us, her hand sliding over my shoulders as she passes behind me.

“Lucy,” I call to her.

She pauses to look over at me, and I can’t help but smile at her.

“Yeah, Natsu?”

“I meant what I said.”

I love you.

She stares at me for a second before she figures it out.

“I know. Me too.”

She turns and goes to the kitchen, and I look at Happy.

“What was that?” he asks looking between us.

“Don’t worry about it, buddy,” I laugh softly. “Instead, tell me who won the fish-eating contest.”

“I did, of course!”

“What!” Lucy’s voice comes loudly from the kitchen. “You just won a fish-eating contest! And now you want me to cook for you!”

“But Lucy, I’m still so hungry!” Happy yells back.

“Hungry my ass!”

I start laughing at both of them as they continue to shout back and forth. That’s Fairy Tail wizards for you.

We’re loud, but we’re family.

[petri808]

Mocha Latte Dream

So happy I managed to get one done in time lol.  @diabl0o  thank you for the idea!

@nalu-fluff-week Prompt: Cafe

“I am not!”  

“You are too!” Gray quips and crosses his arms, “I can’t see any girl giving such a goofy idiot like you the time of day.”

“Tch, big words for a guy who can’t get to first base with Juvia.”  Natsu picks up his cup of coffee to take a sip.  

“Whatever, at least I have someone who likes me.”

Natsu lifts the coffee cup to his lips before retorting, but quickly realizing it was empty.  “Dang,” the cup drops back to the table, “I need a refill.  Be right back.”  

“Wait!” Erza’s hands fly up to stop the young man from standing up, but it was too late.

As Natsu jumps from his seat and quickly turns, he doesn’t notice another patron about to walk past and bumps right into her, spilling the blonde’s cup of iced mocha down her skirt. The whole table goes silent for several tense seconds as both Natsu and the woman freeze in place.  Natsu’s male friends, Gray and Gajeel snicker quietly while the females, Erza and Levy shake their heads.    

“See… idiot,” Gray mumbles.

“OMG!” the blonde shrieks, dropping her backpack into the seat previously occupied by Natsu.  She lifts the fabric of her skirt to inspect the damage and realizes only about a quarter of the cup had spilled onto it, most ending up on the floor.  But that was still an issue.  “You clumsy!” She catches herself before swearing.  “Ugh!  Pay attention to where you’re going!”

“I-I’m so sorry!!” Natsu panics, his face heating up into a flush.  He waves his hands excitedly in front of him, “I’ll go ask for a rag and order you a brand-new cup of coffee.”    

She jabs her finger into his chest, "you bet your clumsy hands that you're buying me a new one Pinky.  Don’t worry about the rag, I’ll just go wash up in the restroom,” she huffs and stomps away.

“Wait’a go Pinky,” Gajeel sneers, “could you be any smoother about picking up chicks?”

“Shut up!” Natsu levels a glare at the older guy, “and it’s salmon,” he pouts, “not pink…” mumbling as he walks back to the cashier.  

Of all the ways to embarrass himself, really, bumping and spilling coffee all over a pretty girl. “Smooth move…” he groans.  Someone just end his torture please.  His friends were right, maybe he really will be single for the rest of his life.  As the line slowly moves forward, Natsu keeps an eye out for Blondie.  ‘I bet she’s gonna tell her friends later about it. Word will spread about how a goofy boy with pink hair spilled coffee all over her skirt at the FT Cafe.’  His shoulders slump with a heavy sigh, ‘At least she didn’t slap me.’

He places his order for two drinks and moves to the side to wait.  Damn cashier had even sneered at him and pointed out another employee with a mop and bucket cleaning up the mess he’d made.  Talk about even more embarrassing.  Natsu swore he could feel the stares against his back or snickers from other customers. ‘Tch, whatever.  They act like people don’t have accidents sometimes.’

Meanwhile Blondie had made her way back to the table.  He could see the dark, damp spot on her blue skirt like a beacon calling attention to the whole disaster.  ‘It’s just coffee,’Natsu reminds himself, certain that it wouldn’t leave a lasting stain. ‘Fuck it, if it does, I’ll just buy her a new skirt.’ She appeared in good spirits despite what had happened, chatting casually with his friends as if she’d known them forever.  Laughing with them… the woman has such a bright pretty smile….  What was he thinking!  This isn’t the time to have such thoughts!  He turns away quickly, refocusing on waiting for their order.  They were a good group, and it was nice to see her relaxed around them.

“Here you go.”  Natsu places the new drink on the table in front of Blondie.  

She stops mid-sentence of her conversation with Levy, looking up, to thank him.  “Oh, I can move,” she starts to grab her bag, “this was your seat.”

“No, no,” Natsu waves his hands excitedly, “don’t worry, really, I’ll just grab another one,” looking around for an extra chair, “please stay and chat if you’re enjoying it.”

“I am, actually,” she looks back to the group with a smirk, “they’ve been really nice, telling me all about you.”

Natsu glares at the two other males, knowing they were the most likely culprits, “I’m sure they are,” he seethes through a gritted smile.  “Be right back, I’m gonna find a chair.”  The place was fairly busy, but he manages to find an unused one and brings it back to the group, settling in between Lucy and Gray.  

“So, what’d I miss,” Natsu fidgets with the cup in his hands.

“Well Lucy here was just telling us how she’s thinking of coming to this college in the fall,” Gray explains as he leans back, purposely bumping his shoulder against Natsu’s.  

“Yeah,” she blushes lightly, “they have a good creative writing program here, but I wasn’t sure how housing would work so I came to see the campus for myself and talk to an advisor.”

‘So, Blondie’s name is Lucy…’ Natsu’s smiles at the new piece of information.  “Are you gonna be a Freshman?” He asks her.

“Mmhmm,” she nods, sipping at her drink.  “Erza said I could probably get into their Sorority and that’ll take care of housing.”

He sits up straight.  “That would be so awesome!” Natsu utters a little too excitedly, earning a weird look from not just Lucy, but everyone on the table. “I mean,” he pipes back down, “their sorority and our frat are linked, that’s how we all know each other so you’ll fit right in.”

Lucy’s eyebrow raises, “That means I’ll run into you too I presume?”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“It might be for my clothing.”

At that moment you could have heard a pin drop as everyone else’s jaws at the table drop.  Gray and Gajeel wanted to high-five the blonde for getting a crack in, but they all were just waiting to see Natsu’s follow up. The boy rarely ever backed down from a game of jest, even against other girls.  He and Grays bicker contests could go on for hours.  

But instead of getting all fired up, Natsu deflates completely in his chair.  “I didn’t mean to spill your drink,” he pouts, “I’ll even buy you a new skirt if that’ll make you feel better.”

Levy and Erza turn to each other sharing a knowing look, the boy was smitten!  But Gray and Gajeel chuckle.  Gray’s known Natsu since High school, and this was the first time, well first girl he’s ever been so cheeky with.    

It wasn’t the reaction Lucy had expected.  Natsu’s friends had described a high energy, lovable goof ball, who was quick with worded jabs, loving any challenge that presents itself.  She really wasn’t that upset over the coffee debacle and had planned on just teasing the boy as a bit of payback.  The boy was goofy alright, but his pout and genuine despondency over possibly upsetting her, made him quite endearing.  All the guys she’s known till now would have cared less about something this minor.

Lucy relaxes, “that’s not necessary Natsu, I was just teasing.  You seem like a nice enough guy, so running into you again on campus wouldn’t be so bad.”

That perks Natsu right back up again.  He beams with an ear to ear grin, “Really!  Yeah, and of course if you’d like a tour of the campus or anything, I can help you navigate!  It’s a pretty big place and it’s easy to get lost when you’re not familiar with it.”

Her cheeks burn from seeing such an adorable reaction.  This pink-haired boy sure made it too easy to find him charming, and she couldn’t disagree that he was a bit attractive.  “I’d like that actually.  I’ve never been away from home on my own before, but you guys are making it so inviting.”

“Well Natsu here,” Gray slaps him on the back, “is gonna be a Junior so he’s familiar with the campus, and what he don’t know I’m sure one of us can help ya.”

“I’ll probably have classes in the same buildings as you,” Levy chimes in, “cause most of the linguistic courses are there.”

“And I volunteer with Freshman orientation,” adds Erza, “so I’ll make sure you get what you need.”  

“Oh my, you guys are so sweet!”  Lucy’s eyes crinkle in a smile.  She sits up straight, “alright!  I’ve made up my mind, I’m definitely coming here!”

The group chats for another hour or so, regaling Lucy with stories about Magnolia U, the town, and about their little group.  She in turn tells them a little more about herself, her hometown of Crocus, and family’s business.  By the time she needed to go to catch the last train home, she truly felt like a part of their group.  She makes sure to get all of their contact information so they can stay in touch through summer break.  

It was almost sad to say goodbye.  Who’d have guessed an innocent little accident would have led to a wonderful afternoon.  Guess she really had to forgive Natsu now for being clumsy.  “Again, thank you, because I was on the fence about moving here, but now I’m so glad I met you guys.”  

“That’s great to hear, Lucy,” Erza speaks for them all.  “And if you have any other questions registering just contact me, I’ll make sure it’s taken care of.”

Lucy stands up, shouldering her backpack with a smile, “I will.  Have a nice summer everyone!”  She waves and starts off towards the exit.

Just as she makes it out of the glass doors, a man calls to her.  She turns around to wait.  “Did I forget something Natsu?”

“Oh, no,” he breathes out, catching his breath from dashing out after her.  “I—I, had a question…”

“Yes?” she looks at him inquisitively.  

He runs his hand nervously through his hair, “d-do you think over the summer I could see you or something? You know, c-cause I’d like to get to know you better.”

Lucy blinks, surprised that he was asking her that.  She grins, “Natsu Dragneel, are you asking me out on a date?”

“Maybe…” he grins, feeling the weight and heat of the question boring down on him.  “I mean it could just be like a casual, you know, to hang out and stuff.”

She chuckles, “I’d like that.”  Giving him a quick peck on the cheek.  “I gotta run, but text me or something, kay?”  

“Okay!”

“Bye, Natsu!” Lucy waves and jogs away.

He places his hand over his cheek where she’d kissed.  It felt so much warmer than the rest of his face, and no doubt flushed a nice bright shade of red.  Fall couldn’t get here soon enough…

[dark0angel13]

Merry Christmas

Sorry for not posting in a few days everyone, please forgive me! To make it up to you, here is a little something I threw together.

A Fairy Tail Christmas:

“You look upset, is something wrong?” The question is open ended and Riley jumps slightly, her eyes wandering to the source of said question with a deflated look in her eyes.

“I’m fine Mira,” they both know that’s a lie but the white mage doesn’t push.

“You just...look sad is all, I’m worried about you.” The look in her eyes screams pity and Riley can’t seem to stop the aggravation that begins to bubble within her.

“I said I’m fine.” Her words are sharp and Mira startles but nods, her expression falling and Riley is hit with a wave of regret.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you.” Mira is gone before Riley can apologize and the black mage finds herself growing hotter with anger. Why was today so hard? Why was she feeling this way?

Around her the guild hall bustles with the normal shinnanegans. A fight here, some insults there; to anyone it would seem like just a normal day. To Riley though, today was anything but ordinary.

“Hey Luce,” Natsu‘s voice draws attention as he approaches the celestial mage; a tinge of red spreading across his cheeks as he walks, “there’s something I wanna ask you.”

From where she is sitting, Riley watches his form; the way he seems almost hesitant to approach his best friend. The way his words shake slightly when he speaks, though she’s not sure anyone else hears it. She watches the pink mage absentmindedly scratch the back of his head and it dawns on her. She stiffens, her eyes glued to the fire wizard.

His normal attire is different, his usual sleeveless shirt has been switched for a tight fitting plain black shirt; his normal kapri-style pants replaced with dark blue jeans and Riley feels her stomach jump into her throat. His hair, she notices, while still unkempt, looks as if he tried to style it and she can see Lucy standing before him, stiff as a board as her eyes give him a once over.

“You’ve been acting strange lately Natsu, are you feeling okay?” Lucy laughs nervously and swallows hard when Natsu doesn’t respond, and Riley can feel the tension in the room.

“I’ve never been better Luce,” His smile is bright and crooked as usual but his posture is anything but relaxed. Riley knows he’s nervous about something, and if her instincts are correct, he has every reason to be. “I’ve actually got a question for you.” His voice trails off and the guild hall goes silent; Riley noticing all eyes have trained on them.

“Lucy,” Natsu takes a deep breath, “we’ve been through a lot these past few years and I’m thankful to have been by your side through every second of it.” Riley can see Lucy trembling from where she sits, and behind her she can practically feel the excitement radiating from her sister. Erza always did love a good show.

“Natsu...” Lucy trails off and Riley sees tears begin welling in her eyes.

“You’re my best friend, my partner; my better half. These last few months have been the happiest of my life and I want to show you how much you mean to me.” He takes a step back and Riley feels her entire body stiffen, “Lucy Heartfelia,” Natsu kneels down and reaches into his back pocket, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me?”

The guild hall is filled with gasps and Riley watches as multiple emotions race across Lucy’s face. First is shock, then what looks like panic, before settling on ecstatic. Her eyes light up and the tears that have been welling spill over and she brings a shaking hand to her mouth.

“What do ya say Luce?” Natsu tilts his head but grunts when the blonde throws herself at him, a string of ‘yes’ and ‘of course you idiot’ leaving her mouth and around them the guild explodes. Everything happens fast and Riley is swept into a celebration frenzy. It’s a while before she manages to say her congratulations to the couple and dismiss herself from the guild hall.

-

-

-

She walks with no destination in mind but finds herself at the door to her house, her body moving of its own accord. She didn’t intend on coming here, didn’t intend on staring blankly into the room they once shared, yet here she is, staring into an empty room as her heart clenches in her chest.

Cana left a year ago, saying she needed some time to herself for training and spiritual enlightenment but the absence of the woman she loves has left Riley feeling alone. Erza does her best to keep the black mage occupied, but Riley can’t seem to find the will to smile. Her hands clench at her sides and Riley swallows hard.

“I miss you...” her words come out as a whisper as Cana’s image flashes in her mind. She loves the card user, loves everything about her. Her smile, her easy going attitude, even her binge drinking. Riley loves it all.

She sinks to her knees and brings her hands up to her chest, frantically gripping the fabric of her shirt, fearing that anything less than a death grip will result in panic. She’s tried to be strong for so long now, taking job after job, with the small hope that one of them will bring her closer to Cana; that anything will bring her closer to Cana.

The empty room is so familiar and Riley lets a sob escape before leaning forward to press her head to the ground, her heart breaking in her chest. Why does it have to hurt so much?

“I love you,” her words are filled with agony, her body is shaking and another sob echoes in the room, “where are you?” Her question isn’t directed at anyone but she wants desperately to have an answer.

This isn’t like her, this isn’t like the Riley Belserion Fairy Tail has come to know and love. Her usual strong demeanor has crumbled to the broken mess of woman on the floor. She is supposed to be an S-Class wizard; the strongest in the guild, save for Guildarts, but lately she hasn’t felt strong. She hasn’t felt powerful. Only empty, broken.

“Cana...” She chokes out, her body shaking with a mixture of anger and discord.

“Riley,” her name rides the air and the devastation mage stiffens. The voice is familiar but she can’t believe she’s actually hearing it. She doesn’t dare look, a small part of her petrified that her subconscious made the word up. She doesn’t breathe, doesn’t move, doesn’t think, and after a moment the voice echoes again. “Riley...”

No, this isn’t a dream, this isn’t a hallucination. Riley knows that voice anywhere, having heard it so often. She’s moving before her mind has time to process, and steel grey meets amethyst in a torrent of unspoken emotions and words.

“Cana...” Her voice cracks.

“It’s good to see you again Riley. You look good.” A common thing to say when she’s been gone for so long but Riley can’t help the anger that surges. She looks good? Yeah right. The last year has left the devastation mage an emotional train wreck but she dares not say anything. She opts for a far off stare, and Cana sighs and steps forward; she’s kneeling before Riley a moment later.

“I know you must be feeling a lot of emotions right now...” she begins and Riley scoffs.

“What the fuck would you know about me? You left remember?” Riley spits the words and she feels Cana tense before her.

“Yeah, I left.” Cana looks away, “ but I left for a good reason Riley-“

“A good reason?” Riley finds her hands fisting in the brunette’s shirt, “I ask you to marry me and you’re response is leaving ‘to go find yourself’!” The anger that has been building up the past year finally spills over and Riley is screaming; her body glowing violet with magic.

“I spilled my heart out to you and you stomped it into the dirt!” She can see the guilt on Cana’s face but it only seems to make her body shake with fury.

“I said I had a good reason!” Cana reciprocates with her hands fisting in Riley’s jacket and they’re dead locked, the devastation mage feeling her magic spike. “This last year I’ve been training with my father to become stronger. I didn’t want to marry you as anything less than your equal Riley. I’ve loved you for so long,” she pauses and Riley feels the anguish in her words. “But after everything we’ve been through, I realized that unless I changed, I was always going to be living in your shadow as someone who needs to be protected. You’ve saved me more times than I can count Riley. It’s about damn time I return the favor.”

Just like that, Riley’s anger dissipates like smoke on the wind. Her breath leaves in a woods of air and her body lets go of the tension that has been holding her hostage.

“You didn’t have to leave...” she trails off and swallows hard, “I could have helped you train. I could have helped you get stronger.”

“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t do this on my own Riley. I’m still not your equal, and I most likely never will be, but at least now you won’t have to put your life on the line to protect me anymore.” Riley feels the hand on her cheek and it’s so warm compared to her cool skin.

Riley pulls her closer, “I told you that I would protect you Cana. Why won’t you let me?”

“Because I want to be your partner, not your sidekick.” Cana’s gaze softens and Riley feels her heart clench in her chest, “I’ve missed you Riley...”

“I’ve missed you too...” is all she can reply before Cana closes the distance and their lips meet. The card user is warm compared to the chill that has taken over her body; her lips soft but insistent, as if trying to convey everything she wants to say through the kiss and Riley understands her like they’re speaking their own language.

“Merry Christmas,” Cana leans back and smiles, “I love you Riley.”

“I love you too, Cana.” Riley wipes her eyes and flashes her widest smile, her heart feeling whole again for the first time in what seems like forever. They have a lot of catching up to do, and Riley is only too happy to help.

END

This one is long but I do hope you all enjoyed it. I figured I should make it lengthy as my apology for not posting in a few days. Per request of @kyloxmoegi1993, my sister, and @bladerivalen,this featured my Original Chatacter. I love writing so please feel free to reblog because it makes me happy!

[arkus-rhapsode]

I was wondering if you were planning on doing EZ reviews. I personally think if you get past the Erza clone and the similarities in looks with some characters that the story is very well and actually has a better plot than FT did.

So I’m going to give my surface level response on this and I will be fair on my stance like I usually try to. In the most general term, I don’t really review a series I don’t care about. If you notice I haven’t done a review of Black Clover in a while, its mainly cause this current arc is something I don’t really care about and it would feel like a drain on both me and my audience to here that each week. I’m sure my audience and EZ fans probably don’t wanna hear me belly ache about the series week to week.

This series really does show me that its made for people who like Hiro Mashima’s work. And if you do, more power to you, but your probably not going to enjoy my usually dissecting review style.

So right here I’m going to give my thoughts on the series to this point, and I wanna start positively. I do agree that the plot to Eden’s Zero is much better structured than FT’s once you get past the Elsie stuff. The four star shine robots plot to get to Mother actually seems like a good plotting out of how to take this story. It really reminds me of finding the four rave’s.

I also think I’ve mentioned this back in my former reviews, but the setting to is also interesting too, and forces world building. Though, I’d like them to experience the world rather than Witch just read of a synopsis of the world. Yeah having an internet in the world does kinda kill the sense of adventure.

And I will also say that I’m happy that most the cast has motivation unlike most of FT.

And with that we lead into my problems with the  story. First as I mentioned, the the plot does have better structure once you get past the Elsie stuff, the problem is that before that the pacing and plot seems really really slow, very confused, and then introduces such a high concept like time being eaten and going to other worlds in the past. While I do appreciate Hiro trying for a slower pace in the beginning, he’s doesn’t use it interestingly. He could take this time to explain the government or how these cosmos work? Is there king of space? Could the cosmos be cut up like the blues in One Piece? Or how about my biggest question, WHAT THE FUCK IS ETHER GEAR?! No we need more time travel and friendship!

Then there’s the first arc with this whole sister stuff. I will give credit that Rogue Out as villains aren’t too bad. Jin is obviously the best because he might heel turn, the sumo looking guy isn’t overtly evil, which was nice, and I could kinda get into Sister’s whole thing of just doing what she is paid to do as a motivation. But all villains except them are the usual Hiro Mashima bland weirdos with no characterization.

This Illega guy, I was expecting maybe a twist with him and why he has a collection of girls was maybe something subversive. Maybe he is trying to bring back tourism to his planet and by kidnapping B-cubers he was going to make them make the planet more entertaining, I mean Rebecca had a whole chapter praising them as coming up with fun things to do. Maybe he has a child who has an ether gear that made them look human and left him after the planet got closed off saying they’ll become a B-cuber, so he’s kid napping B-cubers to see if that one is her and that stuff that makes them stone should make his child reveal her true form.

No, he’s just a creep who likes turning women into furniture. Because… And that guy Wise’s intro arc who is just a common thug with his leg fetish brothers.

So I can’t call that story well done. If it takes till the Elsie arc to actually get to the plot actually moving forward and that this current arc is this bland and boring arc with everything being in the morally black, its not interesting.

How about the characters? Well, Shiki I’ll at least be fair, is actually gotten better than Natsu mainly cause he’s trying to be proactive. I’ll even give his gravity power at least seems to have more creativity than the generic fire dragon magic. But he’s such a confused and bland character. I mentioned this in my review chapter 1, Shiki’s strongest aspect is his social awkwardness and how that related to being raised around machines in a fantasy park. But he wants Shiki to be like your usual big damn hero whenever the time comes for him to look cool.

I recently watched an interesting piece on how My Hero’s Deku and Black Clover’s Asta represented two different types of shounen protagonists and ways to take a story. With Deku being a representation of the protagonist who needs to grow physically and emotionally into the pillar of his world that can inspire and fufil his dream, while Asta already is the pillar of his world who already can inspire and needs to earn recognition. Both of these types of protagonist are fine, but Shiki is trying to be both of them and it results in none of them. He seemingly needs to grow into a person who can actually get a ton of friends, but he also is apparently the kid who will rock the universe. It just results in a confused character, why does he act like such an idiot when he’s completely competent in action scenes?

And what makes him endearing? Say robots have a heart? Dude all the robots in this series have shown the ability to make expression and have emotion. We saw an android walk the street in chapter 2! Why do machines act like Shiki just told them the word of god after he says they have a heart, they all emote. Look at Pino and especially Witch, they’re displaying a range of emotion. Its not like they look like a cyberman who talks mechanically.

He’s just confused and unfortunately falls always back into that friendship shit as his only motivator instead of possibly addressing the trauma or adding a layer on how he won’t lose other people and what that feels like for him. The only time it really felt like he was living up to that emotionally stunned guy, was when he was beating the shit out of Illega to the point that Pino needed to shut him off, because I’m sure this kid can’t handle the emotion of anger quite yet in this situation.

Rebecca I think is worse though. I don’t know why people like her other than her design. Her personality is essentially jelly that can be morphed into whatever you want to fit the situation. She’s perverted in some scenes, but then doesn’t like perversion? I mean, she gets two guns in her hands and looks like a moron shooting randomly. Like is that badass? Is this what a female character has to do to be considered cool now?

I don’t consider her a rip off of Lucy, because Lucy actually had a character. Had a personality. No she is more a rip off of Elie from Rave, right down to the shooting shit up part. Only Elie made sense cause she was actually really unhinged thanks to the fact that she had no memories. But she got over it! She developed. Outside of her one past flashback with Happy, nothing about her is that interesting. I’ll also give her that she now just gets ether gear and its something she clearly can’t control yet, so there is room for improvement.

Wise, is actually an okay character. He’s got a cool concept of a guy from the past who is an inventor living in the future. I think his only weakness is that his ether gear is stupidly OP.

Pino is… Just and ornament that looks cute. You want your daughteru character to latch onto Shiki, here. Hell, I have bet going with a friend of mine that Pino will get some upgrade and she’ll have the body of a hot teenage girl. Its not that I hate here idea of having her memory erased, but the more I see of her and to more I hear about this robots have a heart makes me wish Michael came along.

Yeah, missed opportunity, cause Michael is not only a foil to Shiki and his adoptive brother, but he also doesn’t have a humanoid face. Meaning he doesn’t get convey true emotion so he actually seems like a robot. He actually seems like he’d have a character arc about discovering wanting to be more and more human. People would call Shiki weird calling a robot his “brother” and Michael never thought about it and we know there are multiple models of Michael. Imagine how fucking devastating it would be to see yourself mass produced. Imagine he actually gets to the point that he wants a humanoid face, because he wants to emote.

No we get Pino, who basically is Carla, but lacks any of thee enjoyable sass. Because we didn’t have enough sidekicks on this cast. Also we learn EMP is how to shut off ether gear, great, this is like if Usopp just had sea-prism stone on him at all times.

Then there’s Homura, she’s awful too. I’ll at least give Rebecca that she’s likable, but Homura she is personalitiy-less and has the worse character gimmick I think I’ve seen. Its not funny, its dumb. She can also use this ether gear too, and its a sword that was apparently passed down-its fucking 10 commandments. She also just walked into this story, like wha…? I’d be fine if she was like hunting the Eden’s Zero ship and watched it take off on Bluegarden, but no, Homura just came along cause she conveniently met Wise.

I’ll give her credit that the sword fighting looks cool, and I understand why people might like her cause that actually seems like something badass, but as a character she just feels tacked on.

Then there’s witch who is basically just the older sister character.

Elsie is not awful actually. She actually is a lot different from Erza and I actually would like to follow the space pirates more than I would want these random travelers. Also quick question, why do they still have the Eden’s Zero looking like a pirate ship? I mean, it looks cool, but these fuckers are not pirates, not even close. Oh wait, I know! We needed to rip off captain Harlock some more.

I’m not going to even talk about the potential love square with Shiki, Rebecca and Lavilla/Labilla, possibly Esie and Homura (?) cause one credit to FT was it wasn’t a harem, and Rave used a character like Celia and Beruka to more add an extra layer to the relationship of Elie and Haru. SO hoping Hiro avoids that.

So yeah if this rant has probably showed you, I don’t think EZ is all that great. But if you like it, fine I get that. I just have no interest in really talking about it week to week as even though I got down on FT, the beginning of the series was still something I enjoyed and I wanted to talk about how the current stuff had turned out. But EZ has no, beginning I liked. So I just don’t feel like I should be talking about it week to week.

[entomjinx]

Empath

Natsu could feel his fists go numb as he slammed the repetitively into the solid mountain side. He ignored the blood that ran down his knuckles, just like he had ignored everyone asking if he was okay. None of that mattered right now.

The mountain was slowly giving way to the force of his fists, cracking in some places and chipping in others. The thudding echoed across the area with every punch, and eventually, a piece of the large, rocky structure collapsed in a pile of rubble. Natsu sank to his knees and then to his back as he shouted into the darkening sky. Hot tears ran down his face as he screamed curses in every language Igneel had taught him.

Igneel had also taught him his magic.

The very same magic that burned everything it touched.

Earlier that day:

Gray wouldn't make it in time, and barely had enough to wonder what a child was doing on the battlefield. The little girls eyes went wide while she stared at the darkness rushing towards her, and Gray was running. He wasn't stupid. He knew there was too much ground to cover, but he'd be damned if he didn't try.

Natsu go there first.

The ice mage couldn't process what the dragon slayer was doing until he'd already done it. His body was wrapped around the girl's like a shield, and his back was alight to keep the darkness from getting any closer. It didn't, but there was no way to stop her from getting hurt.

There was no way for the crying toddler to realize that the light coming from his back was fire. There was no way for her to understand not to touch it.

She threw her arms around him as she bawled, but Natsu's flames were hot, and the millisecond it took him to stop them was enough.

She screamed an awful, blood curdling scream that forced the slayer to his knees, and Gray couldn't help but think that he'd never looked so far away.

It was almost like he wasn't in his own head. One minute, Natsu was shouting insults at the enemy in response to their own. Now there was nothing but silence as he made his way to Gray. He'd left to Lucy, trusting her to wrap the wounds.

Nothing but silent anger, silent anguish, as they clasped hands.

Nothing but pure intentions as they synced themselves in mind, heart, and soul.

Nothing but power as they allowed it to flow through them, connecting them further.

Nothing but destruction as every enemy, seen and unseen, fell beneath the crushing magic that hit them.

Then the focus vanished, and Gray felt every ounce of what Natsu was. He past out, tired and overwhelmed by the special ability that Natsu possessed, and suddenly the word "empath" had a feeling to go with it's definition.

Gray hadn't woken up until that evening, and the first thing he felt was the emotion of everyone around him, "Are we still connected?" He could feel all of their worry turn into relief, their sadness become happy, and he briefly wondered if this was what Natsu felt constantly or just a diluted version. It was probably the latter. It wasn't quite the overwhelming mess that Natsu described to him when they were kids.

"It's good to see that you're alright, Gray," Erza said gently, "You had us all worried when you lost consciousness."

Before Gray could answer, he registered Natsu's own feelings. This was much closer to the strength that Natsu mentioned feeling, and it forced a gasp from his lips. Erza was by his side in a second. "I'm fine," He said. He wanted it to be forceful, but it sounded more like a whisper. "Where's Natsu?"

"We don't know," He heard Lucy mutter, but it wasn't necessary. The second he asked the question, his mind supplied the information. He was on his feet before he realized it. "Gray? Where are you going?" He ignored her.

The last thing he heard before the door slammed behind him came from Wendy. "You said they did a Unison Raid, right?"

Those words didn't matter.

Guilt.

Sadness.

Inadequate.

Frustration.

Pain.

Gray had forgotten just how many emotions people could feel.

Gray found him laying in a crater, dirt caked across his skin and blood on the wounds he didn't bandage. His arms were thrown across his eyes, hiding the source of the tears running down his cheeks. His breathe was uneven, but he didn't make a sound beyond that.

"He's screamed himself hoarse, hasn't he?"

The feelings were coming much stronger now; Gray could pick out exact thoughts.

When Natsu made no move to make him leave, Gray slid down the edge of crater. He sat down in the dirt and pulled the pinkette's head into his lap. Natsu moved his arms, revealing red and puffy eyes. The whisper that tried to leave his lips came out as a croak, and Gray leaned down to make it easier for the pinkette. "...I hurt her..."

"You didn't," Gray insisted, "It was an accident."

"I burned her," He said helplessly. The tears started flowing again, and Gray was assaulted by Natsu's thoughts.

I am fire.

It is fluid, adapting to the situation.

It is flexible. It can change itself to lift people's spirits and keep them there. It knocks down people's walls to protect them from themselves.

It keeps them warm, like a campfire on a cool summer night.

It loves being around people. Seeing them happy makes it happy, which is something it wasn't prone to. The kindness of the raging fire kept them from looking too deep. It kept them from seeing what lies behind the kindness.

Fire is fragile, and therefore I am fragile.

Fire is fragile, and when the balance is tipped, it gets out of control, hurting everyone around it.

I hurt those around me.

Fire burns and takes and destroys.

I take and burn and destroy.

It makes me a monster.

Maybe I already was one, but the flames make it worse.

I hate that about my fire. It takes the life from everything it touches, even on a small scale. Or it goes out, and does nothing. All or nothing. Destructive or worthless.

I wish I was ice.

I wish I was like Gray.

I wish I was like you.

Gray is reliability and protection.

Gray was strong and perfect, and sure of everything he did. He was strengthened by his with to shield people, not weakened by it. He was strong, and he could only get stronger, never weaker.

Ice kept people alive.

You keep people alive.

Fire damned them.

I damn them.

Ice is life, and fire is death.

That's how it is, and how it always will be."

The flood of thoughts that hit Gray's mind made him dizzy, "That's not true." Natsu shook his head, but he didn't bother to reply. "It isn't." He knew he couldnt change Natsu's mind with words.

The slayer was a lot of things, and stubborn was all of them.

Gray decided he'd use the link while it was still active. He thought for a moment, twisting Natsu's own words to fit his own purpose. He would show the slayer that he was wrong.

"I am ice.

It is sturdy, never once bending under pressure.

It is solid. It lifts people up and keeps them there. It creates walls to protect them and keep them safe.

It is cold like the arctic tundra, designed to keep people away from him.

It likes the solitude. The frigid chain that keeps it's heart, mind, and soul out of the reach of others is comforting to him. It kept them all out. It kept them from finding out.

Ice is fragile.

I am fragile.

Ice is fragile, and when it brakes it turns into brittle shards that hurt everything around it.

I hurt people.

It was cold and unforgiving. It would bite into your skin and nip at you until you submitted, and that made it dangerous.

It makes me dangerous.

I hate that about my ice. It can take so much, but only that much. Any more and it shatters like the worthless frozen water it is.

I wish I was fire.

I wish I was like Natsu.

I wish I was like you.

Natsu is warmth and protection.

Natsu was fluid and ever changing and open. He was fueled by the emotions of people, not weakened by them. He was strong, and he could only get stronger, never weaker.

Fire kept people alive.

You keep people alive.

Ice damned them.

I damn them.

Fire is life, and ice is death.

That's how it is, and how it always will be."

"Do you understand now, ash-for-brains?" The insult lack all of it's usual heat, and a single tear made it's way out of the corner of Gray's eye. Natsu reached up and brushed it away, leaving behind a smear of dirt and blood in it's place. "We're human, and humans make mistakes. It's not your fault."

"Okay," Natsu said quietly, "Okay."

The reason Erza hadn't told Gray where Natsu was is that he was unstable at the moment. She didn't want the two to fight at all, but when one was in a self-destructive state? Absolutely not. She loved both of them, but they had a habit of beating themselves up that they never quite grew out of.

"You said they did a Unison Raid, right?" She turned away from the door and to Wendy, who looked giddy about something.

"They did," the redhead told her, "but I'm not sure what that would have to do with anything."

"Fire dragons sometimes have a very rare, very special ability called-" The blunette launched herself into a rather scientific explanation, and Erza found it difficult to keep up with the unfamiliar terms. "-and that's why we call the Empaths." The small girl looked around at her audience, realizing that she'd lost most of them at some point. "They feel other people's emotions with such an accuracy that they can basically recreate a person's thoughts from them, which is displaying an incredibe amount of empathy, hence the name empath." The simpler terms allowed everyone else to understand the long winded, probably medical explanation that had escaped Wendy's lips. "Anyways, a Unison Raid requires every part of everyone involved to be in sync with each other, including thoughts and emotions. Gray has temporarily gained Natsu's ability."

Erza smiled, "So he'll be able to help him?" She asked hopefully.

Wendy wasn't paying attention anymore. "I wonder if he'll let me test how strong it is..."

Gajeel shot the younger slayer a strange look, "Wendy."

"Yes, Gajeel?" Her tone was sickeningly sweet, and it actually managed to set the redhead on edge.

"You're not allowed to emotionally compromise or fuck with Natsu for an experiment." Her face fell, and the realization that she was just as crazy as the rest of the slayers sank in.

"But-"

"None of that. I said no."

Wendy puffed up her cheeks and sat in the corner sulking, "He wouldn't care... Much."

"Devious psychopath," Gajeel muttered. She didn't deny it.

"Are you done with that?" Gray asked quietly. They hadn't moved from the bottom of the crater, but they'd eventually ended up in each others arms.

Natsu raised his head from Gray's chest, "Done with what?"

"Being mopey," Gray clarified. "I'm already a hopeless, self-depreciating person, but with this weird link thing, it's both of our hopeless self-depreciating personalities combined." Natsu snorted once, then twice, and then he was bursting out laughing. The link had faded considerably now, but that didn't mean that Natsu's laughter was any less contagious. "What's so funny?"

Natsu looked at him with the flattest look he could manage, "Depression squared." The flat looked vanished, and both of them were gone.

As long as fire and ice had each other, the could could keep the darker parts of themselves away.

Words: 2,080

[laceymorganwrites]

Tragedy´s hot pt.1

Word Count: 1,828

Pairing: Gajeel x Reader (Yay! reader´s pov)

Warnings: None I can think of, slight make out, sadness, Depression

A/N: So I started watching Fairy Tail. This is based on a dream I had and will have multiple parts. The Reader does have Magic power, so don´t complain that she´s in a guild. It does have its reasons and will be explained in the further parts

I sat under a big tree far beyond the guild in a deep forest. Next to it was a lake and the woods protected chirping birds and purring kittens. Here, I felt at ease, as if I finally belonged somewhere. It was long ago since I joined the guild, but still, I couldn´t do magic and the guild would be better off without me. But they all seemed so happy, they thought of me as family, smiled at me and wanted me to join their chanting and laughter. I drank with Cana and could keep up with her, I fought with Natsu, baked cake for Erza and talked to Mira. Levy-chan told me about her books, I randomly found Gray in my home, I ran from Loke´s girlfriends. Lucy let me read her book and asked me for advice in her magic and Happy always told me of all their adventures. I gave him fish and accompanied everyone on their missions, even before I was an official member. But for three years now, I was. It just didn´t feel right, but after all the happiness I saw in the guild, which   should´ve driven out my darkness, I still felt alone. I didn´t belong there, I had no place in the world, but this old huge tree I´d like to hide under my whole life. Sometimes the guild members would come with me and we would talk here, but after they went away, I would always cry. Someday I decided to write it all down and sing it out.

“They will not let you down, Lucy, you´re part of the family, remember?” I reassured Lucy who had the same problems as me, but people actually liked her, she belonged to Fairy Tail. She cried onto my shoulder, where she buried herself and clung onto my neck, sobbing thoroughly. I forced my own tears back and bit my quivering lip. My shaking hands pushed Lucy away from me carefully, before flashing a perfectly fine smile, telling her to go back to the guild, where everyone was waiting for her. She smiled back and wiped away her tears before waving and running towards the guild. I closed my eyes, grabbed my guitar and started playing a song, to which I lowly sang along, until I cried. I cried often these days and I hated it, I hated being weak and unable to do anything, but that was just who I was, the always sad girl with no place in the world. After a quiet while I noticed the cats meowing and seeming excited. That´s when I heard someone coming from behind and I stopped playing the guitar and wiped away the lonely tears, hopefully the person would leave quickly. The person walked past me and didn´t even seem to notice I was there until he knelt down to feed the cats and embrace them in hugs. My heartbeat increased and I unknowingly began to smile. He petted the cats and talked to them with such devotion, then blushed when he saw me. “Sorry...I didn´t know anyone else was here...” he mumbled. I laughed. “It´s alright, it´s nice knowing someone besides me cares about the cats” I told him and now that I got a closer look at his face, I could bathe in his beauty, that was until I caught the tattoo on his right arm and frowned. “You´re from Phantom Lord...” I coldly stated, I needed to find another peaceful place, I redeemed. He raised an eyebrow: “So?” he grunted. “Just heard some nasty things about your guild, is all” I explained. It was said that they were cruel and reputation was everything to them. I never had an encounter with one of their members, but their guild and mine didn´t really like each other and I just hoped to stay out of the little quarrel. I also heard that the guild members were arrogant and dangerous. “As if yours is so innocent” he remarked, pointing at my neck, where my tattoo was located. I blushed, almost as if he revealed some secret of mine, and let my hair fall over it. “You could say we´re overachievers” I giggled, thinking about all the ruckus and destruction we caused. We really were a conversation. “So, who spread those damn rumors about my guild?” He asked roughly, but I couldn´t take him seriously as he still cradled a cat in his hand. “No one particular, I just heard some stories” I held up my hands up in defense, he could as well leave, I wasn´t looking for a fight. “Why aren´t you in your guild? Isn´t Fairy Tail all about that family bullshit?” he tried to provoke me, but I just laughed out loud. “You guys really hate us, don´t you?” I asked him, still laughing. “You didn´t answer my question” he stated, gently putting down the cat, sitting down next to me and crossing his arms. “Well, I just don´t really fit in there, it´s better when I´m alone” I said carefree and received an unreadable look from him. “Why don´t you join a different guild, then?” he asked me, his former rough tone changed into a softer one. “Like I said: I don´t fit in anywhere.  I´m useless in a guild, I don´t want to bring people down.” I explained further, I never talked to anyone about how I felt, some would say it´s stupid talking about it to an enemy´s guild member, but what could he do with that information? “You don´t seem like someone who brings people down, are you sure the guild isn´t bringing you down?” he asked carefully, unsure of how I would react. I smiled at him. ��It´s not that, my guild likes me, and I like them, we´re family and we all got each others backs. And that´s great, really, going on missions together, celebrating, breaking up fights and just enjoying each other´s company, I love that and I feel like I´m home, but then again    I´m asking myself if I really deserve being happy or being in a guild when I can´t even use magic. It doesn´t feel like I´m part of all that, it feels as if I´m watching from the outside and that is what brings me really down” I turned away from him, suddenly I felt really exposed. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. “Now that I said that out loud, I realize it sounds really stupid” I laughed, scratching my head, but he looked gloomy. “What´s your name?” he finally asked after a long silence, looking down. “(Y/N)...” I said, confused as to why he would want to know that. He raised his head again and made eye contact with me, then he grabbed my hands and held them in his own, before he said: “I`m sorry that you feel that way, (Y/N), really. I hope you find your happiness someday...”. His hands were cold and his gaze made me feel dizzy. “Thank you...” I whispered, unsure what to say. I let my head sink and held on tighter to his hands, starting to caress them. “I feel happy now, you know...I feel happy in this place, with the cats. It´s so peaceful, I like that...” I confessed, to which he smiled sincerely. “I like the cats too” he said, chuckling, which made me blush. “What´s your name?” I asked him. “Gajeel” he answered. “It was nice meeting you, Gajeel. I think I could get used to having other company than the cats” I giggled. He grinned. “So you´re saying you like my company?” he teased and I blushed heavily as I remembered I was still holding his hands. “Y-yeah...I guess...” I stuttered, looking everywhere but his face, now would be the perfect time to disappear. “You only guess? That´s not good, what if I decide to come here more often now? You´ll always be guessing you like my company, but never know. That´s stressful!” he remarked, winking at me. I swear, I got even redder. “W-well...I mean...I do kinda like your company...” I mumbled. “Oh come on! You can do better than that, that´s not how you tell someone you like their company.” he laughed at me. “Sorry! It´s your fault my brain´s going blank!” I defended myself. “I make your brain go blank? Was that a compliment?” he teased again, wrapping his arm around me and pulled me towards him, to which I let out a squeal. “Cute” he smirked. “Stop it!” I chuckled and he laughed as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Our faces were inches away now I bit my lip at that realization. My face was burning up and Gajeel seemed to enjoy that very much, but there was something about the way he smiled, a certain look in his eye that made me forget about how embarrassing I was. “You said you´d come here more often?” I asked shyly, trying to cover up the awkward silence. “Depends. If you´re here, I´ll think about coming around” he told me and I could swear he had gotten nearer to me. “You´ll think about it, huh? Don´t you like my company?” I wickedly whispered and raised my eyebrow in temptation, if he could tease, I could as well. His smirk got wider and his eyes brighter. “I like your company very much, but do you like mine?” he asked me. “Very much” I repeated. “Good, then I´ll come around more often” he decided. “I´m looking forward to it” I admitted. Gajeel put his arm around my waist and pulled me even nearer to him, I locked my hands behind his neck and began to lean in. There was something about him, a magnetic aura I didn´t want to escape. In this instance Gajeel felt vulnerable, but he slightly opened his mouth and came closer to me, closing his eyes. His heart beat so fast and loudly, his lips were quivering and he felt the last bit of his bravery fade as my lips touched his. I swear he moaned, even if it was so slightly. His lips were cold, as was his hand, which roamed my back and the one coming up and gently caressing my cheek. Gajeel was very careful, he didn´t want to hurt me. I started to apply more pressure to my lips and moved them even closer to his, slipping out my tongue, asking for entrance. He opened his mouth in an instant and happily hummed when our tongues touched. Our tongues were circling around each other, chasing the other and not letting us breathe. I gently bit his lip, signaling us to part and when he moaned, we did. I pecked him one last time before we caught air. Gajeel was speechless and blushing, as I was smiling. “That was hot...” he said. “You´re hot” I corrected him, unlocking my hands behind his neck and grabbing his hand that he rested sweetly on my cheek, kissing it. 

[hannahsfanficsforyou]

A Whole New World Pt.4

I groan loudly as I hear a knock on my door and I roll over and put a pillow over my head “Go awayyyy” I say feeling exhausted from last nights endeavors....last night... “Ahhhh” I groan louder this time my face flushing with embarrassment as I remember “Laxus” I whisper and giggle, “ugh stop you are acting so dumb you don’t even know him, sure he saved you from those dudes but still...He probably just felt sorry for you and he probably saves girls all the time. Bleh with his looks he probably has lots of girls... Probably has herpes too.” Still I can’t help but giggle and squeeze my pillow thinking about him, but immediately drop my smile “stop acting like a little girl” I whisper to myself

“Hannah if you don’t get up and out here I’m going to burn this door down, it’s 12pm I’ve been trying to get you up for like two hours but we don’t have phones here so I can’t text or call you. Get your ass up!!” Aaliyah yells through my door

I groan again but reluctantly roll out of bed and put on my old clothes, God we have got to get a job today and get money to go shopping, our clothing probably smells gross. We have worn and sweated in them one day too long. I open the door and stick my tongue out at Aaliyah who is waiting for me outside with her arms crossed, “well lets go get a job and get that bag” I say while walking out the exit with her.

We walk in and my stomach immediately starts rumbling, “dude we need food money asap” I say as we walk towards the bar and take our seats, I smile at Mirajane “Hi Hannah and Aaliyah it’s good to see you both, I hope you both slept well in your new rooms, also come to take me up on the free food order?” 

My eyes light up “Oh yes please, I thought you might have been joking yesterday but I’m so glad you weren’t, we haven’t gone on a job yet so we are currently broke, haha” I say scratching the back of my head and grinning. She smiles back “I don’t joke about helping two newcomers out, give me a few minutes and I’ll be out with something for you both” She says with a wink.

“Damn, I think I have a girl crush on her dude.” I say to Aaliyah and we both laugh. A few minutes pass and Mirajane brings us two plates with sausage eggs and toast. My mouth waters “Thank you so much Mirajane” I say with a few dramatic tears in my eyes as I eat the delicious food. “You can call me Mira” Her smile seemed so sweet and pure, wow I really like it here, I wonder if everyone else is as nice as this. I look up at the second floor “Hey, Mira what’s up there? Is the second floor off limits, I don’t see anyone up there?” I ask while nibbling some of my toast. She nods while cleaning some drink glasses “Mm yes, the second floor has the S class job requests which is a rank you achieve by doing a promotion trial, its a series of tasks and compete against other wizards to test if you have the ability, talent and of course strength to get the title of S class. So far we only have three current S class wizards, four if you count me but I don’t really count myself since I don’t do those jobs. They are Gildarts who is always traveling on hard jobs and is almost never here, Erza who is also known at Titania and our strongest female wizard, not counting myself, and of course our masters grandson Laxus, he’s a bit distant from people not on his team but hes a softie deep down, don’t tell him I told you that.” She winked at me. “But S class jobs are usually much harder and more dangerous, but the reward is always much better, I always say the harder the task the more the jewels.” 

I laugh and continue to eat my food, hmm s class jobs maybe I can use my camouflage to sneak up there and take a peek. I giggle to myself and Aaliyah gives me a look I just wave her off, we could use the money but I guess we can take a regular job today so we can at least have money for new clothing. 

We are finishing up our food and a man with black hair and a chilly vibe comes and sits next to me “Hey, the names Gray, I haven’t seen you two around so I thought I would introduce myself. I’m an ice make wizard.” I shake his hand and smile “I’m Hannah and shes Aaliyah, I have erm, nature magic. And she has fire magic.” I say being vague with our powers just to keep it lowkey, don’t want everyone knowing we have origin magic, it might cause trouble. 

When I look back at him after looking at Aaliyah while introducing her I make the biggest ‘WTF’ face ever “Ummm, you seem to have... lost your clothing...” I say awkwardly trying to not look at his damn six pack right in front of me while blushing. Gray looks down a yells “Damnit sorry not again!” I give a little snort, I guess this guy strips, what, unconsciously? “Pfft” These people are something else. I giggle blushing at his crazy antics and then suddenly a dark shadow casts over me and a man steps right in between my stool and grays blocking my sight of him “Oh Laxus you are back, how was the job” I look up and my blush gets ten times worse just looking at him and remembering last night too.

I turn back in my seat back to my food, staring at my plate “It was fine, normal stuff, boring mostly.” He says nonchalantly and I risk sneaking a peak at him and we make eye contact and for a split second I see a small smirk on his face before he looks away. I huff in annoyance, jeez whats with this dude he might be hot but hes kind of annoying me, he seems so arrogant and full of himself, probably a leo too. “Hey Gray go put clothes on I’m gonna sit here.” He says as his presence alone causes Gray to move out of his chair and just nod. I raise my eyebrows and turn back to my food trying to finish faster. I turn away from Laxus to Aaliyah and she gives me a look “I’ll tell you later” I whisper and I grab her arm “time to get a job for once in our lives” I say as I jump off my stool and pull Aaliyah along with me to the request board. I can’t even be around him without feeling crazy, hmph I’ll just avoid him then, easy enough thanks to jobs.

We walk over to the bulletin board with job flyers all over it and a man standing staring at them, I smile “Hi I’m Hannah and this is Aaliyah, we are new” We both smile at him “are you looking for a job too, we’ve never taken a job before” I say to him as I look them over. “Hah, yeah right Nab never takes a job he just stands there all day staring.” A man shouts from a table near the board. Nab turns around “Yeah right Max I’m going to take a job one of these days I’m just waiting for one that only I can do!” I giggle at them and Nab turns to me “So what kind of magic do you two use” He asks “well, I use nature magic and she uses fire magic” He looks around and grabs one “This one might be a good one for your first job, not too hard but the pay is decent” I look at the flyer ‘Need help relighting our magic lanterns with long lasting fire, reward 100,000 jewels’ I hand it to Aaliyah “I think you can do it, I mean the pay is good to we split it and both get 50,000.” Aaliyah looks at me “Why would we split it I’d be doing all the work” I give her a fake shocked look “Oh my my, but we are a teammmm we are traveling together, teams split the reward, besides next time we will get a job that uses my magic and I’ll split it with you too.” I grin “Lets go, thanks Nab! I hope you find that job and it was good to meet you” I say waving and he smiles back “You too Hannah, Aaliyah, just clear the job with Mirajane before you go!” 

I rush over to Mira and hold out the flyer to her while purposely pretending Laxus wasn’t sitting right there and forcing myself not looking at him. Just act like he doesn’t exist then everything is fine, I keep chanting that to myself. Mira smiles and hands the flyer back to me “It looks good for you two good luck on your first job and don’t push yourself too hard!” Me and Aaliyah thank her and wave goodbye as we leave.

                _______________________________________________

Mira watches as Hannah and Aaliyah stroll out of the guild hall to their first job “My, what strange girls, and their magic power... It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before” She says to herself before looking at Laxus with a raised eyebrow “What was that then hmmm” She says slyly while grinning “Does the big bad Laxus Drayer have an interest in our newcomer Hannah” He just stars at her before scoffing and downing the rest of his drink, standing up and walking away. Mira giggles “Oh this is very interesting” She says to herself while cleaning Laxus mug.

               _______________________________________________

“SO! The village is just up a few mile north of Magnolia, jeez as soon as we make money we can take a train next time, no wonder everyone here is so fit looking they work out doing jobs and hiking around towns. My legs are gonna be so dead by the time we get there. God I bet it looks beautiful in the fall and winter though, I can’t wait.” I say while smiling and me and Aaliyah walk down the dirt path towards a small town called Aspen village. 

When we reach the town we see the flyer said to go to the mayors house so we ask around until someone tells us where it is. We knock on the door and a tall elderly man answers the door. “Hello sir, we are wizards from Fairy Tail here to do the job you requested!” I say and me and Aaliyah smile at him. 

“Ah yes, thank you, every year or so we need wizards to relight them with special long lasting fire instead of wasting money on resources for the lights. Just go around and light each one then come back and I’ll have your reward.It interesting to have a different fire wizard this time, we usually have a very destructive but boisterous young man who comes, it’s good to see new faces though, you Fairy Tail wizards are always so kind. ” He says to us and we smile then head out into the town again.

“Hmm looks like you have competition for best fire wizard in the guild then, we haven’t met him yet he sounds.. Interesting, I’ll try not to judge before meeting him.” I say poking Aaliyah in the side. 

She laughs “yeah okay he’s probably better than me right now, but we just got here, he’s been here his whole life, probably learning magic since he was little, so it’s not exactly fair to compare yet, but hey Ignis said our origin magic has the potential to be stronger than any wizard in this world if we train enough. So eventually I can probably beat him if I had to.” I nod at her words

We walk along the street, Aaliyah lighting each street light as we come across them. “Hm, it is weird, to know you control such powerful magic, I could sense Laxus’s power last night, honestly it was the most intense thing I have ever felt, I don’t want to get on his bad side, I guess that means they can sense our magic too then. I wonder if it feels strong or weak right now, pfft my guess is weak, at least for now.” 

Aaliyah is about to light another street light but she stops and turns to me “wait what do you mean Laxus last night? What the hell, tell me everything right now”

“AHG” I say forgetting I hadn’t told her yet about last night events “crap, I forgot to tell you, I was going to but then he showed up this morning and distracted the pants off of me, not in a sexual sense, well kind of, but also that other dudes pants too. Wow this is a weird world man.” I say while laughing really loud. Aaliyah laughs with me as we keep walking and she works on the street lights “Soooo stop avoiding it what happened, you two didn’t....Hook upppp did you??” 

My face flushes “WHAT, oh my lord stop playing around, a man like that would never want a girl like me, I mean get real did you see the girls around the guild, they all look so much better than me and I mean him and Mira would make such a good match, shes an S class, or former S class wizard and he is too, I mean I heard that her and this other girl Erza are the two most powerful girls in the guild. They would make a great couple, I can’t compete with that, and I bet he has hordes of girls and fans who he could have any time he wants.” I say fake smiling “Besides I don’t like him, I just think hes hot, I don’t even know the man.” 

Aaliyah looks at me “Righhhhht, first off you are gorgeous, stop acting like you aren’t, the other girls might be pretty too but that doesn’t make you any less hot, stop putting yourself down, and pffft who cares about being powerful besides the fact that we ARE strong, Ignis and Terra told us we are remember we have origin magic which is apparently I don’t know TERRIFYING, we just need to train! And don’t you like being weaker than the man, who knows maybe he wants a girl he can protect and be strong for.” She says while throwing up another flame into the street light. “NOW stop avoiding the subject and making me go off on a rant, what happened last night!”

I sigh and dip my head and retell the events of last night. She looks shocked “Are you serious, you went out alone, at night, in a city we just got to, and you got lost HAHA, oh man I’m sorry I shouldn’t laugh, that sucks I would have beat those dudes down. I guess its good Laxus was there, man why didn’t you use your magic?” I let out another dramatic sigh 

“I don’t knooooow, I was just so terrified it’s like my brain stopped working, I’m really glad he was there, who knows what would have happened, God it’s kinda cliche though isn’t it. Like a damn movie.” I say rolling my eyes but blush thinking about how it ended. “Still I think he might like you, that little way he teased you when he brought you back, now I would have killed to see your face when he did that, I bet you were so embarrassed, honestly it’s weird that he heard you though, we were pretty far away from him when you said it... Maybe it’s part of his magic?” She adds. 

“Eh?” I furrow my brows “But he has lightning magic how does advanced hearing go with that” She shrugs “Maybe lightning is just his main magic, and he has some other abilities too, you make him sound strong enough to take down this whole town, who knows what he has under his sleeve.” I giggle.

“Oh I KNOW he has GODLY biceps I haven’t seen him shirtless but I just know, under that sexy coat he always wears he has the biggest arms that could rival The Rocks.” Aaliyah looks at me, “Hannah you are drooling.” I quickly whip my hand up to my face “Oh haha, nice one, I can’t wait till you see a hot magic wizard man and I get to tease you about it.” 

“So far not one man has caught my eye I’ll tell you that.” She says and I hum “Suree, just wait it’ll happen and when it does I’ll be righhhht there waiting.” I cross my arms as I walk beside her, “there we go, that should be the last one I think, I tried to think in my head burn for a very long time please, while lighting each one. I hope they actually stay for a while or I’ll feel pretty shitty.” 

I laugh “who knows with our origin magic you might have accidentally made them burn forever and then we won’t ever get to come back and make more money here.” Her eyes widen “Do you think I could actually do that, that’s kind of scary.” 

“Pffff, who knows, we honestly don’t know our true strength yet, I mean I can do camouflage why couldn’t you create I don’t know, infinity flames.” I say while waving my hands dramatically.

We walk back to the mayors house and get our reward, 50,000 jewels each. We wave goodbye to the mayor and head off back to Magnolia.

“Look we can take the train now, but we should probably buy a bag or purse to keep our money in when we get back. Hey are you okay?” I say to Aaliyah and she nods “Yeah just glad we can take the train, using all that magic really drained me, I don’t think I could walk back home.” 

We buy our train tickets and board, “Gosh, we really need to train, we can’t save the world if this drains us, maybe we can get a mentor? Someone who can teach us how to use our magic” I suggest 

“Yeah but we could just call up the origin ghosts, they said we could contact them if we had questions, I mean they are ghosts what else do they have to do all day.” Aaliyah says looking sleepy. “Hm, yeah but I think It would be better if we got someone actually living, maybe we can ask who we should ask to be our mentors though, I bet they know a bunch of powerful wizards with the same kind of magic as us.” Aaliyah just nods and we eventually reach Magnolia.

“Okay, I know you are tired but we should go shopping, we really need new clothing, and a bag and some food, then we go home.” I say as we get off the train.

We walk through the streets of Magnolia until we find a clothing shop and I drag Aaliyah inside. We both go around the shop and I find a cute olive green romper with a matching headband, “Hmm, 10,000 jewels, I’ll take it” I buy the outfit and buy a bag to go with the outfit and to keep my money in. Aaliyah picks out a cute black tank top with red pants, a matching black bag and “Ohh look at us we both have headbands, we are so cute. Come on food is next!” I say hurriedly as we run off to the market.

We both pick out different ingredients and two different cook books to use, I go to reach for a bag of chips that look yummy but my hand connects with someone else reaching for the same bag. An electric current runs all the way up my arm “Jesus, you scared me sorry I mean you can take them.” I look up at him and I fidget looking down at some other snacks as he grabs the bag of chips and buys them. “Here” he says as he hands them to me and walks off down the street. 

I blink a few times... “Uhm, thanks..” I can feel the heat in my face again, but he was already gone. “Stop stop, it was just a weird conicidence and he was just being nice.” I say smacking myself in the face a few times and Aaliyah walks over looking at me weird “Stop looking at me like that!!” I snap “AHG sorry god he always has to show up at weird times doesn’t he.” 

“Dude Laxus again?!” Aaliyah says “What happened now?” 

“BAH he tried to grab a bag of chips I was also trying to grab to buy and duh our stupid hands touched, dumbass lightning wizard I got shocked. And then he bought them after I said he could have them and he gave them to me, the nerve!” I say with a huff. Aaliyah laughs “Oh man, this is so funny, you like him so bad it hurts.” I glare at her “Hell no, come on lets go home”

I turn around and walk back towards Fairy Hills. We both go into my dorm “I’ll cook tonight I think i got some good stuff, and this cookbook has so many recipes I’m excited to try!” 

We get to work in the kitchen and make braised fish with miso soup. We eat and laugh together, “man I feel more like an adult here than I ever did back home” I say while eating some soup.

“I mean we are only 18 it’s not like we had to instantly become adults at 18″ Aaliyah says and I sigh “I know I know but I just feel like at least I’m accomplishing something, I never felt like I did anything in our world, I feel like I have a purpose here, and I’m glad we came to this world together, I don’t know if I could have been here by myself.” We both smile and I add “hey I wonder what the drinking age is here.” Aaliyah scoffs “of course you would want to know”

“Come onnnn it could be funn, I wonder what wizard alcohol tastes like, haha oh I bet they have hot springs we can visit, ohhh I’m so excited even though the world is gonna end and we have to stop it and we need to train, I don’t care right now. I’m just excited to explore and have fun too!” We both laugh and talk the rest of the night, just like back home.

[mirajens]

sweet as cherry wine

rating: m pairing: mirajane/laxus, mirajane/erza, erza/jellal  found: ff.n and ao3 note: this is 99.9% angst dedicated to mE 

Mirajane

Erza comes to me when her life is in shambles.

Perhaps it’s leftover habit from when we were young and there was nothing for childhood trauma and teenage plight except for temporary warmth in each other’s arms. I used to not mind it so much. I’d thought it was just a necessity. Over time, it nurtured my fascination into something much more gripping. I see it in other people, how they see red hair and go glossy-eyed. Of course, I am different. I don’t think about how she doesn’t really have much of a selection. Or rather, a pleasant selection. Aside from me, there are men who are more muscle than brain, used to satisfy passing lust.

I want to believe that Erza likes me best.

Often I find myself wishing misery on her. When the nights are lonely, my imagination is most vivid. I dream of men breaking Erza so she will seek out relief in me. I think of them grabbing her beautiful scarlet hair and telling her cruel things so when they leave her with a broken spirit, I will be there and she will love me. She will climb into bed with me and shed tears over all that hurts. She will touch me and kiss me and try to find on my skin and flesh what those men can’t give her. I will be everything she needs.

Erza Scarlet will love me that night. She will love me until she finds someone else to love and I will spiral back into depraved thought, wishing wickedness on her until it comes true and she finds her way back to me again.

When Erza weeps in my arms, I inspect myself for remorse for wanting that unkindness on her, or even depending on the inevitability of it. Yet, I find none. I tell myself, Erza is where she belongs. It’s regrettable that she has to suffer to get here, but the end is all the same. I have to be content with that. I have to accept the certainty of such; even if she cries so hard my pillows are damp until the next evening.

I imagine this is how thieves don’t think about which poor creature they’re stealing from just so the bills get paid. When I see Erza cry, my relief is greater than my pity.

She looks up to me, her arms circled around my stomach, her tears wet on my chest. “Mira,” she says, hoarse and pitiful. “You’re good to me. You never hurt me. I love you.”

I want to tell her yes, of course, I’m the only one who loves you, Erza. I’ll wait until your flights of fancy expire and come crawling back like a kicked dog that never learns. Erza will never know that in my mind, it’s dark for her and I intend to be the only light.

Instead of answering, I kiss the crown of her head and stroke the red silk of her hair, thinking she might love me, but she loves a lot of people, too. We’re not nice people, yet that only affirms my belief that we belong to each other.

.

.

Laxus

I know a pattern when I see one.

I know that when Erza leaves, Mira is at her most vulnerable. It’s not something I can stomach most days. Mirajane, that pretty little thing, comes to my door with bloodshot eyes that look more livid than sad. Even when I feel badly for her, I want to close the door on her. Because every time I let her in, we end up fucking and it makes me feel crude.

I know I’m being used when I see it.

Mira asks if she can come in and I let her. She knows her way to the cabinet that houses liquor that have been there since before I was born, collected by my grandfather’s father, passed down to mine, then all left to me when my family ceased to consist of gravestones. Mira shows me a bottle that I don’t think she knows how to drink and asks me if we can help ourselves. She looks like a girl who’s trying to be more mature than she is. I almost tell her this, and this isn’t the first almost. This game she plays with Erza is foolish and long-running; something children do when they can find nothing more meaningful in their lives. And it’s funny, isn’t it, how I’m playing right into it? Like Mira, don’t I wait for the inevitable, too, and benefit a cheap, meaningless fuck out of it?

I hold my tongue. I’m not sure I even want to deal with Mira when she gets even more worked up by me saying so.

I tell her to bring it to the living room and I go make sandwiches. The whole thing is kind of funny, objectively. My palms are damp while I build bread, ham and cheese. I know we won’t eat it same as I know that she’ll only wait the polite ten minutes before insinuating what she really came here for. Something nauseating roils in my gut and I imagine its dread. For what? Guilt for taking advantage of a confused girl? Unease at the notion that I am equally being taken advantage of and that when the lust passes, I’ll be left with debasing sentiments?

I join her and give her half a sandwich, anyway.

“I take it Erza left again? Jellal’s back in town. Must be why.” I don’t say this to rile Mirajane up. I just don’t know what else to share with her these days. It’s been so long since we had anything substantial between us. Things haven’t been the same since Lisanna died.

Gramps always said I had a stupid mouth. That I didn’t think of the shit I said or about the people I upset. I guess he was right because Mirajane looks mad. She looks mad before she looks cold and then she’s kissing me. It’s never been the sweet kind. Mira kisses like I am responsible for every shitty thing that’s ever happened to her. Sometimes, she kisses so hard she leaves blood in my mouth. Maybe I like it because she’s still here, isn’t she? I keep opening the damn door to her.

She’s already crawled onto my lap, foregoing the polite ten minutes that has been customary up until this night. I push her off so she looks twice as pissed as she is, and grab at the whisky she opened but didn’t touch. There aren’t any glasses so I drink right from the bottle, as if this scenario can afford to look any more gauche than it already does. It burns down my throat but settles warmly into my stomach, enough for me to face Mira again, though nothing leaves me prepared for the look on her face.

I get on top of her and kiss her so I don’t have to look at her anymore. Falling back into old habits feels natural when I don’t see how life has hollowed out her eyes. It’s easy now that I convinced myself enough that she wants this more than I do, and she wouldn’t be here if she didn’t need this so much. We’re all creatures of comfort. Maybe hers is cathartic sex with me, and mine is just her in particular.

I don’t even dare say it. I don’t even dare think it. That I love Mirajane, who only ever violently obsesses over Erza Scarlet.

.

.

Jellal

Maybe I am sick.

Something swims in my blood and it makes me tireless and agitated. I can’t settle down. There is always something to chase, some ghost to put to rest, an evil to be eliminated, a war to end. Or maybe I am just making excuses. Maybe I’m terrified of what planting roots will mean for me.

I don’t belong in Magnolia. I’m not built to bask in open sunlight or accept what life has to offer. I try to visualize being surrounded by friendly people but all I can see is how disappointed they will be when they find nothing good in me; everything in here is damaged, after all. I belong in the shadows where my only companions are wretch like me. After years of madness, I don’t know how to embrace normal. It will never have me, or I it.

I imagine life with Erza and it makes my ulcer boil, for how can I subject her to spending her days loving a wild thing? One would think repugnance of self gets tedious after puberty but I know how dangerous I am. How pathetic, how deranged, how obscure. Sometimes I feel like the only good I’ve done was staying away, keeping her safe on a pedestal.

But when she comes to me, I cannot stop her. I can make meteors bend to my will but I’m too weak to turn a girl away.

Just one more time, I promise myself. Maybe I say it out loud because Erza tightens her hold on me and I let her.

It’s not like I’m not already suffocated by her.

.

.

Erza

I feel all sensation boil down to a single instinct when Laxus tells me Jellal is in town. Laxus is a big man, but he looks like he’s trying to fold into himself, back against the bar, eyes shifting, sotto voce, giving me the location of a safe house Master Makarov keeps just west of the woods. His surreptitious nature eludes me; my mind is too busy figuring out the most efficient route to that cottage by the dead oaks.

I am a noisy traveler. My armor creaks and my booted feet stomp, yet all I can hear is the pounding of my pulse against my eardrums like a war beat preluding fateful demise. The cottage is easy enough to find. The thin trail of smoke coming out of the chimney makes my heart beat faster. He’s here. I know he is.

I knock on the door before cowardice eats me alive. I don’t know why it stuns me when the door opens and I see his face, the dark marks on his face, the shock of his hair, the disappointment in his eyes. He’s here and my chest decompresses. What did I expect? Not this, surely. It always feels too good to be true when I catch up to him.

I don’t know what to say. It’s been so long and this time is entirely different from every other time fate has bought him back to me. There are no more wars, no more great monsters, no more excuses between us. And what can I tell him? Won’t you stay? I’ve been trying to fill the hole you left behind but nothing fits quite right. I’m already begging. I’d throw everything away for you.

He already knows that. I’ve already said it too many times to mean anything now. Instead of forcing my mind to find something to say, I step into the small house. Jellal never turns me away but I imagine it’s just a small mercy before he disappears.

I wrap my arms around him and it’s a peaceful start to what will be a storm.

Much later, when we’re undressed, lounging on a hard pallet, with my hands roaming as if to memorize the shape of him in the dark, I try not to think about how sunrise will take him away yet again.

[ycmiis-blog]

now recording {chapter three}

When upcoming YouTuber Lucy Heartfilia finds herself collaborating with popular channel Fairy Tail, she ends up getting more than she bargained for. ( ff.net // ao3 )

( ONE  TWO )

'can lucy be here every week.'

'i will literally give all my organs to have lucy be a regular.'

'Are you guys sure this is the first time Lucy's met any of them? She fits in so well!'

Lucy scrolls through the comments of the most recent Fairy Tail Friday video. It's only a few hours before she has to go record the next one, and she's still mulling over her answer. While she knows that she doesn't have to answer today, she wants to, because after today, she doesn't know when she's going to see all of them again. She may have Levy's number, but she's the only one she knows how to contact. Note to self: remedy that.

The thing is, she's ninety-nine per cent sure of her decision. She's found a place close to the studio that allows pets and has a decent rent, even if it's smaller than her current address. Mirajane ran the numbers with her before she went home the previous week, which was nice of her, so she knows what she would be paid if she joined them. Not that it matters. They could be paying her with those fake chocolate coins and she would be happy to join them. It's not her willingness to join that's the problem.

It all comes down to how spontaneous she thinks she's being. Everything is happening so fast, it's so difficult for her to wrap her head around, yet she doesn't want this opportunity to pass her by. That would be disastrous. And looking back, some of her best decisions have been made without too much preparation. Her running away from home had truly been a rash decision fuelled by one last argument with her father tipping the scales toward her breaking point, and now she feels more free than she ever did growing up. Starting her YouTube channel had even been a product of boredom one lazy Sunday when she had nothing to do, but her mind was full of thoughts about the book she just read, and she had to let her thoughts out somewhere.

She looks at Plue, who is once again resting on her bed. "What do you think, Plue? Should I do it?"

Plue barks and wags his tail, and she thinks it's as good a sign as any.

"Alright, let's do it."

When Lucy walks into the studio, she comes face-to-face - well, actually, face-to-chest - with Elfman, who's carrying several crates of electrical equipment. She quickly jumps back and peers around the crates so she can see him properly. "Hey, Elfman!"

Elfman shifts the crates to one arm like it's no big deal and her eyes widen, shocked at how damn strong he is. She knows he works out, it's all over his channel, but what she sees in his videos is nothing compared to seeing him in real life. He doesn't seem to notice, just greeting her with a brief wave and a grin as he walks over to the corner and dumps the creates on the ground.

"How's it goin', Lucy?" he asks, dusting his hands off. "Ready to sing your lungs out?"

Lucy's smile tenses. "Well, as ready as I'll ever be, I guess. I'm not the best singer, but something tells me that's not going to matter."

Elfman's laugh is boisterous, echoing around the entrance. "Nah, it won't. Most of us can't hold a tune to save our lives."

"Good thing we're not saving any lives then," Lucy says, heading inside to the main set. Everyone else already seems to be there, and she's quickly spotted by both Mira and Levy. They rush over to her immediately.

"Lucy!" Mira greets her by giving her a big hug, which Lucy definitely wasn't expecting, but she isn't about to push her away. She's always down for hugs. "How was your week?"

She just shrugs before Levy goes in for a hug as well. "Same old, same old. Nothing really interesting happened this week. My daily vlogs weren't really daily, they were just a weekly wrap-up, really."

And it's true. Her life seems to pale in comparison to her time spent with the Fairy Tail members, and she's not sure whether that's because she's had their offer bouncing around her head for the whole week or if she's always felt this way and it just took their influence to bring that side out of her. She doesn't think it matters either way. She's already applied for the apartment, she's ready to resign from her current job, and she's more than ready to join the others with their company.

Before any of them can say another word, Erza speaks up from the set, "Alright, guys, let's go!"

Everyone heads to the set's sofas, Lucy taking a seat between Natsu and Cana. Natsu grins at her and she waves back, not as uneasy as she was a little over a week ago when she'd seen all those comments on Levy's video. The shipping comments had, admittedly, freaked her out a little, but texting Levy had helped ease her worries. This was what came with being high-profile.

'It's nothing to worry about!' Levy had texted. 'People ship all of us together all the time, so you can just ignore it!'

Lucy took that advice and has forgotten about it completely. Natsu's a friendly guy, so of course he would treat her as though she's one of them. It's best to let the fans think what they like.

Warren does the usual countdown and Mira jumps into frame like she's a talk show host, which isn't entirely wrong. "Hello, Fairies! Welcome back to Fairy Family Friday, and we're once again here with the lovely Lucy," she gestures to Lucy, who waves, "and we're about to make fools of ourselves again, because today we're singing until our lungs shrivel up and turn to dust."

"I don't think lungs can do that," Laxus says, but he's ignored.

"Today, we'll be singing duets, and the pairings will be decided completely and utterly randomly in the most cliche way possible - drawing names from a hat!" Bisca tosses the cowboy hat she often wears and Mirajane drops a bunch of papers inside after she catches it.

The pairs are drawn after that, completely at random. Natsu and Kinana, Max and Lucy, Bickslow and Nab, Jet and Elfman, Cana and Bisca, Droy and Levy, Alzack and Mira, Laxus and Lisanna, Gray and Laki, Erza and Evergreen, and Vijeeter and Freed. Lucy is slightly nervous because she doesn't really know Max, but when she catches his eye from across the room, he gives her a thumbs up. It's a small gesture, but it's reassuring. She doesn't know what it is about the Fairy Tail members and their ability to put her at ease, but she's here for it completely.

Long story short, most people's singing is abysmal. Kinana is a diamond in the rough, her voice sweet and clear as she sings alongside Natsu's questionable vocals, and she even seems in her element. Lucy wonders if she's done this before. Kinana is one of the only members who doesn't have a personal channel of her own, though she often appears in everyone else's videos, securing her spot as a permanent fixture in Fairy Tail. Perhaps she's had experience performing? Lucy makes a note to herself to ask her about that later.

Mira, Lisanna, and Vijeeter are contenders for the next best. Lucy isn't surprised by Mira and Lisanna, since she's heard their voices before in several of their vlogs, but Vijeeter catches her off-guard. She can't help but clap after he and Freed are done, and she isn't the only one. Freed asks him how he ended up being so good and he responds with, "I can't be a professional with just one talent, not in this economy."

In the end, Vijeeter and Freed are the winners and Bickslow and Nab slide into last place, only just behind Erza and Evergreen (who is sulking after Jet made a comment about her unique singing style).

"Whaaaaaaat?" Cana whines, flopping down on the couch without looking and almost suffocating Gray in the process. "But I wanted to continue my winging streak! I have an amazing voice!"

Gray snorts, pushing Cana to the side. "Are you crazy? I've heard how you sing in the shower, do you know how many times the neighbours have complained?"

Mira does the outro and Warren finishes with a, "That's a wrap! Great job, guys."

Lucy lets herself relax, wiggling her arms around to get rid of the nervous tension she'd been building up throughout the whole thing. As much as she feels at ease around the Fairy Tail members, there is still that sense of self-doubt that comes with being in a new environment, especially one that she never thought she would be in. Filming is fun, but exhausting. Yet she wouldn't change that for the world.

Before she can do much else, Natsu takes the spot beside her with his usual charismatic smile. "So, Lucy, thought about our offer yet?"

Lucy isn't even surprised that he jumps straight into what he wants rather than making small-talk. It's clear from his videos that this is the type of person he is, but she actually quite likes it. It's a nice change to the people she's surrounded herself with her whole life. She wishes she was able to be so candid all the time, but whenever she tries, she just overthinks things.

"Well, actually, I have," she starts slowly, trying to stop the grin from spreading across her face too early. She's been ready to tell the others all day. "And, well, I've applied for an apartment that allows pets and I've got all the forms ready quit my job, so I don't see why not?"

She didn't think Natsu's smile would be able to get any bigger, but he proves her wrong. "Seriously? That's great! Time to celebrate, I should check what we're having for dinner, but first -" He cuts himself off and stands on the couch, his sneakers staining the leather with dirt. "Hey, guys! Lucy agreed to join us! Permanently!"

There is a chorus of cheers and Lucy is reminded of just last week when all of them agreed that they wanted her here. She covers her mouth with her hands and looks down, trying to hide just how happy she is, but she doubts it's working. Not with everyone looking at her like she's just done something impressive or won some award, and honestly? She can't help but feel the same way.

"So, new member, you know what this means," Lisanna says, swatting Elfman's arm off of her head, which he was using as an armrest. "Party at Yajima's!"

Yajima's ends up being a restaurant in town called 8-Island. Lucy vaguely remembers it being mentioned in the Raijinshu's videos of all things, and she thinks she's seen the place in some of their videos, since the interior looks familiar despite her never having been here before. The few patrons who are still in the midst of their meal look up at the large group. The only person who doesn't seem perturbed by their arrival is the man behind the counter, and Lucy assumes he's Yajima from the way everyone greets him as they approach.

They're given the longest table in the place, and even then they have to push tables together and move chairs around so they'll all fit. This isn't the first time Lucy has attended such a large dinner - actually, she's attended dinners with far more people than this, but those were all high-class and uptight, so they don't count - but it's the first time she's felt as though she can be herself at one, and that is a success in itself. It helps that this is a party to celebrate her, even if it's just an excuse for everyone to run around and get drunk. Providing Cana doesn't hoard all the alcohol for herself.

"Order what you like, I'm paying!" Mira says, waving her menu around, almost whacking Elfman in the face.

Cana raises her still-empty glass with a, "Mira, the light of my life, my queen, my everything!"

Lucy giggles as she opens her menu. There's more of a selection than she originally thought, and she becomes absorbed in all the delicious-sounding dishes for a good few minutes. It's only when she hears a, "The Spaghetti and Meatball Supreme is the best, I'm just putting it out there."

She looks up at Natsu's grinning face for a brief moment before searching for the spaghetti dish on the menu, finding it beneath the 'Bestsellers' title. "Well, I guess I'll have to give that a try, won't I? I'll probably have a milkshake with it."

"Not a beer? Just checking, 'cause Cana's gonna have drunk it all in the next half our if you're not quick," he says, and sure enough, Cana's glass is now filled to the top.

"I'm driving, remember?" Lucy reminds him, setting her menu down. "I'd rather not get pulled over for a DUI."

From Lucy's other side, Erza says, "Are you sure you'll be alright driving home tonight? I know you took your car, but we could look after it and drive you home ourselves, we don't mind."

Lucy shakes her head. "No, it's fine. I've driven longer trips at this time of night."

"If you're sure," Erza says, leaving it at that as Yajima himself comes to collect their orders.

Once everyone has decided what they want to eat and drink, Lucy asks both Erza and Natsu, "So, you guys come here a lot, right? Do you guys know Yajima personally, or do you just like this place that much?"

"Both," Natsu says, leaning back in his chair. "You know Makarov, right? Laxus' grandpa, he's in a shitload of our videos. He and Yajima are old friends and it was him who introduced us to the place, thought it would be great for it to get some exposure on our channels. Yajima told us not to go overboard, though, so we just end up vlogging while we're here. We make sure we mention the name and everything."

Lucy definitely remembers. It's hard not to when the old man stands out like a sore thumb despite his height. In contrast to Laxus, he's enthusiastic and ready to take on any challenge the team or the viewers give him despite his elderly status. If Lucy didn't know any better, she might assume that he was thirty years younger than he actually is.

"That's so nice of you," she says in a soft voice. "And from what I've seen of it, this place deserves recognition."

"Just wait 'til you taste the food," Gray says from the spot across from her (wait, where did his shirt go?), and Lucy figures he's been listening the whole time. "Then you'll know just how great this place is."

Lucy doesn't have to wait that long to test his claim. Their food arrives faster than she expected, especially with so many of them here, but when she asks about it, Erza just tells her that 8-Island has the best customer service out of all the restaurants in their area. Lucy doesn't know whether she's saying that because it's true or because she's biased, but she doesn't mind. She would be the same way.

"This smells amazing," she says as the smell of her Spaghetti and Meatball Supreme invades her senses. She's sure her mouth is watering.

Natsu nudges her, his mouth already full with steak. "It tastes amazing, too!" he says, though his voice is muffle by his food.

Lucy wastes no time in digging in, and she isn't disappointed. The pasta isn't soggy, but it isn't hard. The meatballs are the perfect size to fit in her mouth. The sauce, the Sauce, just tops everything off. Whatever method Yajima uses to get his dishes out so quickly doesn't lower the quality by any means. She doesn't talk for so long, just letting herself enjoy her meal, and she almost forgets that she has a strawberry milkshake to go along with it. When she does remember, she takes one sip and almost sighs in contentment. It should be illegal for food to be this good.

"Having fun?" Natsu asks, his steak now completely gone, leaving only a trace of sauce on his otherwise clean plate.

She nods eagerly as she rushes to swallow the meatball in her mouth. "This is amazing. I haven't had food this amazing in ages."

He laughs, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before reaching out to steal one of her meatballs. It's gone before she can react, going straight into his mouth, and she gasps in surprise. "How dare you! What is it with you and stealing my food?"

"I like food," he says simply. "Besides, your reaction when I steal something of yours is hilarious."

She points her fork at him, as if doing so is a legitimate threat. "I will stab you with this."

His laughter only grows from there, and she's unable to keep her own down, bursting into a fit of giggles. It only stops when Natsu's phone goes off, and he snorts as he checks his messages. She raises an eyebrow, an unasked question, though she doesn't speak aloud in case it's a personal message.

"It's just my little cousin, Wendy," Natsu says as he replies. "I dunno if you've seen her in our videos or whatever, but she's mad we went to Yajima's without her. She's studying for exams right now."

Lucy does remember Wendy. It's hard not to when she's in most of his vlogs, since she lives with him, and she's sometimes even there for Fairy Family Fridays. She's adorable. Lucy can't imagine her being mad aside from the adorable little pout she sometimes does when Natsu makes fun at her expense, though even that is a rare occurrence. Everyone seems to love and protect Wendy around here.

"Tell her I said good luck. She's a high school student, right?" Lucy says, finishing the rest of her pasta, leaving only one meatball that she quickly claims with her fork before Natsu gets any ideas.

Natsu nods and types again before setting his phone back down on the table. "She is. She and Romeo - you've probably seen him, too, he's like our mini-intern? That's what I call him, anyway - are in most of the same classes, so they're studying together with Chelia, another friend of theirs. They're cat-sitting while we're here, too."

Lucy wants to ask about the cats when Cana interrupts all conversation by tapping her fork against her glass as she stands on her seat. If Yajima notices, he doesn't care. "Alright, alright, everyone finished? It's time for a toast!" She raises her glass even higher as everyone else grabs theirs. "To Lucy!"

"To Lucy!" everyone repeats, though Lucy stays silent. She finds it strange to make a toast to herself, but she raises her milkshake and takes a long sip anyway, just so she can join in the festivities.

They all leave not long after that, and it's only because of Yajima's coaxing. They're cutting it too close to closing time, apparently, but by the look on the older man's face, he doesn't mind that much. Lucy wonders if this is a common occurrence. With this group, she wouldn't be surprised.

Everyone starts piling into cars, and Lucy starts heading for Erza's when the woman in question lightly tugs on her arm, signalling for her to stay. Lucy blinks as she turns to Erza, though she's sure she hasn't done anything wrong. She quickly goes over the night's events in her head. Did she ask too much? Did she eat too quickly? Should she have spoken during the toast?

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble," Erza says with a light laugh, as though reading her mind. "I just wanted to talk to you about something."

Lucy lets her shoulders sag, just a little. "Alright, sure."

Erza presses her lips together for a moment before speaking again. "I know this offer came up very quickly and it may seem very relaxed, but something we do with all our new employees is a background check of sorts, just to make sure you are who you say you are, that you're safe, things like that. We haven't done anything official yet, just a Google search. I just wanted to know if it's alright to proceed with the background check."

Lucy's stomach drops, but not because she's done anything wrong. A background check means risking the exposure of her past, and she doesn't know if she'll be able to handle that, not when she feels so at home with all these people. She hasn't told anyone in this new life of hers. Even Plue wasn't with her in her previous life; he's a stray puppy she found while running away.

Still, she says, "Yeah, that's fine," in a quiet voice.

Erza pauses again. "If this is about the Heartfilia Konzern, I already know."

The nauseous feeling in Lucy's stomach triples. "Does everyone know?"

"No," Erza says, and Lucy sighs in relief. "Just me and Mira. We won't ask why you left and we won't tell anyone else if you don't want us to. Just know that we aren't here to know Lucky Lucy Heartfilia of the Heartfilia Konzern. We just want to know Lucy."

Lucy just stares because she doesn't think anyone has actually said that to her before. There are people back home who care about her, like Spetto and Bero, but she always wonders whether they were only pretending for the sake of their jobs. They addressed her as 'milady' and the like, and went above and beyond to make her happy, but they shouldn't have had to. All she wanted was a friend to talk to. She didn't (and still doesn't) what this class divide, she doesn't want anyone to feel as though they have to be nice to her, she just wants friends. And that's exactly what Erza is offering her here.

She doesn't realise she's crying until Erza starts panicking. "Lucy, are you alright? I didn't say anything wrong, did I?"

Lucy smiles and shakes her head as she wipes her eyes. "No, it's just - what you said means a lot to me, that's all."

Erza's panic subsides. "Okay, good. Just know that we're here for you to talk to if you need it."

"Thank you," Lucy says.

"C'mon, you guys, get in the car before I start driving this thing myself!" Cana shouts from the passenger seat.

Erza rolls her eyes, and Lucy laughs as she slides into the backseat, forcing Gray to move closer to Natsu so they're side-by-side. Their bickering only makes things more entertaining, and she hopes that things can stay this way for a long while yet.

[tubbotums]

A Serious Talk

*This talk is very long and ranty. I understand not everyone wants to see that on their feed, and I know you guys don’t come here to see personal biznasty. I’m going to cut this off so you don’t have to read it if you don’t want to, but I please ask you do so if you follow my blog for the most part. I feel it’s important for you guys to see this, and I hope it’ll clear up any questions you might have for me and also give you a little insight on who I am. Thank you for reading in advance if you do so, and I hope you have a great day. <3*

It’s time I sit you all down and have a talk with you guys, my lovely followers, roleplay partners and friends. This is a talk I feel like I’ve needed to have for a while with all of you, just to be honest with you guys about me and what I feel about this blog. I think honesty is the best policy, and getting this out there is something that I feel like needs to be done.

So, as all of you are probably aware at this point, I change muses on this blog as quickly as I change pairs of socks. Some come, some go, some stay for a while and then fade away and end up getting booted. For a while, I really felt like I had a good list of muses to use, and I actually really thought that my current batch was nice. That being said, now that I take a more serious look at them, I realize that there are a few problems with it. A lot of my muse picks are for characters that I really love and want to see fat. characters that can really fit a specific thing I’m trying to do when I feel it a certain day. However, that’s the problem:

My muse list isn’t flexible

There are a couple of muses that get attention by the masses (heh puns), such as Yang or Mia and most recently Momo (seriously y’all love her so much). But that leaves another half that I’m not satisfied with, the “niche” characters if you will. These are the characters that when I’m in a certain mood I’ll be like “hey I wanna play them”, but they aren’t ones that’ll catch anyone’s attention. I’ve come to notice around here that Fate, Touhou, DanganRonpa, and a couple of other series are very popular around here, while others such as Fairy Tail or Skullgirls aren’t, and that’s perfectly fine. I have no problem with that because quite honestly the girls in all those series are on a god level of cute/perfect for these situations. But unfortunately for now, that leaves me stuck. I’ve never watched a Fate series, played a match in Touhou or touched a DanganRonpa game, but I’ve watched 200+ episodes of Fairy Tail and played the mobile game of Skullgirls to basically its entirety at this point. I don’t have a lot of muses that are flexible with things people know and that I know, which really does stink at times. I should know better than this at this point, but quite honestly I don’t because part of me thinks it’s on me for not being a good enough writer and keeping you guys interested in my muses. So, at this point I’m going to make clear who the muses I’m going to be trotting out for now:

Yang Xiao Long

Tohru

Mia Fey

Pharah

Momo Yaoyorozu

Now that leaves Erza, Cerebella and Akira gone. Most of you will probably ask why I would get rid of Akira. After all, he’s from a very popular game a lot of you know, and he’s the only male muse on here that I can’t stop talking about. The issue I’m having with Akira now is that he’s certainly fallen into that niche roll. I won’t always be in the mood to do a thread for him and I’ll leave my RP partners on wait for weeks on end, which isn’t right for them at all. I’m not at a point on my blog where it’s active enough to maintain keeping him here for asks at this point, and quite frankly I’m starting to think having male muses on here was a mistake. It has nothing to do with anyone, but I think it would just be best to focus on female muses from here on out. I love my big boi’s, but with how niche I can be with them I don’t think it’s worth it anymore and it’s time for me to really focus on how flexible I can be with characters I like to write and people know. I’ll be adding another Persona 5 muse in the coming days however, since it is my favorite game of all time. I have it down to about three people I’m considering adding, so if you guys want to hear more or don’t care, I’m fine with giving you whatever information you guys wanna hear.

Moving on to the next thing I wanna talk about, I want to talk about my writing and my feelings for the future of this blog. As of now, I’m a college student who wants to write his own TV shows in the future. I want to make worlds, tell stories and inspire others to do the same. That being said, I am probably my biggest enemy when it comes to this. I’m scared of myself, my shortcomings, of others, and the world itself. I have goals that I’m too scared to pursue because I worry about what others think of me. I do the same thing on here, mainly because there are so many of you I want to RP with but am too scared to even approach. I feel like my writing is insignificant and bad, and when I start threads with someone and they die, I’ll always blame myself for the cause. I want to be the best RP partner possible for all of you guys and entertain you guys, but being the person I am, I don’t feel like I can be that at all...

For a while, I was considering shutting this blog down and moving on from here. I didn’t think it was worth feeling shitty about myself all the time, but I started realizing that this place was probably my biggest safe haven. There are a ton of other places I’m involved in that don’t feel nearly as welcoming as this community. Other places, I feel like my words hold no value and that I’m just someone who doesn’t contribute anything positive. I just make people angry because I say a stupid thing, and then I feel terrible about it and want to apologize correctly, but I can’t even do THAT right and I make things worse because of the stupid person I am. The more I take a look around me, the more I start seeing people that don’t really care about me at times. They say they do, but they’re just as quick to move on from me when I want their help.

I’m not afraid to admit that I’m needy and love attention. I need people around me to talk to and keep me positive because I hate being alone. I like talking with all of you guys because you all make me feel special and wanted. I have made so many good friends on here that I talk to almost everyday, whether it be on here or through discord. They’ve helped me through some tough times, supported my ideas and encouraged me to go beyond what I feel comfortable doing. For the past three or more months, this place has been my safety net, my pride and joy because of how afraid I was to do other things at times. This blog actually got me watching new shows and playing new games I might’ve never tried before, and it still is. I don’t know where I’d be in all honesty had it not been for some of the amazing friends I’ve made on here.

So how does this tie in with my writing? How does this affect me and most importantly, you the fan of this blog or potential partner/friend. I’ve decided that I’m going to keep this blog going, and I’m going to write for me now. I’m going add muses that I’ll think are fun to play and flexible enough to use in certain situations as well as ones you all can interact with. I’m going to write whatever the hell I feel like on here and not feel like I’m being judged for it. I want to write because it’s fun, and I don’t want to feel pressured to be perfect. I’m nowhere near a perfect writer at this point in time, but trial and error will help me develop these skills that are essential to mold me into what I want to be. My writing from here on out is going to be something I can take great joy in and feel proud to show it off to everyone. I’m not going to pressure myself with feeling like I have to write this for everyone.

I’m going to write this because I want to write this, and I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks.

Granted, it’s not going to be easy to break out of old habits that have kept me down for years on end at this point, but I’m going to try my best. So please, bear with me and I promise that I’ll be better than ever for myself and for you guys. You guys deserve so much credit and praise for sticking by me for soon to be a year in February. Almost eight months going strong on here has been a treat, and I hope that it’ll continue being that.

As for a couple other small things, I haven’t forgotten about the Lucy X Erza feeding session fic I promised you guys. Time and motivation have probably been my biggest downfalls when writing this fic, but I promise that soon I’ll have it done and it’s going to be amazing. Just give it time and I’ll reward your patience. I’ll also give updates on muses as time goes by, maybe even hint at some if I feel like it warrants it. But as for now, the only muse I know for a fact that I want to play on here is Android 21. UNFORTUNATELY FOR MUN, Dragon Ball FighterZ doesn’t come out until February, and because we don’t have enough information on her personality, I don’t feel comfortable playing her. Sure, I could make some stereotypical observations based on her clothes and fanart, but I feel like that would be really... weak? ( I can’t think of the right word) on my part. I want to give you as close of a canon representation as possible, so waiting for the game is really the only option. Aside from that, I’m going to be delving into some of these more popular series that I see floating around here to familiarize myself with the content, maybe even pick a muse from some of them if someone catches my fancy.

With that, I think that about does my little rant. I really just want to thank all of you for sticking by me and supporting you, especially my close friends on here. There are way too many of you to list, but you guys certainly know who you are. This probably won’t be the last time I switch up my muses again, but I’m hoping I have a long interval in between the next time I do so. Thank you all for being awesome, and I promise I’m going to be better for me, which in turn will be better for you. <3

-Your very sappy mun