#gratsu & stingue

[philophobic-honeybee]

average dragon slayer meetup… poor wendy </3

[ranisivani]

fairy tail rarepair headcannons

gratsu: so much CHEMISTRY. fighting as flirting. smirking so much their faces hurt. lots of pda. BEAUTIFUL.

navia: origin story would be great. juvia getting over gray and moving on to natsu but healthy crush not obsession! she learnt what she did wrong with gray and is going to actually try to get natsu to go out with her. cue obviously in love juvia and oblivious natsu. 

jerza: slow burn childhood friends to lovers. classic trope of 'he is the only one who can make her feel emotions'. fantastic.

stingue: opposites attracting. dark rain cloud and sunshiney rainbow. emotionally mature.

lolu: loke is a playboy but lucy has captured his heart. cue loke trying to win over lucy with romantic gestures. she always blushes but refuses to admit that it works. they start dating, everyone in the guild teases lucy about dating her contractually bound spirit. they call her kinky, and she hates it.

chendy: gals being pals. they are best friends with crushes on each other. they don't confess because they're scared they'll be rejected. but chelia works up the nerve to tell wendy, and they start dating immediately. they hold hands all the time. wendy takes the first step to kiss chelia on the cheek. they are adorable and in love and it's great.

lygray: okay i LOVE their brotherly relationship like so much BUT I can totally see them as exes. like at some point in the past, when they're both not in the best headspace and in need of companionship, gray was like "what if we sort of dated? shut up, I don't mean that I like you or anything but why don't we try out a more intimate relationship that what we have now?" for weeks, he had been feeling lonely, and when he saw couples in public, he felt jealous that they had someone they were so close to. so he takes a while but finally asks lyon if he wants to do something like that (while blushing so much, he looks like he's on fire) lyon had the exact same feeling of loneliness and they're definitely each other's last resorts, but after all the blushing and humiliation, lyon begrudgingly agrees. also they can both admit that the other is decent looking. they're not exactly dating? more like they're just closer than they used to be. like they'll hold hands sometimes (in private, they're way too embarrassed to do anything in public) and they start sleeping in the same bed either after one of them has a bad nightmare, or if one of them felt really lonely and depressed sleeping in an empty bed and wanted someone there. they don't really want to kiss each other but they figure that since everything else felt nice, maybe kissing would too. they also really wanted to be close with each other and this seemed like the natural next step in their situation. so they try to kiss but it doesn't work cause it feels too weird kissing someone who used to be like a brother to you. because of that, they break up and decide to stay brothers cause they just work better like that. but they really enjoyed how close they were (that's why they stayed together in the first place) so they just continue those tendencies and it becomes second nature. like when they hang out, even if their friends are there, they'll just instinctively hold hands without even noticing. and when lyon and gray are travelling together or sleeping in the same room, they'll just sleep in the same bed without saying anything. sometimes, lyon will lightheartedly tease gray about it, “remember that time you asked me out?” gray always gets really blushy and embarrassed. “it’s not like it was just me, you’re the one who agreed!” and one day, after a hard-earned battle, they’re both pretty roughed up and hurt but lyon is way more hurt than gray. lyon is resting on a bed and gray’s sitting next to lyon cause he’s worried about him. lyon croaks out “remember when you thought it was a good idea for us to date?” gray just smiles and says “yeah, i remember” cause he’s glad lyon feels well enough to joke. lyon isn’t looking at him when he says “you were right. it was a good idea.” gray glances at lyon and sees the small smile on his face and says “yeah, it really was.”

[needsnalu]

STOP REBLOGGING AND SUPPORTING @ -> ravewoodx CONTENT THEY REPOST WITHOUT CREDIT !!!

[mdelpin]

One of the nicest perks of having a best friend who is an amazing artist (as well as writer) is that sometimes you get to see artworks that no one else does.

Back when we had our server, we'd contemplated the idea of having rewards and raffles, and these little guys are from one art that @oryu404 created for that purpose. I think we were going to make stickers from it. Aren't they adorable?!

Anyhow, the original art had them all lined up together, but I split them up into two projects. Sting and Rogue will go live with @oryu404 (once I finally finish all the sanding, etc.), while Gray and Natsu will stay with me.

I think the funniest bit is that these guys took me longer to do than both my big Fairy Tail projects put together! 🤣

tldr @oryu404's art is amazing, go check it out!

[twomanyideas]

Santu Claus is Coming to Town (Chapter 3)

A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

@becausewritingshouldbefun February 2023 Challenge Prompt: Secret Pairing(s): Gray x Natsu AO3 | Ch 1 | Prev: Ch 2 | Next:

Chapter Summary: An oncoming blizzard is no match for Natsu when he's determined to get home for Christmas.

Chapter 3: Here Comes Santu Claus

𝅘𝅥 On Natsu’s last day in Rivera, the universe gave to him…  𝅘𝅥 

Raging blizzards Flight cancellations Passenger outrage One mopey boyfriend  Sleep deprivation Horrible indigestion Nasty public bathrooms Four crowded buses Three and a half train rides Two ferry trips One bumpy flight

𝅘𝅥 And a staggering credit card debt 𝅘𝅥 

BUT… he'd made it back to Fiore in time for Christmas, despite everyone telling him it was impossible!

Suck on that, Universe, Natsu thought as he got into the smelly Uber that would take him the rest of the way home.

Should he have waited for the blizzard to blow over and taken his chances with flights? Probably. That’s what his dad did, but there was no way in hell Natsu was going to bail on Gray for Christmas. Not after the way ol’ droopy drawers had looked the last time they’d talked. 

Natsu loved his new job. It let him travel with his dad in search of merchandise for their business, often to exotic locations. But the downside was, he was gone so often that he and Gray didn’t get to spend much time together. And while that had been fine when Gray was away at school, now that he was home, it was a completely different story.

So he’d taken the last week of December off from work, determined to spend the holidays together like they’d always done. For weeks he’d thought of nothing but the things that made Christmas special to him: stolen kisses underneath the mistletoe, impromptu snowball fights followed by long nights sitting in front of the fire, meals shared with family and outings with friends. 

And now, after two long days of traveling, he finally passed the Magnolia city limits sign. He was so close he could almost taste Mika’s jalapeño poppers. 

Natsu arrived at his house ten minutes later, stopping only long enough to freshen up, and gather all his presents. Wendy had been kind enough to wrap them while he was gone, putting them all into a big sack. He added the ones from his carryon luggage, being extra careful with the present Sting had ordered for Rogue. Then, it was finally time to celebrate Christmas Eve with Gray and his family.

He spotted Ur's Christmaspalooza front yard the second he turned the corner of her street, and it brought a smile to his face. It was exactly what he needed to get into the spirit of things, and he spent a few minutes checking out all the displays. There was really only one thing more exhilarating to him than all the decorations, lights, or even the dancing dragon animatronic, and that was the thought of everyone's faces when they saw him. Especially Gray's. 

He couldn't wait!

With a spring in his step, and a twinkle in his eyes, Natsu dragged himself away from the crowd of spectators, being careful not to hit anyone with the sack. He made his way around the house, wanting to sneak in through the back. After everything he'd gone through, he refused to announce his arrival by doing something as lame as ringing the doorbell.

No, he had a much better idea. What if he just walked into the kitchen, called out a greeting to Gray, and headed straight for the food? 

Just thinking about Gray's stunned expression at seeing him waltz in like he wasn’t supposed to be thousands of miles away set him off into a fit of giggles that lasted until he reached the gate.

If he wanted that plan to work, though, he’d have to make sure no one saw him until he was ready to make his entrance. With that in mind, he put the sack down and removed his scarf from around his neck, carefully wrapping it around his head until only his eyes were visible. 

“Nin nin,” he giggled once again, putting his hands up in front of his face, ninja style. 

Satisfied with his disguise, he grabbed the sack and draped it over his shoulder before opening the gate and slinking through. 

The backyard wasn’t as decked out as the front, but it still gave off a festive air. Ur had decorated her gazebo with lots of lights and garlands, while cheerful images of snowmen, reindeer, wreaths, and Santa Claus flickered and danced on the walls of a large tent Natsu recognized from other parties he’d attended over the years, although he couldn’t remember her ever setting it up for Christmas before. 

The rest of the yard was empty except for Ur’s grill, which sat close to the deck. Not the best of hiding places, but it would have to do. At least it would give him a good view of the kitchen. 

He dashed towards it, crouching low to the ground as he moved to make himself less visible. Once safely hidden, he took a moment to catch his breath, and then it was time to peek.

To his right sat a group of snowmen in a mishmash of shapes and sizes, along with Lyon’s obligatory snow creature, a bear this time. Natsu didn’t know how the bastard did it, but his creations always looked like they could come alive at any second.

Seeing it fired him up in anticipation of the snowball fight they would surely have after dinner. And speaking of dinner, he really hoped that was soon. Nobody cooked better than Mika. Hell, just thinking about her food made his poor, empty stomach growl in agony. Just a little longer…

He peered into the kitchen and watched as Lyon set up a makeshift bar on the kitchen island like he did every year, grabbing bottles from a box and adding them to the ones he’d already lined up. Looking past him, he soon found who he'd been looking for: there stood Gray, not too far from Lyon and looking about as mopey as he had during that video call two days ago.

Christmas had always been Gray’s favorite holiday. The one time of year when you could catch the bastard smiling, often for no reason Natsu could figure out. And while Gray had always been handsome, he was absolutely dazzling when he smiled. Which meant Natsu used every trick he could think of to tease one out of him as often as possible.

He was ready to do just that when the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow somewhere to his right distracted him. He turned his head to see who it was, but soon turned his attention back to the kitchen when he didn’t see anyone.

He looked on as Lyon grabbed a metal cup from the counter and tossed it in the air, picking up a bottle and twirling it in his other hand as he waited to catch the cup. It looked pretty cool, right until the bottle slipped out of his hand and he had to lunge to catch it before it smashed to the floor, causing the cup to land on his head like some sort of bizarre birthday hat. 

Natsu couldn’t help but snort at the wounded expression on his face, but it was Gray’s reaction that gave him the greatest pleasure. He laughed at his cousin, picking up the cup and attempting to show him up with some tricks of his own.

And there was that smile. The one that had lingered in Natsu's mind, beckoning him home and refusing to let him give up, even when it seemed like he’d be spending Christmas by himself in Alvarez. He couldn’t help but stare in awe. 

“Ugh, I should have known. I can’t believe you’re still pulling this shit!”

Natsu instinctively flinched as he recognized the fury in Ur’s voice, and he was glad that for once it had nothing to do with him. 

The sound of more crunching drew his attention to the tent, and sure enough, he could see a shadow moving back-and-forth inside it.

“No! You tell her! I’m through making excuses for you!” 

An angry shriek pierced the night air, interrupting his thoughts and almost making him fall on his ass from his crouched position. Thank God he didn’t, though. He’d been so careful with the presents, especially the ones he’d carried throughout his hellish journey back home. It would suck for them to get damaged now. 

What the hell, Ur? 

Natsu bit his lip, looking from the kitchen where Gray was still playing around, to the tent where Ur was apparently having a meltdown. As much as he wanted to go inside and pretend he hadn’t heard anything, he knew he could never do that. He gave one last wistful look at the kitchen and made his way to the tent. 

He entered quietly, finding Ur standing near the center, her eyes closed as she took deep breaths. She held her phone in a crushing grip, and worried he might end up the same way, Natsu decided it might be wise to give her a moment to compose herself before announcing his presence. 

The tent was set up differently; rather than the usual tables and chairs, she’d set up a sitting area next to a Christmas tree, with oversized chairs and a rug that looked comfortable enough to sleep on. It was all very cozy, but it wasn't edible and Natsu soon lost interest.

He grew more and more impatient as Ur showed no sign of opening her eyes, so he cleared his throat loudly before greeting her.

“Hey, Ur.” 

He somehow kept from laughing at her puzzled expression when she opened her eyes to find him there waving at her.  

“Natsu?” Ur blinked at him. “Is that you?”   

“Of course it’s me,” he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest with a pout. “I haven’t been gone that long, you know.”

“No, it’s just,” She gestured at her face, making circular movements as if to tell him there was something on his–oh! Duh!

“Oops, totally forgot about that! I’m trying to surprise Gray,” he explained as he unwrapped the scarf and let it fall around his neck.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she squeaked, wrapping him up in one of her big hugs. “I thought you were stuck in Alakitasia.”

“I was, but did you really think a little thing like a blizzard was going to keep me from coming home for Christmas? I just had to get a little creative.” 

“Creative, huh? Now, there’s a terrifying thought.”

Natsu tittered but didn’t give her any details, knowing she’d give him a good scolding if she knew half the things he’d done to get home.

She looked past him to the tent entrance. “Isn’t your dad with you?”

“No, he’s still in Rivera.” 

“Wasn’t feeling creative?”

Natsu shook his head and laughed, “He said he was too old for that, but he’ll be back as soon as he can get a flight out from Rivera again.”

“Oh. Well, it's a shame he won’t be here tonight, but I’m glad you made it!”

“Me too. Your front yard looks pretty amazing, by the way. That dragon!” Natsu chuckled. “No way Santa skips this house.”

Ur’s face immediately fell at his mention of Santa.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no, it’s just my ex promised he’d dress up as Santa Claus for Jellal, and he just called to say it no longer fit into his plans,” she said, all but spitting those last words.  

“I don't even know why I’m surprised,” she laughed bitterly. “Breaking promises was all he was ever good at.” 

Natsu clenched his fists. What a jerk! It was a good thing he didn’t know where Mr. Milk Sandwich lived, because if he did, he would’ve gladly unleashed forty-eight hours of pent up travel rage on his face.

“Jellal’s been waiting all day,” Ur sighed, her gaze falling on a Santa suit that was draped over one of two armchairs he’d noticed earlier. “He’ll be so disappointed.”

Oh right, the Santa thing. Gray had mentioned it at some point, mostly to make fun of Rogue, but Natsu knew it was important to Gray’s family. It had sounded like a fun tradition too, one he didn’t want Jellal to miss out on. 

“No, he won’t,” Natsu declared, putting down the sack, “because Santa Claus is still coming to town. Give me the suit.”

“Oh sweetie, no. I couldn’t ask you to do that. You look exhausted.”

“Don’t be silly, this will be fun! I mean, come on, Santa is practically in my name,” he pointed out, doing his best to sound cheerful as he peeled off his scarf and Christmas sweater, draping them over the other chair and holding his arm out for the suit.

Ur hesitated, but it didn’t take her long to give in. “Thank you for doing this,” she said, grabbing the suit and handing it over.   

The suit’s material was heavier than he’d expected, and he soon realized he’d have to strip down to his underwear to avoid overheating. 

“Oh!” 

The way Ur turned around as soon as he began shedding clothes amused Natsu, since she could be just as bad as Gray and Lyon at taking off random items of clothing. Not Rogue, though, which was something he’d always found interesting.

Ur busied herself with her phone, and soon Christmas music played from a set of portable speakers. 

Natsu hummed along to I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus as he grabbed the suit’s pants and pulled them up to his hips. “These aren’t going to stay up,” he said, showing Ur how far the waistband stretched away from his body.

“That’s because there has to be room for the padding. There should be some suspenders in one of the pockets.” 

Natsu found the suspenders and tried to attach them, but ended up just turning in circles. 

“Oh, honey, no. Here, let me.” Ur said, taking the suspenders from him and clicking them into place. Next thing he knew, she was on him, giggling like a schoolgirl as she plumped him up with the padding while he tried his best not to squirm. After what felt like forever, she put the jacket on, fastening it with a wide black belt that had the biggest buckle Natsu had ever seen. “Is there anything I’m supposed to do or say?” 

“Not really. Just the usual. Have you been a good boy? Stuff like that.” 

Ur gave him Jellal's letter and pointed to the lone present that sat under the tree while she secured the fake beard and eyebrows. She handed him a pair of costume glasses before finally putting on the Santa hat, which had a built-in wig. “Is everything alright, Ur? Gray said you got a phone call…” Natsu whirled around at the unexpected voice, and was delighted to find Gray’s mom standing at the entrance of the tent. Until she looked at him, that is, with eyes narrowed into slits and arms crossed in front of her chest. “Oh, so you finally decided to show up, huh?” He raised his arms in surrender, having never seen her this angry before. “I’m sorry! I did my best!” Ur laughed, while Mika blinked a few times in confusion before hurrying to give him a hug. “Natsu! I'm so glad you made it home safe!”

Well, that was better than her being mad at him for making Gray unhappy, at least, but it sounded like she’d been expecting him. Did that mean Gray was, too? 

“You don’t sound very surprised,” he whined, not bothering to mask his disappointment.

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe,” Mika assured him. “Your dad just wanted to make sure someone was expecting you, and that you had a place to stay.”

That was Igneel for you. It didn’t matter that he was the one by himself; he was still worrying about him. The man had a big heart, probably almost as big as these damn pants!

“So I take it Asshole isn’t coming?” Mika turned to Ur, looking more than a little relieved.

“No, he was busy,” Ur fumed. “Can you believe the nerve of that man?! I could just scream.”

“You did,” Natsu reminded her.

“Oh, heh, I guess you're right.”

“Well, it’s lucky for us you came when you did, Natsu, and I just know Jellal’s going to love your Santa,” Mika said, grinning impishly as she added, “Kids can always recognize one of their own, after all.”

“Ouch. That sounds like something Gray would say.”

“Who did you think he got it from? Silver?” she laughed before taking a picture with her phone and showing him the results of Ur’s efforts. “You look amazing, don’t you think?”

“That’s wild!” Natsu couldn’t believe his eyes, he looked absolutely nothing like himself. 

Hell, he was pretty sure not even Gray would recognize him. 

And just like that, he came up with a great idea. If he could pull it off that was…

“Hey Mika, do you think you can get Gray to come out here?” 

“Oh, I like where this is going.” Mika giggled. “He’ll never see it coming! Ooh, maybe we can even get him to sit on your lap?” Mika almost pleaded. “I’d kill for that sort of photo op! We haven’t been able to take any pictures with Santa since… well, you know.”

Yep, he knew, and while the idea of messing with Rogue a little was extremely tempting, he knew better than to piss off Mika like that. No, messing with Gray would be plenty satisfying. Natsu could just picture the scowl on his face when his mom made him sit on Santa's lap for pics. 

This was going to be great!

“Alright! Let’s do this!” He pumped his fist in the air.

“Aren’t your feet cold?” Ur snickered, handing him a pair of boot covers with fur trims.

"Oh, yeah." Natsu looked down at his socks and wiggled his toes.

“I’m so relieved everything worked out, after all!” Mika sighed, hugging her sister. She then set about collecting Natsu’s clothes, folding them and placing them in a neat pile behind an armchair. 

“Me too. Just need to go talk to Ultear and get Jellal.”

“Alright, I’ll send Gray out after Jellal’s done with Santa.”

“What are you going to tell him?”

“I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

Natsu left them to their conversation. He collected his sack of presents and shoes and took them back to the sitting area. After hiding his sack behind the chair, he sat down to slide the covers over his boots.

He sang along to the music softly as he pulled on his boots, smiling to himself as he messed with the lyrics like he always did. It was something Gray absolutely hated, which was all the more reason for Natsu to do it. 

"You better not cry, You better not frown, You better not strip, Gray, I'm telling you why Santu Claus has come back to town!"

[sandwitchstories]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Fairy Tail Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Rogue Cheney/Sting Eucliffe, Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster, Yukino Aguria/Minerva Orland, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox Characters: Rogue Cheney, Sting Eucliffe, Lector (Fairy Tail), Frosch (Fairy Tail), Minerva Orland, Yukino Aguria, Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel, Gajeel Redfox, Levy McGarden, Original Child Character(s) Additional Tags: Valentine's Day, Glitter, Party, Boys In Love, Established Relationship, Married Couple, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Sex, Dancing, unplanned baby duty, Rogue has baby fever, Butt Slapping, everyone is a smartass, Boys Kissing, Nonbinary Frosch, not canon, Introducing Charlotte Redfox Summary:

Sting and the others have spent weeks planning the Cupid Ball to celebrate Valentine's Day. Rogue isn't a big fan of gatherings, but for Sting, he will do anything. Hope you enjoy my belated Valentine’s Day Story!  This story was inspired by @oryu404 ‘s artwork which can be found here https://at.tumblr.com/oryu404/i-tried-to-write-something-for-the-glitter-prompt/fs768yrgdiuw

[inkperch]

Y’know, I kinda hate and love the fact that any time there’s a sibling-in-a-family-of-choice-way duo of the same gender, it’s a genuine coin toss whether they’re found family sibs or ‘siblings’ in a ‘we can’t outright say they’re gay, but they live together, would kill for one and other, go berserk if the other is injured, and most likely sleep together’ way-

Like, I almost always end up flip flopping on which read it is depending on the scene, and I can fully write both, and that’s fun! But actually writing both on the same ao3 feels awkward and weird even though it’s two separately completely valid reads on canon-

[aki-natsuko]

Chapters: 1/3 Fandom: Fairy Tail Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster, Rogue Cheney/Sting Eucliffe Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Rogue Cheney, Sting Eucliffe Additional Tags: Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Christmas present, Established Relationship, Friendship/Love, Sexy Santa, Christmas Fluff, Bickering, Cats, Fire, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting Series: Part 8 of The Path to Our Hearts, Part 85 of Gratsu, Part 22 of Stingue Summary:

A surprise gift, differing opinions about decorations, two chaotic cats...and a bit of chaos in the kitchen. Really, they should have a known a Christmas with the four of them wasn't going to be smooth sailing. A Christmas gift for @mdelpin and @oryu404

[stephissalty]

a ft get to know you

what’s your favourite character:

favorite ship:

favorite arc:

favorite op/ed:

an unpopular opinion:

best ft duo:

omg hi!! this is super fun

fav char: jellal fav ship: stingue/gratsu fav arc: grand magic games fav op: strike back fav ed: merry go round? i honestly don't know on that one unpopular opinion: the big 4 ships (na/lu, gru/via, gaj/evy, je/rza) are overrated and other side and "rarepair" ships have more chemistry (yes this is in response to my post from several weeks ago where i re-realized gratsu is considered a ft rarepair) best ft duo (platonic): mira/erza, wendy/natsu

edit: not me saying "weeks ago" about a post i made in APRIL

[ftrarepairweek]

Rare Pairs Week 2024

Banner by @kiliinstinct Brought to you by a new mod-team, we're thrilled to be able to bring this event back! It was previously hosted on @ftguildevents, and as we continue working on overhauling that page, we decided to give this event its own corner of tumblr.

Check out the Rules section for the list of ships that are excluded from this event.

Event Information

Dates: April 7th - 13th

Submissions  - Anything and everything - art, fics, poetry, amvs, headcanons, manga colorings, aesthetics, etc.

Prompts: 

💕 Day 1 - Warmth 💕 Day 2 - Distance 💕 Day 3 - Team Up 💕 Day 4 - Festival 💕 Day 5 - Fears 💕 Day 6 - Sanctuary 💕 Day 7 - Tradition

Event AO3 Collection: Fairy Tail Rare Pairs Week 2024

Event Tag: Use the tag #ftrarepairweek in your first five so that we can see it! You’re also welcome to mention the blog @ftrarepairweek. Please make sure to tag any triggers appropriately.

Extra Info: This event is open to all ships (excluding the ones listed below), including brotp, lgbt, and poly.

Please reblog to help spread the word!

Rules

No character bashing

No incest

No canon minor x adults ships

All entries must be previously unposted and original to the blog posting.

The following ships are not eligible for this event. You may still include them as side ships in your entries if you wish, but the focus must be on the rare pair. ✨natsu x lucy (nalu) ✨gray x juvia (gruvia) ✨gajeel x levy (gajevy) ✨jellal x erza (jerza) ✨mirajane x laxus (miraxus) ✨elfman x ever (elfever) ✨loke x lucy (lolu) ✨zeref x mavis (zervis) ✨natsu x lisanna (nali) ✨gray x lucy (graylu) ✨laxus x lucy (lalu) ✨gray x erza (grayza) ✨bickslow x lisanna (bixanna) ✨gray x natsu (gratsu) ✨sting x rogue (stingue) ✨freed x laxus (fraxus) ✨erza x mirajane (erzajane) ✨erza x lucy (erlu)

We will always accept late entries!

[keishara-korianthil]

Fairy Tail

It doesn’t matter how many people criticize Fairy Tail, I will always love this anime with all my heart and all my soul. You can say it is one of the worst animes you have seen, but I think it is the best. And if you think I’m wrong, okay, I see you’re not prepared to accept that it is a beautiful and wholesome anime.

You want to see proves that it is an incredible anime?

Okay, I have them:

1. The music. Look me in the eyes and tell me Yasuharu Takanashi isn’t one of the best or the best japanese composer. I dare you. There isn’t another composer of Anime OST like Yasuharu Takanashi, because all the soundtrack of Fairy Tail is beautiful, wholesome, emotional, epic… and he makes you feel emotions that no one else can make you feel.

2. The animation. Maybe people will disagree with me on this, but for me, the art style of Hiro Mashima is one of the best (alongside Kōhei Horikoshi, Natsuki Kizu and Masashi Kishimoto). I just love his characters designs and the backgrounds. For me the way he draws the hair, the eyes, the body and everything else is great.

3. The couples. Hiro Mashima is the only mangaka that made me ship the canon/semi-canon ships (like Nalu, Gruvia, Gale, Elfever, Jerza) more that the fanon ships (like Gratsu, Graylu, Stingue…) and I think that says a lot about the couples of the mangas created by other mangakas. In Fairy Tail there isn’t one single ship toxic or forced or that doesn't make sense. Not a single one. (And I could give examples of ships from other animes that are toxic, forced or senseless, but I would never finish).

4. The girls. All of the female characters of Fairy Tail are awesome, badass and incredible. Fairy Tail is the only anime that made me love all of the female characters (like Erza, Lucy, Lisanna, Levy, Mirajane, Evergreen, Cana, Juvia, Wendy, Kinana, Yukino) and again, that says a lot. And if you don’t like (or hate) some of the girls (like Lisanna or Lucy), shame. All of them are strong, brave, kind and they don’t deserve your hate.

5. The villains. There’s nothing I love more than a villain getting a second chance, or a villain redemption, and this anime has it. Fairy Tail is a great guild that redeemed a villain (or a group of villains) in each arc, and I think that’s beautiful. That’s what Fairy Tail does, bring out the best in people (like Kageyama, Lyon and his mates, Gajeel, Juvia, Milliana, Jellal, Erza Knightwalker, Edolas Royal Army, Ultear, Meredy, Legion Corps, Flare Corona, Sabertooth, Oracion Seis, some members of the Alvarez Empire…).

6. The world. The world where Fairy Tail takes place is wonderful. It is a world where magic and wizards exist. You can join a guild that can be -is- your family and will help you every time you need it. Besides, the magic that the mages of Fairy Tail have is amazing: the Dragon Slayer magic, the Celestial Spirit magic (which is very original), the Requip magic, the Ice-Make magic…

7. The plot. Fairy Tail tells the story of a member of the Fairy Tail guild, Natsu Dragneel, that wants to find the dragon Igneel who taught him the Dragon Slayer magic. In some point he goes to the Hargeon Town where she meets Lucy. Then the story follows the adventures of Lucy, Natsu, Happy, Gray, Erza, and the rest of members of the Fairy Tail Guild. I fell in love with the anime from the beginning, but if you get bored don’t stop watching it. It would get better. I promise. You just have to wait to get to the Galuna Arc, Phantom Lord Arc or Oracion Seis Arc.

8. The humor. Fairy Tail can be serious when it has to, but it is also funny, and it brings a smile to your face even if you’re angry or sad. (Trust me, I know because it happened to me).

9. The emotions. Fairy Tail can make you feel a lot of emotions. When the characters cry, you feel sad, when the characters are angry, you are angry too, when the characters are happy, you smile thanks to them… And when the Fairy Tail guild wins, your heart fills with pride and joy (at least mine does). If there’s anything that feels better than Fairy Tail’s victories, tell me, I’ll wait for it.

10. The meaning. This is related to number 5. Fairy Tail is a kind, empathetic and compassionate guild. They try to understand the villains instead of just assuming the worst of them. They try to change the villains instead of letting them become worse persons. And even with the most evil villains, like Acnologia, they don’t talk with hate, or anger. Natsu said something (I don’t remember the exact words) to Acnologia with pity and sympathy. That just proves how human are the members of Fairy Tail. And I think Hiro Mashima wanted to show that in his manga/anime. That nobody is pure evil or irredeemable. That every character needs a second chance. That every character is capable of being good. And that the good in people is what will make a better world.

For this, and for more, Fairy Tail is, to me, the best anime. And to me, these are the reasons why Fairy Tail doesn't deserve the hate it gets.

Edit: If you hate Fairy Tail, then you are totally missing the moral of this story. It is an anime with kind, compassionate and empathetic characters that are capable of forgive villains for their bad actions and characters that are almost incapable of hate someone. Characters that sees the best in people. But after you watch that anime you criticize it? It seems like you didn't understand at all what Fairy Tail wants to teach you.

[secretkittywolf]

Fairy Tail ships I ship

(I don't own any of the fanart used. Credit to the original creators)

Nalu

They're so cute!!!

I adore these two so much. I hope that they become cannon in the 100yr Quest (if they haven't already since I haven't read it)

Nali

Besties for life!

They have such a cute brother-sister relationship and Natsu was so happy when the Edolas Lisanna was his best friend. Such a cute platonic pairing.

Gruvia

I love them!!!

I love their relationship so much. At first, Gray couldn't stand Juvia but he soon realised how much she cared and how much he cared for her. The whole Juvia vs Gray fight in the finale made me cry, especially when they killed themselves because they didn't want to kill the other QwQ

Gajevy

They're ship is so cute and gradual and I love it.

Yes, Gajeel did hurt her and chain her to a tree when they first met, but he's shown and proven to her how much he's changed. Their love is beautiful and I love them.

LoLu

I have to admit, I did ship them at first, but it's more platonic than romantic now. Still a cute ship tho.

Romeo & Wendy

Another platonic pairing. It's cute but I don't ship them romantically.

Sky Sisters

They have such a cute friendship!

I adore the Sky Sisters friendship and I want to see more of them! I also heard that these two could be cannon, which I'd would love to know if it's true or not. So yeah, ship them platonically and romantically.

Elfgreen

I want more of these two!!!

I want to see more of Elfman and Evergreen so badly. The tsundere and the big strong guy is so cute and the scenes in GMG were so cute.

Miraxus

I'd love to see more of them since I ship them platonically at the moment.

Freeuxus

I love these two idiots.

Freed adores Laxus and the dragon slayer obviously has a soft spot for Freed.

Stingue

Light and dark. Sun and moon. Introvert and extrovert etc. I ship them so much!!!!!!

StingYu

He's the reason why she's still a part of Sabertooth!

Sting really cares for Yukino and they're so cute together. He even became guild master so Yukino could stay and it's so sweet!

Graylu

Another platonic pairing I love.

They're a couple of sillies and I need more of them being idiots.

Zervis

Their whole relationship is both cute and sad.

Mavis cursed herself accidentally and now they're immortal together. I love them

Cancer x Gray (Gracer??? Ig??)

Why is this the only image of these two together?!

I need more Gracer! (Sounds better than Cray doesn't it?) The whole danceoff was gay af and since I'm a multishipper, I ship them.

Bicksanna

The fandom made me ship them. The fandom made me realise just how cute these two are.

Mirerza

Rivals to best friends, I love them so much. I also ship them romantically on occasion as well.

Grerza

Both platonically and romantically, these two are cute.

Benefits of being a multishipper!

Bisca x Alzack

They're cute and they're cannon!!!

Seeing them in Edolas together was adorable and I'm glad in the cannon universe they also get together.

Ulter & Meredy

Sisters.

They have a sister relationship and I love it. I don't see them as anything else but sisters

Meredy & Juvia

Adorable. They became such good friends and I want more of their friendship. Please gimme more!!!!

CanLu

I think these two are quite cute together.

I'd love to see more of their friendship!

ErLu

Read a fanfic once of these two and I love them together!

The princess and her knight in shining armour!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAA!!!! I ship them so much!!!!!!

Gratsu

They always make me laugh. I ship them both platonically and romantically.

Natsu & Erza

I adore the brother-sister relationship they have.

Erza is the big sister having to keep chaotic younger brother Natsu under control (even tho Natsu is older)

[tamibae]

There are some ships I dislike for certain reasons but some among them bring me personal discomfort. Gratsu is one of them despite the BROTP being in my top 3. I get really uncomfortable when any fanart, fanfic or literally any content about this ship pops up on my dash. On the contrary, even tho I don't ship yuri or yaoi 'cause I don't like the trope, I really don't mind if Fraxus or Stingue or even Shendy become canon since they're a bit hinted. They don't really bother me that much albeit I ship some of these characters with my other favs and prefer some of them to be aro(Wendy and Sherria both).

[epoxide]

I posted 17,595 times in 2022

That's 17,595 more posts than 2021!

65 posts created (0%)

17,530 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@managerie76

@dingdongyouarewrong

@onewhositswiththeturtles

@turbosocks-wifi

@amberfox17

I tagged 7,591 of my posts in 2022

#cats - 758 posts

#lotr - 534 posts

#art - 510 posts

#fanart - 355 posts

#the hobbit - 298 posts

#cute - 198 posts

#funny - 193 posts

#the witcher - 185 posts

#comics - 161 posts

#lol - 145 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#so you can't make people wear a mask during a pandemic but force women to carry a baby to term (even risking their health) and that's fine?

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

This friendship between Natsu and Rogue was kind of unexpected. It makes a lot of sense, given the whole stuff happening.

But I'm pleasantly surprised at their interactions. 😁

It's great seeing them as besties and even if their paths will ultimately diverge (because gratsu and stingue), their connection is undeniable.

2 notes - Posted May 9, 2022

#4

Today is Tanabata?

Dang, now I want to get some cute and chill words out with Natsu and Gray walking on a festival or something.

Just cute and dumb boys...

2 notes - Posted July 7, 2022

#3

So much time has passed and I still just want to talk about Natsu and Gray...

They deserved better.

5 notes - Posted May 26, 2022

#2

I honestly don't understand the people who put Mashima's writing/mangas on a pedestal.

He's a crappy writer!

He does come up with great setting and characters but development isn't really his thing - be it for the story or characters. Heck, he even apparently stands for unhealthy relationships (gruvia is that).

Why would you go hard for a writers who stunts his characters' growth like that? Who can't handle a big cast of charas either - he's no Oda, he dropped the ball so bad with FT!

And romance... he should have focused more in the friendship and adventure sides instead of trying to handle something like romance. Because it sounds so hollow, so half-assed and blah. Dude should not touch romance with a pole the distance between the Earth and Jupiter. Yes, it's hyperbole, yes, I stand by it anyway.

I'm not a hater but let's be fair. Just... it's fun to read his mangas and all but, please, he's just mid, not great. There's a lot that needs improvement.

8 notes - Posted August 9, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

This whole jury thing is stresssfullll.

But the judges - what are they drinking? Some of these points don't make sense.

11 notes - Posted May 14, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[twomanyideas]

Santu Claus Is Coming to Town (Chapter 2)

A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

@becausewritingshouldbefun January 2023 Challenge Prompt: Resolutions Pairing(s): Gray x Natsu, Sting x Rogue, Lyon x Erza (mentioned) AO3 | Prev: Ch 1| Ch 2 Next: Ch 3

Chapter Summary: Rogue faces two challenges this Christmas eve: asking Sting out, and a confrontation with his childhood Christmas trauma.

Chapter 2: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Fuck This

Rogue was well aware his family went all nutcrackers in December, but… man, they had really lost it this year. His mom and aunt in particular. He heard the Christmas music playing as soon as Ultear opened the door to welcome them in. Band Aid, now wasn’t that a perfect fit? That had to be their theme song.

𝅘𝅥 Do they know it's Christmas time at all? 𝅘𝅥𝅮 Yes. Yes, they did. But aunt Ur must've been worried someone might forget because she and that traffic accident magnet of a yard of hers made sure there was no getting around it.

𝅘𝅥 Feed the world! 𝅘𝅥𝅮 You know what? That might just be possible with the metric fucktons of food his mom had prepared. 

No, Christmas was not Rogue’s favorite holiday.

Ultear’s laughter at the parking situation, and the fact she hugged him when he greeted her, were all he needed to know she was already tipsy. They’d never been all that close, but he had to admit it was good to see her again. 

Her husband… hmm, not so much. 

Rogue tensed up as soon as Siegrain approached him, the smirk on his face letting him know he wouldn’t like whatever was about to come out of the bastard’s mouth.

“Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas, little cousin!” Ugh, like that. It wasn’t that Rogue hated Christmas. He liked parts of it, like the coziness of twinkling lights in the dark winter days, the abundance of good food, and the joy of unwrapping presents or playing games with loved ones. And his family was nice–not counting Siegrain, and his permanently inebriated uncle. He just had some… issues with the supposedly most wonderful time of the year. Issue, actually. All the holiday's wonderful things combined weren’t enough to make him forget the one thing that ruined the season for him every year. Santa Claus. Of course, Siegrain knew this. Who didn’t? The story behind it had been told so many times that by now it was a family legend. And Rogue knew every last detail of it, despite having no recollections of his own.

His uncle, pre divorce and alcoholism, used to dress up as Santa for the kids. It was one of their family's many Christmas traditions. Gray, Lyon, and Ultear had loved it when they were little, so naturally they'd all assumed Rogue would too. 

And who knows? Maybe he would’ve, if only his brother and cousins–who‌ were seven, eight, and ten years older than him, mind you–hadn't decided it would be funny to have him watch Krampus with them. Cause what’s funnier than traumatizing a four-year-old, right? While he believed that was never their intention, it was exactly what ended up happening once his mother woke him up from his nap and plopped him on Santa’s lap. End result: he’d never lived down the humiliation of peeing on his uncle, and the asshole's reaction had scarred him enough to leave him with a fear of Santa Claus that he still carried with him to this day.

Just as Rogue was about to give Siegrain the greeting he deserved, Jellal–Ultear and Siegrain’s four-year-old son–came running out of the living room. He took one look at him and immediately said the words that Rogue dreaded the most.

“Did you know Santa’s coming here today?!”

“Yeah, that’s great.” 

Lies. It was not great. It was, in fact, about as far from great as you could get, but Jellal looked so excited that Rogue didn’t have the heart to say anything else.

The truth was, he’d flat out refused to attend the party when his parents had first told him they were bringing the tradition back for Jellal. They'd promised it would all be over before they even set foot in aunt Ur’s house, but he’d known that it wouldn’t be that simple, because if there was one thing about his uncle you could count on, it was the fact that you couldn’t count on him. 

And wouldn’t you know it? Dear Uncle Asshole had yet to show up. 

His mom had assured him he had nothing to worry about, because aunt Ur was handling it. He seriously hoped that was the case, because while he would never deprive Jellal of the wonderful experience, he wanted nothing to do with it, and that included talking about it.

So he excused himself and hurried to catch up with Gray, receiving a pat on his shoulder from dad as he passed him on his way back to help mom with the last of their cargo. 

Rogue wasn't surprised to find the kitchen crammed full of people. After all, who in their right mind would want to sit with Siegrain? He’d already had enough of him after only a few seconds. Still, he fretted a bit when he saw just how many people there were. 

A flash of something red in the crowd startled him enough to flinch and back up, and with no one behind him, he almost lost his balance. It was a good thing he caught himself at the last moment, because imagine the embarrassment of falling ass first on the floor over the long scarlet hair of mother and daughter duo Irene and Erza.

Where the hell did Sting go? He’d been right behind him just now. Had he lost him already? At least that meant he hadn’t seen that blunder, and judging by the lack of snide comments, it seemed none of the others had either. “You brought booze? Good man,” Lyon greeted Gray, immediately lowering his voice. “We’re gonna need it.”

He took over the boxes Gray had brought in, and organized the liquor bottles into the bar area they’d set up without elaborating any further, which didn't please Rogue one bit. Sure, most of the adults were likely getting drunk at some point, but this reeked of drama. Aunt Ur, frowning at something on her phone and typing furiously a moment later, further solidified that belief.

“Gray! I don’t see you enough!” She was the next one to greet his brother, putting her phone away so she could squeeze him tightly, as if not enough meant never. 

“Sorry, it’s been hectic.”

“I was sad to hear Natsu won’t be able to join us, we always love seeing him too.”

“When will he be back?” Erza took a break from helping Irene gather napkins and plastic cups to join in, waddling over to give Gray a hug.  

“No clue. Last I heard, they were having a hard time finding flights out.” Gray said, quickly changing the subject by asking “How’s baby treating you?” “Just fine.” Erza rubbed her belly, but Rogue caught Lyon’s expression of disbelief that suggested otherwise. “Although I have to admit, the closer I get to my due date, the more impatient I’m becoming.”

Speaking of due date… when was that? Erza looked like she'd swallowed a watermelon whole. He really hoped she didn’t go into labor mid-Christmas party. If that were to happen, he was out of here. 

“You can only hope the baby doesn’t take after you,” Irene teased. “I swear, you were so late that by the time you were born, I felt like I’d been pregnant for about four hundred years.”

She, Erza and Ur launched the room into the utmost fascinating world of pregnancy and baby talk, which Gray and Lyon either didn’t care to or were too scared to interrupt. And Rogue couldn’t blame them, knowing just how scary the women in his family could be. Or who knows? Maybe they were actually interested.

But he sure as hell wasn’t. So even though he hated being the center of attention, he cleared his throat, stepping out from behind Gray and steeling himself for the circus that was likely to ensue once they set eyes on him. 

“Hi–” he held up the bag of food he’d brought– “Where should I put this?”

“Rogue? Is that you?” Ur gasped, looking exactly like his mother had before when she hugged him. “You look great!”

“You'll want to avoid the tent in the backyard,” she whispered, winking and squeezing his shoulders before letting go of him to grab the bag he’d been holding.

“Thanks Aunt Ur,” he said, offering her the most genuine smile he was capable of as his gaze automatically drifted to the glass sliding doors leading out to the deck. 

He could see the tent she'd mentioned through the gap between the curtains, and instantly recognized it as one she used for large parties. Given how few decorations surrounded it, he had no doubt she had scrambled to put it together for him.

But more importantly, most of the view of the tent's inside was blocked by a Christmas tree strategically placed near the entrance. How many did that make now? Four? Well, whatever. This was hands down his favorite one and Ur was definitely his favorite aunt. Thanks to her, he had one less worry. 

He was so relieved that when Erza and Irene began gushing over him too, he just accepted his fate. He would have appreciated some help from his traitor of a brother, but apparently Gray would rather laugh at him with Lyon. Not that Rogue was all that surprised. It had always been like that; Ultear, Lyon and Gray on one side, and him on the other. 

Him and…

“Where’s Sting?” Ur asked once she was done unpacking the bag and looked around the kitchen. “Didn't he come with you?”

“He did. He should be around somewhere,” Rogue said, shrugging his shoulders as he looked around in search of his friend, feeling oddly lost even in his own aunt's house.

He'd never resented his childhood, had even come to understand that the gap between him and his brother and cousins was simply the result of their age difference. But it hadn’t kept him from feeling lonely, like he didn’t quite belong.

That changed when Sting's mother fell ill. She and Mika had been longtime friends, and so Rogue's parents did everything they could to support the Eucliffe family through the difficult time of her treatment, which sadly wasn't enough to help her win the battle.

Although Sting had been Rogue's playmate from the moment they'd been able to sit up, it was through that tragedy that they truly found the friend they so desperately needed in each other. Despite being as different as night and day, they'd quickly become inseparable. The two of them against the rest of the world.

Maybe that was part of the reason it had taken Rogue so long to realize his feelings for Sting had grown into more than just friendship. 

Once he had, it wasn't long before the worst-case scenarios had taken over his daydreams. So he'd kept it quiet for a while, hoping the stomach-fluttering, head in the clouds feeling would pass and he could go back to simpler times, but there'd been no way around it. Not when the guy lived in his head rent free.

And things between them had felt different lately, feeding the hope that Sting might feel the same way until it was driving him nuts. He’d had enough of wanting, dreaming and waiting; it was time to man up and do something about it. 

And he was going to do it tonight. He'd done his best to look nice, and though the responses he'd gotten so far were annoyingly exaggerated, he couldn't deny they'd also boosted his confidence.

Rogue put his hand in his pocket, feeling for the pouch he’d placed there when he got dressed and squeezing it for courage. 

He could do this.

Assuming he'd find Sting, of course. Seriously, where had he gone off to? You’d think a guy wearing bells on his shoes would be easier to find. Oh! Bells! He heard them! Rogue turned around only to see his parents putting more stuff they’d gotten from the car in the hallway, but no sign of Sting. And the last of his excitement deflated when he realized the sound was coming from his aunt.

𝅘𝅥 Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul, with a corn-cob pipe and a button nose and his eyes made out of coal 𝅘𝅥𝅮

“I’ve got to take this real quick,” Ur sighed before she’d even reached for her phone and looked at the caller ID. “I’ll be right back.”  

“Here we go,” Lyon muttered under his breath in a tone Rogue easily recognized, having heard it plenty of times during his aunt’s divorce.

“Erza! You look wonderful!” his mother chirped the moment she entered the kitchen, while his father shook Lyon’s hand and nodded a greeting to the others. 

“Where’s Ur?” 

“Phone call,” Gray shrugged, wisely not going into further details. Their uncle was a touchy subject in their family. “She said it shouldn't take long.” 

“Oh, alright. Can I get you guys to help me set out the food?”

Erza offered, but Mika and Irene were having none of it, sending her back to the living room with a slice of strawberry shortcake. Silver went ahead of them to set up the warmers in the dining room, while Irene and Mika followed with plates, napkins, and cutlery. 

Rogue watched Gray walk towards Lyon, who was still busy with the bar. Not knowing what else to do, he went through the remaining bags, placing the food on the counter so that people who had a clue could do something with them. 

His gaze landed on his mother's purse, which had ended up among them. He could hear her chatting and moving stuff around in the dining room, and Gray and Lyon were too busy doing their best impression of that one scene from Cocktail to pay him any attention. If he was fast enough, he could send himself those pictures she took of him and Sting by their tree…

Acting as nonchalantly as possible, he opened up her purse and quickly found her phone. The password wasn't a problem. They all knew it was her wedding anniversary. He'd just opened the camera app when he heard bells jingling closer.

Shit, he was coming! Rogue's heart raced as he tried to find the pictures he wanted amongst the hundreds of shots his mother had taken. How the hell did she find anything in here?

“Santa!”

Where?!

CRACK!

….Oh no.

Rogue picked up the phone–which had been an anniversary present from his father, by the way–from where it had landed screen down on the cold, hard kitchen floor. Closing his eyes, he prayed that when he turned it over, it would miraculously be fine.

“You are one lucky bastard.”

The relief he heard in Gray’s voice encouraged him to look, and he was shocked to discover that not only was the phone unscathed, it was also showing him the exact picture he'd been looking for. Whatever cosmic force ran this joint must be on his side today.

“He’s not here yet. See?” Sting entered the kitchen, carrying a very impatient looking Jellal in his arms. 

So that's where he'd gone. 

“What are you doing?” he asked, seeing Rogue on the floor with his mother’s phone.

“Doing his best to get on the naughty list,” Lyon said wryly. 

“Huh?” 

“No, Rogue, don’t do that! Then Santa won’t come!” 

If only…

Jellal’s look of horror would have been comical if it hadn’t been directed at him. Even worse, how was he supposed to put the phone back in his mother’s purse with Sting watching him? 

“Rogue, honey, did you unpack the mashed potatoes already?” his mom called out, her heels clicking on the floor as she walked over to the kitchen. 

Foreseeing exactly what would happen even before she aww'ed at Sting and Jellal, he wanted to crack his own skull on the tile floor for being stupid enough to think about snatching her phone. He'd known she'd be snapping shots all night, paparazzi style, as he'd already seen hundreds of things she'd want a picture of.

And, yeah, Sting and Jellal together would definitely be high on that list. They looked ridiculously cute.

“Don’t move! Let me grab my phone!” She hurried to her purse, opening it in record time. 

“That’s strange. Has anyone seen my phone?”

Rogue scrambled to his feet and handed it over. “Oh, yeah, I found it in one of the bags. I meant to put it back in your purse.”

Judging by the look she gave him, his mother wasn’t buying it. Even worse was the smug expression on her face as soon as she turned on the phone. Rogue really didn’t like the smile that played on her lips as she looked from him to Sting. It seemed to suggest that, at least for his mother, Christmas had come a day early. The cherry on top was his own phone vibrating in his pocket. He could make a fairly educated guess of what he’d find if he checked it.

“Thanks, sweetie. Now, why don’t you go stand next to Sting, so I can take a picture of both of you?” 

He obeyed her commands without protest, realizing no amount of snark was going to improve this situation. Sometimes he really hated his family. 

Luckily, his mom didn't get to take more than a few pics as Jellal grew more and more restless by the second.

“Oooh, I see cookies!” Sting tried to distract him, or maybe he just wanted cookies. Both were equally plausible. “Do you want some? Aunt Mika's are the best!”

“I want to see Santa,” Jellal pouted, his bottom lip trembling as his eyes filled with tears, causing Sting to look from one adult to the next with a face that screamed Help me.

“This is a very busy night for Santa, Jellal,” Lyon said, ruffling his hair and taking him from Sting. 

“But Unka Lyon,” Jellal protested, “What if he doesn’t come?”

“That’s not going to happen,” Lyon assured him with a smile, although the steel in his voice made Rogue think his cousin was getting ready to take matters into his own hands. “Now, how about one of those cookies?”

“Okay.”

Mika handed Jellal a plate with a couple of snowmen sugar cookies and Lyon walked him back to his parents, talking softly to him all the while. 

“I didn’t know what to say,” Sting said, managing to look apologetic even while shoving a cookie into his mouth.

“You did better than I would have,” Rogue shrugged, nudging him aside with his hip so he could grab at least one of those cookies before they all disappeared into Sting’s pretty mouth. “I truly hope he gets a better experience than I did. Then again, could he really have a worse one?”

“Not likely,” Sting laughed.

“Right?”

Gray walked up to them and put his arms around their shoulders. “That reminds me. Who’s in the mood to watch Krampus tonight?” 

“Fuck you,” Rogue scoffed, giving his brother a shove and ducking out of his grip.

Gray laughed at him, and though his attempt to torment him annoyed Rogue, he was too glad to see his brother in a decent mood to let it really get to him.

“Why don’t you guys go join the others?” their mom suggested, peering outside. “I’m going to check on your aunt real quick.” She opened the sliding door and slipped outside.

Well, so much for seeing Gray in a decent mood. No sooner had mom left than his brother was back to looking glum, pouring himself another drink at the bar. 

“You guys coming?” 

Rogue almost caved, having a pretty good idea how Gray would feel sitting with the happy couples while his own boyfriend was a continent away. But he was on a mission, and he wanted to complete it now, before he could overthink himself into chickening out. Or worse, sensed the old bearded demon and self-destructed his mood for the rest of the night. 

“We’ll be there in a minute,” he said, grabbing Sting by the wrist before he could disappear again.

He was sure Gray was going to pry, but all he did was offer a nod and a slightly more depressed version of their mom's smile after the thing with her phone, and then he left without saying a word.   

This was it. The moment of truth. 

Maybe it was the way Sting smiled at him, which was somehow even more distracting than usual thanks to the sugar and cookie crumbs sticking to his lips. Then there was that stupid outfit of his. No cropped shirt this time, thank God, but the image of his legs in those tights was definitely going to stick for a while. And did those shorts really have to be made of fabric that looked so soft it screamed 'feel me'? How was that fair?! 

Either way, the end result was the same. Rogue's mind was eerily empty.

This was so dumb. He knew words. Lots of them! Pretty words, sappy words, dirty words… Now that the moment was here, and he still couldn't put them together to say what he wanted.  

“So tell me,” Sting started, twisting himself free so he could squeeze Rogue's hand before letting go to grab another cookie. “On a scale from one to ten, how done are you with Christmas songs? Because believe it or not, I'm approaching a solid 9.”

“Yeah, I’m going to need a bigger scale than that,” Rogue snorted, glad that Sting had broken the silence. Grabbing one last cookie for himself, he moved the container out of Sting’s reach. “Never thought I'd see the day you got there, though.” 

“I didn't either, but here we are,” Sting said, already scanning the counter for another snack.

“Hey, at least you got some variety. Try working at the mall. If I hear that Mariah Carey song one more time, I might commit murder.” 

Rogue knew he was going to regret those words as soon as he saw a devilish grin spread across Sting's lips.

“I…don't want a lot for Christmas…”

“Don't,” he warned, groaning and facepalming when instead of listening, Sting snatched a salt shaker off the counter to use as a microphone.

“Theeeeere is just one thing I need…”

“You need to shut up.” 

But Sting paid him no mind and kept singing, swaying his hips for good measure.

 “I don't care about the presents… underneath the Christmas tree…” 

Wow, he was really going for it, full performance. Rogue shook his head, but couldn't stop himself from smiling. If this was how the stupid song was going to take his brain hostage for the rest of the night, so be it, especially since Sting had such a nice singing voice. 

He held his breath for the next line, which was something he would absolutely love for  Sting to say to him, but he never got to hear it.

“That’s what I was hoping to see.”

“Huh?”

“Your smile, dimwit.”

“Oh.” Rogue looked away, feeling said smile widening. “Anyway, speaking of presents–” he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the pouch. “You just said you didn't care about them, so I take it you don’t want this, then?”

Yes! That was a start! Sting had always loved presents, so it should get his interest. But sneaking a peek at his reaction, Rogue only got to see a flash of the excitement he was hoping for before Sting's expression fell, his eyes widening as he reached for his shorts pockets.

“Oh no. Where did I–” He patted himself down, muttering a long string of curses under his breath, and storming off to the coat rack to feel his coat's pockets. "You've got to be kidding me!"

“Is something wrong?” Rogue frowned at him when he came racing back in, phone in hand, to search through the now empty food bags.

“Nope!” Sting grinned rather unconvincingly, seeing as he looked more distraught than he had that time he’d lost his lunch money back in middle school. "Just don’t go anywhere, okay? I'll be back before you know it."

"No, wait! If this is about the gift, don’t worry about it. I just want to tell you some–" 

“–thing,” Rogue sighed as the door slid closed on his words.

He watched Sting disappear from his sight, and waited for what felt like an eternity of nothing but his own dumbstruck face staring back at him through the glass. 

He knew he'd missed his shot when he heard two familiar voices approaching, and couldn’t help but huff a laugh. Who knew when he'd be getting another moment alone with Sting? Had he really gotten himself all hyped for nothing? 

“Wow, you look like you need a drink.” Lyon said, after taking one look at him. “You want one?”  

“You might as well make us all one. It’s gonna be a long night,” Gray sighed, grabbing a deviled egg from an appetizer tray and shoving it in his mouth. 

Sure. Why not? It couldn't be any worse than watching Krampus. 

[miyu-writings]

Caught a new plot bunny. What's with these bunnies that don't let me focus on them one at a time? No, it's all at the same time going all "write me, write meeee".

Not only is writing hard to do but also it's hard to focus on. Sheesh.

This is a dark plot bunny though. After the GMG and basically the Fairy Tail guild was crushed and Sabertooth won. The dark!Sabertooth. I'm going to write Sting a little unhinged and obsessed. Maybe to counteract that I'll get to finally write that Stingue fic I was going to gift an ex-friend.

Of course that the fic is gratsu but... there's quite a bunch of non-con and stuff.

I think that to this kind of torture I tend to focus more on Natsu - maybe because he can endure more? - but it's only fair that I hurt Gray more too.

Let's hope there's writing lol.