#I need more time for Jellal...

[nashnathan]

I've been rewatching Fairy Tail the anime for a few months, and I noticed the tierlist I made in september 2023 is OUTRAGEOUS.

So, I decided to keep a new updated tierlist as the episodes go by. Here's how's it going:

(Episode 39/I have no idea)

Some characters are there already because I'm pretty sure about them still. (Just so you know, I watched FT last time in 2020)

If it's so long now I can't imagine what it will be like in the future 💀

Farwell and see ya soon!

[siesporamor]

Tartaros arc was a bad time to be Erza or Meredy because Jellal couldn't walk 5 steps without almost getting brutally murdered. And for completely unrelated reasons at that.

[mangaloversolar2000]

Fairy Tail: More Than Just "Cringe"—Why It Deserves More Love

Wanted to write this since I saw a bunch of people hating on fairy tail and then I found out they didn't even get past like chapter 5 lmao.

Fairy Tail is one of those manga that people either passionately love or loudly criticize. Over the years, it's been called "cringey," overly cheesy, and full of predictable power-ups. But here's the thing—those very qualities are what make Fairy Tail such a special series.

Sure, the story leans heavily on themes of friendship and unwavering bonds, sometimes to an exaggerated level. But isn't that part of the charm? Fairy Tail isn't trying to be a hyper-complex, morally grey epic. It's a celebration of the things that make shonen manga exciting: emotional battles, epic team-ups, and characters that genuinely care for one another. The fights may not always be strategic masterpieces, but they carry emotional weight that resonates with fans.

The world-building, from Magnolia to Tenrou Island, is rich and vibrant. The guild system creates a sense of community that makes readers feel like they're part of something bigger.

And the characters? Love them or hate them, there's no denying they have distinct personalities that make them memorable. Natsu’s fiery determination, Erza’s unshakable strength, Lucy’s growth from a hopeful newbie to a formidable wizard—all of it contributes to a heartfelt journey. Each major character has depth beyond their initial introductions, with clear motivations and evolving dynamics over time. And when it comes to romance, the series takes a refreshingly natural approach. Instead of forcing pairings for the sake of fan service, the ships in Fairy Tail feel earned. Relationships like Gajeel and Levy, Juvia and Gray, Jellal and Erza, or even Natsu and Lucy (while left ambiguous) develop organically through their shared experiences. These bonds don’t appear overnight—they’re nurtured through challenges, victories, and personal growth, making them feel real and meaningful.

Yes, Fairy Tail has flaws. The power of friendship can sometimes feel like a Deus Ex Machina. But is that really such a terrible thing? Plenty of series rely on power boosts for their protagonists—Fairy Tail just embraces the emotional aspect more. And honestly, in a world full of cynicism, a story that reminds us of the power of loyalty and bonds is refreshing.

So before dismissing Fairy Tail as just another "cringe" anime, take a step back and appreciate it for what it is—a fun, emotional, and wildly entertaining adventure that isn't afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve. Sometimes, that’s exactly what we need.

[turkey-sandwich]

Assorted Fairy Tail headcanons

Put under read more because it got surprisingly longer than I thought...

Criss, don't look, this has spoilers...(ᵕ—ᴗ—). Also unrelated, this is my favorite Loke gif. Look at his dumb face scrunching up.

Apparently, Loke can purr. Gray was the first person who found out about it and then he told Lucy. They both think it's cute and funny and they never fail to bring it up whenever Loke is around.

To continue upon the purring thing, Loke just acts like a cat sometimes. You know how cats fluff up and hiss when something spooks them? Loke does that too, his hair; which is already spiky, just spikes up even more. He also does that slow blinking thing.

During winter, Happy curls up around Natsu's neck more often, squeezing himself into his scarf. It was cute when he was a hatchling, but now that he's gotten a bit bigger, it's a bit of a hassle. Natsu doesn't mind though.

Jellal is the unwilling president and founder of "People who have a crush on Erza Club", members include Lucy, Mirajane, Minerva and Kagura.

Levy enjoys braiding Gajeel's hair. It's kind of a stress reliever for her.

Whenever Gray's hair is slicked back, he avoids any and all reflective surfaces. He looks way too much like Silver with his hair done like that and losing his father for the second time still hurts for him.

This probably doesn't even count as a headcanon, but Kyoka and Seliah were a thing and they were definitely getting freaky on there.

Lucy just knows a bunch of random things and has a bunch of random skills. Yes, she knows that the space between the eyebrows is called the glabella and yes, she's apparently good at fencing.

Laxus absolutely hates the cold. His coat is for both for fashion and to keep him warm.

If there's a "People who have a crush on Erza Club", there's one for Lucy too. Members include, Natsu, Loke, Gray, Juvia, Lisanna and Yukino.

Gajeel cannot handle summer. He hates summer with a passion. "It makes me feel like I'm melting," he claims.

Gray kissed Loke once, just to see what it's like and what the fuss is about. One accidental make out session later, Gray finally understood why. He wouldn't mind doing it again, but he's not saying that out loud.

Bickslow just moans for no reason at all. At the most random times. Freed hates it so much.

Sometimes, people find Wendy perched atop the weirdest places. As long as it's high up, there's a chance that Wendy is there or has been there. It's just her thing and Charle had given up trying to stop her.

Gray and Lyon are each other's bisexual awakings. Gray when they were kids and Lyon when he got his ass beat by Gray in Galuna Island (after much thought, of course).

Mirajane and Freed have a gossip night sometimes where they just break out the fancy wine and share the wildest things they've heard around in the guild. Mira hears a lot of it and Freed is way too observant that he notices too many things.

Mest has been at Lahar's grave more than he's been at the guild. (The tragic yaoi between them was surprising, but not unwelcome. I need more of that.)

Levy curses at people in foreign languages, Freed is horrified whenever he hears her. He's secretly sworn to never get on her bad side.

Since Lyon can do Ice Make with one hand, I'd assume that Molding Magic users can use their magic with other parts of their bodies like their legs, etc. While not as stable as the standard of using both hands, it's more efficient and are sometimes used for quick escapes. Well, anyways, Lyon can use Ice Make with his tongue. He can't create anything bigger than his own hand and certainly not anything as grand or powerful as his Snow Dragon, but it's useful enough. This totally not because I want to kiss Lyon on the mouth with tongue and then he makes ice while doing so and it'll feel cold, but it'll also feel really good. Definitely not even though it would be really sexy, ahahaha, I don't know what you're talking about.

Minerva takes cooking very, very seriously. No one is allowed in Sabertooth's kitchen when she's cooking and absolutely no one should disturb her while doing so. Anyone foolish enough is going to walk out of that kitchen horrified.

Yuka tries emulating Jura's "wise and serene wizard" look with his eyebrows since he can't grow a beard. It's not working, he just looks goofy, as said by Chelia and then Lyon.

[lisannastraussisanangel]

would love to hear ur headcanons for the canon couples (Nalu, Gruvia, Jerza, Gajevy) as first time parents

Fun fact: I actually wrote a fic about them adopting children (well Jerza, Nalu, and Elfever) if anyone is interested in that :)

Nalu

Lucy is literally stressed out the whole time

Natsu is pretty chill but his protectiveness has tripled

Lucy is the strict parent and Natsu is the fun one, but he will back Lucy up when needed

Unfortunately because of his heightened senses, Natsu really struggles with the baby crying. It's way louder for him and even hurts when he's holding the baby (too close to the ears)

Natsu struggles to sleep too. One because of the baby waking him up, but also because he is super protective and wakes up multiple times a night just to check on the baby (Lucy also doesn't sleep through the night but Natsu more so)

Lucy cheats and summons her spirits to help look after the baby. It really helps the new parents get time to rest (and also her spirits love the little baby so its a win win)

While they take turns working, Lucy usually stays home more. She knows Natsu needs to get out all his energy and she has no problem being a stay at home mom (at least for a little bit)

Gruvia

Juvia is literally always crying. Everything the baby does causes Juvia to burst into tears

Gray is in love. He's literally always cooing over the baby

They fight over who has to be the strict parents because both of them wanna be the fun one. Usually Juvia ends up as the strict one

Gray worries so much about the baby that he spends most nights sleeping in the nursery. Juvia keeps a spare blanket and pillow in there now, just so he can be more comfortable

The entire house is covered in toys (and other baby things). It has completely taken over their lives

Neither of them wanna work because they want to spend as much time with their baby as possible (unfortunately they have to so they take turns and only take simple jobs)

Juvia knits cute little onesies for the baby. She makes little dolls too. The dolls match the onesies. Its adorable

Jerza

Erza is super prepared and can literally handle any baby issue (throw up, diaper, teething, etc). She's got everything

Jellal on the other hand is always panicking. The baby hiccups? He's freaking out about if he has to go to the ER

Erza bought so many clothes for the baby. She treats them like a little doll and is always playing dress up

They are both the strict parents. Not terribly but they raise their child to behave (tho both are known to give in to the puppy dog eyes)

Jellal cries a lot. He cried when he found out Erza was pregnant, cried when the baby was born, cried when they brought the baby home, etc (he never thought he'd have a life like this)

For the first couple months after the baby is born, Jellal tries to do as much as possible because he wants Erza to rest (she did do all the hard work for nine months so it's only fair that he steps up after birth)

Somehow their home is always clean and they both always look well rested (well Jellal has permanent eye bags but that's just his normal sleep depravation). No one knows how they are so put together with a newborn

Gajevy

Gajeel is that dad that is always talking about his baby. He's always showing pictures, will turn any conversation into a baby story, and in general cannot go five minutes without talking about his baby

Levy did so much research before the baby was born. She bought literally anything and everything the books recommended

Unfortunately that means when something happens that wasn't in the book, Levy panics

Gajeel also has issues with his heightened senses. Levy takes pity on him when it comes to diaper changes (Gajeel has thrown up from particularly foul ones)

Gajeel tried to do that thing where you make the baby listen to music in the moms stomach, but it was his singing. Levy would come up with every excuse in the book for this not to happen

He does sing to the baby now, but Levy finds it adorable and likes to listen (his voice is more suited for lullaby's)

Levy reads to the baby every night. Her book picks vary from actual kids books to textbooks but the baby doesn't know the difference anyway

[fairiesheart]

I swear alot of the other ships are moving so far along in terms of romantic development. Gray and Juvia both mutually have feelings for each other and it’s just a matter of time for Gray to verbalize those feelings to Juvia and make them official. Jellal and Erza are also moving forward with their relationship (we just need to have Jellal hopefully join the Fairy Tail guild so then he and Erza can no longer be separated from each other) their only issue is mainly due to them not being around each other as much. With Gajeel and Levy they became canon during the final arc of the series and 100 year quest only adds to their dynamic showing people how happy they are to become parents and showing us how their lives are now as a canon couple.

However with Nalu there are hints of Lucy having romantic feelings for Natsu (even tho she continues to deny them) and Natsu himself just still remaining oblivious to romance. But I think with them it feels like the overall ship hasn’t progressed the way the other two soon to be canon pairings have. I think it would be nice to at least have one of them confirm that they do have romantic feelings for the other at least soon in the manga so then we can see more progression for these two. Idk if anyone feels a similar way but Nalu just feels like (despite how strong the ship is; we haven’t made much change since the end of the main series ☹️)

[captainuranium543]

Naming headcannons for the main ship's kids that nobody asked for (no gruvia though I'm sorry but I don't have any ideas for them)

Nalu

- Lucy would want to name one of her kids Layla I firmly believe that

- I don't agree with most names I see cuz it seems like most of the time it's just a remix of the names natsu or Lucy HOWEVER Luna is literally just nalu in reverse and that is too fucking funny to me not to include

- I think that a lot of the names Lucy would like would be things from story books she read when she was younger, I imagine her kids names would be Shakespearean (not unheard of in fairy tail ie. titania) or from some other famous literature.

- this is kind of a weird one but for some reason I firmly believe all of the names they would like would be 2 syllable ones, nothing more or less I don't know why but it feels right.

-Natsu is a little harder to imagine what he would like as a name but I think honestly as long as it sounded good like was a good sounding word he'd be happy.

I think they'd like the name hana, no reason why I just think they would

Gajevy

- as opposed to the nalu 2 syllable names I think they're kids would all have very short, one syllable, names. It just feels right.

- I think the names for their kids would be made up words. As in names that don't exist. This is because the names they like would all be in ancient dead languages that levy studies or in ancient draconic which gajeel has been learning (in my head its real)

- if they end up having twins like in the mashima art I think.levy would name one kid and gajeel would name the other

- I like the sound of the word Chen, idk what it would mean but it's sounds right so fuck it it means smth cool af in draconic

Jerza

- this is a little unrelated but honestly I think they'd have the most kids because they adopt almost exclusively, these 2 are building a fucking sports team, single handedly running orphanages out of business.

- also I think they'd keep erzas last name, all their kids would have the last name scarlet because it's special to both of them in a way and jellal likes it.

- oldest kid is def named simon I do not take criticism

- other names would all be star based names that jellal thought of (He is in charge of naming because erzas idea of a good name is like bladestorm the obliterator or smth)

- Rigel, Carina and Juno are some names I think they'd use HOWEVER every single fucking kid has a middle name that is some kind of weapon because erza needs to win at least a little.

- welcome to the world, little Simon double edged Battle Axe Scarlet

[deusvervewrites]

First of all: Happy Birthday Deus!

Secondly, I have more thoughts about the whole "The Villain must Die" thing. You already allude to it in your original post, but one of the reasons that people tend to dislike it is definitely the fact that, if they were to acknowledge & accept it, they feel they would also have to "blame" themselves for liking "bad" media that does not follow this "rule".

You point out Star Wars, so some people will simply read this as "If you enjoyed Star Wars, specifically Palpatine dying, YOU ARE A BAD PERSON!"

Which is not what you said, (and I assume not what you meant) but some people will just read this into things, and feel like they have failed some invisible "vibe check" or something by liking the "wrong" media, and it all starts becoming some weird purity test even if it's often only in peoples head.

Like, stop reinventing Catholicism over here, stories can have different meanings and lessons, and one single thing doesn't mean that the story is no forever tainted and everyone who ever liked it should be branded as evil or some-such nonsense.

To use an extreme example, Metal Gear Rising Revengeance very VERY much kills its villains. It also has a very strong and important message about politics and ideology and how people justify atrocities in it. It's a different kind of story with a different kind of message compared to things like BNHA. Also, it even implies itself that the protagonist might have been wrong in killing his enemies, the fact that he did so anyway and that that was the only way he could see is a flaw that the game directly points out! So good news, liking MGR doesn't make you "bad" just as liking SU or BNHA doesn't mark you as inherently "good" or "righteous".

People need to take a step back and consider that not everything is an attack on them or what they like. Good stories are allowed to have flaws. Because most of them do. Any you are still allowed to like them. That's also fine. You can even like something and criticize it anyway, that's allowed!

This is getting long, so I want to end with another example that helped me realize how much I love villains surviving:

Fairy Tail, and the Arc of Jellal. Long Story short, when we first meet Jellal he is THE WORST. Absolute scum of the earth, sadistic maniacal supervillain that, inevitably, ends up blown up in a big anime battle.

Except, nope, ~2 arcs later, he is back, with amnesia, and involved in some other villains plot. Over the course of the arc he works with the heroes but then regains his memory and is utterly devastated to learn who he was in the past, to the point that he tries to noble suicide sacrifice himself to stop the villain. It does not stop the villain, but he still wants to go through with it to "atone", until the hero that he had hurt to most slaps him in the face and yells at him to Live and Struggle.

Because his death wont change anything. It wont heal those he hurt, or revive those he killed. He can only make up for this, only truly become better, by living.

And, spoiler, he does not sacrifice himself, but instead starts to go on a long and arduous and messy journey of atonement and it absolutely rocks. It makes him and his story a million times better than if he had died.

Anyways, sorry for the second wall of text I send you today, once again, Happy Birthday and best wishes!

One of the many things I love about Metal Gear Rising Revengeance's dialogue on the nature of violence is that, as you said, Raidon loses the moral victory at the end. When he kills Senator Armstrong, Armstrong names Raidon as the inheritor of his ideals that Might Makes Right. The entire game shows Raidon martyring himself by sacrificing his morals in an effort to save lives, implicitly comparing this to real-world warfare

[theguildawards]

Hello guildmates!

The Nomination Period is now closed! Below the cut you will find a complete list of all the fanfiction nominations received for The Guild Awards this term! The mobile-friendly version can also be found in a Google Doc here that has the complete list!

You can find the list of all the fanart nominations here!

If you do not see your nomination, or you find issues with the links, please reach out to us as soon as possible!

We are going to give you 2 weeks time to enjoy all the pieces nominated for this term! We strongly encourage that when you view a work of art or read a fanfiction, please reblog or leave a comment to let the creators know how much their work and talent is appreciated!

The voting period will begin November 15th and end November 29th at midnight PST!

In order to be able to vote, you will need to login. We will be posting the link to the voting form on the first day of the voting session.

Got a question? Check out our FAQ Google Doc or send us an ask!

Message one of the mods directly: @classysassy9791 @phoenix-before-the-flame @kiliinstinct @ratretro @phoneboxfairy

Thank you to everyone who nominated for making this term absolutely wonderful and happy voting!

[please reblog to help spread the love of these amazing creators!]

FANFICTION

Best Action/Adventure

"Flame's Desire"  by @kiliinstinct / rougescribe (AO3)

"Untold Stories" by Rakoon1 (FFN)

"Reconnect: An Oath To Return" by ayaheartsanime (FFN)

"Branded" by HawkofNavarre (FFN)

Best AU/AR

“More than just a Fairy Tale” by @chaotickori

“Umbriferous” by @blackbatbbg / blackbag_bbg (AO3)

"StarFall" by @riverofmemories(AO3)

"Withered flower" by laynapanda (AO3)

"Healing Hands" by FyreFalcon80 (AO3)

"Song of the Dragonborn" by Psilocybinlemon (AO3)

"Eye Candy" by Jellal Frenandes (FFN)

Best Canon

“Keeping Secrets” by SlitherlyOwl777 (AO3)

"So This Is What Home Feels Like"  by @spot-of-tea (tumblr)/ spot_of_tea (AO3)

"Your Crush Is My Love Rival" by Chaoticmimo (FFN)

Best Angst

“Redemption” by @spot-of-tea (tumblr) / Spot_of_Tea (AO3)

"He Loved Her Too Late"  by @Lu69 (FFN)

"Dream Walkers" by ThornsandRoses12 (FFN)

"heartbeat on the high line" by notsofluffyunicorn (AO3)

Best Dark

"The Prophecy in the Stars" by @MsKittenMarie (FFN)

"Celestial Poison" by Shippoutsy (AO3)

"The Last of Us" by @classysassy9791

"Behind the Curtain, I Scream" by ReaderError72 (AO3)

Best Drama

“Accepting Fate” by Perfect Memories (FFN)

“World’s End: Aftermath” by CairnCircles (AO3)

Best Humor/Parody

Fifth Time’s The Charm"  by Straw Heart (FFN)

"Dragon Slayers, Am I Right? ( Chapter 4)" by Aromantha (AO3)

"Magic Council Complaint Form #1024: there are mages hiding in the trash cans" by Fireflower34 (AO3)

"Do You Want To Build a Snowman?" by @oryu404

Best Oneshot

"Looking to Our Future" by @shiiro-arts / Shiiro(AO3)

"He Loved Her Too Late"  by Lu69 (FFN)

"Eye Candy" by Jellal Frenandes (FFN)

"is/was/will be" by Fireflower34 (AO3)

"Of Cat Ninjas and Haunted Islands" by llito15 (AO3)

"The Wounds We Share" by ReaderError72 (AO3)

Best Character Portrayal

"The Dragon King"  (for Loke) by xSaffire55x (AO3)

"Silence" (for Gajeel) by @firapolemos05

Best Romance

“Accepting Fate” by Perfect Memories (FFN)

"Back to You" by Mautrino (FFN)

Best LGBTQ+ Romance 

"A Very Gay Quest"   by @CaffeineTail (AO3)

"Between Moon and Venus" by Woethe (AO3)

Best Serial

“A Gathering of Fairies” by KiraKiwiKi (AO3)

"The Council Year" by @RomanticHawthorne (AO3)

"Taming The Beast"  by @dawnwynters (tumblr/AO3)

Best Ficlet

"Laundry Day"  by Sofya29 (FFN)

"Fairy Tail Platonic Week 2024 - Chapter 2: I Missed Our Shenanigans" by @fairytail-multishipper / Luminousrain (AO3)

Best NSFW

“Love Rehabilitation” by annequinox (AO3)

"Consent Games - Chapter 2" by @teleiapotami (tumblr)/ teleia_potami (AO3)

"More Than A One Time Thing? (Chapter 3)"  by @fairymama624 (tumblr/ AO3)

"The Nature of the Beast" by StevMarie (AO3)

"Looks Like Rent Is Due" by shelbyshoe (AO3)

"Twenty Three - chapter 4" by Anim3Addict (AO3)

"It's Getting Hot in Here (So Take of all Your Clothes)" by @genavere

"Dreams, Wet" by Romantic Hawthorne (AO3)

"Chivalry falls on its sword" by Kikuneesama (AO3)

Best Completed

"what friends do" by Ssukidesu (AO3)

"Finding Forgiveness" by @teleiapotami / Teleia_Potami (AO3)

[jollykingdomstarfish]

My thoughts on magic in Fairy Tail

There are sooo many types of magic in Fairy Tail but I feel like we hardly know anything about them. Like, if the character who uses the magic isn’t very relevant to the story, their magic isn’t focused on as much and we don’t learn about it any more than we need to.

I don’t want to talk about the Thunder Legion a lot in this post because I feel like I always see people talking on and on about how the Thunder Legion was done dirty. And while I’ll completely agree, I feel like we’ve said all we can say about them, but please don’t let that discourage you from sharing your own opinions and thoughts and ect. I’m just saying that I don’t want to focus on them too much in this post.

With that out of the way, I want to talk about how I wish we could’ve seen more of the magics in FT in action. For example, what is the most powerful or dangerous spell in Cana’s Card Magic? We only see her in so many fights, but it feels like her Card Magic never really reaches its full potential. Jellal’s Star Magic is shown to give Natsu a real run for his money, but he only fights so many times after TOH. Even with Juvia: is her Water Magic actually weak to Natsu’s Fire Dragon Magic, or is there a possibility that she could just use the rules of nature and put out all of Natsu’s flaming attacks? Why do we see some wizards get more powerful as the series goes on, while others seem to never get any stronger? And actually, I think I might have an answer for that:

Certain magics in Fairy Tail are designed to only be so powerful. There are weaker magics, and strong magics.

Let me explain… take a look at Mirajane and Elfman. Both wizards use a type of Transformation Magic, but Mira towers over Elfman in terms of power by leaps and bounds. (sorry Elfman!)

But that’s not to say Elfman is weak, but strong in a different way, literally. Mira’s power lies within her takeover forms such as Satan Soul, Halphas, Sitri, ect. Mirajane is a very powerful wizard because the forms she has grants her incredible abilities. It’s the power behind her forms that makes her a formidable opponent.

However, that’s not the case with Elfman and Lisanna. With Elfman and Lisanna, the specific kind of Takeover Magic they use will never amount to the strength and power of their older sister. This is because when you look closely, Mira’s magic works differently from her younger siblings. The way I figured out the difference between them is that I looked at what each wizard would need to do to get stronger. If Mira wants to get stronger, she has to find a powerful demon soul and increase the amount of time she can hold that form. And her siblings have to do a similar thing.

Unlike Mirajane, Elfman’s power lies within his own physical strength, or however much power he can put behind his attacks himself. His power doesn’t really come from his Beast Souls like Mira, and the same can be said about Lisanna and her Animal Soul magic. If Elfman wants to get stronger, he has to increase the amount of time he can hold a form. Additionally, most of Elfman’s strength comes from his physical strength in his human form. Like Lisanna, Elfman’s magic grants him beast-like attributes, but not literal spells and attacks like Mira’s magic does. 

Think back to GMG when Elfman had to fight Bacchuas from Quatro Cerberus. When Elfman takes on that cheetah-like form, he gains a little bit of speed, but his overall agility hardly changes. When he uses that lizard-like form with the really tough scales, neither his strength nor his speed is altered, he just gains armor-like scales all over his body. For Elfman, it’s a matter of how long he can hold his form, and the way he defeats an opponent is by beating them physically rather than magically.

Holder Magic is another magic that I wish we got more information about. Holder Magic is what Cana and Lucy use, Card Magic and Celestial Spirit Magic respectively. I feel like there’s still so much we don’t know about CS magic, as is the case with a lot of magics in FT, but for someone who was one of the female leads, CS magic doesn’t really expand past the Zodiac Spirits. 

Additionally, I do wonder where exactly Cana got her magic cards. Unless they can be bought in magic shops like CS keys, we’re never explicitly told how Cana made her cards magic, at least not as far as I can remember. 

But going back to what I said about certain magics being more powerful than others, think of it this way: Who’s more powerful? Freed or Levy?

Both of them use magic related to words, but it’s pretty easy to say that Freed would win a fight against Levy. We know Levy uses Solid Script Magic, which basically allows the user to bring words to life. Ex: When she wrote the word “iron” on Tenrou, the word appeared physically in front of Gajeel, completely made of iron.

But Freed’s magic doesn’t work that way, despite using similar properties. I think there are certain magics in FT that are just designed to be more powerful than others. But to balance things out, the more powerful a magic is, the harder it is to master. The Dragon Slayers who were raised by dragons started learning DS magic when they were very young, hence why they might be more powerful than our lacrima-only Dragon Slayers: Erik (Cobra) and Laxus.

I’m pretty sure I could keep going on and on about my theories about magic in Fairy Tail, but I think I’ll end it here. Let me know your thoughts and what your favorite kind/type of magic in Fairy Tail is.

[bumblebeehug]

The Weight of Redemption

Summary: It’s winter in Fiore and Erik still hasn’t quite gotten used to being on the “good side”. Notes: The Guild Awards Gift Exchange: vpencil's secret santa<3 Merry Christmas vpencil <3 I hope you’ll like this little winter-character-study of your favourite boys. <3 (more notes at the end) Pairing: no ships, only friendship character study between Jellal Fernandes and Cobra/Erik Ao3 - FF.net - FT Guild Awards Gift Exchange collection @ftguildevents @pencilofawesomeness

***

The cold made him draw the thin jacket tighter. Had he known how drastic the winters would be in this part of Fiore, he wouldn’t have agreed to meet up here. The small, sparse snowflakes almost stood still in the air, aiding him in gaining some warmth. Still, it wasn’t enough for him to stop shaking.

“I hope the plants will survive the winter…”

“... but what if he’ll break up with me over this? I have to find a way to fix it before christmas day…”

“Oh dear, I hope we’ll have enough money to get a gift for him this year…”

As always, voices filled Erik’s head as he nudged closer to the village. He had gotten better at drowning them out, but after a long journey on isolated paths, he had finally gotten some silence. Getting accustomed to a myriad of voices wasn’t something that happened quickly. Still, he had to tune in – he was searching after someone after all.

It hadn’t been long since he joined Crime Sorcière in hope to one day redeem himself from his past. He had been hesitant at first, not wanting to get close to people he couldn’t trust, but quite quickly he learned that Jellal didn’t have any ulterior motives. At least, none that Erik had heard him think of.

“There he is.” “Erik.”

The voice broke through the haze of thoughts in his mind, clear and familiar. He glanced up sharply, spotting Jellal waiting at the edge of the village, his dark cloak blending into the gray winter sky. A faint smile tugged at Jellal’s lips, though it didn’t reach his eyes. Erik didn’t have to listen to his inner thoughts to know why.

“About time you showed up.” Jellal’s tone was light, but his gaze lingered on Erik’s thin jacket, silently judging him. He heard him loud and clear though. Still, Jellal voiced his thoughts, maybe out of courtesy. “You didn’t think to dress warmer?”

Erik shrugged, pulling the fabric tighter as a biting wind swept past. “Not like I planned on freezing to death in the middle of nowhere. Where’s the job?”

Jellal gestured toward the village. “There’s no immediate danger, just… unrest. I thought it might help if you came along.”

Erik frowned. “I’m not great at the whole ‘help people feel better’ thing.”

“Maybe not,” Jellal admitted and started moving back towards the village. “We should get moving,” he thought as he was finishing up his spoken sentence. “But you’re part of this now. And they need to see that we’re more than our pasts.”

Erik rolled his eyes but followed. Jellal could talk as high and mighty as he wanted, but the truth slipped through despite how hard he tried to cover it up. After the memories from the Tower of Heaven came back, they seemed to haunt him at the least expecting moments. Erik could hear the cries that Jellal’s unconscious sometimes recollected, and he knew it took a lot of effort for Jellal to try and suppress these memories when Erik was around. Still, Crime Sorcière had never once advertised a magic fix that evened out the karma – it was a slow process.

The village loomed closer, the voices growing louder with each step. Erik focused on Jellal’s steady presence, trying to ignore the buzz of hopes and worries swirling around him. The crunch of snow beneath their feet was soon drowned with the hectic buzz of people finishing up whatever business they had left before Christmas. Erik made a mental note to unclench his jaw as soon as his head got used to the myriad of voices. Man, he really preferred the serenity of the woods.

“This is stupid.”

“It’s important.”

“You could have done this without me.” Before Jellal could open his mouth to answer, Erik cut him off. “Being alone doesn’t bother me.”

This time Jellal didn’t bother answering. He knew Erik could argue forever if he wanted to, but vice versa – Jellal was pretty good at finding comebacks himself.

The village was brighter than Erik had expected. Lanterns hung from low doorways, their golden light scattering in the snow. People moved through the square with a kind of hurried purpose, but there was laughter here too – children darting through the drifts, vendors calling out prices, someone humming a tune under their breath as they fastened a wreath to their door.

Jellal stepped into the rhythm of it without hesitation, like slipping into a stream. He caught a runaway scarf with practiced ease, stooping to return it to a grateful woman who barely noticed him beyond the gesture. He bent to help a child whose basket had tipped, rolling apples back into their place with quiet efficiency. Erik stood back, watching it all with a kind of dull fascination. Jellal didn’t have a single bad thought during all this: no hidden purpose, no egotistical pride, just genuine worry for the other person. If nothing else, it was certainly refreshing for sore ears.

“You’re really leaning into this whole ‘man of the people’ thing, huh?” he drawled when Jellal straightened, dusting snow from his gloves.

“It’s not about me,” Jellal said simply, moving on before Erik could process. He didn’t expect an answer: he trusted Erik’s will to understand blindly.

The cold wind quickly picked up again, but this time harsher than before. It brought a hefty snowfall, and the warm light that had shone up the streets was soon gone with the people who hurried inside. The entire village shifted from bustling to tense in a heartbeat. People shouted over the rising wind, scrambling to gather children and goods, to shutter their windows and doors. The storm rolled in faster than anyone expected, heavy clouds blotting out the last light of day. The snow thickened, swirling in erratic gusts that made it hard to see even a few feet ahead. Worried voices made Erik’s brain feel thick – disasters, man made or natural ones alike, had never been easy to cope with. Today was sadly no different. A migraine was creeping up his back, sending aching throughout his shoulders, neck and entire back of his head. This wasn’t good.

And then: the cry. Sharp and breaking, cutting through the noise.

“My son! My son is still out there!”

Jellal was at the woman’s side before Erik even registered the words, his hands steady on her shoulders, his voice calm. “Where was he?”

“The woods,” she gasped, clutching at his sleeve. “The oak grove – he was playing with his friends, but they came back without him, he might be lost- ”

Jellal turned, his gaze locking onto Erik. He didn’t say anything, didn’t have to. Erik met his eyes for half a second, just long enough to understand, then turned on his heel and ran.

The storm hit Erik like a fist, snow and ice slamming into him with a force that made him stagger. His breath came in short, painful bursts, the cold searing his lungs. The ground was uneven beneath his much too thin boots, drifts of snow pulling at his legs like quicksand.

“Scared… cold… where’s everyone… Mom, where’s Mom…”

The voice was faint, barely a thread in the howling wind. Erik clung to it, forcing himself forward, each step a battle against the storm. His thin jacket was useless now, ice crusting its edges and creeping into the fabric beneath. His fingers, already numb, scrabbled at a branch blocking his path, snapping it aside.

The trees loomed closer, their dark forms barely visible through the swirling snow. A low growl stopped Erik in his tracks. He turned sharply, his heart pounding, but saw nothing—just shadows shifting in the storm. Still, he quickened his pace, every instinct screaming at him to move faster.

“So… scared… Mom…”

The boy’s thoughts were thinner now, weaker. Erik gritted his teeth, forcing himself forward. A sudden crack sent his heart leaping—he stumbled as a heavy branch crashed down behind him, its impact sending up a plume of snow. A flash of concern crossed his mind, but he had to keep focus. Time was of the essence.

When he finally saw the boy, huddled beneath an oak tree, Erik’s legs nearly gave out. The child was shaking, his face streaked with frozen tears. His small frame was half-buried in snow, and his lips were pale and trembling.

“Hey,” Erik rasped, dropping to one knee. His voice wavered, but he forced it steady. “Your mom’s waiting for you. Let’s go.”

The boy didn’t move at first, his wide, terrified eyes fixed on Erik. Then, slowly, his frozen fingers reached out. Erik scooped him up, pulling him close. The boy’s weight was slight, but his warmth was a small mercy against the biting cold.

The way back was worse. The storm seemed to intensify, the wind pushing Erik sideways as he fought to keep his footing. His legs burned, his body screaming for rest, but he didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. The boy’s faint, ragged breaths against his chest were the only thing keeping him moving.

When they finally stumbled into the village square, Erik’s knees buckled. He dropped to one knee, clutching the boy tightly as a figure ran toward them—a woman’s voice breaking with relief.

“Pete!”

The boy’s mother’s relief spilled out in sobs as she pulled him into her arms.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice breaking. “Thank you, thank you…”

Erik shrugged, looking anywhere but at her. 

“Yeah. Sure. Just… don’t let him wander off next time.” He thought he hid his exhaustion well, but Jellal’s worried thoughts revealed the truth. He looked terrible.

“How can we possibly thank you? You must come for dinner tonight, our house may be small but you have to let us thank you properly. We have beds, bring your friend and spend the night! It’s much too cold to continue your travels at night like this!” The woman barely got a single breath in between sentences, already pushing Erik and Jellal towards her house. Erik felt a bit uncertain, sending meaning looks towards Jellal, who, despite trying to look composed, sounded a bit overwhelmed as well. His thoughts didn’t lie after all.

The boy, Pete, sneaked his hand into Erik’s palm. Small, cold, fragile, in Eriks big, slightly warmer, rough.

“Alright.” It was decided.

___

The house was quiet after dinner, the storm still raging outside. Jellal and Erik sat by the fire, its warmth a sharp contrast to the icy howl beyond the walls. The boy had been sent to bed: he was clearly tired from the day’s drama, but he had his mind set on staying awake for longer until Erik promised he’d be there in the morning. Jellal could be a bit of a bully, Erik realised as he heard his amusement.

When the fuss died down, the air became still. Jellal didn’t speak for a long time, just stared into the flames like they held some answer he couldn’t quite reach. Even if Erik hadn’t been tuning in, listening for thoughts that hadn’t been willingly shared, he’d know that he was thinking about Erik’s actions today. Back in the day he wouldn’t have cared if that boy made it home or not. He would chuckle and say natural selection was claiming its weak – although, he wouldn’t actually be in the village in the first place. 

He had to give himself some credit at the end of the day. It wasn’t like Jellal had forced Erik into this position: he had joined Crime Sorcière out of free will, a will to better, to redeem himself. Though his path was still long, his openness to team up with Jellal could be considered a sort of victory in itself. A bad person wouldn’t try to better themselves. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give the looming regrets of the past a rest tonight. Just for tonight, he wanted to feel proud of what he’s done.

Finally, Jellal broke the silence. 

“You didn’t have to go out there.”

A sentence he’d already spoken a hundred times in his head. Erik snorted, leaning back in his chair. 

“You would’ve done it if I hadn’t.”

“Maybe,” Jellal admitted. “Not with the same success.” He looked at Erik then, his expression soft in a way Erik wasn’t used to. “But I’m glad you did, Erik.” “I’m proud of you.”

“Don’t call me that out loud.” He tried to scold him, but the atmosphere was too comfortable for him to muster up any real tension. After all, Jellal had always been kind to him. No snark, irony or intimidation had scared him away: Erik appreciated that. It was a nice change of pace. The fire crackled between them, the silence stretching out again, warm and easy. Eventually, he spoke up again.

“This is what we’re fighting for, right?”

Jellal smiled faintly, and this time it reached his eyes. For a few moments, at christmas night, they connected. Tomorrow they would go their separate ways again, but tonight their bellies were full, and they had company of someone who knew the other’s full story. Someone they could call a friend.

__________

It was a fun change of pace to write emotionally intelligent men… Natsu i’m looking at you. No but jokes aside, this is the first fic I’ve written that isn’t nalu-centered. I hope I portrayed these insanely complex characters okay, it was really difficult… It’s gonna be a while until I do that again.

Anyways! God Jul! I hope you all get a wonderful winter, and that we’ll meet lots through the notes of upcoming fics. I have a pretty big project in the works atm, but there’s gonna be lots of other small fics in the meantime. I’ll see you in 2025 (unless i push out another fic before that hehe).

[plantsandpies]

I’m in such a mood. More headcanons! If you’re seeing this randomly, these are based on my previous post.

-Mystogan joined the guild at like thirteen.

-I think he’s like the same age as Laxus. No idea how old Jellal is but magic’s weird so it’s possible.

-So as the only thirteen year olds they are obviously friends.

-They did most of their jobs together even after the thunder legion emerged (until Laxus+ thunder legion did their year long job trip they did in the first season).

-Mystogan was injured because he fought a pig and anyone who knows about wild pigs knows that’s stupid. He was injured and was healed because Laxus found him. He takes him to the guild after and Mystogan thinks he’s being kidnapped.

-They lived together the entire time. None of the thunder legion knew and they still don’t.

-Mystogan has punched Ivan in the face and does not regret it.

-Mystogan carried vomit bags on him the entire time he was there after Laxus threw up on him during a train ride. Sometimes he’ll find himself grabbing them on instinct. It was very helpful during royal parties and during Erza’s pregnancy.

-Mystogan isn’t from Earthland, so he’s got weird side effects. He can see magic energy and needs sunglasses a lot because Natsu and Laxus’s magic is like looking at the sun. Laxus carries them on him even after he left.

-He also has different levels in like strength and senses. It’s not uncommon in Edolas. In earthland though? He’s like a blood hound who can lift like an ant.

-Mystogan, like the drama king he is, is a huge artist. He can sing, dance, draw, paint. He’s huge into fashion design and made his and Laxus’s clothes for like three years. He also made the fabric he used to hide himself. Before he had to have a summer look and a winter one because the original disguise was too hot for the summer.

-Laxus has no fashion skills and had to learn from Mystogan.

-Laxus has seen Mystogan do everything from tap dancing to distract a bad they were fighting to de-rooting a tree to throw it at them.

-Laxus has all of Mystogan’s old stuff in his apartment and he wants to give it to Wendy but has no idea how to explain that they lived together for ten years and how it never came up before.

-Because Mystogan was a child, he needed a legal guardian’s permission to go on jobs. The other kids had makarav but Mystogan wasn’t under that category because there’s a limit of legal guardianship in magnolia. So Gildarts is technically his legal guardian. They spoke twice before that decision was made. Once was small talk when he officially joined. The second was them making this decision.

-Mystogan dyed Gildarts hair neon green once when he was asleep. He still has no idea who did it.

-Mystogan has called him boring (his magic is shaped like a square)

-Mystogan knew about Mavis because he could see her energy through the walls.

-There are secret areas in the guildhall. They are magically protected so people can’t hear anything inside nor can dragonslayers smell anything from them.

-Mystogan and Laxus pranked Natsu by putting different meats out and then hiding them. Natsu drove people crazy with his reactions for months.

-Laxus met up with Mystogan before fully leaving.

[breakandbuildfiction]

Fairy Tail S-Class Requirments

Also known as: How are Natsu and Gray NOT S-Class at the start of the series?

I just double-checked to make sure, and according to the official timeline Erza became an S-Class Mage at 15, and I know Mirajane was an S-Class mage at least 2 years before the start of the series. So, given what we know of how S-Class mages are selected and what we see of Gray and Natsu, how are they not S-Class by the start of the series? Yeah the two of them aren't as powerful as Erza or Mira, but by the time the story starts Erza has been S-Class for a good 4 years and I highly doubt that when those two are 18 neither are as powerful and skilled as Erza was at 15 or Mira was right before Lisanna was believed to have died. Logically speaking it makes no sense.

Yes I know there is a narrative reason, that the entire point of having the S-Class ranking acts as a way to say which mages are actual threats to the main cast and which ones really aren't, but according to the rules set by the actual story and the events that are showcased to us, both Natsu and Gray are at the required levels of power, skill, and overall magical ability to be S-Class at the very start of the story. So the only reason I can think of for why the two don't already have that ranking is because the previous trials had the likes of Laxus and Erza be the primary judges as the only active S-Class mages around during the trials, and not only are both of them far from normal in terms of S-Class ability but at that point Laxus actively hates most members of Fairy Tail for not being as brutal and dominating as he believes they should be while Erza seems incapable of recognizing that the people she grew up with have changed and grown over the years unless the changes are very quick and drastic.

Don't believe me? She straight up saw that Natsu beat Eragor, who she thought would require both him and Gray to defeat, and later saw him beat an S-Class equivalent from another guild-- Gajeel-- and kick the ass of someone who had just nearly killed her-- Jellal (Though admittingly that one happened with aid from a temporary power boost)-- and yet she still constantly seems to doubt his power outside of the events of Fantasia.

It's just annoying and makes no sense to me.

I asked around on other sites and the responses I got had reasons like needing to know and use more than one magic, having the skill and maturity to lead a team, and being able to minimize the amount of destruction they cause, but the S-Class mages we do see all dispove that by lacking at least one if not several of those qualifications.

Gildarts is the most destructive of the Fairy Tail mages, only seems to know and use one type of magic, and never works with partners or a team.

Laxus does know more than one type of magic but only ever seems to utilize Lightning magic outside of the one time he used projection magic during the Battle of Fairy Tail so I'm not sure if that counts, he does act as the leader of a team but we never see him actually fight alongside them instead of just saying 'go do this while I supervise', and we never see or hear of him being particularly destructive. So he checks more boxes than Gildarts, but not all of them or particularly well.

Erza seems to be just as destructive as Natsu and Gray, has the most diverse use of magic via using different magical elemental and stat boosting armors, and was never was part of a team before the start of the series.

Mira's different transformations seem to mostly just give her different levels of power increases, the team she lead got their asses handed to them the first time she took them on a dangerous quest, her other magics are not combat-ready, and when she does fight she does leave a LOT of collateral damage in her wake.

Finally, Mystogan has the diversity of magic down pat and doesn't seem to cause too much destruction, but he never works with anyone or even has any meaningful social bonds with the people of Fairy Tail during his tenure in the guild.

So in all it really does seem that the only thing that matters when it comes to being in the S-Class is having the combat ability necessary to potentially tackle the dangers of an S-Class fight. So why aren't Natsu and Gray already S-Class at the start of the series at ages 18ish? I really do think they were sabotaged by Laxus being a dick, Gildarts and Mystogan not being part of the trials, and Erza not being able to gauge someone's strength beyond 'more powerful than me' and 'less powerful than me'. It's the only in-universe reasoning that I can think of given the evidence shown to us on how the S-Class exams work and who already possesses the rank.

[beargyufairy]

Just My Thoughts Pt. 26

One of my favorite arc in all of Fairy Tail is the Tartaros arc. It had everything I wanted and more. I think it was one of Mashima best written storyline (I haven’t watched/read his other works). It was more than just friendship is power and all happy endings. It had sacrifices, loss, heartbreak, and all the gut wrenching emotions. It was honestly one of the reasons I’m into anime now. At the point of first watching FT, I wasn’t really convinced anime was for me. But that arc changed it all. I have a special place for it in my heart. While they did end up victorious, it wasn’t without a lot of trauma. Natsu lost his dad, Igneel, after being reunited which was his life goal. Gray lost his father again and Juvia believed she was responsible for it. Wendy and Carla were ready to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their friendship and love. All of the dragon slayers lost their dragons. FT ended up disbanding for the time being. And Lucy lost her new home, her friends left her, Natsu/Happy went off to train and process their own thoughts, she was left alone after sacrificing Aquarius one of her first celestial keys to save the lives of her friends. I really loved how despite their win, it didn’t seem as successful. I really think it added a very deep element to the story and their characters.

I really hope the 100 YQ has something similar as we approach the end. It’s been good so far but kind of lacking in some aspects such as proper portrayal of emotions beyond the few in their range. I also think that having another arc the idea of “win but at what cost” is very important for FT. All their growth and loss from the original series seems to have evaporated from the 100 YQ. I won’t get into this too much or else I’ll end up ranting. But an arc with some loss would be amazing. I think it should have something related to Aquarius since Lucy did lose her in the Tartaros arc. So it would be a full circle type of concept. Additionally, I really really hope (and beg on my knees) for Mashima to use Lucy fear of Natsu flames for the first time in a gut punch way. It needs to have some impact and importance to the story. I need it desperately.

On the side note, I have been enjoying the little side stories or filler episodes in the 100 YQ. Ichiya and Anna was very unexpected but it’s understandable in a manner if we consider the last arc of FT. I also love the ship crumbs in the last few episodes. Jellal and Erza need to just kiss already!! I’m so glad he’s joining the guild. And ofc… NALU crumbs has my heart. I whole heartedly believe that Natsu thinks he’s dating Lucy since the last episode of the original series. I just can’t wait for this to play out!!

Until my next thought! ❤️

[vitaetmorsfilo]

this is a list of moments where natsu is smart (but its also me yapping because i was getting bored waiting for every little instance) (episodes from 49 to 64)

- upon their first encounter with oracion seis, smelled them and alerted gray and everyone

- when carla told them that wendy's dragon, grandeeny, suddenly disappeared seven years ago, started connecting dots in his brain

- when fighting those bro-monkey goons, after getting shot at his back, simply incinerated bullets (were they physical? magical? anyways, cool)

- (look how friendly he is with erigor, meeting him after so long, how erigor is unnerved by it and gray is fucking done with him-)

- interrogated beat up goons about whereabouts of oracion seis' lair (sure, with erza-esque tactic "ask-punch-repeat", but at least he thought of it)

- (also, it must be their temporary place, but oracion seis' lair is so pathetic it's hysterical. we have grimoire heart with their cool-looking flying ship with mechanical heart, we have tartarus with their highly functional flying cube, and these have, like, a cave? where all your guild goon taxes went to? racer's motorcycles?)

- when natsu, wendy and cats reached fallen erza, he was quick to ask for help and point out that no matter what she may have done with jellal, erza really needed her help (well, not really smarts thing, but natsu's quick actions allowed wendy to finally pull herself together)

- when nirvana has activated its magic and sent a black light beam, natsu either sensed or figured that jellal was there were beam of nirvana is

- (okay, nirvana thingamagick has my respect for having nothing to do with zeref and co. but what was the point of its first stage, where people who are usually on one side of morals and are on the gray side for this moment, get their side of morals switched? sherry, who was grief stricken switched to attacking gray, wendy was nearing the switch with her guilt over jellal situation, but hibiki knocked her out, and hoteye was reminded of his time with his brother when fighting jura and he switched from being money-obsessed to being pacifist. very mixed bag of results if you ask me. hibiki later explained that the switching is controllable in final phase, but in the first one? is it more like a side effect of first stage for activating nirvana? prolly-)

- (lucy happy and carla saying that in case of switching natsu won't change much, and that he exists outside of framework of good and evil, they did NOT pull the punches, my favourite freak of the monster nature)

- (respect from me to angel, she summoned gemini for a prolonged period of time, and as far as i know they are rather magic-consuming, AND she was using her spirits cleverly, countering aquarius with scorpio and loki with aries)

- (also, gemini is such underappreciated spirit for how lucy moved their heart, damn)

- (and, like, uranometria is cool, but how did lucy even have enough magic power for it, if she was feeling weak after summoning in quick succession? eh, i'm nitpicking, but there is little else for me to do-)

- ("actually, i didn't die😒" sorano😭😭😭😭)

- (can you imagine a what-if "what if when wendy was travelling with mystogan, that anima that forced him to leave wendy never happened?" i mean, they look so much like siblings already, gosh-)

- (can you imagine being a kind hearted and optimistic kid in a god awful situation, and then getting brainwashed and manipulated into doing even more despicable thing, and later being freed from brainwashing and realising all the sins you've committed? god, take all the cramps from jellal and give them to, i dunno, brain)

- btw, when fighting cobra, was it natsu and happy's first on-screen airborne fight? mad respect for them and their team work!!!

- when fighting cobra, when he declared that he was going to stop nirvana, and cobra replied that he was not letting natsu near brain, natsu put two and two together and figured that it was brain who controlled nirvana

- when fighting cobra, he was rather fast in switching between tactics, first he just punched, second he tried rapid firing long ranged attacks, third he was hiding in ruins in ambush attack, then he fucking joked at cobra mentally and actually got him to laugh, happy even thought of faking their attacks. even cobra admitted that natsu was thinking a lot and that he had some not bad plans

- when fighting cobra, managed to get so into fight he was fighting without thinking, getting a couple of hits on cobra. that impressed cobra, leaving him to question whenever natsu is actually a genius or a total idiot, for he is seeing someone like that for the first time. hearing that cobra was a dragon slayer was what threw him out of that state

- got into cobra's close quarters, almost getting him to face a roar close up

- (they really only won because of natsu accidentally letting out an extra loud non-magical roar AND brain back-stabbing cobra)

- natsu, exhausted, poisoned, and motion sick, chomping into brain-

[ydsurluvhsm]

you have a leaf in your hair.

🌸 pairing: jellal x erza 🌿 genre: canon-accurate soft angst-fluff, subtle yearning, mutual pining 🌙 setting: early morning, quiet garden after a job, just them ✨ warnings: awkwardness, so much unspoken tension, emotional constipation, no confessions yet

the job was simple. barely even a job. no injuries, no casualties, just a merchant’s escort across town and one night at a quiet inn near the forest’s edge.

jellal hadn’t expected her to be awake.

he steps out into the garden at sunrise, hoping to avoid attention—he’s still a wanted man, technically, and his sleep has never been peaceful.

but erza is there.

sitting on a stone bench under a tree, barefoot, her armor set neatly beside her. her hair is down. her gaze is distant. the light touches her like it remembers her.

he hesitates.

“…sorry,” he says, half-turning to leave. “i didn’t mean to—”

“it’s alright,” she says, without looking at him. “you can stay.”

he does.

they sit in silence. it’s not uncomfortable, but it’s full. like there are words pressing up against their teeth that neither of them will say. jellal stares at the grass. he can feel the edge of her presence like a warmth he doesn’t deserve.

he tells himself not to look at her. he looks anyway.

“…you have a leaf in your hair,” he says.

she blinks. reaches up, brushing near her temple, but misses. he hesitates again, then—very carefully—leans forward, plucks it out.

she doesn’t move away. doesn’t speak. her eyes meet his, and he thinks: i don’t know what to do with this moment. i never have.

“thank you,” she says softly.

“you’re welcome.”

she looks away first. he doesn’t.

“…you always wake up early?” she asks, after a long pause.

“not always. only when there’s something on my mind.”

“there’s always something on your mind.”

he huffs something close to a laugh. “then, yes. always.”

she picks at the hem of her cloak. it’s the same one she wore when they met again in the capital. he remembers every fold of it, every glance she gave him, every time she said his name like it hurt.

“i come out here when i don’t want anyone to see me.”

he tilts his head. “see you?”

“like this.”

she doesn’t explain. she doesn’t have to. he understands. armor off. guard down. no fight to win. no mask to wear.

he looks at her again. really looks.

the years have changed her, but not the way she holds herself. still sharp, still strong. but the soft edges have returned too. the girl who smiled through pain. the girl who looked at him with hope, even when he didn’t deserve it.

“…erza.”

she turns, and something flickers between them—old and new, painful and kind.

he doesn’t finish the sentence. he doesn’t need to.

“it’s alright,” she says again, and this time it’s for more than just the leaf.

and for a moment, in the quiet gold of morning, with no witnesses and no war— he lets himself believe it.