Tumgik
#i do not know what the jerza ship is BUT I LOOKED IT UP AND ITS SO CUTE
konohamaru-sensei · 2 months
Text
Some kind of follower event or other.
im very sorry if you follow both blogs and have to see this double. ily for following both tho. special love and kisses to you.
In celebration of my 1000 follower milestone on a blog I pretty much abandoned (@wind-becomes-lightning) and my 100 followers on the blog that I am now using (@konohamaru-sensei) (and because I really love doing things for others), I’m hosting a little cross blog event. I anticipate that most of the entries will be from friends anyway and gifting friends makes little Nisi happy.
So, what are we going to do? Well. You have the choice. Either you request a little story from one of the prompt lists (please specify or send the prompt) or you send me a link to a reference and I will do an art. Either or is fine if you adhere to the rules
Stories will be around 1k length (maybe longer if I’m feeling it)
Artworks only for up to 2 people (You can look at art refs in my pinterest board if you don't have an idea.)
Off Anon only. (If you feel embarrassed please just dm me beforehand so I know it is you sending anons, or at least sign the request with your name, thanks!)
One request per person. (Q, I love you, but I still have like 5 requests of yours in my waiting list)
Absolutely no requests for “no-no ships” and “no-no characters” allowed.
OC requests only if you are from the Anxiety Anonymous server or if I have written for your oc before. (You may of course request my ocs if you care)
You can send Naruto related requests to any blog, but send any other fandoms to @konohamaru-sensei
Reader inserts are fine, as long as they are done with Yes-please characters. 
Fandom list for this time:
Naruto (obv)
Fairy Tail
Haikyuu
JJK
MHA
One Piece 
Prompt lists:
Romantic
Spicy
Angsty
Kisses
Recent art examples x - x - x - x
If you send me a “Yes-Always” ship or a “yes-please” character I will prioritise your request, because it will be more fun for me, but anything is welcome as long as you don’t break the rules.
I will leave this open until I feel like closing it. In my experience, there wont be too much anyway.
Ok thanks, BYE.
Ship list under cut.
Yes-Always Ships
Naruto: OBKK | KKYM | OBYM | OBKKYM | OBKKRIN | SAIINO
Fairy Tail: Jerza | Gruvia | Gruvion | Luvia 
JJK: SatoSugu
HQ: Oikawa x Kuroo
Yes-Please Characters
Naruto: Kakashi, Obito, Yamato, Konohamaru, Hinata
Fairy Tail: Lyon, Erza, Juvia, Jellal, Gray, Rogue, Loke
Haikyuu: Kuroo, Oikawa, Hinata, Bokuto
JJK: Gojo, Geto, Yuuji, Choso, Maki
MHA: Hawks, Iida, Dabi 
One Piece: Sanji, Robin, Law, Zoro, Luffy, Sabo, Ace
No-No Ships
For all fandoms: no inces-t, no teacher and student, no mentor and student, no adult and child
Naruto: S-NS | Na-ruSa-ku | Kaka-Ga-i| InoS-aku
Fairy Tail: Gajeel x Juv ia | Gra L u | Gr arza
Haikyuu: Iwao i | Kurook en | Suga x D aichi
JJK: any yuuji ship
MHA: Ba-kuD-eku
One Piece: Lu ffy x A c e
No-No-Characters
Naruto: Sa suke, Ma dara
Haikyuu: Tsukish ima
JJK: To ji, Na oya
One Piece: P udding
Every ship not mentioned here is one I am fine with, but not in love with. Which means you can request it just fine.
this whole thing will probably fail spectacularily and i will feel like shit but i mean... no risk no depressive hole to dig myself in later, so whats the fun?
15 notes · View notes
Text
Some kind of follower event or other.
im very sorry if you follow both blogs and have to see this double. ily for following both tho. special love and kisses to you
In celebration of my 1000 follower milestone on a blog I pretty much abandoned (@wind-becomes-lightning) and my 100 followers on the blog that I am now using (@konohamaru-sensei) (and because I really love doing things for others), I’m hosting a little cross blog event. I anticipate that most of the entries will be from friends anyway and gifting friends makes little Nisi happy.
So, what are we going to do? Well. You have the choice. Either you request a little story from one of the prompt lists (please specify or send the prompt) or you send me a link to a reference and I will do an art. Either or is fine if you adhere to the rules
Stories will be around 1k length (maybe longer if I’m feeling it)
Artworks only for up to 2 people (You can look at art refs in my pinterest board if you don't have an idea.)
Off Anon only. (If you feel embarrassed please just dm me beforehand so I know it is you sending anons, or at least sign the request with your name, thanks!)
One request per person. (Q, I love you, but I still have like 5 requests of yours in my waiting list)
Absolutely no requests for “no-no ships” and “no-no characters” allowed.
OC requests only if you are from the Anxiety Anonymous server or if I have written for your oc before. (You may of course request my ocs if you care)
You can send Naruto related requests to any blog, but send any other fandoms to @konohamaru-sensei
Reader inserts are fine, as long as they are done with Yes-please characters. 
Fandom list for this time:
Naruto (obv)
Fairy Tail
Haikyuu
JJK
MHA
One Piece 
Prompt lists:
Romantic
Spicy
Angsty
Kisses
Recent art examples x - x - x - x 
If you send me a “Yes-Always” ship or a “yes-please” character I will prioritise your request, because it will be more fun for me, but anything is welcome as long as you don’t break the rules.
I will leave this open until I feel like closing it. In my experience, there wont be too much anyway.
Ok thanks, BYE.
Ship list under cut.
Yes-Always Ships
Naruto: OBKK | KKYM | OBYM | OBKKYM | OBKKRIN | SAIINO
Fairy Tail: Jerza | Gruvia | Gruvion | Luvia 
JJK: SatoSugu
HQ: Oikawa x Kuroo
Yes-Please Characters
Naruto: Kakashi, Obito, Yamato, Konohamaru, Hinata
Fairy Tail: Lyon, Erza, Juvia, Jellal, Gray, Rogue, Loke
Haikyuu: Kuroo, Oikawa, Hinata, Bokuto
JJK: Gojo, Geto, Yuuji, Choso, Maki
MHA: Hawks, Iida, Dabi 
One Piece: Sanji, Robin, Law, Zoro, Luffy, Sabo, Ace
No-No Ships
For all fandoms: no inces-t, no teacher and student, no mentor and student, no adult and child
Naruto: S-NS | Na-ruSa-ku | Kaka-Ga-i| InoS-aku
Fairy Tail: Gajeel x Juv ia | Gra L u | Gr arza
Haikyuu: Iwao i | Kurook en | Suga x D aichi
JJK: any yuuji ship
MHA: Ba-kuD-eku
One Piece: Lu ffy x A c e
No-No-Characters
Naruto: Sa suke, Ma dara
Haikyuu: Tsukish ima
JJK: To ji, Na oya
One Piece: P udding
Every ship not mentioned here is one I am fine with, but not in love with. Which means you can request it just fine.
this whole thing will probably fail spectacularily and i will feel like shit but i mean... no risk no depressive hole to dig myself in later, so whats the fun?
11 notes · View notes
freakinname · 2 years
Text
My opinions on JeRza(Jellal x Erza)
I know most people are gonna kill me for this but, I just wanna get something off my chest and I want to point out that, this is my personal opinions of this ship on the title and I have no intentions on creating a war between myself and JeRza fans. To those who ship JeRza, plz don't read this.
For me, I personally don't like this ship, I HATE this ship. It's just feels like it been forced or something and eventhough that I didn't watch FT that much,(I only watch some episode, clips and read the wiki page. I only like FT for the character design) I know that Jellal has been possesed, kill Simon and hurt Erza and for some reason, Erza is still falling for that prick! Like, goddammit Erza! Why the hell you still falling for him after everthing he's done! Just get over him and move on for god sakes! And again, it feels like it's been forced, you know like, I know he's changed but he's not the same person that he once was and yet Erza still wants that goddamn pretty boy! If I were there during that scene(the one that they're about to kiss), I would litterally destroy his stupid face! I don't blame Mashima because, that's his work and his work is his work. I know that most or some of you don't ship JeRza and my advice, to those who don't like this ship then, don't bother watching it just, ignore it or skip it, just pretend that never happened. Look, I know that they've faced a lot of shit in they're lives as well as distant relationships(I don't know how love works cuz love is complex and shit so, I'm no expert at these kinds of stuff). Personally, not having grown up with with FT or this ship, I find them completely moronic. Yeah, yeah... call me whatever you want, I don't care. but hey, what do you expect? It an anime, where most sh*t doesn't make any sence. But, anyways... yeah, I'm gonna end it here now so, that's all and arriverderci or whatever.
P.S. No offence to those who ship this.
P.S.2. I try to make JeRza work but nothing work, everytime I see that ship, it makes me wanna throw up.
P.S.3. JeRza had that SasuSaku vibe and Bakugo bullying Deku vibe combined which for me, it’s kinda toxic.
P.S.4. JeRza is overrated.
P.S.5. Maybe I don’t have a thing for most/some str8 ships in FT or I find the “childhood crush” concept thing, kinda cringe cuz most people moved on from their old crushes.
Edit: I used to hate Jellal but now I don't really care about him. He's just... there? But I still don't ship JeRza cuz, everytime I see that ship, just makes me wanna throw up. That ship is just really akward/cringeworthy for me to enjoy.
29 notes · View notes
nagirambles · 1 year
Note
Hi hi! This is sorta a teensy bit off-topic, but I've yet to meet another aro Fairy Tail fan, especially one who is super into in-depth character analyses, so I got pretty excited when I found your blog!
I've got to ask, as an aro, how do you look at the ships in Fairy Tail without the amatonormative lens? What is your perspective of them? What's your favorite? (I bet you've been asked that loads of times, sorry)
Jerza is my absolute favorite ship because there's something so... so labelless about it, ya know? It's as far from traditional as it can get, and it's got so much depth and history between characters and the concept and existence of the ship itself to analyze and theorize!
OOooh fellow aro hi hi hi ❤ Nice to meetcha ❤❤❤
I'm pretty indifferent to the ships, I've definitely been asked a ton, but my general perspective is that 'hey, if it looks cute and seems fun, all the power to it!' and I don't really care too much about who genuinely ends up with who, whether in canon or fanon. If the dynamic is fun, romantically or otherwise, I'm all for it even if the ships and characters overlap.
When I was young, I definitely loved Loke and Lucy, because the Loke Arc meant so much to me. I also loved Natsu and Lisanna, because the tragedy she brought to the story with the reveal of her death brought so much to Fairy Tail's narrative.
When I look at ships, honestly, I see the romantic side of things as secondary to any other relationship they would have. I like better to think of their unique and potential dynamics, the story they're trying to tell, rather than the fact that they're going to fall in love or end up together at the end of the story.
Alzack and Bisca are the iconic gunsligner duo who've gone through travels and missions leaving their backs to each other. In Edolas, they're proud to show of their love and that's funny, but it stops being interesting when all they do is repeat their names at each other with no hint of their subtle personality differences, the way they meld, the way Alzack and Bisca would unhesitatingly protect each other, but are still strict enough to lightly scold when either of them lets their guard down. It was all gone, and eventually, everything about Alzack and Bisca was just the fact they had a cute daughter. They just became the 'nice FT background characters', rather than the bold and prominent duo that spearheaded the protection of the guild in Phantom arc.
Though, my idea of Fairy Tail ships is mostly on the fandom side of things, because I'm not too big a fan of how they are in canon. Nalu's the one I'm most indifferent about in a romantic lens. But of the other big 4, I adore the cute potential of the 'redeemed villain with a cute fairy' dynamic that Gajevy has. Gruvia is fascinating to me, because it's an interesting pit of the 'cool guy' and the 'girl that's not his type', and watching them grow from enemy to tolerance to eventually learning to understand more than just their horrible first impressions was an arc I wanted to see executed better overall.
And though I love Gajevy very much, it does sadden me to see all these characters get shafted for a primarily romantic narrative. Gajevy is a story of protection, so it's fine in the way I can see something important about Gajeel's redemption in their advancement, but there's little for Levy as herself.
But Gruvia, I'm always rather on the fence. I still don't understand why Gray rejected Juvia after GMG. I think Mashima was trying to enforce the Tsundere stereotypes on him, which, you know, he's never been a conventional Tsundere and that scene was hardly the picture of a boy hiding his embarrassment, so all it portrayed was Juvia blatantly ignoring his crude rejection, which set off my aro flight or fight response. Being an aroace who's never been able to openly say it in real life (because I live in a country where people don't believe ace people are real) has made Juvia's advances rather uncomfortable at times for me.
And it honestly makes me sad because I love Juvia all the way up to Fantasia. I wish the crush she had on Gray remained secondary to her character rather than become her main thing. In TOH, she wanted to impress Gray very much, but her priority was on contributing to getting through the tower as part of the group, and helping to save Erza (the scene where she tells Gray to go to Erza because she's in danger, at the start of the arc. She willingly told Gray to leave her side and go to Erza!). On Tenrou, she wanted to ignore Wendy's wellbeing to look for Gray, and she was actually miffed she didn't get to do it. I don't like that.
But from childhood to now, the only Big Four I truly invested all my heart into for their development? Jerza. Jerza is good. I'm indifferent to it now because eh, they're not really written all that well as a whole, but I love their story. It's not about typical or unconventional love story tropes like Gruvia or Gajevy, Jerza is the story of two broken people who adore each other, just desperately finding a way to be together again. It seems like the entire world and fate's odds are always stacked against them and they're never allowed to be together, but they're trying their best anyways. it's slow, it's gradual, and it's a genuine healing process that needs a lot of time.
A lot of people complain about the almost-kiss at the beach, but I don't get it. People complain Gajevy is rushed and then say that Jellal should have kissed her there, as if that isn't the pure definition of rushing a romantic development. It was perfect that they didn't kiss there, because they're not there yet. Erza just got out of a seven year coma and is busy picking up her guild's pieces. Jellal's just gone on a seven year redemption road trip, barely recovering from brainwashing and amnesia and imprisonment, and he's wildly a different person, mentally, emotionally, and physically, from the last few times they've seen each other. (All of those situations were also bad, trauma-inducing situations.) Heading straight into romance from there is just ridiculous. I love that he pushed it away and stated that they needed more time. That moment enforced one fact--- that they understand each other (they both know the fiancee is a horrible lie), like they've always been able to do when they were young and when Jellal allowed himself to be arrested for what they thought was life. It made them emotionally closer once again, without taking things too far. It was one step forward, and they don't overachieve with another step. It was beautiful, because they were healing, not as people who are romantically involved, but as two people. They're very human, in the fact that neither of them want to truly and officially get together without being ready for a relationship. I love that.
I love talking about ships, as an aroace. Though, I think what I want to see in a 'romantic' relationship is different from what's usually given in media. 
I like to describe romance the same way I enjoy fantasy and sci-fi. It's not real and a lot of the specifics and logic is dismissed as 'just how it is', but it's very enjoyable to feel involved in it, even if it's something I can never personally experience.
16 notes · View notes
pencilofawesomeness · 2 years
Note
I saw a previous ask about ships and as someone that loves gen stuff I highly appreciate how you decided to focus on family and friendship, the world needs more gen fluffness so I love you for that. That being said, I think the fixed ships I saw for now are jerza and zervis? You said the ships weren't going to be a spoiler or anything, so is it alright if I ask?
Yesss gen fluff for the win! I just want to write friends and found family man.
That said, for plot and character reasons, and since this series spans over the course of years and with tons of characters, I can't really avoid it. (And, I mean, there's a few ships I do enjoy. Just passively and stuff.)
So yeah, list! No problem. Not everything is super set in stone, though, and it's pretty background I promise you. Mostly because I am Terrible at writing romance. I don't understand it, lol. So even though they sneak in there, I'm not going to write the romance part in the fore front.
Zeref/Mavis are sprinkled in there, for sure, largely because their romance kinda is a big plot point, what with the mutual cursing each other and all.
Jellal/Erza also, as you said. I pretty much just see them as super close and kinda mushy while also being awkward. I am told that that's attraction, lol. Pretty much what you see now already is what you get. Them being mutual confidants and what-not. Maybe a little too codependent, but getting better.
Gajeel/Levy will probably also make an appearance, but I have also found that I am incapable of writing them as anything but Best Friends, with teasing that probably edges the line into flirting. I think. Close enough.
Alzack/Bisca are still a thing. I don't really mess with them from canon much, lol, so I can't see it differently. Besides.... Asca.......
This is is a maybe, because it's sneaking up on me, but Cana/Juvia might be a thing. I'm sitting here drafting dynamics and every time I leave it for five minutes, I turn around and squint at it, trying to figure out if that crosses the line into romantic or nah. They're playing red-light-green-light with me in my story planning, I swear.
That's it really. Or at least all I can think of. Otherwise it's like... past-past stuff, or way in the background. Like people's parents and what not. Essentially I'm mainly sticking with fairly established stuff here, character-wise, with the exception of Juvicana potentially jumping from platonic to romantic when I'm not looking. Or it'll stay platonic, but just deeply so, like intended. But that one is probably gonna stay "interpret it however" because not even I am a good judge on that one. Granted it's early. Things evolve when I start actually writing it, lol.
And, uh, confession time with slight future spoiler: I'm mainly in it for the potential of kiddos. Romance is a means to an end. I want to go full circle and get some little ones running around and maybe make Acno a granddad by the end of this shebang. The only reason I cross the line from "it's in the background so interpret it however you want" is because I can't hide the fondoodling I need to get the babies. Which is sooooo very not gonna happen on screen don't worry. But you know. That's it.
20 notes · View notes
gralunaisland · 2 years
Note
gr/via fans be like "omg they are canon across universes <3" and then show a scene of Edo juvia violently rejecting Edo Gray's advances because he annoys her. I wish I was joking.
I like to regard them as different people to their Earth counterparts, but the position reversal of the Edo versions really drives in how ridiculous the ship is because the girl is the one rejecting the boy this time. People are so delusional they are turning the most literal rejection possible into a romantic confirmation somehow.
I think you raise a really good issue with the Pro gr///via fandom, Anon.
One of the problems with them is that they take any interaction between Gray and juvia to be romantic.
Literally any.
It doesn't matter if it's Earthland Gray being utterly creeped out by juvia's insensitive and inappropriate body pillow gift the day after Ur's death anniversary. It doesn't matter if it's juvia having a slew of downright creepy Gray merchandise that he doesn't know about which she uses to do gross, perverted things. It doesn't matter if, as you said, Anon, it's Edo juvia harshly denying Edo Gray's advances.
None of it is romantic, and yet since it's just Gray's and juvia's interactions with each other, they take it to be "gr///via moments" somehow.
This makes it pretty clear to me that they really don't like this ship because just how romantic it is and how well the two characters interact and mesh together. If they did, they would (though I will admit some Pros do, just haven’t met many) admit that juvia has issues and needs to treat Gray better. And if they did, they would realize those moments aren't cute and supportive of their supposed adorable ship.
Some Pros really only seem to like the ship because they've shoved both of them in this imaginary gushy version of their ship. Maybe it's because they project onto juvia, maybe it's because they think they look aesthetically pleasing together somehow, maybe it's because they like the "r*pey-person-ignores-their-love-interest's-consent-and-bullies-them-until-they-cave" dynamic in a ship, I really don't know and am sure it varies from person to person.
But! I believe it objectively can't be because of just how healthy and endearing the ship is as a whole. (Because yes, they do have their moments, but I can realistically pick apart each interaction where juvia "is being a good person", and those interactions are few and far between anyway. Besides, you can't be a nasty, selfish, unwantedly perverted human being 99% of the time and be considered a good person because of like one or two good things you've done.)
Anyway, sorry for the tangent, Anon! But back onto what you were saying.
I completely agree with you! The Edolas and Earthland versions of everyone are completely different people from each other. They have their own agencies and personalities and hopes and dreams. Even in the anime, they explicitly say that the Edolas people aren't just their mirror opposites.
Considering all of that, it's pretty unrealistic and sort of delusional to view Edo gr///via as being supporting material for their ship. I mean, of course anyone can take practically anything as support, but at some point, you've got to face the facts, people. Edolas gr///via (and Edo Nalu and Edo Jerza (is that a thing? I'm pretty sure it's hinted from Nightwalker bowing to Jellal in her maid outfit or something) for that matter) were all just cheap attempts by Mashima to pander to his Big Four supporters so they'd blow up FT online or something.
Anyway, I also absolutely agree with you about how switching Gray's and juvia's positions shows just how ridiculous the whole situation is. Lots of people turn a blind eye into how toxic Earthland gr///via is because here, it's the woman being the perpetrator of all the toxicity, and nowadays women tend to be given a free pass when it comes to abuse because lots of people think they can't be abusive. All that to say, one would think it'd be (unfortunately) more obvious to people, with the man being the unwanted pursuer in Edolas' case, just how bad the dynamic is between Gray and juvia in both Edolas and Earthland. Obviously, as you've shown, Anon, that's not the case with lots of Pros.
It's both surprising and not surprising that even then with the Edolas version, Pros still choose to ignore the toxicity of it simply because Edo Gray and juvia look like their Earthland counterparts; it's surprising because of what I just mentioned about the double standard of men and women with abuse, and yet it's not surprising because that's how Pros tend to operate already: ignoring blatant flaws in order to enjoy their ship.
(I don't think that's inherently wrong, to ignore flaws in characters, because as I've said in other posts, sometimes we don't want to analyze things so deeply when we're just wanting to enjoy anime, and what we like to see in fiction doesn't always necessarily translate over into reality, but to turn around and tell others that they're crazy for thinking the obvious flaws exist in the first place... yeah, that just shows they're just as delusional as juvia.)
And that segues into what you and I said, Anon, that some people are just so delusional as to take any interaction as romantic and as driving the relationship and romance forward. Being rejected is just fundamentally the opposite of romantic confirmation... it's literally denying you as a romantic interest because they don't like you... idk who needs to tell Pros that. I guess you and I will haha.
All in all, this was a fun ask to answer! Your words inspired me! And I love your insight. Thank you for your patience!
18 notes · View notes
sungie · 3 years
Note
herrow :3 my favorite fanfic trope is the knight and and prince (like the jerza ship if u know what that is!)
- I like it cos tradionally the dynamic would be the male role as the “knightly” position, but it’s endearing and more interesting to see a female fill that role and while the male role becomes the one needed to be saved
(no shame to anyone that likes the traditional dynamic)
Anddddd one thing I like about myself is my need to rid injustices or help people with things they can’t solve alone- my biggest concerns are usually others well-being.
I’m an extreme simp for the male jjk characters 🤤
However if u gave me a female jjk character I would not mind either way!
Ty ❤️
you know what?? i’m really thinking choso with this one <3
i feel like choso takes on so much responsibility to care for and protect his brothers, but while doing so, there’s really no one to look out for him. after meeting you and slowly connecting, being cared for himself is something that nearly brings him to tears. the feeling is so foreign, and warm ,, and is this what it feels like to be loved? old habits die hard, though, and he does finds himself constantly looking out for you. but more often than not, he’s content with finding himself collapsing into your arms while you run your hands through his hair, or smiling so happily as you cup his face, and the peace that comes with having someone to talk to without any pretense. 
choso would marvel at the way you view the world, and he’d be right there with you to help make things better one step at a time. i think you’d be the perfect person to help him readjust to life, and he’s forever grateful. but choso also knows that you tend to take on too much, especially with helping people, so he makes sure that you’re keeping your boundaries and taking time to recharge, too. 
3 notes · View notes
flourchildwrites · 3 years
Text
I've been trying to convince myself that jelsie is not a jerza AU, but tonight is the night I give in.
I waited for years to see the jerza arc come to a satisfying conclusion. I was there, Gandalf, for the kiss that wasn't. Or maybe it was. I don't know. It compelled me. Still does.
The point is that I waited patiently. I felt it in my bones that at the very end of it all (and there was a lot going on at the end of FT), I was going to get that satisfying panel of Jellal finally making peace with his regrets and getting with Erza. No more of this, "It's complicated!" bullshit. Some actual character development to cap off the series.
Of course, it's complicated. It has been complicated for years. But I was over garden variety complication. It had gotten old, frankly. I wanted ✨closure✨. I wanted a payoff for investing in jerza, for believing in jerza. At the very least, I thought I could be satisfied with jerza couched in fan service because, let's be honest, I was desperate.
But did we get that? NO! What do we get instead? A mention that Erza is taking very good care of her hair...
No.
I went back to read that part several times to make certain that I wasn't hallucinating.
No.
No way would Hiro Mashima do this to me. No way would he build jerza up like that since the first season, setting the ship up to be a profound expression of forgiveness, friendship and love triumphing, to end the main story with Erza brushing her fucking hair.
You know who does get a pretty good ending? Zeref and Mavis. Zeref and (the Mary Sue) MAVIS SUE.
But, I didn't complain very loudly. I told myself I was going to wait for the anime to make good on what the manga failed to accomplish. Did it? I don't actually know because I found myself so squicked by the prospect of being disappointed again, but in moving color this time, that I just noped out the whole thing.
And then Edens Zero dropped.
Space? Robots? An Epic tale where time itself is bent? 🤲🏻 Yes, this sounds like something right up my alley. And Happy's back. We love Happy. Who doesn't love Happy? Let the healing commence!
But then I met, Elsie Crimson, the armored space pirate, and right after that, we see Justice of the Interstellar Union Army. And there was a part of me that just... No. Noooo. No way would Hiro Mashima do this to me.
Again.
It is one thing to make characters that look like your old characters. They're his. He can do with them what he wants. And I am all for someone writing the jerza AU where Jellal chases Erza across the cosmos, but why does it have to be the damn manga artist writing the AU? He could have just, you know, written the jerza ending I wanted in the first place.
Dammit.
But I also thought, "Hey, Flour. You gotta calm down. They're just fictional characters. This isn't healthy. And just look at Happy. Yes, he's an exceed, but he's also a robot. And just look a Jella- I mean JUSTICE's hair. It's only blue sometimes, and the face-tattoo/ether gear is more or less transient. So there! Not the same. This won't be jerza in space. It'll be jelsie, something new and different. See, they already kissed (as they stabbed each other) which is a hell of a lot more progress that jerza ever made, I think..."
So that brings us to the present.
I had a bad day. No getting around it or denying it. Really bad day, and I have a habit of waiting to watch animes that I know I'm going to like on bad days to turn them around a little. So, I turned on Edens Zero, and what did I hear?
Colleen Clinkenbeard and Robert McCollum. The English voice actors for Erza and Jellal as Elsie and Justice.
Gosh, no! I had to be mistaken.
So, I looked it up, but since my ears are well-trained homing beacons for Collen Clinkenbeard's sweet, sweet voice, I was NOT mistaken.
It's a jerza AU. That particular part of Edens Zero is a damn jerza space AU. And I am... beside myself bitching about it on tumblr, the only place weird and niche enough to tolerate this rambling rant about fictional characters that I care way too much about.
Goodnight, cruel fandom. I just can't right now.
Tumblr media
39 notes · View notes
icingspring · 2 years
Text
The Shipper Challenge
It's late, I'm bored and this seems like a fun challenge to do. Take a look back on some of my favorite ships over the years.
Favorite Ship- CaptainSwan
Emma and Hook, where to begin? Enemies to lovers, the chemistry, the angst. Everything about these two is just perfect from start to finish, and I just will never get over them. Enough said.
Tumblr media
First Ship- BBRae
Beast Boy and Raven would be my first "official" ship, where I actively searched YouTube for compilation music videos of their scenes together with early 2000's punk love songs playing, but before I discovered FanFiction. Their weird sort of friendship, and just the small ways in which they looked out for each other, those small moments of vulnerability.... *sigh* you have no idea how much my heart soared when I found out many years later that they became canon in the official comics.
Tumblr media
First Ship you were crazy for- Harmony
While I have never been the biggest HP fan, I still to this day can not understand why Harry and Hermione did not end up together. The combination of their complimentary personalities, similar interests, and the chemistry I felt in the movies, it seemed like a no brainer. They were the first ship I ever read FanFiction for, as I clearly was not getting what I wanted from the original material.
Tumblr media
newest Ship- Shangqi and Katy
Oh yeah, I ship it. It's still in its early stages, and it's new enough and has enough leeway that if a katy/xialing pair were to happen instead, I would also be quite happy with that. However, I know the Marvel love formula, and this is hitting all the marks.
Tumblr media
Ship you like but no one else does- Reylo
Not so much "no one else" likes it; trust me there are a lot of people who love them as much as I do, but they are probably the most controversial of my ships. What can I say? They had a fantastic dynamic, insane chemistry, and the literal connection they shared. For me it was irresistible, and I have never obsessed with another ship like with this one. I have read more fanfiction for this ship then every other ship I've ever discovered combined. The reylo fandom just has some of the best writers and creative minds, and I love it. They would have taken my "Favorite ship" spot if it wasn't for the way it FUCKING ENDED.
Tumblr media
Ship you wish was endgame- Gendrya
Shipped them from the beginning. Yes, when they were kids in the second season, my first thought was "when they're adults they're going to get married." and DAMN IT! I WAS SO CLOSE! We can all agree thar GoT fell flat on a lot of things, and I definitely put this way up on the list.
Tumblr media
Ship you wish had more screentime- FinnPoe
Honestly? I ship Finn with almost everyone, he's just such a likeable character; but in this case it really was a shame thar Disney didn't have the balls to make Finn and Poe a couple. 2019 was just a year of disappointments all around for the Star Wars fandom.
Tumblr media
Ship you wish had been Canon- Romanogers
Natasha and Steve are what I like to call my "impossible ship". I know from the start that it's not going to happen. But damn do I think they have great chemistry together. They just got each other, especially in the MCU, and I feel like as a couple they would have been able to keep that dynamic while also being able to further lift each other up. I think Nat is so much like Peggy personality wise, but not enough that it would feel like Steve was substituting one for the other. It was hard to keep my hopes from getting too high, but at least I always have Winter Soldier to watch if I ever get nostalgic.
Tumblr media
Ship you wish will be canon- Nalu
After the end of the original Fairy Tail manga/anime, I'd resigned myself to the fact that Natsu and Lucy will just always be that ambiguous couple with no solid answer on their romantic status. But then the sequel 100 Year Quest came out, and all these other favorite ships of mine like Gruvia, Gejevy, and Jerza are all starting to solidify into canon, and fucking Mashima-sensei is still staying ambiguous with the two most main characters of the series. PLEASE MASHIMA-SENSEI WE ASK SO LITTLE OF YOU! He has been feeding this fandom nothing but tiny crumbs from the beginning and yet somehow we are still thriving.
Tumblr media
Wow, looking back on all of these the two main tropes I'm realizing are either enemies-to-lovers or friends-to-lovers. Don't get me wrong, I have other tropes that I enjoy, but they're harder to do properly; arranged marriage and fake relationship are two others that would be hard to conceptualize in a comprehensive and well though out manner.
Feel free to also ask yourself these questions, and make your own post! Make sure to tag me so I can read them!
19 notes · View notes
m-i-r · 4 years
Text
NaLu 2020 hints compilation
I've been enjoying FT100YQ for the Natsu and Lucy content, but I honestly miss talking about my OTP, so I decided to make a little compilation post to collect all of the NaLu crumbs (*cough*meals really*cough*) we got throughout this year thus far (+add a little bit of my commentary on each one of them)! ^_^
So let’s start with Mashima's Twitter Doodles:
#1:
Tumblr media
Posted on January 25, for no particular reason. This is really among NaLu's best Twitter Doodles. The way they're smiling and holding each other is just so precious ♥
#2:
Tumblr media
Posted on March 24, aka White Day in Japan! Natsu's giving Lucy a bunny plush as thanks for her chocolates! This one actually references a FT100YQ chapter cover, but we'll get to that later. #3:
Tumblr media
Posted on May 23, aka Kiss Day in Japan! It's actually part of a "tutorial" that eventually takes on a "troll" route lol. Fun Fact: Mashima has plenty of official couples he could've drawn for this day, but for some interesting reason he chose to draw NaLu instead. The doodle also just so happens to bless the fandom with an official kissing artwork of their OTP, while still respecting said OTP's current status and developments in the official story (by being a "joke" post).  
  #4:
Tumblr media
Drawn by Mashima and posted by his editor.
Apparently there was some kind of promotion on MagaPoke (the app/site that uploads the FT100YQ chapters) a while back - fans could submit requests for art by Mashima, and 3 winners were chosen. This was 1's requested artwork. ♥ There were a lot of NaLu requests apparently!
Now onto FT100YQ content! Which are unfortunately just Chapter Covers lol. (But it can't be helped, the manga's bi-weekly so it's walking at a snail's pace, and Natsu and Lucy are busy fighting separately for the time being. But the covers are really lovely!)
First, we got the cover of Chapter 49:
Tumblr media
This one references Valentine's Day! Happy takes the spotlight with his romantic delusions, but in the background we can see Lucy shyly attempting to give Natsu Valentine's chocolate. And from Mashima's White Day Twitter doodle that he posted later on, we can conclude that her attempt was successful, and her feelings were happily accepted and reciprocated. 😉
Then, we got the cover of chapter 53:
Tumblr media
JErza takes the spot-light this time, but in the bg we can see NaLu being dorks together. (This actually kind of canonizes Mashima's series of "Hot Spring Vacation" doodles he did back on his Twitter in 2018!) Natsu just can't help messing with Lucy lol, he truly loves being around her and having her attention. And is that.... Σ(゚Å゚) “May we stay together forever” I read up there?? Used in a romantic setting??? Σ(゚Д゚)  I think all NaLu fans know what I’m trying to say lol.  
Then we got the cover of chapter 55:
Tumblr media
This one references Children's Day in Japan. As you can see, Natsu's playing with Asuka again, and Lucy's looking at him lovingly in the bg. The Asuka omake had some strong NaLu hinting, so it's nice to see Mashima kinda reference it again. Although many may claim that Natsu’s an immature character whose unfit for parenthood, I think he’ll be a great father to his future daughter/children with Lucy. 😉
And lastly, we got the cover of the most recent chapter, chapter 58:
Tumblr media
Gray/Gruvia take the spot-light, but in the bg we can see NaLu (and JErza) dancing together. ♥ Although NaLu's the only major pairing where neither side has openly voiced/admitted their feelings yet, Mashima still makes sure to include them in every piece with romantic undertones. The ship got his full support, and FT100YQ hasn’t been shy with romance, so I’m pretty excited to see what he has in store for NaLu. ^_^ ♥
 Now onto HERO’s hints. Or rather, HEROINE’s. HERO’s chapters were actually released weekly in 2019, but the volume containing them all came out in 2020, with an extra chapter called “HEROINE’s”.
HEROINE’s had a moment for all of Mashima’s main ships – Haru x Elie from Rave Master, Natsu x Lucy from Fairy Tail and Shiki x Rebecca from Edens Zero.
And well, the moment NaLu had was pretty damn cute, if I do say so myself:
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
The fact that they’re pranking people together now (or at least attempting to lol) just goes to show how close they’ve become. Natsu’s rubbed quite a bit of his personality on Lucy. And the way he takes care of her each time she’s in trouble (either drunk or passed out) is so damn precious! The smiling, blushing faces they give each other also make me feel all kinds of ways. ♥
And that concludes what we have for now! As you can see, it’s a fair bit of stuff despite them not interacting in the manga for what feels like ages! So I sure hope the fandom keeps looking at the positive side of things, and patiently wait for whatever NaLu’s gonna deliver us next. 
162 notes · View notes
animezing-fandoms · 4 years
Text
Why are y’all complaining?
I’m honestly surprised that people are complaining about not getting enough nalu this chapter.
Like I know it’s been awhile since we’ve had a nalu moment but just because the other two ships in the Big 4 got big moments and we didn’t doesn’t mean we’re being cheated or left out of anything. Gajevy only had like one panel too so it’s not like nalu got the short end of the stick or anything. This arc just wasn’t focused on nalu, and that’s fine! 
Gruvia, Jerza, and Gajevy don’t get nearly as much attention as Nalu in this story and from the creators too! So why are we acting so disappointed over only getting a cover and not being happy with what we got and also being happy for the other shippers for being fed for once! 
And this became a bit of a rant/analysis and it’s not too long but I’m gonna add a page break just in case for curtesy. 
Jerza and Gruvia both had big development milestones in this arc with both Gray and Jellal coming to a point where they can start expressing their feelings for the girls they love. Nalu didn’t have that. We did have Lucy saying how she thinks Natsu’s not interested in romance but that was mostly just confirming something that we already knew so it didn’t need to get mentioned again in this chapter, and when that does get brought up again it would probably have to be a bigger conversation so it wouldn’t really have fit in this chapter anyway since there was other stuff going on. Maybe the next chapter will check in with nalu then? But even if it doesn’t, remember that nalu wasn’t the focus of this arc so they weren’t going to have as big of a moment as jerza and gruvia in this chapter!
And besides, nalu did get that cover for this chapter! So it’s not like we got nothing! We got Lucy crying into Natsu’s chest after reuniting with him! That’s a pretty huge deal so why are we treating it like it’s practically nothing? It’s definitely something! 
They are both beaten up and she is crying onto his chest after reuniting with him on the battlefield and he is happy to see her and letting her cry into his precious scarf and the whole guild is smiling knowingly at them during this embrace! 
Like holy shit that is a delicious meal of content right there! So I was honestly surprised that it apparently wasn’t enough for us! 
Why weren’t we all freaking out over this more? There’s a shit ton to unpack there! I was expecting to see posts in all caps with us freaking out and all of us deliberating over our analysis of every aspect of that gorgeous cover! Hell I even wrote a drabble about it! 
But instead all I saw were things like “this the only nalu moment we had 😭”  and honestly I was a little confused. 
Tumblr media
Like, I understand feeling disappointed if you don’t really ship the other Big 4 ships and are mainly focused on nalu so seeing gruvia and jerza get big moments would feel mildly upsetting and those feelings are valid! I’m not saying anyone’s a jerk or something for having those feelings. 
But I feel like if you’re focused solely on nalu, it’s easy to forget that there are three other major relationships in this story that need time and attention too so it’s easy to feel frustrated when your ship doesn’t get attention while others do. I get that! It’s totally fine to only be interested in this story for nalu or only care for nalu out of all of the Big 4 ships. Everyone is allowed to enjoy the story how they want. 
But if you’re gonna do that then at least keep in mind that if you’re only going to focus one one part of a story that has multiple parts to it, the part you enjoy will not be the main focus of the story all of the time. 
And honestly, nalu shippers, we should know by now that nalu is a slow burn. They’re both the main protagonists, and their relationship does play a large part in this story’s development but because they’re both protagonists they’re probably not gonna become canon until the story is near the end. 
Gruvia, and especially poor Jerza and Gajevy have been through much longer droughts of content than we have, so us complaining and feeling jealous that they have finally found this huge oasis after spending so long in the desert living off of puddles and cactus juice while we have had plenty of water with Mashima’s twitter art and our own puddles and oasis moments in this story feels a little mean and makes us look like we’re entitled to the fandom and Mashima and Ueda.
So let’s be happy with the cactus juice we got this chapter! It was pretty damn delicious! And there’s a lot more desert to cover with this story and we’ll get to that oasis soon, and if you appreciate the puddles and cactus juice you find along the way in the desert, then reaching that oasis will feel even more satisfying than if we reach it having already been quenched. 
Sorry about the rant, I’ll get off of my soap box now and get back to writing fanfic 🤣
Tumblr media Tumblr media
73 notes · View notes
azuchifairy · 4 years
Text
Dead of Night
Jerza Vampire! AU One-shot 
Inspired by the suggestion from @jasnoor-kaur​ I realized Jerza needs love an attention bc their ship is so pure so this is my attempt at it! I’ve never written about Jerza before and this turned into something kinda long but I hope you enjoy it and maybe I'll make a little one shot series or something !!
Tumblr media
Erza stood at the tree line with the moon as her only light. The forest behind her was teeming with the sounds of the night eventually erupting into a symphony as she waited. In front of her was an open field with tall grass with a path that led to the main road. It usually didn’t take that long for him to show up, but she couldn’t worry, Jellal was quite good at taking care of himself. She didn’t jump when the trees above rustled and force impacted the ground behind her.
“You’re late, did something hold you up?” She asked casually, turning around to see the blue haired vampire behind her. He glowed under the moonlight as he stood, his red eyes looking at her with hesitation.
“My apologies,” He brushed off his coat, “something did keep me.” He said, his tone harder than normal. Something was off and Erza sensed it immediately as she approached him.
“Did something happen? Are Natsu and Juvia okay?” She asked regarding their friends that had been a part of Jellal’s undercover mission for some time now.
Jellal looked away, his eyes distant, “They’re safe. I thought you’d already know. You should’ve known when you killed her.”
Erza understood suddenly and her eyes widened. She took in a breath before responding, “I see, so what’s the Order’s next move?”
Jellal directed his eyes to her incredulously, “That’s your response? How can you be so casual?” His fists clenched, “They want you dead Erza, they want the life to drain from your eyes. Not only that, but they’ve ordered me to do it.”
She shouldn’t have been surprised by his words, but his reaction surprised her all the same. Before that moment things had been going fine and on schedule, but now there was a complication in their plan. Erza was a hunter, not to any specific degree, although recently those of the Order were calling her Titania, the vampire hunter. She was a member of the most dangerous hunting guild across Fiore, Fairy Tail. With the help of her comrades they took on countless different creatures that threatened the lives of humanity and doing so put an obvious target on their heads. Erza had been trained to deal with different types of creatures and climbed up to S class when she was only 14.
Humans had an ongoing fight for centuries with the vampires, unfortunately there were vampire nobles who thought they were above all other beings. An Order was created as a place for those nobles to share their ideas to conquer humans. They were known as the Blood Order and almost every human alive feared their reign. The Order had many powerful vampires that possessed incredible gifts and their ranks grew everyday.
That being said, there were plenty of vampires that wanted to live with humans, even admired them so much that they became vegetarians and only consumed animal blood. Even Natsu Dragneel, one of Erza’s closest friends since she was a child, had been turned into a vampire. Yet he still remained on the side of humanity and a part of the Fairy Tail guild. Jellal was also one of those vampires. He had come up with the idea to infiltrate and gather intel from the Blood Order with both Natsu and one of Fairy Tail’s other members, Juvia Lockser, insisted on joining since they too were vampires. Even while they were supposed to be enemies it didn’t change how Erza cared for Jellal.
Wherever she went he was always watching. When she was visiting the bars downtown, going shopping at the marketplace, or walking the trail home through the forest. He knew she was capable of taking care of herself, but there was a fear he felt inside of the day that she needed help and he was too late. He, over everyone, knew the dangers that lurked in the shadows of the forests. With the Order being so widespread and the target on her head so coveted, he felt compelled to protect her.
Jellal had walked the road of darkness for decades and he had accepted it. He committed heinous crimes against humanity, immoral acts for the Blood Order, and fed on those of innocent blood and youth. There was a time where his loneliness and cost of his sins drove him to want to be evil, to enjoy killing and succumb to the darkness creatures like him were inevitably enshrouded in. But somewhere along the way, someone changed that. In the time he felt the most lost, he was found.
He could still remember the first time that he saw her in front of him. He was giving in to his thirst that night and almost devoured a young man in the forest when he sensed the scent of even more delectable human blood. His fangs were bared and as he turned around to change his prey he was stopped.
In the moonlight, so delicate yet so brave, the woman with red hair stood gripping her arm in pain. She was shaking so hard that it seemed she was about to drop the knife coated in her blood, yet even in agony she pointed at him with a stern glare. He swallowed hard, nothing but the wind made a sound. Her scarlet hair flowed underneath the light and touched his tainted black soul. After spending years trying to atone for his sins, dying by her hand didn’t seem so bad. He was ready to accept that fate over all others and stayed still in place on the ground where he knelt.
Something must’ve changed her mind, because within seconds she cast the knife down to the side and approached him. He was so struck with shock that he didn’t even feel the burning sensation of thirst anymore. She took her bloodied hand off of her wound and standing above him she cupped his face. Her eyes appeared to be soft, full of sorrow, yet she was still smiling.
“It really is you..”
That was all she said, and all she needed to say. He was so captivated that he would follow her to the ends of the earth. She had grown into such a beautiful young woman that if he could blush, he would’ve.
“You.. know me?” He asked skeptically trying to remember where a gorgeous being such as her would’ve seen him.
She chuckled brushing her red hair from her face, “Of course I do. I knew from the moment I saw you I would never forget.”
He stood abruptly and pulled her hand off of him, “What are you..” he remembered the blood on his hands and mouth, “Don’t look at me, I didn’t want you to see-”
“You don’t think I know?” She interrupted with her tone remaining soft. “You saved me then, and got me to safety.”
Then he realized that it was her, the infamous Erza Scarlet, but the moment she was talking about was before that. It was the night that the Blood Order had decided to choose a small village on the outskirts of the country for their ceremonial feeding. The vampire nobles had come up with a sick way of getting the specially chosen vampires fed by holding a cultist ceremony before purging a village of innocent people. In their minds they were rewarding their strongest members who benefitted the Order by gathering recruits, slaves, or intel and Jellal almost always got chosen. It was sick and immoral but it fed the hungry demon inside of every vampire, including him. To prepare for the ceremony, the chosen vampires were to go as long as possible without feeding to induce the ultimate level of thirst. This ensured that the entire village would be destroyed, and every drop of blood shed.
Fires had broken out and soon enough the whole village was aflame as vampires attacked the people trying to flee. Erza was one of those people but still a child at the time which made her significantly slower than the others. She ran as fast as she could but she wasn’t quick enough to outrun the vampires. Her body smacked into one of the higher ranks and she was thrown to the ground on impact. The vampire before her was called Zero and he was a ruthless killer amongst the Order. He held no care for human life, like animals to the slaughter.
Erza cowered in the ground trying to crawl backwards away from his figure looming over her. The moment he went to grab her and end her life Jellal threw himself in front of her. He grabbed onto Zero’s hands and growled against his strength.
Zero was surprised by this, since it was against the Law of the Order. No vampire had ever protected a human, “Jellal?! What the hell are you doing?!”
He couldn’t speak, Jellal was working against the will of his thirst and if he lost focus he might end up hurting Erza. This berserk mode was the most dangerous state of a vampire, but also their strongest. Their desire to consume blood takes over their minds and bodies becoming something truly worse than just a vampire. Erza watched the scene unfold before her knowing that the blue haired man was also a vampire, but not knowing why he was protecting her.
Zero had claws much like a beast as part of his gift and he was strong enough to tear through human bodies. Jellal was carefully dodging his moves using his immense strength to throw and smash him to the ground repeatedly. Nearby there was a strong scent of blood that smelled so good it distracted both Jellal and Zero.
Both tried to resist the thirst to focus on their fight and Jellal paid the price for letting his guard down. He had turned around to check that it wasn’t the girl who was bleeding and Zero lunged himself towards with his claws. Erza yelped suddenly, “Look out!!”
Jellal was able to send himself backwards just in time to not take the full brunt of Zero’s attack but he was still slashed by the five claws. Jellal cried out in pain and fell to the ground holding his abdomen.
“TRAITOR! I’ll kill you for protecting a scum human!!” Zero bellowed continuing his attack.
Unfortunately for Zero, those were the last words he ever spoke.
In the dead of night he snapped Zero’s head off. Jellal had no choice but to kill his own kind and burn the body, or else he would tell the Order of his treason. It was only until after Zero’s body was burning did he pick up Erza and bring her into the woods all while his mind was swimming. He wanted to drain her of blood, he wanted to save her, the contradicting thoughts and intense pain he felt were probably the only thing keeping her alive. When she was far enough away Jellal set her down and stumbled as he started to lose focus.
“Um..-“
“Get out of here!” He pleaded, “Hurry, run and don’t look back! Don’t trust anyone!” During that whole time he had barely looked at her but for a second he caught a glimpse of her scarlet hair.
“No, you need help! You were hurt badly because of me.. I have to help you!!” She protested coming closer.
Jellal didn’t have time to be shocked that not only a human, but a little girl wanted to help him, “NO, please, I’ll be fine just g-go.. I’ll heal on my own. R-Run..before they find you..”
Erza had tears in her eyes and stayed there for a moment longer on her knees, “T-Thank you..”
Once she said that she got up and immediately started running away wiping her eyes as she did. He looked up to the night sky and thought of the trouble he would be in, and he couldn’t find it in him to care. He stayed there through the night remembering her gratitude and the way she looked at him, like he wasn’t a monster.
After that night, Jellal wanted to be better than what he was so that he could start atoning for all the sins he had committed. He began freeing blood slaves of the Order and killing vampires of the lower ranks to shave off numbers. No one ever suspected that he was working against them, they even thought he was responsible for organizing new recruits. He tried feeding off animals instead and the transition was sickening at first, but became bearable over time. However, from time to time his thirst woke again for human blood and he would either fight or give in. That’s how they were able to meet again. She stood before him a true warrior, fearless, selfless, and stunning.
“I’m a monster Erza, you shouldn’t be here. We were never supposed to meet again.” He said shamefully, turning his head away.
“But that’s a lie. We were supposed to meet again because you never stopped looking after me. I know you were there, even if you thought I didn’t.” She said, pulling him back to her.
Jellal gulped having never been backed into a corner, “I-I was just making sure you were alright.”
Erza raised her brow, “Why would you do that? Why wouldn’t you come out?”
“I didn’t think it mattered to you.. I’m not someone you should be associated with. I’m with the Blood Order, I’m much more of a monstrosity than you think.” He cringed thinking of how he must have looked when she first saw him.
“That’s another lie. You saved me that night, you took me somewhere I could be safe, you’ve watched over me, that has nothing to do with being in the Order or being a vampire.” Her eyes were hard, unwavering, “If you were truly evil you would’ve just killed me. Instead you controlled yourself and rescued me from certain death. On top of that I know you’ve been working against the Order. I know you feel the same way I feel, so you have to think of what you want to be instead of what you think you are.”
He couldn’t say anything, all he could do was stare at her while her words captivated him. Erza looked to the blood on her hand, “Look at you now. I’m standing in front of you dripping in blood and you haven’t done a thing. I know there is goodness in you, Jellal. Stop making yourself believe that you're something you’re not.”
“I..can’t walk in the light like you do, Erza. That just comes with being who I am.” He paused and noticed her glare deepening, “But, maybe I’ll try to..become something better. Especially if I have your support.”
The smile in her eyes did more than just lift his spirit. It truly motivated him to become someone she could walk with, someone she might care for. Maybe that was when he fell in love.
From that night on Erza and Jellal met in the town at least once a week, sometimes more often, to get him used to being around humans. It was easy for him from the start, whenever he was with her he could care less about anything else around him. She even introduced him to all of her friends she had met through Fairy Tail and even they accepted him almost as quickly as she did. When he felt hungry Erza, and the other vampires from Fairy Tail, would help him hunt. It amazed him that Erza had become stronger than he ever imagined she would.
It started to concern Jellal how much time he spent with Erza. His feelings only grew for her the more time they shared. He tried forcing himself to stay away, to leave and hunt for longer periods of time. But none of that created a solution for his love of her. Someone as dark as him, could never be with someone so pure. That was why he came up with the plan in the first place. Infiltrating the Blood Order alongside Fairy Tail helped Erza towards her goal. His mission with Natsu and Juvia continuously fed the guild with information so Erza was always able to position their forces in the ideal places for attacking.
For a while it went unnoticed and Erza’s bounty would rise from time to time. She had triggered the Blood Order the moment she killed Kyoyka, one of the highest ranking vampires. They met unexpectedly while Erza was trying to evacuate the next village to be used for a ceremonial feeding. When Jellal saw Kyoyka’s head burning on the ground he knew there was no turning back. Now that Erza had killed one of the higher ups, her bounty turned into an assassination plot.
“They want you to kill me..” Erza finally answered.
“I won’t do it! I would never hurt you, you have to believe me Erza,” he took her hands in his chilling ones, “please, you must kill me instead.”
Erza stepped back in shock throwing his hands down, “Are you insane?! What good is it going to do if I kill you?! The Order is going to come after me regardless, let them send someone else.”
“I wish it was that easy, but I think they’ve been suspecting me for a while. If I don’t do this the infiltration mission is over and we’ll be caught. You have to do this Erza.” Jellal insisted as he stared into her eyes.
She raged on, “No! I won’t. I refuse to have you throw your existence away for some Order. That would be pointless!”
Jellal clenched his fist, “I’m just trying to protect you! If that means giving up this meaningless immortality then I couldn’t care less.”
“You shouldn’t want to give up your life if you're trying to protect something, you should live to be there! Killing you isn’t the solution here, besides how dare you ever think that’s something I could ever do!” Erza retaliated with a voice full of passion.
“Erza, I.. I just don’t want anything to happen to you. I’d rather go in your place.” Jellal said, casting his eyes down. He felt defeated and utterly useless. Everything he tried to build was about to fall and this was the breaking point.
“Coward! Instead of dying for me why don’t you fight with me?! This world won’t be able to change without you, my world will never last if you aren’t in it! Stop talking about things out of sorrow and let’s both look up for our future!” She threw her hands up, “Forget about the infiltration, we have all the intel we need. Now I need you, I need you to be by my side and come be where you belong. This is the time to turn the tide Jellal, not the time to give up.”
Jellal’s eyes went wide listening to how her voice never wavered, she held no hesitations, no reservations. She wanted to fight with him, she said she needed him. The future, he never truly thought about the future. He was always dwelling on the past, focused on molding the present, that he never stopped to think about what comes after. In every place he could recall the one common thing pushing him forward towards the future without him even knowing it, was Erza. Her light, the radiance in her heart was able to act as a beacon for him to follow, to move forward to. It was clear to him at that moment why he felt the need to protect her, why he relied on her very existence. She was the one pulling him towards the path those like her walked, the path of light. She was the one he fell in love with.
For as long as he had existed he didn’t believe it was possible to escape the darkness of the shadows, the evil he was programmed to have, but she showed him it was attainable. She believed in him and was willing to fight at his side for a future where they could be together, so he would too.
“Erza..” he said picking up her hands while his undead heart felt like it could catapult from his chest, “I want to ask you something.” He watched her blush and her whole demeanor switched.
“W-What?”
“If we fight together, will you stay by my side and let me protect you?” He asked while his mind swirled in an endless whirlpool of thoughts.
She nodded, “Of course. Until my last breath, I want to be by your side.”
Jellal felt a tingle in his chest and cleared his throat trying to regain his coolness, “Erza, what I really need to say is.. I-I can’t have a future without you. I have to have you with me, I want to live in a world where I can make you smile everyday. If that's the future we can both fight for together, then I want it more than anything.”
Erza’s hands trembled in his, “Jellal.. Are you..”
“Yes.” He started firmly, “I need you to know why I would give it all for you. I couldn’t help falling in love with you. I tried to stay away, just to help you in whatever ways I could from the shadows. But you have made me want to be in the light because without you, I’d have nothing.”
Before he even finished speaking Erza had thrown herself into his arms,“J-Jellal.. Why would you do that?” She asked quietly.
If he could blush, he would be red like her hair. “I thought I didn’t deserve you.. Vampires are meant to be predators..killers. I wanted to become better, maybe you could see me as something more. But regardless, I’ll still be here whether or not you feel the same.” He responded, cracking a smile at her.
“Idiot. You’re an idiot.” She said with her face in his chest. His eyes went wide when she looked up at him with tears in her eyes, “I thought I was going to die before you told me that.”
Jellal was in utter shock. He had never seen her cry like this, and she was crying because of him. “Erza..I..”
Her fingers curled into his coat putting her head back down, “You might live forever, but I don’t have that time. I’ve waited.. for you to realize that I’m the one who fell in love with you first.”
He shook his head in disbelief but she continued anyways, “I didn’t want to push you, I didn’t want you to not be ready. But then I started to worry that you would never be ready, that I would die and never get to share my love with you.. I’m just glad, you feel like you can finally love others and even, me.”
The moonlight lit up her face the next time she looked up, and she smiled. Her hands lifted and she cupped his face admiring the realization in his eyes. Jellal’s hand slid against her cheek and she didn’t react to the chill. She nuzzled into it and pulled him down to her slowly with all the stars in the sky to watch.
He let her draw him in and fell slave to the way her lips parted in the darkness. In seconds, he received more bliss than over a hundred years of living. He felt her soft lips send him into nirvana, a feeling that even drinking blood couldn’t give him. Each of them couldn’t help but want more of the other. There was nothing else on his mind, not blood, not the Order, not himself, just her. His hand slipped behind her head cradling her in their kiss all while he was able to touch her smooth red hair holding in his grip. He was gentle with her, but his passion was stirring his supernatural strength.
Her hands were on his chest when he pulled back from her. She was breathless, and so blushed before him. He had never seen a woman like this before him. If he were alive he would be feeling those same sensations.
“I-I’m sorry.. I-” She kissed him again, just for another moment to cut him off from useless apologies.
She rested her nose against his like she was going to kiss him again, but remained still with their foreheads touching, “I love you Jellal, I always have.”
Fireflies began to glow around them, never in his life had he been able to feel so much happiness. “I promise you won’t have to wait for me any longer. You alone..have given me the strength to conquer anything.”
In that moment, everything was perfect. It didn’t take long for that moment to end.
Taggies: @unvalley
52 notes · View notes
natsubeatsrock · 3 years
Text
Lower Your Expectations for Nalu
I'm going to start this post off more generously than I normally would. I don't have any real reason to. I just kind of want to reach some of the Nalu fans with this section. (Nalu fans probably shouldn’t want to read the rest.)
Generally speaking, it's better to lower your expectations for a ship becoming canon. That way, you are pleasantly surprised to see how it will happen. Sometimes a relationship should have more subtle canonization than a bombastic showing. If Mashima plans to make Nalu canon, we should be patient to see how it happens. It’s not impossible for Nalu to have some impressive showy way it becomes canon. However, it’s worth letting Mashima do his thing and let the chips fall as they may.
Alright, the kids are gone. Let's do this for real.
I've been running this blog for just over six years. You'd think that, at this point, it would be hard for me to be surprised by this fandom. I've seen all kinds of things happen, and that should be the case. I joined during a rather tenuous time where fandoms were more willing to go at it.
As it stands, the Nalu fandom is the gift that keeps on giving. Whenever I feel as though I can't think of anything else to say about this ship, something happens, and I'm brought back to writing about it. You'd think it would be me talking about how the ship functions in canon. However, fans seem willing to bend over backward to sing Nalu's praises.
I'd respect it if it weren't Nalu we're talking about. This might be one of the most overrated ships in anime. I'll never understand how most people who watch this series even passively wanted these two to become a couple. All the couples Mashima's written over the years, and this is the one he'll be judged for? (Also, maybe Gruvia, but we talked about that already.)
Still, I do have to give this some fandom credit. Mashima has taken nearly every possible opportunity to feasibly advance this ship since the Grand Magic Games ended (arguably even before that) and passed on doing much with it. On some occasions, it feels as though Mashima is directly mocking the idea that Nalu could possibly become canon. And yet, fans believe that Nalu will become canon at any moment because he draws a Twitter pic of them once every three months or so. (Yes, I did edit this sentence since Nalu Day. What of it?) 
Recently, I got an ask comparing the Nalu fandom to the MAGA crowd. I'm not personally vindictive enough against Trump or his supporters to affirm that comparison. Though, I can't act as if I haven't been thinking of an analogy to describe Nalu fans. I think a better comparison might be fans of the Dallas Cowboys. 
Cowboys fans seem to believe that their team can win the Super Bowl any season. That's not an inherently problematic perspective to take. You should hope that your team will do well. However, this often manifests itself in confidence that ignores the faults within individual Cowboys teams and the strength of their opponents. Not to mention, this ignores the objective fact that the Cowboys haven't done well in the playoffs for 25 years.
I don't think it's wrong for fans to believe that their ship will become canon. I don't know too many fans who wish their ship doesn't become canon. However, I always worry about the fans who believe their ship happening is an inevitability. Especially when things seem to be pointing away from the possibility of it happening. This is usually a recipe for toxic fandoms.
But, let me humor the idea for a moment.
What if Mashima really plans to make Nalu happen in the end?
As I'm writing this post,  we're currently in the middle of the fight between the third Dragon God. We're getting close to the real conclusion of that battle. But after that, there are two big arcs until the series truly ends. Three if they decide to have one last battle against the quest-giving dragon.
If Mashima's going to make Nalu canon, how would that work now?
There's the "realization" route. This is the one I probably see the most. Natsu and Lucy could come to the clear realization that they have come to love each other throughout the series. Of course, you'd have to imagine that whatever would bring this on is more powerful than thinking the other has died. 
Twice, throughout the series. 
Each.
On top of several other crazy things to happen to them over 600 chapters of material spanning a decade and a half. Yet, I'm supposed to believe that some random new moment will change the tide for Nalu.
The other way to do it is to have a confession. Either Natsu or Lucy decides to share with the other the fact that they are in love. Their feelings are reciprocated, and you can figure out the rest.
Depending on who you ask, we've almost gotten this a few times. Lucy's had a few opportunities to talk about her relationship with Natsu and has been fairly nice about it. A few times it's hinted that there might be more to their friendship but nothing concrete. I've even seen it hinted that Natsu was going to confess in chapter 545.
But, that's just it. We've only gotten hints at the possibility that there's more. If Natsu and Lucy actually like each other romantically, why not make it clearer earlier?
"It's because he's being subtle about their shared romantic feelings."
Yeah, I have reason to doubt that.
Jellal and Erza have feelings for each other implied throughout Fairy Tail. Sure there's explicit stuff like their meeting before the Grand Magic Games started. But there's been plenty of subtle stuff surrounding their relationship. People make hints at their potential romantic relationship all the time in canon, even as recent as the last arc.
I feel like I say this a lot when talking about Jerza. But really think about the arcs they're together in. There's Tower of Heaven, Nirvana, the Grand Magic Games, Tartarus, Alvarez Empire, and Aldoron. Their relationship is brought up or hinted at in Fantasia, Tenrou Island, Avatar, and Mercuphobia. While that looks like a large amount of material, Jerza doesn't take up much space in any of these arcs. Outside of the Grand Magic Games, Nirvana, and Alvarez, these are small moments between the two of them at best. Sometimes it's even less than that. And yet, the ship makes sense to the vast majority of the fandom.
But that might be an unfair comparison. Jellal and Erza have a history dating before the series started. 
Let's use a ship that involves characters that met after Natsu and Lucy. Gray and Juvia. (Wait, these guys again?)
The big thing with this ship has been how Gray feels about Juvia. We've known how Juvia feels about Gray literally since they met. However, we've seen Gray slowly change his views on Juvia. We didn't just jump from enemies to lovers. There was a subtle shift as the series went on.
Do you really think that Mashima couldn't do better with Natsu and Lucy? His main duo? The series is only possible because the two meet each other. But I'm supposed to believe that Mashima didn't want to make a Nalu romance seem more explicit?
If you were to ask me, the most likely route for Nalu now is a much less sexy option. If Nalu were to happen, it won't happen in a grand showing of affection. It will just... happen. We'll likely skip to some random point in time after they beat all the dragons and see them as a couple. Maybe we'll se an Earthland Nasha.
This isn't something anime/manga fans aren't used to. I know everyone likely thinks of a different series that has done this over the years. People will rag on series like Naruto and Bleach for doing this. For what it's worth, I do like both of those series and their endgame ships. 
That said, I have two problems with this option. 
First, Nalu doesn't have the kind of setup that those other ships have. You're not getting characters openly confessing before a fight. You're not getting two characters flustered over the prospect of feelings suggested to each other. Heck, you're not getting a "Silver Ray" situation.
"What about those times when Lucy was asked if she likes Natsu?"
Again, Lucy's not openly agonizing over that as part of their relationship. If this was something we were supposed to seriously consider as an option for her, we'd know.
Even then, this would only show that it's one-sided. Natsu hasn't had any similar moments where he considers liking Lucy. Anyone bringing up the waterfall scene is speculating at best. Do you really expect me to believe that Mashima will change that this far into the series?
But this doesn't even get into the second problem. Is this how you'd want Nalu to become canon? 
I've said this before, but Nalu has been expected to become canon for close to a decade. That almost feels like an exaggeration. But one of the big chapters I usually point to for Mashima potentially making Nalu more overt is Lucy Fire. That chapter turned ten years old this past March.
Nalu fans have been inventing all kinds of scenarios and situations about how Mashima will make their favorite ship happen. Wouldn't it be disappointing for fans to see that this ship would happen without any of the pomp and circumstance you'd expect a ship like this to get?
I know plenty of people who were disappointed when their favorite ship just became canon without a lot of lead-up. I didn't love getting to the end of Bleach without knowing more about how Ichigo and Orihime got together. Yes, I know the novels exist, but I (literally) paid to read the manga. I'd like to have seen it happen in the manga. (This could be about Naruto, but I only own The Last.)
This is why I believe Nalu fans should lower their expectations. Do you know the fantasy fans have for Nalu happening? Natsu and Lucy finally being hit with the overwhelming realization they love each other? A tearful confession of their feelings for each other capped with a kiss? All of their friends cheering them on, knowing they should have been a couple a long time ago? Maybe even a glimpse at their wedding and their future kid?
Congratulations, that was Rave Master's main couple. Don't expect the same thing for Nalu. If Nalu will happen, it will look much more disappointing than what fans believe it will look like.
At this point, I'm even not sure that Nalu will happen. Mashima has made every version of Nalu look more romantic except the original. I can't apologize for my skepticism on its prospects. Even actual Nalu fans are worried about if it will happen. I will enjoy seeing more of this salt in the future.
Now, there's one question you might be asking of me. How will I react to Nalu happening?
I don't have some back-pocket post prepared in case Nalu does happen. Heck, I thought of making one but ended up writing this post instead. 
However, I have been wrong about future events of Fairy Tail in the past. If I'm wrong and Mashima does make Nalu canon, then I'll talk about it. I highly doubt it will make me like the series less. It certainly won't affect anything I'm doing with the rewrite, given my rules for changes. Consider that I've been able to talk about Gruvia negatively at this point in the series. I'll absolutely continue to talk smack about Nalu if it ends up canon. 
That said, I have reason to believe that I'm right about the direction Nalu will take. And if I'm right, don't expect my tone on Nalu to stay the same. At the very least, I can promise a third Nalu edition of "My Incredibly Unpopular Thoughts" if Nalu doesn’t happen. I haven't done one in years and I can't think of a better way to celebrate the ship dying once and for all.
6 notes · View notes
Text
My Home And Comfort
this was my story for the Fairy Tail Year Apart zine! I had a lot of fun and I still can’t believe I actually joined but I’m glad I did!
I got Jerza for my ship and I hope you enjoy!
word count: 4219
@fairytailcharityfanzine @kuroshironekoserver 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I am disbanding the guild!” Makarov’s booming voice shouted over the waste field that used to be a battlefield. The building torn and crumbling where they once stood, the ground no longer one flat piece, but many jagged stones pulled up and would block your path. The wasteland of a battle finally being over was where his voice echoed, the dark, looming aura of everything hitting the people around him like a brick.
“W-wait...this is a joke, right?” Gray stuttered. Erza stood next to him, astounded by the information.
“Master, you’re not serious right!?”
“That’s insane!”
“Why are you doing this!?” 
Various voices screamed, pain and fear encapsulating the crowd. 
“I am serious. From this moment forward, Fairy Tail is no more!” Makarov announced. His face was stony and cold, unlike anything anyone had ever seen. 
Erza watched in horror as Makarov walked away, leaving his children in distraught. Some were crying, some were yelling, and some were silent, unwilling to process the news. Erza stood next to Gray and Lucy, as the blonde cried and started looking around the crowd of guild members.
“Natsu...where’s Natsu?” she called, but her voice fell on deaf ears as no one else noticed the pinkette missing, along with his blue-haired cat.
“I...I need to go…” Gray mumbled, slowly walking backwards and eventually running away from the mess that was the disbanded guild.
Slowly, one after another, people left, going to find places to stay for the night, as their houses were destroyed. Erza was the last to leave, sitting in the rubble that was their old guildhall.
The sound of footsteps and voices pulled Erza from her thoughts - Her thoughts of everything that just happened. She turned and was surprised to see him, unable to bring herself to say or think anything, only able to stare at the figure in front of her, her throat running dry and being at a loss for words.
“Erza?” he called out in a whisper, softness in his voice seeing the decimated guild. But she didn’t move, knowing that she couldn’t explain what had happened to him, let alone face him at that moment.
It was silent other than the soft crunching of footsteps on rubble. Erza clutched the flag that used to sit atop the castle-like guild, tears finally escaping and dribbling down her cheeks.
“Hey, what happened?” Jellal rushed, crouching down next to the fallen warrior. She shook with sadness as she gave up trying to keep the tears in. They fell slowly, but more and more began pouring out.
Jellal pulled Erza to his chest, and she cried into him, into his warmth. The part of her that was embarrassed was drowned out by her grief, and she clung to him like he was her lifeline. Her comfort in this devastating time.
The time passed quickly, and before Jellal could ask more questions, the scarlet-haired woman had passed out on his shoulder. Her face was scrunched up, and not in a cute way. It was clear, even in her sleep that she was hurting, her eyes were red and puffy, and her cheeks were stained with dry tears. Her eyes were sunken, and her lips were chapped, her body littered with battle wounds, her scarlet hair frayed and tangled with spots of dried blood littering in it.
He slowly lifted her from the ground, careful of the many wounds around her body, and stood from the fallen guild.
Jellal looked down at the scarlet mage, seeing her like this enraged and broke him at the same time. How such a strong woman could fall like this. He knew that whoever caused this was an incredibly strong opponent. 
In the distance, he could see a head of pink hair, and he made his way over to it.
“Jellal...what is this? What happened here? Is Erza okay?” Meredy questioned in a panic, sweat building on her forehead.
“I don’t know...She was out before I could ask,” he hoisted Erza higher into his arms and sighed. “For now, let’s get out of here and go to my place. I need to make sure Erza is okay.” Jellal instructed. Meredy nodded and the two mages walked in the direction of Jellal’s home.
The dimly lit room was quiet as Jellal and Meredy both sipped on some tea, waiting for Erza to wake. Jellal had protested waking her, to Meredy’s dismay, saying she needed her sleep, which wasn’t wrong. She was exhausted and drained, and it was clear from the expression on her face. 
Even in her sleep, she looked uncomfortable and restless.
The silence in the house was deafening and made Jellal’s ears ring painfully. He was so tired. Just getting back from a dangerous mission and finding a destroyed town, missing guild and a broken Erza. It infuriated him to know he wasn’t there for her, in such a hard time that clearly caused her so much pain.
Erza’s sudden movement and coughing cut the silence as Jellal rushed to her side. Meredy smirked as Jellal helped Erza sit up and gave her a glass of water.
“Where am I? How did I get here?” she questioned, sipping the cold water gratefully. Jellal averted his eyes as a tint of red made its way up his face.
“This is my house. I carried you here after you passed out,” he answered curtly. Erza also blushed slightly, though she kept her composure and smiled.
“Thank you…” she hummed, taking another large gulp of water and setting the now empty glass on the coffee table.
Meredy sighed as she walked over, sitting next to the scarlet-haired woman.
“Erza… what happened?” Meredy said softly, “We came back from a job and found the city destroyed. You were the only one at Fairy Tail - or well… what was left of it…” she stumbled nervously.
Erza’s face fell, the scarlet locks coming down to hide her face and creating a curtain between her and the other two mages. She gripped the hem of the tattered shirt she was still wearing and took a deep breath.
“Fairy Tail… was disbanded…” she sobbed, a single tear dropping from her eye, down her cheek and onto her shirt, dampening it and darkening the white fabric.
Meredy gasped, and held Erza’s hand in hers, rubbing circles on it to try and soothe her.
Jellal stood silently, thoughts running through his mind like water running through a stream.
“Makarov loves Fairy Tail, why would he disband it?” Jellal questioned, crossing his arms in frustration.
Erza sniffled and wiped her eyes, taking a deep breath. “He didn’t say why. He just… did. And Natsu wasn’t even there. He disappeared after the battle with Tartaros…” she sighed, leaning into Meredy’s open arms and accepting the girl's comfort.
“Wait, Tartaros? As in, the dark guild of Etherious and demons from Zeref’s book of demons?” Jellal gaped, sweat forming on his forehead.
Erza nodded solemnly as she lifted herself from Meredy’s embrace. Jellal glanced at Meredy and back to Erza.
“I’m surprised you even survived that… I mean, I know you’re incredibly strong, but Tartaros is probably the strongest dark guild out there,” Meredy stressed.
Erza nodded in understanding, yawning as her body rejected being conscious.
“Come on, why don’t you get some more sleep? You must be exhausted,” Jellal said softly, kneeling down to Erza’s eyes and placing a hand on her shoulder. She blushed but nodded as another yawn demanded to be let out.
“You can borrow my room. It’ll be quieter in there,” Jellal smiled, holding out his hand for Erza to take while blushing. Erza let a tired smile form on her lips as she took his hand. He helped her off of the couch and was careful to lead Erza into his room as she leaned into his, her body barely able to stand up straight. 
Meredy smirked as she saw the two slowly walk away, giggling to herself softly,“Oh, they’re so in love,” she said quietly, her grin only getting wider as she envisioned the two together.
Jellal slowly lowered Erza into his bed, and moved to close the curtains, blocking any sunlight from spilling into the room.
“Thank you, Jellal… this means a lot…” Erza called from his bed. He turned to face her, his face still red, as was hers.
“You’re welcome, you can stay as long as you need. I can sleep on the couch and Meredy can go back to her home,” he explained. 
Erza nodded and pulled her hair to one side, revealing the bandages Wendy had placed on her neck. Jellal cringed as he also looked her over. All of her body was bandaged, head to toe. And under her shirt, he could see the outlines of more around her abdomen.
“I, um… if you need anything, I’ll be just out in the living room…” he blushed, realising she was looking at him staring her up and down. Erza, thankfully, chuckled and nodded, taking her battered boots off and pulling her legs onto the bed.
Jellal walked out the door, closing it behind him and leaning onto it, cursing his own stupidity.
“You look like you’re having fun,” Meredy laughed quietly, Jellal groaned and glared at her, walking over to the couch and sagging into it.
“That’s not very graceful for someone like you Jellal. All floppy looking,” she continued to giggle, Jellal couldn’t even bother to grunt, he was too focused on the fact that Erza was sleeping in his bed.
The morning came quickly, too quickly in Erza’s opinion. Her limbs felt numb and heavy, her eyes puffy and crusted with dry tears. All she wanted was to stay in bed, not facing anyone or anything. Her head felt full of bricks as she forced herself to sit up, looking around the dimly lit room.
The sun was rising, and it shone through the cracks of the curtains. It was soft and not blinding, but light nonetheless.
She stepped out of Jellal’s bedroom, wobbling a little as her legs ached, into the living room to see him still fast asleep on the couch. She smiled and decided to make breakfast. For them both. 
Stepping into the kitchen, she was outraged to find barely any food. Except for a box of cereal, milk, a loaf of bread and peanut butter spread.
Erza let out an exasperated sigh as she planted one hand on her hip and used the other to rub her temples. She took it upon herself to go out to the market and buy at least enough for breakfast. Bacon, eggs, orange juice, butter, apples and bananas. That was enough for the two of them in the meantime.
She got back to Jellal still sleeping, and she smiled to see him snoring very quietly, his hair  messy and tangled.
She went to the kitchen and began cooking. She was nothing compared to Mira, but she could do something simple like this.
“Erza? What are you doing?” she heard from behind, turning to see Jellal yawning and scratching his head as his eyes widened.
“I’m making breakfast. Really, Jellal, you need to eat more than just peanut butter and cereal.” she laughed, finishing the bacon and eggs.
She heard him take a deep breath and hummed in delight.
“That smells great. Thank you,” he smiled, as she plated the food and poured a glass of orange juice. They both ate at on the couch, sharing small talk and little jokes.
As they finished, they put their plates aside to be washed later and Jellal went to make tea.
“Erza, I want to ask you for a favour,” Jellal stated, sitting opposite the scarlet on the couch. They were both sipping tea, early in the morning and having breakfast. It was the next day, Erza was still tired and sore, but rested nonetheless. He became serious, and Erza noticed it.
“Of course. What is it?” she questioned, placing her teacup on the table, crossing her legs and pushing a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.
Jellal pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it and laid it on the table, sliding it across to her.
Erza picked it up, immediately noticing it was a news article. About a new cult called Avatar.
“They’ve been recruiting dark mages. They worship Zeref,” he stated, leaning down and resting his arms on his knees, lacing his fingers together.
“They call what they do ‘purifying’. They believe that anyone who doesn’t worship Zeref is deserving of death,” he continued, as Erza continued to read through the paper. The number of people killed by the cult was in the hundreds, and it made her sick. Men, women and children alike. No one was safe from them.
“What do you need me for?” she muttered through gritted teeth. Jellal pulled a second paper from his pocket. He handed it to Erza and she quickly unfolded it to read it.
“These have been found in dark guilds and bars. They’re recruiting new members,” he explained, his brows furrowed. He was just as disgusted as Erza. 
She put down the papers and looked him in the eye. Her arms folded, the crease in her brow only getting more visible.
“You want me to go undercover?” she asked, Jellal shook his head, to Erza’s surprise.
“No. It wouldn’t work. They only accept people with dark magic,” he sighed, looking down at the papers and back to her eyes.
“I want Gray. He has Devil Slayer Magic. That can be pulled off as a dark art,” he stated, Erza nodded in understanding. She sat in thought for a second before nodding to herself,
“I can get in contact with him. He’s probably staying at the nearest inn since Magnolia is practically destroyed,” she mumbled. 
Jellal smiled and sat up straight.
“Then what do you want me for?” she questioned. 
Jellal blushed slightly, covering his mouth with his hand before answering.
“I want you to help me investigate, take your mind off of your grief. Like… like a team,” he mumbled. 
Erza felt the heat rise in her face but smiled, “That sounds great.”
The months passed, Gray had agreed to help infiltrate Avatar and Erza was able to get information out of bars and members who were later handed into the council.
And Meredy’s teasing did wonders with keeping the three amused. 
Some days it was whispering naughty things to Erza for her to fantasise about, the other it was pushing Jellal into her so they were just inches apart, bodies pressed tightly against each other. It was hell in the moment for the two, but once it was done, made them have to think about their feelings.
It was a normal day, Erza had made breakfast and Meredy had arrived later in the morning to eat with them. They had talked about how things were going with the mission, Meredy shared some of her gossip with Erza while Jellal read his book. All was normal to them.
“Erza, let’s go on a walk! I want to show you this bakery a few blocks from here! They serve an amazing cake!” Meredy exclaimed. 
At the word cake, Erza’s eyes lit up, sparkles and a smile showing her excitement.
“Sure!” she agreed, standing up and making her way to the door. She looked back to Jellal, who still sat reading his book. She smiled and left with Meredy out the door, locking it behind her.
“So, how are things? Living with Jellal and all?” she asked.
Erza shrugged,
“Nothing exciting. Although I was surprised at the fact that he doesn’t eat very well, considering his, um…” Erza mumbled off. 
Meredy snickered, “Considering his body?” she suggested, wiggling her eyebrows. 
Erza blushed, but nodded, “Y-Yeah,” she muttered, “because of his body.”
“Jellal has always been an awful eater. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to force him to go grocery shopping with me!” she huffed, crossing her arms. A few seconds passed before the two burst out laughing. 
They passed a lacrima store, and Meredy gasped, “Oh! You have to come see this new lacrima! It’s amazing!” she squealed, pulling Erza inside. 
Erza didn’t stop her as she was dragged in, pulled to a counter full of little rectangular lacrima. “What are they?” Erza asked as Meredy pulled two from the sample tray, handing one to her.
“Go stand over there, and just wait okay?” she instructed.
Erza compiled and waited as Meredy skipped to the other side of the store. 
“Isn’t this cool?” the pink-haired mage laughed. 
Erza flinched, the voice of Meredy coming through the lacrima.  She flipped the device a few times, figuring out where the sound was coming from and laughed with her and nodded, “Yes, it is! Oh, this would be great for Gray and me to talk while he’s in Avatar,” Erza mumbled, thinking to herself.
Meredy walked back over, placing her lacrima back onto the counter and pointed to the label.
“And look who made it,” she smiled. 
Erza gasped as she read the little card of details.
“Warren? Wow! He must be doing good for himself,” she marvelled, placing her lacrima back down.
“Oh my, this is heavenly,” Erza mumbled in bliss, her mouth full of a sample of cake. 
Meredy chuckled, swallowing her piece. “Let’s buy one! We can surprise Jellal!” she exclaimed. 
Erza nodded and picked a chocolate peanut butter cake,
“Oh, he’s gonna love that! He loves peanut butter,” Meredy laughed. 
Erza giggled and picked up the packaged cake before leaving with Meredy to return home.
“We’re back!” Meredy sighed happily, taking her shoes off at the door along with Erza.
“Welcome home,” Jellal called from inside. As they walked in they saw him still on the couch, reading his now almost finished book.
“Have you even moved since we left?” Meredy pestered. 
Jellal scoffed, placing his book on the coffee table and standing up,
“I have if you must know,” he joked, stretching out, a satisfying pop in his spine.
But Erza was more focused on the skin showing under his shirt that had risen. She could clearly see his abs, and she blushed profusely.
“See something you like Erza?” Meredy teased. Erza only got more red, as she shook her head, “No I’m good!” she said, placing the boxed cake on the table. 
Meredy groaned before she walked behind Erza and pushed her, “Will you two love-struck morons just kiss already!?” she yelled, as Erza fell into Jellal, and like a domino effect, he fell onto the couch, Erza falling with him.
“I-I I’m sorry! Lemme just,” Erza mumbled, trying to get up, but only slipping and falling harder onto him.
“It’s okay, just,” Jellal grunted, pulling himself up a bit, helping Erza regain her balance and stand.
Erza blushed so hard it looked like steam would start coming off of her face before she ran off to the bathroom.
“Dang, I was hoping you would kiss,” Meredy sighed.
Jellal glared at her, his own face still red from the sudden contact with the scarlet mage.
It was heaven when Erza bought two of the lacrima called the miniature communication lacrima, made by Warren no less. It allowed her and Gray communicate so easily without being spotted. 
And most of all, let her and Levy talk, as the petite mage had one herself. They were both too busy to meet up, so it was late-night calls to talk about Jellal and Gajeel.
Erza was thankful that she got to talk to her about what had happened to her with Jellal earlier, knowing that Levy would tease her but understand and give her advice.
Sometimes they had talked about the sadder things as well. Like losing the guild, missing Lucy, Natsu and everyone else.
“Gray? What’s going on?” Erza said into the lacrima, she sighed as Gray explained that Natsu, Lucy and Happy had ruined his infiltration plan. She clenched her fist as anger rose through her veins, but she calmed as she remembered. 
Natsu, Lucy and Happy. They were there. They were back together.
“Give the lacrima to Natsu.” she ordered, Gray complied, as she heard the rustling of the lacrima being thrown to Natsu. He seemed to fumble with it for a moment before getting a hold of it.
“Uh, what do I do with it?” he asked, Gray mumbled something along the lines of “talk into it flame brain” before Erza finally heard his voice speaking to her.
“Um, hello?” he said, unsure of what to say. Erza sighed again before smiling at the sound of his voice. It was still the exact same.
“Natsu, you absolute idiot.” she chuckled, steering her horse to the left as she left for Malba City.
The fight was easy, nothing like what she had to go through with other battles. She got to see Natsu and Lucy, Juvia and Gray, Levy and Gajeel, Wendy and exceeds. All her friends back together, causing a ruckus, just like it was before.
“Let’s meet up again. I have to take care of some stuff, but I don’t want to just go back to not speaking again!” Lucy cheered, everyone agreed and Natsu showed his signature grin.
“Let’s rebuild Fairy Tail!” he yelled, raising his hand and pointing at the sky, the Fairy Tail finger sign. Everyone joined in, smiling and laughing as they eventually left for their respective homes to pack up.
Erza left, whistling for her horse to going home to Jellal. She blushed to herself, Home...he never told me that I needed to leave this whole time...god I sound like we’re married.
She felt more heat in her face if that was even possible, hopping onto her horse and riding back to Jellal’s home.
“I’m home,” Erza called, she heard Jellal and Meredy in the living room talking and walked over.
“Welcome back! Where have you been?” Meredy smiled, she sighed with a grin on her face before telling them all about how Natsu ruined their plan.
“I’ll be heading back to Fairy Tail tomorrow. We’re going to rebuild it.” she smiled, she was giddy with excitement, yet deep in her gut, she couldn’t help but feel like she was going to dread leaving.
“Erza? Are you okay?” Jellal questioned, seeing her happy face turn sad, placing a hand on her shoulder. Erza sighed, sending pleading eyes towards Meredy. She got the hint and left the room.
Jellal kept a look of confusion on his face as he looked from Meredy’s retreating form to Erza.
“I… I know this sounds weird, but… I don’t want to leave,” she chuckled, tears building up in her eyes.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that Fairy Tail is coming back!” she waved her hands as to dissipate any confusion, “I missed them all so much, but… I also don’t want to leave… you…” she blushed. Jellal also went red, almost as red as her hair.
“Erza…” he mumbled, seeing her all flustered was his last straw, as he leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Erza went wide-eyed but in seconds, absolutely melted into the kiss. This is what she’d been wanting forever. And now she had gotten it.
She tangled one of her hands in his blue hair and the other placed on his neck, as she leaned back to deepen the kiss. Their lips moved in sync as it just got deeper and deeper. Nothing was in the world but them, and they only needed each other. 
Breaking apart, Jellal took slow and heavy breaths of air. Erza was dazed, breathing heavily as well before he spoke.
“I promise I won’t leave you. Never again,” he mumbled, dropping down onto her body, savouring her warmth and love with a hug.
“Jellal…” she muttered into his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting the tears fall down her face.
“I love you Erza,” he said, albeit muffled by his face in her hair, but she couldn’t care less. She heard it and it meant nothing less.
“I love you too!” she smiled as he pulled off of her, taking her with him until they were both upright again.
They both did nothing but sit in each other’s embrace, taking in each other’s love for one another. Erza couldn’t keep the smile off her face, and Jellal couldn’t help how protectively he was holding her around her waist. It made them both feel like they were on top of the world, nothing could rival this feeling, this feeling of being loved, wanted and needed.
And Jellal kept his promise. While seeing each other throughout the war couldn’t be counted as a date, after the war, they saw each other almost every day besides when they were on missions or jobs. 
They moved in together not long after they started dating since they practically lived together for a year anyway. Erza paid more attention to herself, brushing her hair every day.
And Jellal began eating properly since Erza insisted on cooking every night, so he had a least one nice meal a day. He always had a fully stocked pantry and fridge.
Meredy could finally rest easy knowing they were taken care of.
66 notes · View notes
Ohhh the Ask thingy for 001: Fairy tail and if we can ask for a second Fruits basket (I've been so into it and wonder if you are too.) P.s. I admire your writing and your blog soooooo much! You are a blessing. 😇🙏🏻💛
Gah you are SO SWEET! ahhhhh!!! Yes, I’ll do both! I’m not caught up with FB, because it was the new anime that got me into it, but I’ll try my best!!! Under the cut because this is gonna be long, I think LOL
Fairy Tail: 
1. Favorite Character: hahaha crying Laxus Dreyar
2. Least Favorite Character: Ivan Dreyar, but! I love him as a villain and honestly we were robbed—could have had an amazing arc completely dedicated to him. 
3. Five Favorite Ships (Canon or Non-Canon): 
a. Laxui
b. Lyvia
c. Jerza
d. Mirafreed 
e. MesCana or LoLu or okay maybe Gruvia 
4. Character I Find Most Attractive: Laxus
5. Character I Would Marry: Laxus
6. Character I Would be Best Friends With: Ooh! Maybe Lucy! She writes like me, and she’s so sweet! Or maybe Cana cuz sometimes I just wanna be petty and she’d listen to me being petty. 
7. Random Thought: something I wanna write an essay about: A continuing theme throughout FT is that there is strength in humility. 
8. An Unpopular Opinion: I could do without the Alvarez Arc. idk if that’s unpopular, let me try again. People really out there shipping Hisui and Arcadios when he’s like 20 years older than her. Is that unpopular. Wait, let me try one more time. I don’t think Gray’s that impressive. There, I said it. Love the dude, but y’all.... just... it’s okay—breathe. 
9. My Canon OTP: There are canon ships in FT? Oh wait, I guess Gajevy! They’re cute! :D
10. Non-Canon OTP: Laxui. 
11. Most Badass Character: Laxus, Erza, and Jellal are all pretty high up there, Erza and Laxus a little higher than Jellal. 
12. Most Epic Villain: We were really robbed cuz Ivan could have been AMAZING. It’s weird because my favorite arcs the villains eventually became good...? So like... Tartaros—that was pretty good. Oof, everything kinda melds together in my memory. Hades was a good villain. That’s the arc Laxus came back, bless. 
13. Pairing I am not a fan of: Honestly I like a lot of pairings. I think though like any pairing where the age gap is #gross. See: Mest x Wendy, Arcadios x Hisui, Lyon x Chelia. 
14. Characters I Feel the Writer Screwed Up: Ivan. But only because I wanted a bigger arc. 
15. Favorite Friendship: Natsu and Lucy, Natsu and Gray, Gray and Natsu and Erza. All the kids who grew up in the guild together. 
16. Character I Most Identify With: Hmm... probably Lucy, because she has the dream of becoming a published author! She’s also a romantic Hahaha. But also Levy because of her love of books. 
17. Character I Wish I Could Be: Omg... um... which character would get me closest to Laxus... XD jkjkjk I’m not sure actually! I’d prefer to be myself in the FT world! 
Fruits Basket: I’m not going to be able to answer all of these because I have a feeling based on spoilers that I haven’t met all the characters, and we don’t know a lot about the characters yet! So I’ll just do the ones I know I can answer!
Favorite Character: Tohru! She’s soooo pure, and I really admire her and look up to her. I want to be more like her, kind to everyone and so sweet. She offers really good advice and she really helps people. 
Character I would want to be best friends with: Tohru again so she can teach me her ways. Also probably Shigure—he’s *narrows eyes*... something. But he makes me laugh. 
Random Thought: No like seriously, I love Shigure. Also, like, I remember when I first got into FB I was really excited but there are sOME FANS who have been fans since the first anime, or even before that, who are RUDE. I know I don’t have a lot of knowledge about the series yet because I haven’t read the manga. So please be patient, and be patient with all the other new fans too, please! 
OTPs: idk about canon/non-canon or anything really besides the spoilers I have which are ofc Kyoru is canon. but I’ll tell u what I ship. Kyoru ofc, cuties. how can u not? Recently seen that episode with Kureno and Arisa. Idk what that’s about but let me tell u... i can see it. Though... I remember her saying something about their age gap being pretty big. 
Favorite Friendship: Tohru with EVERYONE. Tohru is the sweetest and can successfully make friends with anyone and i love that. Tohru with Yuki, Tohru with Kisa, Tohru with Arisa and Hana, Tohru with EVERYONE. 
Character I Most Identify With: I really want to answer this question because I feel like I should have one. I want to say Tohru, but I can’t because I’m not like Tohru at all, but I aspire to be like her! 
Thank you so much for the ask! I’m sorry I couldn’t answer all the questions for Fruits Basket, I’m very new! I hope you don’t mind!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 
8 notes · View notes
doginshoe · 5 years
Text
Disappointed but not surprised
- a chapter 23 analysis of Nalu in FT 100 year Quest
This is my hot take on the events that just unfolded in the new chapter of FT100yearquest and how what happened with Nalu’s action (mainly Natsu’s) wasn’t all that surprising or something to be that mad over
OK. I’m gonna just put this straight out there. Natsu is NOT an emotionally mature person when expressing himself about things that hurt. He doesn't talk about his feelings and tries very hard not to openly express them. Basically, he can’t deal when it comes to word of mouth. We know this. It’s seen really early on when he fights Gildarts
Tumblr media Tumblr media
He had to learn to accept his fear - a weakness. Natsu would always put on a brave front. He was a reckless fighter who charged in with no second thought. He never acknowledged his fear, but once he did he became stronger. It was allowed to be felt, even shown, and he used it to think about his opponent and be weary of shit. Now, this isn't the same emotional vulnerability that’s in the case of Lucy, however, I thought it was worth mentioning cause it shows he pushes shit like this away. His (adoptive dragon) father dies?
Tumblr media
better leave on a year long journey so I don't have to be vulnerable/grieve around my guild that I consider my family! His best friend gets upset at him for leaving her behind. She confronts him?
Tumblr media
He makes this face^ He’s so uncomfortable with Lucy voicing how she feels that he looks almost pained or fucking constipated but up to you. He has no idea how to act, or what to say. Just like every other damn time. and you know what this scene looks exactly like??
Tumblr media
Lucy is at a point where she’s trying to convey herself to Natsu, which is gonna be crucial if they're ever to get together, and Natsu isn't for it. He’s a physical person, he can't handle this type of pressure from verbal communication about how he hurt her. A forehead touch? Easy. Actually having a conversation? Hard as fuck. This is seen in a lot of people. If you’ve ever been in a situation where you've hurt someone or you've been hurt then you probably know what it’s like to choke. Your throat feels tight and you just wanna escape, which Natsu does.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Through crude humour. This is the most relatable shit ever and I can’t believe people are mad! You think they’re gonna sit together and talk everything through, cry and then confess? No, this is not Nalu. Natsu’s gonna keep this inside of himself because he isn't ready. I mean, there’s progress - not looking constipated is one - and he’ll definitely (hopefully) get better at this as he grows up. But this is gonna take time. You can’t expect anything else from them at this point. They’re not your angsty couple and if you want that look for it in another ship like jerza cause you aren't gonna find it in Nalu. We love them cause they’re god damn dorks, I mean really digging up a whole damn tree for his girl
Tumblr media
This is why I’m disappointed, but not surprised with this (They coulda changed up scenes and gone with forehead touch maybe?? Probs not). It hits the nail on the head. And this isn't going to make me hate Nalu. On contrary I’m damn excited for what’s to come. Will Natsu hesitate next time in a battle? Will his friends trust him? Will he lose control again? Honestly, shit similar to this is gonna come cause this will be his next growth. Making sure he can't lose himself to power. 
Oh, and I also know people are mad about that fan service, but I mean??? It’s a trope in Japan. We sit here like wtf but theres nothing we can do about differences in culture. All that stuff I’ll forever ignore, or acknowledge as anything but a gag. It doesn’t relate to anything. So I’m happy with how things are
1K notes · View notes