Purg App - take 2

Mun

Mun name/journal: Kay
Mun Age: 23
Contact: dragon8writer on aim and plurk.
Timezone: PST
HMD: Here.
Characters currently in game: Barbara Gordon, Primrose Everdeen

Character

Name: Erza Scarlet
Fandom: Fairy Tail (manga)
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Canonpoint: Chapter 411.

Character Journal: fairy_tail_knight
Permissions Post: Here.
Character Inventory: A folding war fan – although it looks like this, it's actually made of heavy steel plates. It weighs several pounds. The fan spokes end in spikes, which are deceptively sharp to the touch. It could potentially be folded up and used as a club, or it could be used to jab someone with the spines. It could also be used to block, if spread out. It's much more short-range than even Erza is used to, and having to physically manipulate a single weapon for multiple purposes will be new to her. Generally, she would simply swap out specialized weapons for any given purpose.

If this doesn't work, I have backup options, too!

For her single useless item – a small painting of the guild hall and its members.

Abilities: This details the majority of her abilities – but it does miss a few things that I think are worth noting.

First, in regards to her Telekinesis – while it's true that her first act of magic was to lift and launch various weaponry, I'm not convinced “telekinesis" is an entirely accurate description. In the manga, so far, she has never used it for anything but weaponry. It's possible she has the power, but... Unless it's shown on screen, I wouldn't be comfortable having her use it without ICly practicing it first. (It's generally implied that with the right teacher, or the right books, someone with enough magical power could pick up the basics of anything – even though I'd say some people are more naturally suited to certain magics than others.)

Second: Erza has an artificial eye. It's immune to ocular magics, most notably illusions. It also halves the power of spells that rely on eye contact – for example, when she was turned into stone by meeting Evergreen's eyes, the spell was much weaker on her than the other members of Fairy Tail.

There's also more mundane abilities. Erza is arguably a good cook – or at least, she probably likes her own cooking. I can't recall anyone in the manga ever getting a chance to eat it. Still, she canonically carries suitcases absolutely filled with food, and we did see her cooking in the middle of the m arc.

I would label Erza as a potential game breaking character – meaning that she has the durability and physical strength to level a city, but.... One building at a time. The guards would have plenty of time to stop her using the VOCA controllers. The versatility of her powers is also much reduced, by losing access to her wide array of magical armors and weapons.



Background Information: Here! I'll be going over a lot of it in the personality description, too.
Personality Description:

To understand Erza's personality, and how it developed, it's important to understand her history. She was born in a simple village known as Rosemary, an apparently kindhearted and brave girl. The earliest knowledge we have of her is from when the “child hunts” began, with cultists who worshiped the dark mage Zeref gathering up children to work as slaves. Adults were apparently not needed, at this point, as the orders were to simply kill everyone but the children. As a result of that, it's generally assumed that Erza's parents are dead – although her claiming not to have a family name indicates more to the story.

Her formative years have yet to be explored, but we do know that Erza sacrificed herself for another child when the slavers came. She found a lost girl and told her to hide in a nearby bin, leading the slavers away and getting captured in the process. Considering the story's timeline, she could not have been much older than eleven.

We next saw her as a slave. A terrified little Erza, worried about getting caught and killed if she tried to escape. Only the words of her crush, Jellal, gave her the courage to go on with the attempt. Not as wonderful an idea as it seemed, since they were caught.

The slavers asked for the mastermind to step forward, to take the punishment for the whole group. It was Sho's plan, a scared little boy who was tearfully trying to take responsibility. Erza decided to take it off his shoulders. Jellal actually beat her to it, stepping forward just as the words began to leave Erza's mouth. It was an establishing moment for all three characters – the good natured, but scared little boy, the terrified girl who would be brave for the sake of her friends, and the natural leader who unflinchingly tried to take it all on himself.

Cultists aren't precisely known for keeping their word, though. Most likely feeling that her punishment would hurt the group most, they decided to blame Erza for the escape attempt. The torture that followed cost Erza her right eye. More important to her childhood, it caused Jellal to come rescue her. He killed several guards in the process, and was ultimately captured in her place.

As I mentioned earlier: no matter how scared Erza was, no matter what she would put up with for herself, she was even then willing to be brave for the sake of others. That was especially true for Jellal, who she admired so much. The boy who had given her the last name Scarlet. Unlike Jellal, however, Erza did not move alone. She rallied the slaves into rebellion, leading them to pick up whatever weapons they could find and strike out against their torturous masters.

The plan went well, for a short time, until the magic-wielders began to attack. Their staffs sent destructive blasts toward the slaves. They scattered Erza's makeshift army. While she screamed that they had to fight, that they had to rescue Jellal, everyone began to turn and run. The rebellion almost gave way right then, when a blast came toward Erza. It was intercepted by Rob, the “grandfather” of the group – an old member of Fairy Tail, who had been teaching Erza the wonders of magic. He had taught her that magic, at its best, was freedom. In his presence, she used to ride on a broomstick and pretend she was flying, even there in slavery. That man gave his life for her.

The grief and rage that followed was a cataclysm, unleashing the tremendous magical power that Erza would later be known for. Every discarded weapon rose up, and launched at their attackers. It wasn't so much a counter attack as an utter slaughter, the awakening of her true potential. Rallying the slaves again, she overpowered their oppressors, took the tower as her own, and rescued Jellal in the name of freedom. Not to mention a very serious crush.

It's important to recognize just how momentous this was, this battered and bruised little girl who had almost been too scared to even try escaping, leading the revolution for the sake of someone she cared about. Loyalty, and protecting those she loved, was important to Erza even then. The bonds she felt with her fellow slaves were real, and the power she had at her disposal probably surprised her most of all. All the same, Erza was too late. While caught, Jellal had been brainwashed by Ultear, a bitter young woman attempting to awaken the dark mage Zeref. Thinking that he had inherited Zeref's will, Jellal began to use magic of his own. He slaughtered the remaining guards in cold blood, right before Erza's eyes, and declared that he would finish what they started. He said that he would regather the slaves, feed them and clothe them and educate them on the wonders of the dark god they would be bringing back. He wanted Erza to join, but she refused. This wasn't the Jellal she loved, nor was this the future she wanted. She wanted him and Sho and Wally and all her friends to be free.

So Jellal cast her aside. He said that if Erza wanted freedom, she could have it for herself alone, and he used his new found power to send her back to the mainland. He also gave her a warning – that if she told anyone about the tower, that if she or anyone else came snooping around, he would have no choice but to destroy the evidence. In other words, he would kill everyone there, beginning with his former friends.

That was how Erza entered Rob's guild, Fairy Tail. Following his lead, she showed up at the guild and became one of their mages. She was very antisocial at first, siting alone while in the guild and going off to cry alone. Her solitary nature put her at odds with Gray, who thought she should show the senior members more respect. Following her one day, intending to antagonize her, he actually convinced her to become more familiar with her guild mates. He demanded to know why she was crying alone, if she truly didn't need anyone.

In the scattered glimpses of her childhood, we see that she did change a little after that point. She talked to her fellow children with a smile, though she kept her emotional distance by being quite strict with everyone. Natsu and Gray were terrified of upsetting her even then, acting buddy-buddy in her presence so that she wouldn't scold them about fighting within the guild. It was actually quite hypocritical considering she had her own rival, Mirajane.

Erza probably went on jobs and paid for her supper in the guild, as well as her room in the female dormitory Fairy Hills. Fairy Tail became her family, with the Master as the father, and his word as the law that bound them together.

Wounds like hers don't just go away though. No matter how much time passed, her former companions were never fully gone from her mind. She knew that they were still out there, forced to work on that tower, and that she could not save them. She did not dare try, because if she so much as showed up they would be killed. With those old wounds throbbing inside of her, Erza tried to protect her heart by armoring her body. Although she would occasionally wear casual outfits, she admitted that she was not comfortable outside her bulky armors.

She also resisted growing truly close with the other guild members. She became one of the top fighters, an S class mage, at fifteen, and took on powerful missions by herself without back up. She spent large amounts of time away from the guild, and when she was back, she terrorized everyone in the fun loving building with demands to drink less, be quieter, and not cause trouble for the Master. She was the sort of person who shouted orders and punched out anyone who got in her way, whether they be a fellow mage or a train conductor who wouldn't answer her question fast enough. Normally flamboyant people quivered and put on their best behaviors for her sake, referring to her as the disciplinarian of the guild. It wasn't a title that she relished. Rather, it was a title that kept her just a little bit apart from everyone and further "protected" her heart.

This side of Erza slowly began to change when she teamed up with Natsu, Gray, Happy and Lucy to form Fairy Tail's “ultimate' team. At first it was just a matter of convenience, needing some extra assistance to take on a unlawful guild. Then Natsu, Lucy and Gray decided to take on an S class mission, and Erza was dispatched to drag them home. It's important to note that, initially, Erza had no intention of helping them complete the quest. She did not care about the people who needed help, or more accurately did not want to care. She was furious that they had broken the rules of the guild that was her home, and put themselves in danger. She had no desire other than to drag them back and punish them for their behavior. It was only Gray's ultimatum to kill him or get out of the way that broke through the rage armoring Erza's heart and reminded her of her own ideals for justice. As a result, she ultimately worked together with them to fulfill the request, though she largely refused the reward. Part of her sense of justice was that since the guild hadn't officially accepted the request, they could not take the money for it. Another part was that she left the instigators of this problem alone. Even though they had tried to kill people, they had not succeeded, and ultimately they had been following their own sense of justice as well. Which wouldn't save Natsu and the gang from their own punishment, of course. Fairy Tail rules and outside laws are on a completely different ranking for her.

Then they came home to find their guild, the home she, Natsu, Happy, and Gray had grown up in, attacked. Three of their members were nailed to a tree, and someone was attempting to kidnap Lucy, their friend. Again, the situation required her to fight alongside her guild mates, putting everything on the line to avenge their family and protect one of their own. Erza personally absorbed a massive magical cannon attack meant to wipe out the guild and its members. It took up quite a bit of her strength, and stopped her from lending too much power in the battle as a whole. Which didn't stop her from taking down one of the most powerful members from the attacking guild. Ultimately, though, it was the combined efforts of the Fairy Tail's members that led to their victory.

Perhaps it also made a dent in Erza's internal armor, seeing everyone come together like that. She personally suggested that Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gray, and her make their team permanent, since fate seemed to be continuously throwing them together. After all those years of keeping herself separated, Erza enjoyed being part of the group.

Still, the wounds from her childhood remained. Although she tried to relax with Natsu and gang at a casino, she had to admit to herself that it was useless. She could not fully relax unless she was in armor. In other words, she couldn't truly let her guard down. She was too scared of getting hurt or losing the people she loved.

Thankfully, for the sake of Erza's future, the past has a way of catching up with people. After eight years, the “tower of paradise,” designed to resurrect Zeref, was complete. It only needed two things: the magical power to activate, and a human sacrifice to provide the vessel for Zeref's return. Jellal wanted to use Erza for that sacrifice. Perhaps, he thought it was poetic, considering she was the one who helped him seize this power - albeit accidentally. Perhaps, some part of him hoped she would stop him or maybe he was just being especially sadistic. He had apparently blown up all the boats they could have used to escape the tower, and blamed it on Erza, claiming that she went mad with her new found magical power. In other words, Jellal went out of his way to turn Erza's one-time companions against her. The friends she had spent years wishing she could save were the ones who dragged her back to the site of that childhood trauma.

Erza escaped, as Jellal had perhaps expected. She fought her way up the tower to take him on. Along the way she reunited with her old friend Simon, and made amends with Sho, explaining the truth of what happened. With Simon's help, her other friends stopped fighting her. That didn't mean it was all smooth sailing, though.

On her way to Jellal, Erza was pitted against Ikaruga. The woman tore through every suit of armor the redhead wore, tearing apart the defenses she had put so much pride in. This lead to a very important realization for Erza: she put too much focus on defense. Rather, she tried too hard to fill the gap between her and the outside world with metal, covering up the “chinks in their hearts” through which friendship and bonding could occur. Erza declared that her fear made her weak. Crying and scared that she couldn't save anyone, keeping everyone at a distance, she really didn't have the power that she needed.

Erza stripped herself of her armor, then. Finally accepting her companions in her heart, and the strength that they gave her, she donned nothing but chest bindings and simple pants. She rid herself of defense and focused all her power into her blade – all her feelings into her attack. It enabled her to win the battle. It also became her strongest “armor” - what she wears when things are at their most serious, and she can't afford to worry about her own body. When she wears this, it is the equivalent of putting all her trust into the bond she shares with her friends, so that she can protect those friends with all her power.

With that battle done, Erza was finally able to reach Jellal, and she almost defeated him. Unfortunately, for all the evil Jellal had committed, Erza still believed in her former leader. The strong and compassionate boy who had come to save her. She wanted to think there was still good in him. So when he pretended to have come back to his senses, and claimed he'd only been Zeref's puppet, Erza believed him. She accepted it, thinking that the magic council was about to unleash the magical cannon Etherion upon the tower anyway. From the very start, her plan had been dying with him, erasing the guilt she felt for being unable to protect her friends in those eight years.

It was all part of Jellal's plan, though. He used her moment of weakness to place a binding spell on her. The cannon did descend, but it was just a way for him to charge the tower with magical energy. Erza gave up hope for a moment, and it was only through Natsu's interference that Jellal was temporarily halted. Jellal was strong, however, and nearly defeated the dragon slayer. Erza, in turn attempted to intercept a blast that would have killed Natsu, still willing to die for her friends. Erza's old friend Simon gave his life, taking it instead. He had always loved and believed in her. In the end, thanks to the determination of her friends, Jellal was defeated, and Erza survived despite her near suicide attempts.

She still almost threw it away, though. The tower began to collapse, and the magical power was losing stability, The entire thing was going to explode and wipe out all her friends. Erza thought that if she joined with the magic, as Jellal had intended, she could control and redirect the blast. It would also tear her apart at a molecular level if she did so. That didn't stop her. Erza would have gladly sacrificed her life for the sake of her friends, and the erasal of past debts.

While in Etherion, Erza dreamed that she had in fact died. Fairy Tail had a memorial. She was given a permanent ranking among the top ten wizard saints, to commemorate her bravery. No one was happy, though. The friends that she had sacrificed her life to save, who she had wanted to live and smile forever, were all crying. Markov claimed she was like a daughter. Natsu was screaming that she couldn't possibly be dead. It wasn't what Erza wanted. That's what she cried out as she faded away. She hadn't wanted to see this misery on her friends faces.

She woke up in Natsu's arms, her friends crying out in excitement to see her. She realized that Natsu must have gone after her, into Etherion's storm of power, and dragged her out. Her friends were screaming out in happiness, telling her they had been worried. Natsu told her never to do it again, that all of them were the same, suffering their pains together. That was when Erza finally came to a realization: you don't die for your friends, you live for them. You struggle to survive with them. You stay by their sides and trust your bonds with them to see you through each day, no matter how bad it gets. You survive alongside your friends.

It was arguably the most important realization of Erza's life. After that point, after everything that had happened, she was finally able to move on. For the sake of everyone who had died for her, and everyone who loved her, she decided that she would never treat her life as worthless, or sacrifice herself, again.

Simon was dead, and Jellal seemed to be gone, but Sho, Milliana and Wally remained alive, and now knew the truth. They chose to go their own path rather than sticking closer to Erza, and reminding her of what she had been through. She grieved to lose contact with them, but understood that they had to find their own path, the same way she had found Fairy Tail. They were free now, and with that, the wounds finally began to heal. The Erza we know began to develop.

After the Tower of Paradise Arc, Erza finally seemed to find her true place in the guild. She no longer spent all her time reprimanding trouble makers, or yelling at the guild members about their habits: their drinking or their fighting. When Erza first debuted in the series, her appearance would stop everyone in their tracks. After this, she was more a part of the fun, fighting and laughing with everyone else. She also changed her dress code a little. Although she did continue wearing armor, her main outfit became much less bulky, a more casual armor meant to represent that she no longer needed to put such strong barriers between herself and the world.

In her free time, and in the Fairy Tail specials, we see some more of Erza's cute side. She's someone who loves desserts, like strawberry shortcake. She enjoys “barrel surfing,” even knowing it'll end in disaster. When she plays pool, she shoots the cue hard enough to burst through the balls, and smiles in satisfaction. She's terrible at acting, but acts like she's good at it, and has a happy smile on her face regardless of how badly she stutters while on the stage. She takes even the silliest competition seriously, giving her all to everything she joins- likes Miss Fairy Tail. Heaven help her if you put her in a casino, because she'll take that serious too, wearing her bunny outfit and clubbing anyone who gets in her way.

She has a cute and even playful side, in other words. She's also very socially awkward, thanks to living her life among a bunch of rambunctious wizards who don't know the meaning of delicacy or quiet. In one special, she actually demanded that a maid-waitress strip and donat her clothes to the mission. It says something about Erza's strength of personality that the woman did just that – and it says something about Erza's personality that, having dressed as a maid, she marched up to her target's table and slammed down a sword. The outfit wasn't even necessary, per se – but Erza probably thought something like "If you're doing a mission in a maid cafe, you should dress like a maid." Besides, she loves cosplay. Her favorite armor is the playboy bunny suit– or at least that's what she told Sorcerer Magazine. Maybe she had even intended to make use of the disguise, when she made the maid strip, before she lost her temper at hearing the target claim membership in Fairy Tail.

Erza has odd views when it comes to nakedness anyway, even if it's not as bad as Gray's exhibitionist habit. Erza's requip magic allows her to exchange one suit of armor for another, but there is a split second shift in between. In other words, Erza has been frequently, if only momentarily, naked – even in the middle of battle. She never seems to mind. For guild mates in particular, she doesn't care if they see her naked, and has frequently offered to bathe with Natsu and Gray like they did as children. Truth to tell, Erza doesn't really seem to fully understand the social impact of nakedness or sex appeal when it comes to a human body. She supposedly likes to read books that are a little lewd in nature, so she's certainly aware of the concept, but so far as actual bodies go... She must understand to some extent, considering she joined a beauty contest and owns seduction armor. Yet for so long, her body was just a weapon honed to protect the guild. For more practical purposes, Erza still has trouble seeing it as more than that.

No matter how goofy and socially awkward she can be, though, Erza remains a force to be reckoned with. Spill her strawberry shortcake, or land even an accidental punch on her person, or worst of all misuse the name of Fairy Tail, and Erza will rain her personal fury down upon you. Part of Fairy Tail's rowdy nature is that they kick even each others' asses, and Erza isn't an exception when properly riled up.

Of course, their true power is reserved for enemies of the guild. While Natsu is most famous for saying it, Erza embodies it as well as anyone. It doesn't matter if it's the world at stake, or the government who's against them. It doesn't matter if you're doing it to save your best friend's life, or because you're hoping to line your pockets with gold. If you stand against the guild, if you stand against Erza's family, she will fight you with everything she has. She said it best of all in chapter 376.5 - “I don't care if you steal or shoot... But I won't ever forgive anyone that forge's Fairy Tail's name. Not in any way. Not in any time. We live with pride in our guild's name. This seal we've carved into ourselves isn't merely decoration. It's the proof of our bond as a family. Binding our fates together, we put our lives on the line. Anyone that steps on that holy vow... Be they evil or good, I will cut them down.”

That said, it isn't as if they're a cult. Each member has their own ideas of justice, and the Master himself claimed that Fairy Tail is bout following their own form. That's why Erza was ultimately willing to put her mission on hold, to help Natsu and Gray complete their S class mission. That's why Erza, after striking down the false Fairy Tail member, did not turn her into the police. As a member of Fairy Tail, Erza has her own sense of justice that ultimately guides her. It's not always connected to the laws of the kingdom or the magical council, both of which Fairy Tail has occasionally stood against. They went against the dark guild Oracion Seis of their own volition, for example, regardless of actual laws against picking fights with guilds, dark or otherwise. They've also attempted to defend former criminals, who they personally felt had made amends and counted as their friends.

Erza keeps a more level head then many of her friends, though. She's an intelligent tactician, who knows when it's best to hold back. One might stand against the kingdom, but one doesn't attack it unless they don't have a choice. One has to be aware of strategy before they go out and attack. But once she has a goal, an enemy to fight, nothing will stop her from protecting her family. She's already lost her birth family, and her slave-family. She won't ever go through that loss again – or put others through the pain of losing her. As she puts it to Kagura, in the magic games, throwing away her life would be spitting in the face of everyone who had sacrificed themselves for her. Just as she protects this guild, this guild protects her: by giving her something to live for, and not just something to die for.

That's the essence of Erza. A strong willed woman who's willing to do anything to protect her family, who has her own sense of justice and goes after it without much concern for the world's laws, except where it might negatively affect her loved ones. Someone who is protected by the feelings of her friends, which gives her the courage to stand and fight, Not just for their sake, but for the sake of the family as a whole, which includes her. Even when they're split into teams, like in the magic festival, Erza still protects Fairy Tail as a whole. We see that in a recent chapter, in the battle of a hundred monsters. Every person in order was given the right to challenge any number of the hundred monsters available, with one point for each – but if they lost, they would gain no points for the round. It would be impossible to guess how strong the monsters they got would be, as any still available could be put against them. Erza chose to battle all one hundred, not only winning the battle, but ruining the challenge for the remainder. The reason why she did this, instead of just guaranteeing her victory with fifty one monsters, was not to show off. It was so that the second Fairy Tail team that had entered would not be left in last place. By destroying the challenge, she protected her friends – because even if they were competing, they were still members of Fairy Tail.

Next, I'd like to take a little time to explore Erza's relationships with the members of Fairy Tail. The Guild has a lot of members, and while each of them have interesting personalities and wonderful back stories, most of them don't have enough screen time to have formed a direct and visible relationship with Erza. We know that she occasionally borrows books from Levy, that she approves of Juvia, and that last time she checked in with Gajeel she was still a little suspicious of him, or at least doesn't consider him fully “ready” to be counted among the guild's top members. She seems to like Happy and Carla well enough, and has happily sparred with Pantherlily. She hasn't spent much time talking to Wendy. The two do have a sweet tooth in common, though, and apparently went on a mission together to get a rare dessert as a reward.

Her oldest relationships in the guild would be Markov, Laxus, Cana, Natsu, Gray, Mira, Lisana, and Elfman. It can most likely be assumed she's on decent terms with Lisana and Elfman, despite the latter's habit of saying "If you're a man!", and she's probably fond of Cana, even if she does disapprove of the excess drinking. Laxus turned quite vicious for a while, even briefly turning against the guild, but he's still the Master's grandson and he did stand by the guild when they needed him most. I would classify her relationship with him as cautious, but optimistic.

Mira falls into the rival category, though they could probably be called friends too after all this time. The two of them used to get into constant fights. After the Grand Magic Games, Erza was subjected to a punishment game for losing at rock paper scissors. Mira made her dress up as a maid and spanked her as a form of humiliation. After midnight, when the punishment games ended, Erza returned the favor. As perverted from its original form as it might be, the rivalry remains strong.

Her relationship with Gray and Natsu has changed a lot. When she first met Gray, he thought she should show him respect. By the time we saw them next, he and Natsu were both terrified of her, something that was still true during her first adult appearance. In truth, they're both still pretty scared of pissing her off, as she's fully capable of kicking them into next Wednesday. They've come a long way from trembling in her presence though. The days when Natsu could only say “AI!” when she walked into a room are gone.

Natsu has personally defended Erza at times, declaring that he would protect her from crying and attempting to save her from the council's arrest. He very much wants to beat her in battle one day, and she very much encourages this, looking forward to when he grows into his full strength as a team member. That said, she's still quite wary of being put in a position of vulnerability around him, like when she was magically turned into a child. Among her first thoughts were how Natsu, and Gray, would take the opportunity to test their strength against hers.

Gray seems a lot less intent on picking a fight with Erza, though, being a lot more cool headed, and even a little bit cold. He too would go out of his way to protect her, though, as a friend and a guild mate. Yet he was also included in the fantasy as taking advantage of her smaller form. No matter how well they all get along now, Erza did use to come down on them quite heavily for all the fighting they did. While she trusts him to back her up in battle, she wouldn't want to be physically vulnerable in front of him, during a more casual setting. Rivalry is a big part of her bond with those two, as well.

Master Markov is the father figure of the guild, meanwhile. He views them as his children, and for members like Erza he's the only parent available. His word is to a large extent law for Erza, and his judgment is trusted. As someone who believes in thinking for herself, she will go against him if absolutely necessary. For example, when he ordered everyone to escape Tenrou Island to get away from Acnologia, she ultimately came back with the rest of Fairy Tail to stand by their Master's side. Perhaps it had something to do with her earlier fight against Azuma, where she realized it was her friends who were always protecting her, and not the other way around – their love and loyalty which gave her the strength to continue. She couldn't abandon her father figure after a realization like that. Some things are more important than orders, or logic.

Lucy is another member of her team, and one of the newest members in Fairy Tail. She lacks the childhood friendship Natsu and Gray have with Erza, but that also means she lacks some of their instinctive fear. She's actually been shown to have a deep respect for Erza's strength, and Erza seems to care about Lucy's opinions as well. When she's fighting on Tenrou, and considers trying seduction armor, her immediate thought is “What if Lucy saw?”, indicating some concern for the woman's opinion. Apparently she also crept into Lucy's bed for company during the grand magic games. Lucy is the girl she spends the most time with, after all, so she's probably Erza's closest female friend. I'd say another part of it is that Lucy's pretty much the closest thingto a normal human being in the guild, especially among the women. Wendy is a child, Mira turns into a demon, Cana drinks alcohol by the barrel... While Lucy looks to Erza as a role model of strength, Erza looks to Lucy as a role model for a "normal" person, with actual social skill. As mentioned earlier, Erza remains quite socially awkward when it comes to behavioral norms outside the guild.

She does have relationships that precede her guild membership, though. Simon, who always had a crush on her, is dead. Rob, who taught her magic, is dead too. That leaves Millianna, Sho, Wally and Jellal among the living. The first three are simple enough. Truth be told, she was away from them for eight years, so she doesn't actually know their current personalities that well. All the same they're still dear friends to her, and very close to her heart - even if they're mostly preserved as "childhood friends" in her memory. Millianna in particular showed up in the Grand Magic Games, and Erza became furious when Minerva threatened the girl's well being. From what she said to Kagura, she still views Millianna as mostly an innocent kid, too. All the same, even though they may be walking “different paths” Erza views them as her dear family members. They're a part of her that she'll always love, like little siblings one doesn't get to see as much as they'd like.

Jellal is the most complicated of her relationships, though. He was the initial leader of their slave rebellion, and her hero. He gave her the name Scarlet, after her hair, saying it wasn't right that she didn't have a last name. He was her first love. Even when he was at his worst, she wanted to believe there was good in there. When she managed to survive the tower's explosion, she told Lucy in confidence that she believed Jellal might have reverted to his old self at the very end, and helped to save her. After all, she really should have been torn apart a molecular level long before Natsu found her.



Even if Jellal was her angel, he was also her demon. Under the influence of Ultear's brainwashing, he cast her out of the tower and cut her off from the only family she had left. He made her live eight years of pain and guilt, feeling like she couldn't save anyone. Eight years of cutting herself off from everyone, feeling as if she didn't deserve more and scared to reach for it in any case. Eight years crying on the inside, while smiling for the guild. He hurt her so much. Hurt everyone she cared about, all for the goal of bringing back a dark wizard who would only hurt more people.

Then he died. Then he came back. Jellal had lost his memory of everything bad that had been done. The only thing he could remember was Erza's name – that, and the hope of Natsu's power. The brainwashed programming seemed to be gone too, and with his partial memory he tried to destroy the dark magic Oracion Seis had set after, and to kill himself so as to repent and “release” Erza from her pain. She didn't want that. She didn't want him to have forgotten, either. Seeing him brought back all that hurt and anger and rage. So easy to forgive when he was gone, so hard to forget when he was standing in front of her, claiming no knowledge of all that suffering. Seeing Jellal again brought back love, and memories of kinder times – but it also brought back all the hurt that he had put her through. The friends that he had hurt, and the man that he had killed. Erza wanted him to remember the pain that he had caused, so that she could be angry at him for it, a simple emotion to cling to when everything was so confused. Yet with his memories gone, he had apparently reverted back to the Jellal she had known. The Jellal she had loved as a child.

Erza demanded that he live and repent, rather than taking the easy way out, and accepted his help. Working with him began to ease some of her anger and bring back some of her fonder memories. Together with him, her guild mates, and other allies, they were able to defeat their enemy, Oracion Seis. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to work out their feelings. Just as Erza declared her desire to be there for him, the magic council swooped down to arrest Jellal for his crimes. Erza froze at the thought, realizing that she didn't want to be separated from him. The others, sensing her feelings, attempted to physically overpower the council, yelling that Jellal needed to come with them.

Ultimately, the level headed Erza put a stop to it. Putting aside her own feelings of grief for the sake of the guild's future, and realizing what would happen if they tried to take the council head on, Erza told them to stop. She took responsibility and gave them permission to take Jellal away. Perhaps it would have been different if a guild mate was in trouble - though she might have tried legal recourse first, regardless. Either way, she couldn't allow her guild to fall for the sake of her feelings, when Jellal really had committed the crimes. She cried at losing him, but returned to her family.

The bond between them remained, however. When she was fighting on Tenrou Island, Jellal felt her pained fight all the way from his prison cell. His thoughts reached her, reminding her to stay strong. Her thoughts didn't linger on him, though, thinking it was impossible to have heard him at such a distance. They turned instead toward the guild and her friends. It was them that Erza needed to focus on, their lives at stake. No matter how much she cares for Jellal, Erza's family will always come first. That is the only certainty in her relationship with him. Their meetings weren't over yet, though.


Acnologia attacked Tenrou, and the guild members almost died. To protect them, Fairy Tai's first Master Mavis sealed them away from the world. The seal lasted seven years, during which the guild mates outside the island suffered and the guild dwindled. It was considered the weakest guild, laughed at and teased, much to the ire of the core members upon their return. During that time, Jellal also escaped from prison. Rather, he was broken out by the very Ultear who had once brainwashed him, and her semi-adoptive daughter Meredy. Although he had recovered his memories, Jellal remained his better self.

They met with Erza, to ask for help in identifying a dark magic found in the games. In payment, they increased the magic power of several members, including Erza, so that they could close the seven year gap created by their absence from the world. More important for her, was the chance this gave her and Jellal to talk.

They almost kissed, actually. Perhaps their lips even did touch, before Jellal pulled away. He claimed he had a fiancee, so they couldn't see each other. It was a rather clumsy lie, Erza later said, but at the time she pretended to believe it. It seemed to her that this was answer, in and of itself, and one that she could accept.

Jellal had recovered his old self, but that couldn't wipe away his crimes in the eyes of the world. He was a fugitive on the run, and joining him would have meant either putting her guild in danger or leaving Fairy Tail. Those were two things she couldn't do, even for him. His clumsy lie just made things easier. To an extent. The truth is, the feelings they share will never be simple, so long as they both continue to live. She has a connection to them, but she will not put her friends at risk to explore it.

Erza's a good and loyal person, after all. That isn't to say she doesn't have a darker side, though. As strong willed and righteous as Erza normally is, we don't see a lot of true darkness in her, but she certainly sees it in herself. When she met her Edolas counterpart, she declared that "Erza Knightwalker" had her weaknesses and darkness, so she must also have Scarlet's heart and loyalty. A wonderful thought, but it betrays a little something of how our Erza sees herself. While they might embody different aspects, Scarlet knows that not everything she does is good.

Her inability to connect to others in her early years is a prime example. The way she beat Loki to a pulp for flirting with her, or how she would knock out people who didn't give her the proper information. Knocking Natsu unconscious with a stomach punch, to ease his travel sickness, was another example. Not even a blow to the head, but a painful stomach punch to overwhelm him. When her fear is at its highest, Erza kind heart doesn't always shine through. In her weakness and inability to connect, she can cause pain to others while trying to protect herself.

This game will actually be a stressful challenge for her, that will bring back some of her darker aspects if she isn't careful. She'll be trapped away from her friends when they need her the most, without a villain that she can fight directly, and without any direct way home. It'll be a lot like the Tower of Paradise, that same feeling of helplessness in the face of her friends' danger.

When stressed, Erza will try and find an enemy to fight. If she can't, she will try and find something to distract herself. She won't ever forget her friends, she won't put them out of her mind or seal her heart again, because she knows that isn't what they would want. However, it will be a fight with her own weaknesses to not give in to despair. She will have to keep herself focused on other things.

Her goal in this life isn't anything so big as world peace, or to rescue everyone who needs help. It's not to vanquish all the evil in this world. It is simply to live life to its fullest, with her guild mates, to “put her life on the line” knowing that they will be doing the same. Living happily with everyone is her dream. She will not give up on it in her time here.


Third Person Sample:

Erza clenched her weapon, attempting to burn the unfamiliar weight into her memory. If this was to be the only weapon available, then she would memorize its every contour. Whatever it took to defeat her unknown enemy and return home. Return to the friends who were counting on her – before they felt a need to come after her, instead. That they would find their way to her was beyond doubt. The members of Fairy Tail always protected her... But Erza was not going to allow that, now. They had another battle to fight with Tartarus. Revenge on these kidnappers would have to wait.

Her last memories before awakening here still shone through her mind. The final blow against Kyouka, giving all the strength she had to offer. Collapsing on the ground, still wondering if it was enough. No. Kyouka had fallen. She was certain of it. Whether she had been in time was another question. If she had, then perhaps she could afford to rest in this odd place for a while. If she had not, then her guild mates would need her more than ever before. If magic, their life force, had been wiped from the continent...

When she had first woken up in this odd world, unable to access her magic, she had been convinced for a moment that she'd failed. She should have known better. She could still feel the magic inside of herself, she simply hadn't been able to release it.

In the outside world, though, she had access again. It had been surprising how important that was to her – but it shouldn't have been. Though power wasn't necessary, though she would gladly sacrifice it for the sake of her friends... Though Erza said those things, perhaps no mage could truly understand what it was like thinking that a piece of them had been taken away. It was a feeling she didn't want to put her friends through.

Erza was convinced, in any case, that this place had no relationship to her world. The place had too different a feel to it, like when she had woken up in Edolas. Perhaps that meant time would flow differently as well. She had to hope that it would flow slower and not faster, then. Her friends would not go seven years thinking she was dead.

No. Rather than that... She would not go seven years without seeing them again.



First Person Sample:

The first person sample of last time, with a little editing: hopefully all right since it didn't receive any notes:

Return me to my friends at once. [She has placed her communicator on the chair, the better to hold a steady view. She wants to be seen standing tall and proud. She hasn't changed her clothes or washed – so instead of a white suit of armor, she stands in her most powerful battle outfit, the last thing she equipped before her transport: bandages wrap around her chest; simple black pants, flared out with flames at the end, adorn her pants. Her entire body is covered in dirt and cuts and bruises. She wants to be seen as she came. Ready for battle.]

I thought we had ended the transfer between worlds when we left Edolas. [Never mind that little confusion in the Celestial Spirit World.] But I do not have time to waste here now. [Her eyes narrow.] My companions are counting on me. [There's a slight quiver in her voice at that – the clock Is ticking. Will it be too late when she gets back? At least her senses are back, now that she's away from the demon's magic.]

I cannot allow anyone to get in my way. If you need my guild's assistance, you can submit a request like anyone else. If you think you can keep me here, though, you're wrong. Nothing will stop me from finding my way to my friends. Even if I have to cut my way through worlds to find them.

My companions will guide me home. [She smiles, faintly, her eyes sliding down.] I'd be useless to you without them anyway.


~~~~~~

Also, I've got this over here marking her intro into another game.