#i really need to write more of those pre84 side stories

[pencilofawesomeness]

Hi!

I'm sort of wondering when FT members will learn more about the dragon family's history, and who in particular will learn about it.

I mean, Mirajane finally guessed that Natsu is a demon, and while I doubt Natsu will explain everything to her (given that it would imply revealing secrets that are not only his own), I'm actually not even sure he will mention being an etherious specifically, but if he does, I rather doubt he will disclose what his true relationship with Zeref is (since it would be hard to do either of those things without explaining the whole time travel thing or at least that Zeref is immortal, though I guess he can asks Mirajane not to question that part, but more than that there's a significant difference between being created by a "bad guy" and being related to a "bad guy", so I'm not sure he'll trust Mirajane with that information.)

Anyway my point is : he might not tell Mirajane everything, but the fact that she found out but did not hate him might actually change things for him. What's more, hearing about the part where Erza, Jellal, Lucy and GRAY of all people, made friends with a village of demons might also quell some fears. (As long as he doesn't hear about the Deliora part of the story or that it doesn't affect him too much, that he understand Deliora was hated (and frozen to death) because he was destructive and killed people (including Gray's parents), not just because he was an etherious).

So I wonder if Natsu will start being more open about the fact that he's part demon, at least with the guildmates he's closest to. I mean, sure Acnologia told him it might be better to keep it quiet but a) he meant that in a general context, b) he barely knew let alone trusted the guild and its members at the time.

Speaking of which, I'm also thinking about the dragon's families other secrets, namely their origin, Acnologia's past and their connection with Zeref.

For now, I believe that except for the Exceeds and the dragons slayers plus Anna, no one has the whole story? Lisanna maybe? She knew most of it, I'm just not sure if she was ever told why they were sent in the future (in other words, what Acnologia did).

Other than that, the people closest to them would be Mystgoan, team Thunderstorm, team Shadow Gear and Jellal & Erza. It was pretty clear in the 24 hours race one-shot that Jellal and Erza knew next to nothing, basically they're just friends with Erik and they learnt about dragon slaying magic in passing. Regarding team Shadow Gears, I'm not even convinced Jet and Droy know of the dragonlings' dragon slaying magic, so I doubt they know anything else. Levy does know Acnologia is a dragon (and I must say I'm curious as to how that happened), but I'm really not sure about the rest, I would guess she might know about the time travel, but not Acnologia's past or Zeref. Thunderstorm is probably pretty much unaware of everything - I'm actually not even 100% sure Laxus knows about Zeref. Though with the summer camp thing he would have found out about Natsu, so... Mystgoan I'm really not sure about, but I also don't think he knows anything, if only because he's always too busy with other things.

I'm really curious to see if any of them will be told more in a near future. Or someone else entirely, Lucy for instance. Or if the revelations will always happen accidentally, on the battlefield, through another person, etc.

I'm fondly imagining Erik reassuring Natsu that Erza and/or Jellal wouldn't hold his being a demon against him, nor his being Zeref's brother, nor his loving him still, nor even his not (completely) believing Zeref is a bad person, as long as Natsu explained why he believes that. Because Erik does know enough about them (and the past they share) to know they wouldn't care, would still trust him and care for him all the same. I can even imagine Erik supporting Natsu telling Gray or Lucy about his being a demon, if Erik heard about their demon friends of Galuna Island. (Maybe not the Zeref part though. A bit too risky I'd say.)

I'm really found of secrets and reveals, of the hurt and comfort and the drama. I really look forward to pasts being revealed, be it by choice or due to old enemies (or friends) coming back to haunt the Fairies.

Ah yes this is an excellent question anon. Especially since I know I've been bad/vague on establishing who-knows-what since I've been hitting major events and then going back and filling in details at random times, both because of my flighty mind, and because I've been toeing around some things until I committed. Like this one.

Nevertheless, there are people who know, and over the course of the series, more people will find out in-story. Especially once we hit major group-fests like the Tenrou and GMG arcs.

Their squirreliness and awkward relationship with secrets is certainly something to be addressed. Really, it's like this with the majority of Fairy Tail, and it's a theme I am absolutely fascinated by: FT parades around as a "family," and they trust and love each other, but very few people in the guild are comfortable trusting each other with emotional hurt. Which is to say, the fact that FT is a fresh start for people is an amazing thing, but the focus on moving forward sometimes causes things not to be addressed. Erza would never have told anyone about the Tower on her own; Cana won't tell Gildarts he's her dad; the dragon slayers don't want to bring up their time displacement and quasi-dead parents; Gray didn't want to tell anyone about his and Ur's last conversation; Mirajane didn't want to be anything reminiscent of her younger, scared self. The dragons have created a sort of microcosm of emotional vulnerability within Fairy Tail, mostly by accident and the nature of shared secrets, but that doesn't extend to all of the guild. It's a question of whether it should, or by how much; of where to draw the line between lingering in the past and letting it drag you down unwittingly; of what makes family, and what that really means.

I ramble, but I say that all to say that it's a theme I want to try to intersperse and play with as the series progresses. So to answer your question: yes, secrets will be spilled and/or shared willingly. More people will find out more information. Like with Mirajane in this arc, because Natsu—despite having the most secrets—is a very trusting individual once it starts to unravel. (Almost like secrets can take a toll on the mind: what a concept.) So, without giving away everything, I will say that Mirajane will learn quite a bit by the end of their adventure.

As for who knows, there's actually a handful of people who know a lot, maybe save a detail or two. It's been mentioned a few times (I think, like with Acno's retrospection in bringing in Erik) that once somebody starts being at the house all of the time, secrets go out the window. The fun thing about that bunch is that while they have a ton of secrets, personality-wise, they're not very secretive. That's why the go-to response is avoidance 80% of the time. So Lisanna, Levy, Mystogan, Laxus, and Bickslow know pretty much everything, from a combination of being told things and exposure from always being around. (Lisanna got told everything out the gate by Natsu, since secrets are like his least-favorite thing, and then she was around when other stuff was discovered. Similarly for Levy, Mystogan, and Laxus. Bickslow found some things by accident and then the rest through him being surprisingly chill with everything; I have a side story that I think I referenced in another one that I've been wanting to write that focuses on Bickslow and Lisanna having to figure out soul magic because they're all confused af, but I haven't gotten to that one yet so I understand that nobody knows of what exists in my head, lol.)

It trickles down from there. Erza and Jellal know about what Erik went through, and they know about some dragon slayer magic stuff, but not any of the backstory. (Mostly because Erza didn’t think to question anything, and Jellal was too awkward too, hence the 24-Hour-Race stuff.) Same with Freed and Evergreen. Jet and Droy know a bit more, including about some of the time travel stuff, but nothing in regards to Natsu or Zeref or the Acno-is-an-actual-dragon thing.

With more to come, as I said. Because yeah, as things progress—like with the Galuna peeps figuring out more—it will start coming up slowly. It’s gonna be a lot of fun, that’s for sure. I, too, love all the revealing secrets tropes. >:)

#htryds #ask #anon #i really need to write more of those pre84 side stories #there's just so many shiny ones in there #and then they take so much time #essentially after each arc i jump to the ones i am the most excited about #or have clear ideas for #and then when I realize i've spent a long time on filler stuff #I focus on getting out whatever is necessary for the upcoming arc #and with some of this who-knows-what business #it's important but not immediately so #like a lot of the shadowgear stuff I had in mind #but decided to wait until before runaways to write #though admittedly some of it comes up in demon tales since levy wormed her way in #because after thinking i was going plan a for one route I ended up changing my mind to plan b #so more levy #or like how thunderstorm wasn't going to be around for a hot second #so I thought I could wait on that too #and then some things i was just dragging my feet on #though it would have made sense to do it sooner #like the mirajane trauma sidestory #though i thought about sneaking that one into demon tales through flashbacks #so still not sure on that entirely #but yeah guys feel free to ask questions #a lot of stuff is rolling around in my head #and future readers are probably going to be better off #because it's all so hard to keep up with time-wise #if it's a spoiler obviously i'll dodge #but stuff like this