#lamia scale

lamia scale never did anything halfway.

if they were going to celebrate christmas, then it would be with:

— fake snow falling inside the guild,

— an improvised stage,

— and a choir that sang more out of tune than in harmony.

and you were walking right into the middle of all of it.

members rushed around shouting instructions, hanging crooked decorations. the tree topper had collapsed three times already. someone was trying to tie garlands to the top of a beam that very clearly wasn’t going to hold.

and in the middle of all that chaos stood lyon vastia, wearing a serious expression, as if he were overseeing a military operation.

“this is completely out of symmetry,”

he muttered to himself, frowning at the christmas tree.

you approached slowly, amused.

“it’s symmetrical enough, lyon.”

he looked at you like he’d just heard a christmas blasphemy.

“symmetrical enough?”

his hand flew to his forehead.

“this is christmas, not an artistic catastrophe.”

you laughed.

and that—just that—was enough to make lyon’s ears tint slightly red. just a little. barely noticeable… to anyone who didn’t know him as well as you did.

sherria ran up to you, almost slipping.

“you came! i knew you would! i knew it! i knew it!”

she hugged you tightly, nearly knocking the air out of you.

juvia wasn’t there, but if she were, she probably would’ve attacked:

sherria was an affectionate hurricane.

master jura supervised everything with his impenetrable calm, while everyone else created a sort of “improvised christmas festival.”

the music was loud.

the lights were bright.

the chaos was… well, expected.

but lyon?

he was desperately trying to keep everything aesthetically acceptable.

and when you came near him again, he pretended to be busy, adjusting a bow that was already perfect.

“you look… elegant today,”

he said out of nowhere, trying to sound casual while his face betrayed everything.

you smiled.

“thank you. you do too.”

“hmph.”

he looked away.

“i tried not to overdo it. but… i suppose i wanted to make a good impression.”

your heart beat faster.

did he really just say that?

after some time helping set the tables, hang lights, and stop dan from running someone over with an improvised sleigh, lyon called to you:

“do you… want to step outside for a bit? it’s snowing out there. the real kind.”

you walked outside together.

the night was quiet, cold, but pleasant.

lights dyed the snow with golden reflections.

and lyon walked beside you like someone trying very hard to seem completely in control…

even while glancing sideways at you every three steps.

when a cold wind blew, you shivered.

lyon immediately—

“…here.”

he took off his own coat and placed it over your shoulders with almost ceremonial care.

and then promptly froze like a statue, realizing what he’d just done.

“it’s… just so you don’t get cold,”

he cleared his throat.

“don’t read too much into it.”

you didn’t answer—just held the coat closer to your chest.

lyon looked away, embarrassed.

you stopped near the frozen river, where the lights reflected like stars on the icy water.

the silence was comfortable.

until lyon took a deep breath and said:

“i…”

you turned to him.

he looked like he was about to internally combust.

completely red.

completely nervous.

“i wanted you to know that…”

he touched the back of his neck.

“i… like your presence.”

another second passed.

“i like you.”

your heart jumped.

and before you could respond—

sherria appeared out of nowhere.

“you two are out here!!! the tree fell again!!! and we need help!!!”

lyon closed his eyes, defeated.

“…please let me finish this later.”

you laughed and took his arm.

“finish whenever you want.”

he gave a small smile—rare, sincere.

“i want to.”

when you went back inside, the tree was down. again.

dan was stuck underneath it, asking for help dramatically.

master jura calmly tried to push it off.

sherria ran around in circles.

and when you walked in—

sherria looked at you, looked at lyon, and—

“you two look so different!!! did something happen???”

you and lyon answered at the same time.

“n-no!”

“of course not!”

the entire guild didn’t believe it for a second.

“hmm,” ren said doubtfully.

“interesting,” yuka added.

“smells like a couple!” toby declared.

lyon turned red all the way to his neck.

but when no one was looking, he leaned closer to you and murmured softly:

“i promise i’ll tell you everything… when we’re alone.”

you laughed.

Fairy Tail

Not gonna spend a whole lot of time with them because like, we know. They primarily focus on client requests. Slaying monsters, translations, etc. It's part of the reason they're one of the more popular guilds, they're friendly. A lot of people have had great experiences with Fairy Tail. The shenanigans are just an added bonus. For such a popular guild, they're so easy to get a request into, and because of the guild's size they're usually handled quickly.

Their guild members consist of literally anyone, and they all subscribe to the same breed of nonsense. yk what I mean

Blue Pegasus

While they do operate like the other guilds, they actually focus a lot more on management. They work closely with the magic council to deal with various issues within the magic world. They're the go-to guild to get funding from various people, secure treaties, etc. They're probably the guild that works with the council most, they play the game and they play it well, and they're not above keeping tabs on them for other guilds that have issues with them.

They do a lot of organization for big issues--getting the guilds together for the Oracion Seis, for example. That's not to say they aren't powerful. There are issues in the higher levels of the magic world, and sometimes that means fighting some guy who wants to cause trouble.

They work closely with various guilds for funding matters, for example Lamia Scale for the first response budget--aid isn't cheap in the first place but there's been a lot of wage issues in the past.

TLDR they're the politics guild. They work with some other guilds for matters like this, (of the main guilds, mainly Lamia Scale. Listen you can't trust Fairy Tail to play nice with the rich guys) as well.

Lamia Scale

Bouncing off Blue Pegasus, certain members do help with the more political side of the magic world, but usually older, seasoned members like Jura. They focus mostly on aid and first response, and are always fighting with the magic council for the absolute nonsense they pull during a crisis. Tensions are very high between Lamia Scale and the council and they have a long history of pissing each other off. Lamia Scale's history in general is Fairy Tail levels of fucked up and under-wraps.

They take requests, but usually for reconstruction or aid of some kind. Instead of a request board (which they do have, it's just not as plentiful as Fairy Tail's) they operate under Ooba, Jura, and other elder members of the guild that assign various tasks based on teams ability.

S Class, in their case I haven't come up with a name for it, are for wizards who they trust to handle heavier, more dire situations. They're not gonna send the new kids into something serious unless they really think they can handle it.

Teams are chosen based on their skills. Some teams are better in jobs that require fighting, others are better at evacuations, etc. Ooba is very strict on how members are assigned to various issues, for both the safety of the wizards and the people involved in a crisis. If she doesn't think a member can physically or mentally handle something, they won't go. End of story. They have more levels than just S-Class.

A good chunk of their members were victims of some disaster and would later join after their lives were torn apart. Lamia Scale was called in for help with Deliora's destruction and cleanup, which is why so many Deliora survivors are in the guild. Margaret is comprised of a lot of people who Lamia Scale helped, serving as a place for them to rebuild their lives. As far as loyal cities go, they're way up there. They have a very close relationship to the city and was founded as one of the first cities they helped before even being an organization.

Sabertooth

Under Jiemma, Sabertooth was remarkably difficult to get a request into. He was picky about who and what received their help, and it always had an ulterior motive behind it. They didn't work with other guilds, at all, which was becoming more common pre and during the time-skip, Fairy Tail's influence had a lot to do with that, and Jiemma hates how Fairy Tail operates.

Jiemma, sometimes Minerva, would send members on jobs personally, or they could volunteer to be in the tournaments (more on that later). This meant that members could go months without employment, so when you got a job you made sure to do it damn well so you'd get another one (Jiemma would absolutely kick someone out if they got caught working somewhere else, too, especially retail because he's a classist asshole).

They did a lot of showy jobs, things that would show the public how powerful they are. And if you were employing Sabertooth, you paid well (and most of the money went to Jiemma, because of course it did). He used to put on in-guild tournaments that people could attend, allow people to pay for a chance to fight their members, etc. They were more an entertainment guild than anything, and you would get kicked out if you made the guild look bad.

Post-Jiemma and under Sting, they take a lot of inspiration from Fairy Tail. They rebuilt their relationship with Gazania, though tensions are still there because many of the citizens are people that were were exploiting members through the tournaments (which were. not exactly safe. More than a few career-ending injuries happened). It's kind of a mess.

During Fairy Tail's disbandment, they filled the gap they left by taking requests like they did. The public already had some positive opinions of them, though they had their haters due to their behavior (see GMG cruelty), but they've reconstructed their reputation over time.

They were the council darling guild beside Blue Pegasus under Jiemma, Fiore's pride and joy, etc. Under Sting, they're the biggest pain in the ass. The council hates them. Post-Jiemma, Sting started pushing for regulations on wizard treatment within guilds, and he's a little asshole about it (as he should be). Sabertooth as a whole put a spotlight on all the issues within the magic community that were previously hidden from the public, and they're not quiet about what the council let Jiemma put them through.

Mermaid Heel

They're a newer guild and they're kind-of a combination of everything. They're always working with Lamia Scale for first response, take open requests, and work with Blue Pegasus for more managerial work. It's more up to the wizard for what they'd like to focus on.

They're strategists, creative. They don't do a lot of fighting jobs like Sabertooth of Fairy Tail, but more humanitarian work. They do some entertainment-esc work, guild duels for example (in a healthy way, and they're often fundraisers).

As an all-female guild they face a lot of crap, especially when they first started. The were undermined as fighters, which their stronger members quickly nipped in the bud (I mean, Kagura, c'mon).