This is still one of my all-time favorite headcanons for Crime Sorciere.

Jellal thought he might be hearing things, but judging from the identical intense expressions of the two individuals in front of him, he suspected that he very much was not. A glance to the other members of his ragtag band of misadventure did not yield any help or sympathy. Not even from Richard. So his gaze returned to the pair that for once were not sniping at each other or their friends, and were united in this strange endeavor.

"You... You want me to get a lacrima screen," Jellal clarified, slowly.

"Yeah," Erik replied.

"That is what we just said," confirmed Sorano, with a roll of her eyes. "Is there a problem with that?"

"We're criminals!" Jellal burst out, trying to emphasize his point with his hands.

They continued to stare at him like he was the one that had lost his mind. "What does that have to do with anything?" Erik asked, Sorano nodding along with him. "We had a really nice one back when we were with Brain and Zero. And there's portable ones for sale. We could make do with those, since we don't have a main base to return to."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jellal chewed on how to respond. "And when would you even find the time to make use of it when we're always either on the move, on the run, or dealing with dark guilds?"

Instead of deterring them, or even putting a slight damper on their enthusiasm, their eyes lit up. "Hey, that's a good idea!" Erik stated, turning to Sorano.

"Yes - we don't even have to buy one. Just steal it from a dark guild."

Erik clapped a hand on Jellal's shoulder as they walked past him. "Thanks, man."

"Yes, you've been very helpful, Jellal," Sorano added.

Then the two were gone, debating about specifications and how to get the best reception, and Jellal was left standing there even more confused than he was before.

"I... What just happened?" Jellal asked, trying to wrap his head around what was going on with his guild mates.

"They went around you," Macbeth observed. "In more ways than one."

He was not wrong. "I guess if it doesn't interfere with their duties, they're welcome to them, but..." Jellal paused. "What in Earthland brought this on?"

Macbeth shrugged. "They saw portable ones for sale the other day and it brought back memories. They said they missed their soaps."

Jellal did a double-take. "...Come again?"

"Their soap operas. They're seven years behind."

Just like everything else about this situation, Jellal was having trouble processing this as well. "...They... they watch soap operas."

"Yeah," Macbeth replied, amused by how this seemed to torment his guild master. "Erik likes that he doesn't know what's going to happen in them - since there's no soul for him to hear. And they also liked to mute them, and then make up the dialogue themselves. And throw popcorn, if they had any."

"Then what was the point of watching at all?!"