#four: mashima needs to slow down

[natsubeatsrock]

Do I STILL really believe Nalu won’t happen?

Short answer: No.

But you know that's not how we do things here. 

It feels so good to be back! (sort of, at least) I know I've been away for some time. Part of it is being busy with things in real life. Part of it is mental health not doing too well. Some of my plans for things have shifted quite a bit, as you might be able to tell.

All that said, this hasn't changed.

I haven't talked about this in the proper context of the sequels. I've taken shots at the ship. But have I given this ship the treatment I'd probably be expected to?

Or, at least, have I explained my reasons for still doubting the ship will happen? Because I don't have to like that a ship is happening to believe it will happen.

Speaking of which, what better place to start with than talking about that other ship I rag on a lot: Gruvia. I've said this a few times, but I don't like Mashima's writing of Gruvia in the sequel. To be brief, the ship's focus is different from what I believe it should be. And having Juvia as an active series member has long since passed the point of straining reality.

At the same time, no one denies that Gray has decided to accept Juvia's feelings. He's come to terms with himself in this regard and will accept Juvia as a lover once the mission ends. (How are we still on the fourth dragon?) It's hard to see something like Gray wishing for an alternate universe where he's married with a kid and ask myself, "How serious is Mashima about this ship happening?" You know, as if it isn't only a matter of time.

The issue is that Nalu isn't on that level. That sounds like me being biased and denying the reality right, especially if I listen to certain people.

But let's compare these two ships and what's happened to them in the sequel.

When the gang visited Fairy Nali, their version of Juvia was the catalyst for Gray being as open with Juvia as he's poised to be. Fairy Nali has its own Nalu, but nothing meaningful came from it. Natsu got jealous because of Lucy, but that's not brought up again and doesn't affect anything.

They go to Edolas and see their alternate-world kids. I'll grant you that Natsu and Gray want to bring their "kids" to the Earthland. But what else happens? I mentioned what goes on with Greige already. Ashley talks with Lucy about the possibility of a future romance with Natsu, but she's not meaningfully moved by it.

Come to think of it, there was a similar conversation to that when they were on the Earth God Dragon. Lucy heard Touka had a romantic interest in Natsu. Her response wasn't one of jealousy. She figured it wouldn't go well once she heard about it. (It's almost as if she knows that Natsu isn't currently interested in a romantic relationship if he ever will be.)

Nothing showed that more than the one moment I've talked about the most from the sequel: Natsu and the women in his heart. The fact that Natsu's bunch of women is canonically juxtaposed with Gray's feelings for Juvia shows that Mashima's taking this ship as a joke.

To be a Nalu shipper, I must believe one of a few realities. It's possible that Natsu does have romantic feelings for all these women and can't decide between them. You know, despite Wendy being in that bunch. It's also possible Mashima, being in tune with fandom, is trying to appease fans of Natsu's most-popular ships, even outside of Nalu. It wasn't as if I expected anything involving Nali in the sequel. My theory, which I alluded to when it happened, is Mashima making a callback to a sketch he made a while back. That would explain why Mira and Cana were there but don't talk. They weren't in that old sketch.

I can't say for sure what this moment is supposed to mean. But I know that this isn't helping Nalu's case as a romantic ship. Not just because it's multiple women. Not just because Gray's only interested in Juvia. Natsu's focus in the matter is that Yakune put his friends against him. Not women he's interested in romantically used to distract him.

By the way, I'm sick of having to say this after eight years of having this blog. But I guess some things never change. Characters being put in awkward potentially sexual positions isn't proof your ship will happen. At best, it's a cheap gag that could reveal characters' feelings through their reactions. At worst, it's one of the most annoying tropes of the medium we love and want to take more seriously. Lucy wanting Natsu to touch her anywhere doesn't hold the kind of weight I'm annoyed to know so many fans want it to have. That doesn't matter how real or fake Lucy or whoever else is.

But what tells me Nalu isn't likely isn't any of that. It's not anything involving Gruvia or chapter 71 of the sequel. I don't think I'd say this a few years ago. But the thing that sells me against Nalu is Jerza. Of course, this isn't to say Jerza happening would jeopardize Nalu. But Jerza has been making strides toward becoming canon.

A few years ago, I concluded that Erza would never willingly leave Fairy Tail, even to be with Jellal. That means the only way Jerza could happen would be if Jellal accepted his actions as being forgiven and was willing to join Erza to some degree. This could be joining Fairy Tail or some sort of mutual partnership outside of it. Mind you, this was for how I was thinking of how to pair them in rewriting the series. (Also, thank "Kidnapping Erza".)

Now, what's happened in the sequel?

Awkward and annoying as it is, Jellal put his past behind him. At this point, it's more a matter of conviction, similar to Gray not using Iced Shell. Erza invited Jellal to join Fairy Tail. He's currently considering the offer and isn't too enthusiastic about it. But if the guild was willing to accept Gajeel destroying the guild and stapling Shadow Gear to a tree, Jellal's not too far from being accepted by the guild. Not because Tower of Heaven isn't objectively worse. Because if the one person in the guild hurt by his actions is willing to accept him, no one else has any reason to reject him. Especially considering she might become the next guild leader if Makarov dies (again).

And all the while, they genuinely get flustered at the idea of being in a relationship with each other. The notion of a Jerza romance is treated as all but a certainty by characters familiar with them multiple times in canon, including the the past few chapters we’ve got from the sequel. As far as I can tell, no one operates under the assumption this ship isn't happening. Nothing has convinced me this shouldn't be the case.

What can I say of Nalu in this regard?

It's one thing if I question whether or not Nalu will happen. I've never seriously liked it and have outright said it won't and shouldn't happen multiple times for multiple reasons. In years past, I probably would point to that and call it a day. But, if there’s any benefit to being away for the past few months, I’ve had time to justify something crazy.

For the past few years, Nalu fans have questioned if the ship will happen. People who like the ship genuinely wonder if Mashima will make the ship happen or if they're right to doubt its prospects. I've seen this all over the internet, not just here on Tumblr. It’s a question people bring up on Reddit. It’s mentioned in places like Youtube and Twitter.

And as much as people will reassure them that it's going to happen, this isn't true of the other ships in the Big 4. As a fandom, we're convinced Jerza will happen. We're convinced Gruvia will happen. No matter how people feel about them, I don't see anywhere near as many people questioning these ships happening as Nalu.  Gajevy's already happened, and we know how that's supposed to go.

And, to be honest, this has been amazing to notice. Going from everyone taking Nalu for granted to seeing the whispers of Nalu not being as possible genuinely makes me feel so vindicated. When I made my big post about Nalu years back, I was terrified someone would tell me I was wrong and tear down my post as idiotic. If I were to remake that post now, I'd have so much fewer worries making the post. Even making the sequel to that post after Mashima’s supposed positive comments about Nalu at NYCC was so much easier knowing they weren’t meant to be.

It's almost a shame that I've all but run out of things to say about the ship. At this point, there's not a whole lot else for me to say but "I told you so, idiots" to the people who doubted me and those who agreed with me. It's not unlikely that something new will happen that requires me to talk about Nalu between now and Mashima's final decision on the ship. Something always comes up, be it a moment or something in fandom. Some Nalu fans may reply to my posts, and I'll answer them. But nothing to change how we all view Nalu will likely happen for some time.

Is Nalu possible? Yes, Nalu can still happen as long as Mashima's still writing the series. I don't think that a canonized Nalu will look anywhere near as interesting as the fandom wants to believe it would be. However, it's not as if Nalu is entirely impossible. I said that when I made my first long post about Nalu. (I didn't in the sequel because I figured the series was over.) I said that when we learned Mashima didn't plan the ship originally. I still believe that now, despite everything that I've said.

While nothing is set in stone, I'll enjoy all the salt from the Nalu fandom.

[eryiss]

Chapter Three: ACTION

Summary: The Justine's were always a criminal family. The Dreyar's were forced into it due to prohibition. After gaining power and influence in the criminal world, the families were forced into a fragile truce. This was until the recently disowned Freed Justine arrived at Laxus Dreyar's door, demanding a job in exchange for information that could bring his family down. [Fraxus Multi-Chapter]

This was written as part of the Mashima’s Heroes Big Bang, hosted by @ft-ez-bb. I have been paired up with the wonderful @fairiesherefairiesthere​, who's made this great piece of art. Remember to give them lots of love.

You can read this under the cut, on Fanfiction, or on Archive of Our Own. You can find the chapter masterpost here.

Chapter Three – Action

~Four Days Later~

Freed loved music, he was almost addicted to it.

He was not a materialistic man, and if the situation called for it he could probably live his life out of a suitcase. But the one exception to that minimalistic lifestyle came in the form of his fondness for music.

This was evident in how he decorated his boarding house. Though the walls were mainly bare, he had many sideboards and shelves filled with the near hundreds of records that he had collected over the years, all of which he had listened to many times. In the centre of the room sat the large armchair which he lounged in, with the expensive gramophone sitting on the table beside it. Beside his bed lay the empty sleeve of the record he was currently listening to, and he found himself staring up at the ceiling as the soft sound of a smooth jazz band tickled his ears.

Music was good for many things, distraction being one of them.

Because, whenever he had allowed his mind to wonder over the past few days, his emotions had overthrown him. It was a mixture of anger, resentment, and annoyance at what Laxus had said to him four nights prior. The patronising insistence that Laxus should be the one saving Freed, despite Laxus being in much more danger than Freed had been, had more than ruffled him.

But of course Laxus wouldn't admit that. No, because Laxus was apparently the type of man who needed to prove himself in violent situations. Freed had assumed as much, but had hoped that Laxus would show him enough respect as to not treat him like a victim when he wasn't. But Laxus had condescended him, treated him as if he were the only person in danger, and disregarded the fact Freed had been the one to get them both out of the bar. For god's sake he'd done it without anyone on their side getting hurt, that was almost unheard of in those situations. It had ended as well as it could have, and Laxus had yelled at him like he was a teenager caught drinking.

There was also a touch of guilt when he thought back. He shouldn't have mocked Laxus for freezing up. Freed had done the same thing when first threatened with death. That had been cruel.

Hence, a distraction was welcome.

The sound of music filling his room was complimented by the heavy rain battering against the windows. Every few minutes, a crackle of lightning erupted across the sky, light slipping through his closed curtains. Freed had always been fond of storms, and so when his record ran to an end he didn't move, listening to the weather outside.

He nearly drifted off, yawns overtaking him until a slight clinking sound cut through the thunder and rain.

Then another. And another.

Freed stood up slowly, eyes fluttering open and blinking to get his attention back in the real world. The clinking sound was coming from his window, so he drew back the curtains and searched for the cause. After a moment, his eyes fell on the street below, and standing there was the familiar figure of Laxus Dreyar.

He stood on the sidewalk outside of Freed's boarding house, illuminated by the streetlamp above him, in a state of disrepute that Freed had not seen from the man. He looked a mess. The heavy rain was beating down on him, the suit he wore now sodden and his hair pressing against his head rather than styled with thick oil as it normally was. He looked up towards Freed, and his expression lacked the usual subtle confidence that he showed others. Freed looked down at him for a moment, before sighing, closing the curtains and walking to the door.

He climbed down the stairs, checked that Porlyusica was asleep, and unlocked the front door to the building. He looked outside to see Laxus retreating, apparently having thought Freed's closed curtains were a dismissal.

"Laxus," He said over the sound of the rain, staying in the doorframe as not to get wet. The blonde turned, saw Freed, and jogged to the open door. "What are you doing here?"

"Wanted to see you," Laxus said in explanation, voice a little hesitant. "You ain't been at the tavern."

That was true, Freed had not gone to work for the past four days. Not only did he not want a reminder of why he was angry, he also wanted to make sure he wouldn't do anything he regretted. Freed could be guilty of letting his anger known, and he couldn't risk antagonising Laxus further when he was still reliant on him. Yelling at him in the alleyway was one thing, but if his anger ignited during work hours and he said something regrettable, Laxus could easily fire him, and rightfully so. Staying away from him had seemed to be the smart thing to do.

Looking at Laxus now, a glimmer of the anger ignited, though not as much as he expected. Perhaps it was because Laxus had lost all his bravado, with the rain taking away any impressive façade. The humble expression he wore also seemed to calm Freed slightly.

"Look," Laxus continued. "I need to apologise to you. About what I… could I do this inside? If you don't mind?"

Freed thought for a moment. It would be easy to let the man remain out here, soaking him to the bone as a form of petty revenge. But he wasn't that childish.

"I suppose. Be quiet though, my landlady doesn't like guests."

Laxus nodded, and Freed stepped to the side to let him in. He closed the door, guided Laxus to his upstairs room and allowed him entrance. He closed the door, walking to the washroom and picking up a towel for Laxus to dry himself off as best he could. When he looked to Laxus, the blonde was glancing around at Freed's room with a passive expression.

When he turned to look at Freed, he smiled in thanks at the offered towel. He patted his face down with it, running a hand through his hair to get it out of his eyes, before looking around again. He seemed a little lost, and Freed sighed as he sat in his armchair.

"You said you wanted to talk?" Freed suggested.

"Yeah, I did," Laxus agreed, a slight stumble in his tone. Freed remained quiet. "Look, what happened, I weren't in my right mind, I guess I was… I was scared I suppose. Adrenaline rush maybe, I dunno. But well, what I'm trying to say is, the way I treated you wasn't… It was unfair to you, disrespectful. So I thought that I should apologise to you, which is what I'm doing."

Freed chuckled slightly at the fumbling of his words. "And you're doing very well."

"Yeah, words ain't my biggest talent," Laxus sighed, pacing. "Look, you could've died. I was scared that you'd get shot, and you kept taunting them and it was making things worse and-"

"Laxus, those men wouldn't kill me," Freed said calmly. "My father sent them to collect me, not to get rid of me; they would have shot me on sight if they wanted. The worst they would have done is beaten me a little, but the guns would never have been used, and we all knew it. So getting their attention on me was the best way to get you out of harm's way."

"I know. I know that," Laxus conceded, rubbing his face in annoyance. "But after it happened I wasn't thinking straight, and I kept thinking that they might have shot. That all the taunting and teasing you were doing was gonna push one of them over the edge and they were gonna shoot even if they didn't mean to. And I kept thinking about what would happen if they did shoot ya, and then I got pissed because you were fucking goading them into it, and I wouldn't have been able to stop them if they did anything."

"Laxus," Freed spoke carefully, but purposefully. "I don't need protection."

"You don't, I know. It was just… I panicked I guess. Acted out because I didn't wanna see you get hurt," Laxus shook his head a little self-deprecatingly. "I'm sorry. You're a proud man, and you're competent to. I should have known that, and not acted like you weren't. I'm… I'm really sorry, Freed."

The apology lay stagnant in the air.

Freed looked at Laxus, and his expression really was earnest. He suspected that apologies didn't come easy to Laxus – something they'd have in common if true – and so to come here and be more vulnerable than he was comfortable with was commendable. It would be very easy to forgive him then and there, especially because Freed wasn't faultless in the situation, but Freed cut himself off before speaking.

Earnestness from Laxus was rare, as was the lack of his bravado. And Freed wanted to take the chance to talk while he had it.

He stood up, and rather than saying anything, he reached for a record from one of his many shelves. He took it from its sleeve, placed it atop the gramophone, and allowed the soft, slow music to start playing. Laxus had watched him as he moved and when Freed turned to him, he looked at him questioningly.

"Dance with me," Freed requested, offering a hand. Laxus hesitated, so Freed smiled slightly. "I'll let you lead, if you want."

Laxus glanced down at Freed's outstretched hand for a moment, before stepping forward and taking it. Freed met him in the middle, their bodies lighting grazing one another. Freed wrapped an arm around Laxus' waist, and found Laxus' arm doing the same.

They both took a moment to get used to the feeling. Laxus was in his arms, wrapped up in his grasp and looking down at him with an expression that was downright soft. The cold wetness of his clothing was forgotten, and Freed couldn't help but note just how large a man Laxus was. He was firm, unmoving, and yet had a softness to him that could only be shown through his eyes. They stared at one another for a moment before they both began to sway in time to the music.

Neither spoke, and Freed rested his forehead against the blonde's shoulders as the soft piano tune filled his ears. The dampened scent of Laxus' cologne hit Freed's nose, and he smiled a little at the familiarity of it. He felt the slight level of tenseness in Laxus' posture loosen, and he couldn't help but smile further at it.

"I must say," Freed spoke softly, looking to Laxus again. "You're awfully comfortable dancing with a man, I half expected you to be stiff as a board."

"Well, you ain't the first man that I've danced with," Laxus shrugged, and the look he gave Freed was a weighty one. Freed kept his gaze for a moment. "But I ain't danced with a man quite like you before. Don't think I've known a man like you before."

"Should I be insulted?"

"No."

They continued swaying in each other's arms, the music soft and melodic and a perfect complement to the mood. Freed found himself trapped in the other man's gaze, and he felt that Laxus might be in the same situation. Freed didn't care, because in that moment he couldn't think of any better state he could be in.

Laxus was smiling at him now, and Freed tried to remember when he'd last been in a situation like this. Being softly intimate with a handsome charming man who looked at him like Laxus did. With a soft, vulnerable expression. He couldn't remember anyone looking at him like that.

"So," Freed began after a moment. "I'll be blunt. If you could, would you want to court me Laxus?"

Laxus thought for a moment. "Who said I can't?"

"The law."

"The law also says that I can't sell booze, I do that," Laxus smiled down a little at Freed, and the pianist felt his heartbeat quicken ever so slightly. "Bullshit laws don't apply to me. And if you really think that all the shit I've done for you wasn't some attempt at getting your attention, then you're stupider than I give you credit for."

So, Freed's assumption had been correct then. Good.

As had the teasing form all the workers in Fairy Tail, but Freed couldn't think about that right now. He looked up at Laxus with a gentle, uncynical expression, and he felt Laxus' grip around him pull him slightly closer.

"So the opera?" Freed asked. "It was a date of sorts, then?"

"Well, I ain't taking anyone else out for dinner," Laxus shrugged, and the statement was as good as admission. He sighed a little, before speaking again. "I didn't say it, even if I should have, but I kinda started to… fuck this is hard."

"Take your time," Freed said softly.

"I'm crap with words, Freed," Laxus admitted. "Not just words, emotional shit too. It messes me up, I get scared of it. I know you're probably used to men who wear their hearts of their sleeves, and can write poetry for you off the cuff and make you swoon. But when I think about talking about what I'm feeling I get… it's like I shut off," He sighed, and Freed remained quiet. "It makes things harder, y'know. Probably would've been easier if I just said I wanted to take you out because I liked you; not just hoping you'd figure it out. I tried to, a few times, but whenever I did I just froze. It ain't easy for me, stuff like this."

"You're doing well," Freed said gently, and Laxus gave him a small, thankful smile.

"What I'm trying to say is, if we do… if the two of us try and, y'know, make something of us," Laxus cringed at his own words. "I can't be romantic like other men can. I can't do sweeping romantic stuff, it ain't me. If I feel something for ya, I'd show you with what I did, rather than what I said. I mean, I can be emotional, just takes time for me," He looked at the floor for a moment. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, if we tried… if we took the next step, I might not be like the guys you've been with before. I ain't gonna turn into a poet for you."

Freed took a moment to think, then smiled up at the man, removing his hand from Laxus' waist and placing it on his cheek.

"I don't need a poet, Laxus. Nor do I want one," Freed said softly. "All we can ask for, and all I want, is a good man. You are a good man Laxus, and if you show affection through your actions rather than through words, then that is just who you are," He stroked Laxus' jaw with a finger. "A poet is a liar and an exaggerator; a good man is honest. And you have always been honest."

"You sure?" Laxus muttered. "Because I know you come from more than me and-"

"Do not be self-deprecating, it's hardly like you. And whether or not you are worthy of me is my choice to make, and I've already done so," Freed said firmly. "Though I think I should ask, are you sure about me?"

"Why the hell wouldn't I be?" Laxus exclaimed.

"Because if my father finds out about us, he will want you dead," Freed claimed, tone quietly serious. "He sees me working with you as a betrayal, no doubt us getting together will send him into a rage. And he doesn't have the sentimentality to think twice about killing you."

"I don't give a shit," Laxus mumbled into Freed's ear.

"Well I do," Freed retorted firmly. "If he hurts you, it will be my fault. I will not allow that."

Ridiculously, Laxus cracked a smile. "So you're allowed to be protective, huh?"

"Take it seriously."

"I am," Laxus assured him. "The second he sent his men into the bar; I knew I'd have to deal with him. Not just for you, for everyone working for me. You come into my bar as a worker, you're my responsibility and I look after you. And I know that you're the expert in crime, but I ain't stupid. I know what kind of a man he is, and what he's capable of. But he has weaknesses somewhere, and I'm gonna exploit them and bring him down and he ain't gonna hurt you. I'm not gonna let that happen to you."

"I don't need you to-"

"Hey," Laxus cut him off, looking down at him with sincerity. "If we do this, if we get together, I will be protective of you. I will do what I can to keep you safe, I will yell at you if you get reckless, and if there's a choice between the two of us getting hurt, I will make sure it happens to me," He grabbed Freed's chin before he could protest. "And I'm not saying that you can't look after yourself, because you can. I'm just not the kinda man who can sit by if someone they care about is in danger. And I know for a fact that you'd do the same for me, so don't even think about arguing about it," Freed sighed. "I care about you a lot, so I worry. You can't change that."

"I thought you said you were bad with words," Freed chuckled. "But that was actually rather romantic, in an odd sense."

"Maybe you bring it out of me," Laxus shrugged a little.

The conversation mellowed slightly, and the music filled their ears again. It was still a soft piano tune, something that sweethearts would have danced to at the end of a high school dance, and Freed didn't stop the smile from flittering onto his face as he swayed in time with the beat. Laxus' arm was still wrapped around him, and he smiled at the man softly.

Laxus smiled back at him, and the eye contact was simultaneously gentle and incredibly intense, and Freed found himself enraptured by the sustained honesty in his eyes. Laxus' expression was without falseness, and he seemed entirely at piece.

It was perfect. Perfect.

With almost perfect synchronicity, they both slightly moved their heads forward. As they did, a thrumming ran though Freed, excited, and apprehensive in equal parts.

Slowly, he leant forward and kissed Laxus.

The feeling of Laxus' lips against his own was incredible. Freed tilted his head slightly at the tentative chaste kiss, eyes flickering to Laxus'. The look of wonder in the blonde's expression matched Freed's own, and again simultaneously then leant back into each other and kissed again, moving their lips slowly against one another.

Rain water still dampened Laxus' lips, acting to contrast against how chapped they were, and Freed relished the feeling. Laxus pulled him forward a little more, and the hand Freed held on Laxus' cheek stroked him gently again. The kiss was soft, almost cautious but had an undertone of passion that Freed found himself thrilled by. He leant into it, opening his mouth slightly and smiling as Laxus did the same, deepening their kiss. It was perfect, utterly perfect.

As the music stopped playing, the two men remained, kissing one another as the storm raged around them.

~Three Weeks Later~

For the first time in months, Fairy Tail had closed its doors.

It wasn't empty though. A small congregation had formed around one of the tables in the main hall, made up of Fairy Tail's more criminal members. Laxus sat at the head of the table, with Bickslow and Evergreen to his left, and Gajeel and Mirajane to his right, with Freed opposite. The gathered employees all wore serious expressions, listening as Laxus explained the situation to them.

The Justine Family were getting more aggressive now, blatantly so. Staff members had been followed home, threats had been made, and most recently Natsu and Gray had been attacked; though they'd given worse than they'd got. Laxus was done with the situation now.

"Are they that dedicated to getting Freed back?" Mirajane asked once Laxus finished speaking. "No offence meant, but that's quite a lot of effort for one man."

"We think it's more than that," Laxus sighed. "It's an image thing."

"Erik and Sawyer are some of my father's most respected men," Freed explained, the group looking towards him. "So to have them return without me, and with Sawyer having been shot, was something of a humiliation to them. They assumed it would be easy task, underestimated us, and that makes their failure much worse. And given that all a crime family really has is violence and image, being unable to prove either of them was a wound for them. They need to prove themselves by getting revenge on someone here. As well as getting me back simply to prove that they can do it, I suspect."

"So it's an ego thing, then?" Bickslow questioned, leaning on her hand. "Is it really that worth it?"

"If people stop being scared of them, then they stop respecting them," Freed shrugged a little. "If that happens then all the stakes they have in the criminal world begin to crumble. Smaller families and organisations get cocky, and try to overthrow them, and one might succeed. They see this as fighting for their lives, meaning they're dangerous."

"Which also means if we fight back against them, they'll be in more trouble and therefore more reckless," Evergreen concluded, clicking her teeth. "The more we back them in a corner, the more desperate they'll become."

"Indeed," Freed agreed, resignedly.

"We ain't just gonna bend over and let the bastard fuck with us though," Gajeel proclaimed, glaring at the table. "Because we all know they'll get cocky if we don't do anything. We're fucked either way, right?"

"What else can we do?" Bickslow sighed, leaning back in his chair.

They all remained silent, not meeting each other's eyes as they thought through possible responses to the situation. Laxus looked over his gathered employees, and the anger he was feeling at the situation fizzled inside of him. Because, as tempting as it was to just say they'd bring the fight to them, the Justine Family were not ones to be taken lightly. They were murderers and brutally good at it. So as much as Laxus wanted to storm into the family home with a pistol and shoot the fucker between the eyes, it would do no good.

But the people Laxus employed, his family, were getting attacked on the streets. Their privacy was being violated, their safety put into question, and their lives put on hold because of the danger they faced. Laxus couldn't accept that. He couldn't.

"We have to do something," Laxus stated firmly. "Something big, make 'em scared to fuck with us. Can't attack us if they're scared."

"Good," Gajeel agreed. "Take the fight to the fuckers."

"But we're not that kind of place," Mirajane objected. "I know that we can't just sit by and let them keep going, but they're a lot better prepared for this type of thing. We only have a handful of weapons, and only a few people who would be any good at using them. They've probably got a full armoury full of guns and everyone trained in how to use them. If we try anything violent then most likely we'd be slaughtered."

"They're not as impressive as you'd think," Freed offered. "We'd be at a massive disadvantage, yes. But a lot of their power comes from bravado. That's why they're so worried about their image, it's their main asset."

"No, Mira's right," Laxus sighed. "I ain't gonna lead people to slaughter. We can't start a gang war."

Again, nobody knew what else to say. Laxus groaned and ran a hand through his hair in frustration, standing up and pacing slightly to dispel some of the nervous energy that was building. The protective instinct that arose within him for his employees was overpowering, and every day his anger at the situation got worse. When Natsu and Gray had walked in the night before, scuffed up and bruised, Laxus had been near apoplectic. Had the two men not assured him their attackers were left bleeding in the alleyway, Laxus might have stormed form the tavern and towards the house where Freed's father lived to get revenge of his own.

But of course that was the issue. Because he had some sense of self preservation, and if he did confront the man on his own then he'd be shot before he did anything. And if he brought anyone with him, he'd be putting them in the firing line. That also couldn't happen.

"I have something of an idea," Freed said, almost cautiously. Everyone looked towards him. "I know that consorting with the law isn't the most typical thing for a speakeasy to so, but the police have been trying to take my father down for a while. And although it seems like it, they're not immune from prosecution. They're just good at hiding proof of their crimes, and bribing people in the right places."

"So we call the police on them?" Evergreen asked. "If they're as good at dodging them, would that do anything?"

"They might throw it back at us," Bickslow added, looking a little worried. "I mean, one officer here at night as we're all fucked."

"I understand that. Which is why, rather than simply calling the police on them, I believe we should create a dossier of their crimes. Enough irrefutable evidence that, if we were to anonymously hand it to a detective – a non-corrupt one of course – that they would deal with the problem for us," Freed explained, and the group seemed to consider it. "They're good at covering their actions, but not perfect. So long as we dedicate time to it, we can find the cracks in their armour and exploit them to our advantage."

"Could work," Laxus said, considering. "How d'you think we'd find anything from them, though? Not like we have access to anything they're doing."

"Well," Freed said, a little cautiously. Laxus frowned. "It makes sense to have a man inside. Someone seeing first-hand what they're doing, gathering evidence on them."

"Who'd be able to-" Laxus began, but paused. "No."

"It makes the most sense," Freed retorted, seriousness in his voice. "I know how the family works so I can start work immediately, there's already a level of trust with me, and I'd see signs of illegality that you all might miss, given I grew up with it. And him sending people to get me back says he might want me in the family again for whatever reason, so I wouldn't have work my way up like anyone else would. It makes sense"

"What if he wants to bring you back to make an example out of you!" Laxus exclaimed. "What if just wanna beat yer ass and break your knees to show what happens if you break his trust!"

Laxus wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't. Freed's father had sent armed men to get Freed only weeks ago, something that was hardly a piece offering. Over the weeks he'd got more aggressive, and more readily violent, so who knew how he would react if Freed suddenly demanded to be let back into the family. For all Laxus knew he might just shoot Freed on the spot! Laxus couldn't let that happen, he just couldn't. It would be like guiding him into the jaws of the beast. No, it couldn't happen.

"It's the best option, Laxus," Freed said firmly.

"It ain't an option because it ain't gonna happen," Laxus retorted, glaring down at the man.

"He's got a point, Laxus," Evergreen said, and Laxus turned his glare to his employee. "We need to do something, and you even said getting the police involved could work. And Freed's the most logical person to do it."

"Well he ain't doing it," Laxus repeated with a growl. "What if they figure out what you're doin'? They're already pissed off that you're working here, if they find out you're trying to take them down then they'll just fucking shoot you. I ain't gonna let you risk that. We'll figure out another way to do it. We'll, fuck I dunno, we'll…"

"Bend over and let 'em fuck with us until they get bored of the beatings and start shooting?" Gajeel asked, glaring at Laxus with crossed arms. "We all know yer sweet on the guy, but he's his own man and a dangerous one. Stop pussyfooting around on his behalf."

"He's got a point Laxus," Bickslow agreed. "Someone has to do it. Freed's the obvious choice."

"He ain't a choice," Laxus insisted.

"Well it's either we do this, or, as Gajeel said, we allow them to do whatever they want to us," Freed said, firmness in his tone. "They will get arrogant, see us as pushovers and will make an example out of you. And that doesn't just mean there will the violence get worse, which it will, there will also kill the business. Anything to ruin you. You think he's the only one threatened by you? Every speakeasy in the city wants you gone. Your strength protects you, but if you get passive then you're vulnerable. They'll be vandalism, police at your door, threats and attacks from every competitor."

"You're being ridiculous," Laxus snapped.

"And you're being selfish," Freed retorted.

For a note, there was silence.

"My office," Laxus said through gritted teeth. "Now."

With a level of animosity between them both, they walked behind the bar and up the stairs to the office. By the time that Laxus had closed the door, giving them both privacy, Freed had taken a seat opposite Laxus' desk and was looking at him with a determined expression. Laxus didn't back away from it, holding the gaze and taking a seat in his own office chair. They sat in silence for a moment before Freed broke it.

"You won't stop me," He said firmly. "I don't need your permission."

"Well you definitely aren't getting it," Laxus grunted back.

"I don't understand why you're so against me doing it."

"You don't?" Laxus laughed a little, exasperation at the man becoming more obvious. "Your father sends gunmen to get you, he had people attack your colleagues, he sent a threatening note to your house and you don't know why I don't want you going to him? You can't see why that's a fucking stupid idea?"

"I'm aware of the danger, Laxus," Freed said testily.

"Are you? Really? Then maybe you're just stupid," Laxus scoffed. "Even if we forget the risk of him finding out what you're doing, even if he really has had a change of heart and suddenly wants you back for no reason, you still wouldn't be safe. You fucking said yourself that the people who work for him weren't happy to find out you fucked men; they wouldn't have forgotten that. Even if we're real fucking optimistic, you'll still be in danger. Those men are trigger happy and see you as wrong, and you just wanna stroll in and go back to them. Really?"

"I don't care," Freed said, almost defeatedly. "I am doing this no matter what you say, and I think you know that already. It will take a long amount of time and I won't be able to speak to you for months, perhaps. I'd rather not leave on bad terms, so can we talk like adults please."

Laxus went to retort, to say that hell would freeze over before Laxus allowed Freed to do that, but the set in Freed's jaw told him not to; Freed wouldn't listen to him if he acted like this.

"I ain't happy about it," Laxus grunted, quietly.

"I know, and I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it were necessary," Freed assured him, speaking softly. "But Gajeel was right. People like my father won't go away if we remain passive. He'll get worse and people will get hurt. I know that you wouldn't allow that to happen, and this is the best way to stop it from getting to that point."

Laxus was quiet. The bastard was appealing to his protective side.

"I'm scared you'll get hurt," Laxus confessed. "I'm scared that he might just want you back to hurt you, and that you'll end up washed up on the riverbed because I couldn't stop you."

"That won't happen. And I'm not saying that because I trust him, because I don't," Freed said firmly. "I'm saying that because I spent my entire life watching that man, and keeping myself safe. I know how he works, and I can predict what he might do. Before I came to work with you, I was doing that anyway."

"Yeah but what if you can't?" Laxus said weakly. "What if he takes you by surprise?"

"Then we deal with it when it happens," Freed assured him, smiling a little to comfort him. "You can either torture yourself about what might happen to me if things go wrong, or you can torture yourself wondering what'll happen to each of your employees every time they go outside at night. But at least this way, we'll be trying to stop things from getting worse, rather than sitting back and letting it happen."

Laxus hated the situation. And Freed.

He'd never hate Freed.

He wanted to argue more: if he was persuasive enough then maybe Freed would back down and keep himself safe. But of course that only meant that the attacks on his employees would get more violent and dangerous.

It was clear a decision had to be made. Laxus would have to decide if his worry for his employees was more important than his worry for Freed. It was a horrible decision, because his employees were committed people who had dedicated time and effort to him, but Freed was so damned important to him that he couldn't put it into words. He couldn't let Freed get hurt, but he also couldn't let the situation with the Justine's get worse and worse.

Everything was too much. It was nauseating and awful and Laxus felt filled with a rage at the world that he'd never known before. He wanted to scream that this wasn't right, that people like Freed's father shouldn't be able to put people in situations like this, and that he should be killed for what he had done. Laxus would happily give the killing blow.

Caught up in the spirally worry, Laxus hadn't noticed Freed stand up and move beside him until a soft hand cupped his cheek.

"This is not your choice to make. I brought my father to your doorstep and I will deal with it," Freed said softly.

"Promise me you won't get hurt," Laxus whispered, cupping the hand on his cheek.

"No," Freed shook his head slightly. "But what I will promise you is that, once I have dealt with this, and everything is done, I will make sure you never feel like you do right now. And for every moment you feel anxious, every second of sadness that this causes, I promise you a lifetime of adoration from me. And once we are done, and we can be together again, I will show you just how hard it is for me to leave you."

Laxus couldn't say anything, instead taking Freed's hand off his cheek and pressing his lips to the soft, cold skin. He tugged at Freed, pulling him down so that the man sat atop his legs, and brought their lips together.

They kissed, slow and with passion. Yearning and sad, and Laxus wished it wouldn't end. That Freed wouldn't leave him even though he must.

"I need to do this Laxus," Freed whispered after they pulled apart. "But I will come back to you."

"Fucking better," Laxus almost whimpered as he spoke. "If you don't then-"

"I will," Freed assured him. "I will always come back to you."

They pulled each other into another kiss, which was just as sombre and delicate and hesitant as their first of the night had been. Laxus clung to Freed tightly, repeating the man's promise over and over in his head. He had to believe Freed, had to believe he was as good as his word.

But, as they kissed, they both knew the truth. Freed couldn't promise he'd come back, and that thought terrified Laxus.

~Two Days Later~

"I wish to see my father," Freed snapped, voice sharp and unflinching. "Now."

Standing at the door to his family estate, face to face with a dim looking member of his father's protection team, didn't stir any emotion from Freed. He had expected a level of anger or nervousness to rise up when he returned to the place he grew up in, and was no longer welcome at, but he felt nothing. Nothing but a simmering determination to achieve his goal as quickly as possible so he could leave, of course.

After the man left to find Freed's father, not before slamming the door in his face, Freed looked at the large building before him. It was lavish, expensive, and decorated with the ostentation fineries of a man who felt above the law and above other's judgement. It was gaudier than he remembered. The building itself seemed almost arrogant, as if sneering down at him.

It was hard to think that, at one point in his life, Freed had attained for a life like this.

After a short while, the door opened again, and the same musclebound idiot returned. He motioned for Freed to come in with a quick jerk of the head, and wordlessly guided Freed through the long corridors of the house. Freed recognised the route; he was being taken to his father's office, though through a purposefully convoluted route. It was an intimidation tactic his father had used, a way to show off how many men were at his command, as well as wrongfooting possible threats by forcing them to trawl around the large house without need. It didn't intimidate Freed, but it did make it clear that he was seen as an outsider.

That was what they'd expected, though. Once Laxus had accepted that Freed would be doing his infiltration plan despite his objections, the criminal members of Fairy Tail took time to assess what might happen, and what they'd need to do. This meeting going well was pivotal, and Freed needed to make it work, so knowing where he stood with his father was more useful than it was intimidating.

When they arrived at the office door, the guard knocked firmly. A moment later, the door opened.

Freed hadn't seen his father in months, and standing in the same room as him felt like a punch to the gut. He tried not to show the emotional winding he experienced, walking in with a confident stride. He stared at his father, unblinking and uncowering.

His father was a reflection of Freed, albeit obviously older. He shared his long green hair, his sharp and unforgiving features, his calculating eyes. Other than the wrinkles that covered his forehead, and the blander clothing the elder man chose to wear, the two men could have been mistaken for one another. Freed had never realised just how similar in appearance he was to his father, and the realisation was a little nauseating.

It wasn't just the two of them in the office. Two of his father's most loyal guards stood behind him, and Freed almost laughed as he saw who was standing to his father's left; the same man that had led to Freed's dismissal from the family. Clearly his father was doing everything to wrongfoot him.

The man wasn't as good looking as Freed remembered.

"Freed," His father said, voice low, gravely and unimpressed.

"Augustus," Freed replied, voice equally hostile.

They had all considered how best to get Freed back into the Justine family, and they had considered getting Freed to grovel for his father's approval. But that was entirely unlike Freed, and would probably raise suspicion rather than appeal to the man's ego. Freed was allowed to be as hostile as he liked, so long as he maintained the agreed upon story.

"You have a lot of confidence to come in here," Augustus growled, voice grating and sharp as he stood up. He slammed his hands on the desk, and Freed didn't flinch. "You come to my door unannounced, knowing you're not welcome, and you don't have the good manners to speak my real title. I should-"

"And what title would that be?" Freed cut him off, and a snarl covered Augustus' face.

"Do not interrupt me, boy," He demanded.

"You only ever called your sons 'boy' if I remember correctly," Freed smirked a little, and the look on his father's face was rather gratifying. Freed had to wonder why he was so scared of the man in the past. "Is that what the past few weeks have been about? Did you want me back?"

"You dare be so insubordinate in my presence," Augustus growled. "I should have you flogged on the damn streets for your arrogance. Perhaps if I'd have done more than when you were a kid then you wouldn't be the way you are."

Freed smirked, put his arms out slightly and looked at his father. "If beating me is what you want, go ahead."

Augustus stormed around the desk he was sitting at, leaving his behind him. He stood in front of Freed – he was smaller than before – with the snarl of a feral dog distorting his features. Without stopping, he raised his hand, so it was in line with Freed's face. The pianist might have flinched half a year ago, but now he regarded his father's hand with a small, uncaring gaze. When he saw his father's eyebrow twitched, he decided to inclined his cheek towards the raised hand, opening inviting the attack.

The slap's crack echoed around the room.

It was a painful thing, because despite his age Augustus was a strong man. He knew how to beat a man and it showed, but Freed simply chuckled, readjusted his jaw slightly and then looked at his father without care.

"Now that you've got that out of your system, shall we talk?"

Freed sat in one of the chairs opposite the desk, not waiting for an invitation he probably wouldn't have ever got. His father, already off-kilter from Freed's lack of reaction to the slap, stared down at his son with the closest thing to a gape he could show. Freed looked up at him, raised an eyebrow in a silent question, and then motioned for Augustus to sit in his own chair. He went to open his mouth, probably to begin some tirade against Freed.

"I wish to be reinstated in my previous position," Freed said before Augustus could begin. "Same level of respect, same finances, and of course the honour of being called your son again."

"You think that I would allow you back?" Augustus snarled. "After you went to the fucking Dreyar's! You betrayed your family."

"I was led to believe that I no longer had a family, it's somewhat a side effect of being disowned," Freed chuckled, and Augustus looked close to exploding. "But yes, I did go to the Dreyar's. I went to your main competitors, I worked for them for six months, and grew to understand what they were doing and how they worked. Information you don't have, but I could tell you."

That made Augustus' anger flicker away for a moment, and he slowly walked back to his chair. Freed had expected this, because the Justine Family was losing power quickly, and needed any advantage they could get. Freed was now offering this advantage to him.

"Why the hell should I listen to you?" Augustus demanded.

"I'm trying to prove a point," Free smiled.

"Which is?"

"Which is that the thing you hate about me is an asset," Freed snapped, anger flicking into his tone now. "That the part of me that you delight in calling a perversion is not only a part of who I am, but is also useful. That the very thing you used to try and humiliate me with, that you threw in my face every damned day of my life, will end up being the bedrock of your new empire."

"And how the fuck will you prove that?" Augustus growled.

"Because it's that so called perversion that got that man under my heel," Freed yelled. "He shared my predilection and I used that to my advantage. I had regular access to his private quarters; his finances, personal correspondence and every damn deal he ever made. And not only that, but I also got to see just how hopeless the idiot was in the world of crime, and he came to me for help. I create every aspect of that man's criminal profile and every weakness I installed is mine to take advantage of, Father. You used to beat me for my desire for men, and you used it to remove me from the life I had always known, and now the only way this family will keep its standing is to take advantage of what my supposed infliction allowed me to do."

It was sickening to say it, but that was the story they had come up with. Freed would be the spurred son, wanting to spitefully prove himself to his father by infiltrating his rival's business and getting information. He would have discovered Laxus' shared like of men, and would have instigated a relationship with him to further gather information.

But the idea of using Laxus like that was nauseating.

Some of the emotion was real though, because for as little Freed cared about the man before him, he was still his father. The same father who had taken the rod to Freed's back time after time, beating him for something he had no power over. Augustus Justine was a sick man, and Freed wished him hell.

"Well well," Augustus chuckled. "Perhaps I taught you well after all."

Freed would take no praise from this man. This morally destitute monster who cared only for how much money he had in the bank and how many thugs he had worshipping the ground he walked on. It was hard to believe that at some point, Freed had thought that was how every man of power would act.

"You say that he's got weaknesses?" August asked, using the voice he used when doing business.

"If you do as I say and reinstate my position in the family, then you'll see just how many weak spots he has," Freed replied, forcing a mean smirk on his face. "Within a year he'll be begging on the streets. Although, I wouldn't mind putting a bullet between his eyes, if I'm honest."

Even saying it sent bile up Freed's throat.

"That's what I like to hear," Augustus laughed. "One year?"

"This time next year, you'll have more power than ever before," Freed promised, smirking confidently. It was a hollow, horrible gesture.

Augustus clapped his hands together twice, standing up again and walking around the desk with a smile on his features. He spread his arms out wide, inviting Freed into a hug as he often did at the end of his business. For a moment, Freed found himself considering attacked the man. Picking up one of the many heavy ornaments decorating the desk and slamming the man across the head with them. Because he deserved it, for what he had done to both Freed and to the workers at Fairy Tail. Making the man bleed, perhaps cover, would be more than gratifying, and it would be so damned easy.

But he couldn't do that. As satisfying as it may be, Freed knew that taking the man down would achieve a lot more than simply attacking him. And so, slowly, almost tentatively, he stood up, walked into the man's arms and allowed himself to be pulled into a hug. His skin crawled as he did.

"Welcome back," Augustus proclaimed, laughing as if he hadn't betrayed and attacked his son mere months ago. He kissed both of Freed's cheeks. "My son!"

[be-dazzled]

#TheVampireTales #VampireGruvia #TVT Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser FFnet link: click here Author: K.T. Adlam (xxbedazzledxx) Genre: Romance, Drama, Supernatural

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail and its characters nor associated with its franchise. All rights reserved to Hiro Mashima, original creator and illustrator. All circumstances found in this story is fictional and all persons, places or events in this book same in real life are purely coincidence. The Vampire Tales rights reserved to K.T. Adlam, writer.

Note: "Italicized" text means flashback.

"Trevor."

Juvia called out into the darkness only to hear her own voice answer.

Dried leaves and fallen twigs broke beneath Juvia's weight with crisp sound. She did not mind them. Juvia continued pursuing the dark forest. Blue orbs gathered the smallest speck of light so she could see even through the blinding darkness. She did. She saw the nakedness of the forest which would have been impossible to human eyes. Despite her efforts, Juvia couldn't find the Scarlet champion. There was no sign of the raven-haired boy either. The whiff of human blood was her only hope in finding them. She followed it.

Alas, Juvia saw movements underneath the ancient white oak. Her blue pupils widened, the vampire vision allowed her to see the figure clearly. She couldn't see his face; his back was at her. Yet, somehow she knew, even when the branches blocked the moonlight, the figure's hair was of a Scarlet color.

"Trevor." She whispered.

Juvia's heart raced upon the realization that he wasn't alone. The smell of blood grew strong as she approached the tree cautiously. The aroma of human blood confirmed her suspicion.

"Trevor!"

A surge of protectiveness hit Juvia. She could feel herself changing. The princess hurled forward; the faint and slow sound of the human's heartbeat urged her steps. She easily grabbed the Scarlet champion by the collar and threw him on the ground like he weighed nothing. Juvia was stronger and quicker compared to the losing champion.

The cruel dots widened into blue pupils. Juvia's features smoothened. The animal snarl long gone and was replaced by genuine worry. Then, she panicked.

Gray Fullbuster sat against the old oak tree, fighting for his life. He was losing so much blood and the sound of his heartbeat was quickly fading.

Juvia cautiously touched his face, afraid to break him. Warmth left Gray's body; his skin was cold as ice. The blood ran onto Gray's damp shirt. Experience taught Juvia to search for its source. She needed to find the bite-mark and put pressure on it so that the blood would stop streaming out. It proved to be a struggle. His neck was already reddened with blood.

Her fingers searched for a vein or an artery. It would be a vampire's primal instinct to target those areas to feed. Juvia felt two dents on his neck, the thin coat of blood concealed them. She put her fingers on top of the twin dots and pressed.

"Let him die."

The voice came from behind, cold as the night.

Juvia sunk her teeth into the flesh of her wrist, drawing blood. She pressed the open bite against Gray's already blue lips and felt blood sipping out of the bite. Her blood had the power to heal Gray but she needed to hurry. Her wound would heal itself and close quickly.

"I said leave him to die!"

Juvia pierced her skin again with her sharp canines and did the same ministration, feeding Gray her vampire blood. She sensed the rage coming from Trevor, white heat of pain and fury. She'd deal with him later. All she could think about now was saving the raven-haired boy.

Relief washed over Juvia when she heard Gray's heartbeat slowly gaining. When she was assured that the boy was finally safe, Juvia rose from her position and faced the culprit. She had to deal with the new vampire and try to talk sense into him.

What she saw frightened her even more; Juvia was now staring at red eyes glowing with bloodlust.

"No!"

The dream violently awakened Juvia. She was shaking, from the sheer memory, from the harsh coldness that gripped her clothed body. She found herself screaming into her silent room. The one syllable word bounced against the four walls until it finally vanished. Cold bullets of sweat trailed down her flushed skin until they dissolved into the fabric of her night clothes.

The nightmare brought with it heavy feelings. It lingered in the room, wrapping around her neck that made her struggle to breathe. In the past few months, she was slowly healing. The nightmares have tamed. The vivid memory of the night Trevor died has turned black and white, then became a blur until it was deduced to nothing but a distant memory. But seeing Gray yesterday, Juvia was back to where she started. And worse. The memory was harsher and the demons came back stronger. All her efforts in the past few months to heal herself shattered in an instant.

Juvia's heart was pounding so violently that she could feel it almost coming out her chest. She placed a quivering hand over it, trying to appease it. It was futile. Her half-vampire, half-human heart throbbed unusually. It was beating so loudly she has mistaken the sound of soft knocking on her door and missed it.

The door creaked ajar. Blonde head peeked through the small opening.

"Good, you're up." The Heartfilia daughter pushed the door open, all dressed and made-up. She entered the room without invitation. She did not need one. "You have to get ready or you'll be late for school." Lucy reminded.

The young blonde ambled toward the king-sized bed; a lone princess sat at the middle, surrounded by a sea of light blue sheet and duvet. Lucy dropped at the side of the bed wanting to say one thing and having said another.

"You don't look so well, Juvia!"

The distress in Lucy's voice rang in the princess' ears, paired with the panic that rounded Lucy's brown eyes. The hands that worriedly cupped Juvia's face lent it warmth. The princess was sweating but her porcelain skin was freezing.

The concern in Lucy's warm brown eyes ate at the princess. Juvia never wanted anyone to worry about her. Especially not Lucy. The sole survivor of the Heartfilia lineage has problems of her own and Juvia should not add to that. Juvia never wanted to be a burden. Before the worried youngster panicked for her sake, the princess took Lucy's hands in hers, removed them from her face and placed them on Lucy's lap.

"I'm fine." She lied. "Just a bad dream." Juvia faked a smile, hoping it would appease the worried youngster.

"Tell me about it." Lucy coaxed.

Juvia felt the mattress dipped when Lucy adjusted herself on the bed to face her properly.

"I'm here to listen."

Juvia wanted to tell her. She always wanted to be honest with Lucy. But something was holding her back and Juvia did not know what it was. It held her captive. Her truth was sealed by that unknown thing that held her back from opening up; leaving her no other choice but to concoct another lie.

"I don't even remember anymore. So, don't worry about it." It pained Juvia to know how easy she could lie through her teeth and to Lucy of all people.

"Well, yeah. But –"

"–We'll be late for school."

Lucy did not disagree but she wasn't convinced either. Knowing the princess all her life, she knew if something bothered Juvia. She could tell by the way the princess avoided Lucy's brown eyes and the way the former always changed the subject.

Juvia realized she was still holding her best-friend's hands. She gave it a little squeeze as an act of reassurance before she finally let it go.

"You go first. I'll come down in a second."

"Just… You know you can tell me everything, right?"

Brown eyes surrendered. She wanted to give Juvia the space she wanted but she needed her to know one thing. "I'm here, Juvia. I've been busy but you know I'm here."

Lucy gave the princess' hands a squeeze too, comforting her, assuring her. Her eyes begging Juvia to trust her. She did. Lucy was one of the few people Juvia could trust her life with. But she couldn't tell her about the nightmares. She couldn't tell anyone.

"I've been worrying everyone since the Selection."

Guilty blue eyes withdrew from the gaze; ashamed of the trouble she brought everywhere.

"That's because we care, Juvia."

Lucy's words always had a certain power to them. They comforted Juvia; easing the burden she have been feeling since the morning. For a moment she almost believed that everything was going to be alright. That everything would go back to normal. She knew it wouldn't but it helped to have some moments like that. Moments that gave her a glimmer of hope.

"I know that." She said before the urgency of the morning came to her. "Now, go or we'll be both late for school."

Lucy obeyed without protest. She left the bed, walked to the door and was about to grab the knob only to turn around to make one final resolve, "Let's talk after school, okay?" The door clicked behind her.

It surprised Juvia. So much so that she answered an agreement without thinking. When she heard the click of the door, Juvia wallowed in her own thoughts. She pulled her knees against her chest and buried her face between the space. Her jaws clenched. Her teeth gritted. Her cold fingers gripped at the duvet.

"I said leave him to die!"

It was all coming back to her now: Trevor's bloodshot eyes, his cry of pain and anguish, Gray's fainting heartbeat, Trevor's attack and… Her breath caught up in her throat. Juvia had to stop herself from remembering, remembering the awful thing that she had done.

"Can't you see? He's the only one standing in our way."

Juvia brushed away her thoughts, rubbing her open palms against her face in an effort to return the warmth to it. She threw a jaded look at her bathroom door. Waking up and getting ready in the morning have started to feel like a chore. With the little will power she had, Juvia pushed herself off the bed and dawdled to the shower.

It was the second day of school and Juvia dreaded the day before it even started.

Fiore History class was taught at the third floor of the Makarov Dreyar building, named after The Eldest. The students were scattered around the classroom, waiting for the teacher to come in. It was the second day of school and Juvia could not tell if she has adjusted to everything just yet. Everything looked normal for a classroom set-up, she thought. Juvia wasn't sure. She has never been in a classroom before with other regular students.

It wasn't long until the Fiore History teacher arrived. He was a buff man with chiseled features. From what Juvia heard, Mr. Groh was a resigned high-ranking official from the Training Center. However, from what she gathered, Mr. Bacchus Groh was actually dismissed from the service. Something to do with inappropriate behavior. Mr. Groh was certainly not a regular man since he was able to pull some strings to teach at the Academy.

Mr. Groh started to call out the names in the roll in alphabetical order. Some of the last names Juvia heard of. They were of powerful and influential families with lineage already existing even before the year Juvia was born. Most of the last names, however, did not ring a bell.

Juvia braced herself when the Fiore History teacher approached the letter F. She busied herself by thinking about something else. Anything unrelated to the raven-haired boy. Mr. Groh's weird scar on his left eyebrow got her attention. There was a thin blank line that almost divided his eyebrow into two unequal parts. There was no hair on that line. Nevertheless, the scar did him good. It gave him this certain bad boy appeal that girls seem to like. His eyes were straightforward and a little mischievous. They locked eyes for a moment before he turned to his roll and penned something on it. Juvia realized Mr. Groh just called her name for attendance. She wasn't able to answer and she had yet to introduce herself to him either. But Juvia was royalty; she needed no introduction.

Groh continued to the Rs. He mentioned a name but no one answered. He called out again to no avail.

"I guess someone lost their pants in the woods and is late for school looking for them."

Juvia rolled her eyes at his snarky comment thereafter. Implying something crude despite the fact that the man was an educator. What ill-manners! Someone from the class weighed in saying that the absent student was probably fighting a hungover. It earned a laugh from the class but not from Juvia. Mr. Groh then called for Gajeel, calling him his Highness. There was also no response.

Juvia glanced at his desk only to find it vacant. She scanned the room; no sign of the Prince of the West. He wasn't at breakfast earlier too. Gajeel was probably still in bed with some stranger. His absence, though, did not earn a snarky remark from the teacher nor did his classmates had anything to say. Perks of royalty: everyone was afraid to offend you. Deep down, Juvia knew, they all wanted to say something about it.

Bacchus Groh did not linger on Gajeel's absence and proceeded to the S. Juvia's brows were pulled in distaste when she saw the flirtatious glance the teacher in front threw at the Strauss Princess. Juvia now had an idea what the 'inappropriate behavior' was all about. When the suggestive teacher made an effort to make small talks with Mira, Juvia rolled her eyes. He reminded Juvia of a guy who slept with women with great backgrounds, royal even. A male social climber.

Mr. Groh folded his record book, placed it inside the drawer and locked it in place. Juvia had no idea why he had to. Who would want to steal a class record? The buffed teacher walked around the classroom, throwing questions at students. He asked Juvia something about the battle with the dark cult – Avatar. She wasn't in the mood to answer and apologized.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Groh–"

"–Bacchus will do, Your Highness."

"But I really have no idea."

Mr. Sunshine smiled and assured the princess it was alright if she didn't know. Even apologized for asking a silly question.

Juvia came up with a conclusion: Bacchus Groh was the type of guy who was willing to bend over to please. Juvia knew what he wanted, to gain some influence by association. Exactly the reason he was able to get a teaching job from the Academy despite that smudge in his record. She glanced at Mira who was now answering the teacher's question. Mirajane was smiling but Juvia could tell the Strauss Princess wasn't interested at all. Neither was she. Juvia lost interest in her teacher's lecture the moment he entered the room in tight garments. Probably wanting to show off his muscles. They weren't impressive.

Mr. Groh continued his lecture, now talking about the misguided goals of Avatar. Bored blue eyes wandered around the room yet avoiding a certain spot. There was only one reason why – Gray Fullbuster.

Juvia ought to hit herself. She knew well what effect Gray had on her. Just the thought of him sent her down a depressing spiral. But like a moth to a flame, Juvia was drawn to him.

Blue guarded eyes, now wild with curiosity, landed on a raven-haired boy sitting three to four desks away from her. Juvia lowered her head, not wanting to reveal herself. She stole a glance at Gray then returned to the blank page on her notebook. She felt a throbbing in her chest and her grip on her pen tightened. The dark feeling was at it again, pressing her down the chair, holding her captive. But there was another feeling buried beneath all the darkness – a glint of longing. Juvia could not understand. He was bad for her. Gray drew out the demons the princess struggled to suppress. Instead of avoiding him, however, she felt a sudden need to see him again. Juvia obliged. She casted another glance at Gray; this time her deep blue eyes lingered.

Gray hasn't changed much. His hair was almost the same length as it was during the Selection. His chiseled features have become more prominent like he lost weight. Gray was listening attentively or so it appears. His brows were knitted, meeting at the center. His midnight eyes were trained ahead.

Then suddenly, Juvia was staring at those endless midnight eyes and they were staring at her too. Juvia quickly called Lucy who was sitting next to her and pretended to ask something about the lesson. The truth was she was embarrassed when Gray caught her gaze. At her peripheral vision she saw Gray returning to just staring up ahead. Juvia let out a relieved sigh but her heart was pounding harder than usual. A peek of that confusing feeling broke into the surface of the endless darkness. It was enthralling.

Half-way through the lecture on Fiore, Juvia felt a change in the atmosphere. She had a sudden bad feeling. Something was not right. Juvia picked the desk next to the wide window that afforded view of the entrance to the Rosewoods. The quadrangle that time of the day was deserted. Classes just started and the administrators of the Academy were strict about cutting classes. That day, Juvia saw something or someone coming out of Rosewoods – people, about four or five of them. Juvia could not see who the men were but they looked like they were in a rush and were headed towards the right wing of the building. It looked like they were carrying something too. Juvia's full attention was focused on that something the boys were carrying and she almost jumped when she realized what it was, a human girl. Upon the realization, every detail became clear. The girl's shirt was drenched in brown and dark red. She recognized the latter, it was blood. Around the girl's collar, seething through the fabric was blood. Juvia could never mistake it.

No one else noticed the commotion at the quadrangle besides Juvia. Until, a male student popped at the door. He looked like he sprinted from the first floor to here, struggling to relay his message and catching his breath. Whatever he wanted to say seemed urgent.

"Mr. Groh! They… found a body… in the woods!" he announced, huffing and puffing in between the words. "She's from your class." He blurted out.

Juvia saw the color washed away from her Fiore teacher. The information terrified Juvia. Could it be the absent girl from this class?

Bacchus Groh raced the distance from the third down the first floor, his steps urgent, leaving behind the class in chaos. The current lecture was completely abandoned. All the students sprinted after Groh; so did Knight and Mira. Something about this felt bad, like a looming storm was about to hit the town.

"Juvia, let's go." Mira called, abruptly pulling Juvia back to the current situation.

With vampire speed, the royals arrived at the scene in no time. They rolled in just in time to see the group that carried the motionless girl burst through the door and hurried into the building. They were loudly arguing which direction to take, panicking, and not thinking straight. But Juvia could hear the sound of a faint heartbeat and labored breathing. The girl was still alive! But not for long if the boys could not make up their minds.

"Take her to the infirmary."

The stern and definitive voice came from the red-haired girl who just arrived with Mr. Name and the rest of the class. She showed no sign of panic or distress. No emotion at all.

The rescue party followed her without objections and carried the attacked girl towards where Juvia assumed led to the infirmary. Up close the situation looked even more terrifying. The girl's garments were still on but it was drenched with a mix of dark red and brown. Her expert blue eyes searched for something and her suspicions were confirmed when she recognized the two cruel dots on the side of her neck. The thought was even more terrifying. The girl was attacked by a vampire!

Mr. Groh tried to hold back the curious crowd and let the rescue party on their way. Camera phones started clicking and flashing. In a loud and angered voice, he scolded the students: warned them to keep their phones away and threatened to confiscate all of them. His face was all red and his veins came in prominence.

Erza knifed through the crowd, her authority parting the nosy crowd into two. The murmuring students let her and stood on the side as the Student President made her way down the stairs. Her face was unreadable or rather it was blank. There was no expression on Erza's face but just pure authority.

A young blonde walked beside the Student Council President. The two followed the trail the rescue party took. A few male students rounded the close-knit pack.

When the attacked girl was out of sight, murmurs erupted. Students were both surprised and freaked out after the fact. Juvia thought they ought to feel guilty about their remarks earlier. But people did not like admitting to their mistakes. Instead, they rationalize their faulty actions.

The students whispered their concerns, more for their safety rather than for the well-being of the attacked girl. However, in a din of troubled voices, one thought caught the princess attention. She tried to filter the conversations passing through her ears to focus on one voice.

"This is the first time something like this ever happened!"

Writer's Corner: Merry Christmas you amazing, amazing people. Especially, to my #Gruvia Family. Uploaded this today so you see a glimpse of Gruvia on Christmas.

We're already beginning the first phase of this story by introducing the attack on that girl. Not sure if I can pull off this vampire attack action but I swear to stick to it. Also, one review asked about the sudden change in TVT. I'd like to explain it here. This version of TVT: Book I The First Sire is the official first book in the series. The first one I have written I have renamed to The Vampire Tales: Prequel. In short, the events in the Prequel are events that took place prior to this story. I'll put flashbacks in here which took place in the prequel. Please look forward to it. I'll go to back and finish TVT: Prequel once I research and learn more about writing action scenes.

I hope that clears up the confusion. Again, TVT: Prequel, the one I wrote first took place prior to this story: TVT: The First Sire.

Once again, Merry Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you enjoyed glance-stealing Juvia. Hehe.

Also, please take the note that I post in ffnet in advance.

[arkus-rhapsode]

I was wondering if you were planning on doing EZ reviews. I personally think if you get past the Erza clone and the similarities in looks with some characters that the story is very well and actually has a better plot than FT did.

So I’m going to give my surface level response on this and I will be fair on my stance like I usually try to. In the most general term, I don’t really review a series I don’t care about. If you notice I haven’t done a review of Black Clover in a while, its mainly cause this current arc is something I don’t really care about and it would feel like a drain on both me and my audience to here that each week. I’m sure my audience and EZ fans probably don’t wanna hear me belly ache about the series week to week.

This series really does show me that its made for people who like Hiro Mashima’s work. And if you do, more power to you, but your probably not going to enjoy my usually dissecting review style.

So right here I’m going to give my thoughts on the series to this point, and I wanna start positively. I do agree that the plot to Eden’s Zero is much better structured than FT’s once you get past the Elsie stuff. The four star shine robots plot to get to Mother actually seems like a good plotting out of how to take this story. It really reminds me of finding the four rave’s.

I also think I’ve mentioned this back in my former reviews, but the setting to is also interesting too, and forces world building. Though, I’d like them to experience the world rather than Witch just read of a synopsis of the world. Yeah having an internet in the world does kinda kill the sense of adventure.

And I will also say that I’m happy that most the cast has motivation unlike most of FT.

And with that we lead into my problems with the  story. First as I mentioned, the the plot does have better structure once you get past the Elsie stuff, the problem is that before that the pacing and plot seems really really slow, very confused, and then introduces such a high concept like time being eaten and going to other worlds in the past. While I do appreciate Hiro trying for a slower pace in the beginning, he’s doesn’t use it interestingly. He could take this time to explain the government or how these cosmos work? Is there king of space? Could the cosmos be cut up like the blues in One Piece? Or how about my biggest question, WHAT THE FUCK IS ETHER GEAR?! No we need more time travel and friendship!

Then there’s the first arc with this whole sister stuff. I will give credit that Rogue Out as villains aren’t too bad. Jin is obviously the best because he might heel turn, the sumo looking guy isn’t overtly evil, which was nice, and I could kinda get into Sister’s whole thing of just doing what she is paid to do as a motivation. But all villains except them are the usual Hiro Mashima bland weirdos with no characterization.

This Illega guy, I was expecting maybe a twist with him and why he has a collection of girls was maybe something subversive. Maybe he is trying to bring back tourism to his planet and by kidnapping B-cubers he was going to make them make the planet more entertaining, I mean Rebecca had a whole chapter praising them as coming up with fun things to do. Maybe he has a child who has an ether gear that made them look human and left him after the planet got closed off saying they’ll become a B-cuber, so he’s kid napping B-cubers to see if that one is her and that stuff that makes them stone should make his child reveal her true form.

No, he’s just a creep who likes turning women into furniture. Because… And that guy Wise’s intro arc who is just a common thug with his leg fetish brothers.

So I can’t call that story well done. If it takes till the Elsie arc to actually get to the plot actually moving forward and that this current arc is this bland and boring arc with everything being in the morally black, its not interesting.

How about the characters? Well, Shiki I’ll at least be fair, is actually gotten better than Natsu mainly cause he’s trying to be proactive. I���ll even give his gravity power at least seems to have more creativity than the generic fire dragon magic. But he’s such a confused and bland character. I mentioned this in my review chapter 1, Shiki’s strongest aspect is his social awkwardness and how that related to being raised around machines in a fantasy park. But he wants Shiki to be like your usual big damn hero whenever the time comes for him to look cool.

I recently watched an interesting piece on how My Hero’s Deku and Black Clover’s Asta represented two different types of shounen protagonists and ways to take a story. With Deku being a representation of the protagonist who needs to grow physically and emotionally into the pillar of his world that can inspire and fufil his dream, while Asta already is the pillar of his world who already can inspire and needs to earn recognition. Both of these types of protagonist are fine, but Shiki is trying to be both of them and it results in none of them. He seemingly needs to grow into a person who can actually get a ton of friends, but he also is apparently the kid who will rock the universe. It just results in a confused character, why does he act like such an idiot when he’s completely competent in action scenes?

And what makes him endearing? Say robots have a heart? Dude all the robots in this series have shown the ability to make expression and have emotion. We saw an android walk the street in chapter 2! Why do machines act like Shiki just told them the word of god after he says they have a heart, they all emote. Look at Pino and especially Witch, they’re displaying a range of emotion. Its not like they look like a cyberman who talks mechanically.

He’s just confused and unfortunately falls always back into that friendship shit as his only motivator instead of possibly addressing the trauma or adding a layer on how he won’t lose other people and what that feels like for him. The only time it really felt like he was living up to that emotionally stunned guy, was when he was beating the shit out of Illega to the point that Pino needed to shut him off, because I’m sure this kid can’t handle the emotion of anger quite yet in this situation.

Rebecca I think is worse though. I don’t know why people like her other than her design. Her personality is essentially jelly that can be morphed into whatever you want to fit the situation. She’s perverted in some scenes, but then doesn’t like perversion? I mean, she gets two guns in her hands and looks like a moron shooting randomly. Like is that badass? Is this what a female character has to do to be considered cool now?

I don’t consider her a rip off of Lucy, because Lucy actually had a character. Had a personality. No she is more a rip off of Elie from Rave, right down to the shooting shit up part. Only Elie made sense cause she was actually really unhinged thanks to the fact that she had no memories. But she got over it! She developed. Outside of her one past flashback with Happy, nothing about her is that interesting. I’ll also give her that she now just gets ether gear and its something she clearly can’t control yet, so there is room for improvement.

Wise, is actually an okay character. He’s got a cool concept of a guy from the past who is an inventor living in the future. I think his only weakness is that his ether gear is stupidly OP.

Pino is… Just and ornament that looks cute. You want your daughteru character to latch onto Shiki, here. Hell, I have bet going with a friend of mine that Pino will get some upgrade and she’ll have the body of a hot teenage girl. Its not that I hate here idea of having her memory erased, but the more I see of her and to more I hear about this robots have a heart makes me wish Michael came along.

Yeah, missed opportunity, cause Michael is not only a foil to Shiki and his adoptive brother, but he also doesn’t have a humanoid face. Meaning he doesn’t get convey true emotion so he actually seems like a robot. He actually seems like he’d have a character arc about discovering wanting to be more and more human. People would call Shiki weird calling a robot his “brother” and Michael never thought about it and we know there are multiple models of Michael. Imagine how fucking devastating it would be to see yourself mass produced. Imagine he actually gets to the point that he wants a humanoid face, because he wants to emote.

No we get Pino, who basically is Carla, but lacks any of thee enjoyable sass. Because we didn’t have enough sidekicks on this cast. Also we learn EMP is how to shut off ether gear, great, this is like if Usopp just had sea-prism stone on him at all times.

Then there’s Homura, she’s awful too. I’ll at least give Rebecca that she’s likable, but Homura she is personalitiy-less and has the worse character gimmick I think I’ve seen. Its not funny, its dumb. She can also use this ether gear too, and its a sword that was apparently passed down-its fucking 10 commandments. She also just walked into this story, like wha…? I’d be fine if she was like hunting the Eden’s Zero ship and watched it take off on Bluegarden, but no, Homura just came along cause she conveniently met Wise.

I’ll give her credit that the sword fighting looks cool, and I understand why people might like her cause that actually seems like something badass, but as a character she just feels tacked on.

Then there’s witch who is basically just the older sister character.

Elsie is not awful actually. She actually is a lot different from Erza and I actually would like to follow the space pirates more than I would want these random travelers. Also quick question, why do they still have the Eden’s Zero looking like a pirate ship? I mean, it looks cool, but these fuckers are not pirates, not even close. Oh wait, I know! We needed to rip off captain Harlock some more.

I’m not going to even talk about the potential love square with Shiki, Rebecca and Lavilla/Labilla, possibly Esie and Homura (?) cause one credit to FT was it wasn’t a harem, and Rave used a character like Celia and Beruka to more add an extra layer to the relationship of Elie and Haru. SO hoping Hiro avoids that.

So yeah if this rant has probably showed you, I don’t think EZ is all that great. But if you like it, fine I get that. I just have no interest in really talking about it week to week as even though I got down on FT, the beginning of the series was still something I enjoyed and I wanted to talk about how the current stuff had turned out. But EZ has no, beginning I liked. So I just don’t feel like I should be talking about it week to week.

[epicocityfic]

Fairy Tail Arcs: Worst to Best

For those who don’t know me that well, I’m a big fan of Fairy Tail. It’s really not that much of a surprise given some of the stories I’ve written.

However, over the last two months I’ve been diligently re-watching the series in preparation for the final season coming later this year. And it came into my mind to rank all of the arcs in order, as far as my own opinion goes. In fact, I figured I’d probably do one for the Openings and Endings, too.

So, without further ado, let’s rank them from the worst to the best. (NOTE: Filler arcs and ZERO will be included).

19) Daphne Arc

I really feel like, as far as arcs go, this is pretty much a no-brainer. Daphne arc is the single worst filler arc idea in all of Fairy Tail.

While, of course, I understand that this was intended to be the original ending for the series before it got popular in the anime, that doesn’t excuse how bad it was. And for four episodes, that’s saying something.

Genuinely, the arc has little going for it outside of Gray and Juvia’s Unison Raid. The arc is riddled with a plot hole given later revelations and the whole contrived conflict between Natsu and Gray was terribad. I mean, Natsu didn’t complete a job? Really, Gray?

I have no qualms putting this in last place.

18) Edolas Arc

If Daphne is horror for the anime, Edolas was horror as far as canon went.

Edolas was a weird arc, no denying, that felt more like a field trip than an actual arc. It has almost no impact on the rest of the series (save for Nichiya and the later reveal of Porlyusica) and squanders to interesting potential it had. What could have been an arc with the main characters using magical weapons was tossed aside in favor of the usual.

But that’s not the biggest issue for me. No, the biggest is that it’s slow as hell. It takes half the arc before any action even starts kicking in. And while getting backstory on Happy and Carla was...nice...I question the necessity of it.

The only things saving the arc from being a literal cesspool for me was the fight with the Dorma Anim and the godly Erza vs. Erza. Those were good, at least.

17/16/15/14) Lullaby Arc/Daybreak Arc/Macao Arc/Loke Arc

Yes, a four-way tie. It’s just too hard to decide if any one of these is worse than the others.

Not that I think any of these arcs are bad. Not at all. They’re just...very short. And very early.

These were the three arcs that occurred right at the beginning, with Fairy Tail in its formative stages, so to speak. While they introduced all the concepts in a good way (Zeref, guilds, the dragons, the strongest team, etc.) it was still when the series was finding its legs, and so it’s not as captivating as others.

As for the Loke Arc. Well, for one I hesitate to call it an arc, but it just wasn’t all that interesting to me in its brevity and served more as setup for the road to come. That was all.

13) Eclipse Celestial Spirits Arc

Oh, boy...where to begin with this one?

To note, I don’t consider the arc bad on mere principal. I think it’s one of those arcs that had potential and a lot of potentially good ideas that veered into a very weird territory that I wasn’t particularly comfortable with.

In fact, some of the stuff such as Hisui being a Celestial Spirit Wizard and the final battle against the Beast were pretty decent stuff, if not spectacular. Plus, Ophiuchus and Yukino’s spirits got a role, which is more than we could ask of the rest of the series. It even helps to lend this weight to the next major arc of the series.

But the rest of it drops the ball. Admittedly, some things are hilarious, like Wendy and Aquarius, Gray’s Dance Battle and the infinitely enjoyable card battle between Cana and Scorpio. But some of the handling when it came to characters like Lucy and Elfman’s battle were so disappointing and almost regressive in nature, it was bad.

This is really an arc I have no problem skipping, though I can see how others might not, and may like it instead.

12) Oracion Seis Arc

When I first read the Oracion Seis arc, I thought it was pretty good, since it started involving more than Fairy Tail and had some pretty good fights. But hindsight’s a bitch.

I don’t think the arc is bad. It’s just uneven. There’s a lot of start and stop within the arc that makes it feel longer than it actually is. It makes me bored before my adrenaline can go up with it before making me bored again. That’s why it’s so low on my list. I simply don’t enjoy it as much as I do other arcs.

However, it’s higher than those below for introducing some of the best concepts in the series: Jura, the enemies themselves and Wendy. These three were great and helped keep the arc afloat.

Oh, and Jellal’s return which made for one of my favorite Natsu solo fights in the series.

11) Avatar Arc

Avatar gets a lot of flak. I, personally, don’t see why.

“Then why is it so low on your list?!”

The answer to that is the same as the arc below it: uneven pacing with interesting concepts. It’s very jerky in a sense because the arc gives off the impression it’ll be a collection quest for the Fairy Tail members before it becomes this big battle thing. Gray’s “evil or not” starts off interesting before devolving to standard fare.

But the battle at the end is awesome. Meant to be a battle that showcases how strong the main team is, it does its job in the best of ways, and I can’t be mad at it. It’s awesome seeing the Fairy Tail crew back together again and kicking ass for the first time since Hades.

10) Galuna Island Arc

Galuna is weird for me. I think it’s good, especially Gray’s backstory. At the same time it was still in that sea legs phase of the series.

What I feel makes Galuna shine is that it’s Gray, not Natsu, who gets the big fight of the arc, even if Natsu does most of the work. It worked to not only develop Gray, but also Lyon and his crew.

Overall, I guess I could say Galuna is average. It’s an arc I can sit down and go “I can watch this arc on its own”. That’s a compliment, far as I’m concerned. It’s a good time. It just doesn’t particularly excel at anything that other arcs didn’t do better. Average.

9) Phantom Lord Arc

Everyone loves Phantom Lord. It’s typically cited as the arc that was the first time the series was “good”. And while I can definitely agree that it’s good, it’s simply blown out of the water by later arcs.

I think part of it is how much the fights aren’t really...fights. They’re more character pieces. Gray vs. Juvia is used to introduce Juvia. Elfman vs. Sol brings Lisanna into the equation. Totomaru was bland, as was Aria. So, naturally, Natsu vs. Gajeel makes up the slack.

However, the arc excelled at the sense of doom. There wasn’t a moment you truly felt like Fairy Tail could cut themselves some slack, and it’s what made this arc good. Combine that with the final battle and it is a very solid arc that’s good. Later arcs just do it all better.

8) Key of the Starry Heavens Arc

What’s this? A filler? So high?

Yes, indeed. In fact, I view this particular filler arc as an example of how to do filler arcs. No joke. Not only does it exist in canon and flesh out an event offhandedly mentioned, but it also serves to give Lucy character development by showing her dealing with this loss of family that the manga brushed over.

I’d go so far as to say it’s an arc that I think Mashima wanted to write but was told to move on from in order to make the plot clip along.

Indeed, what makes this arc a good arc is how it tackles character development, even in a filler. From Doranbolt getting over his survivor’s guilt (kinda) to Lucy dealing with her father’s death to the Oracion Seis having the seeds planted for their eventual reform. It’s just good. And the final segment is highly emotional and engaging with a mystery and reveal that, while not surprising, makes the arc more than it had any right being.

The only thing that drags it down on this list, sadly, is that the front half can be a bit slow at times; more of an adventure before the threat becomes palpable.

7/6) Fighting Festival Arc/Fairy Tail ZERO

I really can’t choose between these two arcs at all.

Fighting Festival has the stronger action core to it, but ZERO has the indisputably better story.

But both excel at their cores. While they lack in those detriment areas, the ones they choose to focus on, they do well. Natsu and Gajeel vs. Laxus is one of the best fights in the anime. Mira going batshit on Fried is amazing. Meanwhile, the darker storyline of ZERO is great and shows the guild built from the ground up with a twist that, while obvious, is no less emotional.

They do well at what they choose, while leaving the other parts in the dust. I’d watch them both again and enjoy them. But that they eschew one part in favor of the other is what keeps them below the top 5 arcs on my list.

And, indeed, it’s time for my top 5 arcs, which I don’t really feel are all that surprising.

5) Alvarez Arc

The Alvarez arc, or the final arc, I guess, is probably one of the most widely loathed arcs of the series. My personal belief is that it stems from people wanting Fairy Tail to be something it isn’t or just not paying attention (as Mashima has never been a spoon-feeder when it comes to the things he does).

I hold a different opinion, which is the reason it sits at number 5.

After a recent re-read of the arc, I can easily say it’s one of the better arcs. It’s fast-moving except for when it needs to deal with some myth arc stuff, but the myth arc chapters are so huge that you don’t feel like the story is slow at all. In fact, this arc ends up answering just about every single lingering question in the series and wraps it up with a neat little bow. From Zeref and Natsu’s relationship to the origin of the Dragon Slayers.

The only thing really missing from it was Acnologia having a decently fleshed out motive, which I hope the anime has the chance to expand upon like they did with the Oracion Seis.

The fights are also among my favorite in the manga. Yes, even the Irene fight which with official translations and a bit of fridge logic is probably one of my favorite fights in the series.

In general, I suppose I feel that Alvarez best espouses what Fairy Tail is all about, since out of the 14 major fights, only two of them are fought by solo characters and the rest are done in teams or groups. For a series that preaches friendship, it really sells it.

I could probably ramble on in defense of the arc, but I feel like I shouldn’t. It’s just a good ride, and if the anime adapts it well, I could even see it moving up on my list.

4) Grand Magic Games Arc

The GMGs are where I fell in love with Fairy Tail. I know, halfway through seems kind of a weird place, but I’m serious.

I think a large part of it was that we got to have other guilds again and expanded the world beyond the Fairy Tail sphere of influence. But the other part is just that Mashima structured the arc that well.

From the crushing loss at the beginning to growing into the number one guild, it made me laugh and cry and cheer Fairy Tail on, knowing they had what it took. I got angry at Sabertooth and Raven Tail, I pumped a fist when Natsu laid a beatdown on Sting and Rogue because he was just that much better.

It’s a credit to Mashima that he was able to build up this feeling if you let him. You felt like you were riding a high with all the characters.

And then the dragon invasion came.

If this part was its own separate arc, I’d argue it would be number 2 as an arc because it was easily the most captivating moment of the arc in an arc full of captivating moments. It was intense, emotional and never let up until the moment the Eclipse Gate was destroyed. After the major sacrifice and Natsu’s speech that it’s about living today, all I could do was let a breath out. It was 60 chapters of build-up, but it was worth the weight.

I almost find it hard to put it at number 4 given how much I loved the arc, but I just think the top 3 were quite a bit tighter.

3) Tower of Heaven Arc

Now that we’re sort of in the home stretch on arcs, Tower of Heaven was the first time the series felt like it had some real stakes. Not only did it begin to dip into the larger mythos, but behind the scenes it changed the structure of the magical world with the Council, something that would come into play many arcs later.

While the arc is short, it’s just well-structured. It develops Gray. It massively develops Erza. It develops Lucy and Juvia’s relationship. It offers good fights, and has arguably one of the most intense in Natsu vs. Jellal.

And all of it is paced well. Objectively, I could argue it’s the best arc in the series, but for me, it’s just missing that extra something. Something that the final two on my list have: all of the Fairy Tail members working together.

2) Tenrou Island Arc

I adore Tenrou.

I adore it for a different reason than the other arcs. Maybe it’s because it starts off with action but of the lighter variety before shifting to a darker kind. Maybe it’s the myth arc affect.

In the end, I think it’s because Mashima had a clear vision for this arc and its consequences. And there are consequences, especially as it wraps up the plot for the first half of the series.

It’s hard for me to find the words to say why I think Tenrou is so good, but the easiest one: Team Natsu vs. Hades.

Barring the fact that just about every other fight in the arc is really good (particularly Natsu vs. Zancrow, Gray vs. Ultear and Erza vs. Azuma), this fight to this day holds the title of the best. It’s a consistent back and forth that required at least 6 people to take Hades down and even then. It’s easily one of the most intense and serves as the strong crux of the arc that it needed to be.

Yet even with that, what pushes Tenrou up to number 2 is the ending with Acnologia. It’s unexpected, gives major consequences to Fairy Tail as a whole and is quite honestly a shock when you first experience it because it’s the first enemy they can’t overcome.

The only reason this remains below the top arc is because individually, most of the characters don’t get development. Only Cana and Juvia really do, I feel.

So, with all that out of the way, the obvious #1 arc.

1) Tartaros Arc

Could it have been anything other than Tartaros?

To give a caveat, Sun Village is an arc I consider to be part and parcel of Tartaros since it’s more a prologue. It’s a little slow on its own to be honest, but that doesn’t affect my opinions on the main arc itself.

That said, Tartaros is easily the best arc in the series.

From the word go it never lets up on its pacing. The Council gets slaughtered, the battle against the demons, Jellal vs. the Oracion Seis, the guild getting blown up. It’s a constant ride on the pacing. Part of that can probably be attributed to how Mashima broke the arcs down into mini-arcs.

But more than that, the arc has major consequences and development.

While pacing keeps an arc going strong, it’s all those other things that strengthen it. Every character of the main group gets development in spades, and so much of it ties back into the myth arc with the absolutely stunning reveal of where Igneel and the dragons were, coupled with Igneel vs. Acnologia.

Indeed, all of the fights were intense and solid, even the Jiemma fight that provided closure to both Minerva’s character and Sabertooth as a whole. All of it really played into that pacing where you never felt the guild was out of danger until that final tear-inducing scene.

It’s an intense ride. An emotional ride. A ride I would gladly take again and again.

That’s why it’s more than worthy of being my number one pick.

So, I hope you enjoyed this list and if you have a different opinion, feel free to share!

Dare to Be Silly, Epicocity

[daniellethamasa]

Hey all, Dani here.

Wow, we are almost halfway through the year. It honestly feels like this year has been both incredibly fast and agonizingly slow. And 2020 just continues to be a dumpster fire, definitely more here in the US than in the rest of the world, but I think we can all agree that all around 2020 has not been the greatest year. Though it definitely has been one for the history books. I wonder what teachers and students will say about this time in 30-50-100 years.

Anyway, because yesterday was Calendar Girls post day and my standard Manga Monday, I held off on my monthly wrap-up until today, but I figured you all wouldn’t mind. It makes my post schedule funny, because tomorrow will be my weekly wrap-up post. But that’s okay. I do have a couple books to talk about there that aren’t talked about much today.

As usual with my monthly wrap-up, let’s start off by checking in on my overall goals for the year.

Reading: I read 26 books in the month of May, which is pretty darn solid, though 6 of them were re-reads, 1 was a graphic novel, 1 was a manga, and 6 were novella-length. That takes me up to 127 books read in 2020 so far, which is great. Actually it means that I need to adjust my reading goal for the year because I had that set at 125 books, and clearly I’m not going to stop reading now just because I hit that goal.

Blogging: I had to slow down on the blogging in the month of May, no longer putting together posts each and every day. Originally it was so I could have a little more time to dedicate to my writing, but now it’s also been because so much else is happening and if I want to have any free time to spend relaxing with Damian, I can’t blog 7-10 times a week. I do kind of miss having all those posts, but if I figure out a better life and work schedule then maybe I can try it again.

Writing: I actually did write some in May. I put everything I wrote before on my novel in a different file and then pulled the usable bits out and rewrote a lot of the first three chapters, so now they are actually quite a bit better. I think I’m around 10,000 words into the book. Then a whole lot of things happened at once: change in work hours and position, accepting a job with Colorworld Books, and well, everything going on in the world. So I’m still trying to write, but it slowed down quite a bit again. Still, 10,000 words is better than none, and hopefully that number will increase in June. Even if I only make it up to like 20,000, it would still be progress.

Conventions: Gen Con was recently canceled, which I was honestly expecting because it’s a huge convention. Damian and I are currently trying to figure out a vacation plan since we already have those days off from work and it is also my birthday weekend then. And we’re still hoping that Cincinnati Comic Expo in September will still be good to go. My friends at Colorworld Books have actually started doing Colorworld LIVE convention style events just about every week, sometimes two a week. They gather up three or four awesome voice actors, hold a livestream panel, then a VIP panel for anyone who buys some signed merch, and of course you can get shirts, metal art prints, and more with characters these actors have portrayed. It’s pretty cool.

All right, I guess it’s time to run through what I read in May. As always, if I have a review posted, I will include the link to that post.

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire – 5 stars

Animorphs #1: The Invasion by K.A. Applegate – 3.5 stars/5 stars (actual/nostalgia rating)

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson – 5 stars

The Ranger of Marzanna by Jon Skovron – 5 stars

Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett – 4.5 stars

City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers – 4 stars

Stealing Thunder by Alina Boyden – 4 stars

Mythica: A Quest for Heroes by Kevin L Nielsen – 3.5 stars

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – 5 stars

A Whole New World by Liz Braswell – 4 stars

Colorworld by Rachel E Kelly – 5 stars

Roses In Amber by C.E. Murphy – 4 stars

Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan – 4.5 stars

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner – 4 stars

Lumaworld by Rachel E Kelly and narrated by Todd Haberkorn, Cherami Leigh, Brittney Karbowski, David Wald, and Chiemeri Osemele – 5 stars

Shadoworld by Rachel E. Kelly – 5 stars

Warriors & Weapons by Jim Zub with Stacy King and Andrew Wheeler – 4 stars

Monsters & Creatures by Jim Zub with Stacy King and Andrew Wheeler – 4 stars

Dungeons & Tombs by Jim Zub with Stacy King and Andrew Wheeler – 4 stars

Wizards & Spells by Jim Zub with Stacy King and Andrew Wheeler – 4 stars

All Systems Red by Martha Wells – 5 stars

The Armored Saint by Myke Cole – 4 stars

Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert – 4.5 stars

Edens Zero Volume 1 by Hiro Mashima – 4.5 stars

Girls Save the World in This One by Ash Parsons – 4 stars

Forever Your Earl by Eva Leigh – 4 stars

Next is the book haul portion of today’s post…which will sadly not include the OwlCrate unboxing. Packaging and shipping have slowed down a bit due to social distancing and proper safety and health precautions, so my package just shipped a couple days ago. If I get it before my Weekly Wrap-Up post, then I’ll include it there.

So I had a book delivery of books I bought from Barnes & Noble at the beginning of the month, which was cool, but then I got a surprise delivery from Wednesday Books. I had entered a couple giveaways from the Y’allStayHomeCon, not really expecting to win anything because a lot of people entered, and sure enough, I managed to score a couple of Spring 2021 ARCs. I’m super excited about them, but will probably wait until at least this fall before I pick them up.

Then The Book Loft of German Village opened again by appointment, and of course I had to get an appointment. Damian and I wore our masks because they required masks while inside, and there was a hand sanitizer station as soon as you walk in the door. I was able to walk around the 32 room bookstore for an hour or so and just be surrounded by books, and it was just the best feeling. Likewise, this past weekend the local-ish Barnes & Noble finally opened back up, so we had to go, and I finally replaced my old dead NOOK, so I don’t have to read e-books on my phone anymore. That’s nice.

Finally, I guess it’s time to talk about my June TBR. Originally I was going to solely focus my reading plans on the fact that June is GLBT Book Month, as hosted by the American Library Association. But, with everything going on in the US right now, I wanted to do more than that. So I have some of my TBR dedicated to LGBTQIAP+ books, and some of my TBR dedicated to POC authors. Honestly, I don’t think I will be able to read all of these books; I’m still pretty overwhelmed with my work and life schedule right now, but I’m going to try.

Damian and I actually have a three day cabin getaway booked in a few weeks, and we won’t have any phone signal, though the cabin does have Wi-Fi. So I’m actually hoping to be able to do quite a bit of reading while we’re there, as well as spend some time soaking in the hot tub.

Anyway, I do believe that is all from me for today, but I will be back soon with more bookish content.

May Wrap-Up and June TBR Hey all, Dani here. Wow, we are almost halfway through the year. It honestly feels like this year has been both incredibly fast and agonizingly slow.