#if you enjoyed mashima's writing

[fanstuffrantings]

Was talking to my sister about it, so I thought I'd share it.

I will be critical of canon Gr()via writing in this so be warned if you don't like to see that:

Gray and Juvia could've been a good couple if Mashima just leaned into Gray being more cat like when he was in love. In canon we know that the only times he seems to show interest in juvia is when she's in mortal danger, or being pursued by another man.

On top of us focusing on Juvia trying to quell her more unhinged impulses and warring over whether what she feels is just obsession or actual romance (a revelation of it being actual romance as an important and tender scene), we can lean heavily into Gray not being super vocal about his feelings. But his actions clue the reader into how he feels.

He starts spending more time with her without her having to seek him out. Sits with her more often with the gap between them shortening over time until he's consistently invading her space and asserting his presence. He takes notes of her hobbies and places she frequents, so when he's bored or missing her, he knows where to look. He takes an active interest in her as a person but never outright says how he feels until she forces his hand and puts her foot down when he chases off someone one too many times.

On top of that, by the time we get to the end have Gray be almost a bit flirty with her. Nothing too heavy like loke, but have him enjoy when she gets a little flustered. Have him actually want to make her laugh. Just make it more clear that he likes juvia.

It would be so simple to make them a good couple, Gray was literally the sun that brought happiness into Juvia's life. I normally eat that up. But Mashima seems allergic to giving us genuine romance/tender times because maybe he thinks it would make Gray uncool or ruin his story to not make Juvia's feelings a joke.

I've said before that I don't personally enjoy them as a couple, and it's because Mashima is so meanspirited in how he writes their relationship.

[cheesydelphox]

I just want to ask you something since we both hate mashima so do you think mashima has a fetish for wlw?

Bc sometime i feel uncomfortable when mashima draw a girl assaulting another girl or the way he draws female characters together doing some typical yuri fetishizer cover

Omg sorry for the bad explanation 😭😭

no your explanation was spot on and yeah i think he definitely does. i don't want to be one of those puritanical "men can't enjoy lesbian things" people but mashima is so weird about it.

he can earnestly write his female main characters as being into women but can't do the same for men. no off topic comments from natsu about how he thinks gray looks cute, that's reserved for women.

also his canon lesbians in relationships: kyoka and seilah, and brandish and dimaria. at least one person in both of those relationships takes pleasure in torturing other women. we never get to see women in fairy tail genuinely loving each other, it's always some sort of "haha im grabbing your boobs and sexually torturing you look at this queer rep!"

my main point is: i think mashima really kinda just likes seeing women being tortured by other women. all of his fights between women feature someone writhing on the ground in pain, naked and moaning, the other woman getting pleasure out of it. it's all super sexualized. again, this does not happen with men (and it also shows a complete and total misunderstanding of bdsm dynamics but that's a society issue not a mashima issue)

[ijustwannadraw0716]

I like you, have a cupcake.

It's Levy. Literally the best character ever. All her character writing flaws are Mashimas fault not her. I love her you leave my beloved alone.

First, I didn't change her appearance too much, gave her glasses, and played with her hair a little, but honestly, I had no qualms about it! I like the yellowish-orange color of her dress, I think it brings out her blue hair well and makes her look all sunshine and cute. I kept her outfit simple with long sleeves but have her legs out. I enjoy her having small breast's, not every woman has a D-cup. I enjoy the plain outfit for her, she likes comfortable clothes that she can lounge in and read a book, but she still wants to look cute.

In my redesign I'm taking her self-conscious attitude over her tit's away though. I don't think she would care. She likes her body. If anything she's self conscious over how clumsy she can be. Yes I do like the clumsy bookworm trope, except when she trips or stubs her toe it's almost always followed up by a string of curses. She doesn't curse alot, she finds it dumb, but when her toe is stubbed? Fuck that.

Moving on, Levy as a character is great. She's mature, brave, intelligent, but severely underestimated. She can read in many different languages, and her magic is incredibly useful, but she is seen as weak. I feel like where she lacks physical fighting strength, she makes up within her magic. I understand she originally was supposed to be a background character, but when Mashima changed his mind, he should have begun developing her a bit more. We get no backstory for her, and after it's clear there's a relationship with Gajeel, that's all we seem to get. I love their relationship, but I want more outside of it.

I love her being mature too because she can easily reel Gajeel in. Like Erza, I imagine just a sharp look from her has him hanging his head and scoffing. It's cute seeing the little shrimp of a woman reel in this large man who's abrasive and ready to rumble. I love their relationship. It's not perfect but God is it cute.

I want more relationships outside of ya know Jet, droy, Lucy, and gajeel. How is her relationship with Juvia? She was in the same guild Gajeel was. I know juvia didn't attack Levy, but she attacked Lucy, her best friend. Do you think she holds some sort of resentment towards her that slowly drifts away over time? Same with Gajeel- she wouldn't forgive him so easily. Let alone did he attack her, but he attacked Jet and droy, her team. Also speaking of Jet and Droy- please please give them more too??? Why are their personalities just revolved around Levy ;^; Make them befriend other people in the guild perhaps. They're a guild!

Listen I haven't watch fairytail in a hot minute so if I'm mistaken on any of these takes, let me know but I kinda just want more lol. Even if it's small moments, I know I know they're side characters, but if you're gonna introduce characters into your story (and they're a l o t of them), make them more. Even if it's subtle! Character design makes these things known! Which is why Jet and Droy are also getting a redesign.

I'm gonna get through like the main main people I guess first, I just had to do Levy because I adore her. She's my favorite.

Also no not all of the redesigns will look like the original designs I promise ;^; I JUST REALLY LIKE HER DESIGNNNNN ALREADY.

I do have to draw her in her lil time skip outfit though when she's on the magic counsel. The coat is chefs kiss.

[classysassy9791]

Personally I am not really a gruvia or graylu fan because I feel like gray with either of these ladies is a bit of a disaster. He doesn't treat juvia as a human being most of the time considering her affections are overbearing. And with lucy, it's kind of sad that alot of there 'moments' have sexual inutations like him always seeing her undressed and commenting gross things about it. Also the gemini moment isn't canon bc it wasn't in the manga. And Juvia deserves better character development.

I agree with you in regards to Juvia deserving better character development. I wish we had more of her discovering things about herself instead of her entire character revolving around her infatuation with Gray. She has such incredible potential, but instead we just get to see her as a "love pairing" for Gray, and it was all done so horribly wrong. Such a strong character such as her shouldn't have been reduced to a forced love interest.

In regards to GrayLu having "sexualized" moments, there are far more that are not sexualized than there are.

Considering how sexualized NaLu is - a canon couple - any other couple's sexualized interactions pale in comparison. But that's Mashima's writing and fanservice unfortunately. You have to take the good with the bad in that regard.

And anything in the anime that's not considered "canon" has to be taken with a grain of salt. Mashima has stated that he has enjoyed the work that the studio put into filler episodes and movies so much he just declared them canon, and some of them had even been done under collaboration with Mashima. So "canon" is somewhat of a subjective term here.

But that's the beauty of fandom - we can both like & dislike different character and pairings, and that's okay! <3

[natsubeatsrock]

Ranking Fairy Tail Death Fakeouts

I'm not posting frequently enough to make joke posts.

We've had quite many death fakeouts in this series. 

That statement alone is an indictment on Hiro Mashima, who has gone on record to say that he enjoys writing characters in situations where it seems they died but survived.

I figured I'd rank as many fakeouts as I remember from best to worst. 

I tried to limit myself to situations where it was clear that we should think the situation led to death. However, things got out of hand. (You'll see.) Bear in mind that some involve groups of people who we thought died.

While this is my ranking, I tried to stick to these criteria in ranking them.

Should they have died otherwise?

Does their return make sense?

Is the series better for their return?

We're starting with the best version of this trope. 

Fairy Sphere was the best death fakeout, and I'm not sure people would expect it to fit these criteria.

Everyone on the island thought they would die. They accepted their fate in Toy Story 3 style when the Black Dragon came and blasted Tenrou Island, leaving only a crater. 

That's good games, folks.

However, the return makes sense. Those members were at a sacred spot for their guild. While we know Mavis' body isn't on the island now, we've seen her powers at work earlier in the arc. Mavis using one of the guild's most powerful spells is reasonable. It activated because of their shared spirit, leading to the Grand Magic Games.

I've criticized Mashima's handling of training in series, especially in the Grand Magic Games. Their return was a genius idea. Time skips happen often in anime and manga, but few function as this did. The heroes have to play catch-up with the rest of the world. The execution wasn't the best, but this was one of Mashima's best ideas in the series.

Speaking of Mavis, I think her death fakeout was the best individual example. This might be because we didn't get enough reason to believe there was anything past her death. If you could make a phantom image of yourself, wouldn't you put yourself in your prime? We had no reason to believe she died at the age we saw her. 

I'm not the most supportive of Zervis, but I like this as a death situation. The good news is that she didn't die from the curse of contradiction. While it's a bit sketchy, I do like that there are attempts to keep her alive as soon as possible.

Her continued existence as Lumen Histoire (I prefer this name to Fairy Heart) was foreshadowed amazingly. It was a situation that affected all the major arcs from its mention to the end of the main series. Of course, after escaping Lumen Histoire, she continues to impact the series for the better. The Larcade/August situation is a mess, but I don't think it hurts Mavis' return.

Speaking of which, Lisanna's fakeout was also really good. (Shocking, I know.) Let me start by admitting that this one is hurt by her lack of importance in the series. She hasn't taken out any major villains or caused dramatic character changes (unless you read my stories). It doesn't matter since we never really were led to think she would become a super relevant character.

As for the other aspects, she passes with flying colors in my book. She should have died on the mission based on everything we know about the situation. No one in the guild operates under the assumption otherwise, and it is taken for granted for two in-series years.

However, we never see her die in the manga. We hear about the events and get flashes of what happened. However, Mashima never shows us that she died, even after the series was extended past Phantom Lord. While the anime shows more of what happened, the director admitted he never planned to treat Lisanna as dead. Edolas as an escape for Lisanna makes more sense than people give it credit for.

Next up is Irene, whose situation is interesting. I should be madder about how that was handled. There didn't seem to be a reason for her to kill herself, especially given the justification of actually loving Erza. While Acnologia brutalizing her body was too much, that felt like the nail in the coffin. If she wasn't dead before, she was dead then.

However, the return itself isn't nonsensical. Irene was impressed by Wendy's enchanting skills during their battle. No wonder she would want to tag along with her temporarily. I do prefer this justification for Irene. She still wants to find a body of her own to host. I'm glad she's selfish about it.

This aspect was one of my favorite things about the sequel. It was great to see how Wendy and Irene interacted with each other. Often, it would be Wendy accounting for Irene in situations or Irene intervening in places where Wendy needed help. I wasn't a big fan of the resolution, but I did appreciate that it tied into the Knightwalker situation.

The last of the good returns is Gajeel. His death was another situation that was treated as a given. He was being taken to 'hell' at the end of his fight. This was almost a tragic end to the best ship in the Big 4. We recognize their mutual feelings only to be ripped out of their hands just as soon.

The genius of this moment comes in the timing of events. It's hard to explain this, but the events of the arc all overlap in weird ways. This fight happens as Natsu and Lucy hope Brandish can negotiate peace with August and Irene's meeting with Acnologia. While the portal closes, Irene is casting Universe One. The spell changes the continent's shape-up, so it's not out of the realm of possibility this brings Gajeel back into commission.

Honestly, Gajeel doesn't do a whole lot past his return. He certainly puts work in, especially in the sequel. However, he's not impacting the series like several other characters mentioned before, along with others to come. Though, even at this point in the series, he's nowhere near the focus of the series. Not to mention, he's always been a secondary character, so no meaningful change there.

Other people wouldn't count this, but I'm putting Silver next. I say I'm not sure because this is a rare example of a fakeout of a death fakeout. Silver was killed by Deliora all those years ago. However, he was brought back to life thanks to Keyes, who used him as a puppet and experimental rat. This makes sense as a reason for him to return. 

However, the lead-up to this revelation is pretty messy. We're led to believe he's Deliora for some time, among other things. (We'll get to him soon enough.) His most meaningful impact is giving Gray Demon Slaying magic. His role involved setting plot points before their fight, like freezing Sun Village and capturing Natsu.

I'm not a fan of Jellal's return. This could be a higher ranking. The circumstances surrounding his supposed death are reasonable enough to think he died. We'd probably assume he was gone forever if it weren't for Mystogan showing up during Fantasia. Nirvana justifies his return. He's arguably made the most impact of anyone on this list.

So what gives?

Petty as it sounds, this version of Jellal bores me. Look at how Jellal acts before Nirvana and how he acts after it. Of course, this is because of what happened in the Tower of Heaven arc. However, I wish there was a way we could keep Jellal's snarky attitude while also being a heroic figure. Thank goodness Crimson Starbird wrote Kidnapping Erza. Speaking of which, his ranking is saved pending his joining Fairy Tail. It's a cliche ending to his arc, but a welcome cliche for a fan favorite. 

Moving down the rankings, God Serena is up next. This is another situation like Silver, where he died but was brought back to life. I don't like him or his return. I plan to talk about this later, but his death is made worse by the final battle of the main series. We're supposed to believe the power of eight dragons couldn't beat Acnologia. Yet the power of seven fire dragons can get the job done? No dice.

His importance in the sequel is to be noted. It certainly was a shock to see him come back. However, I don't think anyone was clamoring for this former member of the Spriggan Twelve to come back into the series. Brandish and DiMaria were more popular characters. I'd take my chances with the Dragneels coming back again. (You can tell this is a personal list.)

We have another fakeout in this list of death fakeouts because we have Igneel, Metallicana, Grandeeny, Skidarum, and Weisslogia. That's right, I'm putting all the dragons on this spot. This is another spot that feels like cheating because they did die all those years ago. All we saw was their last spurt of energy. That was enough to go toe to toe with Acnologia and destroy all the Face statues.

I want to like this one more. This was one of the best moments in the series. Still, I can't say that it makes sense for them to be back. I appreciate that this was hinted at, but the hints were cryptic. I'm glad the dragons destroyed the Dragon Seeds and Natsu's dreams. I can't put them any higher in good conscience.

I wish this next one was at the bottom, but I can't lie. I hate what happened to Ultear. I've talked about that much already. Last Ages might be the only thing I hate more than Nalu in Fairy Tail. That said, I can't act like it makes no sense to exist or that the results are shocking.

I can say that I'm annoyed by the future implications of this moment. I'd rather Ultear not be an active character in the series than see what's happened. Whenever I see Ultear do something, I can't tell if Mashima regrets his decision or is doubling down on it. This isn't anywhere frequent enough to piss me off more.

I'm going to throw Deliora next on this list. I'm not sure who counts for this list anymore. Let's start with the positives. His death was very well explained. The plot to revive him was interesting. 

However, this arc is among my least favorite in the series because of what happens when the ice melts. Outside of a version-dependent last roar, Deliora was always dead. While Moon Drip and Deliora's legacy matters moving forward, the real Deliora doesn't.

We're in the bottom three now. Fitting that the only man to be guild master three times is up next. Makarov's situation is a bit too weird. He only survived based on the technicality of Tenrou Island joining the continent when he went out. You probably didn't know that was a part of the deal. That's right. The only reason this can be justified isn't even common knowledge.

Honestly, there wasn't enough reason for Makarov to come back. The benefit to his return is that Erza can go on the Century Quest without worrying about being the guild master. I know that the Ghost Dragon Slayer was part of the guild, but that's not enough reason for him to not have passed leadership to the next generation.

This is another shocking addition to this list, but our second to last person is Kageyama. Technically, he was the first instance of this happening in Fairy Tail. During the Lullaby mission, he was about to free them from Erigor's trap, but he was stabbed before he could do anything. I could see this argued as not truly being a death fakeout. However, I'm counting it because it wouldn't make sense to interpret his absence as not being a death. Then again, we are talking about him here.

You could also argue that his situation isn't as bad as other characters we've mentioned. However, he earns this spot because, by coming back, he causes more problems for the Strongest Team. Let's get this out of the way. Natsu should have left him in the trap, regardless of his feelings. But by being brought along, he betrays the group's tenuous trust in him and endangered guild masters from all over the land. If he threatened them, I'd bump him higher on this list. He served as a glorified delivery boy. Erigor could have been in the same place as him, fought Natsu, and lost. Nothing serious would have been lost.

But he's not the worst. The undisputed worst death fakeout was only ever going to one person. You know her. You love her, but nowhere near as much as she loves Gray. That's right, Juvia's death fakeout is the worst. (I can hear the Gruvians coming for me from a mile away.)

I've also discussed this situation too much for any person's sanity to be intact. But let's review what we've gone through in this list. Some character's death (fake or otherwise) makes sense, but not the return. For others, the return is pretty sensible, but not the death. Many characters are saved by their relevance after the fact. Whatever the case, some aspect of their situation has reasonable logic. The best characters make sense on all accounts.

Juvia's in a league all her own. Juvia's death was under ridiculous circumstances that strained believability. Her return was arguably just as bad, if not worse. I've heard plenty of people talk smack about Lisanna's comeback. You can't tell me with a straight face that this is better. At least people didn't expect Lisanna to return at all, least of all the chapter after she was revealed to have died. That would be enough to earn this spot on its own.

What cements it for me is that Mashima decided to shoehorn her into nearly every arc of the sequel. I won't go so far as to say I wish Juvia was dead so the ship wouldn't happen. But is Juvia living to fuel one of Mashima's sloppiest ships ever to head towards being canon that good a tradeoff? By the way, this whole situation shaped Gruvia's current trajectory. Considering that happens to be one of the worst things about the sequel, I feel comfortable putting this return at the bottom of this list.

Let me know what you think. If I left anyone on this list, I'd be shocked to find out.

[nalu-gifs]

Well, folks,

I have made...*so* many gif sets to worship our beloved NaLu. I don’t even know how many. But, as of today, we have reached the end of the queue (I imagine some of you guessed as much; the string of finale gifs was intentional 😛).

I started this blog on February 21st, 2022. I’m not actually sure what motivated me to do it, but I figured it would be a dumb little thing I’d work on for a couple months then move on. I figured, how long can I *really* keep up daily gif posts for a single ship?

Yet here I am, nearly a year later. I’ve made nearly 500 posts (not all gif sets, but almost!!) I have nearly 600 followers.

This silly little blog has been such a lovely source of enjoyment for me this past year. It’s so awesome to connect with people from across the world, sharing our love for a series and its characters. I’ve engaged with a fandom in a way I never have before, and I’m both grateful for it and sorry I never did this when I was younger. It’s worth noting that this journey has also led me to discover a love of reading and writing fanfiction--not to be dramatic, but that’s been life-changing. Like, how did I reach my 30s without getting into fanfiction??!

Am I walking away from this blog? Of course not! There will be gif reruns, some of which will feature community tags and comments. There will be fanfiction. There will be art. And, eventually, there will be 100yq gifs (if it ever drops!!! reeeee). This wasn’t meant to be a farewell post, but rather a sappy thank you to the community.

Oh, I will also be accepting gif requests moving forward! Surely I’ve missed moments here and there. Surely there’s edits people want. More on that later, in a separate pinned post.

Thank you, Hiro Mashima, for creating this world and these characters that are so easy to love. Thank you, animators, for bringing the story to life.

And thank YOU, NaLu and greater FT community, for being you! Let us continue to be kind to one another, create art, and enjoy fandom together.

[pencilofawesomeness]

Hi! I just binge read your How To Raise Your Dragon Slayers AU and I need to inform you that I have accepted it as my new canon. I like that you make sure actions and events have consequences and things don't just happen in a vacuum. The worldbuilding you are doing is just something and my inner nerd is just thrilled that the magic makes sense. Your characterizations are also fantastic and you can easily believe that a character would have turned out this particular way if things went differently.

But anyway, I'm rambling...

I know it's still some time away but I can't wait for your Edolas Arc! This surprised me because, I'll be honest, it's very much not my favorite. Mashima wasted a fantastic opportunity for some character development and foreshadowing, in my oppinion. On that note, some questions:

Does obscura work in Edolas? Does etherious? As one is the opposite of ether and the other vibrates in a frequency between the two, so to speak. That would be great, just to have a scene where some poor sod goes "You can't use your magic here! You're useless!" and Natsu and Mira go "Oh no! What a tragedy!" and wreck them.

I never understood why some member of Fairy Tail didn't just grab Mystogan like a baby koala and drag him home with them. It's obvious he didn't want to be there and he already made a life for himself in Earthland. Moreso in HTRYDS. He actually interacts with other people, however little, and even has friends and a twin! They would definitely miss him.

On that note, I dearly want Jellal and Myst to pull a Parent Trap sort of thing and pretend to be the other. Or at least have someone yell out his old name to get Mystogan's attention and Eathland Jellal answers because Myst hasn't answered to that name in years.

Will Acno be there? How will Edolas mess with a being of pure ether? That would be interesting to explore.

Will Natsu talk with Edolas Natsu about their respective brothers? After the Zeref reveal I was always mad they didn't include at least one scene where Edolas Natsu asks Earthland Natsu how his brother is or at least have a board with deceased/ex-members of the guild with Zeref on it in the background or something... It would have been great foreshadowing.

Will we get some Porlyuska backstory? I always wondered how she ended up in Earthland.

Not really Edolas Arc related but after my latest reread it's been bugging me. Is Zeref possessed by Anksheram? The Larcade POV with the red eyes sorta hinted at it, what with Zeref having memory lapses and the weird dark amusement during the whole deal. And the whole question of how he new some cultists were trying to resurrect Apopis on a different continent in the first place. Seun *did* know about it when he was finally kicked out of Rogue. And Loke said that that was one of the ways to survive for a god. Your Author's Note on chapter 23 of Demon Tails sorta did too with the "when I talked about 'fighting gods' in the series summary, I was dead-on serious" part. And there was a comment somewhere that you hoped that the series will end with fighting Anksheram. (Or was it someone else and I'm just mixing things up? Anyway)

Hope you're taking care of yourself! And take all the time you need with the writing. A hobby is supposed to be fun. Good Luck!

Ohoho HELLO! WELCOME!

I'm so glad you've been enjoying HTRYDS! And yes! Edolas arc! No lie I'm pretty excited for that one too because I get to go off the rails and make everything better and worse simultaneously lmao. Gonna be a big cast but also that's because it's going to be a whole family endeavor and I am h y p e d.

As for the magic, this isn't a spoiler for the arc or anything but it's not that Edolas is opposite to Earthland. It's functionally the same thing, except, unstable and also to the left. Imagine the same chart, except somebody corrupted the image and then slid it to the side so it looks like an overlap but it's not actually an overlap. Hence the magic being exceedingly harder to grasp in Edolas than in Earthland, though not impossible. And why certain medication and items can jumpstart that grabbing process and let Earthland mages use their magic. Gonna suck for some of them though. Like Acno lmao. Luckily he doesn't need magic to be a tank. Oh and obscura is a similar principle—exists just fine but to the left. Etherious is the fun one because it's already the directionless filler stuff so actually that one is nearly the same. (I've got a reason for this magic system and it's wild but idc I had a lot of fun with my worldbuilding and I wanted Edolas and its insanity to make a modicum of sense and I think I've got it.)

To that note yes yes a thousand yesses Porlyusica is getting backstory. I am so ready for it. Soooo so ready.

And yes!! The foreshadowing! That's what I've been saying! Edolas had a lot of opportunity to account for the fact that Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, and Rogue were from four hundred years ago and shouldn't exist in a modern parallel unless there were modern interferences but nahhhhh that was brushed to the side. Same with family, like with Zeref!

Speaking of family yeah no Mystogan got robbed. Luckily I love Mystogan a lot and I ain't gonna do him dirty. (Also this arc will be ample opportunity for Mystogan and Jellal getting to work together in fic and I'm also super hyped for that.) But yeah no self-sacrificial tendencies do run strong in FT but the theme is that somebody else stops them so I'm making sure this theme stays intact XD

Also I've hinted at this enough so I don't think it's much of a spoiler but yes we are going to fist-fight Ankhseram. She's lurking around Zeref but there shall come a day, a finale-shaped day, where we gonna fist-fight her. Because yes I have expressed that I wanted that in canon and I am a simple woman. I know the opportunities I have given myself >:)

[fairytail-whathesays]

Why do you hate Erza? Is it because she's oversexualized, or is there more to it?

I don't really interact with Fairy Tail anymore so this response is going to be a lot less impassioned than it would have been back in my heyday. In the end, I hate Erza because she's boring.

Fairy Tail being what it is, there isn't that much difference between a fireball and a sword, and Erza really just stands as Mashima's cornerstone writing habits all rolled into one: power of friendship over everything else, Fairy Tail always has it and other people don't, and no real effort put into justifying wins--and therefore the fights as a whole.

The romance with Jellal doesn't help. You go through my blog for two or three minutes and you'll understand that I've always been aggravated by Jellal's ceaseless (and detrimental) presence in the manga and how he's permitted to behave while whining about his sins, which never received the weight they deserved beyond absolving him of them. There's not really much to showcase an attraction or even a star-crossed lovers angle between him and Erza after a while, because all of the tragedy of their romance happened early in the manga and from around the GMG arc onward, there wasn't a real reason why they shouldn't be together if they wanted to so badly, especially since everyone who didn't like Jellal (Kagura and Milliana) were cast as in the wrong.

Like Fairy Tail as a whole, Erza's never permitted to make mistakes, lose, or really look bad at all, and since she (along with Natsu) gets by far the most attention and presence in Fairy Tail's struggles, she gets a large chunk of the aggravation with those issues.

Sexualization is just a cherry on top. Mashima is pretty much the Google Definition of "horny mangaka who can't write with two hands" and the very overwhelming level of sexuality (and how every situation seems to twist to include tiddies somehow) is present everywhere in the manga and with every female character--but it's Erza who is cast as a warrioress and a knight, so when it hits her it crosses with the western world's long-established exhaustion with men only seeming to enjoy 'strong' women if they also look highly fuckable--you know, the 'armor with tiddies' and 'butch action girl wearing heels' problems.

Fairy Tail is a very simple manga, basically.

[tokkias]

I love the way you write Natsu and Lucy! Especially when you do the more than friends less than lovers trope. You just get them and it’s always a joy to read your fics! Say, have you written anything about the Nalu day art by Mashima? The one where Lucy is wearing Natsu’s shirt and straddling him? If not, I’d love to read a smutty one shot by you :) Like, I imagine that Lucy got tired of waiting for Natsu to make a move so she just decides to have some fun and tease the heck out of him and turn him on to the point where he can’t take it anymore. But then Natsu catches on and teases her back so now it’s a battle of wills on who will cave first ;) Thank you for providing the Nalu community with your wonderful fics, I’m always looking forward to see what you come put with next!

waahh thank you! much appreciated :] i love that vibe so it's very fun for me to write.

as for nalu day art fic i wrote made you blush based on that art (you can read it on tumblr here if that's what you prefer) but it's just a cute sfw ficlet. my writing tag is a little messy because i have 50+ fics but pretty much everything i write gets posted to my ao3 and i'm pretty good at tagging so if there's something you're looking for you might find it there!

as for nalu day art smut i will write some at some point! i started one and promptly abandoned it because it was not coming to me at the time, but it will happen--soon hopefully!

anyway thank you smm ahhhhh. you're so sweet and i hope that you will continue to enjoy what i write :]

[fanstuffrantings]

I was wondering what your thoughts were on the battle of fairy tail arc and what if anything you would change. Personally I would have liked it if they Laxus had a better relationship with the thunder legion - or there had been some stuff before that showed they were close so his spiral over the arc into being kinda a dick to them too was more shocking. On a side note, I'm kinda sad they didn't include in the anime the scene where he overhears people bashing fairy tail in a pub and beats them up because I feel it speaks to his character more!

Anyway I've been really enjoying your headcannons and they've made all the arcs you've discussed better in my head lol

Thank you! My goal when thinking up rewrite ideas/alterations is always to enhance the story presented more than fully, outright change it to something else entirely.

I didn't read the manga prior to Grand magic games since I was anime only, but I probably should at some point because scenes like that would be interesting to see!

I fully agree with you on the "Laxus should've cared point". One point I always think about every arc is just how much Mashima doesn't trust his audience to hate villains without making them horrible, sadistic people. Now I don't need villains to be written as redeemable, I myself thoroughly enjoy writing heinous individuals who are cruel to their core with no regard for life outside of their own (and even sometimes no regard for that). But if you want to make a villain that the audience can accept as redeemable you either need to make them complex and sympathetic, or show us their hard earned redemption.

Now, for Laxus, I personally would've made it clear that he cares about Fairy Tail members. Not just the reputation of the guild. Though his ego and insults towards others would often have people believing that. Makarov and Erza would both be capable of seeing through this and understanding that every criticism he has towards his guildmates comes from a place of trying to help them get better to keep them safe. I'd hint at him having a history of being close to guildmates who die or leave due to permanent damage sustained on missions.

This underlying care would be the reason Makarov would believe him to be the one right to take over as master. Because in spite of his inflated self worth, he still cared for his family.

Phantomlord arc would've been his breaking point, I would remove the scene of him saying he'd only help if Lucy dated him (that was only added to make him hate worthy) and have it simply be that he can't be reached due to a mission with the thunder legion. A rift forming between him and Makarov for Makarov letting Gajeel into the guild with no explanation after the dude hospitalized team shadowgear and tormented Lucy would cause him to believe Makarov incapable of putting the safety of the guild above the redemption of enemies.

The battle of fairy tail would be his way of proving to various members that they aren't cut out to be mages because if they can't even take care of themselves in a controlled environment, how can they hope to do so out in the field. He'd have a desperation as well to show that he is the strongest person in the guild thus the only one capable of stepping up to the role of guild master (Him having divine magic in the au would also explain this solid belief, god given magic and all that.) Rather than getting angry when Evergreen, Bixlow, or Freed loses, there would be a resignation that they aren't meant to stay. A sadness to it because he'd have known them all for almost a decade at this point.

"Why would people get frozen in stone" rather than it being all the girls who competed, it would be every member he deemed too weak to compete safely. People who use primarily support magic or haven't been with the guild long enough to make a mark in his memory of what they're capable of. Erza would be post tower of heaven nerf at this point so she'd be far below her normal strength level.

Makarov nearly dying this arc rather than being a moment of elation, would simply reinforce his need to get things done. To prove his own strength and take the position he was destined for.

When Makarov sends him off to self reflect he would note "You can't know what will come of people. Dangers exist in the world whether you're part of a guild or not. People will do as they please and all you can hope is to prepare them for what comes."

I would also throw in a few flashback scenes during the arc, scenes of guild members interacting with Laxus and Laxus meeting/grouping up with the thunder legion. I'm personally partial to Makarov raising Erza post tower of heaven so I'd have loved if prior to this arc we got some Erza/Laxus sibling scenes.

Again: I don't need villains to be tragic always, I think gajeel being a horrible person that has to earn his place is something I like (wish it was better handled) but for characters like Laxus I think them being complex and sympathetic is crucial. Especially when we don't see them until they've completely changed.

[dontmatterblog]

Gray out right says that he doesn’t like her and rejects her.

Not to mention the fact that when Lyon is hitting on Juvia, he backs off after being fully rejected, and during the Edolas arc when Edolas!Gray continuously hits on the uninterested Edolas!Juvia, it’s seen as weird and creepy, and he isn’t even a fraction as bad as Earthland!Juvia is to Earthland!Gray.

Many shippers were ready to fight Lyon for having the audacity to like Juvia when she said no, even after he backs off. Because No means No, and he needs to respect her wishes, which he did.

What they need to learn is that No means No REGARDLESS of gender.

Gray. Said. No. And there is nothing shippers or Juvia can do to change that.

As I’ve said before it’s okay if you don’t like them but baby they can only do what Mashima writes. That’s my whole point. You go into spaces on twitter where you can mute them. It’s fine you don’t like them but since it bothers you so badly you might want to mute Juvia, NaLu, Gruvia, and anything else that bothers you.

Gray didn’t like Juvia at first and I can admit that but Mashima the writer has always stated that he loved them as a ship so it was obvious they would get together. I’m not trying to make you love them. Gray did say no in the beginning but Mashima have stated in interviews and questions at the end of chapters who he was obsessed with for Gray. AGAIN ITS OKAY IF YOU DONT LIKE JUVIA OR GRUVIA.

I’m sorry you have been in terrible situations where Juvia’s character remind you of real people but Juvia isn’t real. She can only do what Mashima writes nothing more nothing less. Mashima has also stated during one of his lives that Juvia might not be understood outside of Japan because she is a girl they call a girl in love. He said it’s very popular in Japan and the reason why fans love her. He also said that fans in the west might not get it and that’s okay. It’s okay if you don’t get Juvia’s character but Juvia didn’t manipulate, force, and do anything to Gray because she’s a character and the only way for her to do any of that stuff is for Mashima to write it.

I think the issue you are having is that you applying real life to it too much. It’s okay. They not real and can’t hurt you. You might want to leave the fandom and just enjoy your graylu pocket of the fandom with fanart and fanfic because it appears to me that it’s consuming you. AGAIN YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LIKE GRUVIA OR JUVIA. Just giving suggestions.

Gray said no in the beginning is correct and I agree with you on that but I’m an adult with my own little family only 28 and I don’t see the way you see it. I can’t change the way you see it no more than you can change the way I view the anime. I just don’t see none of what Juvia doing besides the stalking as anything bad. Yes she would denounce her love to Gray every chance she got and call other women love rival but those moments are suppose to be comedic relief. It’s also okay if you didn’t find them funny. I don’t find them funny either. I live in America and understand that Japan’s sense of humor is different from mine.

I’m praying you be alright at the end of the day. I just want you to see that Juvia is not a real person. You speak of her often as if she’s a living breathing human doing these things. I hate Mest but I don’t have to shout it to the rooftops and treat it like Mest is truly a person out here liking little girls. That’s my point. I agree with some of what you say especially about Gray telling her no in the beginning but Mashima didn’t take Gray’s as serious as you take them. If there’s anyone you gonna be upset with about how Juvia is it should be Mashima and not a character drawn on paper or digitally.

Also I know you don’t read 100YQ but Gray has declared his love for Juvia multiple times in the manga and Mashima has stated that he is growing Gray emotionally from the cold and closed off person he was in the original. Just fyi.

Again my post wasn’t to get you to like them but to realize you are mad at a character that is written by an author when it’s all the author doing.

Have a good day! Thank you.

[cheesydelphox]

I feel like so many of mashima's characters are filled with problems that stem from him as a person

As a few examples:

- Natsu and Lucy (as was mentioned in someone's previous ask)

- Adding to this, Cana's constant groping of Lucy (and other women) which someone mentioned comes from Mashima's fetish for lesbians (I can't remember who said it though, it might have been you?)

- another point about "queer" characters is how not only Freed's sexuality obviously being portrayed as a joke to how weird it is to be gay, but also Master Bob of blue Pegasus

- Nearly every romance plot

- this one is less about Mashima's personality and more about his writing but how nearly every character that's introduced gets powered down to a laughable level, or has stagnant progression despite the fact we've been told they're getting more powerful (with a few main-character exceptions of mainly Natsu and Lucy)

Don't get me wrong I love Fairy Tail and the characters but the way it's written just tired me sometimes tbh

Sorry for the long ask btw!

I do appreciate the ask, no worries! Yes, I agree with a lot of the problems you just presented. The biggest writing flaw (imo) is the romance thing. (also i wasn't the one who said mashima has a lesbian fetish... if that's true, ew.)

Mashima just isn't good at writing romantic relationships (in the context of fairy tail! this could be totally different in edens zero, i haven't read it) and I will stand by that opinion. The only good (CANON) one is elfman and evergreen in my opinion. They're unobtrusive, didn't take a painfully long time to get together, and their relationship doesn't negatively impact their characterization. (Yes, This includes gajevy. i love them but I have problems that you might be able to extrapolate from my comments on gruvia)

Liking fairy tail for me doesn't mean "shipping characters" or "being completely okay with 100% of the canon content." Far from it. some of my FAVORITE characters got destroyed by not the narrative, but a running joke. (*COUGH* MEST *COUGH*)

But I watched this REALLY good video today that has a really good argument in it about how society has forced people's enjoyment of works of fiction to only ever line up with their moral values. I don't agree with a lot of the morality of the "queer" representation. I don't like Natsu and Juvia being a bit creepy towards the people they like. And I really don't like the dishragification of characters like Mira or the thunder legion. But saying that I don't like fairy tail because of all that shit would be wrong of me, because that would be lying!

my opinion is this: if these "problematic" aspects bother you (not you specifically, anon. i am addressing the variety of people that might possibly read this post) enough that you don't want to watch/read fairy tail, that's fine! i understand and respect that. but it's also fine to enjoy it even if you acknowledge those things exist.

this is not opening up discussion about "pro" and "anti" by the way. i think those terms are stupid as hell and don't define how i interact with fandom spaces, especially when talking about shounen anime.

[charlierejouis]

Quick Notes: Chapter 1

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these. I did these all the time for Fairy Tail on my side blog. Now that Eden’s Zero is out, I thought I should bring it to my main blog. For those who wouldn’t know, I use this series to comment on/joke about the official version of this chapter available in a few places. Let’s go!

The main character is called Shiki, like Monster Hunter Orage. Otherwise known as, “The only Mashima work I haven’t read.”

“There are loads of things you’ll never know if you stay here all your life.“ Subtle foreshadowing is subtle. Anything else you want out of the way?

“Machines don’t have hearts.” Okay.

 My first thought seeing Rebecca’s ship is that it reminds me of the Epoch from Chrono Trigger.

Shock is the feeling you have when you learn that one of your main characters explores the universe as a “Youtuber”. Familiarity is the feeling you have when it’s a Mashima character who worries about sex appeal.

I promise not to make a ton of Fairy Tail comparisons, but I was looking back through Lucy and Brandish meeting that one time (you either know or you don’t) and she made her wear cat ears. Could Mashima have known?

Also, does Rebecca count as a furry or am I reading too much into this?

Blatant sexual harassment... in my Mashima manga? It’s more likely than you think.

Helpful hint: Before asking someone who you just met to be your friend, it’s best to apologize for any previous actions they deem inappropriate.

Honestly, I don’t know how Rebecca could have thought the robots wouldn’t know who Shiki is.

“Just like me when I was your age.“ You’re a robot.

“Why am I not supposed to look when she’s changing?“ ”Because she’s a girl.“ Let’s see how long that sticks.

Rebecca eating more than Shiki is a welcome change to the norm.

Shiki breaking the table was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a manga in a while. (Sorry MHA fans.)

Rebecca wants to cut Shiki’s hair without his permission? This relationship isn’t off to a healthy start. I guess you could say its... cancerous?

For the uninitiated, I feel like it’s important to take note of what gets focused on. On the one hand, showing that Rebecca is getting tied up matters. Seeing as much as we do makes me feel dirty.

Punishing one person over the things that tons of other people did to them in the past? That’s ridiculous. What kind of people would do something like that?

It’s interesting to see that Michael’s text font switches from one similar to the other robots to one similar to Rebecca and Shiki’s a few times. Does this mean anything or is this a mistake?

As a general rule, I read these chapters three times to do this. The first through, Shiki getting beaten up by the other robots was pretty impactful. Now, all I can think of is this. What’s wrong with me? 

And in seven pages, Rebecca and Shiki have a better foundation to form a romantic relationship than Nalu in chapter 1. In this essay, I will-

Oh hi, Happy. Guess you were asleep for most of the past few pages.

I should talk about the fight, but I can’t help but think about how Rebecca’s wearing different clothes than the ones she had on before putting on her dress. I mean, we couldn’t get a good look at her pajamas, but that’s weird.

“Ether Gear... A Power from the Dark Ages“ I’m calling shenanigans. I don’t remember this being in Rave Master. (I MEAN IN TONE!)

“You don’t even have the courage to leave this island!!!!!” I’m mad that he’s not even that far off.

“Kill the humans!!“ Oh, and Happy gets to live?

Every time I look at the Sakura Cosmos panels, I just feel so much good. We’ve seen Mashima handle fantasy in a few different ways. Now it’s time to see him handle space stories.

What many people might call a needlessly painful set of experiences, I like to call a Mashima backstory.

Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of Michael yet.

Shiki wanting to break the window is quite a fun moment.

And that’s chapter 1. Man, that took too long. All jokes aside, this was really fun to do again and it feels great to be reading another Mashima work as it comes out. Let’s see how long this lasts.

See you!

[natsubeatsrock]

No, Seriously. You CAN Like Nalu.

Dear Nalu Fandom,

This isn't for all of you.

It's just about enough of you.

I don't think I was clear enough the last time I did this. So, let's try this again.

PLEASE get over the fact that not everyone likes your ship. This is getting annoying.

Nalu is by far the most popular ship in this series. Nothing else comes close, even in the Big 4. I might argue that Gruvia was a bit more active at one point. But it goes without saying that the Nalu fandom is large. Most people who engage with this series at any level expect this ship to happen. This extends to people who don't like this series.

What more could you want? (Obviously outside of it being canon.)

No series has a completely unanimous fandom opinion on ships. Avatar is a series widely praised for its writing. And even it has people who don't like the endgame ships. There is no hope for any other series.

This isn't a matter of "Mashima meant this ship to be canon". (He didn't, by the way.) This is a matter of being secure about your ships.

If your ship is so amazing, leave the rest of us alone about it.

If you're so sure Mashima will make it canon, don't let me stop you.

If you genuinely believe Nali (along with the other Natsu/Lucy ships) to be dead, then nothing any of its fans say to defend it should bother you.

I cannot stress enough how little Nalu actually happening would affect what I do on this blog. I'll still hate the ship and will probably like its fans less. My analysis and stories do not hinge on the canon endings of the Natsu or Lucy ships. In fact, a couple stories might become more interesting if fans know it's different from the canon ending. This is especially true for my rewrite of the series.

"But what about the toxic fans?"

I'm not going to defend the actions of genuinely toxic fans. Some of the stuff I've seen is a mess and shouldn't happen. Though, some of the stuff I've seen people call toxic is ridiculous. I've seen people call posts saying bland, inoffensive stuff like "Nalu is lame" toxic.

But I'll grant you that point.

Your beef is with four people on this site. (Five if you really want to include me.) Of those people, one almost certainly doesn't have a blog on this site anymore. Another isn't even an active fan of the series.

Are you seriously going to let a handful of people ruin a series you enjoy?

Especially when everyone else who's so much as looked at this series agrees with you?

By the way, remember all those messages about how bad Nali fans were and how Lisanna is bad? I know for a fact that all those guys got those same messages. 

Every. 

Single.

One.

In Conclusion:

Nalu fans, get over yourselves and enjoy your ship. Not sure how much longer you'll have for that.

[nalu4emily]

How to write a kiss scene in a story challenge.

My volunteers: Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia (of course). 

Prompt- "we're more than just friends and you know it."

“Dammit! We’re more than just friends and you know it, Lucy!” He sounded desperate this time, no longer able to keep his feelings in.

Hitting her like an oncoming train, her chest felt tight as the air forced its way out of her lungs. Deep, heavy breaths drenched the sticky air between them, in what little space there seemed to be.

Was this it? Was this really about to happen?

She felt his fingers tighten on the back of her head, almost enough to hurt, make her gasp, but it didn’t. Her skin tingled like static, to feel his burning hot hand touch her in places it usually wouldn’t, and it was electrifying.  

He seemed so close, closer than he’d ever been, and yet, it still didn’t feel near enough. Natsu was right, she did want him, and as far more than a mere friend, she felt ready, even if her words said otherwise.

Her lips waited to accept what would be the pinnacle of their budding relationship, a turning point that they’d never return from. This would be a learning curve for the both of them, and she expected less than perfection for their first kiss. Yet, her heart still raced in anticipation, waiting for him to make the first move.

The tension between them was almost palpable, enough to make Lucy’s knees buckle as she felt her face be pulled towards his, placing her hands on his chest to steady herself.

Then they touched, skin on skin, lip on lip, the rush of adrenaline surging through her veins caused her fingers to tremble as they burrowed into his scarf. Her toes curled in her boots, the feeling of his warm, enticing mouth massaging her own in awkward, unsynchronised motions felt beyond perfection, beyond anything she’d ever imagined.

It still wasn’t clear in her fog filled mind whether she was dreaming this moment to life, for it wouldn’t have been the first time, but its intensity, with the aura of innocence surrounding them, as well as the scent of smoke and ash littering her nose, definitely made it feel real. His lips felt soft against hers, softer than she thought they’d be, attracting her like a magnet.

Those feelings of shame and embarrassment never entered her mind as her defences lifted with each suck of her mouth and every pull of his teeth, drawing her further and further in to this new bliss.

Used and swollen lips reluctantly parted, a slither of dribble the last to separate them. She couldn’t tell what this feeling was; love; lust? A deep seated feeling that’d troubled her from the back of her mind for far too long.

Panting, breathless, she finally opened her eyes to glance at the man that’d just blown her away, to pore over his rugged features in a new light that said she was far from finished with him.

Her hand brushed his cheek, and he leaned into it finding warmth and comfort, a sweet smile gracing his reddened mouth, “you see, Luce,” he started, chest heaving, “friends don’t do that kinda stuff.”

“No, I guess they don’t,” she sighed, moving closer once again, but this time to embrace his body with her arms encircling his lean chest, head leaning against his shoulder.

Cuddling her closer, he kissed the top of her head, elation filling his body, “you’re such a weirdo, sometimes.”

I hope you enjoyed! I was inspired by this pic by Mashima. ❤️

[itefi-n-ferlet]

This is my translation of Mashima's sensei YT video, were he created Jerza's son. Take into account that even if I have made my best, it can have mistakes. 🙇🏻‍♀️

You can watch it here:

Btw, he is using a blue + scarlet outfit 😭 And a Grand Chariot in his chlotes, bc he is also loved by the seven stars 💙💜❤

Translation:

Hi, this is Mashima.

This time, I'd like to talk about the characters Erza and Jellal, who appear in Fairy Tail.

If these two had a child, what would it look like?

I'd like to show you what they would look like if they had a child.

First of all, for those of you who haven't seen it before.

I'd like to give a brief introduction of the work and the characters.

Fairy Tail: This story is about the activities of various mages who gathered at the mages guild, Fairy Tail.

Erza Scarlet

The most powerful female mage belonging to the mage guild Fairy Tail.

She's a very strong mage, even stronger than the main character.

She is usually cool, but she likes cute things and has a little bit of a girlish side to her.

Her fighting style is to switch her armor at a moment's notice.

Jellal Fernandes

For those of you who haven't read it yet, this could be a spoiler.

This character has been through a lot.

Right now, he's in a relationship with this woman, Erza. They're attracted to each other. This two are a couple.

It's a very popular coupling and it's a very popular coupling abroad.

I've received comments asking me to draw their children.

I get a lot of requests on my Twitter feed.

I'm not the type to respond to requests -because- I get tons of requests every day, and I always want to write/draw about what I like.

I don't usually respond to requests, but... the idea of Erza and Jellal's child... I thought it might make a good subject for a video.

So I came up with this idea.

One thing to note is that just because the author drew it, it is not part of the official/canon setting.

This is for fun.

It is a self-parody.

I would appreciate it if you could remember that and enjoy it.

Now, let's get on with it.

First of all, I'm not sure whether to draw a boy or a girl.

My image is a boy.

For now.

Let's set the age at about 10 years old.

Let's do it as we draw!

First of all, let's choose the boy's hair color.

Erza has red hair and this Jellal has blue hair, so the child... I don't know... purple, maybe?

Purple, a bit simple, isn't it?

I'm not sure if it's that simple.

They (children) often take it from the colour of the hair on one of the parents.

If one parent has blonde hair and the other pink, the child's hair will be one or the other. (Nalu reference)

This time I'm thinking of mixing it up a bit.

Yes, I've done a rough draft.

I've changed the characterisation a bit.

I said earlier that she (Erza) was a cool character.

But as I was drawing...

I thought maybe an "honour student" character would be better. I made him a bit more like an honour student.

The reason for this is simply because... Fairy Tail is a work of art. I'm just imagining it, but there are a few characters that are children of other characters and I wanted to find a balance between them (balance of personalities).

It's a story that's incomprehensible to people who don't know it, but in my mind... I've taken the liberty of balancing things out a bit.

(TN: Mashima sensei had a mental image of how the next gen personalities will combine in a posible story, so that's why he made him like this, looking like an honour student)

I made it look like an honour student character.   

Yes! Shall I go and put the pen in?

Yes! Yes! Generally, the body looks like this! (T/N: Not sure about this sentence)   

Let's go on with the colouring.

And here it is!

This is what it looks now. I'll give him a name...

This is Justin.      

This is Erza and Jellal's child.

I'm sorry to keep telling you this, but this is a self-parody/ just for fun..

Yes, if you understand that, please enjoy it!!

It's done!

And this is.

Jellal and Erza's son.

I thought it would be interesting to use it in derivative works as well.

I drew it for fun, like a child's setting, and this is how he turned out to be...

I've done it before with other characters.

If it does, it may appear in a second novel (TN: book/manga/ maybe nextgen spin off)  in the future.

That's all for this episode.

Thank you for watching until the end.

Please subscribe to our channel.

See you later!

FIN

SUSCRIBE TO MASHIMA SENSEI OFFICIAL YOU TUBE CHANNEL! ❤💜💙