#makarov is an interesting character and at the end of the day— there’s more than one side to him.

[eenochian]

i loved ur post about how cod fans have been treating the characters!! i found it insane how they were having a moral panic over makarov (is the cod fandom like one of the few fandoms that does this? lol) but it needed to be said… people are drawn to cod characters for many reasons and i’m sure it’s not because of “morals”

Thank you!! I was very nervous posting that, since I know parts of this fandom can get pretty aggressive about other opinions. I wasn’t trying to target or insult anyone with my statement, but there’s very clear double standards with characters!

I actually just made another post about this topic (sounds like self-promo I’m so sorry) because, yeah, this fandom can’t seem to understand that art isn’t always about good morals. Being sensitive and mindful about what you produce and engage with is very important, and doing your part to not be influenced by the problematic content that you consume is very important. However, all media is problematic in some way, especially COD (y’know, the military propaganda series). People need to be able to engage with media like this because, if everything is morally “pure,” then we lose out on important discussions about real-world issues, safe spaces for troubled folks, and lessons on media literacy.

I’ve talked about this and thought about this a lot in the past couple days. Like, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in the past 48 hours stepping back and looking at myself and my behavior in this fandom. I always try to be mindful, sensitive, and very careful with what I produce. That being said, I’m far from perfect. I have an ongoing fanfic for Makarov on my writing blog. Valeria is one of my favorite characters. I’m indifferent on Graves, but will gladly admit that he’s a very compelling villain and an interesting character.

Acknowledging that these problematic things are problematic isn’t saying that you can’t engage with them. You absolutely should engage with stuff like this if you so wish. The important thing to remember if you do choose to produce content of these characters, however, is that there’s nothing romantic in what they do, and they are based off very real issues in our world. Explore the different sides of them, enjoy them, but do not romanticize them.

A very good mindset that I’ve taken to heart is this: these people may be horrible, but they are still people. Humans are not one-dimensional beings. Explore the other sides of them. Humanize, but do not romanticize.

Sorry for the rambling, but thank you again for the response! People need to be kinder to each other and more mindful of the content they engage with, but that doesn’t equate to complete media purity.

[sprout-fics]

Been having some thoughts

I think Makarov is an interesting villain. I would very much like to write him and explore him as a character. At the same time, I'm acutely aware of the circumstances regarding his motivations and fictional context that are mirrored by current world events like the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Makarov is an ultranationalist. In the previous games he nuked cities, massacred civilians, committed atrocities to achieve his goals. These things are inherent to his character, just as they are to Graves, who mirrors American troops committing war crimes against civilians in foreign operations, and Valeria, who represents the devastation of drug cartels.

However, that is not to say that these characters shouldn't be written for and explored. At the end of the day they are fictional characters, and this is fandom. I cannot stop anyone from writing whatever they want, I can only make them aware of the real world background of these characters, and ensure there is a distinction to be made from their fictional contexts to reality. Yes, I write for Graves and Valeria. Does that mean I support US sponsored war crimes? Or drug cartels? Of course not. In the same way that I write for Price, who is not above using women and children as coercive interrogation tactics, and refuse to respect his methods. All of the characters in CoD are complicit in violence, some more than others, and I think it's really important to remember that these games are in fact war propaganda.

Writing for these characters is absolutely acceptable, because they are fictional. However, being sensitive to how their contexts mirror real life, and not romanticizing their motivations or acts, is also key in exploring them. People will disagree with how you do this, and they have the right to their own opinions and interpretations. Providing your works with tags and filters allows them to avoid the content they don't want to see, and allows you to do the same. There are things I don't want to see for Makarov, just as there are things I don't want to see for Graves, Valeria, Price, or other characters. I know some people don't want to see things I write, and they are free not to read them. All I can do is remain respectful of the way I approach things, and remember that these games are based off real world events that have caused violence, because it is war propaganda. I'm here for the fictional setting because I think it is interesting purely within a fictional context, and writing for that does not mean I support those real world settings.

In short: write and let write, be aware and respectful of real world connotations, and provide ways for people to avoid your work is they don't want to see it.

[phoenix-before-the-flame]

Hey phoenix how have you been this is scar anon if you still remember me! Anyways I just have your laxus fanart rotating in my brain again and I am having so many thoughts like,,,I wonder how he got that scar yknow it's such a prominent part of his character but as far as I can recall (which is admittedly not very much considering I haven't watched or read ft in a hot minute) mashima never explained where he got it? God I wish there was an angsty backstory to his scar (or honestly more laxus backstory in general) but if we're being honest he probably just ran headfirst into a pole or smth.

Anyways sorry for my ramblings this was a poorly disguised request for some laxus headcanons if you have the time! (Can you tell he's my blorbo? That fanart you did genuinely restructured something in my brain and I still can't stop thinking about it to this day) Aight that's it from me have a good day! 👍🏼

Finally i can get around to answering this lol

With regards to Laxus' iconic eye scar I don't really think there was any deep reasoning or logic behind it on Mashima's end (from a character design stand point at least) other than having it be a visual tell that yup, this guy's got lightning powers so he's got a lightning shaped scar to let the audience have a clue about that. It's a similar thing with like, giving your fire characters flame printed clothing, or your evil characters red eyes or your yugioh character crazy hair to let the audience know that this is the protag.

It's more of an element to add some interest to his design and key readers into his magic before the big reveal than something i think was definitely added to tie into any backstory related thing.

And if it is connected to anything backstory related that was revealed later down the line a la 100yr quest i dont care because i dont care about anything to do with the sequel lol.

That being said, i've had this old ass concept regarding Laxus' scar that i've always meant to get around to and you've given me the perfect opportunity to talk about it.

So like, in my head and my tweaked version, Laxus' scarring is instead of a random cool looking lighting scar it's literally lightning scars.

Like scars you get from being struck by lightning. Lichtenberg figures.

(Took off his tattoo and guild mark for the sake of clarity)

Enter Phoenix- verse Laxus lol

Reasoning for this is because I've always figured that the operation that dropped that lacrima in him was a botched one. A sorta test run of making a 2nd gen slayer to work out the kinks down the line for better and smoother operations.

So that being said, in the initial months after the operation the lacrima did not adjust smoothly to being in Laxus' body and adapting to work with his natural ethernano so the lacrima would often times send out shocks through his body during that time as the dragon lacrima's and his ethernano particles would slowly sync up and work in unison

Hence resulting in the all over lichtenberg scarring starting from his chest (i always hc the lacrima's somewhere in the chest near the heart or so) and going through the head, arm and leg as exit points for the electricity when he used to get those shocks.

And the scarring would sorta wrap around his head too! If you shaved his head (sorry King) you would see that it would stretch across the scalp as well.

This whole thing also left his right eye slighter weaker than the other (not enough for him to be completely blind in it but it goes kinda fuzzy sometimes).

The whole full body scarring never really raised much questions though, a lot of people who see it just assume that it was a really bad magic accident (I hc that some elemental magics are more volatile and trickier to master due to the danger they could pose to the user so stuff like lighting and poison for eg are less commonly used than say water or air related magics). But those who know, know (Hello Makarov and Thunder Legion).

So uh, yeah. My headcanon and slight redesign regarding Laxus' scarring lol. Probs a lot more extra than you were bargaining for but i wanted to be able to visualize my idea properly 😅

Also bonus the scarring glows when he uses his magic :]

[redadm1ral-moved]

Me when I see the next Mix-It Up Monday question is about crossovers-

I have an entire AU centered around what I think would happen if a COD character was inserted into a different game (well, a few COD characters, to be more accurate), with part one of my planned five part series currently in progress!

I'll drop a link for anyone interested at the end of the post, but without further ado, allow me to be briefly insufferable about Call of Honor! :D

Call of Honor is an AU where a few COD characters (namely Soap, Makarov, Yuri, and perhaps a few OCs) wake up after their deaths in the Dishonored universe, in the middle of the Plague Crisis (so, right in the middle of the events of Dishonored 1). Soap, Makarov, and Yuri all have their own individual arcs and pathways through this fucked up new world, but since the OP asked about one Call of Duty character specifically, and the currently planned series primarily follows Soap's journey, I'll focus on Soap for this post.

(The rest of this post is going under a cut to save y'all's dashboards! CW for mentions/brief discussions of racism and xenophobia.)

Soap's thrown right into the deep end: after dying in Prague, he wakes up in the abandoned Old Port District (quarantined and evacuated because of plague), and stumbles across the Loyalist Conspiracy, who take him in as part-refugee, part-prisoner. Which could be good or bad luck, depending on the way you slice it. They feed him, at least, and he's free to wander their headquarters, the Hound Pits Pub, as he pleases. So it's not as bad as it could be.

Right away he needs to adjust to differing technology, both old and new; for example, everyone uses chamber pots and only the rich have access to plumbing beyond just sinks, but Soap also must learn to navigate the new hazards that are walls of light and arc pylons. And this isn't even getting into the weaponry! Gone are the guns he's used to; he adjusts pistols more similar to flintlocks than anything else, and learning his way around a sword is essential for survival. The culture is also different—the culture and societal norms of 1837 Dunwall are much more similar to Victorian England than the modern day, though obviously not exact.

He must adapt to new geography and politics, and new expectations for him in Dishonored's world. To the people of Dishonored, he'd be considered Morleyan, which puts him at a disadvantage in Dunwall; xenophobia is woven into the fabric of the Empire, and the Morley Insurrection is still in living memory, meaning he's more likely to face discrimination and violence and less likely to receive recourse. My Soap is also mixed race and visibly Black, meaning he would also be navigating Dunwallian society as a "colored" man—and Dunwall is not kind to colored men or Morleyans, as he very quickly finds out.

Dunwall is also in the midst of what will be known as the Plague Crisis, which starts in 1835 and ends with the development and distribution of a cure in 1838 (canonically). The Rat Plague (a fictional disease based heavily off the real-world bubonic plague) is introduced to Dunwall's slums and spreads wildly, killing half of Dunwall's population by the end of the crisis. This, understandably, freaks Soap out; there is no cure, no known treatment, and though he's had vaccinations for just about anything one could think of back home, his immune system is not accustomed to the diseases native to the Isles or to Pandyssia, so he's even less equipped to fight the plague than his hosts. Death by plague is a horrible, slow way to go as well; failure to keep himself safe could result into him becoming a weeper, and the idea of such a fate would keep him up at night.

And if all of this weren't enough, Dunwall is also in the middle of a power crisis; the last Empress was assassinated and her daughter, the only known heir, was kidnapped at the same time. When Soap arrives, a Lord Regent and his entourage are running the city into the ground—and the conspiracy who took Soap in are the ones aiming to remove the Lord Regent, find the lost heir, and install her on the throne.

It's hard. One of these various issues would be difficult enough, but on top of adjusting to a new nation/empire and culture, bearing the weight of a different flavor of otherwise painfully familiar racism and xenophobia, and navigating a deadly epidemic with a tyrannical government in the center of it all, Soap has to grapple with his own death. He's dead, with everything that implies, and the chances of him reversing this cosmic error and going home are slim to none (spoilers: it's none). He grieves for himself, the future he lost, and the lives he left behind—he lives he fears he failed, because he died without ever killing Makarov or seeing the end of World War 3. And that's a fucked up thought to have, that he's a casualty of a third world war.

And being dragged into the middle of a conspiracy he had no idea existed does not do much for his mental state, either. Everyone has an ulterior motive, something they want above anything else, and Soap is in a uniquely vulnerable position that rivals even Corvo's. He's a complete nobody, someone who can be used and discarded without ever being missed. And he's not as important as everyone else, too, meaning that if something goes wrong and he's to blame, the Loyalists will have no qualms about disposing of him. Suffice to say, paranoia is ever-present.

But Soap isn't completely alone. He has relationships with his new hosts—some positive, some negative. Corvo takes Soap under his wing and refuses to give up on him, and Lydia and Samuel treat him with respect and kindness (if a little fear, in the beginning). Even Cecelia eventually warms up to him, and even Wallace may come to respect him in the end. He and Martin connect over their similar identities (Soap being Scottish, Martin being Morleyan and, more specifically, the in-universe equivalent of Irish), and though his relationships with Pendleton and Havelock are fairly awkward, there is still some mutual interest. (But all things come to an end...eventually.)

Anyway this post is becoming HUGE, so here is where I'll cut it off for now. I don't have a lot of stuff in my Call of Honor tag currently (I don't think so, at least), but if you wanna hear more about this AU or have any questions, my inbox is open! :D

Like I mentioned in the beginning of the post, I'm also working on a fic series following the events of this AU! The first fic, The Plagued Capital, is currently in progress, and there are four other parts currently being planned. TPC will focus entirely on the events of Dishonored 1, from Soap appearing in the Old Port to the resolution after Kingsparrow.

The Plagued Capital can be read on AO3 and FFN. I recommend the AO3 version honestly, the FFN version is just there for mirroring purposes. I haven't updated the fic in a few months (and no set in stone ETA, sorry), but I do plan on updating when I have the time.

I'm also planning a Makarov-centric spinoff that follows his perspective through the entire series, from The Plagued Capital to the final part of COH, The Unquiet Grave (which takes place in 1852 and follows/mirrors the events of Dishonored 2). There's no fic up for it yet; I plan to start writing it once I've gotten through with at least some of the main series.

One of my partners, @solnishka1927, is also working on a companion series called Call of Absolution, which focuses on Yuri's perspective in the same AU and timeline. Currently they're waiting on me to work more on The Plagued Capital to edit and update their work, since Yuri and Soap's storylines run pretty closely together and cross over at times, but the first few chapters are available on AO3 if you'd like to take a gander at what they've got so far! (Be sure to leave a kudos and/or a comment if you do! :D)

I also have a tag for this AU, which I've tagged this post with for organizational purposes and ease of navigation. Feel free to peruse it, though I...honestly can't remember how much I've posted in it, oops.

Thank you @onlycodcanjudgeme for giving me the perfect excuse to ramble about my favorite AU, my baby, my fucking cinnamon apple, and to anyone who read this entire post through, you're a real one.

[fairiesherefairiesthere]

Of gods, demons and the longevity of true love.

My entry for the last day of fraxusweek hosted by @fuckyeahfraxus !!!

Prompt: Tarot/Legends and Mythology

"What are those things still doing around here?" Laxus asks brazenly, watching a few demons scurry away with disdain clear in his eyes. His grandfather, ever the spineless pacifist twacks his kneecaps with his walking stick before answering. "You young insolent fool. They are an integral part of our society."

Before the old man can continue his explanation, Laxus scoffs. "Are they though?" he asks, not willing to hear a possible answer. "I fought with that lightning demon earlier and his power is laughable. I could've killed him and taken over his domain and the world would've kept on turning. They're evil beings without a purpose, you should've just got rid of them a long time ago."

Rest of the fic under the cut!

"Laxus." His grandfather's voice has taken on that specific kind of tone that suggests that he's more than displeased at his opinion, but Laxus can't bring himself to care. In a world of gods, demons and humans, are the demons really needed? Didn't his grandfather wage a war on them because they kept corrupting humans? His grandfather is a contradicting fool, really.

"What. All they're good for is corruption, right? We can live without that."

"Is that truly what you think?" his grandfather asks and Laxus snorts in response. "Have you raised me to think otherwise?" When he gets no immediate answer, he rolls his eyes and turns to leave. "Laxus wait", his grandfathers gently orders him and gestures for him to sit down next to him. He doesn't do that, unwilling to give the old man that much, but he does halt his stride and turn around.

"I used to think like that", his grandfather confesses as though it's a surprise, as though that sentiment isn't alive and thriving. "But I changed my mind after I experienced their so-called corruption myself. It's not what you think it is and I implore you to do the same thing before saying such callous things." He pauses as though the silence would fortify his statement. "You're full of shit", Laxus answers pointedly, having heard enough. He doesn't bid his grandfather goodbye as he leaves. That day, it storms and lightning wreaks havoc upon the unsuspecting townspeople.

The next day, he has the pleasure to explain the reasons behind his little lightning spectacle to the goddess of script, words, letters, alphabets yada yada, he isn't that interested. He also doesn't get why she's so insistent on writing everything down, keeping logs of all godly activity. It's annoying. She keeps blabbering about immortalising the gods through words, but doesn't their innate immortality defy that? Interrupting her spiel about the importance of script, he asks her a question that's been weighing on his mind.

"Tiny," ignoring the indignant squeak escaping her he continues, "You're smart right? What's your opinion on demons?" Immediately, the shift in the mood becomes palpable. With a nervous chuckle, she tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ears. "Well...", she starts and coughs akwardly. "That's quite the loaded question, isn't it?"

He gets her unease. The war between demons and gods had started eons ago and had only come to a sudden stop recently. Outwardly, the gods all seemed to have become all fine and dandy with demons being allowed to interact with them and humans, but they both know the that isn't the truth. The message of 'demons are totes a-okay!' is so recent and none of them truly believe it. But not a single person can go against Makarov's wishes, so they take part in the façade.

Seeing her discomfort, he inwardly sighs. Although he won't deny that he's an asshole, it takes a whole different kind of asshole to force an answer out of petite Levy who looks like she could be snapped in half by him. Furthermore, she'd have to put this conversation in her records and probably have another moral breakdown. "Never mind it squirt, you keep doing your thing", he says and ruffles her hair while she bravely tries to fend him off. She still ends up with a bird's nest though.

Realising that no one's going to share their opinions of the other camp, he decides to take the easy way out. Instead, he decides to march straight into the other camp. If you want to know something, the best way is to get it directly from the source, right?

Apparently, it isn't. Little demon children (it's disturbing how innocence and something vile can coexist like that) quickly hide behind their mother's skirt as he walks between them. Conversations fall silent and only slowly pick up again when they think he's out of earshot. He's always taken pride in his grand stature, but right now it feels horribly out of place and he wonders if there's anything he can do to make himself look smaller, to not frighten these people as much.

The obvious discomfort his presence brings isn't worth it to him. Sure, he could keep forcing himself into their space, but he'd garner no positive results. He's quite sure he wouldn't even garner any results at all, since no one wanted to approach him. Realising this, he turns around to go back to the palace.

His grandfather finds him sitting on the edge of an open window, mulling over his thoughts and wondering how to change his approach. Those things seemed to be scared, something that doesn't add up in Laxus' head. Were they not the ones who turned humans against gods? Were they not the enemy? Were they shoving the most innocent of them to the forefront so that, upon entering their domain, outsiders would see them as guiltless beings?

"If you keep that, you'll damage whatever brains you have left", his grandfather teases him as he comes to stand next to Laxus. Rolling his eyes, he merely grunts at his grandfather in return. "What's got you thinking so hard my boy?" he asks and for a moment, Laxus closes his eyes and lets the warmth of his grandfather's voice trickle over him. For the briefest of moments, it's nice to pretend he's still a newly made god who thinks he knows how everything works.

"I went to visit those things-"

"At least call them people", his grandfather interrupts him and with a sigh, Laxus does so and continues. "I visited them", he says, eyes full of challenge, but his grandfather merely nods encouragingly. "I still can't see why you keep them around. They're more trouble than they're worth."

"I figured that you'd say that, so I arranged for a very special meeting. Do you want to meet the demon that changed my mind and made me spare their whole kind in the midst of a battle?" Because it seems like the only option left to satisfy his curiosity, Laxus agrees. While they walk through the castle in search of him, his grandfather explains who the demon in question is. Apparently, he could be seen as Levy's demon counterpart when comparing the domains they rule over. Laxus wonders what kind of words the demon must've pulled out of his ass to convince his grandfather to not kill them all.

After listening to his grandfather's long and winded character introduction, Laxus had expected a meeting with an old, gray man who constantly spouted unwanted advice like a fountain of fortune cookies. A single look at the young man before him proves him completely wrong.

He's definitely not old, in fact, his youthful face seems to suggest that he's younger than Laxus himself. There's a hint of muted curiosity there, suppressed childlike wonder that Laxus himself feels too. Because Laxus is focusing on the other man's looks that much, he quickly comes to the realisation that the man in front of him is devastatingly handsome. As soon as the realisation hits him, he colours a bright red and redirects his gaze to the very interesting tips of his shoes.

A deep chuckle makes his gaze snap back to the other man who gives him an amused halfsmirk. It's terribly attractive. Clearing his throat, his grandfather gestures to the man. "Laxus, meet the demon who rules over the scripts, speaks all tongues-"

"Freed", the man interrupts and offers Laxus his hand. Awkwardly Laxus accepts it while his grandfather frowns. "What are you freed from?" Laxus asks and immediately, his grandfather groans. The gorgeous man in front of him simply laughs, pretty lights dancing in his visible eye. "Freed is my name", he clarifies and Laxus wishes he was the god of being able to be swallowed by floors.

"What brings you here?", he asks Laxus. Not wanting to be ignored, his grandfather steps in. "Laxus wanted to know what demons were worth and I believe you would be the perfect person to show him that."

With a cool smile, Freed turns to his grandfather. "Well then Makarov, you thought wrong. Good day, gentlemen." Then he turns on his heel and departs, leaving both of them stunned. After a while, Makarov coughs. "I'm sure you're smart to figure it out yourself", he encourages Laxus before swiftly taking his exit as well.

Pissed off, Laxus spends the rest of the day making up less than savoury nicknames for Freed. Annoyed that the list of quite creative insults isn't helping him reach his goal any faster, he decides that he can't let this chance escape. Determined to know why demons are still allowed to exist, he hunts the man down. Laxus Dreyar is many things, but a quitter isn't one of them.

Maybe asking "Why are you still allowed to live?" isn't the most polite of questions to start with. Maybe, one shouldn't ever utter those words at all. But Laxus has a mouth that runs quicker than his brain and so, he has wedged himself between a rock and a hard place.

"Why not?" Freed shoots back, not unfriendly per se but there's an edge in his voice, ready to cut at any moment. "Tell me, why must I die?"

It's a question so direct that Laxus fumbles before answering. "You lot are corrupting humans, giving them things they aren't supposed to have. You're crossing boundaries you aren't supposed to cross." It's an adequate enough answer, it's something he's been told all his life.

"Who set those boundaries then?" Freed asks before shaking his head with a little laugh. "And giving humans things? Oh no, we're tricksters my dear, we don't give anyone anything. Surely we might inspire, but we do not give. Every choice one of those little ones down below makes, is one of their own. Don't underestimate the human will. Now please excuse me, I'm done talking for today."

"Wait", Laxus says and grabs the other man's arm, intending to halt his stride. With a brusque movement Freed breaks free and when Laxus catches a glimpse of his eyes, he thinks he's come a lot of steps closer to knowing what the flaming pits of hell look like. That fiery expression is quickly schooled back into careful neutrality as Freed opens his mouth to fire off a snappy remark.

"You're a funny lot, you gods. It's your way or none at all, isn't it? Why? Your hubris knows no bounds." After that, the man's gone before Laxus can ask him to stay.

The following day, Laxus seeks him out again and finds Freed sitting on the edge of an ornate fountain, bared feet dipping into the water as gods stand by and whisper from a distance. "Can I talk to you?" he politely asks and is met with an uncompromising "No".

"I just wanted to apologize", he mumbles and Freed gives him a flat look before disappearing again. Wondering what he did wrong, he spends the rest of his day at the fountain, feet splashing in the water as though he was still a child.

The next day, he once again seeks out Freed, asking if it were an appropriate moment to talk and once more, Freed tells him no. This time Laxus gives him a steady nod before leaving himself. Forcing the other man to talk to him would never work and honestly, Laxus doesn't want to force a relationship with anyone. Should Freed ever want to talk to him, he'd have no problem finding him.

For a few days he doesn't even see Freed until one day, the man pops up on his windowsill, perching on there like a cat basking in the sun. He's gorgeous, Laxus realises once more, with his hair losely draped over a shoulder and dark wings and horns reflecting the sunlight with a gentle shimmer. He's alluring, pulchritudinous. Laxus frowns. That last one is definitely not a word that was in his vocabulary before.

"Am I inspiring you yet?" Freed asks with a wicked grin, sinfully stretching himself on the windowsill. "Are my devilish charms working?" he adds and Laxus nods, a bit stupefied. "Now, you've been meaning to ask me something, right? You want to know why my species and I are allowed to live, why your grandfather decided to spare me on the battlefield."

Another nod. "My grandfather said he decided to spare you after he witnessed your 'corruption' himself. I want to know what words you said, you demon of words, letters, -"

"I said nothing at all", Freed interrupts him softly. "I didn't say a thing as he held me against the ground, knife in one hand with the other one on my throat. I merely cried because I was scared, I wholeheartedly believed I was going to die. My tears hit his hand and in that moment, the god who created all gods looked human."

Sensing the disbelief in Laxus, Freed only shrugs. "I think it's the first time he saw emotions that he hadn't created. You lot were made by him, every god carved to perfection by his hand. Every tear you've shed, every laugh you've laughed, they were implanted in you by him. We demons tempt you to let go of that prefabricated self, to explore your own self. Becoming your own person separated from Makarov's making comes at the price of immortality and thus, humans were born. Gods who were such no more."

With a whistful sigh, Freed shakes his head. "But parents get mad once you escape their tutelage and to protect their children, they will eliminate that which forms a threat to their children. And so the war began and for every child lost, a new one was made on your side. We demons have no almighty creator, we are born from stray magic of mother nature herself. We happen to be. So during one of those battles, I happened to be there and I think the confrontation with genuine emotion made him realise that he was not destroying something of his own making that he could simply rebuild. Just like humans, when we do die, we return to the earth."

It's a bit of a heavy pill to swallow. With an uncomfortable laugh, Laxus rubs the back of his head. "Guess you're not too big of a fan of my grandpa then?" Freed gives him a chuckle in return.

"Definitely no. And also, a bit yes. I just think he's been lonely for a long time and thus, has become very protective over his company. I think he's making strides in the right direction, but he's not unifying anyone. He still expects you all to just follow his wishes, well-intended as they are. But you all have come in contact with us, haven't you? You're not completely his anymore, so you are unable to blindly follow. He should educate you instead of ordering you, but that's just my two cents."

"I'm starting to get it", Laxus carefully says as he mulls over Freed's explanation. "You're allowed to live because nature made you with specific purposes outside my grandfather's realm of ruling. Freed laughs at his scrunched up pensive face and boops his nose.

"We're not even at my true point yet dear. Here's my gripe, my core issue if you want: must have something have a purpose or reason to exist at all? I have already mentioned it, but we demons happen to be and so are humans in a certain way. There's no reason or purpose behind our existance, we are not fabricated with definite goal. You gods were and I think that defines a lot of your thinking. But at our core, isn't simply being enough? Doesn't being give you more freedom to do something, anything than a prefabricated destiny? One should not have a purpose to be allowed to live, but finding purposes in life is what makes it worth living. But even that you, who are immortal, can not grasp. It's a bit pitiful isn't it, a god's existance?" With that and a kiss on the cheek, Freed leaves him to stew in his thoughts.

Once he's talked more about it with Freed over the span over a longer time, the clearer the division becomes between gods, demons and humans. Seeing the obvious divide, Laxus turns to his grandfather with his thoughts and ideas for a unification. Obviously, the old man has difficulties with being confronted by his own mistakes like that, but at least he attempts to do better.

The progress is slow and every once in a while there's a major setback that throws a wrench in the relationship between the demons and the gods. But steadily, over eons, the undercurrent of vicious hatred disappears and it's at that moment that a different union happens. Laxus can't think of a life without this clever, misschievous man at his side and the affections are returned. Their marriage is something that brings the relation between demons and gods to a higher level, evens the playing ground even more.

Whether their opnions be good or not, every god has one on the union. "It really strenghtens their critical thinking, doesn't it?" Freed jokes as he reads one of the letters totally decimating him. "They're absolutely nae nae'ing me."

They exchange a few meaningful glances and Freed breaks the silence first with a sigh. "Every day we stray further from Makarov's light. Everyone has something to say nowadays." He gives Laxus a thoughtful look. "You know what this means, right?"

"Our immortality fades. We become humans."

Freed gives him a hum, confirming his speculations. "Gramps will become lonely again then", Laxus realises and with a heavy heart, he knows he doesn't want that to happen.

"I don't think he'll be around for that long", Freed confesses and presses a kiss to the corner of Laxus' lips to ease the lines of worry there. "Fear not for him my love, he is old and his children have grown up. He has found a purpose that brought him joy and now that purpose has reached it's peak. His life is a fulfilled one, prepare to let him go."

And let go of him they do, eventually. It leaves the gods without power, devoid of immortality but with a new sense of peace. "A parting gift", Freed whispers and Laxus draws his husband into the tightest of hugs. "Should I give you one too, when I eventually die?"

Freed shakes his head. "My dearest love, there's nowhere you can go where I won't follow. You've been feeling it too, haven't you? We're entering a new time, where a divide won't be there anymore. We will simply be humans, all of us."

When the time to fade comes, they know and are ready for it. Everyone's been feeling it, but there's a peace that shields them all  from true fear. There's an intimate knowledge that this is one of the changes that simply is, that simply happens.

Freed and Laxus are sitting hand in hand, with their feet idly splashing into the fountain as unworried children would do. "When we meet again, because there are no ifs about it, will you greet me as a friend?" Freed softly asks as his eyes close themselves and Laxus whispers back: "My love, I'd greet you as a lover."

Bonus:

University lectures aren't always the most interesting, but this one is certainly turning out to be. A guy a few rows before him looks about ready to fistfight the professor about nihilism of all things. He can't properly hear them, but clearly the confrontation is over and the guy whirls away from the prof, heading straight for the door. Laxus decides to follow him.

"Why were you defending a belief that says human life is useless and meaningless? I think we all have a defined purpose", Laxus says, daring the other man the answer.

And answer, he does, with eyes blazing like the gates of hell. "Life is inherently meaningless", he says with certainty, "But that's because it's filled with the opportunity to create your own meaning. You may be waiting for divine intervention, but I'll create my own destiny."

Laxus smiles then, the familiarity and the warmth returning to his soul. "Then I'll do too", he says, "You've always inspired me, my love."

Whether they be human or something else, their kisses keep tasting the same.

[impracticaldemon]

The Price of Fame

Fairy Tail fanfiction by impracticaldemon for Gray Day (September 1, 2020)

Author’s Note: I wanted to write something fun for Gray Day 2020, since Gray is my favourite Fairy Tail guy, and he needs more appreciation. This short fic takes place “some time” after the GMG, after the guild is back in Magnolia. Just go with it... One disclaimer: the image is kind of relevant, but mostly I just think it’s cool XD ~ Imp

The Price of Fame

Gray let his companion’s chatter wash over him, keeping his impatience in check and—hopefully—hidden.  The bar was dim, even on a sunny afternoon in late summer, and mercifully cool.  It was a traditional kind of place, with well-worn plank floorboards, and lots of scuffed dark wood and tarnished brass.  Gray liked it here, and could only hope that the man sitting beside him was telling the truth about only being in town for a short time.  He’d hate to have to start avoiding the place.

“So, now that your guild is famous—and you’re famous!—do you have any plans to, you know, do something with it?”

“Do something?”  Gray forced himself to focus.  Idle conversation with an old acquaintance wasn’t his thing.  He’d agreed to share a drink or two for politeness’ sake—Erza had been nearby when the man had come up to him—but he hadn’t been enthused about it, and he was regretting the decision.

“Well, yeah!  You know, get into the advertising game, make some money off it while people still know who you are!”

“…People know who I am.”  That sounded self-important, so Gray added, “I mean, those who need to know, know.”

His companion took a large swig of foamy beer, coughed, and shook his head.  “See, that’s a mistake right there, Gray!  That’s how come you’ll always be second best to that Natsu guy!”

Gray finished his beer—without choking on it—and leaned forward a little.  The temperature in the immediate area dropped a couple of degrees.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Well, I mean, look… I’m not trying to say you’re actually second best”—the man’s tone wasn’t convincing—“I’m just saying that Dragneel’s more showy, you know?  He knows how to get attention and keep it.  I’ll bet he’s a huge draw for promoting stuff.”

Gray forced himself to shrug.  It had taken time, effort, and a ton of practice, but he did better these days about not deep-freezing people who compared him negatively to Natsu.  …But it was annoying how many opportunities he’d had to practice his self-restraint.

“You’re right, Boritt—”

“Biritt.”

“—Yeah, Biritt. Anyway, you’re right that Natsu draws a lot of attention.  Not always good attention, though.” More like Magic Council Mad at Fairy Tail Again attention. Or Yet Another Town Bans Fairy Tail’s Team Natsu attention.

“Ehn, you know what they say about ‘any publicity is good publicity.’ The point is, the Grand Magic Games are still news, which mean that you are news.  Time for the spotlight and a good sponsorship deal, right?  I mean, come on, stop trying to be modest—”

Uh-huh, thought Gray, draining half the new beer the barkeep had just dropped off.  What’s your angle Biritt? We barely knew each other four years ago, let alone now.

Biritt sensed that he’d lost his audience somehow, and turned up the brightness on his smile.  He tried to punch Gray playfully on the shoulder, but Gray leaned forward at the last moment, and he didn’t connect.  Both men pretended that nothing had happened.

“So…” Biritt wasn’t giving up. “How about letting me help you make it big?  I’d hate to see you, you know, get overlooked.  I’ve been in the biz for a couple of years, and I’m sure I could hook you up with a couple of juicy contracts!  You should—”

“Oy—Popsicle Breath!”  A pink-haired man stood in the doorway, squinting into the gloom.

“Got a problem, Flamebrain?”  Gray could feel his quiet afternoon slipping away, but he was glad for the interruption.

“Yeah, I want to try out a coupla new moves, but Erza’s busy, and Laxus isn’t around, and Lucy says she’s busy washing her hair—again—and Happy went out somewhere, and Mira kinda banned me from the hall this morning, and Gramps said—oh hey, you know this guy too? Boritt, right?”

“It’s actually Biritt, Mr. Dragneel!  Like ‘beer!’”

“And ‘it’,” Gray added helpfully, his expression bland.

“Sure, yeah, okay.” Natsu smiled breezily.  Most people would have assumed he was unaware of Gray’s understated snark, but Gray suspected otherwise.

“So—sparring!” Biritt hopped off his barstool and advanced on Natsu, his expression covetous.  “I mean wow! A chance to see the kingdom’s top dragon slayer in action! Hope you don’t mind if I write up a little something for my travel blog?  My readers will be thrilled!  And I have a pretty big readership, Mr. Dragneel—trust me, you’d get only the best exposure.  Better yet, you might want to consider that agency agreement I mentioned earlier!”

“Uh, yeah…  I mean—I don’t think I—”

Gray was surprised.  It was unlike Natsu to sound so indecisive.  He might ignore something outright, or respond with something outrageous, but hesitation wasn’t his style.  Gray frowned internally.  It struck him again, more forcibly, that agreeing to drinks at his favourite bar with a bare acquaintance had been an odd thing for him to do.  Natsu wasn’t the only one out of character.

“Another drink, sir?”  Gray turned to the barkeep, and saw the twitchy look establishment owners got when their sixth sense told them that something was going on with a member of Fairy Tail.  He couldn’t blame them.

“No, I’m good.”  Gray paid for both sets of drinks and headed for the door.

“Whoa—Gray!”  That was Natsu, but he could also hear Biritt calling out to him in confusion.

As soon as all three of them were outside, Gray turned to Biritt.

“It’s been interesting, but I think I’ve got other things to do now.”

“Huh? Gray—wait—if it was something I said earlier…” The would-be publicity agent to Team Natsu sounded squeaky with anxiety.

“You mean trying to get to me about Natsu being more famous?  Or do you mean that you might have overreached yourself by trying to string both of us along at the same time?”

When the man started to protest, Gray’s patience snapped, and he conjured up an ice gag.  Natsu was staring at him.

“Um, Gray… I don’t think Erza’s going to be keen on this…”

“Maybe not, but I’ll bet she’ll be even less keen on Biritt here when she finds out that he tried to use magic to charm us into some kind of weird agency thing.”

“Mm-mm-mmmmmph!” Biritt sounded shrill, even through the ice. He could’ve been complaining about the cold, but Gray suspected it was more than that.

“Look, Biritt.  I’m sure you’re a master of the con game, and I seemed like the perfect patsy to you.  And I can’t blame you for thinking Natsu is totally oblivious to being manipulated, ‘cause he can be pretty dense.”

“Hey!”

Gray ignored Natsu.

“But seriously, guy…” He poked Biritt in the chest. “Just because we’re good at wrecking things doesn’t mean we aren’t good mages, you know?  Eventually I was going to realize you were messing with me by magic, and I wasn’t going to like it.  Seeing you with Natsu just let me figure you out sooner.”  

Gray wasn’t surprised when the man finally gave up and tried to run.  It was child’s play to snap on a set of ice manacles and drag him back.

“So now what?”  There was no trace of friendliness in Natsu’s expression as he studied Biritt.

“Now we hand him over to Erza, or Makarov, and go for a beer.”  Gray’s eyebrows rose a little.  “Or if you ask nicely, I’ll spar with you.”

“Give me a break, Ice Princess!”

“If you insist.”  Gray was suddenly looking forward to a good fight.

They ignored the muffled shrieks from their captive as they headed off to the guildhall to hand the whole problem over to somebody else. Gray just hoped that Erza didn’t get distracted by Biritt’s spiel once they let him speak again.  She had a weakness for cute merchandise…

[END]

Closing Note: Gray Fullbuster for the win! I hope you enjoyed the story. And if you can, help out a poor, beleaguered author (aka me) by adding a note, comment, or maybe something kind in the tags! Thank you for reading ♥

[eryiss]

Event: LGBTQA+ Month hosted by @ft-wwtdp​

Ship: Gajeed ( Freed Justine x Gajeel Redfox )

Prompts: Adventure, Lies, Ghosts, Blossoms, Truth

Verse: Canon Compliant

Alternate Places To Read: Fanfiction, Archive of our Own. Event master list here.

Here’s my second group of one shots for the LGBTQA+ month. You can read the first five in the master list linked above. Also, the one shot for ‘Blossoms’ features descriptions of a panic attack, so be cautious. Hope you enjoy.

Day Six – Adventure (Through Improvisation)

"Hey, erm, I had fun last night. D'you think we could do it again?"

Freed looked up from his beer at the rough, mumbled statement aimed at him. Standing awkwardly beside him was Gajeel Redfox, who was refusing to maintain eye contact with the rune mage. Freed wanted to chuckle at the clear discomfort that Gajeel was showing, but decided against it. He didn't want to make the man feel any more uncomfortable than he already was.

"I'd like that," Freed smiled. "Take a seat."

Although he was tempted to, Freed didn't help Gajeel. The man was injured heavily after a mission went wrong, leaving him with a broken leg, sprained shoulder, bruised ribs and many other injuries. He half the mobility he usually had, relied on crutches, and was covered by bandages in various places. Freed didn't know the man tremendously well, but knew that he was prideful and wouldn't be best pleased if he was offered help in getting into a barstool. It was a little painful to watch, however.

Eventually he settled, and Mirajane brought him a drink over before leaving them alone. Freed, having expected that Gajeel might want to continue what they had done the night prior, pulled out a pen and a small notebook.

"Would you like to continue where we started?" Freed asked. "Or begin again."

"Continue I guess," Gajeel mumbled under his breath.

The two had been playing a game, of sorts. Gajeel's injuries meant he hadn't been able to do any missions for two weeks, and it would be a while longer before Makarov would even consider letting him start again. The dragon slayer had gotten drunk and confessed how he needed to do something, go on an adventure of some kind. He needed something to keep his mind active; of course he hadn't said it quite as eloquently, but the meaning was the same.

That was where Freed had interrupted, saying that Gajeel should try reading. Gajeel had clearly seen this as a challenge of some kind, as he retorted by saying he wanted something to give him a challenge, not just to read some 'predictable fancy bullshit.'

So, Freed suggested they improve a story between the two of them.

The idea came from the chose your own adventure stories that Freed had read as a child, wherein you chose pathways of a book to follow and dealt with the consequences. They were fairly linear and aimed at children, and Freed wouldn't have been surprised if Gajeel threw his beer over him if Freed suggested a book for kids. But improvising a narrative, directing Gajeel through a story and allowing him to make whatever decision he wanted seemed like a good enough way to spend the evening. He had nothing else to do.

And, if he was being honest, he was interested in Gajeel. The man was a powerful mage, a little rough around the edges, but good-hearted. He maintained some kind of presence when he entered a room; he wouldn't adapt to a situation; the situation would adapt to him. Freed wondered what that would be like to experience first-hand.

Thus, a game began. Freed made a story and Gajeel played as the protagonist.

Freed had expected it to be a one time thing, where Gajeel's drunkenness had allowed him to do something his sober mind wouldn't. But Freed too had enjoyed himself; improving a story was fun, and Gajeel was good company. And if Gajeel wanted to continue playing – even if he was incredibly awkward about asking – then Freed would gladly do so. He... perhaps had planned out a few things that could happen next as he fell asleep the night prior.

So they played. Sitting side by side at the bar, Gajeel slowly became engrossed in the story while sober, and became just as loud and boisterous as he had before. Within half an hour, the two men were wrapped up in the narrative Freed was weaving, and the choices Gajeel was making.

By the end of the week, the two had become a mainstay at the bar.

As time went on and Gajeel got slightly healthier, they discovered things about each other. Gajeel was a lot more creative that Freed gave him credit for – both with his approach to problem solving and with the character he was playing. He also showed a dislike for unfair leadership, if his character punching a villainous prince was telling of his own ideals. Freed had smirked at that, they shared an opinion that leadership is something earned.

What was most interesting was Gajeel's reaction to one character in particular. A simple knight who defended Gajeel's character against the villainous prince. Gajeel latched onto the man, his character insisting the knight travel with him. Freed almost thought it was… not platonic.

So, he experimented.

The knight, after a while, began to flirt with Gajeel's character. Nothing obvious at first, just enough for Freed to gauge Gajeel's reaction to having his character be the subject of a man's interest. When the character's flirtation became more obvious, it seemed Gajeel had noticed. His reaction made Freed feel strangely warm.

He smirked, looked directly at Freed, and let out a small 'Gihi.'

Freed hadn't been sure how to react, so did his best to continue the story.

Weeks went by, and Gajeel healed further. He no longer relied on his crutches thanks to some healing magic, and although he was still yet to go on a mission, it was clear that it would be possible soon. As he walked into the guild, he had no bandages covering him and looked almost completely uninjured. He walked to Freed, patting him on the shoulder to get his attention rather than sitting beside him.

"Evening Scribe," Gajeel greeted, using the nickname he had given to Freed. "I was thinking, maybe we could, y'know, not do the improv thing tonight?"

"Oh," Freed stated. He was disappointed, he wasn't ashamed to admit that, but had expected this to happen eventually. "Of course, that's fine."

"Wait, I didn't- shit," Gajeel's face looked troubled. "I meant- what I wanted to say was. Maybe we could do something else. Get a meal or somethin'. I dunno. I just, I'm feeling better now, and I'd've been pretty pissed off if I didn't have anything to do for weeks. And you're good company."

"That…" Freed paused, a little taken aback. "That sounds good. I'd enjoy that."

"Great," Gajeel grinned; Freed had also noticed he wore his emotions on his sleeve. "You wanna go now?"

"I'd like that," Freed nodded.

The two men left the guildhall a moment later, side by side, and Freed smiled a little when he caught sight of the grin on Gajeel's face. He took a step closer to the dragon slayer as they walked, and the other man absently brushed their knuckles against each other.

"Y'know this is a date, right?" Gajeel suddenly asked.

"I do," Freed chuckled.

"Just wanted to make sure," Gajeel shrugged, wrapping an arm around Freed's shoulder as they walked. It was a rather nice feeling. "Because you ain't the smartest guy when it comes to picking up on when someone's flirtin' with ya."

"Who's been flirting with me that I haven't noticed, might I ask?"

"Me, dumbass," Gajeel laughed. "Well, my character, if you wanna be clear. But we both know the flirtin' and seducing shit was between us. Least I did."

"When exactly did you flirt back?" Freed frowned, thinking back.

After the knights initial flirting and the reaction he got, Freed assumed that Gajeel had forgotten it had happened. After that, any appearance of flirtation between them both was conscience. Or perhaps wishful thinking.

"You really didn't notice, did ya," Gajeel cackled. "This is gonna be fun, Gihi."

~~~

Day Seven – Lies (That Shouldn't be Revealed)

"He's going again."

Evergreen narrowed her eyes as she followed Freed's retreating form out of the guild's main entrance. This had been the fourth time that week where he had left early in the evening, not giving any real reason as to why he wouldn't be spending the rest of the night with the Raijinshuu. It was unlike him, and it was bothering his teammates.

Bickslow also watched him leave, frowning. He looked to Evergreen with an expression of mischief plastered onto his features. Where Evergreen saw a problem, Bickslow saw an opportunity. Both to find out why Freed was acting weird, and to have some fun.

"Why don't we follow him," He suggested with a laugh. "Bust him in the act."

"I suppose we could," Evergreen agreed, tapping her fingers on the table as she too smiled. "He might be doing something dangerous, and need our help."

"Imagine how we'd feel if he got in trouble and we weren't there to help him," Bickslow nodded. "We'd never get over it."

"It would be awful."

That was all the justification the two needed, and a moment later they snuck out of the guildhall. It took them only a few moments to locate their teammate, and they began to follow him as best they could without attracting attention to themselves. It was a relatively successful task, as both of them knew how to be stealthy during their missions and had perfected the art of blending in even despite their standout appearances.

As they followed him, they went to a part of Magnolia unfamiliar to them. It was a little more run down than what they were used to, with buildings packed tightly together and lacking the decorative flair that the tourist based parts of the city did.

"Where the hell is he going?" Bickslow whispered as Freed turned another corner.

"Maybe he really is doing something dangerous," Evergreen murmured, looking at her captain with a small frown. "He said he was going home, which is clearly a lie. And now he's come here, it's not like him."

Bickslow shook his head, genuine concern filling him now. He went to creep forward so they could continue to keep track of their team captain, but a strong hand landed on his shoulder and stopped him where he stood. He slowly turned his head to look at who had touched him, to see Laxus standing above them both, a clearly unimpressed look on his face. Bickslow could only smile a guilty smile as he looked at his friend.

Laxus silently dragged them both by the shoulder away from the alleyway that Freed had walked down, not saying anything until they reached a nearby canal. He released their shoulders, crossed his arms and glared at them both.

"What do the two of you think you're doing?"

"Freed's been sneaking off every day this week," Evergreen started, looking back to where they had just walked from.

"And he's been lying about it, too. So we followed him because we wanted to make sure he's alright," Bickslow continued, though Laxus' expression didn't change.

"Freed can look after himself, and if he got himself into something he couldn't handle then he's sensible enough to come to us and ask for help," Laxus said, voice annoying disapproving. "And I'm sure the biggest threat he's under right now is being stalked by two fucking idiots."

"What if he's getting hurt," Bickslow said back. "Or being blackmailed or something."

"Then he'd maim the people doing it and make sure it didn't happen again," Laxus sighed. "Look, he's allowed his own life without you two interfering. Just let it go, I'm sure he'll tell you when he's ready."

"Do you know what he's doing?" Evergreen crossed her own arms now, and a small amount of disbelief entered her voice. "Did he tell you and not us?"

"He didn't tell me anything," Laxus grunted.

It wasn't technically a lie. Freed hadn't told him where he was going, what he was doing or why he was doing it, but Laxus did know. He too had been a little worried about Freed's unusual behaviour, but rather than deciding to follow him, he's kept a closer eye on the rune mage over the last few days and had realised just what was happening.

Freed was dating someone. Gajeel Redfox, to be precise.

Laxus hasn't believed it at first, thinking that the occasional glances shared between them that he had noticed were nothing of importance. But there was other things; the slight smell of iron on Freed's clothing, the occasional reddening of Gajeel's cheeks when Laxus caught him looking, the fact that they coincidentally were getting drinks at the bar at the same time multiple times a night. It was all a bit too coincidental.

His suspicions were confirmed when – due to the top floor of the guildhall was being renovated and Laxus sitting on closer to the bar than normal – he heard a hushed conversation between them both. They laughed, joked, and were clearly comfortable around each other in a way that Freed often wasn't with his acquaintances. They had promised to see each other later in the night, and that was all the confirmation that Laxus needed.

He was happy for his friend. The two men weren't an obvious match exactly, but if the iron-head made Freed happy then Laxus had nothing against it.

It was good to see him like that, actually.

The blonde didn't know exactly why they were keeping their relationship a secret. Maybe it was because they didn't want interference, maybe it was because they were both private people. Either way, it didn't matter to Laxus. He happened to know about their relationship by accident, and he would do what he could to keep it a secret until the time came where Freed and Gajeel were comfortable in telling everyone themselves.

And if that meant following the scent of Bickslow and Evergreen as they followed Freed to Gajeel's apartment, then he would do that too. Because the small glimpse into their relationship had told Laxus that, right now, his friend was happy and in love. And he wanted to make sure that remained true.

"Come on," Laxus grunted to his two friends. "You both owe me a drink for dragging me out here."

He started to walk back to the guild, and his teammates followed him. They continually asked him what he knew, so his lie hadn't worked out, but he didn't care. He remained silent, being Freed's wingman without his friend even knowing.

~~~

Day Eight – Ghosts (And Existential Fears)

Out of all the ways the day could have ended, this was the worst.

When Gajeel had decided to go on a mission with his boyfriend, he had been excited. A landlord had brought an old manor house that had long since been abandoned with the intention to refurbish it and sell it off. Apparently she had been hearing crashes and seeing shadows in the corners of the house that only appeared at night. She had assumed it was a creature of some kind and wanted it gone, and the two men had taken the job.

Freed and Gajeel had spent the day trying to figure out what the animal may be. They'd looked for potential places where the creature could be in the day, looked into the local wildlife, and assessed possible ways to deal with whatever it could be. Freed had set up traps with his runes, and Gajeel had crafted some cages if the animals weren't hostile.

But, as day turned to night, they had found nothing of use.

What was worse, however, was how different the house seemed at night. The run-down building was fine during the day, if not a little structurally questionable, but at night it was just different. The lack of light, the broken glass and rotten wood, and the creaking floorboards all worked together to make it seem… haunted.

"Are you okay?" Freed asked in a hushed voice.

They were both sitting in the houses lounge, as this was where most of the creatures had been seen. The room was illuminated by flickering candles, which only added further to the gothic haunted aesthetic that Gajeel wasn't enjoying.

"Fine," Gajeel said, unconvincingly.

"Are you sure?" Freed said again, moving from the chair he was sitting on to the sofa with Gajeel. "You look pale."

Gajeel sighed a little. "This ain't exactly… I don't really like places like this."

"Why not?" Freed asked, placing a hand comfortingly on Gajeel's thigh. Even though he saw his boyfriend move to do it, Gajeel flinched a little at the contact. Freed frowned further. "You can leave, if you want."

"No. No it ain't that bad," Gajeel shook his head a little. "I'll get over it."

"If you don't mind me asking," Freed continued. "What do you need to get over?"

Gajeel sighed. He and Freed hadn't been dating for that long – this was their first mission together as a couple, actually – and their relationship had been pretty easy going. They were close, and knew many of each other's secrets, but there were still things they didn't know about the other. One such thing was Gajeel's irrational fear, something he was ashamed of and didn't want the supposedly fearless rune mage know.

But they were dating, and they needed to be honest with each other. And, as embarrassing as it was for a mage who got into fights for a living to be scared of something impossible, Gajeel felt Freed needed to know.

"I-I," Gajeel winced at the stupid stutter in his voice. "I'm kinda- I've got a fear of ghosts. And, well, this is the kinda place that you'd see a ghost."

Freed looked at his boyfriend, frowning a little. Gajeel didn't meet his eye. He had always thought that his fear of ghosts was somewhat pathetic and telling the man he loved about it was something almost humiliating. Freed was always a rational and calm man, who probably didn't believe in ghosts. Hell; not even Gajeel believe in ghosts really, but the possibility of them being was enough to sustain his fear.

"I mean, I know it's fucking stupid," Gajeel continued. He wanted to retain some dignity. "I get that they ain't real. I know there's not gonna be some kinda pissed off dead guy slamming doors and breaking vases and stuff. But it's just… If there's even a chance they exist, it fucks with my head. What could I do against that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if I had to fight a ghost, for whatever reason. I mean, I don't have magic like yours. Mine ain't… magical, I guess," Gajeel shrugged. "I can hit things pretty hard, and I have physical spells, but if I can't touch something then I can't do anything. And having to fight something I can't touch; it just scares me."

Gajeel was practically squirming now. This was something hardly anyone knew. He kept it hidden because of how damn stupid it was. And as much as he trusted Freed, he wouldn't hold it against Freed if he judged him for it. A man like Gajeel being scared of something children were scared off was stupid.

"I can understand that," Freed said softly. "It's about power, and I can understand that well."

"You can?" Gajeel looked up, frowning.

"Of course. As mages we rely on our power and our abilities to keep ourselves safe. It's perfectly natural that being in a situation where this power is taken away from us would scare us," Freed leant against Gajeel's side in a comforting way. "It's part of the reason I sometimes get scared of getting older."

"Gettin' older?" Gajeel echoed, brows furrowing.

"My magic relies on my mind. Sometimes, as people get older they lose their mental prowess," Freed said, frowning a little. "When I think of getting older, I wonder what would happen if my mind started to deteriorate and I lost who I am. I'd lose my personality, my independence, and even my magic. These are the things that I have relied on throughout my life, and the prospect of losing them is terrifying to me."

"Oh," Was the only thing Gajeel could say. "If it's any consolation, you're probably too spiteful to lose your independence."

"Thank you," Freed said with a laugh. "And, similarly, if a ghost did see you they'd probably scared off by your piercings."

"Hey!" Gajeel exclaimed, feigning offense. "Thought you liked 'em."

"I do, but I'm not an uptight old-fashioned ghost."

"Nah, you're just an uptight old-fashioned living guy," Gajeel taunted back, knocking Freed's knee with his own. "Thanks, though. I don't really talk about that much. Always thought people would think I'm some sort of freak. So, thanks for not thinking that, I guess."

"It's perfectly fine," Freed smiled. "And I promise, if we ever do come face to face with a ghost, they will not harm you if I have anything to do with the situation."

"Yer sweet," Gajeel grinned. "And I promise that I'll do whatever it takes to keep that mind of yours sharp for as long I know you. Even if I have to challenge your smug ass every damn day."

"I'd expect nothing less of you, Iron-Slayer," Freed grinned, leaning over and resting his head against Gajeel's shoulder. It was a comforting gesture, and Gajeel rested his own head against Freed's.

When Gajeel looked over to Freed to see the soft smile on his boyfriend's face, he felt so damn loved that it hurt. It was a feeling that Gajeel had no intention of losing, and he doubted that anything could get in the way of it. Certainly not some damn ghost.

~~~

Day Nine – Blossoms (Of A Calming Garden)

Sometime Gajeel got overwhelmed. Most of the time, Fairy Tail's loud and relentless loudness didn't affect him, other than minor irritation. But every few months, something much worse would happen. Everything would get far too much, his enhanced senses would feel like they were burning, his vision would blur, and it felt as though he was being smothered by everything and everyone around him. He was nauseous and scared and vulnerable all at the same time.

It had always been something that happened to him, as much as he hated it. He'd gained a few coping mechanisms – mainly leaving the situation as quickly as possible, but also breathing techniques and other such tricks – but he'd never fully understood what they were.

Until he started to date Freed.

The man had noticed how different he was behaving during one of his 'moods', as Gajeel had referred to them at the time. Rather than questioning what was happening, Freed had placed a hand on his back, spoken softly to him and started to walk him out of the guildhall. He'd given him time to recover, not saying anything and not moving his hand, and simply sat by him. Gajeel had cried; the comforting gesture of his lover's hand against his back had seemed to anchor him in place, and the sensation was so grounding that Gajeel couldn't deal with it any other way.

After Gajeel had recovered, Freed explained he had a panic attack. That it was natural, more so with the advancements of his senses, and that many people underwent them when under stress. Although it didn't make Gajeel feel anymore nauseous or hesitant to return to the guildhall in the following days, it did help a little.

It also helped to have someone there to help him through everything.

"Gajeel," Freed said, early in the morning as the dragon-slayer drunk his coffee. "I have something for you."

The iron mage frowned a little, looking up from his drink. His boyfriend had been acting a little strange over the last few weeks, and he had been wondering what the other man had been doing, and perhaps this gift would be an explanation. He hadn't asked of course; he trusted his boyfriend to look after himself and didn't want to be the kind of man who needed to know what his lover was doing every moment of every day.

"It's outside," Freed explained, before turning around.

Gajeel followed him into the garden. He had spent the night at Freed's house, a nice building at the edge of Magnolia. It was the direct opposite of his own apartment, with large amounts of space, a view of the river nearest the city, and boasting an overall peaceful feeling. Gajeel liked his apartment well enough, but Freed's house was objectively better.

"You said that you didn't want to become reliant on me during your panic attacks," Freed began again, looking over his shoulder. "I believe I might have a solution that could help you."

As they walked, Gajeel frowned a little. It was true he refused to allow himself to depend on Freed to help him with panic attacks. Freed wasn't always going to be there, and it wasn't fair to put this burden on the other man. What Freed's garden had to do with it, Gajeel didn't know.

When they turned the corner to the garden, Gajeel saw an obvious new addition to the land. Large plant boxes filled only with soil bordered the expense of grass, along with a small group of plants that remained in the plastic pots they had been brought in placed beside the boxes. Freed walked towards them, and Gajeel followed while sipping the coffee he had kept with him.

"From what you said, once you had gotten over the initial panicking, you still feel an underlying sense of dread, which you've claimed is what I help with," Freed explained. "So I've made these for you."

"You made plant boxes?" Gajeel questioned, frowning.

"It'll give you something to do while you're coming down from the sensation," Freed said, kneeling down. "I know you're more artistic than you like to admit, and you'll want them to look nice. That'll occupy your mind, at least somewhat."

"Suppose," Gajeel said, nodding a little.

"And, importantly, gardening is rather tactile," Freed said, running his hand through the dirt. "You'll feel the dirt under your nails, the metal of the tools against your hands, the softness of petals against your skin. These will all bring you down, even if just a little."

Gajeel looked down at the array of plants, and the boxes of soil that Freed had constructed. He ran a finger over a soft pink petal, feeling the gentle tickling sensation on his callus hands, and he smiled. All of Freed's justification for his gifts made sense, and although neither knew if it would work as well as they hoped, it was definitely something they could try. And even the gesture of it was incredibly thoughtful, and the dragon-slayer couldn't fight off the emotion.

"I've also got you this," Freed continued, offering a small item to Gajeel. It was a little stone, with a runic pattern on it. "It's imbued with a teleportation spell. Push your finger hard enough against it, and it'll take you here if you need it urgently."

That was when Gajeel felt tears form in his eyes.

He moved quickly to pull Freed into a hug, burying his face into his boyfriend's shoulder and hiding his face. He held him firmly, and felt Freed do the same back to him. He kept his sobs to himself, and Freed didn't say anything. Just allowed him to hold him for however long he wanted.

"Thank you," He mumbled into Freed's shoulder, smiling as he pulled back. "Its… this is so good of ya."

"You needn't thank me," Freed smiled, leaning down and resting their foreheads together. "Just make sure you use it whenever you need it."

"Promise," Gajeel said with a small grin.

"Good," Freed nodded. "I'll leave you alone for a little while; give you some time to get used to it."

Freed stood up, and pressed his lips against the top of Gajeel's head in a slight kiss. He walked away, leaving Gajeel to look over the array of plants that he had been gifted. He removed one from the pot, running his rough fingers across the blossoming flower. At the sensation, he looked back to his boyfriend and didn't fight off the smile that formed.

It was nice, being loved.

~~~

Day Ten – Truth (And Teasing)

It hadn't been a lie from the start. Technically.

Freed's sword had been damaged, and he did need his boyfriend's expertise in metalwork to fix it. When he originally asked the man for his help, it had been an innocent request rooted in his need for a weapon. The slight lie came when Freed requested to watch Gajeel work on the weapon. He had claimed that he wanted to make sure it wasn't damaged further due to the sentimentality of the blade.

That was a lie, he wanted to watch Gajeel work.

He had known that Gajeel was good with metal, and not just in a magical sense. He was well versed in blacksmith work as a hobby, and had converted the small outside garage into a workshop to maintain this. Despite this, Freed had never seen him work, and he had been curious.

When Gajeel allowed him to watch him work, Freed found himself entranced by the work. Freed's mind was well versed in the practicality of the world, but mainly in relation to magic. He often focused on how magic can be applied to the world, and he sometimes disregarded the effect of labour and non-magic skills. But watching as Gajeel hammered burning metal into a weapon was incredible, and instantaneous nature of it all made it hard to look away. With every strike, Gajeel improved the sword.

So, once the sword was back to being functional again, Freed decided that he wanted to see him working more. So he requested that Gajeel recreate the hilt design, as it had become scuffed over time and needed refurbishment. Gajeel had done so and allowed Freed to watch.

Once that was done, he rediscovered a selection of fighting knives he wished to use, and that needed to be sharpened. Again, Gajeel had complied with the request and Freed had watched him work with curiosity.

So technically it wasn't lying. Just an expansion of the truth.

And it wasn't as if Gajeel was doing something he didn't enjoy. Hell, once the daggers had been sharpened he had offered Freed his iron-working services without prompting. Apparently he wanted to test out his intricate carving abilities and wished to do so by adding a pattern to the blade of Freed's weapon, promising that it would be just as effective as it had been before. He had invited Freed to watch him work, claiming that he liked the company.

With this in mind, Freed hadn't done anything mistrustful. Which was why it was quite annoying that he felt the need to tell the truth to his boyfriend about why he was requesting so much metal work all of a sudden.

"Gajeel," Freed began as the iron-slayer brushed metal filing off the sword. "I should admit something to you."

"Yeah?" Gajeel frowned, looking up.

"You've probably realised that, quite suddenly, I've been requiring your services often," Freed said, cheeks reddening a little. He hoped he could explain it away with the hotness of the room. "I don't actually need them, as such. Moreover, I wanted to see you work, and thought this would be the best way to do so."

"Really?" Gajeel said, crossing his arms, grinning and speaking in a tone very smug. "Well that is a surprise."

The way he spoke made his meaning clear. He knew. He had always known.

"When did you realise?" Freed sighed, even redder now.

"The daggers," Gajeel laughed, placing the sword on a workbench and walking over to where Freed was sitting. "You know, you ain't nearly as mysterious as you think you are. Kinda wanted to see how far you'd go to keep it up. Wondered if you'd suddenly realise you need knew knives and forks and wanted me to make them, as well."

Gajeel all but cackled at the embarrassed glare that Freed gave him. He grabbed his boyfriend's hand and pulled him from his seat, wrapping his arms around the man's waist and pushing their lips together in a soft kiss. He was grinning and felt Freed melt against him slightly.

"You're intolerable," Freed sighed after pulling away from the kiss.

"And yer a liar," Gajeel countered. "So, you like watching me work huh? Or is it just seein' me get sweaty?"

"Well, admittedly watching you put these muscles to good work is rather delightful," Freed laughed, running a hand over Gajeel's arms. "I do genuinely find metalwork to be enchanting to watch, though. I can't explain why, but seeing you take something rough and callus and turning it into something beautiful with your own hands, it's intoxicating."

Gajeel's face betrayed his emotions, and a small amount of glee split onto his features. He would have been happy if Freed just wanted to watch him work because he enjoyed seeing his muscles flex under the effort – teasing his boyfriends more primal side was a favourite pastime of Gajeel's – but this was better. Because his boyfriend had taken an interest in his craft, and appreciated it in the same way he did.

People often wondered why Gajeel enjoyed working with metal in this way. His magic allowed him to make anything out of iron without difficulty. The reason he did it was because, above all else, he enjoyed making something out of ore. Making something impressive and, often, beautiful.

Freed got that!

He leant down and pressed their lips together, the teasing nature of their previous kiss replaced with a genuine love. He nuzzled their noses together as they pulled apart, grinning wide at his boyfriend as he pulled apart.

"Y'know," He started. "I could teach you some of the basics, if you want. You're pretty good with yer hands, you'd pick it up fast."

"I'd like that," Freed smiled.

Gajeel nodded, walked them both to his workbench. He would start off from the very beginning and teach him everything. And if it took him longer than needed, that was fine.

Freed had done the same to him, after all.

[natsubeatsrock]

The Rewrite of Fairy Tail: Bonus (What If? #7)

What if Fairy Tail was like Shooting Starlight?

tfw spoilers kind of mess with this post concept

Fairy Tail is not Edens Zero. I made an important post about the different drives between the two for EZ Week 2019 on my main blog, so I don't want to say too much about this here. However, I have to admit that this isn't an unfair aspect to discuss when the two come up in my discussion. Especially since this was what drove my post.

Although, I feel like this isn't impossible as it may seem. Fairy Tail may have a reputation as a sort of "family outside of the family". But how would I "corrupt" the guild's nature?

For the uninitiated, Shooting Starlight is the guild members of the main cast of Edens Zero is a part of. While their involvement with the guild is rather inconsequential, the guild isn't as friendly towards its members. The bond between members is more arbitrary than Fairy Tail members. One member outright antagonizes another.

Now that's all well and good, but what's this have to do with this idea? It's not like there's a way to do this justified by canon, right?

Consider the following.

First, the guild has a fairly bad reputation in the land of Fiore. The fact that the manga starts with the council talking about the crazy antics of the guild is fairly important in canon. But this is something that could be manipulated towards my purposes.

The rest of the first arc has moments that could work towards this end. Natsu (very understandably) isn't excited to entertain Lucy as she joins him and Happy to find Macao and (less understandably) tricks her into the Daybreak mission. He goes to find Macao only because Makarov said that a wizard who couldn't survive the mission doesn't deserve to be a part of the guild and refuses to send help to him.

Keep in mind all of this happens after a giant guild-wide brawl. Miraculously, the guild functions despite these being regular occurrences. That everything else happens on top of that, I could easily make this idea work.

Finally, for this rewrite, Natsu doesn't love the guild to start the series. You know that speech about how he cares about the guild members as his friends, including Lucy and the people he was fighting? Not in the rewrite. His logic of stopping Bora as a phony Fairy Tail wizard? Not in the rewrite. I have him grow into his canon love and that would help with this type of guild.

What that would look like in Fairy Tail is interesting. While I could imagine several ways to do this, the best way to do this in my mind is to play off the Phantom Lord event. In canon, Laxus has an issue with the way the incident was caused by Lucy joining the guild. I would make that the start of a rift in the guild. The camps would align behind Laxus and Erza depending on how members think of their bonds as guild members. (I don't need to say much on the differences.) The issue for Makarov would be recognizing that dichotomy and doing his best to keep the two sides within one guild.

This would come to a head with two big events in the series. The first would be Fantasia. I don't want to go into too much detail about how this arc would change (read: I don't want to think too hard about this). The important thing is that Laxus is expelled from the guild, as in canon. But with him, those who sided with him also leave the guild, obviously including the Thunder God Tribe. Erza, then, becomes the one to convince Makarov to say as the master. At this point in the series, Laxus won't have too many supporters.

That would change with the second big moment: Tenrou Island. I would make two big changes to the arc, other than the obvious changes affected by the first one. First, Laxus doesn't go on the island at all. The Strongest Team can defeat Hades without his help. Second, the guild swings in favor of Laxus' view. The members we see as part of the guild in the canon x791 arc are broken off into the "old Fairy Tail" while Laxus leads this "new Fairy Tail" as a separate guild.

There are two ways to go from here. One is to have the guilds come to join again as a whole guild at some point. Either they all come together after the Grand Magic Games as a win condition on some kind of bet or the Alvarez Empire invasion reunites the factions. Otherwise, the guilds continue as two separate entities. Though something like the aforementioned invasion may force them to cooperate, the guilds stay as two distinct bodies.

With this explanation, it sounds like I've forgotten the basic idea of "a guild that doesn't value members". While one would likely turn Fairy Tail into pre-Grand Magic Games Sabertooth, this method isn't without its benefits. My explanation of this doesn't account for an obvious point of emphasis for Erza's faction: is it worth it? Is splitting up the guild worthwhile when you want the members to be a family? Should they consider their old section as a part of their family in the first place?

This also helps when thinking about some of the background characters. You can delve into the logic behind a character who doesn't get much screentime. Would they side with Laxus or Erza, and why?

For example, Chico C. Hammit isn't a name I'd expect many fans to recognize. But I could use her secret feeling for Laxus as a reason for her to join his faction. On the other side, Bisca might find a connection between Erza's acceptance of Lucy, despite causing the Phantom Lord incident, and Erza's acceptance of herself into the guild, despite faking membership to threaten people.

As a side note, this adds some interesting dynamics to guild relationships. Elfgreen goes from a semi-canon ship we see by the end of the series to its original bickering state. Erza and Laxus clash as ideological opposites and guild masters. And don't get me started on how much of a field day one could have with the Grand Magic Games as a factor in this. If I were to do such a thing, original arc ideas would delve into what this divide means for the guilds.

The reason why I'm not doing this should be obvious. This requires much more thought and restructuring of the series than I can afford. Even my biggest changes to canon can still work without too much work. Even as I'd say the series is about the guild, this is more extreme than I can make happen.

Based on Part 1

What If? #1 | What If? #2 | What If? #3 | What If? #4 | What If? #5 | What If? #6

[starwarsfan249]

Day 3: RAIN

A/N: I’m sorry. You’ll know why.

Gray’s face lit up at the glorious vision in front of him. Erza was in a beautiful white wedding dress, smiling at him. The dress looked like freshly fallen snow that hugged her curves and flared out at the bottom. Her veil covered her face in a thin layer of lace, barely hiding the blushing bride expression of bliss and happiness that graced her. Her hands wrapped in milky silk clutched her bouquet of scarlet roses and sapphire irises tighter out of nervousness. A few strands of fiery hair slipped out of her braid framing her face. Her brown eyes flitted shyly around, completely out of character for the ‘Great Titania’. Never mind a bride, she looked like an angel. He expected snowy white wings to sprout from her back at any second and that she would fly away into the cloudy sky. He nearly blushed at the sight, he could’ve kissed her right there, but stopped himself, it wouldn't have been acceptable.

He settled for giving her a reassuring smile and a thumbs up, ignoring the small aching in his heart. She smiled back and mouthed a ‘thanks’ before turning her gaze to her husband to be.

He was sharply dressed in an indigo suit with a crimson tie to match the hair of his bride. His blue hair smartly slicked back, revealing shining eyes, one with a red mark over it.

Jellal smiled down at Erza, their eyes met then dashed away shyly, before settling on eachother once again. He took her hand in his, whispering a tender, “I love you.” Then they both looked to Makarov as a sign to start the service.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two mages in holy matrimony.”  Gray  stopped listening after that, it upset him too much to hear the words. He could only watch the proceedings, the exchange of vows, rings, etc. It took everything in him not to break down and cry from the hurt he experienced watching how happy Erza was with someone other than him. The fact, though, is that she was happy, and he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he ruined that happiness by doing anything stupid because of his emotions, so he tried to block them out.

Despite they persisted. He found himself settling into imagining a different reality where he was brave enough to stand up and object to the marriage. Where he took Erza’s hands in his and looked into her beautiful eyes and told her he loved her. That he had loved her from the beginning.

He imagined that in a miraculous world she would say those words back to him. He would take her into his arms and lean their heads close until…

“I’ve known both of you for a long time, and both of you are good kids. I wish only happiness and love for your journey together through life.” Makarov’s tearful words cut into Grays daydreams. He snapped back to the present where his face was stiff from the smile plastered on it, and his heart still ached from the love that would never be returned.

“There is only one thing left to do. I now pronounce you man and wife.” He finally broke, tears of joy streaming down his face. He barely managed to blubber out a “Youb bay khissd da bribe” before words were lost to him completely.

Jellal and Erza met eyes, wrapping their arms around each other, bringing their faces close, closer, closer.

Gray knew he should look away, but his body wouldn’t move, it’s like some part of him wanted his heart broken.

Their lips met fitting together like they’d belonged with each other from the beginning of time. Hands moved into hair as Erza was dipped back deepening the kiss. They were truly in love and happy, and that knowledge shattered the ice mage’s heart to pieces.

At that moment rain started to pour from the sky, breaking apart the kiss. Gray felt the wetness on his cheeks, but some of the drops were warm compared to others. He wiped away the wetness from his eyes, feeling the warm drops in his hands. It was at that moment he realized he was crying, tears mixing in with the rain. He kept staring at his hands, the world around him fading.

He barely even heard an exasperated Juvia shout, “This wasn’t Juvia, Juvia is happy for you two, and Juvia is also happy that a potential love interest close to Gray-Sama is out of the picture!”

Why was he crying, of course he was sad, but he should be happy. Right? Erza was happy. He’d promised himself to be happy for her. If she loved Jellal, and she did, that should be enough. He should be keeping the tears in, but they kept streaming down his face. He was glad the rain had came, or else Erza would’ve seen his tears.

He dropped his hands willing the tears to disappear as he linked arms with Lucy, who was the maid of honor to his best man, and walked down the aisle. The procession slowly walked out following the newlywed, glowing, Mr. and Mrs. Fernandez.

Gray looked away trying not to watch the happiness and pretend like his heart didn’t hurt terribly.

…

The hours passed by in a blur. The dinner, which Gray was sure was delicious, was put in his mouth emotionlessly. That was paired with dinner conversation, which he was sure was interesting, between the members of the wedding party including himself, Natsu, Lucy, Juvia, Wendy, Midnight, Laxus, Kagura, Millianna and others. That was followed by cutting the cake, strawberry of course, which he again was sure was delicious, but he didn’t taste anything except bitter shame as he chewed and swallowed.

Those events had finally brought him to the end of the night, the dancing. The tears had thankfully stopped flowing when they’d went under the tent for the reception, but the rain hadn’t. He could still hear it pattering on the tent roof, and if he squinted outside he could see the streaks against the darkness. He thought that it was almost like the rain could feel his emotions.

He mulled over these and other thoughts as music blasted around him. This part of the night had consisted of avoiding Juvia and turning down other woman who tried to dance with him. Now he was actively looking away from the dance floor since Jellal and Erza were dancing. Again. He just couldn’t look at the two of them together.

Lucy had noticed this a while ago, and instead of asking him what was wrong had gave him a knowing look and a hug. She was the only one that had known about his crush on Erza. Lucy was the only one he could trust that he knew wouldn’t make fun of him and be there for him as a friend. The celestial mage had made sure to try and cheer him up all night, and it had worked a little, but he had shooed her off a while ago telling her to go dance with Natsu.

He was ready for the night to be over so he could go and try to sort out his feelings, somehow, when a hand tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see the woman on his mind.

She was practically glowing as she stood in front of him, at some point her braid had come undone and was cupping her face gently making her look even more beautiful than before the wedding started. He couldn’t help the blush that creeped onto his face, turning away quickly to hide it.

“I’ve been looking for you,” she joked, “but it almost seems like you’ve been avoiding me.”

“Sorry about that, I was trying to hide from Juvia and my other various fangirls.”

“That’s okay, I found you now. Would you do me the honor of a dance? I’ve danced with everyone else, even Wendy and Laxus. It’s your turn now.”

Gray glanced around looking to see if Jellal was nearby, he wasn’t, so Gray made the choice he knew would hurt him even more. “Of course.” He smiled taking her hand and leading her to the dancefloor.

He placed his hands tentatively on her waist and she placed hers on his shoulders moving side to side while the song morphed into a slow one. They said nothing for a while until Erza spoke up, “Speaking of Juvia, are you ever going to confess to her?”

He nearly choked, sputtering stupidly, “Uh, um, I.” A blush coated his cheeks, he wanted to say that he loved her not Juvia, but he bit back the words. “I don’t love Juvia. There’s someone else I like, no I love, but there’s no way we could ever be together and she doesn’t love me back.”

“Who is it?” Erza went into matchmaker mode (learned from spending too much time around Mirajane of course) as they spun around amongst the other couples. “Lucy? Mirajane? Levy? Meredy? Kagura? Oh I know-”

He quickly cut her off before her guesses could get to far out, “It’s none of them, trust me, you would never guess who it is.”

“Secret crush aside aside shouldn’t you give Juvia a chance? She really does love and care about you. You said it yourself that you could never be with this other person, you should move on.”

He sighed as he spun her, “I wish it was that easy, I love her so much it hurts to see her happy with someone other than me at her side.”

Erza stopped the spinning and looked him straight in the eyes. “Listen Gray, you’ve always been there for me ever since you saw me crying by the river. You stood by me and protected me on countless missions before and after the formation of Team Natsu. In the Tower of Heaven I heard from Happy how you fought off that owl to get to me. After the Nirvana incident Natsu told me how you fought to stop Racer and I saw you prevent Lyon from maiming me, for which I am eternally grateful. We talked and laughed during the Grand Magic Games. You challenged me into doing the right thing and helping the villagers on Galuna Island. You carried me after I was injured. I love you. My first friend in Fairy Tail and the friend I will carry in my heart until the end. I want you to do what you believe will ensure you happiness. No matter who it is,” she cupped his cheek, “I want you to tell them you love them right now. You’ll feel much better, and if they reject you I’ll be here with a bucket of strawberry ice cream.”

Gray almost laughed at the situation. Here the girl he loved was telling him to express his feelings. If Erza knew it was her, she would be singing a different tune. He really didn’t want to confess, but it was better than living with this secret in his crumbling, fading, breaking, cruelly and twistedly in love heart.

He swung them back into the dance. “I did protect you all those times Erza, and I always thought it was because I cared about you as a friend. At the Tower of Heaven I remembered the feelings of loneliness when I first saw you by the river and my heart broke, I couldn’t let you ever be alone again. During the Nirvana incident I kept picturing you getting maimed or dying right before my eyes and there was nothing I feared more, I had to do everything so that you could live. I loved easing the pressure and expectations of winning while talking with during the games, and when I thought I was going to lose, I imagined how you’d probably already won and knew I couldn’t let you one-up me like that. On Galuna Island I knew your heart was crying out to help the people and that you just needed a push. I carried you because I couldn’t let you lie on the ground and I didn’t want anyone else to be close to you for all that time.” He could barely get the words out at this point, if he said them, everything would change. He couldn’t turn back now, but his mind urged him to. It urged him to abort.

He finally took a deep breath spinning Erza into a dip. “You asked me who I loved. It’s.. it’s. It’s you. I love you.” He watched her face turn shocked as he pulled her up out of the dip. “I loved you since the river bank, but I never felt I could tell you. Sorry that the time I worked up my courage had to be the worst time anyone could ever confess. All day I’ve been avoiding you because it hurts so much to see you happy with Jellal. I…”

He shifted to take her hands in his, a single tear falling down his face and onto them. “I’m sorry that I ruined your wedding with this. I guess I also ruined our friendship too, huh? Well I’m glad you at least get to know the truth. I’ll get out now, don’t worry about seeing me ever again. I know it would be too awkward, so I’ll stay out of your life.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek, barely there, a ghost of a love that could’ve been. He dropped her hands giving her one last lopsided smile. “Goodbye Erza. Thanks for everything. I’m sorry that I ever knew you and that it came to this, but I would repeat it all again, because I really, truly, heartbreakingly love you.” With that he walked away, leaving behind the shocked bride.

“Wow, I am a jerk, aren’t I, “ he whispered to no one in particular. He started laughing maniacally, the laughs soon turning into sobs as he ran away. Away from his feelings, away from Lucy and his other friends who called out to him as he ran, away from Jellal, away from the wedding, and away from Erza. His legs kept carrying him along as he passed people on the street giving him weird looks.

Tears streamed down his face, mixing with those from the sky, his sobs adding to the thunderous roars of outrage from the clouds, the spiking of his hurting heart in time with the lightning.

He finally stopped running at a place that looked familiar to him. Wiping his eyes, he realized it was the river, where these cursed feelings had started. He knelt on the ground, screaming at the sky, the Gods, the Fates, whatever higher being had cursed him, his heart pounding painfully in his chest.

“Take this hurt away!” Over and over again this shout was heard. A cry of desperation, a shout of anger, a ballad of agony.

Gray shouted until he could no longer, and cried, until that too was taken away from him. He collapsed to the ground exhausted. His eyes drooped no matter how hard he fought.

Before he succumbed to unconsciousness, he managed one last agonizing sentence, “It hurts so much to love the girl with scarlet hair, please take it all away”.

…

It was sad for the boy, that he’d run out so soon, for if he’d stayed even a few moments longer he might’ve heard the words whispered by the girl of his dreams.

“I always loved you too, but I thought I was the only one.” This secret floated out into the air getting caught by the wind and rain, blown away like all the others of secret loves. “That’s why I married Jellal, I loved you more, but at least I knew he would return my love. If only you told me years ago. I gave up on you then, but now..” A gripping pain tugged at her heart causing her to fall to her knees, clutching her chest.

“Take this hurt away,” she whispered over and over again, too low for her friends that had rushed over to hear.

She collapsed to the ground consciousness leaving her. She managed to choke out one last sentence. A sentence of love, of could-have-beens, of heartbreak, a sentence connected to the boy she loved. “It hurts so much to love the boy made of ice, please take it all away,” and with that everything was black.

[csykora]

hey i've been meaning to ask this, but would you mind explaining to me in general terms (or specific, if you're so inclined, i like detailed explanations but I don't want to give the impression that I expect them), like, What Happened With Alex Semin That Makes Everyone So Weird About Him? I know you've referenced a complicated legacy that makes caps fans weird about him, and maybe some way that caps fans/ western hockey culture/the nhl wronged him, but wikipedia was not very helpful (1/?)

3/3) None of that as presented seems, like, worthy of the level of weirdness/erasure that you've mentioned/hinted at, so I'm assuming there's a lot more complexity and detail involved here, which I would love to understand.

First, I need to say this, you are an utter doll. You’re out there reading and questioning and investigating further and it’s all so great.

And you’re right, on dry paper the whole thing is pretty weird.

There isn’t a smoking gun, here. I’m not going to point at a particular coach or GM and tell you, “They made a poor or a prejudiced decision, and the rest of us are fine.” A staggering number of things happened to happen to Semin. Each one of them didn’t mean so much by themselves. But I think the fact that they happened, and kept happening, and were expected to happen, all to him says a lot about us.

What there is is a context, and then there’s a story here. I think what a lot of us missed at the time, and are still missing, is how they fit together.

So I’m gonna drag us all through both. Congratulations: you get two posts.

I’m traveling through Montréal, so I come down to grab coffee in just a jersey and my little pink running shorts.  I’m not surprised when a man stops me. He asks what’s up, am I Russian, am I a Caps fan. “Oh, yeah,” I say.

“Yeah, yeah. They’re a great team every year,” he says, for the benefit of the man next to him. “No luck in the postseason though!”

The second man is Danish, and nervous, stuck between us. “You have a big rivalry?” he asks.

I have a personal rivalry with Les Habitants. “Oh, no,” I say.

I negotiate. If I admit I grew up watching the Canadiens as my hometown team, the first man will quiz me. So it’s friendly overture #2, angling towards him to show him the back of my sweater. The first man isn’t looking. “My favorite guy, Alexander Syomin, he played up here for a bit.”

I pronounce it that way, Сёмин, not an Anglicized eh. We can come back to that.

He admires my sweater. “Good player?” he tries.

“Oh, yeah, real skilled player,” the first man says, checking back in. And then, like he’s watching Semin backcheck right now, like the insight just struck him, “Lazy, though.”

“Oh, no,” I say, reassuring the Dane. “That’s just he plays Russian hockey, it just looks different than Canadian style, so some people think it looks like that.”

First man says, “Ovechkin doesn’t play like that.”

Of course he says that.

“Oh,” I say, laugh, cut him off. “Nobody plays like Ovechkin.”

(The Dane is looking between us like he’s about to ask how these people died.)

Something percolates through the first man’s mind. “Who’s your favorite player?”

And I turn around and walk away. He says, “Oh,” reading my shoulders. He hadn’t heard a word except the opening to tell me what he already Knew.

Listen, I don’t like feeling rude. But I was about to be late to interview for a graduate research position in hockey biomechanics, and I already knew I needed to go put on pants and fold Semin’s name back into a suitcase if I wanted them to respect me.

I’m not being dramatic so much as I’m trying to show the odd way that we all know things.  That man knew I wasn’t an expert, because I don’t look like one. We all know my favorite player isn’t a good player because he doesn’t look like one.

(And I don’t mean the ethnocentrism and neurotypical judgements we paint all over his face, although that’ll come back into it.)

G, you might be saying, that guy was a stock character of a misogynist hockey fan. Of course he only saw what he expected to. Well, here’s one thing: we all kind of think like that. Of course we don’t know when we aren’t seeing things that conflict with our view. Just keep that in mind when we talk about Russia.

And when we watch hockey, a good amount of the time, our eyes are telling us real persuasive narratives. There are certain visual cues in the game that we think mean good, make someone valuable. They signal to us that the player is playing ‘well’, and once we’re hooked on them that reading is hard to shake. Experienced analysts like Steve Dangle will talk about this: after decades watching hockey, they still get caught up in all the great-looking things a player is doing and miss underlying weakness, or get stuck on what a player doesn’t do and miss what they contribute overall.

(This is why statistics are valuable and controversial: they can be used to reveal patterns, like how a player who scores plenty of pretty goals is also on the ice for a suspicious number of goals against, and sometimes that conflicts with what seems obvious to the eye-test.)

Ethnicity comes back into it because what we think looks valuable depends where we’re from.

Later, I’m laughing over it to my buddy. She’s an older fan than me, and I admire her so much, because she listens to me, and she says, “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you—I don’t know what you mean when you keep saying Russian hockey.”

Context: Soviet and Russian Hockey

Any moment that I have the puck and you do not seems like it should be good for me.

But if you’re allowed to just come up and smash me, and I just hang out holding it, you’re going to try to take it away. Some of the time you’ll manage and then you’ll have it and you can score goals with it. So maybe I want to risk trying to score goals with it before you do.

That’s good old North American.

Oh, I’m sorry, did you want this? Did you want to try to score some goals with it? Sure, I suppose you can borrow it for a bit.  

Catch me first.

That’s Soviet.

This is a difference of philosophy; it’s a preference in coaching and play-making. There are some kids who weren’t considered particularly naturally talented who would be in Russia, and the other way around. But people also train to meet those standards, so by the time you’re in your teens or early twenties, you’re caught somewhere between the abilities and inclinations you were born with and the values you shaped yourself to try to fulfill.

Imagine a benchful of Evgeny Kuznetsovs.

Soviet hockey players were skaters first. At age 4 or 5, they would be learning skating fundamentals for an hour two or three days a week. Then an hour and half. At 10, they would skate every day. At 12, two practices a day.

“We put kids on skates at a very young age. Much earlier than in the U.S. and Canada. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. On one hand early development may influence game thinking, on the other skating may become a burden and be detrimental for the health.”—Sergei Gimaev (USSR champion)

I’m quoting Sergei because that’s my stance: on the one hand, and on the other. There’s a lot to say about the Soviet hockey schools. Athleticism was patriotism in the Soviet Union, as it is in many states, and the treatment of athletes was frequently disturbing—but it’s always more complex than a dystopia.

Their eerily effortless technical skating contributed to the outside image of the “Red Machine”, a North American narrative than Soviet skaters were only trained to be interchangeable pieces without any fun or independence or Canadian grit, but the Soviet style also valued a child-like intellectual creativity.

“Kids were always allowed to improvise on the ice,” according to Dmitri Efimov. “We surprised our opponents with the fact that we were difficult to ‘read,’ our actions couldn’t be anticipated.”  

This play, from hockey-graphs.com, is a great example.Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov, and Sergei Makarov skate so tightly they seem about to combine into a single giant mecha, luring in the Canadians, and then fly past them.

All that skill and creative energy fed into the endless, eternal, interminable passing. Each player on the line swung around each other, dragging the opposition into position until one of them found a chance to shoot. The goal of Soviet hockey wasn’t to score goals: holding possession and winding the clock down was pretty much an end in and of itself.

“For me, I would love to have empty net at end of season, then (have someone else) score a goal you know? For me, that’s how my father teach me and how my whole coaches when I grown up teach me. You better to give your partner empty netter than you score it. It’s in my heart.”

So, Evgeny Evgenyevich…if you’re always giving the goal to your teammates, who’s taking the shots?

Ovechkin isn’t like that

Kristi St. Allain of St. Thomas University wrote a dissertation on why people say this. It was adapted and accepted for publication by the Sociology of Sport Journal in 2016, it’s 43 pages, and it’s worth a read.  

There’s a more technical take, which I think is also interesting: yes, he is like that.

Ovechkin is a monster. He’ll be once in the world, not once in a lifetime. Comparing any Russian player to him is pretty pointless, but comparing him to them is actually useful, because we can see that Ovechkin plays a specific role in Russian hockey.

Hockey was at its lowest low in Russia in the ‘90s, after the dissolution of the Soviet national team. Everyone had gotten used to Soviet hockey, and that was over. The new nation was wondering what the new Russian hockey was going to be, and it mostly seemed like it sucked.

And then they got...these two.

The Aleksandrs revolutionized Russian hockey by building a new role for themselves: the specialized sharpshooter.

I’m not saying there weren’t skilled shooters before them in the Soviet system, but those teams made plays in a more balanced way, effective divvying up shot attempts between three fairly equal forwards.

Two years older than Ovechkin, Semin was the first player to prove what that shot could do. In 2008 he led Russia to the first World Championship gold since 1993, against Canada in Quebec City, ending over a decade of low self-esteem in a moment of transcendently wicked awesomeness to a generation who grew up after but still very much under the weight of the Soviet Union.

Arguably, he’s the one who told us all what Russian hockey was going to be. 

Sasha and Sasha both stood out from their teammates for their spectacular aim and strength. Semin’s wrist-shot was described “arguably the most powerful in the game” during his years in the NHL. (And that’s from SB Nation, not just me and Kuznetsov.)

Instead of skating and passing until they happened to be in position for a particular shot, both Semin and Ovechkin would deliberately take up a shooting position, and their linemates  would pass between themselves, dragging the opposition around until they could send the puck to the Sasha for a shot.

Taking those shots isn’t selfish: it’s a new way of using their unique skill to play for their teammates. 

At this point in his career, we often get to see Ovi skate straight to his office and crouch there in active waiting. He’ll slide a little up and down in search of openings as the other team chase his center and right winger: “he’s the best in the world at adjusting to passes.”

Semin would circle. He hovered over the blue line like some large and carnivorous bird, allowing him to either swoop in for a shot, or swing and pass back and forth with his center to set up his opposite winger. He could essentially shoot like a second Ovechkin or partner with Nick Backstrom to hold possession.

We can succeed

There’s something heart-wrenching to me about that quote from Kuznetsov. Because many Russian players don’t succeed in the NHL; they don’t fit in the spaces allowed for them in the Canadian conception of hockey. That should hardly count as a failing: like Kuznetsov said, Canadians don’t know how to play Soviet or Russian hockey. And they aren’t asked to.

Do you know how many Russian players are in the NHL right now?

It’s 39.

(Less if we set aside the goalies, which arguably we should here).  That’s barely more than one per franchise, and that shakes out to mean something pretty profound for players who have it in their hearts to try to match what their teammates are doing, but who by their late teens and twenties simply can’t reshape the entire way they play the game.

Semin is a spectacular player in context. So is Ovechkin. For most of his career Ovi’s context was Semin, and Ovi is quite honest about that.

Semin was the best possession player on the Washington Capitals in 2012, while also seeing the highest percentage of scoring chances. He was a 40+ goal scorer while being someone else’s main man for assists. 

I’m going to come back and to talk through his actual story in order, but this is the first thing to keep in mind: 

All that circling didn’t look good. When he looked for passes, waited for scoring chances, played high-scoring but still play-making Russian hockey, he looked lazy.

[theantisocialcritic]

Archive Project - January 2, 2012 - Gaming in 2011

Since this fall was one of Gamings most exhaustive with over a dozen AAA titles in less than three months, i thought Id share my opinion about some of them and review the ones I played....        Full list: Dead Island, Gears of War 3, RAGE, Batman Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3, Sonic Generations, Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim, Halo Anniversary, Assassins Creed Revelations, Saints Row The Third, Super Mario 3D Land, Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, Mariokart 7 (3DS), Just Dance 3, Star Wars: The Old Republic. -Dead Island: I've never been a fan of the whole Zombie franchise, not because they are bad games, but because ive had to be selective in my gaming purchases. Everything i've heard about Dead Island however has been very good and is probably the best zombie game of 2011. I wouldn't know though. -Gears of War 3: This long awaited title is debatably the most anticipated game of 2011, and definitily the most anticipated Xbox title. The title finishes off the Gears of War trilogy with a satisfiying (though cheesy) resolution to end the Locust War. -RAGE: Anticipation for RAGE was high as shared development between Id software and Bethesda Softworks, two of gamings most notable companies, brought the title to life. The game was expected as a mix of DOOM and Fallout, an action packed, open world, first person shooter with a detailed plot, amazing gameplay and hundreds of hours of gameplay. This was not the case. The game reported to have a low total length of about 10 hours and a weak storyline. Where RAGE shines however is in its gunplay and technical feats.  Overall this game is fair, but doesn't live up to either companies standards. -Batman Arkham City: Seperate from the movies and following the plot to Arkham Asylum, this game provides a deep look into the Batman Universe and is praised for its story and innovative gameplay. -Battlefield 3: Back in October I was DYING to play this game. It was the first major title this fall I was prepped to buy and I was excited to finally get a chance to keep up with the newest gaming buzz. Unfortunatly the release was less than ideal. It came out the week I was preoccupied with the Fall Play and I didn't get a chance to open it. By the time I finally had freetime to play games, Modern Warfare 3 had been released and I was itching to finally finish the storyline for that. Finally in late November I got my chance. I popped the game in my xbox and began the Campaign. Immediatly I enjoyed the game. However as time went on the Campaign seemed to drag on and on. I had a difficult time understanding the plot and the characters were difficult to relate to and feel emotions for (Unlike MW). Then I tried out the Multiplayer. I was not impressed. The maps were too large and the players were all far more experienced than I was, I didn't have much fun. Overall Battlefield 3 has amazing technology, but unless your willing to dedicate more time to it, then it isn't as much fun. -Uncharted 3: I don't own a Playstation, however reception for this game has been very good (Im assuming Nathan Drake is the Indiana Jones of Video Games). When I finally do break and buy one, this game is definitly on my list of games to try. -Sonic Generations: Old Sonic meets New Sonic, brushing aside the obvious cheesiness of this concept, the game seems to provide gamers with the chance to live out their favorite form of Sonic games. But since ive never been a strong fan of the series it means little to me personally. -Modern Warfare 3: I bought this game for the sole purpose of defeating Makarov! (Oh I can hear the COD fans screaming right now). Ive never been a fan of COD multiplayer. Ive gotten into it recently but its vastly different then the games im used to. Ever since Black Ops, Activision has been publishing really crapped COD titles that simply reskin the previous game with new graphics and stories, barely changing the gameplay or multiplayer at all. This game is basically a $60 addon for Modern Warfare 2. Not only that but they expect gamers to pay an additional $50 for multiplayer upgrades. Frickin heck!!!! -Skyrim: OH FRICK YES! When I first heard of Skyrim about 8 months ago it didn't seem that big of a deal to me. It just seemed like a crappy sequel to Oblivion (which I didn't play). So I turned my attention elsewhere, notably to the newly revealed Halo 4. However about two months ago I began hearing alot about this game and how excited people were for it. I still wasn't interested. I had already sunk $180 in games already and Christmas was on the horizon so I continued to ignore it. News of Skyrim only increased after the release as all my gamer friends talked about it exclusively while I sat in the corner playing Halo. Eventually the buzz got too great and I broke and decided to rent a copy (not convinced I would like it). Just today I dedicated a few hours of my day and sat down to play it. Now I can safely say that I am in love with the game as much as any other. In a few hours I had climbed a mountain, discovered an ancient tomb and killed a fire breathing dragon. This game is definitly on the list of games I need to buy in the future. -Halo Anniversary: When I first heard about this in June, I was gitty with excitement. Like many I feared that Halo would die after Reach and that the series would never be as acclaimed as Call of Duty took over. As I watched the live E3 announcement I was filled with hope as a new decade of Halo games came into the light. For months I waited impatiently to play the new Halo title. I loved Halo 1 and I couldn't wait to see it in HD. Finally the day arrived. After a long day of school and an agonizing ride to the local Gamestop, I held the game in my hands. I brought it to my dad's apartment, turned on the Xbox and blasted my way through the Pillar of Autumn and across the surface of installation 04. I would have played all night if school hadn't directly followed. Though quickly the game grew old to me. Something ive noticed about Halo titles is that they have an amazing amount of replayability, but get old if over played. The game itself broke down into two features. One was the rebooted Halo 1 campaign, and the other was a map pack for Halo Reach. The games renewing quality was its reduced price tag of $40. Thus making Anniversary what Halo 3 ODST wanted to be. Overall a worthwhile purchase if all its aspects are to be respected. -Assassins Creed Revelations: I very specifically was not interested in this title. Why? Because the Assassins Creed Franchise is a buzzkill. I could have easily rented this title at the local Redbox for a mere $2 a night, played it and given it back. But no. I didn't. Why? Because the franchise is story driven by the previous title and hits a cliffhanger at the end of every game. Id have to play 1, 2 and brotherhood just to understand the plot prior to the game. I might as well just google the entire plot. Plus the gameplay is repetative. Jump off building, kill guy. Jump off building, kill guy. Jump off building, kill two guys. See my point? -Saints Row The Third: Its a ruder Grand Theft Auto clone. Enough said........ -Super Mario 3D Land: Back in November, I had been given the opportunity to hang out at the local gamestop while my mom was busy. As usual I took note of the various titles avaliable, asked some questions to the clerk and played some demos avalible. Notably the new Mario title. As with every Nintendo console, a Mario title is paired up to boost sales. With nothing better to do, I approached to sample 3DS (you know the one nailed to the wall) and played through the first level. Rarely do I enjoy a game the first time a play it. Usually the controls become a hastile and I dread my first experience. But the controls came naturally to me. The level was simple and fun and I honestly enjoys playing through it. When I finally buy my 3DS, Mario is one of the first titles I will buy. -Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword: There are not bad Zelda games, there are ones that dissapoint slightly or have frustrating features, but all the titles are quality titles worth their cost. I am not personally a zelda fan, but I have tremendous respect for the franchise and its fans. Skyward Sword is definitly a notworthy title. The game cronologically takes place before Ocarina of Time and Majoras Mask. The game however is vastly different in style from previous zelda titles and may alienate some fans. Overall the game is praised for its quality and story. I applaud Nintendo for ending the Wii's Lifespan with such a wonderful title and look forward to seeing what titles they have in store for the Wii U in terms of Zelda. -Mariokart 7 (3DS): Since the Nintendo 64, every Nintendo console has to have a mariokart game. They are fun, simple and bring in the bucks for our friends in Japan. Mariokart brings the same style of racing Nintendo characters to the 3DS and is worth the cost. -Just Dance 3: either you play motion sensitive games or you don't. If you like them and music games, then youll like it. If you don't, then you won't like it. Simple as that. -Star Wars: The Old Republic: A star wars MMO, not an original concept but definitly a profitable one. Following the success of Knights of the Old Republic and the huge following for MMOs like World of Warcraft, Lucasarts and Bioware came together to produce The Old Republic, allowing fans to make their own epic journey in the star wars universe. However the game is plagued with issues. Notably the fact that all players are forced into a waiting room upon signing into a server until enough room opens for them.

[arkus-rhapsode]

What If Azuma Turned Good? A Fairy Tail Discussion

Hey there guys! Rhapsode here, and this is something different I wanted to try. After being inspired by other creators like MasakoX, I wanted to try my hand with the “what if” scenario game only with Fairy Tail. I thought it would be nice to start of with an interesting villain character that sadly didn’t get much done with him so I thought I would ask the question, ‘What if Azuma turned good?” I don’t know if this’ll be a permanent thing, but if you want to see more stuff like this done by me, please send feedback. Also, I need to put this as a disclaimer.

This is completely a fan based work, this isn’t me saying the series of Fairy Tail would’ve been better with this change. This is just simply me wanting to explore a scenario for fun. Also in terms of context this will be me building off what Mashima has already made, there won’t be any drastic changes in canon from before this what if, so for good r for ill thing like Lisanna still being alive, Jellal still having been controlled by Ultear, and Juvia being gaga for Gray still exists regardless if I think they were good story choices or not.  With all that said, let’s ask, what if Azuma became good?

So we open all the way back on the Tenrou Island arc, where Azuma makes his first appearance easily defeating Rune Knight and Pantherlily. Azuma at this point shows himself off as cold and unfeeling to things that stand in his way. He meets Mirajane and Lisanna, provoking Mira into a fight. Though instead of a bomb Azuma just captures Lisanna in branches saying that he’ll crush her, which causes Mira to attack.

After a brief scuffle, Azuma comes out on top, securing himself as a threat to FT, but shows a level of nuance to his character by refusing to kill Mirajane out of respect for this fight that she gave him. This moment is crucial for Azuma as character as it illustrates he is not another cut and dry villain, but has a layer of depth that separates him from guys like Yomazu, Kawazu, Kain, and Zancrow.

Eventually we get to the climactic battle where Azuma and Erza fight, stating that his purpose for join Grimoire Heart was find himself a worthy opponent and he sees that in Erza. After a long battle, Azua looks like he has the upper hand and Terra Clamare on Erza. This results in and almost decisive win for Azuma and he gets a scene where he turns his back a utters some catchy badass anime warrior thing like, “You fought well, Titania”. But Erza survives and with her last ounce of strength she strikes and cuts through Azuma.

Now in canon, this is where Azuma dies, but in this universe, Erza still wins, but her slash doesn’t kill Azuma, but rather cuts of his right arm. This way we don’t diminish the badassery of Erza’s comeback, but we don’t make it so overblown that it seem like overcompensating. This also is symbolic for Azuma as not only has he tasted defeat at someone who is stronger than him, but Azuma also now has lost right arm thus crippling him and significantly breaking his pride as a warrior. With Azuma not dying, he and Erza manage to talk for a little bit, with him questioning how she got so strong that not even lost magic could beat her. Erza states that it was due to having a place that she could return home to, that she didn’t want to let down Fairy Tail. Azuma hears this and says that it must be some great place.

When Azuma asks to be killed, Erza refuses, showing the same respect Azuma showed Mira, but Azuma does manage to pay her back by revealing the part of the Grimoire airship that stores Hades’ devil heart. (Which when we think about it makes more sense why team Natsu would take the fight to Hades’ airship). The battle still commences with Azuma, after patching himself a bit, leaving Tenrou before Acnologia shows up, I mean, Ultear and Meredy made it out of Tenrou and in filler Rustyrose did, so it isn’t farfetched that Azuma couldn’t. And here’s the big moment, Acnologia “kills” FT, with many like Lahar, Mest, and yes, Azuma watching.

We go 7 years into the future, with Romeo coming back to FT after a mission, and I mean the first FT building, FT never lost it. We see Romeo return to FT, but he is harassed by a few Twilight Ogre mages who make fun of the fact FT has kids working at it and all of their mages are weak now if their best couldn’t beat a dragon. Romeo is stopped from fighting by Master Macao who says to not deal with them. Here Romeo highlights the actual problem with this universe’s FT and not because they are financially struggling, but rather they have no respect and are seen as a second rate guild by the tabloids and big name guilds like Sabertooth.

However, we see another big change with this universe and it is an Azuma who is doing missions for FT. Azuma is now an ally to FT, but not a mage for FT, rather he did work in their time of need after Tenrou was destroyed as a way of paying back Erza, however he is not a member of FT. As Azuma’s sense of honor is why he is working to support FT, but his sense of guilt for what he did to members like Pantherlily, Mira, and Lisanna still haunt him.

I have to imagine Azuma looks different as well given the whole time skip redesign. My image of him is that he has shaved his hair, but kept those two little hair locks in front of his forehead and still has his goatee. Also his outfit having changed, still rocking the baggy pants, but his top resembles loose short-sleeved African-style robes, still with his green and orange color scheme. The biggest change in his appearance he now has a wooden arm that his manipulates with his magic (and this will come into play later) Azuma also now lives in East Forest close to Porlyusica and she doesn’t mind him as he is one with nature, making a hut out of trees with cutting them down and living off self farmed food.

An issue with Azuma being an ally with FT and not a member also crops up as while FT is grateful for what he has done, they are now looked down even more as “outsourcers”. When someone , lets just say Jet, suggests getting rid of Azuma, the person who comes to the defense of Azuma is Laki. Yeah, I wanted to take some time to at least re introduce some of the FT cast who was the background cast, and while guys like Nab having a running gag, Jet and Droy being tied to shadow gear, Macao and Romeo being already helped members of the guild and Max fighting Natsu, there really is nothing to reintroduce Laki except that she is also the other female in the group. So why not give her some tether to a Azuma, and the reason why… Well let’s dive into that later.

Suddenly, all of FT is off with BP who have revealed the re appearance of Tenrou with Azuma also coming along. They all meet and there’s definitely some awkward reunions with FT and Azuma. Erza isn’t quick to jump into forgiveness and Mira is still pissed after the whole almost crushing Lisanna. Laki seems to be the only one who speaks up for all the good Azuma has done and Laxus even states that they should forgive Azuma if they were capable of forgiving him and if what Laki is saying is true then Azuma has done more for the guild than Laxus has. However, while guys like Natsu, Happy, and Gajeel take to Azuma easily, there is still conflict between him and Mira.

We then get an eventual goading into the games as each of the tenrou FT members realize just how outclassed they are now: maybe Natsu meets Sting and Rogue Early and is shaken by learning that they could beat a dragon while he couldn’t, Gray meeting and sparring against Lyon only to discover that he can’t lay a finger on them, Erza seeing Jellal again and feeling how much more power he has now etc (there’s a whole bunch of ways that team tenrou could’ve come to realize how far their star has fallen. This leads into them wanting to train and instead of Ultear just hacking their bodies to grow even stronger, they do actual training. Speaking of Ultear, she knows of Azuma’s involvement with FT, but knows he has no interest in destroying Zeref and rather has something else, which we will get to.

Azuma offers to train team Fairy Tail, putting them through a trial that’ll hopefully make them stronger for the tournament. While this happens, Makarov is able to speak with Azuma and questions why he’s done all this and Azuma reveals he still holds a great respect for Erza and what she has done for him is worth being paid back a hundredfold. He states that he also sees Erza as his one true rival and that he refuses to fight her again till she is at her best, thinking that beating her now would be unsatisfying. This shows Azuma still has some of his old habits like his lust for battle, but now it isn’t the only thing about him. Finally, the GMG comes and all of team FT shine with their own events, however during the end of day one, something very important happens. Erza meets Kagura as well as Azuma. Erza is deeply troubled by meeting Kagura, feeling her enormous power and conviction. Azuma meeting Kagura results in him feeling the same sensation of setting her sights on Erza as he has had.

When Azuma begins to talk to Erza they both discuss her ability and that she can beat Kagura. Erza is still doubtful as Kagura’s sword style is almost the opposite of her magic, this leads to Azuma showing Erza his fake arm and recounts a tale when he first began assisting FT. Remember that Laki loyalty? Well the reason why is in the first few months of helping FT, Azuma was working with only one arm. Laki had followed him and witnessed Azuma’s arc of the Great Tree. Laki really is impressed by the wood magic and reveals her Wood-Make skill. Laki shows him the basis for remaking his arm with his wood. It isn’t crazy as Ur was able to remake her leg from ice. Azuma with his new arm developed a whole new fighting style with his tree arm. The moral of his tale is that what seems like a weakness can lead to developing a whole new skill. Overhearing this is Mirajane who still is uneasy about Azuma.

On the second day, Mira does snap at Azuma when he says the she might want to use her satan soul sitri. Mira wins without the use of sitri (and lets be fair Jenny isn’t that tough). Eventually we get to the dragons where Azuma and Ultear met again killing hatchlings. Ultear knows why Azuma has also helped FT and states that she knows the limit of the arc of the great tree and that’s Azuma will become a tree eventually. Yeah, did you think I forgot about that little limit to Azuma’s magic. This creates Azuma’s goal outside of seeing Erza as a rival and that is he is searching for a way to stop his magic from turning him into a tree.

Eventually GMG ends and we go to Tartarus, but not before a little exchange with Warrod in the Sun Village when Erza mentions that Azuma is a tree mage like Warrod, but when saying Azuma uses arc of the great tree magic specifically, Warrod reveals the sad part of that magic and how after prolonged uses of it it’ll eventually turn him into a tree. Erza, who also fought hatchlings realizes that Azuma’s new style wasn’t only to to regain his arm, but also to limit how much of his magic he uses. As well as there being a double meaning to Azuma’s story of your weakness being turned into a new skill.

Before Tartaros we also might get some lip service as Azuma is off searching for that ability to stop him from becoming a tree and that’s why he doesn’t show up for a while. But it just so happens that when FT is looking for the councillors Azuma is in the same town as Elfman and Lisanna. (Hey plot convenience still exists) Azuma she’s the now Macro controlled Elfman and when trying to stop him, Sayla wants Elfman to defeat Azuma as Sayla flees with Lisanna.

Azuma subdues Elfman, and while he brings him back to FT to warn about Tartaros, there is a bomb dropped on the FT building, but thanks to Cana, everybody is safe. While many go off to fight their own battles, Azuma and Elfman go to save Mira and Lisanna. This leads to Sayla and Lamby fighting the two, but not off the cuff. Sayla offers both Azuma and Elfman chances to join Tartaros as she can take away Azuma’s fear of becoming a tree, but Azuma says he won’t throw away all he’s done with Ft and justifies this by saying that he’s “dying to fight an etherios”. Eventually Mira joins Azuma in fighting Sayla while in Sitri form. Elfman goes to help Lisanna with Lamby, because he won’t lose his little sister again. Azuma and Mira come to terms with each other as they beat and Sayla and this means that all members of FT now forgive Azuma from Tenrou. However, the good times don’t last as After Tartaros, FT is disbanded.

We get to the Avatar arc after one year and Natsu runs across Azuma after a tip he got from Lyon. Why Lyon? Well as a rival to Gray, I think over the one year where Azuma travels to find a way of preventing his magic from turning him into a tree, Lyon and Azuma met and bonded over the rivalries they have with FT members. Now, Azuma is still struggling to figure out how to prevent himself from becoming a tree, but Natsu comes into ask him to become a full fledged member of FT. Azuma says he can’t do that, but Natsu shuts him up and says that everyone forgives Azuma and accepts as well as being together means they could help him search for a cure to his magic. Azuma is silent and Natsu says they need to speak to each other a different way and that’s via a battle. It is short, but ultimately Azuma accepts the offer to joining the new team FT. They also bring back Gray in the assault on Acatar and all that jazz with Ikusa-tsunagi. Azuma is now an FT mage, but still searching for his cure saying if he does find it, he wants to fight Erza.

Azuma doesn’t go to Alvarez to pick up Makarov, but an important event happens with Dimaria’s introduction as Brandish and Dimaria’s banter leads to a small nod about Dimaria being unable to to fully call her magic her own. A little foreshadowing to God soul and possibly something else, perhaps?

Another important moment is the assault lead by Ajeel as Erza’s participation in it is what DImaria takes interest in and sets her sights on DImaria and is why she wants the southern front, because that’s where Erza went. Azuma also ends up in the southern front with Wendy, Gray, Laxus, and Juvia. Also in the south is Lamia Scale so not only do we get a reunion with Wendy and Chelia, but also a small cameo of Lyon and Azuma interacting.

We see, Dimaria killing a bunch of people with her besting Kagura after we see Dimaria drink from an odd liquid. This liquid is odd as she drinks from it right before she attacks. When Dimaria learns that Neinhart lost to Erza she goes after her, but Azuma, Wendy, and Chelia interfere. This leads to the reveal of Chronos and the time stop. Ultear reappears saving the three and states that she became one with time thanks to Last Ages that she used in the GMG arc. Azuma is stunned by this, but the CHronos attacks, who also starts to seem different from the old DImaria. We see Chronos take a swig from that same odd drink and she begins to sound like Dimaria again. Dimaria reveals that god soul is different from other take over as the take over is able to retain its individuality. (We saw  this in the manga with a sudden personality shift from her normal self to more Chronos like in Chronos form) The liquid we’ve seen her drink is actually an element to negate Chronos from fully taking over, saying it was harvested from some rare fruit or lake with the ability to suppress a certain quality of magic.

Chronos wipes the floor with the three, Wendy getting beat to the point she can’t continue. Chelia knows that she stands the best chance, but Chronos is too powerful. Azuma then knows that last ages performed a miracle, at the cost of becoming one is the magic, so Azuma decides to sacrifice all restraint by using all of his Arc of the Great Tree and becoming a tree. When Wendy yells at him over what he is doing the states it’s okay and that if he’s going to die here “He’s going to do it against the most powerful challenge he’s ever faced giving everything he has”.

Super Azuma and Chronos fight and it is big, with tree manipulation and clock hands made of magic flying and explosion. Azuma gets to the point where he knows his limit so he ennares Dimaria in a massive tree trunk piston and has Chelia finish her off with her Sky God power. This works as Dimaria falls, but Azuma slowly becomes a tree. Chelia tries to grab the liquid Dimaria was using to make Azuma human again, but being a spoilsport, Dimaria destroys the liquid and says that Azuma can rot. Azuma becomes a tree, but thanks Fairy Tail for giving him more than he possibly would have wanted. Chelia feels very bad, but during this Wendy says that if Dimaria has been using that liquid for long, then she can go find where it is made in Alvarez and get it.

Wendy tells Azuma to wait, but she goes off to Fight with Irene and uses Azuma’s sacrifice as extra conviction of not wanting anyone else to die her in this war.

Finally, Azuma gets one little cameo as team Lamia Scale is hanging out by his tree form before FT arrives at Hargeon and says they need Fairy Sphere. We get the huge holding hands moment with Meredy even connecting to what is Azuma and in the epilogue we see Wendy and Laki embarking to Alvarez to find a cure for Azuma.

So that’s my idea of what would’ve happen if Azuma had became good. Please, tell me what you thought, and if you would like me to do more stuff like these, let me know. Hope you had fun and I’ll see you next time.

[thefairystales]

Mashima Hiro long interview translation (part 1)

This long interview with Mashima Hiro is published in Magazine Pocket. The interview was carried out right after the storyboard for the final chapter was completed. The interviewer was Hashimoto, who had previously served as Mashima-sensei’s editor for 2.5 years. Mashima-sensei’s current editor was also present at the interview, and the responses labeled with “editor” are from him.

The interview is really long, and I have broken it up into 3 parts. The other parts will be posted some time later.

Translated by thefairystales | DO NOT EDIT OR REMOVE SOURCE Please credit by linking back when using. (usage rules)

On the final chapter

How’s the storyboard for the final chapter coming along?

I finished my final meeting a short while ago and the chapter is complete.

It wasn’t rejected?

Somehow or other. (laugh)

Editor: It was OK the first round!

What are your thoughts about finishing the storyboard?

I don’t know how the readers feel about it until I get to hear from them, but I am personally satisfied with how I drew the final chapter. I didn’t aim for something touching or literary, but rather showed “FT-ness” or what’s “FT-ish” to the maximum. I hope the ending satisfies the readers.

You gave priority to what you regard as “FT-ish”?

Right. I think the fans all have their own opinion of what’s “FT-ish”. However, I drew all that I felt was “FT-ish” in the final chapter.

Serialization of the manga began in issue 35 in 2006, and ended in issue 34 in 2017. It’s exactly 11 years.

I didn’t intend for it to be so long.

You were 29 when the serialization began, and you’re 40 now. You devoted the whole of your 30s to FT.

It’s the period where I gain the most weight. However, I was able to draw the manga. I’m completely satisfied.

Is there anything that you didn’t manage to draw?

Nothing at all. I managed to draw everything that I wanted to in the manuscript and it’s something I’m thankful about.

It’s out for the first time in 11 years. An issue of Weekly Shonen Magazine without Fairy Tail.

Now that you mention it, that’s right. The series had never been a break during serialization, and I guess it has become natural to expect a new chapter.

For the first time in about 500 volumes.

It’s a very long time if you put it that way (laugh). Was it in serialization when you join the editorial department?

I joined the company 9 years ago, and the manga was already in serialization. It was at the “Tower of Heaven” arc. I had more than 20 staff working under me, and almost all the staff working for Weekly Shonen Magazine joined the company after Fairy Tail had begun its serialization.

That’s unbelievable. Isn’t the editorial department of Weekly Shonen Magazine too young? (laugh)

Have there been any changes from the time the manga began its serialization till now?

My body is still healthy, but my stamina has dropped. It’s a little different from the time when I was alright even after pulling an all-nighter. However, my energy hasn’t declined. It’s been surging instead.

Do you feel the difference in your stamina more when you’re working on the manuscript as compared to the storyboard?

In my case, the storyboard is more of a product of energy rather than stamina. I always work on it when I’m at maximum energy. The techniques and intuition that I’ve developed over the years have also helped me when it comes to working on the storyboard.

What about the manuscript?

It’s not purely an issue with stamina. The density of my drawings have been going up year by year, and it has become time consuming. I don’t want the quality of the manuscript to decrease once it has gone up, and thus I’ve been spending more time on the scenes.

It’s a problem that arises because you want to give your best with every chapter.

On Natsu

I don’t feel that the author’s age has gone up even as the manga ends. It’s a classic shonen manga.

It might be because I want to cling on to shonen manga forever. (laugh)

Natsu had a prominent presence.

He’s a simple and straightforward protagonist, and there’s no need to make him like a character in an adult-like manga. Natsu was Natsu from the start till the end.

But he grew.

Of course. However, he never changed when it comes to things that are “Natsu-like”. To me, that might be what makes it “shonen manga-ish”.

My impression of the first chapter is that Natsu didn’t fight because he wanted to rescue Lucy.

Natsu was mad that Bora lied that he was from Fairy Tail. However, he ended up saving Lucy when he fought Bora.

He isn't the type of protagonist who helps others just because they are in need. You showed what was important to him in your own way, even though he appeared to help Lucy because she was in trouble.

That was all that I drew in the first chapter. (laugh)

Is there anything else you have to say about Natsu?

There are minute things, but... Natsu doesn’t have any monologues, and is someone who reveals all his thoughts through his actions. Thus, there isn’t really anything important that I have left to say about him.

On the guild

There are many characters.

The characters who had names were counted before, and there were more than 300 of them.

That was done 2 to 3 years before this, and it seems like the final character count exceeds 400. Can you remember everyone?

That’s impossible (laugh). Various characters appeared in the penultimate chapter, and I couldn’t remember how they’re supposed to look like.

(laugh)

I thought that I would just go ahead and draw them since they’re my characters after all, but when I looked over them later they were completely different from how they’re supposed to look like. (laugh)

The number of characters will increase no matter what due to the nature of the manga. If a guild appears there will be around 10 more characters.

I wanted to draw many characters from the start, and I thought “I’ll draw as many characters as I like!” when the serialization first began. However, at the end, I wondered why there were so many characters when I was drawing the colour page with all the characters gathered together. You reap what you sow, but it was fun. It was truly wonderful. (laugh)

Did you want to draw a guild right from the start?

I wanted to draw a group of people, or perhaps I should say a team. I wanted to draw something like a gathering of people or a community. I wanted to convey the enjoyment that comes from having various people around.

The guild members seem fun to be around.

Right. It’s difficult to put in words, but I’ve always drawn things like bonds and friendship in my manga. I touched on it more deeply in Fairy Tail as compared to RAVE.

Fairy Tail gives the impression of a classic shonen manga, but it was actually a fantasy battle manga at the start.

There were many comrades right from the start.

Don’t you normally gain more friends from fighting enemies or meeting people during events?

There were challenges that happened in the manga, but that’s the kind of world I wanted to show.

They are nearly all defensive battles. I think it’s something revolutionary.

Really?

The protagonist usually wants to become a certain type of person, or has something he wants, and he fights for that reason. However, Natsu already has all that. He has friends, a home, and enjoyable days.

That’s why he only fights to protect these. He gives his all when it comes to protecting these things. Natsu has these things right from the start, and they are irreplaceable.

I thought that the guild would head to Alvarez at the end, but they ended up returning to the guild, and it became a defensive battle once again.

I wanted the final battle to happen within the guild. It was something that I had decided early on.

The enemies gradually became greater and more powerful but your stance never changed till the end.

It’s about protecting your comrades. I never intended to change that. (laugh)

It’s difficult to draw a manga that’s filled with the protagonist.

People who are motivated are unique.

Wasn’t it difficult to move the story forward? How did you get things moving along smoothly?

It’s a mystery.

You make it sound it it’s somebody else’s affair. (laugh)

Now that you mention it, I hard a hard time with the storyboard at the beginning. It showed how great and interesting the bonds between an existing group of friends are, and that required laying out a framework.

Can you give more details?

The second chapter is easy to understand as an example. The first chapter describes how a Fairy Tail mage is like, and the second chapter shows what kind of guild Fairy Tail is.

I see.

You can’t avoid the characters when it comes to a guild, and thus I had to show them in the second chapter. That would confuse the reader. However, I can’t go on to depict the guild, comrades, and bonds if I don’t do that. That’s why Makarov appears as the guild master when a brawl is about to break out. He is, in a way, a symbol of the guild. The guild is full of reckless members, but there are instances where everyone shares the same point of view. This was the impression I wanted to give when I was drawing the chapter. However, it is difficult for the readers to follow along with just that, and thus Lucy makes her appearance.

Lucy?

Lucy shares the same point of view as the reader. Her reactions are that of someone who comes into contact with the guild for the first time, making it easy for the readers to get into the story. In addition to “the members of Fairy Tail”, the presence of “the mediator Makarov”, and “Lucy, who overlooks what’s happening” helps to put everything together for the readers, making it easy to read.

I see, it had to be done that way.

“FT” couldn’t have been realized without Lucy.

On Lucy

Lucy’s monologue always appears at the beginning of each part.

Lucy has been the core of the story of “FT” right from the start. No matter what type of characters or complicated world views appear in the manga, Lucy is by the reader’s side. She doesn’t understand the things that the readers don’t understand, and she says it out.

But there are many manga where the main character takes on the monologues...

It’s impossible for Natsu (laugh). Natsu is a character who doesn’t have any monologues, and he cannot explain things in a manner that strikes a chord with others.

Lucy does seem like she views things from a third party standpoint.

She’s the newest person to join the guild at the beginning of the manga, and thus, she feels a little like an outsider. Doing the monologues became her role in the end.

Editor: Lucy said “I wouldn’t be who I am today if I never met [Natsu] and Happy” in the final chapter. It would be great if that also became the reader’s thought. After all, Lucy is the voice of the reader.

Lucy’s monologue, which I had written in a rectangular box, became the meta at the end. It’s something really small, but it was something that I wanted to do in the final chapter.

On Gray

Can you tell us more about Gray?

I’ve said it before, but he became more popular than I had expected and it surprised me. I didn’t intend to make him a character that gives off a cool impression, but rather someone who readily chimes in with others. However, he gradually became who he is now. There are few males among the regular characters, and Gray was originally meant to be a character that’s the opposite of Natsu.

It seems that Gray in particular has many troubles and worries thrust at him.

Is that so? I wasn’t aware of that. However, the episode concerning END wouldn’t make any sense if not for Natsu and Gray’s relationship.

Which scene with Gray left an impression on you?

His battle with Silver. It was a pleasure to draw it.

I remember. I was still your editor at that time, and you suddenly came to me with around 3 chapter’s worth of storyboards that day. And also 2 chapter’s worth of manuscripts.

Eh, was it so? I don’t remember.

You made huge revisions to the storyboards of the previous 2 chapters, and you redid the storyboards and the manuscripts at one go. You said “I’m confident of this week’s work” when you handed me the storyboards, which was unusual. You rarely say something like that.

Eh, I give up. I really do not remember. (laugh)

Why did you forget? (laugh) It left a huge impression.

I remember being confident of the work I handed to you, and it must have been a memory of that time. However, I really don’t remember. (laugh)

You must be kidding...

(to be continued in part 2)

[remnantoforario]

Dragon Cry Notes

So I saw Dragon Cry a little while ago and just thought I’d do a few quickfire notes about what I saw. Spoilers Ahead!

First the Theater:

The showing was in a small room, which I expected but there were surprisingly more people in there than I thought there was going to be.

No trailers, but curiously enough there was a Dragon Cry trailer about the showing before the movie started.

Took forever for them to turn the lights off once the movie started. I think it was about 5-10 minutes in before the theater finally went dark.

There were some girls in the upper row who kept reacting to “ship” moments (especially the Juvia stuff). That got annoying pretty quick. 

Now onto the movie proper:

When the animation was on point it was pretty good, though that wasn’t much. A-1 Pictures really phoned it in on a lot of the scenes (Looking at you awkward Lucy boobs)

The story itself was pretty basic as far as FT goes. This could have easily been a mini-arc or something when the anime came back. 

Zash was your typical mustache twirling villain without an ounce of charm to his name. Animus wasn’t much better, though the twist with him and Sonya was kind of interesting? I’m still not sure.

Oh I watched the dub for this so shout out to Erica Mendez and Michael Sinterniklaas for being better than this movie deserved honestly. Also, they wasted a Christina Vee on this movie (She voiced Swan). Shame on you, Funimation. 

As for Brandish and Invel, they sounded alright. I don;t know who voice Invel, but I’m sure Brandish was either Amber Connors or Rachel Glass. We’ll find out when the new series is dubbed.

Speaking of the Three Stars they were even less impressive than the goons from Phoenix Priestess. Swan was just there to show off how well the staff could draw legs (not very mind you),  Doll was a MUCH less impressive version of Orga, and Gapri just looked like Sho without the earring. Wholly unimpressive.

The fights weren’t that good either. Wendy’s was fine, but Gray could have ended muscle-man in two seconds if he just used Devil Slayer off the bat rather than waiting until Juvia “sacrificed” herself for fake drama, and Erza probably could have beat Kick Girl ten times over if she used Armadura (which she did earlier in the film!) or used Sea Empress when she was swimming around in the lake, but I guess we had to have that Jellal reference.  

A lot of the ship moments were pretty lukewarm all things considered. Natsu/Lucy was what it was, but Gray/Juvia still had Gray fearing for his life when Juvia showed up (She also abandoned Gajeel’s group when they were confronted by soldiers to go look for Gray so good job being a team player, Juvia). Gajeel, Levy, and Lily were literally there to extend the movie a few minutes, their scenes served no purpose other than to find an excuse for Juvia to find Gray. If you took them out and just had Juvia going by herself on a boat to Stella you would have lost nothing. Though I will give the movie one thing, because of it I have begun construction of a new ship.

Everyone, say hello to SS JuLe (Juvia/Levy), pronounced “Ju-Lay” or “Jewel”. This is going to be a fun one. 

Speaking of useless, let’s talk about the White Tiger soldiers for a moment. Zash spoke one line of dialogue about how they were “Fiore’s elite guard” (even though I’m pretty sure it was said before that it was the Garou Knights, but whatever) so I guess we were supposed to care when Zash curbstomped (or rather made them curbstomp each other) them in about 2 seconds flat. Well you failed Dragon Cry, just like the White Tigers failed their one job.

Poor, Riana. I actually liked your design somewhat. Don’t worry I will restore - or at the very least give you some - dignity in my AU fic.

Things also kinda happened out of nowhere. First Natsu breaks out of prison and runs into some ruins where everyone else (minus Lucy) just happens to be (how did they escape their prisons?), and then later on Lucy and Capricorn are fighting Zash (in her complete waste of a Capricorn Star Dress) only for him to just show up later where Natsu and Sonya are and take the Dragon Cry. Then Lucy bursts in, now wearing Virgo’s Star Dress. What the hell happened?! How did he get past Lucy?! Did he knock her out really quick? Talk his way out? Use a smoke bomb? What?! It was like the movie was trying to hurry up and end.

Natsu’s “Dragonized” form was completely useless due to the fact that the series never brings it up in any capacity. So we can nix that piece of character “development”.

How come Crocus was the only city shown when the Dragon Cry was lighting up the sky? Was it too much to ask for some cameos from the other Fiore guilds? They didn’t have to speak. I just wanted to see Kagura dammit!

When Sonya says that she wanted to experience a love that Natsu and Lucy shared I almost howled with laughter. 

Also how are the Three Stars and Sonya not labeled criminals in Stella for helping Zash? I guess since Sonya is technically the king she can do what she wants.  

The whole flashback with Acnologia was something that probably would have been better served being in the actual film instead of wasting a post-credits scene on it. They could have used that to show all the Spriggans at a round table or something discussing the beginning of the war. That would have been halfway decent. Also J. Michael Tatum is Acnologia, now fangirls are going to love him even more...

All in all I give the movie a 2.5/5. I wasn’t as bad as a few people said, but it definitely as good either. It was just kinda there. Something to be watched and forgotten about the next day. 

Maybe it would have clicked with me a bit more if I hadn’t finished the series before seeing it, but I doubt it. 

I rank it lower than Phoenix Priestess, because at least I felt something when that movie was over. I was actually pretty bummed when Eclair died because it showed that even though Fairy Tail won, they still lost in the end (and there was the whole deal with Makarov’s questionable decision and Erza’s guilt), but with this movie it was just kinda bland and all around uninteresting. The best thing it offered to me was an idea of what Stella looks like.

[not-just-any-fangirl]

Days Of Summer CH 4

A/N; Four weeks running, it’s a new record! Me and @hannah-nobody are super glad all you are enjoying this so much, we too love our awkward and emo Natsu! It’s fun trying to write his complex character, cocky and loud while also doubting of his place with others. Plus, who wasn’t melodramatic in their late teens? 

Not to mention we get to explore some really interesting friendships! Lucy and Gajeel anyone?

Here’s the updated playlist!

Summer has arrived, and with it the start of the two month long music camp; Fairy Tail! Full of new songs, friends, and adventures, the campers learn things they never knew about themselves and one another. And just how easy it is to sneak booze and a full sized karaoke machine out into the middle of the woods.

Camp Rock!AU

Pairing: Nalu, Gajevy, Gruvia, others mentioned; Fairy Tail

Words: 6994

Rating: T

Parts: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven

Chapter Four: Stuck In The Middle

'Cause

Someday things will be perfect

It will be worth it all this time

Stuck in the middle

Natsu let the ice pack fall onto the bed. His cheek still hurt like a bitch, but at least it wasn’t throbbing anymore. Fuck, he had almost forgotten how strong Erza was. Natsu snorted as he thought about how he should have one of those ‘certain number of days since last incident’ posters in their cabin. Actually, it would be a miracle if they even got to day 1 on that thing. Gajeel glared at him, split lip and a light bruise on his cheek showing Erza had punished him as much as she had Natsu.

“Would ya quite makin’ all that fuckin’ noise?”

“I snorted.” Natsu defended sourly.

“And now yer talkin’.” Gajeel snarled back.

“Go fuck yourself Gear Head.” Natsu grumbled, jumping down from his bunk without the help of the ladder. He stood from his slight crouch, whipping a pillow he stole from Gray’s bunk at Gajeel, who in turn batted it away with the back of his hand to where it landed in a cobwebbed corner. What a shame.

“If yer headin’ out try not and stalk Bunny Girl, got it? Me and Lily don't need to hafta keep separating you and Ice Tits. Also don't need to explain to yer old man why you sent a kid to the hospital in yer first week of camp.” Gajeel didn't bother looking at Natsu as he spoke, instead scribbling in his notebook that he liked to hide under his mattress.

“Thinking that hard won't help your headache.” Natsu commented, grinning at the low snarl his cousin gave him and the distracted bird he was flipped. “And you might wanna try that in G minor rather than A major. It'll get that ‘secretly happy’ sound instead of ‘obviously happy’ that you're allergic to.”

Gajeel grunted in response, Natsu rolling his eyes when he heard rushed erasing and rewriting.

“And let me know if you need any help with words that rhyme with shortie.”

“Fuck off Strawberry.”

Natsu ducked out the screen door, snorting at the loud ‘thump’ that signaled that Gajeel had thrown something at his back. And missed.

He fought back a small grin as he slipped in his earphones. He knew for a fact that Gajeel had a pretty deadly aim when he wanted to. As much as he and Gajeel fought, at least he knew his jackass of a cousin would be in his corner. And Happy too for that matter, but Natsu could always rely on his little friend.

Natsu thumbed through his playlists on his old iPod, the silver back scratched to shit and the generation so old it no longer updated. Natsu had gotten this for his eighth birthday, Igneel having saved up for the surprise for months. Natsu settled on the playlist titled ‘Life is Stupid’ humming along as the opening bars of The Anthem by Good Charlotte blasted in his ears.

He walked slowly as he followed the gravel path from the cabin area to the main camp, letting his mind drift off into fantasies of talking to Lucy. He became more depressed as each time it ended in Lucy running away in disgust as she remembered him, not even able to pretend in his own mind that she would want him. Wasn’t that just fucking pathetic.  

Natsu groaned and kicked at a stone in front of him, sending it skipping through the grass beside the trail and into a bush. She had called him her friend, though, so that meant she didn’t hate him, right? Or had she just been yelling at Gray? Natsu had to admit, it was stupidly easy to yell at Mr. My Face Begs To Be Punched.

Dragging his hand along his face Natsu clicked the skip button attached to his headphones until heavy drums flooded his brain, overbearing as it drowned out his own thoughts. He absently fixed his dark grey beanie covering his stupid hair. This was fine. Natsu was fine. Lucy didn’t need to know, and if she didn’t know, she couldn’t laugh in his face. Natsu kicked a larger pebble, sending it arcing through the air and rolling along the path a few feet in front of him. Lucy was too sweet to laugh at him, but she could still reject him. A cold pit lodged itself in his gut, similar to the time that he had been cornered by his teacher and forced to read from the stupid playbook in English class.

Natsu still had nightmares.

The song faded out, Natsu barely registering the change as he walked past the climbing wall. While Fairy Tail was a music camp, they did offer some traditional activities for their campers such as lake sports, archery, and the 30-foot tall climbing wall, to name a few. The camp had other activities, but Natsu’s focus drifted as he caught sight of the mess hall. The two-story building was made entirely out of giant wood logs, large glass windows breaking up the light brown colour all around the building. While the roof was domed inside for acoustics, the camp had kept up with the outdoorsy aesthetic and the outside was a mess of sharp angles and triangles for the roof and over each window.

It had been like this for as long as Natsu could remember, and he felt a part of his anxiety wash away at the familiar sight. It was nice to know that some things would never change, Fairy Tail being one of them.

He debated grabbing a cinnamon swirl cookie -a signature of the camp- but chose not to, continuing on his path. Natsu passed groups of kids walking by, laughing and talking and being more social than Natsu felt up to. He kept his chin up, though, confidence leaking into him by being surrounded by the comforting sights and smells. Fairy Tail was basically a second home for him, and he was good at what he did here.

Natsu drummed his fingers along his stomach in time with a guitar riff, hands inside the large center pocket of the hoodie he had thrown on before leaving. He finally passed the second largest building at camp, making his way along the path that led towards the largest one, the open faced stage where they would perform at the end of each week. Natsu closed his eyes as he remembered the feeling of standing on the stage, heart pounding along with the heavy drum beat, fingertips almost numb from the strings on his guitar as he performed. Light flashed in his mind, the roar of the crowd overwhelming and euphoric at the same time.

He was going to sing this year, Natsu decided as he opened his eyes. No more playing guitar in the background. Besides, there was no going back now; Natsu had already checked off the ‘singer’ box alongside ‘guitarist’ when sending his application in the winter.

God, Natsu was going to puke.

His palms became clammy as he thought of standing center stage, a weird mix of nausea and excitement that had Natsu thankful he hadn’t wasted any of his food allowance on that cookie.

Natsu paused as he passed the break in the trees that led to the field in front of the auditorium stage, his feet moving him without permission. Before he knew it he was standing in the open area where everyone had gathered before for the welcoming ceremony, the space far more intimidating and surreal without the masses of campers and staff filling in the wood bench risers.

His iPod switched songs again, Natsu singing along more passionately now that he was alone.

“Condemned to be forever unable,

To give this stupid thing the time that it deserves,

I heard a proud few when the windows were gone,

All singing the same time to separate songs.”

Natsu tilted his head back as he sang at the clear sky, sun warm as it bore down on him. His voice carried through the empty clearing. Natsu got to the skirt of the stage, his voice becoming strained as he hauled himself up with his arms. He rested on his knees, feet hanging off the stage as he looked it over.

Aged but polished metal followed the curving ceiling to the center point 30 feet in the air, braces for the booms mounted against them and wires wrapping through the metal lattices until they reached the bars at every third of the dome. The space between the start of the roof and the stage itself was just tall enough for a person over Gajeel’s height to walk through, greenery of the forest peeking through the mess of metals and wires and sound equipment. Natsu ran a hand over the rough wooden stage floor, taking in the feel of it. How many people had performed here, found their love and passion for music on this stage?

He stood, wandering to the center of 20 by 16 foot platform. He turned in a tight circle, breathing in the fresh air with a deep inhale. Natsu's eyes fell shut as he relived last year’s final performance, the lights and the crowd in his mind shifting to what he imagined performing at a rock concert would be, adrenaline pounding and the music burning in his soul. His hands pantomimed holding Fev, fingers tracing the cords from memory in the air as he played along to the music blasting in his ears.

As the music faded out he raised his hands in the hair, basking in the echo of the applause of his memories. He remembered looking out into the cheering crowd, that feeling of utter elation building and building with the volume of the cheers, and the pride in the faces of Erza and Makarov and Gildarts and… that one empty chair.

Natsu dropped his arms as though his puppet strings had finally been cut loose. Another song began in his ears, but he ripped earbuds out before the words even started. He stared at that spot, row f, seat 14. Empty now and empty then. No matter how much the crowd screamed, how good could he possibly be if his own father couldn’t spare the time to come see him play?

He knew it was stupid. Igneel had been out saving lives, why should he stop to hear a cover of a song he’d already heard a hundred times. His work was much more important, and Natsu understood that. Igneel has promised he would get the day off to come see his performance at the final ceremony this year, so he’d just have to make it so amazing that last years didn’t even bare to think about. Natsu clenched his fist around his iPod. He could do it, he could find the perfect song.

But still, the task was daunting.

Frustrated with his own self doubt, Natsu jammed his headphones back in his ears and flicked through his iPod until he found the perfect motivational song. Something to burn his self doubt into shreds. He debated Work Bitch- but then skipped it for shame of hiding Britney under ‘Unknown Artist’ should someone ever browse his most treasured possession- before eventually settling on a song that was 75% certain to make Gajeel disown him if he ever found out he listening to something so not-death-metal-ish.

He pressed play, turned the volume to its fullest and took as deep breath as the intro kicked in. A thought struck him and he dashed to the side of the stage, desperate to find the necessary props for this once in a lifetime solo performance before the vocals kicked in. He grabbed a mic stand someone had been generous enough to leave an unplugged mic in and rushed back to centre stage. He had a second to compose himself before he took the mic in his right hand and shoved his iPod in his back pocket, leaving his other hand free to perform Dramatic Emotive Gestures.

“I don’t remember the morning I tried to forget,

I lost myself and it’s better not said

Now I’m closer, to, the edge,”

Natsu pointed at that empty fucking chair with all the grace of 2009 Jared Leto he could muster. He imaged the camera right by his face, the lights, the crowd, the band behind him. He gritted his teeth as he sang for full scale emotional intensity.

“It was a thousand to one and a million to two

Time to go down in flames and i'm taking you

Closer. To. The. Edge.”

He fully enunciated every word as though he’d never once stuttered speaking to a stranger or a pretty blonde girl. As though this was his stage and his song and he fucking owned this.

“No I’m not saaaaaaaaying, I’m soooooooorry,

One day, maybe we’ll meet again.”

He screamed the words into the mic because they did they did meet again and he wasn’t sorry for that not one bit and by God he wasn’t going to mess it up this time. He ripped the mic from the stand as he finished the chorus, kicking the stand away in the process so he was unhindered as the next verse began and he stepped forward calmly to sing about dreams and music and falling and getting back up and fuck he loved this song Gajeel be damned.

He punched his fist into the air with every no he sung into the mic. He closed his eyes and for a second he was there. The crowd was there with him, punching their fists into the air in time with his own. His throat was tingling as he held the note and he could feel the heat of the lights on him as he plucked at his imaginary guitar strings during the bridge. By the time the song came to the close he finally opened his eyes and he could tell his voice was hoarse as the song finished.

“Closer to, the edge.”

Natsu laughed to himself as he whipped the sweat from his brow and removed his headphones… to the sound of applause.

A single applause. Natsu looked up in horror to find the scantily clad brunette from earlier that had groped Lucy’s… that had groped Lucy. Cana.

“Hhhooo boy!” She shouted from her seat in the back row, “Well, damn. I sure am on the edge of somethin’!”

Even from this distance Natsu spotted her wink. For the second time in an hour, he was sure he was gonna puke.

Gajeel lifted his eyes from the ninth thick line of crossed out lyrics, cocking his head to the side as he listened. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that was his dumbass cousin’s voice faintly forcing its way into his cabin.

Had Natsu gotten his hands on a fucking megaphone?

Gajeel closed his eyes, concentrating on what the hell the words were supposed to be. No way...

Gajeel was going to get his hands on Natsu's iPod and delete everything pre 2010, that boy needed to stop living in his emo past. And he said Gajeel had bad taste in music.

“Yer owner’s such a fuckwit he probably doesn't even know the mics on.” Gajeel said to the bundle of blue fur curled into the crook of his knee. Happy lifted his head and blinked at Gajeel slowly, meowing loudly before tucking back into a fuzzy ball. “Ya get me.” He nodded to himself, rubbing a knuckle between Happy’s ears fondly, the small cat’s low purr sparking the cat resting on Gajeel's head to begin to purr as well.

With a low curse Gajeel turned his attention back to the pad of paper in front of him. He couldn't even get a measly line down, and he was getting close to just digging through Gray's bags for a lighter and setting the entire fucking building on fire. Notebook included.

He'd save the instruments.

Probably.

Probably not his roommates though.

Gajeel settled for whipping the pencil across the room, sticking lead first between the paneling. Gajeel nodded to himself. Metal as fuck.

Panther Lily meowed in approval.

Happy didn't care. But Gajeel couldn't blame the cat, he probably had brain damage from listening to Natsu blubber over Lucy for months.

Gajeel pulled another pencil from behind his ear, two others pushed into the knot he had put his hair in to get it out of his face. He bit sharply on the end, pencil eraser gone so all he got was the sharp tang of metal and the satisfying crunch of the fake wood.

Maybe that was where his writer's block was coming from. Natsu had been getting his inspiration from love and flowers and other disgusting things so where was he, a true artist with an aversion to love songs, meant to gleam some ideas from? The sky?

Oh the sky looks so blue, he thought, just like your hair. The sun is her headband.

Gajeel sat up straight. No. This would not do. If he started singing about love- an emotion which he had never, for the record, experienced ever- what would he start singing about next? Laughter? Friendship? The joy of learning???

Yeah fucking right.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. This was just a classic case of Overexposure. To Natsu, that is. That moron was so lovey-dovey Gajeel wouldn’t be surprised if he woke in the night to find the hothead kissing his pillow. No, he had to distance himself so that his symptoms wouldn’t worsen. No doubt the idiot would be on his way back any moment now once he’d realised the true scale of his embarrassment.

Gajeel decided to take a walk and stay clear of the drama.

He untangled Lily from his head, holding the black cat in one hand as he scooped the blue one in his other hand. Both meowed in complaint of being moved, limp in his hands as he stood from the bed. He rolled his eyes when he watched them snuggle deeper into the pillow he placed them on, Happy crawling on top of Lily before falling back asleep.

If Gajeel was less of a badass he'd call them cute. But he wasn't, so he shoved his notepad under the thin mattress, grabbed his noise canceling headphones, slung them around his neck as he grabbed his phone and threw open the front door to the cabin.

He was stopped from fully exiting, however, when he bumped into something. He looked around, confused as to what had blocked him.

“Oh um, hello,” a light voice said. Gajeel narrowed his eyes at empty space in front of his face. It was like if he thought about her she just appeared.

“Whatcha want, Shrimp?” Gajeel asked, feeling his lips crack into an unauthorized smile as he looked down. Levy pouted at the -very clever, Gajeel thought- nickname, hands fisting on her hips.

“I have a name you know.” She said pointedly, glaring at Gajeel as she leaned forward. Heh, it was cute how she tried to intimidate him.

Wait.

No. She wasn't cute. Gajeel didn't think anything was cute.

“Yeah. Yer name’s ‘Shrimp’.” Gajeel smirked, patting a hand on her head. Shit, she barely reached his ribcage when he flattened her hair. But damn if it didn't feel soft against his fingers.

“You're messing up my hair!” Levy complained, swatting at his hand. Gajeel it took back with a shrug, grin widening when she muttered as she fixed her bright yellow headband, the colour loud against her bright blue hair. Gajeel wondered if she dyed it. “Dummy.”

“So what brings ya callin’? Need someone to lift you to reach the high shelf?” He teased. She blushed in irritation, huffing as Levy tried to think of a comeback.

“No.” She said, pausing again as she bit her lip. “I was looking for Lucy, and I thought she might be with Gray and Loke. But it looks like they're not here.”

“Well why the hell am I ‘posed to know where those idiots are?” Gajeel questioned, a heavy stone sitting in his gut at Levy’s disappointed face, her frail shoulders dropping.

“We were supposed to go explore the camp together.” Levy said, voice almost a nasally whine. She gave another heavy sigh, slipping her hands into the pockets of her shorts, white cloth peaking out from the short cargo coloured pants. Gajeel thought it was pretty stupid that her pockets were longer than her actual shorts, but he also wasn’t about to tell that to Levy;s face when he could get an eyeful of thigh. Not that Gajeel was looking. Because he wasn’t.

He wasn’t.

“Well if ya promise to not bug me too much I can give you a tour ‘till we find Bunny Girl.” Gajeel grunted, shifting awkwardly on his feet. Why had he done that? The whole point of leaving the cabin was to not think about pretty girls.

Holy fuck he was going to fucking kill Natsu with one of the strings from that stupid red guitar.

“What?” Levy asked, brown eyes wide like a doe’s. Gajeel grunted again, walking past her and down the path.

“It was just a thought.” He said, ducking his head as he lifted his headphones over his ears. Maybe that would hide their burning colour.

“No, no, wait! Thank you, I’d- I’d appreciate that!” Levy called, hurrying to walk beside him. Gajeel looked from the corner of his eye, hesitating before pulling the headphones back to where they wrapped around the back of his neck, tucked under his bun. He stuffed his hands into his jeans, thumbnail rubbing along the pick he kept in his left pocket.

They walked in silence, nerves finally making Gajeel want to punch a tree. This was stupid. He was stupid. What did it matter that he could pick Levy up with one hand, or that she was showing what was probably an obscene amount of skin for a summer camp. Were the rips in the back of her tank top really necessary? Even if they looked metal...

He paid more attention to Levy as they wound their way through the cabin area. Her eyes were focused directly ahead, eyebrows set in concentration. She was taking almost three steps for every step he took. And that was fucking hilarious.

“Havin’ trouble there, Shrimp?” Gajeel asked, widening his stride. He wondered if he could make her run to keep up.

“Well not all of us are so blessed in the height department.” Levy snapped, irritated scowl pulling down her full lower lip and making the bridge of her nose bunch. She gasped when she noticed his longer strides, swatting at his chest with the back of her hand in an offended motion. “You’re doing this on purpose!” She accused, stopping in her spot and crossing her arms to glare at Gajeel.

“Gihii, I don’t know whatcha talkin’ ‘bout Shrimp.” Gajeel drawled, scratching the side of his face as he looked her over. “Ain’t my fault ya got some size envy.”

Levy’s glare finally made a shiver crawl along his spine, and a thought crossed his mind that Levy could very well kick his ass is she wanted to. He had no idea how, but it still felt very true. “I mean, I’m sure bein’ so small could come in handy. Like communicating with the mice that make your clothes.” Gajeel bit his tongue. Why couldn’t he stop teasing her?

“Are you calling me Cinderella or referencing a children’s book?” Levy asked, suspicious as she slowly walked back to his side.

“Uh,” Gajeel stumbled over his words. Shit. “No?”

“Because that book was my favourite when I was a kid,” Levy hummed, tone suddenly light as they began walking again. “I think it was called Everything For Something? Or was it Nothing From Someone?” Levy hummed, tapping a finger on her lips as she spoke. Gajeel twitched with each improper title. Obviously, it was Something From Nothing, but he wasn’t about to say that. He shrugged instead, focusing on the few birch trees in between the maple and harlequin trees, their white and peeling bark standing out in the sea of green.

“Oh well, I’m sure it’ll come to me.” Levy pouted, put out by being unable to trip up Gajeel. He began to pick at the flaking design on his guitar pick in his pocket as silence fell over them again. Why did he care if it was awkward? He didn’t, because that would A; mean he cared at all -which he didn't- and B; that Gajeel felt awkward, which he definitely didn’t. He also didn’t want to hear Levy laugh. She probably snorted like the nerd she was for knowing that reference.

“So how’d ya know Erza?” he asked instead of keeping his fat mouth shut. Maybe he should pick up his bad habit of chewing on his necklace. At least then his fucking voice wouldn’t crack. Not that it cracked. Because Gajeel was past puberty, obviously.

He didn’t know how but he blamed Natsu.

“Oh, I take Judo with Erza, and she teaches a self-defence class I go to sometimes.” Levy said easily. At least Gajeel knew his self preservation instincts were right, if she was in the same class as Erza then she could take his ass in an instant.

“I haven’t seen ya around the city. Though I guess I wouldn’t be looking so close to the ground to notice, gihii-urgh.” Gajeel said, smirk falling as she elbowed him in the spleen. Damn did she have pointy elbows, but Gajeel couldn’t let her know that, so he kept walking, ignoring the throbbing and inability to breath.

“I’m not even that short!” Levy defended.

“Are you over five foot?” Gajeel asked, peering down at her expectantly.

“Four ten and a half.” Levy grumbled under her breath, huffing and looking away when Gajeel cackled loudly. “Shut up. How do you know Erza, anyway? Judging by the way you ran at lunch I’d say you two know each other pretty well.”

Gajeel grit his teeth when he remembered the fiasco that had been completely his cousin’s fault. And his roommates for that matter. “We’ve both been regulars at camp for a couple years, my pink haired dumbass of a cousin too, and we go to East Hill together. If ya think she’s a terror here you don’t even know what she’s like as student president.” Gajeel shivered as he remembered their pep rallies, attendance not optional. “I don’t know how Juvia manages to wring her in.”

Gajeel and Juvia had come up through the same middle school class, both part of a local gang that Juvia’s uncle had run. Igneel had tried to step in, but with Metalicana serving overseas as an army mechanic there had been little chance of Gajeel listening to him. They had both finally left together just before a big bust sent Juvia’s uncle to jail and her on the street, then Gajeel’s house. She had found solace in musical theater while Gajeel had reconnected with Natsu and Igneel, even if he’d never admit to his cousin how much he had helped him. Now Gajeel was set to graduate his metalshop program with honours next year, and Juvia wouldn’t stop bugging him and Natsu to join band and work in the pit for her last performance. As if Gajeel was gonna go anywhere near Erza and her obsession with the stage, even if she was only the stage manager.

“Wow, it seems like everyone here knows one another,” Levy sighed, the two now wandering through the outdoor activity stations. Gajeel raised a pierced eyebrow as he noticed the arrows and bows just laying in the field. Who was the genius that left those out?

“We get new people every year,” he said gruffly, inspecting an arrow off the ground. “Like Bunny Girl and those the dumbass she brought with her.”

“How come you call her Bunny Girl?” Levy asked, wandering to the next station that held bocce balls and lawn markers.

“‘Cus she looks ‘bout as scary as a cotton tailed rabbit.” Gajeel said, head snapping to Levy when he heard a light snicker. Her hand covered her mouth but her dark eyes were dancing, and Gajeel grinned proudly. He'd managed to make her laugh.

“Don't let her hear you say that.” Levy warned, wagging a finger at Gajeel even as she returned his shit eating grin -as his father liked to remind him every time they saw one another. “I'm sure it takes a lot of skill to herd Loke, Gray, and Cana. They're like cats.”

Gajeel scoffed. “Don't insult cats like that.”

Levy laughed openly, clasping her hands behind her back as they wandered past the rock wall and along the path that would lead them to the rehearsal studios. “You're right,” she hummed.

“Hey! I see Juvia!” She said suddenly, gripping Gajeel's wrist as she began a light trot. Gajeel blinked dumbly down at where her tiny hand half encircled his wrist, just above the spike wristband he wore, because it was metal.

“Uh,” he said, like even more of an idiot, letting Levy drag him to where Juvia had begun to wave. He noticed how her hair bounced with each step, light and easily caught in the breeze as it fluttered around her headband. Gajeel was reminded how blue was his favourite colour.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Natsu wondered if he jumped off the stage if the five feet would be enough to kill him.

Probably not.

He debated trying it anyway as Cana sauntered down the steps. Natsu yanked at his headphones, stuffing them in what was already a knotted mess of wires into his hoodie pocket, hands following after he placed the mic on the ground as he tried to will himself to disappear. “So tell me, how’d you switch personalities like that?” Cana asked as she made her way to the stage, crossing her arms on the edge of the elevated floor and looking up at him. “One minute you're the dictionary definition of ‘needs a hug but doesn’t know how to ask for one’ and the next you’re Mr. Rock God, owning the stage like it’s your bitch.”

Natsu choked on his spit, taking a hand out of it’s safety nest to pull his beanie further down his face. Maybe if he just prayed really hard a meteor would fall from the sky, killing him instantly. When a few seconds passed with no such divine intervention, Natsu released the breath he’d been holding and peeked at Cana, who now sat on the edge of the stage, one knee bent as an armrest and the other hanging off the old wood. She raised an eyebrow as more silence passed by them, taking a sip from a flask she had gotten from... somewhere.

“The music, I guess.” Natsu mumbled, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. He knew that Cana was close to Lucy now, and whatever hope he had of not being a total idiot in front of her was gone. Her and Cana were probably going to laugh about it for hours. And Loke. And Gray too, probably.

Fuck.

Maybe he’d just live in the woods for the rest of camp.

“Well you should get that confidence with whatever you do. I haven’t heard someone sing with that much raw talent for years.” Cana said instead, and Natsu almost choked on his spit, again. He stalled under her unexpectedly serious look, head tilted forward as her mouth followed her lowered flask. “It suits you.”

Natsu was struck by the sudden family resemblance between her and Gildarts. The old man had been Natsu’s mentor the last few times he’d been at Fairy Tail, Natsu always feeling easy around him like he did with his own father. He didn’t know why, but seeing the same eyes staring at him from the semi-drunk teenager both calmed and unnerved him.

‘Um, thanks.” Natsu said.

“No prob!” Cana smiled, back to her early cocky smirk. “‘Sides, Lucy loves guys that look like they know what they’re doing, and you have the right amount of innocent virgin that’ll take her off her guard.”

Natsu flushed deeply, stuttering over harsh denials at Cana’s vague hand movements that gestured to, well, him. “I-, I mean I’m not not but I d-don’t see, I- fuckin’ alcoholic!” he finally spat out, glaring at the ground as he hopped from the stage, hands stuffed back into his pocket in fists. His glare snapped to her as she cackled loudly.

“Holy shit, if you could see your face! Relax buddy, no one cares here, duh. It’s a stupid social construct anyway, no need to get your panties in a bunch.” Cana waved off, patting him roughly on the back as she followed suit and pushed off the stage, walking towards the entrance to the arena.

Natsu debated turning on his heel and disappearing to go find a nice cliff to throw himself off of, but decided against it. Who would take care of Fev? Happy was sure to find a good home with one of his cousins, but his guitar? He wouldn’t trust her with anyone but himself.

“Yknow,” Cana began, pulling him from his thoughts, “your performance actually reminded me of someone.”

Natsu raised an eyebrow.

“Who?”

Cana opened her mouth to answer the question, but was interrupted by a very loud, very abrupt, distinctly red-headed-

“YOU THERE! HALT!”

Cana cursed to herself before springing up and grabbing Natsu by the scarf.

“Run for your life you virginal Jared Leto!”

Natsu fought for breath as Cana pulled him along, his feet complying with the harsh jolt from the rest of his body. He glanced behind them just as they slipped backstage to see two people, one with ‘Camp Enforcer’ written on her megaphone in sharpie, running down the steps towards the stage.

Why did he not check the mic was on?!

Eventually Cana let go of him to fumble with the dock on a stage side door. Her steady hand surprised him considering he was pretty sure that flask she'd had not five minutes ago was now empty. Within seconds they were out the door and barricading it behind them.

They ran for another five minutes. Making sure she-who-shall-not-be-named was no longer in pursuit. Cana found the whole endeavor quite hilarious. Natsu, however, was shitting himself. Even if Erza hadn't caught him now, there was no doubt she'd recognized his voice. She would come for him. Maybe not now. Maybe not later. But soon.

She would find him.

Natsu gulped.

“Anyway, what was I saying again?” Cana asked as though they hadn't just finished running for their lives.

“Something about my performance remind you of someone?”

“Oh yeah!”

“Please don't say Gray,” Natsu cut in, “I couldn't live with myself.”

“Oh no, you don't wear nearly enough eyeliner.”

“I don't wear any eyeliner.”

“That's not the point here,” Cana waved her hand flippantly and pulled another, different flash from- well, it had to be thin air bc the girl had no pockets. Or y’know, an actual shirt.

And then she surprised him even more.

“You reminded me of Lucy.”

Natsu froze.

“WHAT?!”

“Have you ever seen her perform.” She insisted, “And I don't mean that fancy-smanshy graceful piano playing- I mean really perform.”

“I-I've never even heard her sing.”

“Well first of all, you're missing out. But second of all,” Cana smiled to herself, “About a year ago Lucy had this huge argument with her Dad. I can't even remember what it was about but fuck- she stayed at my house for a full week. Then all of a sudden, she just went home. Said everything was fine. Loke found out she'd signed up to the talent show the next day, and eventually she all asked for our help in putting her act together. But it was her act. It was the first time she ever went solo.”

Natsu listened with interest, not quite understanding where Cana was going with this.

“She invited her dad. Reserved the best seat in the house for him. And by God, that was the best ‘fuck you’ performance I've ever seen in my life.”

“What did she do?” He was a little afraid to ask.

“She sang Not Ready To Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks and man, country was so unexpected but fuck if she didn't work it.” Cana looked up at the sky, awe in her eyes as she relived the performance. “Played her violin as even more of an ‘in your face, Dad’ point and damn if I didn’t cry tears of joy watching that angry little blonde seeth into the microphone and play her violin to a non classical song. The audience broke into the loudest applause of the night, even if her dad refused to pay for her music lessons afterwards.”

Natsu stumbled over a stone. “He stopped her from playing and singing because she was mad at him?” Natsu asked, horrified. He and Igneel had gotten into a few screaming matches about his attitude when he was younger, sure, but the thought that Igneel would ever deny him a part of himself, Natsu just couldn’t imagine a parent doing that.

“Pssh, as if. Nah, Lucy used the allowance she had been saving and applied for scholarships for the programs. Got in too, when she proved that her father refused to support her.” Cana brushed off, turning over the empty flask and pouting as it solidified her lack of prohibited drink.

“Oh,” Natsu said. Real smart. Cana’s telling him about a major moment in Lucy’s life and all he can say is ‘oh’. Still better than being caught by Erza though, so Natsu would take it. He looked around as they met the main path that led in a loop around camp, pale gravel reassuring as it meant he was only a few minutes away from being able to hide in his cabin for the next 48 hours.

“Shit.”

Natsu was being yanked by his scarf -again- before he could ask what Cana had seen, forced to look at the bulletin board that would house the weeks’ themes once they were released. Right now though, it held bulletins for school opportunities, programs, concerts, scholarships, and dead center; a poster for a karaoke night happening at the camp fire after sundown tomorrow.

“You two! Have you seen anyone run by here?” A voice called behind them, Natsu feeling his soul try to escape via puking and every nerve in his body fighting between ‘run for your life’ or ‘lay down and accept your fate’.

“No idea what you’re talkin’ ‘bout Erza,” Cana drawled, perfectly playing the clueless camper role. “But if you see who had just been singing tell them congrats on the record deal quality voice.”

Natsu blushed at the compliment, hands fisted tight in his pockets and struggling to concentrate on the board. There was no way she meant that. Natsu had an average level voice, at best. Now, if he could show off his guitar skills, then maybe she would tell Lucy about it...

“I will tell them that the stage is off limits territory when not during an event.” Erza snapped, obviously irritated at missing her victims. Aka, Natsu. “What are you two doing here anyway?” she asked, squinting when Natsu finally turned to look at her over his shoulder.

“Just checking out the opportunities on the board!” Natsu said, voice cracking and sending him burrowing into his scarf.

“Yeah, I was just convincing Natsu here to do karaoke night! Can't keep all this talent hidden behind a dumbass beanie!” Cana added eagerly, slinging an arm around his shoulders and somehow dislodging his ‘dumbass’ hat. Natsu squawked as he lunged for the grey beanie, too late to do anything else but clutch it to his chest.

“Damn! What bet did you lose?” Cana guffawed. Natsu shrank under her laughter and tried to elbow her arm off his shoulders. Why was she the same height as him?

“It's just my hair,” he grumbled.

“It's a good thing Lucy's favourite colour is pink then, eh?” Cana continued to tease, grinning at Erza. “But really, this can't be his actual hair colour.”

“It is.” Erza said with a small smile at Natsu. “And I think it suits him. I will see you both at campfire tonight! I'm looking forward to hearing what you choose to perform tomorrow Natsu.”

Natsu watched blankly as Erza and a girl with purply black hair and a deadly stare stalked off. “What the fuck?” Natsu hissed, shoving off Cana roughly and yanking his beanie over his head.

“Aw cmon, don't be so sensitive.” Cana rolled her eyes. “Besides, she bought it!”

“Now I have to sing at that stupid karaoke thing.” Natsu grumbled. What if there were no good songs, or if his voice cracked. Sure Natsu could sing in the shower, but he'd never actually sang in front of people.

He wanted to put his head through the cork board. Why was he acting so insecure? He was Natsu Dragneel, son of Igneel Dragneel, renowned rescue helicopter pilot. He could do anything he put his mind to.

Except talk to pretty girls like Lucy apparently.

“Well, if you do manage to find the balls to get on stage, try and pick a song you know in your sleep. Or come see me for a confidence boost recipe.” Cana winked, wagging her empty bottle beside her head.

“Erm...” Natsu said, helpfully. What the fuck had he gotten himself into?

Playlist:

Stuck In The Middle - Boys Like Girls

The Anthem - Good Charlotte

Separate Songs - Restorations

Closer to the Edge - 30 Seconds To Mars

Not Ready To Make Nice -Dixie Chicks

March Into The Sun - Echosmith

[eliselowingwrites]

Fairy Tail 545: My Final Thoughts

Well, “Fairy Tail” has officially come to an end.

For those who don’t know, I’ve followed this series since Episode 1.  And I can proudly say that I am a Fairy Tail fan.  Heck, I’ve got about four fan fictions about it on my fanfiction.net account.  So yeah, I can say I greatly enjoyed this series.

Now, I did have my own gripes about the series, such as what I like to call the “over-use-and-misuse” of fan service, some random power escalation (or get-out-of-plot-free cards as I call them), and plot twists that seemed like a desperate attempt to shock the viewer.  And some ideas that I think just fell...flat.  Mostly because of the fan service, but also because the story got bloated in some areas where I feel like it didn’t need to.  And the parts near the end when plot lines didn’t really go anywhere was very disappointing.

However, despite all my gripes and criticism, this is a series that is and will be special to me for many reasons.

1. It was the first long-running series that I had actually followed from beginning to end.  Most long-running series, I drop later on because they become drawn out and I lose interest.  For Fairy Tail, while it could get on my nerves sometimes, it somehow managed to keep me invested in the story, and I was never once bored while reading it.

2. I love most of the character, particularly the five core characters: Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, and Happy.  I also liked characters like Gajeel, Wendy, Carla, Yukino, Sting, Rogue, Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, and Makarov (there are many others, but I can’t list them all here because it would take too long).  When their character was focused on, I did enjoy their presence.

I’d have to say that Natsu is my favorite character overall.  For one, I loved his character design, particularly in his face.  I especially enjoyed his energy, his tenacity, and he shared a lot of core beliefs that I also believe myself such as standing up for the ones you care about the most, and always trying to do the right thing no matter how hard it might be.  I also tend to be little impulsive like him, so I could relate to his character more than the others. In fact, he was the main reason I kept following the series.

Not to mention, he’s one of the few guys in anime that can make pink hair look badass! XD

(Pardon my language.)

3. I loved the concept of the world.  A world where wizards are rather commonplace, and have unique powers of their own.  And Dragon Slayer Magic, just the name sounds cool.  Heck, I would’ve loved to be a Dragon Slayer, too. :)

4. I loved the relationship between Natsu and Lucy.  This is by far my top ship in anything.  What makes it resonate so much with me is the foundation the relationship is established.  It’s built upon trust and mutual love for each other.  Natsu and Lucy have a deep sense of trust with each other, and that led to them forming a friendship, and what is clearly now love.  And that love progressed over time.  While I do feel like it fermented longer than it should’ve, I feel that this was a good way to make a relationship that evolves over time into something more.  And this is something I would like to see return in another shonen series, with just a bit of tweaking and perfecting.  Because this does have potential, and it is what made me care about Natsu and Lucy as a couple more than any other ship in any other series, anime or otherwise.

But most of all, Fairy Tail did something personal for me, and something I have to share.

There was a time, during my sophomore year of college, when I fell away from drawing for a time because another series (which shall remain nameless) had let me down so much that I stopped drawing.  I had drawn fan fictions and fan art for it, and it got to a point where it let me down so much that I lost my drive to draw anything anymore.  I kept writing because I found another series that filled that void a little, but my drive to draw was gone.  When I did draw, it was for art class assignments.  But I didn’t get a lot of joy out of it.

That’s when I discovered Fairy Tail on Netflix.  I binged watched the first twenty episodes, and my spark was rekindled.  I picked up the pencil and started drawing again, and I was enjoying it.  The more I watched Fairy Tail, and read the manga, the more I wanted to draw.  It just had this beautiful simplicity that captured my attention, and made me want to strive to be the best I could be.

Especially in the setting details.  Man, I gotta admit, Hiro Mashima can draw setting really well.  I absolutely loved the setting and background details throughout the series.

What’s more, a dream that I had a long time ago, but had gotten lost somewhere in time, was found again.

That dream was to one day create a fantasy shonen manga/anime.

It was because of Fairy Tail that I found my joy for drawing again.  What’s more, I found another goal to strive for, and it inspired me to write other kinds of fan fiction.  And it got me back into anime and manga again.  Because there was a time when I enjoyed watching anime and reading manga, particularly shonen series like Naruto and Digimon.  And in some way, Fairy Tail reminded me of why that was.  And I can’t give it any higher praise than that.

Even when the series had me face-palming at times, or made me cringe because of ridiculous absurdity, I’ll still look back on it fondly.  Because at the end of the day, it was and still is, the series that helped me find my inspiration again.

And if a series can do that to even just a few people, then I say that’s a high achievement in of itself.  There’s merit to that, and I can say that Fairy Tail did have some merit.  If you asked me if Fairy Tail was worth it, I can say with full confidence that:

“For what it’s worth, it was worth all the while.”

Anyway, thank you for reading this.  I hope your enjoyed it.

I’ll just leave with this song that sums up the whole Fairy Tail experience for me.

Have a Good Day! :D