#nalu analysis

[zuzu-fairys-tail]

Unpopular opinion: Natsu realized his feelings first (imo, obviously)

I say this cuz Natsu, despite being yk, raised by a dragon he definitely has more of a… “control” on his feelings. He is obviously not as dense cuz bro was raised by MAKAROV AND GILDARTS AND WENT TO MACAO FOR ADVICE? LIKE THE PERVIEST GUYS EVER?? anyways that’s besides the point.

as for lucy on the other hand, her mother dies when she was a child. he father neglected her. Her only friend, a celestial spirit, was always mean to her (i love aquarius but it’s true), her favourite doll reminded her off her mother so she had to leave it behind and it only came back YEARS later in the guise of a friend just to betray her. She probably had trouble trusting anyone, maybe even Natsu when they first met. Her only source of knowing what true relations are like were her books.

Anyways my point is that due to their different environments, their feelings developed differently. Lucy, who grew up with her romantic fantasies of the “perfect prince charming” who would always save her, ended up falling for the dragon who always came to her rescue. This is probably why her mind refused to believe in the possibility of falling for the guy with the COMPLETE opposite personality at first.

Natsu, who carries his heart on his sleeve, fell for her and KNEW he did cuz he never had any type of fantasy or dream in his mind. His heart fell for Lucy and he accepted it cuz that’s in his nature (again, imo)

Now as for when and how all of this happened, i think Natsu probably fell for her earlier in the series but realized during tenrou when he heard her say, “it’s more fun when we’re together” and faced the possibility of actually having to lose her. The realization solidified when Future Lucy died cuz he ACTUALLY lost her.

Lucy i think fell gradually as the series went on and the big realization was also sometime during the GMG, maybe again, after the future Lucy thing when she realized just how much this random guy she met a couple of months ago cared for her, calling her precious to him. This is when she realized cuz no one ever really cared for her, after her mother died, as much as Natsu did. If they did, they didn’t show it (aquarius)

anyways thanks for reading this long ass analysis that has been wandering in my brain for like 2 years atp <3

[lulushults]

why does no one talk about the real implications of natsu becoming end?

people go on and on and on about how nalu isnt real because natsu’s ‘too stupid to understand love’, but…r u guys not seeing whats literally right before ur eyes? let me explain :)

natsu was told by zeref himself, and then shown a direct demonstration, of the fact that zeref and natsu are directly connected, meaning if zeref dies, natsu dies.

then we get natsu finding presumably dead lucy, and going apeshit and becoming hell bent on killing zeref before being interrupted by gray.

so? what ya’ll think natsu just thought well lucys dead, lets go finish the task at hand and kill zeref yipee!

natsu was told if zeref dies, HE dies. and immediately after finding lucy ‘dead’, he loses literally every thought in his head except for his drive to kill zeref.

u wanna know why? because lucy has had such a dramatic effect on natsu’s life, personality and happiness that the thought of living without lucy drove him straight too a main source that he can rely on to end his life. in that moment he forgot about everyone he was leaving behind, happy included, and wanted to join lucy in ‘death’.

mr go happy natsu that everyone thinks has exactly 0 thoughts inside his head and goes out of his way to hide his feelings, immediately decided the next step and only step of action after discovering lucy was to end his own life because he couldnt bare to not have her in his. natsu relys on lucy as a main source of safety and comfort, sure he never directly says it out loud but he shows this through the way he acts with her. the way he goes out of his way to be in his apartment with her constantly. the way he feels he needs to protect her. the way he gets so aggrivated when another man flirts with her, because to him shes HIS lucy and he just cannot allow another man to steal her away from him. not to mention he also outright said lucy’s scent makes him feel comfortable.

i’ve always believed that natsu and lucy are connected in more ways than one. they’re eachother best friends. they’re so clearly in love. and they are eachother safety blankets. they both rely on eachother for stability and comfort whether directly or indirectly, the small glances when natsu notices shes upset, lucy always wanting to look out for him and immediately becoming worried whenever they’re apart despite knowing he can take care of himself. and i also wholeheartedly agree that if one of them were to die, the other would not be able to live anymore. if natsu were to die, lucy would drown in the feeling of loneliness despite being surrounded by the guild. without natsu, who does she really have left? hes so implemented into her daily routine that she couldn’t continue her everyday life because everything would feel so out of the ordinary and just…wrong. waking up without his heat next to her. walking to the guild with him. eating with him. going on jobs with him. and then falling asleep and feeling him sneak into her bed while she pretends to be asleep all the while slowly inching closer to him because shes enjoys his company.

and as we literally saw first hand in the final season, natsu does not under any circumstances want to live without her either. who would splurge on his expensive eating habits on jobs? who’s apartment would he break into? who’s bed would he sneak into? who’s fridge would he secretly break into every day to steal food? natsu has never cared about love, or relationships, or starting a family or even getting married. until he met her. and now shes so naturally integrated into his life that he just can’t imagine how he would go about putting a smile on his face without her there to make it so easy for him.

[thatbirdrestaurant]

A deeply unnecessary analysis of NaLu and Natsu's feelings

I'm as much of a sucker for insta-love NaLu as the next guy, but I do genuinely believe it took these two a while to fall in love. I can't deny that there was an immediate attraction, especially on Lucy's end, and I do think romantic feelings have been stewing between the two of them since as early as season one, but the realization took a really long time to hit.

We'll start off talking about Lucy, because I have the least to say about her. I've said before that I think Lucy didn't realize she had feelings for Natsu until she realized she was in love with him, which was after the events of the Eclipse Gate. I can pinpoint the exact moment she realized; the moment right after, when her and Natsu are standing in the rubble, and she just starts crying before running to hug him. I think that's the moment she realized that she loves him, and she has for a while.

I believe it took so long for Lucy to realize because she grew up in a very sheltered environment. Her only exposure to typical teenage experiences that didn't involve arranged marriages was teen magazines; she knew what it felt like to be superficially attracted to someone, when someone was objectively attractive, and she's had crushes before, but never really been in love.

We're moving onto Natsu now, because I have the most to say about him by a landslide. For immediate starters, I don't really recognize 100 Year Quest; even though I love all the GruVia development within it, I find it to be a very unnecessary spin-off that doesn't respect its characters, especially Natsu. It's done horrible things for his maturity as a whole, including all the development with Lucy.

Natsu loves Lucy, that's something I've believed for a very long time, and he shows it in his actions more than anything. He's protective of her, he loves spending time with her and he's upset when she isn't around, and he wants to move Heaven and Earth for her. He has since pretty much day one.

But he doesn't realize he has feelings for her until their fight with Kain, and he doesn't even realize he's in love with her until he watches her (future self) die.

That doesn't sound right, though, does it? How can someone watch a scene like Natsu putting the rainbow sakura on a boat, just so Lucy can see it bloom, and think he doesn't realize he likes her until much, much later?

Natsu was raised in an environment where you would cut off both arms and a leg for your friends and family. Fairy Tail is a guild that values familial relationships and friendships more than anything. I truly believe that, to Natsu, most of the things he did for Lucy before the fight with Kain, he did with what he thought were platonic intentions.

On top of that, I do headcanon Natsu to be on the aromantic spectrum. He doesn't feel romantic attraction as "easily" as other people do, and he very seldom actually recognizes it as such. He knows what it is - how could he not, when surrounded by it so often - but he's never really felt it himself. Maybe he had a bit of a childhood crush on Lisanna, but that's stretching it thin. She was his best friend, that's for certain.

Natsu thinks he and Lucy are as normal as friends as anyone else in the guild, until she has the chance to leave him behind for her own safety, and she absolutely refuses. I cannot watch that scene without feeling like I'm watching Natsu fall in love, realize his feelings at the very least.

Another NaLu trope I'm an absolute sucker for is that Natsu thinks, and has thought, him and Lucy have been dating for quite some time. Do I realistically believe so? No, I don't.

I think, to some capacity, Natsu knows that Lucy loves him, too, the same way that he loves her, and I think he believes that's a mutual understanding. To Natsu, they both know how they feel, that they're in love, but they're not in a rush to discuss it, to put a label on it.

He knows they act like a couple, that people who pass them on the street see a boyfriend with his girlfriend, and that's enough for him at the moment.

Natsu and Lucy's final conversation before the end of the series was a confession. Hiro Mashima can pry this belief from my cold dead hands. That was Natsu's way of confessing his love for Lucy, his way of expressing that he wants them to be together forever, but he's still Natsu, and he still thinks Lucy knows he loves her.

Lucy is a very shy person; she gets flustered just from Natsu standing too close, and Natsu is already content with the two of them just existing near one another. Would he like to hug and kiss Lucy? Of course he would, but he doesn't need it.

Where him and Lucy are is already more than enough for him, he just, unfortunately, doesn't realize that Lucy isn't on the same page. She would like to be, though she doesn't even realize it, but she doesn't quite have the courage for it.

While I do think Lucy is pining for Natsu, I don't think she's doing so painfully. She gets flustered when people insinuate her and Natsu are a couple, as anyone would, but she doesn't seem very torn up about correcting people. She loves him, yes, but she's completely fine with just being his friend. She's grateful enough to have him in her life.

They're in this weird limbo of 'not a couple, but not just friends' because while they're not oblivious to their own feelings, they're oblivious to the impression the other has about their relationship. Natsu thinks they're dating, but are taking things slow; Lucy thinks they're just friends, but would love to be more.

[beargyufairy]

There when she cried, you saved her life

[bumblebeehug]

I lowkey feel like people (including Mashima at this point) should stop acting like Natsu’s in the same position as Tarzan. “Oh he doesn’t know what relationships are yadidaya” “well he was raised by a dragon so naturally he’d think like a dragon” no. He was like 7 at the most when he came to Fairy Tail, and I suspect even younger. So he was 18? Or something when he met Lucy, which is plenty of time to go through puberty. Like yes, he was a late bloomer but if the dude learned to properly read and write, learned to make a living doing jobs, then I’m sure he also learned about sex-ed and overheard relationship stuff. And then, he’s aware of Levy’s and Gajeel’s relationship, and Alzack and Bisca, and I doubt he’s unaware of whatever Gray and Juvia are doing currently. I don’t think he’s unaware, silly, childish or uninterested. He just doesn’t think it applies to Lucy. But don’t act like Natsu just fell out of a coconut tree!!! He’s living, he’s human!!! He isn’t stupid!!!!

(And by saying that he doesn’t think the relationship stuff applies to him and Lucy, I don’t mean that he isn’t in love with her - I just don’t think Natsu knows that this is what everyone else is feeling as well, towards their partner. He doesn’t know how to apply normal relationship stuff to the two of them because he thinks they’re… kinda above that? Their bond is stronger, strong enough where things are good unspoken, except things are not good that way bc that way they can’t go forward)

[xanvasofxords]

Since the last chapter came out, I’ve seen a bunch of people complaining about the fact that Natsu snapped at Lucy. I understand where it’s coming from, because Natsu never once raised his voice with Lucy.

I’m completely ignoring the bullshit that was added in the dragon egg episode in anime, but I agree with them that if Natsu were to snap at Lucy, that’s how it’d look. Which actually never, I repeat never happened in the entirety of Fairy Tail.

Natsu has always been very gentle and consoling towards Lucy despite having a rough nature. A part of it’s because he knows she’s very emotional and feels it’s his responsibility to not only protect her physically, but also mentally. She has lost so many people and each time it affected her greatly that he naturally always pays more attention to anything that may or may not involve her. He knows to act accordingly when the situation concerns her, whether it comes to consoling her or protecting her. Even in the middle of battles, he’s aware of her and her surroundings. He prioritises her over anything and understands her more than anyone. And he has always been very careful about her emotions. He knows how easy it’s for her to befriend anyone and risk everything for them. She can be too serious and stubborn about her love for her friends. Athena was no exception. They just met a few chapters ago and Lucy was ready to quit fighting Viernes for her sake.

But it just wasn’t possible to take time and make her understand that she’s needed in this fight and they can’t defeat Viernes unless she helps. Natsu did what he could do at that time and it was an urgent plea to shake Lucy out of her zone. That shout was full of desperation and it was hundred percent needed.

Also I heavily disagree with those who said Lucy was too dramatic for behaving like this. No she wasn’t. Don’t forget that she interacted the most with Athena and made her realise that she can also have emotions like humans. She befriended her first and it was quite natural for someone like Lucy to react that way because she has only been losing people since the beginning. Her mother, father, Aquarius, Eclair and even Natsu left her alone for a year and the guild disbanded. And now Athena.

[shiiro-arts]

I just realized, natsu getting punched the shit out of him because he gets distracted because lucy gets hit is kind of sad, because not only he gets worried, he probably freaks out.

He freaks out because since FLucy died, he's always been there protecting her, making sure that never happens again.

So when Lucy gets hit, and he can't protect her (him being there), he probably remembers FLucy, and how he couldn't do anything to save her

My poor baby is traumatized

[sahsalart]

(Fairy Tail): The Heartfilia-Dragneel Twins

Back from the void with more fanart lol. I’ve had this specific done for a few months now and finally decided to post it. So, if you’re a Fairy Tail fan then please enjoy lol.

I've come across many fan interpretations of the next-gen children of Fairy Tail characters, including Hiro Mashima's official designs. So, I decided to create my own take on the Heartfilia-Dragneel twins—the twin daughters of Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia. Their names are Ende and Sey, with their surname hyphenated from both parents. Ende is the older twin, born two minutes before Sey. They're fraternal, not identical, which I feel fits Lucy and Natsu's dynamic perfectly.

In my canon, the twins are 16 years old and, naturally, members of the Fairy Tail guild like their parents before them. I'm still developing their backstories and finalizing their magic abilities, but both use a unique blend of Lucy's Celestial Spirit Magic and Natsu's Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. This fusion reflects canon, where Lucy inherited her magic from her mother, and the Heartfilia lineage is known for Celestial Mages. I’ve written out their magic systems in full detail, so if anyone's interested, let me know!

From a design perspective, I wanted the twins to visibly reflect traits from both of their parents while maintaining their own individuality. Sey inherited Natsu's bright eyes and facial structure, paired with Lucy’s fair complexion. Her hair is a soft, light pink—spiky like Natsu’s—but catches a blonde hue in direct sunlight, echoing Lucy’s signature color. Ende, on the other hand, has Lucy’s eyes and facial features, along with a more tanned skin tone like Natsu. Her hair is straight and fine like Lucy's, but jet black—a recessive trait inherited from Natsu’s late mother and brother, Zeref Dragneel.

[rose-void-789]

I just realized something two of my favorite ships are shonen protagonist going feral after something happens to their lover. The similarities, both in war too. In know I'm bringing up old wounds but you can't deny its all pretty romantic.

[zuzu-fairys-tail]

FT HYQ ch 71

So I'm specifically going to talk about Natsus "harem" thing. Alot of people say this disproves Nalu but imo it does the opposite if u think about it. (btw i dont think Natsus as dumb as he lets on and does know romance and stuff as shown many times. Hiro just likes teasing us) So when Hakune says "the women in his heart" i think it works like that guys magic who turns people into Whatever/whoever they think of. When she says that, Gray, having somewhat more of an idea about romance than Natsu, realized she was talking about a romantic partner but Natsu being a bit more dense, thought she was referring to all women he holds dear to him but in different roles:

Erza and Mira as older sisters

Wendy as a little sister

Cana and Lisanna as good friends

and Lucy as the woman he loves.

You can also tell this by the things they say.

Erza and Lis talk about their childhood as he was close to them as children. Wendy says hes like her big bro coz he sees Wendy as his lil sis and hes not super close to Cana and Mira so they dont really say anything But Lucy asks him to touch her and what more evidence do u need?

Also at the end of the day, Hiro probably only wrote this to tease us and has now totally forgotten about it

[beargyufairy]

I will fall in love with you

Over

And over again

I don't care how

Where

Or when

No matter how long it's been

You're mine

[bumblebeehug]

When do u think Natsu actually realized that he fell for Lucy and i know he treats her differently but can u give moments where it's initiated from his side?

This is going to be a long post so buckle up!

Okay, first of all: the Phantom Lord arc. Though I don't think he fell in love with her at that point of time, I think it was the events that seriously solidified his partialness to her. I'd go into detail but I can already feel a long post incoming, so I'll keep it short: Lucy telling Natsu that she loves being a Fairy Tail wizard, while crying over the fact that she didn't want to leave ↓

After just trusting her life in Natsu, jumping from an insanely high tower, with a mere belief that maybe she had heard him in the distance – I think it struck a chord with Natsu. Like, it would be normal to cry after a fall like that, but Lucy wasn't concerned about that aspect. Her head and heart was all about the guild, how she didn't want to go, and that resonates with Natsu. Natsu's entire life at that point is 1) Finding Igneel, and 2) being with/protecting the guild.

Then I'd say it's a pretty gradual build in their relationship. They go on a lot of missions, hang out together, and just in general spend a lot of time connecting. There's some Natsu-saves-Lucy, some Lucy-saves-Natsu, some hand holding (tenrou arc I won't forget about that, thank you anime team for adding that scene), and then comes the next pivotal moment. GMG arc and the dragon festival that follows.

By then I'd say Natsu and Lucy are very much in this friends-with-emotional-benefit zone: much more than friends, absolutely not yet lovers. But with Lucy's near-death experiences in her battles, Natsu has to refrain himself from getting involved each time Lucy gets beaten up - he becomes helpless, and the worry that's sowed inside of him gets watered each time Lucy still puts his faith in him, still trusts him to come out a winner. That entire section when Lucy's in the infirmary and she tells Natsu that her entire being trusts that Natsu can do anything, I think that's when Natsu falls in love.

Now wait!! He still doesn't quite understand that he loves her. But he understands that his feelings for Lucy are more tender than any other feelings he's ever had. He treasures her in a new, heavier way. She's become precious to him.

Precious. Where have we heard that... oh >:) ↓

Now the Dragon Festival was LETHAL in a trillion ways, but especially for nalu fans. The whole Future Lucy plot and the forehead touches and the Future Natsu and Future Lucy fighting in a wasteland moments and the Natsu skipping the final GMG match to save Lucy. And of course. Future Lucy dying. It's not the first time we see Natsu get so heavily affected - it happened in the tower of heaven, when Erza was ready to give her life up. But it is the first time we see Natsu see a friend die. Like, a team mate, someone who he's responsible for bringing to the guild. And after the whole GMG conundrum? Had a single more bad thing happened Lucy during the dragon festival, he’d probably turn into a demon right there and then. Dare I even say: their relationship was the strongest at this point in time.

After the GMG and the Dragon Festival, we get the Sun Village arc (I don’t like the Eclipse celestial spirit arc so I’m not counting it, same with Key of the Starry Sky arc — technically some nalu moments but not exactly building imo) and then another big one: Tartaros. Ooooh brother, THE best arc of all times, wish Mashima knew how to replicate it. But alas, he doesn’t.

The Tartaros arc isn’t exactly a pivotal moment where Natsu “falls in love” but rather an important aspect to understand his later actions. Like this guy goes through some pretty grusome stuff, learns a lot of complicated, bad things about himself, and finishes off the arc with losing Igneel — his father that he's spent ages searching for. Natsu's entire life is turned upside down, so he decides that he has to become stronger: cue, he heads off for a year to train.

His time away isn't very elaborated on — not from Natsu's viewpoint or Lucy's. But I think it's understood that he chose not to bring along Lucy because she could be put into danger too much for him to be able to concentrate on building his strength: he knew his training would be dangerous. During this time we also have the Gildarts-scene in chapter (idk i can't be bothered to look it up but y'all know the one ↓) which is kinda debated on — who was Natsu talking about here?

I'm still not certain on if it was a heart to heart on the Igneel-matter, or if it was about his guilt of leaving Lucy behind, like many theorise. I'm not even certain that it's limited to one of them — he could be talking about both. But at the very least, this entire year was one of those "distance makes the heart grow fonder" moments for him. He wanted to get back to his normal life with Lucy so bad. After all, it wasn't like him showing up at the GMG was in order to meet Lucy — had he wanted more training after that, he'd head off again, but I don't think he could physically bring himself to do it, even if it hadn't turned out that the guild had disbanded. Though that's just me speculating a bit.

And about the guild disbandment: oh jolly, he was not happy. He had finally taken the step to grow stronger to protect everyone in his beloved guild, and here Makarov went and disbanded it? Leaving Lucy completely alone? Lucy, who once jumped from a hella high tower because she was just so devoted to stay in the Fairy Tail guild? Yeah, I think that broke him a little. At this point there was just so much guilt involved around his whole relationship with Lucy, because now he had put her through so much pain only because he brought her to Fairy Tail that day in Hargeon.

The next arcs I'd say Natsu's trying to spend his time redeeming himself for the countless things he's done bad (getting the guild back together, just generally staying by Lucy's side as much as possible). And naturally he keeps getting hit by challenge after challenge (it's not easy to be a book written by his immortal brother, yk?). And it's even harder to watch Lucy die again, this time for real (he thinks bc he's stupid and also has a tumour that's nothing less than a ticking bomb) (give this guy a break lol).

Anyways: Lucy's death nr2. Natsu can't live a life without her. Now I know — he still doesn't quite understand that it's romantic love, but I think he does understand that it's pure love. No matter if kissing and reproducing was involved, all he knew was that a life without Lucy is completely unimaginable, so blinded by rage he becomes and decides to decapitate everyone in his way (sorry about that Gray).

The last couple of moments I'll go out of my way to mention as signs of love is 1. when he's won over Acnologia and falls towards Lucy, crazy relieved, saying "I'm home", 2. Gajeel pointing out Natsu's crush on Anna, Natsu basically saying "oh that's why I like Lucy so much" (I embellished it lol) and 3. "We're still gonna be together from here on out, right?" yeah that man won't ever leave her. Ever. It's just not an option.

Now since I've only talked about specific moments, here's what I have to say about his relationship with her in general:

Throughout the main plot line, we also see a shift in Natsu's behaviour. Someone here on Tumblr pointed out that Natsu always finds a way to shield Lucy if something unexpected happens, after not being able to shield her from Future Rogue. There's also the small detail of the order he calls out to people - it goes from being pretty random, to Lucy almost alwyas being on the top of the list: likely because she's always on the top of his head. And in general I'd say that Natsu initiates (i'm adding this entire paragraph bc i realised that you asked about when Natsu initiated stuff, more than when he fell in love lol) almost all of their interractions. It's Natsu who wants Lucy to join Fairy Tail, to form a team, he's the one who enters her apartment constantly, he's always searching her out - his interest in her is at a constant high so we never feel like we get "moments" that he's paying her extra attention. He has one setting, and it's "Lucy" cranked to the max. Lol.

I could also add some HYQ moments to the mix here, but they've been few and far inbetween, and also mostly played off as jokes, so I can't really consider them as moments when Natsu initiates his love. I guess his jealousy can be considered a sign? And when (spoilers from the manga) he runs around to protect her/save her from creepy-freaky-jail (the only one who made it freaky was him, with those wild fantasies lol). Maybe I need to jog my memory a bit, but so far there hasn't been any non-pervy nalu moments initiated by Natsu in the HYQ, aside from jealousy-chap. Sadly.

Hope this gave you the answer you were hoping for! Sorry it took so long, I started writing on it and realised it would be a bible so I put it in my drafts to fetch some pics to make it less wordy, and then I forgot about it, lol. But here it is!

[shiiro-arts]

I'm pretty sure it's because Mashima is horrible at writing lasting trauma (at least in FT).

In the anime there is nothing in Lucy's behavior that could give the idea that she has trauma related to it.

Should she be traumatized by what happened to her future self? Absolutely

Does mashima show it in any kind of way? No

Just like Natsu should have had some kind of reaction when confronting Acnologia knowing damn well he was the one who murdered his father right before his eyes, but there is literally no reaction from Natsu, at all. Acnologias roar does seem to affect them since the tenrou inccident but not Acnologias presence as such (wasted potential btw).

Why doesn't anyone write about it? Because Lucy shows literally no signs of trauma related to those events, while Natsu does, becoming borderline obsessed with protecting her.

okay so, i just had this thought. everyone talks about natsu’s trauma following future lucy’s death, theres fanfics about it, fanart, canon scenes with natsu being more protective etc etc. but, why does no one talk about how traumatising that must’ve been for lucy? imagine watching yourself take your last few breaths knowing that was your ‘future’ dying before your very eyes. surely that must’ve fucked my girl up even just a little, knowing that technically you’re future has now been cut short but you have no idea by how much. genuinely terrifiying to think about btw

[shiiro-arts]

Something you probably overlooked but I didn't because I'm just that obsessed

Natsu dislocated the bones in his arms trying to save Lucy from being tortured

[nnoragamis]

any fairytail fic recs?

oh gosh. i read a lot—and i mean a lot—of FT fics back in the day when the manga was still ongoing (even wrote a few myself), but unfortunately i don't remember most of what i liked back then. however i have been getting back into reading stuff, so:

pretty much anything by @tokkias, their nalu fics are soo good and in-character. link to their ao3 profile here.

Ignite by AbsentAngel is THEE nalu fic for me, it has one of the best characterizations of natsu i've ever seen (i could've sworn this fic was on ao3, but i can't find it there anymore, so this is the ff.net link)

Journey's End by solidxscript was the 'lucy is hit by the repercussions of rewriting the book of END' fic that i wanted. 10/10 no notes

yuanfen by tiddiejoon is another great post-main series nalu fic!

someone who will stay by YayaKoishii: a drabble about princess!lucy and dragon!natsu. so. freaking. cute.

the stop signs i missed by Poteto: one-sided graylu; really freaking good character analysis, i highly recommend giving this a read even if graylu isn't your thing!

Scarlet by Freyjabee. super dark jerza AU, pre-canon. it's really good, but definitely heed the warnings

Date Night by StoryQuipster. in which gajeel accidentally-on-purpose interferes in juvia's love life. if you love gajeel and juvia's friendship as much as i do, you should definitely check this one out!

We Are Young by koa-chan. high school AU but it's actually really good and super believable and in-character!

[zuzu-fairys-tail]

Just a little rant about the 100 Years Quest.

I think we've all realized that all the characters are really ooc in the hyq. Tbh i think the reason for that is that Mashima doesn't write them anymore.

I think the only part of the story he actually does the story board of, is like the main fights and just a general gist of what is to come.

The reason i say this is cuz the one shot that was released a few days before the hyq anime, was written by him and all the characters seemed much more in character.

For example, Gray and Natsu actually fought like they used too, Gray's stripping habit was more apparent, Ichiya just somehow appearing and Erza being her strict but goofy self.

I think smth that proves this theory is that a fan asked Mashima to draw Lucy in a Pisces star dress, but he had no idea Yukino was even able to use star dresses.

This also kinda explains why Natsu and Lucy's relationship feels so completely different in comparison to their relationship in OG Fairy Tail and why alot of characters feel so ooc.

Ueda doesn't know how to write these characters. He can't write them the way Mashima did.

This is also why Hyq doesn't have the super emotional moments that the OG Fairy tail had. The only one i can remember of the top of my head is when Lucy was afraid of Natsu's flames for the first time but i think Mashima did more of the storyboard in the beginning which is why it seems more fleshed out.

Also i absolutely hate Ueda's art style. They look like they're 15 when they're in their early 20s and Wendy looks like she's 10, unlike when Mashima drew them and Wendy actually grew.

I just had to get this out of my head lmao