Bang Bang!!

Darn it, Alvarez Arc… You were open to possibilities. Opportunities. Potential…

But then you gave way to Nalu/Jerza fanservice anyway. >.> I suppose, in the end, Natza didn’t HAVE to become canon, but the lack of fanservice up ‘til the ending stuff kinda left things open. I wouldn’t have been opposed to an ending that stayed open. Let all ships have their theories about how everyone paired off, even the overbearing Big 4. But what ya gonna do? I suppose it’s still possible to end on that note, but not very likely at this stage.

Nalu/Jerza camps have their reasons for believing in their ships, and I have mine. Even in this arc of wasted opportunities…

Is this kind of scene romantic? Not necessarily. Just goes to show the amount of faith Erza has in Natsu, when everyone else was ready to go after and support him. He was confronting the leader of Alvarez, the Black Wizard himself, and Erza took him at his word that he could handle it. Even though Zeref would likely make the Balam Alliance seem like a cakewalk, Erza put her faith in him before all others did (at least from what we were shown). Sort of reminiscent of the time when Erza took on a 100 monsters, don'tcha think?

Natsu and Erza trust one another - their character, their abilities, they’ve bared it all to each another over the years. Of course they worry about one another, too - as seen when Natsu saved Erza from falling in Chapter 459 - but it’s a healthy kind of worry. Not to the point of doubting one another’s abilities. Granted, there was a point in Tartaros where he had Happy fly him across Ishgar because he was worried about Erza (and Mira) being taken; at the time, he had little to no evidence, but he was right in the end, wasn’t he?

As much as the Nalu/Jerza camps may try to convince us there isn’t a deep connection between these two characters, there kind of is even if you decide to view it as platonic. That said, this connection goes beyond mere trust and having each other’s backs. They grew up in Fairy Tail for seven years before the canon officially started. Them and Gray bonded to the point they’d bathe together. I can see how that might be viewed as innocent sibling bonding, but all these years later, Natsu and Erza are perfectly comfortable being around one another naked. Maybe in some families, siblings are okay baring all for one another to see, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a 'normal’ sibling-type relationship. Even outside the bathing thing, though, you had the trio of Natsu, Erza, and Gray doing all sorts of things together (the flashbacks in recent chapters prove that; even if you don’t want to buy that Erza expanded on Natsu’s education where Igneel left off, there’s at least that one panel showing Erza possibly teaching them to hunt). It wasn’t just a case of Erza being the badass S-Class mage that was so far above them in skill, and therefore distant from them as friends; they really had a connection prior to Lucy joining the Guild. And that bond can be more or less demonstrated canonically when Natsu rushed off ahead of the others early in ToH, before Erza could stop him from trying to confront Jellal. Even Gray was worked up, but Erza stopped him before he could rush off, too.

It’s just one reason, but I kind of prefer a ship that is built off of years and years of bonding. The kind where a relationship would just 'happen’; no change in the dynamic, they just kinda realize that, oh, they are pretty close. It’s natural to proceed to the next stage. I won’t completely dismiss that Nalu and Jerza have some buildup, but compared to the likes of Natza, they haven’t had as long to be together. That’s just one reason I see Nalu as a BROTP. Jerza… well, as it’s written currently, I’m just plain averse to that ship. Jellal’s caused Erza much trauma, and Erza’s a little too blindly loyal to him for my tastes. Loyalty’s all well and good, but to try and convince the likes of Kagura and Milliana to forgive Jellal and move on like she had, that’s not really fair to them, now is it? Milliana was lied to and manipulated for all that time Erza was in Fairy Tail, and she lost a dear friend because of him - a dear friend that also happened to be Kagura’s brother, who she had been searching for. To top it off, they weren’t the only ones affected by Jellal running the Tower of Heaven. Lots of slaves died constructing it.  And don’t bother trying to pass off Jellal’s actions as Ultear possessing him; I never liked Ultear being made as a scapegoat, and from what we saw he still had a great amount of free will in him.

I’ve diverged off-topic a bit, but that is some of my major reasoning for being against Jerza. If you want another interesting contrast, Jerza is rooted in the dismal past (TRYING to move on, with one person doing most of the work), while Natza can be argued to be headed to a bright future (with both of them mutually supporting one another). That doesn’t mean the past is forgotten; it’s just not at the forefront of their minds. This contrast can be seen in how Erza usually interacts with Jellal and Natsu. Whenever she’s around Jellal, the mood is usually somber and heavy with regrets, and Erza is doing her utmost best to give him hope and purpose (there is maybe one exception, at the end of Tartaros; the roles are reversed, but the atmosphere is still not quite 'cheery’ - much as it tries to be). When Erza’s around Natsu, the mood varies, but it’s worthy to note that Natsu does an excellent job at cheering Erza up or putting her in a good mood. I mean, just look at these…

Canon, filler, doesn’t matter. Natsu’s like the best guy for the job at getting Erza to smile. And more than half the time, he’s smiling right beside her. There’s just so much to love about Natza. More than I could cover in just one post, but we’re quite not up to the 'end’ anyway, so I won’t get into it all yet. There’s still 2 more volumes to come out - 15 chapters, maybe. Yeah, canonically we’re probably going to wind up with most if not all the pairings that were on that color cover a couple chapters ago; some I’m aggravated with, some I’m okay with. That won’t stop me from appreciating all the Natza moments we had…. It’s just… damn it, Mashima, you just had me convinced we could’ve gone that route.

It’s a bummer we have to defend our ship so tenaciously, but what ya gonna do? We’ve got loads of stuff to shove in Nalu/Jerza’s high and mighty faces. And from our perspective, Natza is extremely healthy and well-developed…

That said, bringing up this point at this stage is petty, and fairly pointless. Maybe some circles had theories that it was Makarov, Macao, or any of the other adults that helped Natsu to read and write, but I also think most people just ran with the 'filler’ explanation of Erza-sensei. And this has been going on for all the years Fairy Tail has been progressing. If it makes you feel any better - sure, go right ahead and claim it was Anna, or whoever you think 'really’ taught Natsu. Won’t make Anna’s backstory more believable or less of a retcon.

Alright one thing at a time. Understandable as going from a realistic sense that it does seem a relationship with those intellectual differences would be hard to maintain. While there are certainly those who would argue that it doesn’t stop the possibility of a ship but it’s understandable why some may see it as a hinderance.

On to Natsu’s arrogance, I think it stems from this, Mashima can’t have Natsu grow up. For some reason he can’t write Natsu in a way that keeps his boyish charm while showing he’s moved past his childish tendency. This is odd as there are multiple instances where he could develop the character but doesn’t. i don’t know if this is out of laziness or out of some stimulus that Natsu being this way equals broader audience appeal but it’s not good. If Natsu did actually grow from experience I see him acting like Haru from Rave, having their quirks and shonen attributes, as well as their young male attitude, but as a person they matured. They grew from this experience and became more developted characters. They don’t need a 180 on their character they just have to show progress and that they learned something.

Erza is not that far above Natsu when it comes to things. Remember there’s an omake on how Erza dressed up like a superhero and went around town pretending to be a hero on a fucking whim. Pretty similar to Natsu in my book. And saying that it doesn’t count will make me toss the Christmas Omake out on its head and I doubt if certain people want that to happen… As for the intellectual side, like how ‘quickly’ she figured out the Galuna Island problem… Yeah, that’s fine - par the course for an S-class Mage of Fairy Tail, no? It gave us the baseline for that. And here’s Natsu solving the ‘real reason’ why Tartaros had so much of an info jump on them and why it endangered Erza and Mira with even LESS proof and mostly just conjecture on his part. Yes, Erza can do it most of the time, but it doesn’t disprove that Natsu isn’t capable of the same thing either. Is he allowed to? No. There’s no reason for him to do so because other canonically smarter people than him come up with the plans and he goes with it. He used to just charge straight ahead and everyone just falls in line around him to make it work - and he still kinda does to an extent.

I can not help, but it seems to me or Mashima draws Natsu x Erza moments more intense than Nalu?

They do not have a silly fan service except for 355 chapter. On the other hand it is only to prove that Natsu does not see her as a sister… (c’mon, they are inseparable since childhood and he is still shy of her but see Lucy naked in the order of things strange, is not it???)

It is only 30% moments with them. It’s not fantasy and not everyone in the guild has such moments, even though they know each other for a long time.

Bonus: the first and most sensitive moment in the manga repeated canon ship. I do not believe in coincidences.

      The blondeSpriggan Shield crossed her arms as she stared down at the unconscious DragonSlayer. Here was one of the worms that corrupted her Randi… and she wasn’tquite sure how to go about punishing him. Of course he was going to die… Quitepainfully, too. It was just that, well, she only had one shot to punish himproperly. Beating on a corpse got droll pretty quick, and Neinhart’s Historiasweren’t that much better. Dimaria already had that blonde bimbo’s humiliationall thought out; there was just a matter of what to do with Pinky here. Hedidn’t exactly seem to be doing well either, which kinda ruined the fun evenmore.

            There wasthe temptation to just slit his little throat and be done with it, but Dimariasquashed that idea. No, Randi demanded vengeance, and Dimaria would dish itout… The only question was how…?

            “Nngh…where am I…?”

            TheSpriggan Shield raised an eyebrow as she watched the Dragon Slayer stir. Shewas pretty sure the guy’d been comatose ever since Brandish had restored his“tumor” to its normal size… or whatever the hell he had. Why was he suddenlyregaining consciousness? Dimaria shrugged and decided she didn’t care. Killingoff an unconscious guy would’ve been boring as hell; maybe his personalitywould give her ideas for giving him a fittingly horrific end…

            “Well,hello there. How are you doing?” Dimaria chirped innocently.

            Natsuattempted to move his body, but found that not only were his limbs restrainedand cuffed, but his Magic was sealed off. His shoulders and upper body feltstiff, and he wanted for nothing more than to relieve the pain, but he couldtell that he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

            “Beenbetter.” Natsu deadpanned, his face set with a dry expression. He recognizedthis situation for what it was… This wasn’t his first time being captured byan enemy. He’d get through this like he always did. “So, what, is this it?I’ve been through worse.”

            … By beinga mouthy, defiant bastard.

            “…” Forseveral minutes, Dimaria said and did nothing but stare at the Dragon Slayer.Natsu hated these silent, collected types; he’d take the overtly violent ones overthe calculating ones any day. At least then he could, y’know, get them to slipup, whether that was reveal information they shouldn’t or actually give him away out. Harder to resist against the ‘smart’ ones. Then, suddenly, the blondeSpriggan Shield smirked mischievously, momentarily disappeared from view, andNatsu’s eyes were drawn to the bra that she was now twirling around her indexfinger. “You suuure, tough guy? I could do anything to you that I wanted.”

            Natsunarrowed his eyes briefly as he studied the bra she was toying around with. Thescent was different from that of the woman in front of him, and moreimportantly, it was familiar… Hiseyes widened as he placed the scent the article of clothing gave off.

            “Hey, that’sLucy’s!”

            It wasDimaria’s turn to be surprised at how sharp this guy was. She’d half-expectedhim just to ask if it was hers, or even take a minute longer to register it, butthis pink-haired buffoon completely derailed that line of discussion. That was…unexpected.

            “Hoho. Soyou’re in that kind of relationshipwith blondie, eh?” The smirk was back, and gone was any trace of her surprise.With the way this buffoon was dressed, baring his pecks to the world, sheshould’ve guessed that sooner. Just another typical guy.

            Natsu’sgaze became blank as he parroted her words.

            “Relationship?”

            “Yeah.”Dimaria idly alternated her bra-twirling to the other hand. “You two are anitem, right? Or are you just friends with benefits?”

            … Natsu wasstill very lost.

            “Me ‘n Luceare friends, sure.” Natsu admitted slowly. “We’re not goin’ out or anything,though. That’d be too weird… like datin’ a little sister.”

            Dimariarolled her eyes at his ‘denial’.

            “Oh, so it’sokay to bang your ‘little sister’, but not date her?”

            “Bang her?”Natsu parroted again. “You mean have sex?”

            “Well, Idon’t mean slam her into a wall for kicks.” Dimaria sarcastically shot back androlled her eyes. A mischievous smirk danced on her lips once more. “… Unlessyou’re that kind of kinky.”

            Natsu paledas Dimaria’s words sank in. Nope. Nope. HellNope. He was not having thisconversation.

             “Erza would kill me.” Natsu shuddered and rapidly shook his head back andforth. Damn no-no thoughts… “No,Luce ‘n me don’t have that kinda relationship.”

            Dimariatilted her head curiously, still twirling the bra around.

            “Oooh? Butyou recognized it!”

            “It’s gotLucy’s scent, damn it!” Natsu grumbled, cheeks thoroughly pink. “I’m a DragonSlayer, so I’ve got enhanced senses.”

            Dimariapouted. This guy was sucking out all the fun. Maybe she should just…

            “I mean… Iguess I mighta seen it lyin’ around Luce’s apartment, too, but…” Dimaria perkedright back up at hearing his unwitting continuation.

            “Oh? Been anaughty boy and snooped around her apartment, hmm?” The blonde wiggled hereyebrows suggestively. Natsu’s face became dry again.

            “No. Me ‘nHappy just break into her apartment enough times, it’s like our home away fromhome. Happy’s gone through her laundry enough times her reactions have gottenboring.”

            Dimaria’sface became blank at hearing him admit to such a level of debauchery so easily…How in the hell was sifting through alaundry basket that wasn’t yours not perverted?

            “You breakin just to peek in her laundry basket?”

            Natsuscoffed, garnering a twitch from the blonde.

            “Who doesthat? I’m not a pervert. I just really like Luce’s bed, so I sneak through herunlocked window, y’know? If she didn’t want me ‘n Happy sneakin’ in all thetime, she should just lock the window.” … Or taken back the key that Mira gave ‘em.They actually lie about the window, which makes her all kinds of paranoid. IfLucy thought through it, she would’ve realized that a long time ago.

            As Natsunodded sagely to himself, Dimaria stood there completely stunned. This guy…sounded so damn carefree. It basically sounded like he committed breaking andentering on a regular basis, and he gotaway with it. That sounded like the stuff she would do to… Randi… Dimaria’seyes hardened ever so slightly at the mental reminder of what this was allabout.

            “So, what,you break into her apartment when she’s not there?”

            “Nah. She’sthere most of the time we break in, like when she’s sleepin’.” Natsu freely admittedwith a shrug. “And if she isn’t, she gets back soon after we do. Sometimes weeven catch her after she took a bath. Her face is priceless when we do that!”

            As Natsusnickered, Dimaria found it increasingly hard to keep focused. She knew she wassupposed to execute this man for tainting her Randi… But damn it, he might makethis bitch’s torture all the more fun!

            “… So haveyou found her diary yet?” Dimaria asked warily. She was being far too easily ‘wooed’by this man. Or at the very least, she was letting her guard down, and that wasnever a good thing… It had to be a trap.

            “Both theone for me ‘n Happy to find and thereal one.” Natsu grinned from ear-to-ear. He and Happy were Super Ninja Sleuthswhen it came to Lucy’s apartment. They probably knew it better than she did.

            Dimariaknew she was probably going to regret it… But she released the Dragon Slayerfrom his bindings. Not the Magic-draining cuffs – those would be staying on. Yetshe would be enlisting his ‘help’ in messing around the blonde bimbo.

            … Bestdecision she had ever made.

~*~