#chapter545

I tried to colour this panel of the last chapter because I really loved it. The quality has been ruined in my screen and if it also is the same to you, I apologize... Hope you like it, though!

FT_chapter545♥

Is it canon? I don't think it officially is yet but I don't think she was friendzoned either. I actually think it is still in development and it is implied that something may happen off panel or after the "end". In all due respect it crossed my mind that there wouldn't be a huge moment between them in the final chapter and I was worried that it may feel forced if there was because Nalu never got their big angsty moment like other ships did in previous chapters. That worried me and I actually thought to myself that as much as I loved this ship, it might not even happen because let's face it, there wasn't much development especially on Natsu's side of things. I feel like there WAS development from the very beginning but then it stopped and stayed at the same level for some time and never really progressed. We never got that moment where they really had to confront their relationship and because it was nearing the end and still nothing, I took that as a bad sign but still I had hope that Mashima would write something. A part of me is furious because I feel as though it was teased so much but a part of me expected it to some extent. What Natsu was getting embarrassed about in the silent chapter with Gildarts wasn't about a girl after all but the 100 Year Quest which fits with the context now that you think about it but the fact that it was deliberately silent shows Mashima wanted to play with his fans (at least to me) and knew people would get the wrong idea and expect more from Nalu. To me this is a really shitty thing to do to your fans. I'm sorry there's no reason why the 100 Years Quest had to be kept secret for so long. It was obviously to play with his fans' heads. It makes me question whether every Natsu and Lucy scene was just for shits and giggles and wasn't there to show any true development. Does this mean everything in Dragon Cry was total bullshit and we should all just forget about it? Or is it the case that Mashima is saving Nalu for a later project and that's why he hasn't made anything concrete? That could be a possibility. Perhaps we as fans need to accept what we got with Nalu because Natsu just wasn't there yet. I feel as though in the last chapters building up to the end, Lucy's feelings for Natsu were quite apparent. Yes she did things for her "friends" but there were a lot of moments where she just had Natsu in mind. She blushed like a fool how many times, she offered to keep him warm with her body when anyone else could have done it, she carried him and fiercely shielded him from harm, she wanted to fight Brandish one on one in order to keep him safe even though there was a high chance of her losing, she risked her life by tampering with dark magic and the way she cried when she thought she lost him again was absolutely devastating. The way she relates meeting him to the beginning of her life and her adventures with Fairy tail, if that's not love I don't know what it is. For Mashima to have her go through all that for Natsu and just let her be friendzoned is damn right cruel and if it ends up being the case and there is no extra chapter or sequel to fix it then he has a lot to answer to. But you know what? I refuse to believe he would do that to Lucy after such a roller coaster ride of emotions which is why I think he's saving them for later. I still have high hopes that it's not going to end there and there will come a time where both of them will be ready to take their relationship to the next step. Since we didn't get a whole lot of development from Natsu's side of things in the final chapters it makes sense for Natsu to react in the way he did. Wouldn't it be too random and really out of the blue if he just suddenly went down on one knee and proposed to Lucy when there hasn't really been a moment in the final chapters of him distinctly thinking about her? He was too busy fighting Zeref and Acnologia and what not. He might have acknowledged her now and then but is that really enough for a grand moment? I personally think that if the series wasn't so rushed to get to the ending and didn't end on the chapter that it did, there would've been room to develop and address their relationship a bit better. But it was too rushed and Mashima chose not to prioritise Nalu scenes so ending with Nalu in such a grand way would have appeared out of place probably. I personally believe that he had opportunities to take advantage of and develop Nalu but he didn't. I don't know whether it's because he didn't want to or time constraints. Perhaps he never will develop Nalu and he was making a statement by ending it the way he did or perhaps he plans to but prefers to surprise us later. Of course like many Nalu shippers, I am hoping for the latter. Perhaps he planned to but never got around to develop Nalu with the time constraints and needing to focus on concluding other areas of the story. Maybe he purposefully made it ambiguous for now so he can write their development and conclusion properly later on. He didn't want to give them something forced and cheesy so then he brought back Zervis for a little bit to kill a little time. That's me being optimistic though because it's highly possible that he was making a statement that he likes Zervis more by giving them 2 conclusions whereas Nalu don't get anything concrete. If you plan to surprise us later Mashima then thank you, I will appreciate it but if you teased and teased just to give us nothing in the end then fuck you. The moments you drew in Dragon Cry to hype them up as a couple were totally unnecessary and it doesn't make you anything other than a jerk, I'm sorry that's the truth. And fuck you for playing with Lucy's feelings, even she was expecting Natsu to do something more in the end. If I look at it from the point of view that Mashima just tried to make it look as natural as possible considering Natsu as a character and where he was in his development, it does make sense in a way. And there was a little scene thrown in there to imply that Natsu may be attracted to Lucy by comparing her to Anna. Sure it was indirect and not a huge declaration or anything but I don't think the scene was just put in there for nothing. It was used to convey that Natsu has been drawn to Lucy and not only because she looked and smelled familiar. It was added in there that Natsu had a crush on Anna and he just admitts it blatantly. Would it be that hard to believe that Natsu is drawn to Lucy because she is actually his type? I think Mashima was trying to say that by Gajeel's teasing and Natsu's confirmation. So even if he is not there "emotionally " he has potential to get there eventually because he is already there "physically" when it comes to Lucy. I believe he is already physically attracted to her and it doesn't matter that he doesn't get all shy and blushy than say Gray or Gajeel because it's not in his character to do so. He doesn't even get embarrassed when Gajeel teases him about Anna, Natsu just admitts it matter of factly. Also it is important to see the level of comittment in their friendship that isn't parallelled by others. For example when Lucy gets drunk at her party, it is Natsu along with Happy that take her home and make sure she's okay. They change her clothes, sleep with her and pack her bags for her. Natsu obviously cares about Lucy a hell of a lot to do that for her. Really he didn't have to and another girlfriend say Levi or Mirajane or Cana could have done that as girlfriends would do that for each other but no it's Natsu and Happy. It's almost reminiscent of how a husband or boyfriend would take their drunk wives or girlfriends home without her being conscious of it. It's actually a trope used in a lot of romantic comedies and when Lucy realises after the fact she even comments that's she'll "never be a bride" which may be forshadowing that she will be a bride to someone someday and he's right there (Natsu). It's meant to be an ironic twist by her stating the negative. He starts to say something along the lines of "but you'll have work to do" or "a job to go on " and that takes her back to their memories of first going on jobs together and becoming a team which is symbolic to the story and how Natsu and Lucy came about in the first place. It's only natural to think about those aspects. She says something heartfelt along the lines of she wouldn't be the person she is today without meeting Natsu and Happy and truly thanked them in tears taking them by suprise and I notice that they start sweating a little bit? Are they just worried that Lucy is crying and they don't want to see her cry or is Natsu getting nervous and feeling pressure to say something? He actually takes her by the arms and starts to say seriously that there is something he wants to tell her too. She starts to blush, get all flustered and even closes her eyes but Natsu runs off in typical Natsu fashion pulling her behind him reminiscent of their first encounter saying something along the lines of " who cares about that stuff, we need to get to work" . There are different translations and one suggests that what he wanted to tell her was about the job while others seperate going on a job and what he was going to say. By saying "who cares about that stuff" or " I don't care about that " means that there was actually something he wanted to tell her in response to what she said. But he decides to dismiss it in that moment because they have to go on a job and meet the others. What he wanted to say could have been the confirmation of the ship but instead Mashima leaves it unanswered or unfinished. Why is this so? For trolling purposes? Because it's in Natsu's character? For comical effect? To pay tribute to when Natsu first does that to Lucy and all those times in the series? To give us something to look forward to in future Fairytail projects? He could have been showing blatant rejection of Lucy's feelings and expectations and I can see why people would think that's the case. Maybe that's what it was, an actual "friendzoning " but there are reasons to believe that wasn't the case either if you look at it in perspective. It could have been the case that rejection of Lucy isn't Natsu's intention AT ALL given his density when it comes to romance and how to word things tactfully. Lucy then complains that he's the worst for ruining an emotional moment and he acknowledges that and says "it's okay, we'll always be together from now on" which would be his way of saying that disrupting one little moment where he could have poured his heart out is nothing compared to always being together. Being together is more important therefore she shouldn't worry about that. Natsu has never been the one to say romantic words and shows his feelings via actions so it does make sense for his character to behave this way. Of course I, like anyone would have loved to hear the verbal confirmation of Natsu's feelings but I don't think he was developed enough emotionally at that point to deliver it. I think he could have still been unaware of his feelings at that point. If he was unaware, he is yet to recognise his attraction and intense bond with Lucy as love but it's still there regardless and will likely be more apparent to him in the future when he becomes more mature. If he was aware then a part of him is still immature and clueless in how to deliver his feelings. He recognised there was something to say but he was still too exciteable about the job that he impulsively cut himself off from the topic. It may have come across as insensitive but I don't think it's because he doesn't care about Lucy, to him they had more pressing duties now and it's not like he didn't reassure her later. And I think people have different love languages and Natsu's is including people. He is including Lucy in this huge quest that he needed permission for so in Natsu's eyes he can't think about an adventure without her, she's an essential part of his team. That being said though I still think that we should be able to identify a couple in an easily recognizable way which isn't explicitly done with Natsu and Lucy which means they can be interpreted as either way. I do think that Mashima did this on purpose and it could be hinting at further development in future projects or maybe thats just how he always wanted Nalu to be. Since this "canonization" is not explicit enough for me, I would say that it isn't really canon or canon yet. I think their feelings and attraction have definitely been demonstrated but Natsu's maturity and emotional awareness needs to develop in order to meet with Lucy's. He might actually need a push from someone or someone to tell him what's up in order to start that chapter in his life or he might just develop with age and experience to see that having a family of your own takes two if you know what I mean ;) . I don't believe that Natsu just sees Lucy as a friend contrary to many others. He's just oblivious to his feelings or he's aware but fails to communicate them tactfully. After all I've seen I stand by my opinion that she's more important to him than any other female in the series. He's fiercely protective, loyal and has shown to be supportive and thoughtful of her to an extent that no one else has been. His actions don't hide his feelings even though he may not realise his feelings on a conscious level. I'm really hoping that this ship won't be the troll of the century because that would really suck. Let's hope that we'll be pleasantly surprised by some development after the "end" which may be really a beginning.

The End #manga #chapter545 #fairytail #ending

byakuya, hope you're still a mofo badass! ;)