#ft 416

Okay, favorite Gruvia moment...favorite Gruvia moment....

I’m not going to lie, I’ve been racking my brains on this since the list of prompts for this year’s Gruvia Week came out. I know you can always just do your own thing, but I like doing my best to follow a set prompt from someone other than myself. 

That said, I AM still racking my brains. 

I love EVERY SINGLE MOMENT. Buuuuuuut...if I HAD to pick a favorite, I would have to say that that would be....

Okay so here’s the thing, I almost wanted to say the infamous Chapter 499, not because I enjoy the two of them killing themselves (even if it is for love), it’s more just the angst and the fact that it pushes Gray to finally admit his feelings (FINALLY). And in the most Gray way, of course. But that kind of ties into later when Gray sees Juvia’s alive and they both faint, which then ties into later when you got that one moment where Gray shields her with that “Don’t touch my waifu!” look on his face, which then ties into the last moment we have with them (in the original manga, anyway) with the whole “You’re mine” thing. 

So, if I wanted to boil it down to one moment in particular, I’d have to say Chapter 416, when Juvia tells Gray that she’s the reason his father died (again) and he breaks down crying, thanking for doing what he couldn’t, and apologizing for inadvertently thrusting that burden onto her. 

We’ve had plenty of Gray angst, and even some Gruvia angst, but here was where for me things got super serious. The whole thing plays out, very sober and moving with the way the two of them end up essentially holding each other in the snow at Gray’s parents’ graves. Even if it wasn’t their official “this-is-now-canon moment”, I had no doubt in my mind that they WOULD become canon if they weren’t already after that scene. It’s a preamble to the moment Gray tells her later before Alvarez invades that he’s grateful to have her. Not to mention that it’s the first shred of real vulnerability between the two of them, no less the first shred of it that Gray shares with Juvia beyond anything he’s shared in the company of Team Natsu. 

It’s just a beautiful moment of intimacy, and an effective turning point for the two of them. 

Jellal’s words in the present:

(SPOILERS)

Some people are raging about the fact that Fairy Tail 417 had no conversations and also raging that Hiro Mashima is trolling us after the chapter from hell, which is what I have dubbed 416.

Obviously, you can tell that these people haven't realized that he's always been a troll--thus the rest of the fandom's affectionate nickname, Trollshima. 

I've got my own opinion on this, as everyone else does.

My personal opinion is as follows:

After 416, a bridge chapter was necessary. Too many Fiore-shattering events happened in that hell-chapter for him to immediately jump into the next story arc. These events include the revelation that Mest (my absolute favorite non-main-cast character) had been a member of the guild all along and had erased his own memory for the sake of infiltrating the Magic Council, Lucy is lonely without Natsu, Fairy Tail was dissolved, Gray wants to take down END like Silver told him to, and Natsu is, as I have feared for several months now, END, the flame demon.

For several people, I'm sure the world of Fairy Tail ended for them when the guild was dissolved. And whereas this fact killed me, the parts that killed me even more were Lucy's reaction to Natsu leaving her behind (because let's face it, I'm a shipper), Gray's resolution to take care of END, and the revelation that Natsu is, in fact, END.

Some people still haven't realized it, but this means that Natsu and Gray may potentially have a fight to the death.

"But no, this is Fairy Tail and good guys don't die!" is echoing in everyone's heads. And let's face it, until fairly recently this had been an undeniable truth. But now everything is falling together, and we've witnessed at least a sort of "character death" with not only Silver and all the bad guys, but Aquarius as well (even though Aquarius is alive still, as she assured Lucy, she is supposedly now out of the blond's reach).

That was a lot of shit to happen in a single chapter, guys.

A. Lot. Of. Shit.

I know that everyone wants to know what the hell happened to Fairy Tail's infamous members after the dissolution of the guild--I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to know--but I understand that this single, lighthearted chapter is almost just what we needed. Dedicated fans are still picking up the shattered pieces of their hearts right about now.

Chapter 416.5 was a fun, light read to remind us all of the days when everything was well in Fiore. Chapter 417 was the tiniest hint of what Natsu has been doing in his year-long journey, and evidence that Gildartz Clive is still quite well, thank you very much. 

The importance of 417, however, rests not with revealing that Natsu, Happy, and Gildartz are alive, or even that they met each other. The importance is that Natsu and Gildartz had a match...and Natsu pushed him back. 

And then got eaten by a beastie and saved by Gildartz and then was the same terrified child he always is around the big guy...but who's counting that?

THEREFORE, because of this continuation of the earlier, wordless Gildartz chapter, we know that Natsu is getting even stronger.

What we don't know, however, is how strong everyone else is, where Zeref is, what has happened to the displaced guild members, how much training Gray has put himself through, how much punishment the members of Crime Sorciere have brought upon themselves, and lastly and least important, if there are any new couples.

THAT, my friends, is what chapter 418 is for.

FURTHERMORE, as much as it pains me to say this, I'm afraid we will have to start preparing for the end. Loose ends are falling together more quickly than they have in the entire series (hello, the dragons, END, Gray's father, etc.), and there's a looming battle between best friends. I'm willing to bet that if we're ever going to find out how Layla Heartfilia was related to the dragons and the One Magic, this arc is the time.

If that doesn't spell out "hey, guys, I'm winding this down, and thanks for riding this emotional rollercoaster of blood and tears with me", I don't know what does.

Anyway, that's the end of my theories and expounding my beliefs about the importance of the bridge chapter.