#inks thinks

Since everyone is in a bit of a tizzy over lucy deflecting attention away from her feelings (because that’s what she’s doing), let’s talk about how we can know for certain nalu is endgame/on track to become canon.

1. Parallels. Mashima is a big fan of parallels and he uses them frequently in his writing. His favorite thing to parallel, however, are Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Juvia. If Natsu and Lucy are the friends to lovers trope, then Gray and Juvia are strangers to lovers (maybe even enemies to lovers, though that’s more for gajeel and levy). So, we can infer from the development gray and juvia are getting that natsu and lucy will get the same. It’s inevitable. Mashima always shows these two couples as reflecting different sides of the same coin.

2. Development. Sometimes known as fan-service by some people who don’t know the difference. Natsu and Lucy have gone through key moments of intimacy that makes it difficult to see them end up with anyone else. And I don’t say that as a person who loves the couple, I say that as a writer. It would be very difficult for Mashima to end the series and not have the two romantically linked by the end. He could do it, but it wouldn’t really make sense after an actual decade’s worth of growth.

3. The actual direction of the story. 100YQ is still in the very beginning of the plot even though it feels like it’s more towards the middle due to the former bi-weekly release schedule. It’s the bi-weekly release that I think has messed up the fandom. Instead of keeping track of a consistent push forward in the story, people read one chapter every two weeks, get their hopes up for some big moment, and then get let down because it’s not the way they want it to go.

The actual story has given us moments of MATURE intimacy between natsu and lucy, but many people lose them in between the development of other couples. In the first few chapters alone, we have natsu getting jealous over the old mage, giving lucy his scarf to cover up, taking that scarf back because he wants to see her naked, and actively staring and blushing when she IS naked. not to mention her being the only one to stop his rampage, him apologizing to her, and then burning people who hit on her. Those are big grown up moments that often get glossed over.

4. I would say Hero’s but there are so many people in this community who name actual developmental moments as fan service, I’m not even gonna try.

Instead, let’s talk about outside forces. Mashima loves this couple. He draws them all the time and he’s even said that he wants them to just get together, but he’s a writer as well as an artist. So he’s going to take his time. Instead of us freaking out over every panel, it’s better to just know that this manga still has a long way to go. There are a lot more moments ahead, so why bother labeling it a dead ship when it still has so much time?

As much as I love fan fiction, this isn’t going to be a young writer getting straight to the point. Lucy and Natsu are in the awkward stage of their affection for one another where neither party is reaaaaally sure how the other feels.