#tower of heaven | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

thesirenwithnovoice · 5 months ago

Text

Thoughts about how different mediums of a same story may give you different views (and rambling about the Tower of Heaven)//TW: violence

Lately I've been wondering about how manga readers might have very different visions than anime watchers of a same story, because althought the plot remains the same, some little details can change our whole perception of a story.

This reminded me of the first time I read Fairy Tail and how terrified I was at how cruel and dark the Tower of Heaven's arc is.

Jellal's face (that by that time, were only an 11-years-old kid) drippling blood while being tortured shocked me so much as a kid and I still find it one of the most disturbing scenes in the manga, lol.

In the anime, the content itself is the same. We know the kids are slaves that go throught different kinds of abuse, however, I find the manga way gloomier and more graphic. And althought part of it might be just a personal opinion, it's not entirely without basis: Mashima uses different techniques in his art to represent facts whitin the story than the animators, and it leads to a topic I really love: semiotics - how we interpret images, and how detais can be used to convey a certain felling throught art.

Colors and composition helps A LOT creating an atmosphere and causing a feeling on the reader. Proportionally speaking, a manga doesn't have colors, but it has it's own alternatives - the Tower of Heaven arc, in comparison to the rest of the manga, uses a lot more black and hatching.

One can argue some scenes are still "visually darker" in the anime, since it has the advantage of being able to play with shadows and colors in a broader aspect; however, since Fairy Tail is not an anime that changes it's saturation or colour pallete, the loud colors in most scenes end up not helping building the same dreadful atmosphere.

(It doesn't mean you can't make a scary story using bright and colorful tones, tho. A great example is the movie Midsommar. But it's not an easy task!)

Erza's childhood memories in the manga also carry a "dirtier" feeling; the kids are always covered by bruises, and the background is rougher. Also, the anime chooses to represent slavery in a more fanciful way: the kids wear stylized handcuffs and are assaulted with magic attacks, what inevitably softens the scenes by distancing them from real life slavery.

In a story, an act of violence will always be more shocking if your brain is able to automatically make a connection with real life. Seeing blood conveys a feeling of disconfort easier than a character being hit by a wave of magic, even if the author tells you "this is painful"; that's why some people say they started to find difficult to watch horror movies involving kids after becoming parents, because after experenciating something in real life, they connect with fiction harder.

The above scene causes me very different feelings in each media. In the manga, the despair in Jellal's face when seeing they removed Erza's eye is much clearer, and his skinny body, his eyes filling up with tears (he doesn't cry in the anime) shows not only a feeling of worry, but of utter dread and helplessness. All that helps endorsing the fact that, doesn't matter how brave he is, they are still just fragile kids, unable to protect themselves from the cruelty of the world around them.

I want to make it clear, though, that this is not in any way meant to be a critique to the animation team, or an affirmation that one type of media is better than another. We all have our personal preferences, but each media has it's target audience and objective. Fairy Tail's animators certainly do know how to convey the same feelings on the public, they just choose not to, for a variety of reasons. Probably because the anime is aimed for a broader and younger audience, many scenes have been softened or censored somehow. Also, animation consumes more labour than a manga page, so unless you have a lot of time and investment, the art tend to be simpler.

So do you think it affects the plot, Siren?

In my opinion, yes, even if just in a subtle way. In the manga, I think this raw brutality helps Jellal's character to gain a more interesting complexity. To me, he feels less like a hero and more like what he actually is: just a really kind and brave kid trying his best to protect his friends.

Another major change they made in the anime was removing the ambiguity (something that happened more than once in Fairy Tail's adaptation, such as in the famous kiss scene), leaving clear since the beginning that Jellal was a victim of a mind controlling spell; while in the manga, until Urtear's confirmation at the end of the arc, we do not know for sure if he have been brainwashed or just convinced to adore Zeref.

And as much as I can see why some fans might hate it because it leaves room for people to see Jellal as a bad man, I (as someone who is not afraid of loving evil characters, heh), find it interesting and somehow enriching to the plot, because it gives the whole arc a reflection: is extreme suffering, specially at such an young age, capable of changing someone so much?

We are left questioning what did "Zeref" say, or do, that made him change so much. And having so many real life examples where despair has made people easy victims of manipulation throught faith or falling into extremist ideologies, after we seeing Jellal's pain and fragility in a tangible way, it's not that hard at all to understand how he went insane and managed to drag all the other slaves along with him.

Also, I think it makes it easier to understand Erza's empathy towards him. Jellal and Erza are characters connected not only by the affection they nourish for one another, but also for sharing the same pain. She is the only person that fully understands the horrors he lived in the tower, since they were the only kids that have been in the torture chamber. And althought she never tries to justify Jellal's actions, Erza does not only show him compreension, but she feels guilty for not being able to retribute his protection and prevented him from losing his mind.

That doesn't mean, tho, that there weren't many other clues he was not acting on free will: be it his grotesque change of personality, his hysterical laughter out of nowhere or his motivations that doesn't hold (because they were never his to begin with). To me, all that at first glance makes him closer to Batman's Joker, someone that grew insane after so much suffering, than a villain that's genuinely just plain selfish and thirsty for power. And that only makes me find him a creepier villain, since personally, I find sadism and insanity way scarier than ghosts.

So this is just a looong collection of thoughts about how small choices can change a lot the "feeling" we get from a scene or a character. I hope someone can find it interesting too. There are many other examples of adaptations where it happened, and if you remember one you'd like to share, I would love to hear!

Last but not less important, all the love for Mashima's art, the Tower of Heaven arc (that is a personal favorite) and Jellal, a character I deeply love and one that holds for sure the strongest spirit in the manga for being able to become such a kind and mature man despite everything he has been thought. ♡

#Fairy Tail #Jellal fernandes #erza scarlet #jerza #semiotics #manga x anime #anime vs manga #Tower of heaven #Sorry this is too long #Also english is not my main language but I hope this is still understandable sorry #My motivation for writing this was: HOW THE HELL do I see so many people saying Jellal didn't suffer #I tried to understand how people read/watch fairy tail and get this interpretation and this text was born haha #it justifies nothing actually but it's such a fun analysis to do #Bro never had a moment of peace in his head for 27 years and tried to k*ll himself at least 3 times canonically he just needs a hug #siren's thoughts #about stories #plot analysis

36 notes · View notes

yamishika · 2 months ago

Text

HCs about Jellal : Pre abduction / Jellal backstory

Since I am in a slump and have been struggling to find the motivation to write again and continue with my works, I thought I would just share my HCs regarding what I had thought about Jellal’s life Pre-Tower Of Zeref/canon events.

I am aware of the canon backstory that had come out about Jellal in 100YQ, but this is just my HCs/narrative that I had in mind and had been writing about way before the revelation. I wanted to share it just to see if anyone else likes the direction of it and just to get me back into the mindset of thinking about Jellal again since it's been some time.

I will mention though my HCs are more of a grittier, almost seinen like origin, so it can get pretty distressing, however with the darker themes of Fairy Tail I thought it could fit. Just a heads up...This is a pretty long read so thank you to those who are patient with it, i'm sorry I write so much. I will however include some art alongside the HCs to show what the vision was for the narrative so it's more concisive! Note : Smaller bulletpoints/text in the the post are basically related to the parent bulletpoint or image above (I don't know how to format properly on this-) CW & TW : Darker subjects mentioned and discussed, possibly some distressing art beneath

Map of Almeta : Altaïr is the capital (The heart), there are smaller countries around it which are also not recognised by the main kingdoms (it looks big on the map but it's not THAT huge.)

First of all Jellal’s birth country (Almeta) is not on the main continents of Earthland (so neither Ishgar, Guilitina etc), rather it exists/existed as it’s own entity, completely detached from the known kingdoms due to a dark history that has caused the people as a whole to flee away from the influence of magic and in doing so, are not connected to the mainlands.

Despite being detached to the forefront of civilization, Almeta is aware of the existence of the other continents/countries of Earthland, however the existence of Almeta is not apparent for those outside of it. To the point that it does not exist on maps (Of course this is because I wanted to be inline with the canonverse, but also there is a reason for the country being hidden which ties in with the lore of my HCs too)

Almeta actually demonises the use of magic, considers the use of it lawless and eventually leading to corruption, however in the same breath the country prides themselves as being the holders of Heavenly Body Magic - Only due to the fact this was the magic that was bestowed upon them by their gods after immense hardship and tyranny.

The only ones who can actually wield/use magic in Almeta are the protectors who are sworn in service to the nation. 7 bloodlines who are said to preserve the founder’s will, Fernandes being one of them.

That being said, now going into my HCs about Jellal directly…

Jellal (5-6yrs) seeking freedom beyond confinement

Jellal was born as an heir into nobility/priestly lineage

His mother (Kaileen) was a serving priestess (Heavenly Priestess), highly esteemed and revered in the nation alike to a goddess, whereas his father (Rais) was nothing of the sort and actually grew up as seen as a ‘threat’ to society. Regardless of the obvious mismatch, his parents married secretly in a said ‘love’ marriage and when Jellal was conceived a few years after, he was kept a secret from most of the nation who still wouldn’t approve of the marriage yet.

Jellal’s father was not in the country for his birth, he had gone on an expedition organised by the country to the continent for ishgar to take part in diplomatic matters between Almeta and the mainland, as Almeta was seeking to form bonds with Ishgar for the sake of creating new opportunities and gaining more knowledge for it’s people.

That being said there was an attack on Almeta a month before Jellal’s birth and that kept Jellal’s father from returning whilst also pushing back the said ‘reunion’ date until 8 months since the attack, it was uncovered that his father was deemed the orchestrator of the attack and was said to have fled the country through the expedition.

Due to Jellal’s mother’s connection to his father, she was immediately deemed as a co-conspirator and eventually the law of Almeta deemed her to be punished for her husband’s treason, which in turn stripped her from her noble rank entirely and with that, Jellal’s was too.

Almeta’s culture was very governed by their religion, one would even say the following/belief was similar to indoctrination, and any sin against the country and it’s people was considered unforgivable. So those who were tied to such sins (i.e. Jellal and his mother) were to be deemed outcasts, marked for their wicked connections and ‘devilry’.

This goes onto my HC of Jellal’s tattoo origin : (since Mashima never covers that)

Jellal (1 yr+) and his mother Kaileen in confinement

The tattoo on Jellal’s face was a marking put upon him and his mother to identify to the people that they were the ‘cursed’ and forsaken. So called ‘devil blood’ runs between them and they weren’t meant to be seen with the same status as other citizens due to their connection to someone (Jellal’s father) who was now proclaimed a devil by Almetian law.

To add, the design of the tattoo originates from the corrupt empire that had tormented/sieged and violated the citizens of Almeta before the founding of the country.

The tyrant who had been behind all the suffering, before his death the insignia was carved into the right side of his face to mark him as the ‘first Devil’, which the tradition carried on by the people and by the ruling of the gods to mark those who follow in footsteps of the tyrant and those associated with the same.

Because of the condemnation Jellal and his mother Kaileen faced, he did not grow up as a normal child. Rather he grew up in captivity, his childhood years being wasted away by growing up in something barely short of a prison, completely deprived of freedom and he was always questioning as to why he was the one suffering like this, why his freedom was being stripped for sins of someone else.

^ This dynamic spurns into why Jellal has such a deep vying for freedom, the will for it is deep rooted beyond his time in the tower of heaven.

On top of being basically kept in confinement, Jellal and his mother faced horrific abuse for years, being the target for degradation, humiliation, cruelty, in Jellal’s case covert racism, and in his mother’s case objectification. The people were not kind to them at all, their gods had ordered the mistreatment of the ‘damned’ as it was seen as a symbol of ‘belief and submission’.

Now going onto where the canon bits of Jellal tie in with the narratives of this HC :

Jellal (5-6yrs) reading/looking at the book about the saint he idolises

Despite all the severe adversity and unfairness Jellal faced growing up, his way to cope was through a book that he somehow had that detailed the tale of a man who had faced similar adversity and was considered an outcast, who eventually went on to fight the tyrant and save everyone from great evil and be claimed as a hero.

The man in question is actually the founder of Almeta, Saint Siegrain, and Jellal idolised this man’s story to a fault. At first it was an innocent admiration, but as the world and it’s treatment becomes more clear to Jellal and his understanding of justice and himself becomes raw, Siegrain’s story became something he internalised and used to make sense of his own life and to give him hope too.

Saint Siegrain was actually the twin brother to the tyrant, and because of their likeness the facial tattoo that Jellal has, was carved onto his twin brother both as punishment and to differentiate the both of them.

Saint Siegrain was said to have been the one gifted with the destructive power of the heavens (Heavenly Body Magic) that the gods taught to him in his darkest moments under captivity by his own brother’s tyranny (I think you can tell what this is meant to parallel for Jellal)

However naturally as Jellal tried to cling to this idealistic ‘saint’ personality, the darker sides of his personality that started to grow naturally from the circumstances and injustice he grew up in became a fear for him.

He always had a pretty black and white understanding of things, the conditions he grew up didn’t make it any better, but as a result Jellal’s darker side was something he denied on such a deeper level that he eventually went on to develop a split personality (Siegrain), who started to properly manifest when he was taken into slavery.

His compartmentalization of his personality comes from not just wanting to align with his idol’s (Saint Siegrain) story, but also because he doesn’t want to acknowledge what it could mean if he does have these darker traits. As then he actually would be like the ‘first devil’, or the one he mostly despises, his father Rais - The one who gave him said ‘devil’ blood. And he wants to be the furthest thing away from either, because that would mean falling in line with the fate he wishes to reject.

Despite the narrative of the tale, Jellal is actually the ‘Saint’ persona, whilst ‘Siegrain’ is the ‘Devil’. (This can be explained in more detail later if wanted, but I wanted to stay true to canon here in some way).

Siegrain is the persona of Jellal who seeks freedom beyond everything and to rise beyond Jellal’s ‘damned’ fate, yet he’s a manifestation of all the traits/beliefs and ideals that Jellal denies due to his unhealthy idolisation and rejection of said ‘fate’ - He is a twisted persona that both wishes to protect Jellal yet also resents him, but Jellal’s denial of his darkness is so deep that he does not seem Siegrain as part of him at all - Rather Siegrain is his confidant, his friend, his closest, yet his destruction (Their dynamic I had in mind is very Jekyll and Hyde inspired - The extremes and absence of morality)

Because of how ingrained Jellal’s black and white thinking is, this trait of his doesn’t really ever go away even after post TOH events.

Jellal (7-8yrs) making prayers to the gods who he eventually finds out condemned him

Due to Jellal’s upbringing and the gods having basically fated his misery, it’s no surprise why he hates them. At first he prayed to them believing they would intervene for him like the Saint, but then he learned they condemned him for a sin which wasn’t his own and despised them there on out.

The only reason he eventually aligns with Zeref is because he sees his power as the thing that can break him out of his fate + ‘chosen one’ like the saint.

Extra information about the canon info and how it ties into the HCs:

How did Jellal get to the Tower Of Zeref? : He was abducted when the cultists of Zeref came to the Almeta and raided the country who were taking part in a huge festival for their gods, and seeking to sacrifice Jellal and his mother in order to earn the gods’s favour again…

Jellal’s personality when he arrived at the Tower Of Zeref? : Despite having been the abused ‘good boy’ in his home country, when arriving at the Tower of Zeref, Jellal takes the chance to reinvent himself. Trying to be confident, positive and everything that his past did not allow him to be.

Nirvana? : In my HCs Jellal actually knows the existence of Nirvana before he is abducted. He is told about it through his Grandfather in an innocent talk he was having about how he could ‘reverse’ his devil blood and be ‘good’ again. But that then spurns Jellal/Siegrain to actually search for Nirvana and information on it when he infiltrates the magic council.

Heavenly Body Magic (HBM)? - As established in the HCs that Almeta prides being the holders of Heavenly Body Magic, during the raid of the country the cultists steal their books and when Jellal rises to power in the tower he teaches himself the material + has a natural affinity towards the magic due to his bloodline having studied Heavenly Body Magic and being attuned towards celestial power.

Survives being drowned in Ethernano? : Alongside being the heir of a bloodline powerful in magic ability (Fernandes), the Fernandes bloodline were known to take part in methods that would elevate their magical capacity and power + Jellal’s father had apparently been part of one of the countries underground experiments - Ethernano Absorption.

Ethernano absorption was a project done in order to increase the natural threshold for ethernano in the bodies of humans even in huge quantities, and to be able to filter out toxic potential so it could power said individual.

Because his father underwent the experiment, Jellal being his child has also reaped the benefits of the experiment and has been able to absorb large amounts of ethernano to both draw power but also be able to survive incredulous circumstances such as being drowned in the pure substance since his body is capable of not succumbing (well better than the average human/wizard)

Scarlet? : Jellal’s favourite colour is red because it was the only colour that looked lively and caught his attention when living in confinement and everything was grey. He learned the name of the colour Scarlet when he learned of a flower that had it’s name in it’s description.

Cats? : Because most people despised Jellal growing up, his friends were nature. He had cats that he considered friends and hence has a fondness for them.

Erza? : Jellal comes to the Tower of Zeref paranoid, despite trying to reinvent himself he feels that he is being seen through. He is wary of everyone around him. He names Erza in the midst of trying to be confident and doing something nice for someone (it's more explained in my fanfic), but it’s her kindness and her ability to see the good in him despite himself which really makes him fall for her.

Origins? : Jellal never tells anyone about his true upbringing. He doesn’t outright lie as he is bad at it, but he is vague about what happened during the abduction so they can assume their own narrative and he seems more alike to the rest , as he is aware his childhood wasn’t anything normal, and he doesn’t want to tell anyone lest they discard him after finding out his truth.

Desire for Heaven? : As canon Jellal is obsessed with the idea of heaven and Zeref being the way to obtain it, in this narrative the reason why Jellal/Sieg is so adamant to achieve it is because he has been told Heaven is the perfect place. No misery, no pain. Everything will be peaceful and those who get there would not suffer anymore. (So tying it kind of into the abrahamic religions belief)

But. Because of Jellal being marked a 'devil', he is apparently not fit for heaven on his own and due to being outcasted, he wants to achieve heaven in his own means, defy his fate regardless what sacrifice it requires...Because it would all be worth it in the end.

It starts of as an innocent ideal, to combat the injustice of the world that he and many others have experienced, however then devolves into a controlling obsession, devotion in an attempt to spite the gods themselves and save him from his destined damnation

Extra information about HCs of Jellal and everything else :

Almeta (pronounced - Al-me-tchi-a (it isn't pronounced how it's written, but this is only according to my HC-) : Means 'Ambitious' (in Latin)

Jellal’s surname comes from his mother’s side, whilst his forename comes from his father’s origins (who is considered a foreigner even in Almeta - Aramian/Azrakh (Equivalent of Arabian/Middle Eastern origin here).

When younger Jellal showed more resemblance to his mother (i.e in softness and colour), but growing older he resembles his father’s features more (and this is why the disgust and hate on him was so great in Almeta).

His father is the one who he gets the blue hair from (and growing up Jellal hated it and wished for something normal because his blue hair tied him to the ‘devil’). He started to appreciate it more because of Erza. (Unnatural coloured hair is actually not common in Almeta so Jellal stuck out like a sore thumb)

Jellal’s father is affiliated with the Tower of Zeref.

One of the gods worshipped in Almeta is ‘Zerith’, but that being said he is not worshipped in a traditional sense. The other gods are worshipped in reverence and will, whereas Zerith has the reputation of chaos and destruction, so Zerith is worshipped out of fear.

Because of Almeta’s connection to HBM, the country has a huge reverence for the stars and celestial wonder.

There are subtypes of Heavenly Body Magic - Jellal’s one he studied is mainly offensive and somewhat all rounding. But the defenders of Almeta learned Heavenly magic that was extremely versatile - it could be performative, destructive, healing, defending etc.

Jellal is actually not aware of what rank his family/mother or he could have had, he does learn Fernandes was an important people in the country but he is not aware to what extent.

When Jellal’s mother was stripped of her rank, she was also stripped of her magic alongside and forced to live objectified and degraded for her ‘treason’ to a devil.

His mother eventually went mad under the harsh persecution, abuse and from living in confinement. She began to hate Jellal and everything about him when she couldn’t separate him from his connection to the man who damned them.

Almeta’s inspiration is similar to the crusader period of the holy lands (hence emphasis of religion, mixed cultures, hierarchy etc). (was lowkey inspired by AC1 setting for this)

Ultear’s manipulation is a catalyst for something that was already afflicting Jellal rather than just completely brainwashing him.

Okay that was a really extensive post.

These HCs are based on a narrative I had created trying to do a character study on Jellal, trying to put more reason to his behaviours as a villain aside from Ultear’s manipulation. I wanted to really focus on the ideal of freedom for Jellal, the effect of sins and just building up his mentality from the ground and how it could have been moulded in the Tower of Zeref.

I didn’t want Ultear’s intervention to completely take away his accountability whilst in the same breath exploring what could actually turn someone to align with such ideals despite the circumstances. Especially since Jellal has so much potential.

I really love Jellal and just wanted to share my brain rot i’ve had on him, I know it’s of a darker and more philosophical/psychological angle and there are layers, but I just hope everything I have written has been cohesive and if there are any questions about it, I’d love to answer! I have a lot I could say on these HCs, but I don't want to exhaust it all in one post (the post is already so long to begin with ><)

Thank you so much for taking the time to read all of this, truly.

Please do let me know your thoughts if you have any! ^^

PS : If anyone is interested in reading the fanfic I have been writing which implements the above HCs and narrative, i’ll link it below.

Also I will link the rest of the art I have been getting done related to this narrative for Jellal.

Thank you once again for reading all this 🤍

23 notes · View notes