#yajeel

[lisannastraussisanangel]

Heyy, got any Spiggan and Fairy Tail guild post-war headcanons, that is if only all of them survived hehe

Hey, I'm back! Now let's talk about some post war friendships. I'm not sure if that's exactly what you meant but I want them to make peace and be homies so...

Brandish, of course, is really fond of Fairy Tail and whenever she's in town she makes a stop at the guild

Ajeel has an open invitation out for any member of Fairy Tail to come visit.

Ajeel has also declared peace between Fiore and Alvarez (he's actually pretty good friends with Hisui now)

The 12 actually really like Erza. She visits often and they tell her stories about her mother (Yajeel specifically likes to sit down and chat with her)

Levy is all over Alvarez's library. She will take multiple week long trips just to sit and read for days

Similar to Erza, Natsu likes to stop by and hear stories about his brother

Neinhart and Bickslow learned that their magics compliment each other. They aren't friends exactly but they do train together often and even learned some freaky new skills

Jacob and Freed actually become pretty good friends. Freed tends to go with Bickslow on trips to Alvarez just to catchup with Jacob

You'd think Freed would get along with Invel but he does not like that man at all. They actually fight all the time. Not physically but they get real nasty with words.

Dimaria does everything in her power to avoid the Fairy Tail guild. She wants to forget about the war and move on, but for some reason she is literally always running into them. Everyone is always so happy to see her which confuses and stresses her out

Brandish and Dimaria are still close so Brandish eventually warms Dimaria up to Fairy Tail. Dimaria is fond of Evergreen, Mirajane, Lucy and surprisingly Loke

[foreveranimegirl]

Former Spriggan 12 members

[demoncatapologist]

Neinhart what the fuck are you doing in there

[cheesydelphox]

why did mashima name three seperate characters "gajeel" "ajeel" and "yajeel" and why was a joke never made about it

[natsubeatsrock]

I'm Still Thinking About Fairy Tail and Rave Master After All These Years

I'm going to level with you. The original post was a mistake.

Any reason to think that way about my own writing?

Surprisingly, no one else did. As much as my writing hasn't aged well, this post shows how naive I was back then.

The comparisons to Fairy Tail and Rave have been made time and again. It's a prime source of annoyance for fans of Rave. I knew that making the original, but I get it more now. Most (not necessarily all) people making these comparisons don't know what they're talking about. I said this about RWDE and got pushback. Here, some things said about similarities can be refuted with a second reading of Rave. Or, on occasions, a first reading.

Although, I will say Mashima isn't doing himself favors. It's insane how many references and callbacks to his past works Mashima's current works have. I didn't mind it as much in Fairy Tail, even getting more of what happened. Reading EZ (and Black Rock, but I'm really behind) and seeing the callbacks to past works. My default reaction to these things in my Quick Notes is as follows: *sigh*.

Some people will tell you it's lazy, but I don't see it that way. Some of these connections are pretty cool to see across different worlds. And, outside of the obvious ones, the callbacks are done with enough distinction between them. Honestly, seeing the same things over and over again is annoying. I'd rather see another Ajeel-Yajeel situation than go to another Mildian anything.

Don't even get me started on Sieghart.

Hold on. Let's talk about that.

Technically speaking, the design is based on a character from Mashima's debut one-shot: Magic the Illusion. However, the character design we recognize throughout his works is first seen in Sieghart from Rave. The design shows up because Mashima didn't feel great about how he ended his character arc. I'm not willing to spoil that in this post, but having reread the situation... I don't blame him for bringing Sieghart back.

In Fairy Tail.

Justice isn't always similar to the others. However, that was when it started to be taken too far. Of course, Mashima had to do it again for HERO'S. At that point, we'd gone too far. Seeing a cover with all the different look-alikes was more annoying than endearing. It's not necessarily uncreative, but it's not welcome.

This might not be the most annoying comparison. I'm more annoyed with the comparisons between Nalu and...

Harelie? Whatever the Haru and Elie ship is called.

Let's get this out of the way. They might be Mashima's best ship. I'm not sure I'm breaking new ground with this. But I would unironically put them up as one of Shonen manga's best ships. Unlike many ships, their development felt natural. It was a delight to see them become endgame. (We'll get to that end.) I would say there are writers better than Mashima who could learn from his romance writing.

The issue is that, of course, fans try to read their dynamic into Nalu. I'll admit some panels share parallels with each other.

Fans agree that Haru is a better parallel to Lucy. In the same way, Natsu parallels Elie. I don't particularly disagree with that view. However, it does ignore things they have in common with their gender counterparts. You can't tell me Haru's fights aren't closer to Natsu's than Lucy's. It's interesting to think of Haru as something like Lucy in Natsu's role or Elie as Natsu in Lucy's role. Still, there are ways that Natsu and Lucy's relationship is different from Haru and Elie's. That's not just more mud to sling at Nalu's romance. Lucy's narrative role in Fairy Tail is unique among all of Mashima's heroines as the closest thing to the "series narrator" the story has.

Speaking of which, I have to talk about my girl Elie. I don't think anything gave me more appreciation of Elie than HERO'S. I feel like Lucy gets too much flak. I've jokingly referred to Rebecca as "Elie Heartfilia" on occasions. However, I love how Elie is handled. She's more willing to take an active role in situations, which is helped by [spoilers for the series]. I love that Mashima did this with his female lead. It's disappointing we never saw this as much from other leads. (Unless I'm missing something in Black Rock.)

Though, as I have said before, Mashima does write female characters with active roles and the ability to fight. Some (not most or all) writers show female characters as inferior to their male counterparts. I always think of Asuna in SAO getting shown up by Kirito. (inb4 "But what about Mother's Rosary?") That's not a consistent issue with Mashima's writing. I love it. It's not just the key players. Minor women and one-off female characters get great moments.

I say that, but Mashima has never shied away from fanservice. I used to be super against fanservice, but I've mellowed out over the years on this issue. Not enough that it doesn't annoy me to see some of the things Mashima has done over the years. I know I just talked up Elie, but Haru's introduction to her was accidentally seeing her panties while sitting down. They look back at it like it was a funny moment. It feels wrong.

However, I need to bring up the most contentious example of this. Rave fans might think I'm talking about one of Julia's fights. Tempting as it is, this doesn't take place in canon. During a volume Q&A session, Mashima mentioned that he got a request to draw the Rave girls showering. His objection was that parents probably wouldn't enjoy seeing that in a volume, which is commendable.

Then he does it anyway with a not to tell the parents.

Let's get this straight. This isn't a fanservice issue. Mashima's had plenty of opportunities to draw characters in undress. They were mermaids for a bit. That was a reasonable vehicle for fanservice. The actual picture isn't the most gratuitous he's drawn. (read: you know the Julia fight Rave fans) 

My issue is one of judgment. Mashima recognized that what he was asked to do might not be the best thing. Yet, he did it anyway and tried to be slick about it. This is worse with the hindsight of the Internet and electronic volumes.

This attitude extends to the ending.

Oh boy, the ending.

When I made the original post, this was my first time experiencing a Mashima ending to a manga. If you didn't read my thoughts, I was very positive about it. I loved how things played out, watching sad things get undone, and finding out how Levin tied into the main series. It was all incredible.

It's been [EIGHT] years since then. Fairy Tail ended, and I've read Mashima's other works. Not to mention, I've finished other manga.

I think it's sad that Mashima saves some of his worst writing for the end of a series. It's almost like he doesn't wish for the series to end. I'm not joking when I say his best ending might have been HERO'S. While Fairy Tail was only a break in hindsight, the others didn't end well. It's not much better in EZ now.

I still think that it's great to see the main ship payoff. I made that panel my background on two computers. However, it would have been much better to see how things got to where they were. Perhaps a few chapters to deal with that and end on chapter 300.

That said, it's fair to say this still ranks among the best of Mashima's writing. The only thing that comes close to it is EDENS ZERO, but I think this edges it out (for now). It's crazy that there are so many ways to read the series. With multiple Humble Bundle opportunities and the publishing of Kodansha's version as ebooks, fans owe it to themselves to give it a shot.

I'm proud to say that, over the years, I've collected physical copies of the complete series. It wouldn't be possible without those pandemic stimulus checks. I've been able to reread the whole series as it was published by Tokyopop, save the last three volumes. I went through it with scanlations my first time around. I reread one chapter in the scans because it was in full color, but nothing beats reading the physical books.

There might be a project I have down the pipeline for Rave. I intend to talk about one connection between Fairy Tail and Rave.

In Conclusion:

Stop whatever you're doing, click off Tumblr, and read Rave Master! NOW!!!!!!!

[jgxx0]

:') i miss Gajevy so much, ahhhh to go back to reading it for the first time and falling inlove with them. I need more of their kids!!

[pyropsychiccollector]

            Elfman breathed heavily as he rested his hands on his knees, hunched over.

            “So… did we finally win…?”

            Lisanna smiled as she noticed Ajeel wasn’t standing back up.

            “Looks like it…”

            “The one with the stronger ideology will always win! Love is a powerful feeling, oh YEAH!” Richard gushed, causing Lisanna to giggle and Elfman to sweatdrop.

            “… Always with the love preaching with this guy…”

            “I think it’s cute~…” Lisanna mused happily.

            Down in the dirt, Ajeel looked up at his celebrating enemies with a twitching gaze.

            “It’s… not over… I’m not… finished yet, ya naïve Fairies…!” His eyes widened as a figure hobbled in-between him and his three opponents. “Gramps?!”

            “This war has taken a toll on both sides…” Yajeel muttered regretfully. “Please, can put an end to it…?”

            Elfman arched an eyebrow.

            “This war? All wars lead to the same result…”

            “You just never noticed ‘cause you win all your wars…” Lisanna agreed, quietly.

            Yajeel stared down at the ground, becoming more depressed.

            “… I don’t care if you decide to kill me… But please, spare my grandson…”

            Ajeel pounded the dirt with his fist as he struggled to raise his head up.

            “Don’t beg for my life, Gramps! I can still win…!”

            “We’ve never sought to kill anyone.” Lisanna told Yajeel, smiling as gently as she could. “Take your grandson home and live happily together… That’s all we want.”

            Yajeel didn’t dare raise his head, but he shed tears of gratitude. Elfman ruffled the top of Lisanna’s head.

            “No one understands the importance of family like we do! Everyone in Fairy Tail is like family, but Lisanna’s my only real little Sis!”

            Ajeel looked up at the pair of white-haired siblings, dumbfounded.

            “You’re brother and sister?! But you look nothing alike…”

            “Shaddup!” Elfman griped.

            “You and your Grandpa don’t look alike, either…” Lisanna giggled. Meanwhile, Richard was so overwhelmed by the camaraderie between once enemies that he ran over and hugged Yajeel and Ajeel both.

            “Such love…! I’m so happy for you both!” Richard was crying tears of joy.

            Ajeel twitched again, but only mildly annoyed.

            “You’re still obnoxious with that love stuff…. Geez…”

            ~*~

            A chill went down the length of Brandish’s whole body the moment she registered that she was once again in control of her body… The most obvious sign being the collar around her neck that melted away. She barely had time to process this before she was punched by Makarov and sent sprawling on her back with a thundering crash.

            And rather than get back up in retaliation to the strike… Brandish remained there flat on her back, staring up at the sky with a mixture of shock, pain, and regret swirling in her eyes. Kagura, seeming to notice this change in demeanor in her opponent, hopped up on Brandish’s cheek before jumping to the tip of Brandish’s nose, glaring down into her eyes.

            “I take it you have finally accepted your defeat…?” She asked coldly. Brandish couldn’t move a muscle. She continued to stare up listlessly into the sky.

            “… I lost the moment that I let Invel control me.” Though Brandish’s voice rumbled due to her size, there was a quiet, defeated quality to it. “So no, I will not fight you anymore…”

            Makarov stomped over to her, his pupil-less glowing eyes glaring scaldingly down at her face.

            “You claim it was Invel who made you slaughter my children…?”

            Brandish averted her eyes without turning her head so as to not force Kagura to move.

            “I’m still responsible for every last death… I have no excuse for it. All Invel did was kill off my heart and command me to exterminate your Guild… The blood remains on my hands. I won’t stop you if you seek retribution… Just get it over with.”

            An uncomfortable silence fell over them. Kagura’s glare remained unyielding, but Makarov turned his burning rage away from her.

            “No… If you have surrendered unconditionally, I will not kill you. That is not the Fairy Tail way. You must live and pay penance for your part in this war.”

            Brandish closed her eyes sorrowfully.

            “… If that is what you wish.” She shrunk down to her normal size, making Kagura leap off of her. She remained on the ground for a while, unmoving. Makarov shrunk down as well; his gaze was still hot with fury, but still he barely cast any of it onto Brandish.

            “I would speak with August now. This senseless bloodshed must end now.”

            Brandish reopened her eyes slowly, her face remained blank.

            ~*~

            From atop Kardia Cathedral, August looked out at the battlefield shrewdly. The harsh blizzard had died down. Brandish, free from Invel’s enslavement Magic, had been beaten down once she had regained control of her body and realized it, shocked beyond belief at what she had done… August could also feel the disturbance Dimaria had made with her Magic had been quelled as well, leaving the battlefield rather scarce of Spriggan Shields… Neinhart was still functioning, but if events continued progressing the way they were, he too would fall. Ajeel seemed to come to terms with his own defeat. The Historias had been dealt with, and Jacob lay defeated.

            “It seems the time has come to speak with Irene…” The Magic King heaved an airy sigh. He remained out of the fight to see how far Fairy Tail would manage to get… and their tenacity was remarkable. He could freely admit that, after seeing Fairy Tail struggle so valiantly, he was much keener to negotiate with them. At the very least, they should set aside their feud until Acnologia was dealt with… August’s eyes snapped wide open as he felt a disturbance in the air, recognizing instantly what was happening. “Irene… you would go this far?”

            The Magic King gripped his staff harshly. The Spriggan 12 in fighting shape had been whittled down to a measly two – only the mightiest remaining – and still Irene chose to go this far. He was revolted by her vulgar cruelty, and it stirred a rage within him that nearly bubbled over.

            And yet…

            “I will not raise a hand against Alvarez.” August firmly declared. “Nor can I in good faith defend a country that Alvarez has branded an enemy… I will allow Fairy Tail to deal with you, Irene, but mark my words: I will have you court-martialed for this. The toll for this decision will be too steep…”

            The aged men let out a gruff snarl. He knew Irene would not stop here. She was not known for lenience and moderation. Irene Belserion was the Crimson Despair, and the battlefield would indeed run red with blood this day…

            ~*~

            Irene yanked Mavis by the hair as they stepped outside the Guildhall. She stopped at the edge of the top of the hill to gaze upon the battlefield.

            “Your Guild… gets under my skin, little girl…” Irene cruelly smirked. “The Spriggan 12 are practically extinct, and August won’t lift a finger! I have no doubt your stubborn pawns will crawl their way up here, if left alone. So I will do what August will not… and exterminate the pests. Enchant… Berserker!”

            The redhead spread out her free arm, casting a glow that could be seen all around Magnolia. And down below, all of the thousands of remaining Alvarez soldiers started to glow, too – moaning in pain as their bodies mutated. Erza, standing over a defeated Neinhart, stared warily at the nearby soldiers who had previously been retreating from her general area. Other Fairy Tail members near the scarlet knight were taking notice of this development.

            “What the?!” Max exclaimed.

            “The enemy soldiers are acting strangely!” Warren observed.

            The transformations ended abruptly, and the soldiers roared monstrously as their forms had become much stronger but their sanity was stripped away. The soldiers surrounding Erza and her allies charged, intent on striking down the Fairy Tail Wizards. Erza blocked their path, but she was knocked back from their brute strength.

            “Erza…!” Warren cried out distressfully. Erza stood her ground as best as she could manage.

            “The enemy army’s combat capabilities have been significantly upgraded!!” The scarlet knight warned everybody to keep their distance. Cana gritted her teeth.

            “Tch! We already had our hands full with their overwhelming numbers… and now this…!”

            Makarov stared at the new carnage with a grim expression. Up on the hill, Irene hummed thoughtfully.

            “’Berserker’ amplifies their powers many times over. Its one occasional drawback is that they lose their ability to reason… But I digress.” She lifted Mavis’s head up by tugging on her hair. “I wonder how your pawns will counter this, Mavis…?”

            Erza changed out of the armor she was in and switched to her Clear Heart Armor, choosing to pour her Magic into offense for now. She charged a crowd of soldiers and slashed at them with her sword, and they did indeed reel back… But instead of falling over, they recovered and let out more inhuman roars.

            “That’s just great… on top of everything, you’re telling me they don’t feel pain?!” Max exclaimed in outrage.

            Much to Fairy Tail’s regret, the tide of war was changing back in the enemy’s favor… And if it kept going this way, they were going to get slaughtered. Even the S-Class mages were feeling the pressure. Erza. Laxus. Mirajane. Gildarts. And that said nothing of the significantly less powerful mages, like Mest, Vijeeter, Nab, Max, and Warren… Makarov steeled himself for what he was about to do, after seeing his Guild in such agony.

��           “Is this… where we make our final stand?” Makarov wondered.

            “Master, we mustn’t give up…!” Erza pleaded with the man, fighting as ferociously as she could manage. “I will create a path… give us an opening… no matter the cost!!!”

            Makarov laid one hand on top of the other, shutting his eyes.

            “So this is where it finally comes to an end… my long journey…”

            Seeing what Makarov was doing, some of his Guildmates felt like they were getting a second wind.

            “That stance…!” Warren grinned.

            “It’s Fairy Law…!” Vijeeter smirked.

            “That’s right, we’ve still got that up our sleeve!” Max cheered.

            “This battle’s as good as one!” Cana was in high spirits, too.

            Some of the members of the Guild were wary of Makarov’s choice of words, though…

            “His journey… is ending…?” Mira asked in confusion.

            Up on the hill, Mavis’s eyes widened as she realized exactly what Makarov was going to do in response to this threat. And she was not happy.

            “He absolutely mustn’t…!” Mavis ignored the raised eyebrow from Irene. ‘Fairy Law is a Magic which shaves away at one’s very life in direct proportion to the amount of enemies on which it’s cast! If he uses it on such a large force, his body will not be able to endure it…! Please stop, Makarov!!!’

            She screamed into the telepathic link that Warren still had set up. But Makarov kept his hands clasped together in a prayer pose.

            ‘First Master, I am well aware of the burden of Fairy Law… I beg of you, do not stop me. The time has come for me to make my grand exit. To join that rambunctious Pyro on the other side…!’

            Mavis’s eyes quivered sorrowfully as Irene maintained her grip on her head.

            ‘I… I have a plan!! I’ve formulated a strategy which ensures our escape from this dire situation!’ Mavis knew she was bluffing at this point, because she was too scared of Makarov dying on everyone… on her…

            “Enough!!!” Makarov bellowed, making Mavis go quiet. ‘My precious little brats are suffering right before my eyes! They’re being beaten and bruised on this hellish battlefield as we speak! To you, they may be nothing more than soldiers you can maneuver… But to me, these brats are my irreplaceable children!’

            Mavis squirmed.

            ‘I… that’s not…!’

            ‘I know it all too well!’ Makarov denied any excuses the First was trying to formulate. ‘If we but follow your plan, we will surely seize the momentum and come out victorious! But that matters not! I cannot bear to stand idly by and watch my family’s blood be shed any longer! With the last few remaining years of this old soldier’s life… If I can use them to create a bright future for these brats… Well… Then I know what I must do… My job is a simple one.’

            “Master?!” Erza screamed, as she listened on the conversation between Makarov and Mavis like everyone else. But Makarov smiled even as she turned to him.

            “Listen well, Erza…”

            “No!” Erza wailed frantically. “I will not… I refuse to listen!! We must return to the Guild… all of us together!!!”

            Makarov took a deep breath as he launched into his final speech.

            “No matter what hardships may fall upon you from here on out… If you walk hand-in-hand with your friends and allies, there will always be a path forward! Believe in your friends… and believe in yourself! A guild is a family… Do not ever forget that. Thanks to all of you, my journey was one filled with an abundance of elation and jubilation!”

            “MASTEEER!!!” Erza shrieked as the other members of the Guild cried around them.

            “Perhaps my only regret was not reeling that knucklehead in before he died… But even then, he turned out to be a fine young man, don’t you think, Erza?” Makarov’s smile widened. He then closed his eyes solemnly. “All of you… be well! I invoke… Fairy Law!!!”

            An ocean of light burst out from the ground and enveloped so much of the battlefield… The Fairy Tail members wept for their Master, who was making such a sacrifice for them, and Irene, Mavis, and August looked on in awe as the battlefield was painted white for what seemed like an eternity… When it died down, there was large amounts of dust kicked up into the air, creating dense clouds. Erza stared numbly as her Master remained stuck in his heroic pose, head bowed, as the life was clearly extinguished from him. He did not collapse, however… Miraculously, he stayed standing in that pose. Like an undying symbol of their Guild’s fire and tenacity… Makarov had dedicated his life to Fairy Tail, and he served as an example to all that he called his children.

            Erza shed more tears as she stood there speechless for several moments. All around the battlefield, throughout Magnolia, thousands of soldiers had been wiped out. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands. Master Makarov had nearly won them the war with that one attack, and it would be so easy to return home and reclaim their First Master now…

            But the price was still too high. Erza sank to her knees and prostrated herself, forehead touching the ground in her deep, respectful bow.

            ‘To have been able to grow up as your child… I was happy beyond words.’

            Mavis, too, wanted nothing more than to sink her knees and cry her heart out. However, Irene would not allow it.

            “H…How many was that…? How many did he take out?”

            Irene rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

            “I’d say roughly 70-80% of all Alvarez soldiers. If I were to make a quick estimate.”

            Mavis’s eyes widened further at hearing that estimate. Then her eyes rippled as fresh tears trailed down her cheeks and she smiled bitterly.

            “I’d expect nothing less from him… He was an outstanding mage.”

            “That being said…” Irene continued on airily. “There were no casualties among the remaining members of the twelve. Though I’ll admit they were beaten down, sans August and myself… The flow of battle is unlikely to change in any significant way from this point forth. August is a wishy-washy bystander – willing to negotiate, but will not betray his country. Even if it’s me, who he disagrees with on so many matters, he will not help you. And there is no one in your precious Guild who can stand up to me. August and I are on our own level in sorcery… Since the others were so inept, I will exterminate Fairy Tail and its allies by myself. And I will enjoy it!”          

            Flinging Mavis back into the Guildhall, Irene slammed her staff on the ground and threw up an Enchantment that would prevent Mavis from leaving and others from entering. One that she knew only she would be able to break. A twisted, cruel smirk was plastered on Irene’s lips, her face darkly promising a horrific death for all of her enemies.

            ~*~

            Gajeel flashed a toothy smirk as he leaped off a pile of defeated soldiers.

            “Gihi… Gramps sure cut them down to size… I’m sure glad he was on our side. Look at this!” Gajeel gestured at such a large, breathable space. The bodies of Alvarez troops littered the streets, buildings, and other areas, but none of them were going to pose a threat. Not anymore.

            Levy’s head was bowed as her tears fell onto the dirt.

            “Weren’t you listening…? Master is…!” She sobbed, unable to finish that sentence. Gajeel’s grin dimmed at seeing Levy’s state.

            “… I know, squirt.” He dipped his head, staring down at his clenching and unclenching hand while his bangs fell over his eyes.

            “Then… why…?” Levy looked up at him, only mildly accusing him with a glare.

            “Because we don’t got the time to bury our dead yet!” Gajeel snapped, a little too forceful than he meant to, but he didn’t apologize. “… We still got a war to wrap up, shrimp. Gramps thinned the herd, but we’re still stuck in this… distorted Magnolia. What does that tell us?”

            Levy bit her lip as she looked around warily. Indeed, Magnolia seemed a bit… disorderly in its layout. It was subtle, but it was rearranged for defensive purposes, to keep Fairy Tail away from the Guild. The hill that the Guild was on that rose high into the sky was the biggest indicator of this.

            “… That there’s still Spriggan Shields out there…”

            “Exactly.” Gajeel grunted. He lifted up a soldier for emphasis. “There’s no way one of these pansies cast that Spell. These guys are the meatshields. I dunno how many Spriggans are left, but I bet you my bottom dollar that there’s at least one left, even after that last attack… It’s not over yet.”

            Levy teared up more as that sank in for her. Despite Master’s sacrifice, it wasn’t over yet… How much more would they have to lose?

            “Heeey! Gajeel…!”

            The Iron Dragon Slayer and Script user looked up at the sound of the familiar voice. Gajeel blinked owlishly as the blond teen came running up to them.

            “You’re only just now getting here? Sheesh. That Spell musta sent you miles away… We’re getting to the nitty-gritty here!”

            Sting twitched, a vein pulsing on his forehead as he shook his fist at Gajeel.

            “Cut me some slack! I was all by myself, and I stink with directions! Not to mention the world’s all outta whack… I mean, Crocus is, like, within a mile of Magnolia. That ain’t right!”

            Gajeel rubbed his chin, scowl deepening.

            “Yep… Definitely a Spriggan Shield’s work… But how the hell do ya fight someone who can play around with the world itself?” He muttered lowly to himself.

            Levy smiled wryly at Sting, bringing him up to speed on everything they caught wind of through Warren’s telepathy. When she was finished, Sting’s face had become much more solemn.

            “Damn… Guess you guys did start the party without me. And Master Makarov took out most of the enemy with a single attack? Sounds just like him…” Sting trailed off, his eyes fogging over with uncertainty a little.  He stared up at Gajeel. “Hey… Can you tell me somethin’? Where’s… Natsu been in all this? It’s weird you’ve brought up all these big fights, and he hasn’t even been in one… At least from what you told me.”

            The Iron Dragon Slayer grunted as Sting picked up on that little detail. Of course Levy would gloss over that bit of news, which happened way before the world went to hell… And looking over at her, he could tell she wasn’t in any shape to inform Sting.

            He closed his eyes, steeling himself for Sting’s outburst.

            “… Salamander’s dead. He killed Zeref before we were all sent out to back you guys up, and he died in the process.”

            No verbal outburst came. Gajeel reopened his to see Sting overcome with a pensive expression, eyes trained on the ground. His hands were unclenched, and there wasn’t really anything that could reveal what the blond had going through his head. After a while, he clenched his fists, but his face remained unreadable.

            “So… he’s really dead…” His voice was empty and hollow. Levy cringed, but Gajeel narrowed his eyes.

            “Don’t tell me you’re flakin’ out… I don’t buy it that you’re depressed. You’re the kinda guy to blow up over shit like this… Don’t bottle it all in.”

            Sting scoffed, raising a twitching hand to face level.

            “So, what? I’m supposed ta blow up at you guys? No way in hell. I might be a hothead, but I’m not stupid! Venting at you guys won’t solve anything… I’ll pay these losers back a hundredfold for Natsu’s death, but I’m not gonna take it out on you guys. It’s thanks to Natsu, and Fairy Tail, that I turned my life around! If he died takin’ out the leader of Alvarez, least I can do is help take the rest of these assholes out… not to mention Acnologia. We’ve gotta do it for Natsu!”

            As Sting declared this with nothing but conviction in his voice and determination in his eyes, Gajeel could only stare at the young Guildmaster. Levy, too, was surprised by how much maturity the blond was showing.

            ‘Natsu, you really did a number on this little punk… He’s come of age.’ Gajeel thought, acknowledging both Dragon Slayers with respect. Levy bit her lower lip, stuck in her own thoughts.

            ‘Natsu, I hope you’re watching… Your spirit and passion is living on through the people you inspired!’ A small, sad smile formed on her lips.

            Out of sight, out of smelling distance from Gajeel, Laxus leaned against the wall of a crumbled building, hidden in the shadows. He craned his head up and stared at the sky contemplatively.

            ~*~

            Slowly, Irene hovered across the sky as she stared down at her enemies, who were regrouping. She had gone unnoticed at first, but slowly, they were becoming aware of her presence as she leaked out more and more of her Magic power. She hummed noncommittally.

            “Now, where do I even begin…?” She turned around slowly as she hovered around, taking in all of her targets. “A volcanic eruption? A meteor shower? So many options, but which is the most brutal and cruel…”

            As she came to a stop, Irene suddenly smirked. Something was flying at her backside with high speed and power. Within a few moments, her opponent could probably land a solid hit… But…

            “I’m not in the mood for playing around with you children anymore…!” Irene’s face became outright malicious as she whipped around at the last second and pierced her staff through Mira’s stomach violently, blood and guts exploding outward from the impact. Irene had enchanted her staff to have the consistency of a steel blade. Mira coughed up gobs of blood, but not a fleck of it got onto Irene as they floated there for a few moments. When Mira reverted back to her human form, Irene cupped her chin cruelly, uncaring that the light was slowly fading from the white-haired woman’s eyes. “You really were brazen, to attack the Queen of Alvarez in such a way… Be a good girl and go join your decrepit Guildmaster and vile demonic Dragon Slayer… Don’t worry, your friends will be right behind you!”

            Coldly, and smoothly, Irene yanked out her staff and watched as Mira, unable to keep herself air-bound anymore, plummeted and thunderously crashed through the remains of a ruined building. As Irene had chosen to intercept Mira in the air, the cruel act was equivalent to a public execution. Many began to panic with how much ease the Crimson Despair had taken down the Demon of Fairy Tail, and many were concerned for the white-haired woman.

            But of course, none screamed louder than Mirajane’s sister.

            “MIRAAA!”

[weneedasprigganspinoff]

Spriggan Headcanon #3

Ajeel is really good at gardening, he maintains a homegarden filled with flowers and herbs at the palace. This is a habit he started to wind down when he was stressed and it was suggested by his grandfather.

[lalamelon]

Old Days

I guess August has seen many generations of ministers and Spriggan 12s in his life, well, he’s 90+ years old so yeah. For this sketch I imagine August was 60+ years old and besides him were some grandfather/mother of the current Spriggans. 

The woman on the left is a member of DiMaria’s family. The vessel of Chronos was passed down in the family and she was a very talented, strong and kind woman.

The one on the immediate right of August is Yajeel, the current minister of Alvarez Empire. He was trustworthy and became the minister at a young age. 

The rightmost is Invel’s grandfather/relative, he was quite stoic but his ability to plan and organize things (ranging from events to wars) was exceptional and made business done quickly.

August sometimes think he has lived too long; most of his past comrades have passed away or lost their lives in wars. At the same time, August wants to fight until the very end of his life for his father. 

[godneinharticht]

My spriggan feels are about to kick in aren't they...😱

[arkus-rhapsode]

Vistarion Exterior: Manga/Anime

[dragonshost]

Levy x Ajeel-Bedtime 🙂

Bedtime was always a difficult time of the day for Yajeel.  He was starting to feel the effects of getting older, and his rambunctious young grandson cared little for the stress he caused his kin.  Ajeel was content to run around all day like a mad thing, instead of as the nobility he was.  But then, Yajeel supposed that that was the privilege he had by dint of being the little prince.  Yajeel himself was often too busy to play with the child, as there was too much work to do as the boy’s regent.  But whereas Yajeel had assumed that Ajeel’s restless energy would be expended come nightfall, the opposite always seemed to be the case.  Ajeel’s energy would increase exponentially the closer it came to when he should sleep for the day.

The maids in charge of Ajeel’s care had a great deal of trouble with putting the boy down to bed, and Yajeel himself was no better at the task.  For a long time, he despaired of his grandson getting the proper rest that a growing child required.

In a moment of vulnerability, he vented his concerns to the palace librarian - a blue-haired man of Yajeel’s age who had emigrated across the ocean many years before.

“I fear I do not know how to help, Lord Regent,” the librarian confessed.  “For I have the opposite problem.”

Curious, Yajeel motioned for the man to continue.  “Tell me more, my good man.”

“I too have a grandchild,” the librarian explained.  “She inherited my love of books, and has always been content with a bedtime story or two when it came time for her to sleep.  I loved reading to her all manner of stories.  Recently, however, I have lost that privilege!  Nowadays, she grabs a book from the shelf, and puts herself to bed with it.  No need for me at all.”  He sniffed, and wiped away a stray tear.  “It makes an old man lonely, it does.”

“How old is your granddaughter?” Yajeel inquired.

“She is two years older than the prince.”

An idea formed in Yajeel’s mind.  Perhaps all that Ajeel needed… was someone to help tamp down his boredom.  Not a maid, or an old man.  But a playmate, someone near his own age.  Someone who would be a calming influence on the boy.

“Sir McGarden… I might have a proposal for you.  How would you feel about your granddaughter spending time in the palace?”

Catching onto what the regent was alluding towards, the man considered it.  Having Levy in the building would mean that he could spend more time with her on his breaks… and she would get some much-needed socialization.

“Tell me more about what you have in mind, Lord Regent…”

[juviin]

kinda weird that there were two related characters with names one letter off from a major character in ft and there just. wasnt a reason for it.

[demoncatapologist]

[askftzeref]

Ever hear of a card game called Vanguard?

I often play it with Yajeel. His trump card is usually the Fairy card while mine is the Wizard.

[mocha-cola]

spriggan 12 headcanon/rewrite thoughts

because that’s the mood i’m in today

this isn’t totally complete and there’s a bunch of stuff i haven’t fleshed out yet, but i wanted to get down what i have so far

the spriggan 12 are zeref’s inner circle of trusted wizards and major recurring villains throughout the series

all 12 of them stay against my better judgement, BUT not all of them are fighters

Jacob is more of a stealth/espionage kind of guy. He carries weapons (daggers, maybe a gun) for defense but mostly he’s a spy and an informant rather than a soldier

Invel is a tactician. I’m probably gonna change his magic to suit that role better (because god knows we don’t need another ice mage) : I’m considering either a heavier focus on the chains/mind control without the ice aspect, or some kind of foresight magic that lets him see multiple outcomes

Larcade is a healer and the head of the military’s medical division. Probably going to play up the whole “angel” thing he had going on in his design

August is the emperor’s advisor and the head of the 12 (though i may still make him a combatant on top of that, idk yet)

Alvarez started relatively small and slowly took over more and more of the surrounding area. It’s now a massive empire with a wide range of cultures

I want to change Brandish’s backstory pretty heavily, and give more detail as to how exactly she ended up in Alvarez, but part of me wants to keep her connection to Lucy

One thing I’m considering is having Brandish introduced pre-timeskip at the age of 17, years before she joins the Spriggans, and have her become one of them at some point over the course of the series (probably during the 7-year timeskip)

The machias live in a mountainous area to the west. They (supposedly?) willingly gave up their land and merged their military force with Alvarez. Wahl had a high rank among them (maybe a military general or royalty) and became their ambassador among the 12

If i decide to rewrite the whole manga i might make an arc involving the machias to flesh them out more

Bloodman plays a role as the overseer of Tartaros and appears during their arc. He has some conflict with Mard Geer, who doesn’t like the idea of another demon being ranked above him

I’m probably going to cut Irene’s connection with dragons/dragon slayers to focus more on her enchantment magic, and develop enchantment more as a reasonable magic type with reasonable limits

I kind of want to go somewhere with the connection Mashima hinted at between Irene and Neinhart. It’s not set in stone yet but the idea I had was that, since Neinhart is around the same age as Erza, Irene uses him to fill the emotional void of her “dead” daughter

Irene also meets Erza earlier in the series to give more time for the conflict between them, which comes to a head in the Alvarez arc

Serena is first introduced relatively early in the story as the strongest wizard saint, and we don’t find out until later that he was a double agent. He was close with the other Gods of Ishgar and is conflicted about betraying them for Alvarez. He also has less than the 8 dragon lacrima he has in canon, probably only 3 or 4, and we get some backstory as to how he ended up with them

On top of that, Serena faces some kind of consequence for having 4 different types of insanely OP magic, like worse motion sickness than the other dragon slayers

After Zeref saved Invel as a child (haven’t worked out the details yet), Invel devoted his life to serving him and ultimately became Zeref’s right-hand man

I want to put at least a bit more emphasis on the family connection between Ajeel and his grandfather

The backstory I had in mind for Ajeel was that both of his parents were former Spriggans who died in battle, and he was more or less raised by Yajeel instead

Dimaria possibly comes from a city that was frozen in time

I want to either make Cronos more relevant to Dimaria’s character and the story as a whole (maybe add a connection to Ankhseram) or remove him entirely

Not sure where I’m going to go with the Zervis child plotline, because... that really didn’t go anywhere at all in canon and them having a kid feels a little unnecessary. I might cut August’s familial connection to them and give him a completely different backstory. As for Larcade, he’s probably still going to be a demon who considers himself Zeref’s son