It's Magical Mermaid Monday! :) You guys are rocking my world with all the love and support. I totally appreciate it!

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Guest: Natsu is like a five-year-old. He still thinks the right way to get a girl's attention is to yank one of her pigtails and call her names. :P

- K. Chandler


Juvia found herself spending much of her time in Akane Bay. She wasn't entirely sure what she was hoping to see. She wondered if she was looking for confirmation.

She knew that Surface-Dwellers were cruel. She had been told that all her life. Part of her wanted to know for certain that it was true.

At the same time, Juvia almost hoped to glimpse a spark of good in the humans, though if she was being entirely honest, the idea frightened her. Such a realization would shatter the very core of every belief that she had ever held.

Perhaps her motivations weren't quite so profound. Maybe she was just hoping to catch a glimpse of the dashing human captain, Gray.

Juvia knew it was silly, the way her thoughts kept drifting back to him. Gray. With his courage and compassion, encountering Gray had changed her. It was as if meeting him had permanently left a mark on her heart.

Surveillance completed for the day, Juvia headed back to the undersea cave that the Sea-Dwellers were using as their base. Most of the group had gathered here today. Meredy was watching Sol and Totomaru play cards. Aria had formed a little pocket of air, and he was batting around with his tail, as if it were a ball.

As she entered, Gajeel looked up from his drink. "Where've you been, Juvia?" he asked, his studded face scrunching up in annoyance.

"Nowhere," she said quickly.

He frowned. "You're always sneaking around these days."

"I'm not sneaking," she said. Sneaking implied that she didn't want to be caught, but she didn't know if she cared one way or the other.

Gajeel scoffed. "I don't like the way you go off by yourself all the time. It's dangerous out there."

"I can handle myself just fine."

"Leave her be, Gajeel," interrupted Bora. The leader of their little bunch, Bora, was seated on a rocky ledge. "If she wants to get attacked by the humans, that's her concern," he said coolly.

"What?" barked Gajeel.

Bora shrugged. "She's a big girl, Gajeel. She can do what she wants. If she's silly enough to let some human get her, that's not our problem."

Even though Bora seemed to be supporting her position, his patronizing tone made Juvia bristle.

"I don't think the humans are as bad as you all make them out to be," she blurted, the words out before she could stop them.

All chatter in the room stopped.

"Eh? What are you on about?" growled Gajeel.

"I mean during that last battle, the other day. Didn't you see? I thought they seemed a lot like us."

Bora laughed. "How precious. Juvia, my dear. Don't tell me you've gotten soft."

"I have not gotten soft. You can't deny the fact that the human captain was willing to sacrifice himself for his crew. And they would just as quickly have laid down their lives for him."

"What's your point?" asked Aria.

"Do you think people like that are really selfish? Cold-hearted?"

For a while no one responded.

"They're still arrogant," Gajeel snarled, crossing his arms.

"The one was totally full of it," agreed Totomaru.

Juvia shook her head. "All I'm saying is: do you really even know what we're fighting for?" She didn't wait for a response. Turning, she jettisoned from the grotto without a backward glance.

"Juvia, wait!" shouted Meredy. "Juvia!"

It didn't take long for Meredy to catch up with her.

"Are you mad?" she asked.

"Not exactly," said Juvia. "Just confused."

"About what? Is it because of him? The enemy captain?"

"What about him?" asked Juvia carefully.

"I saw the way you were watching him," said Meredy.

Juvia shook her head. "I wasn't watching him."

"You like him, don't you?"

Juvia bit her lip, looking away. "Sort of."

"Juvia," said Meredy quietly. "This really isn't a good idea. I mean, the Surface-Dwellers? They're dangerous. And you've seen this guy for, what? All of two minutes?"

"It was longer than that. Besides, that's only part of it."

"What, then?"

"Ever since we fought Gray and his crew, I've been wondering. Is this really right?" Juvia waved at the ocean around them. "What are we even doing here?"

"Oh, he's got a name now?" asked Meredy, throwing her hands up in annoyance.

"They seem so much like us, Meredy."

"But they're not us! They're humans. They steal their magic. They fight each other. They're petty and corrupt."

"And we're not?" asked Juvia. "I don't know what we're fighting for, Meredy. And following Bora isn't doing it for me anymore," she sighed. "I've made up my mind. I'm going up there."

"Up on land? You can't!" Meredy said shrilly.

Juvia spoke slowly, grappling with her response. "I don't know if I can keep on fighting if I don't get answers. And the only way to do that is to find out for myself. I think… I think Gray may have the answers I need."

"Yeah, but how are you going to do that? We can't go on land," said Meredy, pointing at Juvia's tail.

"I'm going to see Master Jose. He might be able to help."

"The Phantom Lord? I'm liking this idea less and less, Juvia."

"Jose has really powerful magic. They say he can do just about anything. If anyone can help me out, he can."

"Just be careful."


One of the things that always bothered me about Disney's take on Mermaid was Ariel's motivations. Sure, I've heard the argument that Ariel was always daring and that she's motivated by curiosity. I've also heard her described as an awesome example of a fictional female character who took action to go after what she wanted. But that's not what it felt like to me... I know it's been a few years since I've seen it, but it felt like Ariel was decided to make bad decisions because she had a crush on some guy. (My apologies if I'm ripping on your childhood favorite.)

While there is nothing wrong with Juvia's little crush (we've all been there), I felt like she would need a stronger reason to be making life-altering decisions. Come on, let's be fair. It's one thing to take a detour in hopes of running into your crush (whether you're watching him from the ocean or stopping by the Starbucks on the way home because you know he works on Tuesdays). It's a completely different thing (magnitude-wise) to be making deals with certain unscrupulous individuals.

Next time, in Silence, Juvia seeks the Phantom Lord: "Nobody comes to a place like this unless they want something."

Stop back next Monday for the next installment, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.