#even if I double post they'll still probably be Long chapters
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redjayson · 6 months ago
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I'm not planning on posting any more of fall for your reflection until the fic is completely finished (there's a lot of moving pieces with it atm), but! since chapter 3 already 11.2k! that means either it's going to be a Chonker of a final chapter or I'll split it into two and just double post
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but-a-humble-selfshipper · 1 year ago
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Wrote a huge post about L.L. and snowgrave but fucking lost it 😭😭 anyway let me try again.
Where do I fucking start anymore. God. Wicked.
Okay first I'll start by bringing up again L.L. would not interfere at ALL in this route
Themathically works as a reinforcement of Your Choices Don't Matter tbh
But it's also a matter of like... They count on Kris calling them to jump to action. In a normal route they only stop when Spamton by own volition bc Huge Moment for them, but now that is gone
Not to mention ever since the start the legend spoke of 3 heroes so they're just tagging along to kill time
Speaking of Spamton: their relationship would be quite different honestly
Not immensely different, they're still Spamton and L.L., but Spammy is way meaner and more focused on his goals here
I don't think he'd be mean to L.L. tho but I think well... They'd be one of their goals, y'know? Feel like he'd be a tad bit possessive
But L.L. wouldn't mind just tagging along trying to turn blind eye to whatever fucked up shit was happening
Feeling the hairs on their neck raise as they step into the castle thinking Hey What About Queen? seeing shit go down but... Refusing to do anything, because they don't want to steal the spotlight from the heroes
We spoke about reinforced thematics then that doubles down with the way the lightners undermine the lives of the darkners LOL
Btw Spamton would definitely mention to them like ... Sort of imply Kris and Noelle are out killing but L.L. would choose not to understand Spammy's cryptic language bc lol No Way Kris would do dat . . .
Obviously the Cope would become less and less useful as time went by tho
Starting by Berdly not waking up but then when they go back to castle town where they'd be unable to ignore the Rotten Ass vibe... Place so cold, everyone is gone...
Hell, even the situation with Spamton... Because he dies but L.L. wouldn't have been present during that fight so they'd have to like... Believe he's ok.
Despite knowing he's not. But they didn't want to believe Kris killed him. Bc they knew what the fountain meant to him and they knew what Kris had to do so there was only one way out but they didn't want to believe it
They might've even asked Kris about it like Haha Kris have you seen that puppet? With the long nose? <:] <- they wouldn't know the two met
Returning to their normal life after that tho... It'd be hard.
Seam would probably see the distress growing on their face along with the rotten vibe and be like Hey are you ok? and L.L. would be just like. Losing it.
Just overwhelmed so they'll ignore it 👍
Leaving them on a spot where they can't stay nor leave the DW bc either will place will give them anxiety like Ghhrhthgrg.
Honestly can't wait to see how the future chapters develop and how they go about Snowgrave tbh tbh...
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sapphicneige · 2 years ago
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It's been a while since I did a writing update, and a lot has changed since my last one so I thought I would go ahead and just ramble for a bit.
I currently have 3 projects that I am actually writing and have inspiration for.
Obviously, two of them should be obvious, as they both got updates yesterday, but Silver Linings and end of a life are both being worked on. The third, however, is actually a completely new story that I really love.
Silver Linings is the one that will probably take a while before it gets an update. The next chapter is probably going to be a really big one and I haven't even started working on it. I think that's also probably going to be the future of that fic as well, at least for now. Instead of fairly short chapters that come out frequently, there'll probably be much longer chapters (like 15k words+) and they'll come out much more infrequently, but hopefully, there'll still be a decent amount of content for the story. I definitely have an idea of how the story will progress from here, but it's not completely planned out yet.
end of a life is going to continue as planned for the next three chapters. Astute people will also notice that I changed the number of chapters from 11 to 12. I was initially going to end the fic where I stopped writing it over a year ago now, but I decided that I do want to give it another final chapter at some point to properly conclude it all and tie up some of the loose ends. That chapter hasn't even started to be written just yet, but again, is also probably going to be a very long one. I will keep with the weekly posting schedule (it releases every Sunday btw) until we reach Chapter 11 and then Chapter 12 will come out whenever it's ready.
The third story that I'm working on is one that has been in the writing process for about a week now. It started off as a short first chapter inspired by a random thing I saw, but after a rewrite, the first chapter has already doubled in length from where I expected things to go and there's a chance the first chapter alone could pass the 15k mark. I'll be sharing a snippet of it soon probably, but for those of you that want to see the thing that inspired the fic in the first place, here! It's also drawing a lot of inspiration from a lot of other stuff as well, so I hope you all will enjoy it when it does release. (It's also going to be the first multi-chapter fic in a while that is rated E from me... so.... have fun~)
Okay, I think that's most of the stuff I wanted to cover. If you do read anything I throw out there, then thank you! And I hope you enjoy some of the other stuff I release in the future!
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zoffra · 5 years ago
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Why Hisoka decided to kill the troupe ?
Analysis in two parts:
1- Hisoka's pre-fight personality
2- Hisoka's post fight psychological change
Part 1 -
Let us make a point on Hisoka's character.
Hisoka's a character who takes pleasure in fighting strong opponents, it's his reason for living, it's like a drug in the proper sense of the term. If he doesn't fight for a long time, or if he's about to fight and - for whatever reason - the fight doesn't start, he'll kill anyone to satisfy his need and calm his excitement. This happens, for example, during hunter exam after meeting Kurapika and Leorio (= satisfying his need), or after Illumi's meeting with Killua and Alluka (= calming his excitement).
Other than that, he carefully chooses his opponents and will even refuse fights if he judges that the person isn't worth it.
Hisoka's incredibly patient. In order to fight Chrollo, he'll put in a lot of effort. He joins the spiders - which already isn't an easy task - and waits for three years that an opportunity presents itself, so that he finds himself alone with the leader and can fight him. The other members don't interest him - except maybe Machi to a much lesser extent.
After Chrollo lost his Nen, Hisoka assists the troupe in search for the exorcist. Shizuku assumes that Chrollo promised him a fight in exchange for his help. It's not known how long Chrollo's deprived of his Nen, whats certain is that several months go by.
Abengan's Nen works like this: he invokes a Nen beast whose shape and size varies according to the curse's power posed by his user. The stronger the curse, the longer that will takes time- and you can be sure that Kurapika's chain was far more powerful than Genthru's bomb.
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Later, we learn from Gitarakuru that after recovering his Nen, Chrollo fled. During this time, he returned to Meteor city to prepare his fight and steal various capacities - in particular that of the dean, Shalnark and Kortopi. Finally, after all these waiting years, Hisoka's finally rewarded and they'll fight in a place - that Chrollo himself chooses, as floor master : Celestial tower.
I'll not describe the fight, I can only advise those who haven't read the manga to go and find out for themselves. If I could sum it up in one word, it would be 'disappointing'. But not for us, readers, for Hisoka.
Chrollo used sneaky methods, avoiding to maximum close contacts with Hisoka, while sending his puppets to fight for him, waiting for opportunities to hit him critically. Warning! This isn't a criticism, I'm not saying it's something bad, these are just the facts.
We know that Chrollo's calculating and that beyond his extraordinary physical abilities, he distinguishes himself from others by his intelligence. For me, this fight is the very reflection of his personality, calculated like music paper and orchestrated by Chrollo as master of ceremonies.
It's also a nose thumb at the relationship they've always had. Hisoka spent more time killing puppets with no interest to reach Chrollo, rather than fighting him. He finds himself in the situation where he has always been.
At the time of his 'death', Hisoka made a pact with the Nen to bring him back to life. By using condition and oath - his death being the condition to be fulfilled - he wish that his heart's functions and his lungs will be restored. And from there, the troupe will have big problems.
Part 2 -
Spiders made several mistakes. When they inspected Hisoka's body, they were negligent. When Shalnark testified to Hisoka's death by asphyxiation, no one found his hands position strange. By that I mean they're seasoned Nen users, cold-blooded killers, they know that Nen gets stronger after death.
An important detail is that you can revive a suffocation victim - it shouldn't last too long of course, but it's not as if his head was cut off. And that's exactly what Hisoka will do.
He probably used Ken to absorb the explosion, surrounded his heart and his lungs with his Gum, then practiced a cardiac massage to resuscitate himself, - I pass about after-effects that his brain would normally have undergone, which is an ease logical scenario.
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Machi said one interesting thing: '[Hisoka] still paid me in advance.' This means that she was in contact with him before, and Hisoka asked her to stitch up his wounds after the fight. Machi probably understood it as 'if I win the fight, can you heal me', but for Hisoka there was probably a double meaning: healing his wounds if they were too serious so that he do himself, or if he hadn't been in fit state to do it.
Biggest mistake spiders have made has been to underestimate Hisoka.
Towards fight's end (chap 355) when a puppets horde rush towards him, Hisoka has an angry expression. Hisoka's neutral facial expression is a mischievous pout, or in fights where he has to fight seriously, he has a concentrated expression.
It's extremely rare to see him angry, and I think his change of mind manifests himself at that time. Hisoka's face takes half a page's place and is a terrifying blackness, it's an important moment. All accumulated frustration since years literally explodes during this bitter taster fight.
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When he wakes up, we don't immediately notice his change of mind, but when he speaks it's clearer.
'Reality knows how to wake you up.' Hisoka realizes - if not already done - that he'll not be able to defeat Chrollo with his usual methods.
A little higher, I said the trio had underestimated Hisoka but I also think of Chrollo. During the fight he was arrogant, explaining his abilities, inviting him to flee and then, telling him that isn't to taunt him - you can't make me believe thats true.
'If you've learned your lessons from this, then next time make sure to choose your opponent and the location you fight.' Machi's words complete Hisoka's decision, it was clearly not the thing to say to him at this precise moment.
This how Hisoka's change of mind worked for me. Hisoka's an irrational person but he killed with a certain consistent logic - strong ones who deserve his attention. His death - more precisely, circumstances of the fight leding to his death - played a major role in his transformation. He's no longer undefeated and has been ridiculed, Chrollo practically whistling when he sent his puppets against him.
'No matter where they go and who they are with, I won't stop until I kill them all' It's revenge.
His actions are no longer directed by the will to fight strong adversaries, they're guided by the outright brigade eradication.
Strangely, he leaves Machi alive. Don't tell me thats because he just wants she getting her message across to the other members, there were a thousand ways to warn Chrollo and the others without leaving her alive - and considering the awkward position she was in, he could have kill her without slightest concern. - In an interview, Togashi says that he didn't want to kill her at that time because he has other plans for her.
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Kortopi was visibly relieving himself when he was killed. He was a pointless opponent for Hisoka, especially considering the situation in which he found himself. This proves once again his change of mind, it's a method of murderer.
Same method when he sends Kortopi's head to Shalnark. At that moment, Shalnark grabs his friend's head - which is edifying of stupidity - to verify that it's him, and Hisoka punches him.
On several occasions, I've read some people would have liked to see a real Shalnark vs Hisoka fight. But we had it, and difference in strength is too great. At that moment, it's true that Shalnark couldn't use his Hatsu, nevertheless he could still use his Nen but he didn't even had time to defend himself with his Ten.
We don't know if Hisoka kills Shalnark in one blow, it's possible that he survived for a moment. However, this isn't what the staging seems to evoke. The fight literally takes a half page, speed with which Hisoka starts the fight and shock's power when he hits Shalnark leaves no doubt as to the fight speed end. In addition, even though Hisoka's Nen strengthened, he was seriously injured - he was able to repair his limbs in appearance, but he has no healing ability like Machi or quick regeneration like an enhancer.
The last chapter page sounds like a real turning point. We knew Hisoka was sadistic, he likes to torture his opponents psychologically (cf: Kastro fight, Goto), but we had never seen him at work physically. After his fight, he took the trouble to stage the Shalnark's and Kortopi corpses, tying Shalnark to the swing like a puppet, refering to his ability and his fight against Chrollo.
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Chapter ends abruptly with a sentence / thought from Hisoka: 'There are 10 left.'
Number 10 is interesting. At that moment, members still alive are the following: Phinks, Feitan, Machi, Kalluto, Nobunaga, Shizuku, Franklin, Bonorenov and Chrollo.
That makes 9. I consider that - even if he didn't see her die - Hisoka is aware of the Pakunoda's death. He spent a lot of time with members at Greed Island and Chrollo, it's impossible that he didn't learn it.
The 10th member is therefore Illumi - reader learns of his membership in the troupe only 20 chapters later -, he was therefore recruited before Hisoka announced his vendetta against spiders.
Last point I wanted to emphasize: when Hisoka says 'there is 10 left', he includes Chrollo. This shows that he no longer puts him on a pedestal, seeing him as the head or someone important. It's simply a leg to be eliminated.
Hisoka's personality has radically changed, he has finished playing.
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eryiss · 4 years ago
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Fraxus Week 2020: Day 3 - Losing Control
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Summary: After a crappy post-college first year, Laxus jumped at the opportunity to leave town for a week for a road trip with his friends. He intended it just to be a week away with his friends, but when he meets an unfamiliar stranger, the vacation turns into something much more. [Fraxus Multichapter]
This is the third part of my Fraxus Week admissions, hosted by @fuckyeahfraxus​. This year I’ve made the prompts into a single multi-chapter fic. You can see all the chapters in the Masterpost linked below. Hope you enjoy.
You can read this on Fanfiction, Archive of our Own, and under the cut. Read the other chapters from this masterlist.
Chapter Three – A Small Diversion
Laxus hadn't expected to enjoy driving the RV as much as he did. He thought it would have been a lot heavier, more susceptible to the wind of the open highway, but it was actually quite pleasant a vehicle. Well, it could be pleasant. The pleasantness was slightly affected when, out of nowhere, a strong hand slammed onto his shoulder with overexcited glee, and then another hand interrupted his vision while pointing to a billboard.
"We have to go!" Bickslow exclaimed. "We just have to."
"Go where?" Evergreen asked from her seat in the van.
"To the largest and most splish-splashiest waterpark in this and the surrounding states," Bickslow almost yelled as he read off the billboard. "Now fixed with a wave pool, lazy river and two new splashtastic waterslides that are a thrill ride for the whole family."
"You sound like a poorly produced radio advert," Freed commented from the passenger side seat, smiling. "Also, I don't think any of us packed swimsuits."
"There's a town right before the park," Bickslow said with glee, and it was clear that he had set his mind on the idea and it would take a lot to convince him otherwise. Laxus wouldn't have been shocked if Bickslow had planned it out beforehand. "They'll have a clothing store with swimsuits, right? It's be weird if they didn't. Come on babies, we have to go!"
"That actually sounds quite nice," Evergreen commented, flicking through her phone. "It'll be nice to get out of here for more than the length of a meal. And it's not like we have to rush to the canyon and back."
"Are you sure?" Freed asked. "I thought Laxus worked, you probably only had a limited time off."
"I claimed two weeks," Laxus shrugged. "Knew we might get distracted, and I was planning on working on some shit around the house before I went back to the office, so I'm not worried about time."
"So we can go!" Bickslow cheered.
Laxus grinned a little at the mans near childlike enthusiasm, and then glanced towards the large billboard to see which exit he would need to leave at. He too was looking forward to spending some time out of the RV where they wouldn't be in a coffee shop, fast food place or a diner. Despite the fact they had only been on the road for three days, Laxus had wanted more than a rushed hour of eating crappy food out of the truck. Even if it was just an afternoon at a water park, that was better than stretching his legs in a parking lot.
It took him a moment to realise that Bickslow hadn't removed his hand from his shoulder, and Laxus frowned a little. When he glanced to the man behind him he saw him grinning wide at him, and Laxus suddenly felt quite unnerved.
"Just thought it fair to warn ya," Bickslow began again, his voice quieter now. "Freed swims as part of his work out. He wears a speedo, and I know from experience that he's one of the guys who can pull it off. So have fun with that."
Bickslow patted his shoulder firmly, and Laxus spent the drive into the next town trying desperately not to think about it.
Mercifully the drive wasn't that long, and they soon found themselves in a sports clothing store that boasted a wide range of swimwear. Another mercy for Laxus' sanity came from when he caught Freed picking out a pair of swimming shorts, meaning the blonde wouldn't be tormented by the sight of the man in nothing but tight spandex. When he diverted his gaze from the man, he saw Bickslow grinning at him, and he started to wonder how easy it would be to leave the guy at the roadside. He doubted that Freed or Ever would have any complaints.
When they entered the water park itself, Laxus was thankfully distracted. The place was a lot more impressive than Laxus had expected, with multiple waterslides coming from a central 'volcano'. There were many simple pools bordering the more exciting parts, a large river with people lounging on inflatables, and even a floating obstacle course that would have looked perfectly in place in some kind of game show. There was multiple food outlets and seating areas scattered through the premises. The fact that schools were still open meant that it was relatively empty as well, meaning the crowds that Laxus had been expecting didn't exist.
It had earned its title as the best and most splish-splashiest water park in the area. Laxus hated that he remembered the damn slogan.
"Well, since you boring bastards are probably gonna take for ever to do something fun, I'm gonna guess I'm going up the slide alone for now," Bickslow grinned, tugging his shirt over his head. "See ya later, kids."
Laxus shook his head slightly as he followed Evergreen and Freed towards one of the seating areas where they had both chairs and sun loungers.
"I bet you that he planned this," Freed commented, stepping in line with Laxus.
"I don't take bets I know I can't win," Laxus grinned, watching as his friend ran towards the plastic volcano. "Honestly, wouldn't be shocked if this was the only reason he wanted to go on the road trip at all. Going to the canyon is just an excuse."
"Perhaps," Freed chuckled. "I wouldn't mind if that's the case, I'm enjoying myself either way."
In a weird way, Laxus was glad to hear it. It wasn't as if he had to look after Freed; if he was anyone's responsibility, he would be Bickslow's. But after finding out that he had recently gotten out of a relationship that he'd been in for months, according to Bickslow, it was nice to know that he was enjoying himself. At the thought, Laxus had to wonder if that might have been the reason why they were at the water park. To give them all a day of stupid childish fun where they could forget about their problems.
Or maybe Bickslow just wanted to go on a slide called the Spine Snapper. Was that appropriate for a kid's ride?
Evergreen had quickly pulled a sun lounger close to a table, and was applying sun screen to herself. Freed had taken a seat at the table, under the shade of a large umbrella, and had opened the book he'd been reading on and off throughout the trip. Laxus took a seat adjacent to him, sliding in his headphones and reclining in the chair, allowing the warm sun to hit his face. He'd get in the water eventually, but at that moment he just wanted to relax.
Hopefully, he wouldn't fall asleep. Sharing a small double bed with Bickslow had given him less sleep that sleeping in a chair on his own.
He closed his eyes and placed his arms behind his neck, resting on them in quiet content. He had gone to place like this as a child with his grandfather, and had always greatly enjoyed them. And as different as the place seemed when he was an adult and couldn't run around like an idiot – unlike Bickslow – it was a weirdly nostalgic moment. It was nice to relax for a while, and not worry about the future as he had been doing for months.
"The heats starting to get too much," Freed commented after a while, and Laxus looked towards him. "I think I'm going to swim for a while to cool off."
The moment Freed looked to remove the billowy white shirt he wore, Laxus averted his eyes. He knew it was completely pointless, they planned to be at the park all day and there was no way he could last the whole time without seeing him shirtless, but at least he could stop himself from seeing the man undress.
"Have fun," Evergreen said with a bored tone, looking over her sunglasses.
"Try to look out for Bickslow," Laxus said with a grin, still keeping his eyes away from Freed. "He'll somehow fly out of a slide and land on ya if you're not careful."
"Oh don't worry, I'm always cautious of flying Bickslows," Freed said with a laugh before walking away.
Laxus shot a glance at his retreating form again. The musculature of his back and the firmness of his legs were really hot, and Laxus had to look away to stop himself from gawking. He knew that the man had some muscle on him, but he hadn't quite expected that much. The blonde almost regretted not looking at the front of his torso when he was undressing.
From the sound of shifting water, Freed had chosen to populate a pool near them. Laxus made sure to look down at his phone, scrolling down his playlist for something to do. He was unaware of Evergreen rolling her eyes at him from behind her glasses.
For a while, Laxus managed to distract himself with his phone or staring absently anywhere that wasn't near Freed. But eventually, when he realised that Freed was swimming lengths of the pool he was in, Laxus found his resolve fading slightly. He was elegantly vicious as he swam, speeding from side to side of the large pool with powerful stroke that highlighted his strong arms and legs. Laxus found himself temporarily unable to look away, and was only distracted when Freed reached the end of the pool and went to turn back. He would clearly see Laxus staring at him when he came up for air, and it wouldn't be easy to explain why.
"I'm gonna get a drink," Laxus said suddenly, standing up and looking to Evergreen. "You want anything."
"Ice tea if they have it, water if they don't," Evergreen requested.
Laxus nodded and turned tail quickly, walking to the nearest snack bar. He relayed his order to the vendor, who quickly got to work getting what he wanted. Laxus absently tapped his fingers on the top of the counter, trying to distract himself from the fact his crush was swimming beautifully behind him and had no idea the effect he was having on Laxus.
He couldn't even understand it himself.
Sure, Laxus had always been dominated by his feelings. It was what had fuelled his rebellious and angst-ridden teenage years – well, that and his crappy relationship with his equally crappy father – but this was somewhat abnormal. Laxus got crushes relatively often, and it hadn't been as intense as this before. And he couldn't explain it by saying it was because he was trapped with the man, because Laxus' crush on his college roommate had been gone in a day. Nor could he blame it on the fact the man was swimming, because Laxus often found guys at the gym hot and he'd endured a communal shower with a few of them, and hadn't been this awkward.
He was quickly losing control of this crush, and it needed to stop.
Because a relationship was probably the last thing Freed wanted right now. Bickslow had been vague about what Freed's relationship had been like, but said it had started before Christmas, meaning it had been lasted almost half a year. Having a break up after that long would leave some kind of an affect, and Bickslow had stated Freed closed himself off emotionally. He probably wanted time to heal, and friends to be around.
"That's four fifty, sir," The person behind the counter requested. Laxus handed him the money, still deep in through.
He just needed to be there for Freed as much as a friend of a friend could be. They would joke, have fun together, and hopefully become friends. That was all Laxus needed to do to keep control of everything.
That promise lasted the exact amount of time it took for Laxus to return to the table.
He happened to glance towards the pool, and fate decided to be a dick to him. Because Freed had not only stopped swimming, but had also just finished dunking his head in the water. He was now standing waist deep in the water, facing towards Laxus and giving him an unhindered view of his strong, mouth-watering body. Water was glinting in the sun as it dripped down his toned stomach, and his hair was plastered to his back. He had his eyes closed and looked deeply content, and Laxus felt his breath catch in his throat.
The entire situation was a slow-motion effect and sensual music away from being a damn made for tv movie. Laxus had even froze so the drink he was placing on the table was hovering an inch above it.
"I don't know why you just don't talk to him," Evergreen said, snapping Laxus out of his trance. "Flirt with him. Nobody's as pretty as you and doesn't know how to make good use of it."
"What?" Laxus frowned, looking to Evergreen. She's removed her sunglasses and was giving him an unimpressed look.
"You've been mooning over him since you saw him," Evergreen continued. "Why don't you actually try and do something about it instead of driving yourself crazy gawping at him."
"I haven't," Laxus said indignantly. Evergreen didn't even try to hide her disbelief at that. After a moment, Laxus spoke again in a mutter. "Has he noticed?"
"No," Evergreen said passively. "He's too cocky not to have flirted back if he knew. Which is why I'm telling you to make the first move. You'd be good together."
"He just got out of a relationship," Laxus said with a slight sigh.
"He's not a wounded little bird Laxus. He's a grown man," Evergreen said, and her tone was almost comforting. "And more importantly, so are you. His old boyfriend… I don't even know why they were together at the end. Or at the start, really. The two of you have a lot in common, a lot more than you'd think. You're similar enough to get along, but you're not clones of each other. Honestly, I think you'd be a good couple, so why not go for it?"
"It's just a crush," Laxus shrugged.
"Which is what you always say," Evergreen persisted, sighing. "You're never going to have anything other than a crush if you don't let yourself act on something. And Freed's the perfect guy to do it with," Laxus didn't say anything. "Just think about it. Oh, and the human torpedo's coming, so prepare yourself."
Laxus looked towards where Evergreen was now looking, to see Bickslow jogging towards them with something in his hand. He gestured for Freed to follow him, which the other man did, as he approached the table. He was panting, red faced and grinning even wider than usual.
"That was kick ass!" He proclaimed loudly. "It's terrifying, you have to do it. Look."
He placed the thing in his hand on the table, and showed it to be a picture similar to those you'd get from an amusement park. It contained Bickslow sliding down a multicoloured tube, with a face that could only be described as a mixture of terror and exhilaration. The fact that he looked at all scared was impressive to Laxus, given how much of a thrill seeker Bickslow could be. Maybe the ride had earned its imposing name.
Laxus' train of thought left him when a gentle chuckle could be heard behind him.
Freed was standing behind him. Freed was half naked, dripping wet, and looking over his shoulder. Laxus couldn't help but tense slightly, hoping to god that the man didn't notice. He did see Bickslow grinning at him, so he wasn't being as subtle as he wanted, but Freed seemed to be too interested in the picture to pay attention to him.
"If it scared you that much, I don't think it's likely you'll get any of us on it," Freed said with a grin.
"Aw, you three ain't just gonna sit here and be boring all day. The two of you ain't even wet yet," Bickslow pouted at Laxus and Evergreen. "You have to do something fun."
"I was actually thinking of going on that," Freed said, motioning to the inflatable obstacle course floating on the largest pool. "I thought one of you might want to race me, to make it a little interesting. Though, I doubt that Laxus would."
Laxus turned towards the man with an expression of shock, and was met with a challenging gaze. It was a good look on the man.
"Why wouldn't I wanna race ya?"
"Well, as you said earlier, you don't get involved in a bet that you can't win," Freed said as if it were obvious, and the cockiness of the man practically radiated off him. He was also crossing his arms, which highlighted the size and refinement of his biceps. A rather unfair tactic, even if not intentional.
"You think I can't beat ya?" Laxus said incredulously.
"I don't think you have a chance," Freed smirked.
"Well, you wanna make this serious then we can make this serious," Laxus said with an equally confident grin. "We race. The loser has to go on that back breaker ride-"
"Spine Snapper," Bickslow corrected.
"Spine Snapper," Laxus amended, not looking away from Freed. "The loser has to go on that, buy the picture and make it the icon of all their socials, as well as the lock screen picture on their phone for the rest of summer," Laxus shot out a hand for Freed to shake. "Deal?"
"It's your dignity, you can lose it however you please," Freed said with a grin, shaking Laxus hand with enough strength to send a thrill down his spine.
He couldn't focus on that, as Freed had darted towards the floating course. Laxus followed after him, leaving their friends to watch in equal amusement and tiredness.
~~~
It had been a good day, Laxus thought.
Though it might have started off rocky, with Laxus feeling as though his crush was starting to affect his budding friendship with Freed, it had gotten better as the day went on. Particularly good was when Laxus had proven Freed wrong in his assumption that he couldn't win the race on the obstacle course. It was incredibly satisfying to sit over him and watch as he changed all his social media icons to a picture of him yelling while going down the incredibly steep water slide.
That had seemed to break any ice between them, and the rest of the day had been spent having an easy and fun time together. They'd eaten, laughed, and at one point thrown Evergreen into the wave pool against her will; she had gotten back at Bickslow, the ringleader of the prank, by pouring ice cubes down the back of his shorts. It was child like fun, and Laxus felt like he needed it.
They had only left the water park when the sun had started to set. That had been a few hours ago, and they were back on the road again. It was pitch black now, the only light coming from the headlights of the truck and the few spotlights inside of it.
For quite a while now, Laxus was the only one awake.
Bickslow had been the first to go, falling asleep in the passenger seat and snoring gently. Evergreen was next, curling up on the bed despite Laxus' insistence that she not lie on it while they were moving. Freed was last, resting on his arms while leaning on the table, headphones plugged into his ears.
Laxus was quite enjoying the quiet of both the road and the RV. As much as he enjoyed spending time with his friends, they were all quite large personalities, and it was nice being able to sit in the quiet after the loud day he'd had. The fact that he could see the stars out of his windscreen was an added extra.
As the night went on, and Laxus found himself getting tired, he found a small truck stop that would allow for overnight parking. He pulled off the highway and into the parking lot, switching the engine off.
He was met with a sound that bordered on breathing and snoring. He looked over his shoulder and saw Freed was the source. He grinned a little.
Moving around the RV with as much cautious as he could, he made sure to lock all the doors and close and bolt all the windows. Then, once done, he gently shook Freed's shoulder to wake him up, but to no avail. He tried a few more times, but the man seemed unwilling to wake up. With a soft smile, Laxus carefully shifted his position so he was crouching. He cautiously hooked his arm under Freed's legs and lifted him up, the sleeping man showing no sign of waking.
He slowly moved him to the double bed, placing him beside Evergreen and resting his head on the pillow. After carefully sliding the covers over the two sleeping people, he gently ran a knuckle down his cheek. His skin was shocking soft.
Instead of lingering on the gesture he had done, he got to work on making the table booth into a makeshift bed. He picked up the travel pillow and tattered blanket and curled up into the bed, closing his eyes and letting the tiredness of the day overtake him. Lacking the energy to fight it, his mind supplied him with many images of Freed through the day, ending on him sleeping.
He definitely had lost control of his crush.
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