#instead of doing something productive like pushing for people in power to do something they'll nitpick and belittle

[ahaura]

im sure its been said already but as the election draws near more and more liberals will come out of the woodwork to shame people with a conscience to give away their vote to the democrats for free. i'm already seeing posts saying "why aren't people more concerned about a trump presidency?" you want to know why? it's because people already know he's bad. everyone already knows what he is and what he's done and what he'll do. there's nothing to discuss. he's a racist despotic worm of a man. there's nothing else to say.

biden is currently president. the genocide is happening under his watch. he's the one funding isra*l and arming them; he's sidestepped congress more than once to give them weapons. by oct. 27, the biden administration already knew that "Israel was regularly bombing buildings without solid intelligence that they were legitimate military targets." the state department/biden have engaged in atrocity propaganda, cast doubt on the legitimacy of the death toll recorded by the gaza health ministry, and so on. the united states is currently in the process of trying to pin the "war in gaza" on netanyahu (see sen. schumer's speech) after months of backing blatant genocide as a means to act as if they're "doing something" about the genocide (Instead of, say, threatening to cut off all aid to israel with the condition that all hostilities in gaza, the west bank, and occupied jerusalem are halted immediately and permanently, allowing palestinians freedom to travel, allowing aid into gaza, etc etc etc.)

the long and short of it is that liberals view their own lives as being worth more than palestinians'. that's it. they'll vote for another 4 years of the guy ushering in genocide and supporting apartheid + settler colonialism because he isn't outright attacking them (despite various laws and rulings happening both at the supreme court level and at the local level all over the country that will endanger people). they'll settle for the illusion of safety and security and shame anyone with a conscience and accuse them of "supporting the republicans" when in an actual democracy you would be able to use your vote as leverage to extract concessions from those who want to be elected. that's how it's supposed to fucking work.

democrats are not owed people's vote. if biden loses, it will be biden's fault; it will be his campaign's fault; it will be the democrats' fault. trump is bad; the republicans are bad. we already know this. this is not an endorsement of either. but if democrats are too cowardly and feckless and servile to the motivations of the american empire and never do anything for their constituents then why the fuck should anyone vote for them. you want to get mad at someone, why don't you do something useful and stop worrying about team-sports with a purely selfish basis and start hounding the people in power who are supposed to serve you, the voter.

#i think i already said this and frankly idc #uspol #📁.zip #to me personally it's abhorrent and vile to tell palestinians 'biden is facilitating the murder of your people culture and history but you #still have to vote for him!!1' like how is that not unbelievably callous and ghoulish #frankly speaking. a lot of this 'you should be concerned about trump' is going to turn into #blaming palestinians and arabs and muslims and anyone remotely with a conscience for biden's loss #instead of doing something productive like pushing for people in power to do something they'll nitpick and belittle #and tell palestinians + arabs and muslims + everyone who understands that genocide is bad that they SHOULD #settle for a decrepit genocidal monstrous freak who is CURRENTLY facilitating genocide because #it makes THEM feel better and they aren't personally threatened (yet) by the guy currently in power #any and all 'you're not taking trump seriously' comments should be met with extreme skepticism #because i promise i PROMISE that the vast majority of people unhappy with biden are not going to turn around and vote for trump #and if they do? well guess what THAT'S BIDEN'S FAULT! nevermind the vote uncommitted campaign that was very successful and #will be replicated in the near future. but liberals only care about asthetics and superficial and not #about real material change which is why they'll dress up their callousness and racism in a 'you hate gay people if you dont vote for biden' #like this country is already going to shit we are rapidly descending into fascism and i dont see biden doing anything to even remotely #challenge it do you???? once agian. NOT an endorsement of the republican party but my GOD when the 'lesser evil' #is DOING the evil or normalizing the evil then you cannot settle for 'the lesser'! end of story.

[kikigeh]

I decided to write down the most striking information from the season 5 bible leak. DO NOT INTERACT if you want to go into the season blindly but do interact if you want to discuss it. Heavy spoilers under the cut.

A few things to note before we go on:

The document's final revision is from 2020, this means that THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT FINAL and the information might differ from what we will be seeing in the end product.

Also, a show's bible is meant to go over the key points of the story and characters, it's not necessarily a synopsis of everything that you'll see in the show so save yourself the immediate belief that the season is going to suck because character A or thing B are not mentioned in length here.

The bullet points go in order of appearance in the document, hence the jumps in subjects.

With that out of the way, let's start. FINAL WARNING, leave if you don't want to be spoiled.

----------------

It is revealed that Marinette had a crush on Kim prior to the show starting. Confessing was a bad experience for her (thanks to Chloe) and that's the reason as to why she's so hesitant to confess to Adrien.

At the very end of the season, Ladybug and Chat Noir will finally be able to use their special powers without transforming back. They'll be able to use Lucky Charms/Cataclysms more than once.

Adrien will find the courage to tell Gabriel that he doesn't want to be a model.

Adrien realizes that he feels something special towards Marinette and, realizing that Ladybug will never love him back, he decides to pursue her instead.

Adrien and Marinette will have their first kiss on episode 23 "Collusion".

Gabriel, owing a favor to Tomoe Tsurugi, wants Adrien to be with Kagami.

Nathalie is described in the document as "eventually emerging as a surrogate mother to Adrien".

We will either see or hear what happens when Chat Noir uses his Cataclysm on a human being in the episode "Destruction"

Ladynoir's relationship will change; without Chat Noir's flirting and with Ladybug finally accepting that she needs him (no longer pushing him away), they become a perfect duo of platonic, supportive friends.

Lady Noire and Mister Bug make an appearance in Season 5 once more.

Ladybug will be merging the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous herself becoming "BugNoire".

The merging of the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous create a brand new Kwami whose ability is to grant a wish (Like Dragon Ball's Shenron). The magic formula is found within the Grimoire; Gabriel, however, does not know how to decipher it. This is why his goal is to find someone who does.

Ladybug/Marinette finds out Hawkmoth's identity. Chat Noir/Adrien, however, will NEVER learn about it.

Nathalie was introduced to the Agrestes by Mrs. Tsurugi. She was hired because she was a hunter of magical artifacts.

Nathalie is secretly in love with Gabriel and follows him blindly, however, she has a secret plan for herself and wishes to fuse the miraculous so that her own wish can be granted: Make Gabriel fall in love with her.

Monarch will akumatize people and then send out a miraculous their way this season.

At the end of the season, Gabriel will give up the butterfly miraculous and someone else will get a hold of it: Lila.

Lila has several identities and several families, somehow. She goes by Lila Rossi, Cerise and Iris Verdi for different scenarios.

Scarabella will make a comeback for the two episode special.

Chloe's butler's name is Armand; he's the only person who cares for Chloe. More about this will be brought up in the episode "Adoration".

Zoe has feelings for Marinette, but she doesn't dare to tell her. This will also come up in episode "Adoration".

Zoe will become the holder of the Black Cat miraculous during the two-part special.

Contrary to popular belief, there are no written implications about Juleka and Rose's relationship despite it being shown on-screen. Neither are there any implications about Marc and Nathaniel's.

Kim was ALSO in love with Marinette in 8th grade. He is said to be the root of Marinette's problems in the episode "Derision".

Kagami is described as having "powerful feelings" towards both Adrien and Marinette.

Luka will leave in Mid-Season 5 as to not compromise the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir. He will leave with Jagged to Brazil, where he meets with Su-Han who will teach him Mirakung-fu. He'll go back to Paris in the finale.

Felix's new identity as the Peacock holder is called "Argos".

There will be several instances where we're reminded of Marinette's anxiety, mostly induced by her fears both as a civilian but also as Ladybug.

Marinette gives up on Adrien (or attempts to) and starts realizing that she may have feelings for Chat Noir, who has changed a lot since the end of S4.

Adrien asks Marinette out, which further complicates her feelings since she believes her crush on Adrien is detrimental.

Marinette is convincing herself that the one she loves is Chat Noir in order to forget about Adrien but he, who has given up on Ladybug, is intent on pursuing Marinette this time around.

There will be an apparent complete reversal of the lovesquare which may only culminate with Andre The Ice Maker's appearance to help them figure some things out.

Plagg and Tikki hurt from watching Marinette/Ladybug and Adrien/Chat Noir struggle with their feelings, which is why they opt for removing their miraculous and handing them out to other holders (Alya and Zoe).

Marinette thinks Zoe has a crush on Adrien. We know that that isn't quite the case and she is the object of Zoe's affection instead.

Lila and Chloe become the next class representatives. Lila is able to manipulate and control Chloe; because of their joint efforts, they become Monarch's strongest minions.

------------------------

I think the only three things I heavily dislike are:

1. The fact that Adrien will NEVER find out about his father 2. Lila is not a compelling character, so the show is definitely going to suffer with her as the lead villain. 3. Felix is not mentioned much, if at all. Seems like the sentimonster arc might take a backseat but then again, things could've changed during production from 2020 to 2022.

But other than that, I don't see why anyone would read the document and firmly believe that it's underwhelming. If anything, I find most of it extremely exciting compared to the other seasons. Only time will tell.... but anyway, until then, don't miss today's release of episode 1!

#miraculous ladybug #ml spoilers #ml bible #ml leak #ml season 5

[madfishmonger]

A little advice

I posted this on reddit in response to someone who said they were struggling with codependency and standing up for themselves, they said it was useful so I thought I'd share.

Self talk is crucial. Talk to yourself like you'd talk to your best friend. Say "I struggle with..." Instead of "I suck at..", "I have a hard time with ..." Instead of "I can't do that" (within reason of course). Framing things this way isn't untrue, as you are often capable of completing a task, just not well or as well as you'd like. Also helps you feel more in control of your life. You have the capacity to learn many skills, but have only so much time and brain power in a day, so of course you can't be good at everything.

True humility is knowing where you struggle and excel. Dependence on others is a tough balance to find. You need other people in your life for many reasons, but it's your life and you need to make decisions for yourself. Spending time with yourself and working out your core values will help you learn how to prioritize when to defend. If someone is violating a core value (such as consent or anti-violence), you know that's an important time to stand up and say something. Those close to you who want to support you can do so by making sure they give you lots of compliments and encouragement when you stand up for yourself. The first few times are the scariest, but sticking it through is worth it.

They will push back because they WANT you to be their victim, know they'll call you names or be cruel, but that's just more proof you're right to do it. Use your anger productively, especially if you're perceived female or from certain minority groups you get a lot of blowback for being angry, even when you're perfectly justified. It fucking sucks, but you can manipulate this perception sometimes. Be aware of how your anger is being taken, you may need to change tactics, or go full barbarian rage.

#take care of yourself #advice #life advice #learn you a thing

[naturesedgetesto]

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[beautifulterriblequeen]

B2:S - Chapter 5

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be lots of Viren deets, Best Boy Soren deets, some writing/continuity stuff, worldbuilding appreciation and half of a theory, Detective Rayla, Moon Temple geeking, Claudium and dark magic, and more!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

(I know for darn sure that I wrote up a post for chapter 4, but I can't find it anywhere so I guess Tumblr ate it and I'll have to redo it at some point, but today is not that day)

Viren, my evil dude, my bad guy, coming in clutch with the worldbuilding and backstory again! If you want to know decades of information, you gotta talk to Viren. Or read his scenes, at least. Here, he seems to not sleep much when he has a big problem to analyze his way through. Solutions trump pretty much everything else in this guy's life, and he's had a really hard week with a lot of new and complicated problems. Of course he's getting sleep-deprived trying to find his way through them all.

Harrow put so much trust in Viren when he made him High Mage! He just threw himself extra hard at that Lady Justice blindfold, didn't he? Didn't really want to see what Viren was doing in his magic study, so he left Viren to his devices. And Viren has a lot of devices.

Also, this is fascinating: Viren made the secret passage to his "less official study" in Katolis Castle! And he was inspired to do so by the way his own mentor kept the Puzzle House. What else could a Puzzle House be, except a place with secret passages? Yay! secret headcanon that "the Puzzle House" is just "Katolis Castle" from Kid Viren's perspective tho

So either Viren built all of those passageways, or at least the ones to his dungeon. Which means he has to have, or know where to get, a stash of those glowing blue Moonshadow crystals. Hmmm.

I can't wait to learn more about Kpp'Ar and young Viren, btw. From this description of Viren and all his literal secret ways, it feels like another parallel between Viren and Runaan, with the whole "secretive paths, members only, insider knowledge" type stuff. Only the really cool members of this cult club get to know the secrets, and guess what, kid, you're cool now but you can never tell anyone, okay? Our secret.

Yeahhh, that'll never backfire in any way for either of them.

Kpp'Ar calling puzzles and secrets "man-made magic," though. Yes sir, knowledge is indeed power.

This chapter mentions Runaan by name, from Viren's perspective. Generally that would imply that Viren knows his name, even though assassins do not share their names, and Runaan didn't seem to give his to Viren in the first book. However, there was a scene in book one where the last paragraph switched perspective from Viren to Runaan - a technique that's very common in visual media like movies and shows and gives you that "ohoho they left the room and didn't notice this, but you do!" vibe. Using Runaan's name there in book one, where Viren couldn't see it but readers could, helps them keep track of the assassin's story arc while maintaining Viren's racism.

So in book two, in which Runaan has no onscreen scenes (alas), using his name in a scene that calls back to the events in book one helps us remember what happened in that dungeon cell. It would be a bit muddier to recall the specifics if Viren kept thinking about Runaan as "Elf." So I'm cool with the perspective nudge because it serves a narrative purpose: clarity. But I'm also enjoying the angst of considering that, somehow, Viren learned Runaan's name either during or after the coining spell. Mwa ha ha haaa. (Obligatory "Keep my pretty name outta your mouth" goes here)

Okay, back to Viren's scheming! He took the mirror because it was human-sized in a dragon lair. He knew it didn't really fit there, and that made it interesting, so he stole it. But he realized it was really powerful when Runaan wouldn't tell him squat about it - the assassin's instinct to protect Xadian secrets from human hands meant that Viren was holding a very powerful Xadian secret. And that just made him want it all the more. Ah, Runaan, if only your relationship with lying was, like, the exact opposite of what it is. Nyx could've spun Viren a believable tale in 2 minutes flat.

Also of interest: Viren considers his cursed coins to be a final fate. He expects Runaan to remain in his coin forever. With the Chekhov's coins still extant in the storyline, we can assume that they'll come up again eventually, but Viren has no current plans to do anything with his elf money except carry it around.

It's worth noting that Viren admits that he got impatient when he trapped Runaan in the coin. Runaan's first fate in Katolis was supposed to be death at Soren's hands, but Claudia "saved" him from that. His next fate was to become spell components, but Viren's frustration with his stubbornness "saved" him from that fate, too. So now he's in a coin, where no one can chop him up at all. Yay? No, boo!

We get one last line about Runaan before Viren shifts gears: he makes a point of noting for us that Runaan's shackles are still locked shut. However much of Runaan made it into that coin - body, soul, hair care products - he was magicked there, pulled right out of his restraints.

The creepy black liquid that Viren pours right into his eyes is the last of a powerful potion he got from Kpp'Ar, and its recipe is ancient! Humans used it back in the age of Elarion to see through the illusions of the world. And we get a delightfully creepy bit of description about the preparation of this serum, which makes it abundantly clear that it's a Moon magic-based concoction, harvested from eyeless vipers on a moonless night, with the threat of irrevocable madness ("madness" by whose definition, though) if it's done wrong-

Hang on. Hold up. This is a Plato's Cave reference. OH MY GOD.

No no I'm fine, this is brilliant. Sorry, sorry, I couldn't figure why there was so much description for a potion prep that Viren didn't even have to perform himself. But now I get it. I see the light. HA. I should make a separate post for this, it's amazing.

Anyway, for reference, the humans who used this serum were called the Oracles of Ophidia, and Ophidia is a taxonomy group that includes all modern snakes. Can you say "creepy ancient snake rites"? I can! Woo!

Viren activates the serum with a spell, but apparently he's never done it before. He's not sure if it's supposed to be hot and bubbly, and he worries that it's been tainted by moonlight.

Oh, I do hope so.

The magic potion hurts, a lot. Viren will do just about anything, to himself or anyone, to do what he believes is necessary. He just risked madness and blindness to find out what this mirror does! Viren. Can you just. Take a nap or something. Have a Snickers.

This chapter gives us a fun clue that I don't remember from the show: when Viren's vision clears and he can see, his reflection has white pupils and the room reflected in the mirror has inverted colors. You know where else has inverted colors?

You know who else got white pupils for a hot second?

Okay, now it makes sense! Viren and Lujanne were both seeing into the realm beyond life and death. Him with his moon magic potion, and her with her moon powers on a full moon night at the Moon Nexus. Which is Very Interesting! Is it a direct hint about Aaravos's location, or just a separate cool detail? Orrr, does it look like a direct hint because Aaravos is actually trapped in the world beyond life and death, but it's actually separate and we'll see something about white pupils again later on?

Viren really does have self-esteem issues, we all picked up on it with his rant at his reflection. He throws a fit when he catches himself wondering if he's actually worthless. In the book version of his tantrum, he shoves the mirror and hurls a candelabra instead of flipping a table. He didn't need to shove the mirror to set the fire, but it's in here. Foreshadowing that perhaps, if push comes to shove, Viren will choose himself over Aaravos? Giving Aaravos time to peek through and see that the coast is clear?

Soren, my boyyyyy. He has a rough night at the Moon Nexus because two sides of him are fighting with each other. He struggles to understand Callum's friendship with Rayla, and he also fantasizes about chopping off Rayla's head. One of these is a pretty ordinary thing to do. The other is Soren's internalization of what he needs to do to gain his father's approval. If he brought his dad a chopped off elf head every week, he'd probably feel a lot more confident because Viren would praise him a lot more.

Okay, okay, omg, is it just me, or does the "Moonshadow Madness" story, as it's told in the book, seem like Soren just doesn't know what a monsterfucker is? He thinks an elf bite puts humans under a spell. But vampires are sexy, and some people want them to do more to them than just bite them. A passionate kiss under the moonlight could look very bitey, especially if one of the participants has horns and you're already culturally trained to hate them. No yeah, I'm already headcanoning an actual human-elf kiss that got misunderstood by an observer long ago.

it's Lujanne isn't it, we all know, because what is a love spell but a sweet soft illusion, I mean how else does she get supplies for her Caldera, I ask you, and also Corvus was totally sent to investigate once and he told Soren at camp what he saw

And then back to magefam angst: Soren pretending that his sister's nose-tapping is stupid, even though he actually thinks it's cool, just because their dad thinks it's stupid. Viren, istg. Let your kids like harmless things. It's so cute that Soren taps his nose back at her, though! Like they have their own sibling code. I hope we get to see the nose tap again, especially now that they've chosen different sides. It could mean so much, that they're not too far apart yet.

Rayla knows what buttery pancakes smell like. I love this. Do Moonshadow elves have butter and pancakes, does Rayla eat a stack of eight giant pancakes in the morning? Orrrr it is just illusion food? I don't care, let Rayla have pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes. Pancakes will save the world. this message brought to you by the fact that I can't eat pancakes rn, send help

I love that Rayla is both sus of the pancakes and hungry, and that combines into a very motivated "I will get to the bottom of this" attitude. She kind of goes into Poirot Mode when she inserts herself into Soren and Ellis's conversation about Ava, explaining about the wolf's illusion leg and segueing into her claim that the pancakes taste sus. Claudia confirms she used dark magic, and Rayla is furious. It's different than the show's version in that it puts Rayla in detective mode, as the only Moonshadow elf in the scene, and boy does she take that role seriously. Also, she doesn't actually swallow the dark magic pancake bite. It ends up on the ground just like Lujanne's grubs from that earlier meal. These poor kids are so nutrient-starved. You guys gotta eat!!

Rayla's determination and prejudices and the fact that she super knows Harrow is dead all dovetail to make her try repeatedly to persuade Callum that Soren and Claudia are Not To Be Trusted. It's nice that the book keeps taking the time to point out that Rayla is Well Intentioned But Flawed, just like Callum and pretty much every other character in the show. No one is Right All The Time, no one Knows More Than Everyone Else.

Callum loving the sound of Claudia's unique voice is so wholesome. When you like someone, it only makes sense that you like all the things about them that they can't change - like the sound of Claudia's voice. Her choices with dark magic, not so much!

Claudia seems to have the same concerns Soren does about Callum's relationship with Rayla, but she comes out and asks him. The inherent possession implied in "your elf" is interesting, though. Elves are not people to Claudia. They're enemies who can be disassembled for the magic inside them. So maybe more like robots than living beings, if she knew what a robot was. Maybe she heard Soren's "Moonshadow Madness" story and realized he totally missed the kissing implications - but she didn't, and now she's genuinely worried that Rayla could kiss Callum under a full moon and enchant him to do her will. Good thing it's only a half moon, then!

Okay, Callum nervously making a puppet hand and then not knowing what to do with his hands and freaking out about itching and moving and pointy elbows is such a ND mood. The sudden stress of knowing that someone else is noticing your existence and maybe you're Not Existing Right, amirite? Ugh, poor Callum.

The Moon Temple! Omg it's so pretty in the description! Made to be beautiful and useful, full of knowledge but also allowing light and life inside (butterflies and vines). Lujanne, when can I move in, please? Also, it's all the more angsty because Lujanne is the only one who gets to see this beautiful place, but it has lots of chairs and shelves and tables, and it was meant to be used by lots of people. :(((

Claudia knows some of the runes on the walls. She isn't in a hurry to copy the rest of them down or anything, either. Her spellwriting is very precise, and she's a skilled mage. Her father would have made sure she was aware of the dangers of drawing sloppy runes, as much as he made her aware of the dangers of doing dark magic wrong. And the whole point of dark magic is that it's easier to learn than primal magic. Claudia supports her dad and their shared knowledge and life path. She's not gonna go nuts over an elf library she can't translate.

Side note: Between Claudia knowing some Moon runes and Viren building a secret passageway and a dungeon and lighting it with the same blue crystals that Lujanne and Ethari use for light--and Claudia exclaiming that she loves ruins--I wonder once more if there are really Moonshadow ruins somewhere in Katolis, which Viren has found and looted. Father-daughter relic hunting trip, maybe while Soren is away at camp? Omgsh that would be so wild!

Callum out here having a Viren moment with his "I feel powerless unless I've got magic that lets me help" vibes. God. I love their complicated mirroring. One of the hard differences between them is that Callum is very sure dark magic is bad because you have to kill stuff and take its power to cast spells, and he doesn't want to be a person who kills and takes like that. The line he walks to be nice to Claudia on their tour of the Cursed Caldera because he likes her, while telling her that he doesn't want to do her magic, like, ever, is so fine that it might as well be a shifting shadow on the ground. It's a very fitting conversation to be having during the half moon, with its tricks and little white lies.

Callum being out of the castle and his comfort zone, having to deal with the fact that the Claudia he loves is not quite the Claudia who's chasing him down across the kingdom, but of the two of them, he's the only one with a problem with this.

They say that if you really want to get to know someone, you should spend time with them outside their comfort zone - in heavy traffic, with a small baby, taking care of a new pet, trying a new skill, following unfamiliar directions, etc. While the castle is familiar territory for them both, Callum's never really found his comfort zone yet, while Claudia is pretty comfortable with her growing skill set. The creepy part starts to kick in when Callum begins to realize that Claudia's comfort zone encompasses a whole bunch of stuff that seems like it should make her uncomfortable... but it doesn't. But that'll be for a future chapter!

#book two: sky spoilers #book two: sky #b2:s #tdp spoilers #viren #harrow #rayla #runaan #callum #claudia #soren #lujanne #moonshadow elves #aaravos

[eryiss]

Fraxus Week 2020: Day 1 - First Meeting

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 was written as part of the annual Fraxus Week event hosted by @fuckyeahfraxus​​. This year I’ve decided to make an eight-part multi-chapter fic out of the prompts. They might not be in the correct order, but I think the end product will be worth it. Hope you all enjoy it.

You can read this on Fanfiction, Archive of our Own, and under the cut.  Read the other chapters from this masterlist.

Chapter One – Getting Aboard

It had been Bickslow's idea.

Nobody would think it, but the blue haired idiot was perhaps the most caring of the group, the mother figure, in a way. He wasn't the most conventional 'mom friend', and it certainly didn't diminish his enthusiasm to get drunk off his ass when the opportunity presented itself, but he was always the one keeping an eye out on his friends and knew when something was wrong. Apparently he had seen something was wrong with all three of them, and had come up with this plan on how to fix it.

A road trip to the Grand Canyon. None of his friends knew where the idea had come from, nor did they know why he insisted on renting an RV and driving there instead of getting the train. But the man had this enthusiasm about him that was cast upon them like a spell, and they couldn't find a way to fight it. Perhaps they all knew they needed the break.

Laxus was damn sure he did.

It had been just shy of a year since his graduation from college, and his plan had been to get a job in a gym being a personal trainer. That hadn't happened. He'd gone to many job interviews and nothing had come from any of them, and each rejection had been like a punch to the gut. He knew he couldn't just use his grandfather's money for ever, so had gotten what was meant to be a temporary job in an office while he looked for more appropriate employment. That had been nine months ago, and he hadn't been near to an interview for his chosen career in over half a year.

So far, his post college life had been a failure. Perhaps he had been naïve to think good things would happen instantly, perhaps he just needed to be patient. But the idea of getting away from everything for a week was what he needed.

Even if it was in what he could only assume was a crappy van.

Even if he had to wake up at five thirty to get on the highway before the majority of traffic, for some reason.

Even if one of the people he was traveling with was a stranger.

He had known Bickslow for the longest. They had been friends since they were kids and, although Bickslow moving away for college had meant they weren't as close as they once were, Laxus still considered the man his closest friend. He was chaotic, loyal, and overall just a fun guy. He could be obnoxious, but who couldn't?

Evergreen had come later, when she transferred into their high-school and Bickslow had dragged her into their small group. She was a little haughty at first, but that was clearly a defensive state she took on as the new girl. As they got closer, she showed a snarkier and quick-witted side. She fit in with the two men like the missing piece of a puzzle, even if she had a stupid insistence of hitting them with a fan when annoyed.

But now there was Freed.

Laxus didn't know all that much about Freed. He knew that he went to the same college that Bickslow and Ever did. He knew that he lived a few towns over, about half an hour's drive. He knew that he was a literary and science major. That was it. But both Bix and Ever thought well of him, so he was probably a good person.

"What time is he coming?" Makarov asked, cupping a mug of coffee while sitting at the kitchen table.

"Should be a few minutes," Laxus shrugged, biting into the toast he'd made for himself.

"I don't get why you have to leave this early," Makarov commented, glancing at the clock handing on the wall as sipped his drink. "You're going to be driving for days on end, you'll get caught in traffic anyway. You might as well sleep in to an appropriate time."

"Nobody asked you to see me off," Laxus quirked an eyebrow. He agreed with the sentiment though, he'd much rather leave later and deal with the traffic.

"No, but you seemed determined to bump into everything as you were getting ready and to make as much noise as you could. It's hard to sleep through that," Makarov grinned, clearly trying to get a reaction out of his grandson. "Besides, it's been years since I saw your friends, it'll be nice to see them again. And that new boy you'll be travelling with, I want to mee him too."

"We're picking him up later," Laxus said, crunching another bite of toast; he had burned it.

"Ah," Makarov nodded.

The two men fall into a comfortable quiet, the silence being accompanied by the radio Makarov had insisted turning on despite complaining about all the music they played. Laxus ate his breakfast while his grandfather read the newspaper. Once Laxus was finished, he checked the small suitcase that he had packed for himself to make sure it had everything he needed, then sat back at the kitchen table and waited for his friends to arrive.

A few minutes later he got the text saying that Bickslow was outside. He cracked his back and walked to the front door of the house he shared with his grandfather, and looked upon the large RV that had been parked at the foot of the driveway.

It was an impressive looking vehicle, and probably a good model. The idea to go on this road trip had been made in March, giving the four of them four months to save up enough to hire something relatively luxurious. Bickslow was hanging out of driver's seat window with a wide grin on his face, clearly happy that his plan was starting. Laxus found his enthusiasm infectious, and a small smile graced his lips as he approached.

This was exactly what he needed to put aside the disappointment of the year.

"Hey man," Bickslow greeted with a voice too loud for the time of the morning. He looked past Laxus and grinned wider. "Hey Mr D."

"Morning Bickslow," Makarov greeted from the doorframe, smiling. "Is Evergreen not with you?"

"She's in the back, sleepin'. Told her that it'll take a hell of a lot of beauty sleep not to make her look like that, but she didn't listen to me," He cackled at his own joke, and Laxus chuckled as he saw a hairbrush hit him in the back of his head. "The big guy wake you up, Mr D?"

"What do you think?" Makarov laughed, and Laxus glared at him. Since when was it a known trait that he couldn't keep quiet in the morning?

"See you in a week-old man," Laxus waved his hand, hoping to stop the taunting conversation between his friend and relative. "Try not to die while I'm gone."

"Cheeky brat," Makarov retorted with a grin. "Have fun kids."

Bickslow gave a response in the affirmative while Laxus pulled open the door of the RV, climbing up the steps. It was as nice inside as it was outside, with a small table and seating nook, a cooking area, a bed at the back and a small room that Laxus assumed would be the washroom. Laxus absently wondered if either he or Bickslow would manage to fit in the shower, given their size. But still, it was a nice vehicle and would be more than enough for their week inside of it.

Laxus walked to the front of the vehicle and took the passenger's seat, grinning at the sight of Evergreen with an eye mask on while buckled into the seats surrounding the table. The seat was comfortable enough, and Laxus found himself smiling at the vehicle.

"She's nice, right," Bickslow grinned in reference to the RV. "Best one they had. Turns out four of us not having any fun for months means we save a lot of money."

"Glad to hear it," Laxus chuckled. "I half expected you to pull up in some crappy van with a piss stained mattress in the back."

"Oddly specific there Dreyar. Speaking from experience?" Bickslow grinned, and it was clear that his excitement was going to make him completely obnoxious throughout the week. As annoying as it was, Laxus wouldn't have it any other way. "So, just gonna put this out here. Sleeping situation. The bed at the back fits two, and the table folds away and makes another single bed. Obviously, they'll be two of us in the back. So we can either have Ever and Freed sharing the single bed 'casue we won't fit-"

"Like hell I'm sharing," Ever snapped from her seat. "It'll be cramped enough as it is."

"Or we take turns each night with one of us in that chair," He nodded to the seat Laxus was sitting in. "It reclines and turns slightly, so they'll be enough leg space. It's basically like a plane seat without anyone behind you."

"I'm sure we can manage with that," Laxus nodded. "Wouldn't wanna piss of medusa," A hairbrush hit the back of Laxus' head this time. "How many brushes do you have?"

"Five, they each do different things," Evergreen grunted from her seat, and Laxus chuckled when he saw her put the mask over her eyes again.

"How can they do different things?" Laxus asked.

"They just do, it's why they're all different shapes and have thinner and thicker prongs," Evergreen sighed. "Ask Freed when he gets here, I'm sure he'll know. And that way you won't be talking to me and I can get some sleep."

Laxus decided not to push his luck, knowing that his friend had enough strength to throw a hair dryer at his head, as well as the morality to do so. Instead he leant over to Bickslow, who had pushed the key into the ignition, and spoke softly.

"Why would he know much about hair brushes exactly?" He asked, and Bickslow looked at him with confusion before realisation hit him.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting that you know basically nothing about him," He laughed, turning the key, and starting the engine. It was a powerful machine, and Laxus appreciated it. "Freed's got really long hair, keeps it pretty well looked after too. Goes down to his ass, don't know when he last had it cut. It looks good on him though. Oh, and it's green. Like, bright green."

"Really," Laxus furrowed his brows. "Everything you've said about him makes him seem pretty… strait laced I guess."

"He is, kinda. He's just got green hair," Bickslow shrugged, smiling wide. "He's kinda contradictory when you get to know him. You'll love him, I know it baby."

Bickslow revved the engine unnecessarily, waved out the window with an overly loud 'Bye Mr D!' as he did so, and started to pull out from Laxus' neighbourhood. Laxus gave his grandfather a small wave in goodbye, and saw the old man return the gesture. He leant back in his comfortable chair and allowed the gentle vibrations of the vehicle moving to calm him, closing his eyes softly as the warm sun hit his face through the front window.

This was exactly what he had needed after the year he'd had, and even the idea of being in the RV with a stranger didn't put a damper on his mood.

~~~

It had taken about forty minutes to get into the town Freed had lived in, and only a little while longer to get to his apartment. The building wasn't the nicest looking place in the world, and Bickslow explained that Freed lived by himself and financed his own life through his student loan and a job. Laxus didn't judge him; that was an admirable thing to do and he couldn't look down on his because he lived in a slightly crappy apartment building.

Honestly, for some reason he had expected a spoiled kid.

"Could you go up and get him?" Bickslow asked, looking towards Laxus.

"Can't you text him?"

"Nah, he takes hours to answer any texts, so I never know if he actually reads them quickly or not. Don't wanna be waiting down here for ages," Bickslow shrugged, and then grinned. "Besides, it'll give the two of ya a chance to get to know each other before you get trapped in here with us. Makes it less awkward."

Laxus sighed, but nodded. He was almost certain that getting to know Freed was the only reason he had been chosen to find the man, but he couldn't prove it as he didn't know if Bickslow's claim about his texting etiquette was true or not. He shifted his way out of the RV, Bickslow shouting the man's apartment number and the code for the door as he did so. Once he closed the door, he could swear that he heard the two speaking in the van, but ignored it.

The apartment building wasn't run down, but it was lacking luxury. Paint was peeling off some of the walls and the elevator opened with a horrid creak. Laxus walked into it and pushed the button for the ninth floor.

A ridiculous bubble of nervousness entered his stomach as the elevator started to ascend. He had never been talented socially, and his communication skills were both blunt and often uncared for. This had meant he never truly got used to being around new people, and it took him a while to warm up with most people. And now he was going to be stuck in a pretty small RV for around a week with a man he didn't know. He knew that his friends were good judges of characters and they assured him that they'd get along, but Laxus still could be nervous about meeting him.

Once the lift had found the right floor, Laxus looked around and settled on the sixth apartment's door. He knocked it curtly, the sound echoing awkwardly in the hallway. Laxus fidgeted for a moment before it was opened, revealing Freed.

"Oh," The man said in a velvet smooth voice. "Hello."

"Hey," Laxus greeted. "I'm Laxus, Bickslow might have told you about me. He said to come get you."

"Of course," The man said, and offered him a smile.

It was a nice smile. In fact the entirety of the man was nice to look at. He had long green hair, as Bickslow had said, and it was tied up in a high pony tail. A few green strands had fallen down to frame his face, accenting his sharp features, and pronounced bone structure. His outfit portrayed a fit body, and the unassigned top button showed a small slather of a firm chest. He had piercing blue eyes, a small black mark high on his left cheek, and thin lips.

When his eyes flickered down, he saw that the man had two large sports bags at his feet, clearly his own luggage. Laxus was suddenly reminded of why he was there, and snapped out of his split-second trance.

"You need help with them?" He offered.

"I'm fine," Freed assured him. "Although you could hold this if you don't mind."

He reached for a shelf in his apartment and picked up a small plastic thermos, handing it to Laxus. The blonde took it and looked at it with confusion. "Doesn't it make more sense for you to hold your own drink. I really don't mind taking a bag."

"It's not for me," Freed explained, lifting his bags out of his apartment, and placing them down to lock the door. "I shared a morning class with Evergreen, and she was snappy enough at eight in the morning, let alone half six. I assumed she might need some caffeine."

"Yeah, both me a Bix got a hairbrush thrown at us already," Laxus laughed. "Probably a good call."

"I would have made the two of you one as well," Freed stated as they walked down the hall. "But I don't know what you drink, and I don't believe that Bickslow needs any help in being overly energetic."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure my grandpa's neighbour is gonna complain because of the shouting," Laxus grinned a little as he called the elevator. His friends were a topic he could handle.

"I'm surprised he didn't try and get my attention by yelling from the sidewalk."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that the only reason he sent me up here is so we can talk without them being there," Laxus admitted, before wondering if it was appropriate to say so. Was it meant to be a secret?

"It makes sense," Freed nodded. "They haven't really told me too much about you. I know your name, that you're a year older than us, and that you went to college to become trained in sports science and physiotherapy. That's essentially it."

"Well, that's all true," Laxus said as he walked into the open elevator. "I haven't gotten a job in my field yet, so I took a temp job. But I'm still looking. Bix said you've got a job as well as going to college?"

"I'm a waiter at Blue Pegasus, a restaurant a few blocks away," Freed explained. "It's not the most interesting work, but the pay is enough to keep me stable. And sometimes I'll get a meal at the end of the shift for free, so I can't complain."

Laxus nodded, understanding the conflict of working at a job that doesn't thrill you without having the option of quitting. The elevator started to slide down, and a repetitive tone began to play in the small box. Neither man spoke, and Laxus would have expected the urge to fill the silence, but it didn't come. For whatever reason, he felt comfortable with not speaking when Freed was around, something that didn't happen to him often.

Thinking back, the last time he had been okay in silence with a stranger had been Evergreen.

They reached the bottom floor hallway of the building a moment later, and Laxus held open the front door for Freed so the man could walk out without dropping his bags. When they walked into the morning sun, Laxus found himself momentarily transfixed by the sight of the man under natural light.

He looked radiant.

His slightly paler skin seemed to glow in the sunlight, and his perfectly brushed hair shimmered in the light. His eyes even seemed to sparkle as he approached the comparatively dull vehicle that was their home for the next week. Laxus' grip on the thermos tightened slightly as he walked forward.

"Just opened the storage," Bickslow commented from the window. "Put your bags in there, so we have space."

Freed nodded, walking to the small storage cubby that was opened from the side of the truck. He placed his bags down and opened it, and Laxus walked beside him. Freed placed one of the bags into the RV's trunk equivalent, and Laxus lifted the other to do the same. It held a fair amount of weight to it, and Laxus found himself impressed that the man had managed to lift this and another bag without any difficulty. Maybe the bulging in his sleeves wasn't just vanity muscles, as Laxus had assumed.

"Thank you," Freed nodded towards Laxus, closing the storage space.

"It's fine," Laxus assured him.

The two men climbed inside the RV, being greeted by a still too cheery 'welcome to the party bus' form Bickslow. Laxus saw that, in his time in the building, Evergreen had taken the front seat and was reclining in it with the eye mask on and a blanket covering her body. He rolled his eyes, placed the drink in a cup holder on the dash, and looked back over the RV's interior. The only place you could sit while it moved were in the table booth that Freed was sitting at. Laxus took the seat opposite him.

As he got into the leather booth, he saw that Freed had taken out a novel and was scanning the paged with quick moving eyes. The sun was hitting his face just right and illuminated it in a damn impressive way. Annoyingly, Laxus blushed

"All aboard," Bickslow yelled. "Next stop, the Grand Canyon."

And, with a pleasant nervousness in his stomach as he looked at Freed, Laxus found himself excited for the journey.

#Fraxus Week #Fraxus Week 2020 #fraxus #freed justine #Laxus Dreyar #fairy tail #fanfic #writing #Event #multichapter #Modern AU