#gosh darn how AUs there’s too many

[pixlokita]

So I was scrolling through your page just for fun and then I saw that you have a werewolf CC AU and I was like: " Wolf Cassie's definitely going to be friends with him."

Sorry Gregory! But now we got a Wolf gang!

Aw ye ;w;

[windydrawallday]

You know what? I'll announce what I was meant to say for almost a week! I'll write this on the go so, it will probably be long:

Do you see all of that in those two pics? Those are ALL TF WIPs I hoarded between other dozens since 2022 (plus some almost finished and/or on the pipeline of being finished).

Well, having them constantly lingering in my present 2024 folder made it easy to grab and work on them on an almost daily-weekly basis...

... but it pushed aside my other personal projects that ended up in a secondary WIP folder that I barely touched since I fell into this robot hell.

Not a bad thing! This was fun, but after this year's mixture of creative exhaustion I'm facing, I want to slow down a bit my focus on TF art.

I will still work on the WIPs related to my pals @sug4r-melon , @goobygnarp, and @lovestruckmousey 's designs for our shared TF AUs.

(And probably some low-key simple projects like doing tiny vehicle mode icons of the TFA cast like how I did with the RB cast for a zine. I was thinking too about making plush-toy icons of my favs because I can).

(I already set up a sideblog to save a great part of my TF art, especially the Lockdown/Prowl ones but for now, I'll leave it all private. I won't purge my fanart but I prefer to be safe).

But the rest? If it's not in the final stage and/or scheduled already (I have one dated since the past year to be posted in September so, that still stands) the WIP/artwork will be canned on a folder apart until I can have the motivation to work again on them.

The other reason for this slowdown is... I'm currently in two Zines. One for TFs (that I feel super honored to be part of) and another with OCs.

I had quite a bumpy ride at the beginning of this year, trying to postulate to zines not centered around TFs because I really want to branch my art and expose my original stuff so...

Nailing that OC zine feels like a big VICTORY! And I hope to expand more because gosh darn: no one but ME can draw my OCs!

And I miss my critters... I didn't participate in Artfight because of zero updated refs. I really want to change that next year!

Yup... a long read. But I hope my point is understandable and I'm not sounding like a quitter or something sjfhdkjshfsdjfh

Thanks for the patience and know if any of ya still enjoy my TF work: there's quite a bulk on the #ifellinrobothellagain tag x) Many didn't get as much traction on its day so, they will always be there to poke and revisit 💖

And is not like you'll never see certain faces again: for me, nothing is lost... just transforms and takes new shapes and names.

[animalsalvationassociation]

Emma Jade in MEOMI’s Style

Illustration Time: 5hrs 31m

[ DO NOT REPOST, ALL ART & CONCEPTS WERE MADE BY ME ]

Okay so if it wasn’t clear before, this is Professor Emma Jade. She is a Zoologist and a Animal/Nature Activist. She is an ally to the Octonauts as well as many other organizations (Ex. C.L.A.D.E.). Emma also happens to be very good friends to Captain Barnacles as well as many other activists that work within the A.S.A.

In this AU Emma is the main character. I wanted to showcase the potential of the Octonauts world by using Emma to help the audience understand how things work on this version of Earth.

She’s a very interesting character, and I’m excited for all of you to get to know her. I wanted to make up for the week that I didn’t post in between the other Octonauts refs and the last post. This won’t always happen but I’m too excited to wait for the next picture because of how gosh darn cute it is. So expect a post on Thursday!

My regular posting schedule should be every Tuesday if not then Thursdays. I’m in the process of looking for a new job (hopefully in childcare) so that schedule may change in the future. But I will be sure to keep all of you updated! Again a HUGE thank you to everyone who is following along, I hope this will be able to inspire others to keep strengthening our little fandom, because it sorely needs it!

(P.S. This isn’t my favorite drawing but its been the basis for all of her main colors so I’m still rather attached to it. This was actually the first digital version of her as well so extra attachments I guess)

[ This is an Octonauts AU, in no way is this canon to the OG storyline. ]

Original Design:

https://www.tumblr.com/animalsalvationassociation/733195730614943744/welcome-to-the-asa

If you want to see more check me out on DeviantArt I have lots of other fandom based drawings over there or go check out my Instagrams!

https://www.deviantart.com/cookiecrumbles52

I'm an Octonauts Group Admin! Wanna add your art??? Go check it out!

https://www.deviantart.com/octonauts-community

Instagrams:

@ CookieCrumbles52 (Stories)

[ https://www.instagram.com/cookiecrumbles52/ ]

or

Palace_City_52 (Character Creation)

[ https://www.instagram.com/palace_city_52/ ]

[nell0-0]

RULES: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Thanks for the tag @musical-chan !

The fact I have to change a bit how I have my wips saved bc the titles are an actual word and then a keysmash lmfao. I'mma just delete the keysmash for this ksksks.

Random stuff:

Mieruko-chan meets Hanako-kun

Obito's crushes through the years

Elliot doodles (OC)

K+C wip (OC)

Role Reversal concept Nart (Naruto)

fam emo vibes

bw trainer sona

IMG

snack police archeops

REINGO AU

LOZ + LU ones:

yl&sk+tatltael

war shades 2

LTTCMASKCH1

doodlesad

windmaskchaos

Linkle stuff

Culture shock au botw setting

cake

First time in Warrior's era

Warriors and Mask about Fi

Flora and Wild_gem poopers

Hero shade wars stuff

LU chain in Twi's Hyrule

With Marin and Tune

Pokemon au

...and those ain't even all of them. I ain't including the fanfic ones either, just art pfpfpf. Gosh darn it. Too many to tag, so feel free to join if you wanna!

[camp-counselor-david]

Ough, I just remembered that "Missing Halloween" animated short, and it hit me with the biggest Jasper/David vibes, so now I'm making it everyone elses problem with a self indulgent au ramble.

TW for child death

Jaspvid AU where after Jasper "leaves" Camp Campbell, the summer ends and David goes home for the year.

Things proceed as normal, until halloween, where after all school year of not seeing Jasper, David bumps into him on halloween of all days! He's got a pretty cool ghost costume on, too, especially for it being the late 90s! There was no reason to think he was actually dead. The ghosts in cartoons always phased right through things, but he could grab Jasper's hand and pull him along for a fun holiday themed buddy reunion!

By then, David forgot about the whole feud about the camp. All he knew was that Jasper was back, and he didn't seem too mad about what happened between them either. He seems to enjoy running around with David and trick or treating-- even though for some reason everyone's ignoring Jasper, which really peeves David off.

They stop by David's house, and even his mother seems to be ignoring Jasper! He asks his mom to take a picture of the two of them in their costumes, but she doesn't take it seriously, and when she shows them the photo she took, only David appears in it. So not only does his mom start insisting that he's being silly and taking an imaginary friend too seriously, but their gosh darn crappy technology isn't working right either!

David storms back outside with Jasper, upset at the idea that people think that his very real best friend is suddenly fake! Why would they imply that he's crazy when all of the adults in his life acknowledged Jasper as a person before? He and Jasper get into a little bit of an argument about it, causing Jasper to get up and walk off into the woods.

Unlike their last spat, though, David follows after him this time. He didn't want to lose him all over again. But where are they going? Why did it look like Jasper was walking back to Camp Campbell? Or... Spooky Island? Why there? Why wasn't he listening when he called out to him?

He finds Jasper sitting alone outside of the cave, and the two talk out what happened. They laugh at how familiar their argument felt, and David ends up apologizing and sharing some of his halloween candy. Because when push came to shove, they would always be best friends.

Meanwhile, his worried sick parents seek him out, figuring that if their David ran away to anywhere, it was the camp that he wouldn't stop gushing about ever since he came back home from it.

After a lengthy search, they find David happily snacking on candy next to the corpse of his best friend, Jasper, who had finally found peace through being found.

Anyway, I'm sorry. I think I've seen too many death/monster aus lately, and it has infected me with the halloweenies. I'd be shocked if more people didn't see the original short I'm talking about, but here it is!

[rayofmisfortune]

I JUST WATCHED IT AND. MY GOD. WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT. RUIN- I- I feel so stupid omg. And Solar. GOD SOLAR. Ripped away in a matter of seconds. No one saw it coming, then Ruin dropped a bomb shell on them, AND THEN. He's gone. Just like that. God. I can feel sun and moon's heart breaking through the screen and. Oh god Moon, that broken scream for Solar, I... I felt that. I can barely even process THIS, much less even BEGIN to imagine earth's and lunar's reactions. (1/7)

I'M STILL RECOVERING FROM THAT WHOLE THING I- AAAAH

THE WAY SOLAR JUST- he just- *SOBBING*

PLEASE NO I DON'T WANNA SEE THEIR REACTIONS PLEASE THEY WERE SO CLOSE TO SOLAR PLEASE NO- oh my gosh what about Jack?

I-

I understand where Ruin was coming from... they'd seen how far the Creator Council can go with their projects first hand... pretending to be something sinister for decades just so you can survive has a tol on a person... there's no arguing that.

"They don't like killing people." I'm... i'm not too sure about that honestly... this being... boosted by the fact that in the very same video they admitted to wanting to kill both Sun and Moon at first. THAT was a part of their original plan... plus, during the October takeover, they made SURE to encourage Bloodmoon's thirst for their name sake... I think there were mentiones of them even partaking in this killing??? Or offering to help or something like that..

BUT MY MAIN POINT!

"If I could save you I would." WELL CLEARLY YOU WOULDN'T- sir, in the SAME BREATH YOU SAY YOU WANTED TO KILL SOMEONE GENUINELY CONSIDERED KILLING THEM- and- and you can't go into another dimension to kill the root of your problem? I DOUBT ANYONE WOULD REALLY CARE IF THE CREATOR IN SOLAR'S DIMENSION SUDDENLY DISAPPEARED! Just- if... if Ruin had gone to Solar's dimension (yes, made difficult by only being allowed to access one dimension... BUT- BUT THEY SAID THEMYELF THAT THOSE ARCADES WERE NO UNUSUAL ARCADES! SURELY THEY COULD'VE MADE THEIR OWN PORTAL TO ACCESS OTHER DIMENSIONS???) they could've gotten rid of that Creator... which would put Solar's dimension on the list of those that WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN WIPED! I.. I don't trust a word Ruin says anymore. (I will hold onto au beans with all my heart)

ALSO! Ruin said their dimension was gone? Sir... please do enlighten me as to HOW you're here then huh? How are you still here if your dimension has been eaten by a wither storm hmm? Actually... it may have something to do with that new body... their body was made from parts that originated from the TSBS dimension... but... their backplate was still the same as when they wee ruined... ARGH I DUNNO! THIS LITTLE DETAIL IS DRIVING ME UP A WALL

OOOOHOHO i think the Creator will have surely noticed! He was... awfully interested in Ruin when he found out about them... I still think there's something going on between them... SOMETHING

The "not alive but not dead" think is just... so weird?? I mean if it's a Creator then... THEY'RE STILL BAD NEWS???

Ruin's plan has so many holes it's crazy...

JDNDNC I LOVE READING THROUGH YOUR THOUGHTS SO GOSH DARN MUCH! Expanding my own views by reading and rereading them hehehe

[typewriter83]

Hey there! Miss Undercover back again xx

I totally agree with you seeing Tommy/Ellie as a strictly platonic/familial dynamic haha. My favourite fics of them are the ones where they roast eachother humourously but love each other fiercely and bond by ganging up on Joel together 🤣 They're so silly and sweet and gosh darn adorable.

I'd say your tendency to write Ellie into uncomfortable situations is because it is such a significant part of her character. By no means does it shape her identity as a whole, but it contributes to it heavily in some aspects and carries a lot of important weight. To me, Ellie was a really crucial example of teen girl trauma at the hands of a creepy man and how this problem can persist even in— ESPECIALLY in the context of a video game where the world is apocalyptic and based on survival. Ironically, this whole aspect of being in critical danger and at risk of not surviving is really emphasised when David and Ellie are in a literal BURNING BUILDING, yet David's main concern seems to be tackling Ellie and assaulting her. Additionally, it makes sense that she came across a horrible grown man interested in pursuing her in an environment where men like him are rampant and reckless and there's no legal system or particular awareness of morality to hold them to account.

The fact that you include Ellie's trauma in your AUs, as well as many other writers, is wonderful considering the fact that it amplifies this whole idea of the same issue being heavily prevalent and thus interwoven into several different universes— because this offensive dynamic is, as a matter of fact, found throughout different time periods and countries. It spans over centuries and over the globe— sisters, united in suffering. It's disturbing how far the extent of this problem goes, and it's intriguing seeing the awareness and discussion that was sparked when TLOU was first released. I've seen many men say that they could hardly tell David's true intentions (and that it took them until the burning building scene to realise), and in contrast many women say that they knew from the beginning of David and Ellie's interaction. I myself had bright red alarm bells ringing in my head at the sight of David and the way he communicated himself to Ellie.

There's a huge disparity in the culture of paranoia that us ladies were conditioned to adopt due to the victimhood we've been subjugated to and have continuously seen from a young age, and the awareness of this prevalent issue that men slowly learn to develop. I think I was always aware to some degree of the dangers presented to me as a girl, and it was heartbreakingly interesting seeing Ellie's underlying understanding of the strife of her situation clash with her desperation to save Joel. She was wary of David, and aware, I'm sure, of the troubles posed by men like him, yet she was forced into a situation where she had to put her desire for avoidance aside and put survival first.

Ellie inspired many too. Her recovery arc, and the fact that she took that pain and turned it into strength and motivation was admirable. Here was a young girl who bore the pain of being preyed on like a cross on her little shoulders, and while she showed signs of trauma in the aftermath it didn't ensconce her identity and turn her into the emblem of a victim. Instead, we got to see her character remained fleshed out and complex, see her passion to save the world and ambition to make a change. Many media creators try to present female victimhood as this one-track journey where being the damsel-in-distress takes up our personality and zaps us of all individuality, but the video game creators thankfully took a different route. They gave Ellie this refreshing autonomy by having her 1) take charge and off David herself and 2) be able deal with her troubled emotions in the aftermath but still remain focused on her goal. It was great having her be a personality of her own rather than just a salvation to Joel's suffering / vulnerable figure that fuels his saviour complex. Instead of using an overdone trope, TLOU made it their own by putting a slight spin on it and allowing both Joel and Ellie to be their own unique individuals. Ellie isn't some helpless being that critically needs Joel to survive— that much was made clear, her independence and headstrong initiative shines through consistently. It's just great and handy to have him anyway and they're attached on a great level.

While Ellie having to off David was devastating, the act of being able to output this rage and fear herself instead of having it done for her was cathartic to see. Many girls like her want to channel that inner rage into destroying their abusers once and for all but don't get the chance to, and it's great how TLOU went about executing this sort of scenario in a realistic yet satisfying way where our dear Ellie gets at least some form of closure.

I agree, it's always great talking to you 😊💝 I do love these chats of ours

Miss Undercover - are you a writer? I’m 100% not asking you to tell me who you are, but do you write? Because this analysis is next level. Chef’s kiss

Uncle Tommy and Ellie are simply adorable - I have a wonderful uncle that married my aunt when I was a toddler and he’s one of my favorite people on the freaking planet. So, that relationship with Tommy and Ellie is special. I really want to lean into it with LtW2, try to heal the damage while she and Tommy (as well as Tommy and Joel) come to understandings.

Ellie’s trauma - I think it’s a critical, and horrifying, part of her character no matter how she’s written. Whether looking back on the canon event, twisting it in a parallel universe, or creating something more modern, I think it shapes Ellie into the adult she will become.

Even though it’s not discussed in canon, I think Ellie had seen violence like that in Boston as well - she knew when she met David that he was not like Joel. Now, I know in the game they leaned into her trusting him, but she was so much more hesitant with David than she was when she met Joel - which of course they switched up in the show, so it’s all about context. Regardless, David’s character was hell bent on making Ellie his. It’s disturbing to write any scene where David hurts Ellie - but when he makes it clear that his intention is to have her, it leaves me shaken.

In all honesty, writing the Donuts & Coffee version was more disturbing for me to write than the burning church in LtW. Maybe it was because Ellie was older and completely thrown off guard, or it was just crafting a brand new concept, I’m not sure. The burning church was like recreating the restaurant - just a little tidbit on that.

It’s also disturbing to see conversations on social media about the comparisons/similarities between David and Joel - that just blows my mind. I watched episode 8 before I watched the game and I felt a tingle run down my spine the first time she locked eyes on David. It’s the eyes for sure. And I think it’s an interesting commentary on society when men (not all men, and there are some women) can see similarities between Joel and David. Joel didn’t want to take care of Ellie, he didn’t want to be responsible for her, but he never gives off the impression of wanting to harm her. Seeing as he’s basically Tess’s guard dog, I think it leads (should lead anyway) the player/viewer to believe Joel wouldn’t hurt a woman, unless it was in self defense. We don’t get to see what Joel was like before Boston, but we have to believe this was true between Austin and Boston.

Your last two paragraphs about Ellie’s recovery need no reply - I really just want everyone to go back and read your analysis of Ellie’s character - because I think it sums her up in a much more poignant way than anything I could approach.

I sincerely enjoy discussing TLOU with you, Miss Undercover - if you ever decide to create a side blog (please let it be Miss Undercover somehow), please hit up my DMs so we can chat more! But until then, I look forward to our next topic of discussion! Honestly I would love to discuss canon more, Ellie and or Joel in any capacity - I know this took awhile for me to address but I feel like I’m getting back on track, finally!

🫶🏻

[kyndaris]

Coffee Shop AU

Most first dates, or meet-ups as I like to call them (especially with a stranger), that I've gone to have involved lunch or coffee at a local cafe. Thankfully, in the city of Sydney, there are plenty of cafes (of varying quality) one can visit. And all of them come with a decent brunch menu (though some will close by 2:30 or 3 PM at the latest). Enter Edition Roasters. While it has a few branches in and around the CBD (Australian shorthand for Central Business District), my date and I picked the one in Darling Quater.

But I've jumped forward to our date and failed to introduce the person behind it all!

Although I've gone on a date before with a woman, Eivor, which didn't end up as well as I had hoped, I wasn't quite willing to quite throw in the towel. After all, how many dates have I gone with men? And while the men in my life have failed to make my heart flutter, who was to say I wasn't an asexual lesbian?

Especially with the so-called 'squishes'/ brief flirtations of attraction I've had with a few women I've met over the years? THough now that I think on it, do fictional men count in terms of romantic attraction? Am I still clutching at straws?

No, I couldn't yet label myself as aromantic just yet!

I mean, Dikottir isn't bad! It's just...I don't feel a sense of romantic attraction to him. Even though we've gone on five dates and have technically 'known' each other for a year now.

Alas, I have once more been distracted. Where was I? Ah yes, my so-called 'date.' So, yes, this trip out to Edition Roasters was my second meet-up with a woman.

From the very start on Hinge, we struck up a conversation on musicals including one that has yet to grace the stage - Epic: The Troy Saga by Jorge Rivera-Herrans. As a frequenter of Tiktok, she had heard the songs being performed whilst I had the good fortune for my Spotify shuffle list to insert a few of the songs whenever I chose to listen to songs from musicals.

Though not a frequent replier, we were both able to share our passion for musicals and also touched a little on their second passion: fanfiction. Given the obsession of my fellow classmates back in Year 8 and 9 for all things anime, and to stretch our writing skills, I was no stranger to fanfiction.

Back in my heyday, I used to frequent ones for Kingdom Hearts, Naruto, Shugo Chara! Even now, trying to ween myself off fanfiction, I still can't quite kick the bucket as I continue to lurk among the Harry Potter fandom, while occasionally experimenting with Far Cry 5 (yes, I'm a gosh darn sinner), She-Ra and a host of Disney ones as well.

It was because of her heartfelt passion for Epic, and how we did initially chat about mythology, that I've given my date the code name: Athena. Unlike Eivor before her, she was keen to arrange a meet-up sooner rather than later. So, after some discussion - with a variety of choice between multiple places to eat at - we finally settled on Darling Square.

I was the first to arrive. Shivering in the cold Australian winter, I put my name down on the paper sheet out front and waited for our number to be called out. Athena joined me shortly afterwards and we chatted a little about our week and our lives. Before too long, our number was called and we were directed to a table out in the wind (perhaps not the best choice but given how busy the place was, it made nabbing a table easier). Despite not having much sun, there was a heater purposely positioned close by to offer some warmth. Although, if I'm being honest, it was the hot chocolate I ordered, more than anything else, which served to defrost me.

Then it was time for the main meal. Athena ordered a miso salmon ochazuke after crunching the numbers on online reviews regarding the cafe's signature dishes, while I settled for a miso wagyu bolognese. As we ate, we talked a little of the work we did, our family composition, and the reason why we were dating. We even reminisced on many a bad date we've had - with her recounting one where the man hailed Hitler.

And though this is the second time someone I know has gone on a date with a seeming Nazi sympathiser, it's a bit strange that it's happened twice. I honestly have to wonder if they went on the date with the same man.

After lunch, we walked around Darling Harbour before heading up towards Town Hall station. It was, in my eyes, a wonderful day out. While I wouldn't have called it love at first sight, I certainly didn't feel as intimidated as my meet-up with Eivor at the ice-rink. Nor did I feel like Athena fail to meet the expectations I'd set up in my head.

I wouldn't say we clicked immediately but it definitely felt like we had a strong connection and understanding of the other.

Now, I wouldn't call that love but I'd say it went far more swimmingly than I'd feared. Yes, I was probably still putting up a front, but I didn't feel either one of us dominated the conversation. It flowed well, like having a good deep and meaningful natter with a good friend (rather than an acquaintance).

Is this a good sign?

But Athena did say to hit her up for another outing.

The only problem, of course, is that I'm not so much a foodie as someone who simply tags along and enjoys the food on offer (as long as it's not spicy). Does make me wonder if the two are related, though...

Are all asexuals bad with spice? Or is it just me with a low tolerance for both? Probably just me. And the smut fanfictions I read simply represents my ability to enjoy wasabi (to a degree). It's not the perfect analogy but I'll have to make do. This is, after all, coming down from spending an entire Saturday out and about at the Sydney Manga and Anime Show (SMASH!) and then finishing off all the chores I needed to do in preparation for the week ahead.

Give a 31, who will be 32 when this post goes up, woman a break! It ain't easy trying to juggle care for an elderly grandparent, work, hobbies, dating and what else when it comes to the adulting life. It's not like there's a manual!

[muzzlemouths]

I love your DMD au so gosh darn much it is now my favorite Sun & Moon AU! I've been asking so many questions the last few days because the more I learn about it the better it gets! But, I really want to know: if the boys could know just how many people love them, want to meet them, and shop at their mall, how would they react?

YOUR F. YOUR FAVORITE?????? HELLO

That's so so sweet of you!!!!! I genuinely had to stop and pace around my room for a hot second after hearing you say that OGHDFHJ 💕

If the boys knew just how much everyone loved them, I think they wouldn't really know what to do with themselves. It'd be a little overwhelming at first (fifty years is a long time to go without affection from anyone but each other), but it'd bring smiles and happy tears, too. They've given up on anyone still caring about them, they've resigned themselves to being old news, so the sheer scale of love would have them soaring with joy.

[bluiex]

Heyyyyyyy, it's me, Bloop Anon, back at it with their fake dating AU that seems to be possessed by the fluff and crack gods. Please enjoy watching cats interacting with each other bc i miss my cat gosh darn it, i just want to pet her, is that too much to ask? anyway, totally didnt based this off my own cat behaviour, no sireeeeeee

--

“Jellie, no! Come back here!”

He wasn’t quick enough, she already started to smell the cages. One cat, probably Pearl if Scar remembered how they each looked like, hissed lowly, backing into her cage. Jellie only looked at her before moving on to the next cage. 

Maui was much more curious than Pearl, poking his nose out of the cage, making Jellie hiss. They had a staring contest before Grian clapped his hands, making both of them jump and making Jellie hide under the couch.

“Well, that went well.”

Scar gaped at him.

“What do you mean that went well?”

Grian shrugged. “They didn’t try to bite each other, I count that as a success.”

Scar closed his mouth, speechless. If it weren’t for the cages, he was certain Jellie would’ve fought Maui. He was about to express such thought when Grian took out his phone from his pocket and pointed at his room.

“May I call my girlfriend?”

Scar nodded, not quite understand what was going on anymore.

Grian closed the door and Scar could hear the faint conversation. A hiss brought his attention back to the cats, who were having a standoff, Maui’s muzzle still poking out and Jellie sitting on her hide legs, not looking impress.

“Oh no,” he muttered.

He tried grabbing Jellie, but she slipped under his grasp and hid behind Pearl’s cage, much to the gray cat’s chagrin.

“Jellie, c’mere girl,” he called, putting on his baby voice and extending his hand towards her.

Jellie frowned at the hand, tapped it with her paw (her claws were out, if Scar hadn’t retracted his hand, he would’ve gotten a scratch) and walked to Maui’s cage. Scar let out an offended gasp.

“Oh, you little rapscallion! Ignoring your dear old dad like that.”

Gently, he approached her, trying to get her away from those two cats, who were probably traumatized at this point. Except maybe Maui, he looked like he was having a great time. 

“Now now, Jellie, no use to be difficult. Let’s just leave those two alone—”

Turned out, Jellie was a smart cat. She hid under the couch before he could grab her, cursing underneath his breath. He was on all four, trying to get Jellie who simply sat on all four legs, looking like your typical loaf of bread, as if she was mocking him. Knowing her, he wouldn’t be surprised if she was.

Grian came out of his room, at a very bad timing, and stopped in his tracks when his eyes landed on Scar. 

“What are you doing?”

His accent was more pronounced than usual, catching Scar off-guard. He slowly raised himself on his two legs and gave the blond man a sheepish smile. 

“Nothing,” he said innocently.

Grian crossed his arms, eyebrow raised. 

“Uh-huh. And I’m supposed to believe that?”

“Yes, actually, sometimes I like to lay on all four and just look under the couch.” He pointed at his temple. “It recalibrates my brain.”

Grian let out a frustrated sigh, shaking his head slightly. He raised his phone and shook it slightly. Scar kept his gaze on the device.

“Just called my girlfriend and we agreed to leave the cats at your place until we come back from our vacation.”

Scar perked up at that, bouncing on the ball of his feet and clapping his hands together. Grian looked at the ceiling.

“I’ll come back with their food and another litter box.” He looked around the room, inhaling sharply. “Not sure where you’re gonna put the other litter box—”

“Don’t worry, I’ll figure that part out.”

Grian quirked his eyebrow, but shrugged it off.

“I’ll still show you how to give their food, and don’t worry, they eat from the same bowl no matter how many times I tell them they each have their own bowls.”

Grian joined him, sitting on the ball of his feet, and opened the cages. His cats immediately went to greet him, purring and rubbing their face against his knees. He cooed.

“You guys be good, alright? Daddy will be back in a couple of days.”

Scar had completely forgotten to ask him when he’d be back.

“A couple of days, you say?”

Grian chuckled. “Yeah, we’ll be out for almost ten days.”

“I hope you guys have fun.”

Grian grinned at him. “Oh, we will.”

He said it as if Scar was in on the joke, if it even was a joke, except scar was never good at understanding subtext, so he simply smiled and nodded. 

Maui rubbed his face against Scar’s thigh, making him almost jump out of his spot. He tentatively scratched behind his ears and received loud purrs in return. He smiled softly, petting his ears, cheek, neck, you named it. Grian giggled.

“Aww, he likes you.”

Scar let out a laugh. “For now.”

Grian gently slapped his arm. “Don’t say that, I’m sure every cat loves you.”

Scar laughed at that. “You tell that to Jellie.”

Grian hummed and rose up, letting out a sigh. He turned his gaze to Scar, who was still petting Maui.

“Well, I’ll see you in a bit.”

Scar nodded, still in that euphoria of being chosen by a cat. Grian let out a chuckle, and left the apartment, leaving the residents none the wiser.

-- bloop anon (i am totally not projecting onto scar, what are you talking about? totally didnt make him neurodivergent coded (adhd, autism, anxiety? fuck if i know))

True and real cat behavior

I LVOE THIS AU I'M SO HAPPY YOU'VE GIVEN US MORE!!!

[ghosts-and-blue-sweaters]

EEEEEEE OKAY RAMBLES INCOMING OH MY GOSH MODERN AU OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH

!!!!!!

Thank you for asking about thisssssss :D

Best personality trait

How much he wants to protect people, definitely—specifically Tommy!

In this universe, Tommy was born when Ghostbur was around seven years old, ish? So Ghostbur has literally been with Tommy since he was a baby and he’s watched him grow up and get bigger and he has Many Feelings about that 🥺 He freaking loves his brother. Absolutely adores him. He would actually die for Tommy, no question about it.

And because Ghostbur & Tommy’s bio family was very Not Good, Ghostbur was pretty much the one who raised Tommy—not the parents. And soon after Tommy was born, the two were moved into foster care, which was confusing and scary and nothing ever stayed the same. So, Ghostbur became even more of a protector for his tiny brother :’) He worried a lot about Tommy’s safety, and what could or would happen to him if Ghostbur wasn’t around.

Ghostbur essentially acted as a shield for Tommy; he stepped in and saw/experienced/felt/went through bad things and hard things and scary things and sad things so that Tommy wouldn’t have to. Not that Tommy had a flawless childhood, of course—he absolutely went through super hard things—but Ghostbur did his very best to protect him from the worst of things.

Ghostbur would literally do anything for Tommy, like. His love for his little brother knows no bounds. He’ll protect him to the ends of the earth or die trying.

How they feel about Wilbur

OHHH-HO-HO, THIS IS A GOOD QUESTION!!!

His feelings about Wilbur are… turbulent. Alsgaksgkag

He didn’t even know Wilbur existed for most of his life, so when he finally discovered that he had a twin he has a freaking twin, he was… confused. Very, very confused.

Wilbur didn’t exactly help with that 😅 He’s very… um. Well, he’s very Wilbur XD He’s loud and theatrical and dramatic, and takes up so much space personality-wise. He’s not cruel or trying to be mean, but he can definitely come off as pretty sharp, and that made Ghostbur not like him too much at first 😅

However, things get better! As time goes on, Ghostbur comes to understand Wilbur more and more, and realizes that Wilbur cares a lot and has Big Feelings and struggles with things, and—perhaps the strangest of all—Wilbur loves. He loves Tommy. He might even love Ghostbur.

Things are confusing. Ghostbur’s thoughts on his twin are confusing.

But at the end of the day, when the house is quiet and Wilbur sits on the porch and plays guitar and watches frogs and birds and bugs, Ghostbur thinks that he likes Wilbur. He thinks that Wilbur is not a bad guy.

Love is confusing.

How they react when they are feeling joy or sadness

:D

For happiness, it’s almost exactly like canon; his voice gets super high-pitched and squeaky, he smiles a lot, he has a great time. Basically, wholesome. So darn wholesome.

His joy is absolutely contagious. You can’t not smile when Ghostbur smiles, I mean come on. Especially when he’s super happy :D

Hugs!! He definitely hugs!! He hugs when he’s happy!! Tommy quite likes the hugs (sometimes aksgaksgjag) and he’s learned that it’s something Ghostbur loves doing, so he mostly lets Ghostbur hug as much as he wants :)

And happy bouncing, as well. Ghostbur does little happy bounces; sometimes jumping a few inches into the air, but often just bending his knees a little bit (I do this sometimes when I’m happy!).

There’s a lot of other times when Ghostbur’s joy is much quieter, however—BUT NO LESS WHOLESOME!!!

For example, just being around Tommy is enough to make him very happy :) So like, at night when the both of them are a bit sleepy and sitting on the couch, Ghostbur will smile to himself and not say a word, content to let Tommy rest. Content to just be.

Ghostbur loves the quiet moments, man. He just loves ‘em.

He also likes to trace his finger along Tommy’s hand, when he’s happy!! Going over all the lines and such, quiet and thinking about how every human hand is different and looks different and feels different, and how wonderful that is. He’s glad that Tommy’s hands are soft.

For sadness… :0

Ghostbur’s definitely a denier; when he’s feeling sad or not-happy, he never likes to say that or admit that to anyone—even to himself. He’ll try and convince himself that he’s happy, or distract himself with things that will make him happy, or simply… metaphorically run away from the bad thoughts, and desperately try to forget them. If he forgets, then they’re not real.

…right?

It’s not very healthy :( The poor man needs to be more honest with himself, and more open about this to people :(( GAHHHHHHH I LOVE HIM SO MUCH AND WANT TO GIVE HIM A HUG AND LET HIM CRY ON ME <333

Almost always, Ghostbur reaches a breaking point, when the bad thoughts get too loud and take up too much of the space inside his head, and he can’t feel happy and he doesn’t feel happy, and he’s scared and he just wants to feel right again but he doesn’t and that really scares him.

When that happens, pretty much the only thing left to do is… cry. And thing is, Ghostbur doesn’t cry all that much! He really dislikes crying, and tries not to do it at all! But when he feels like this—sad and scared and scared and scared and scared—he can’t stop crying. And he hates it, he hates how much he cries, he hates how he can’t stop, but he doesn’t know what else to do.

Every once in a while Tommy will find him crying, and trying to be quiet about it so that Tommy doesn’t see. When that happens, Tommy just hugs him, and Ghostbur hugs back, and there’s… Lots of crying. Lots of it.

And then afterward, Ghostbur is “back to normal” and tries not to think about crying or sad things or scary things! It’s… definitely not a healthy way to live :(

I THINK WILBUR’S GONNA HELP WITH THIS MAYBE. I DON’T WANT GHOSTBUR TO BE LIKE THIS FOREVER.

Scariest moment of their life

Oh… man :(

Honestly, Ghostbur could make a list of all the scariest moments of his life—that is, if Ghostbur actually acknowledged those moments, which he doesn’t.

I’m still figuring out the specifics of his backstory, but I do know that…

He’s drowned at least once (hence his fear of water/not knowing how to swim)

He’s watched some people die (more than one)

Bad things have happened to Tommy

Ghostbur couldn’t stop the bad things from happening to Tommy

Ghostbur blames himself for the bad things that happened to Tommy

He’s also Very afraid of doctors/needles, but I’m not sure exactly why yet :0

[afeatherinthewind]

😲 Adjusting my nerd glasses and beaming at the ability to long post under the read more the history of one of my oldest fandoms, my favorite au, and longest running hyperfixations, if I may 🤓 scroll for the TLDR but I had way too much fun remembering and explaining this, sorry if it's annoying lol!

The truth is that Reverse Falls as a concept predates the known existence of Ford. I remember when the concept first started, I believe it was fairly short after Gideon's premiere, as a simple prompt: what if Gideon and the Pines twins had a role reversal? It was a cute and fun idea and nobody had ANY idea what was to come (literally, some people in the early fandom thought the show might take dark creepy turns and we were laughed at because "it's DISNEY" and "for KIDS" and well look who's laughing now it's the giant monster triangle trying to and I quote "turn those kids into corpses". Also me I am laughing.) So Reverse falls sort of became the best way to explore the concept of a "dark" version of gravity falls. And hoooo-wee, canon ended up feeding us WELL. So many character foils meant loads of opportunities for swaps. Pacifica swapping with Mabel. Wendy swapping with Robby. Heck, Grenda and Candy swapping with Pacifica's friends, Tiffany and Unnamed-Pacifica-lackey-who-deserves-justice-and-a-name-and-lines-gosh-darn-it.

Aaaanyway. Then came our favorite little dorito, Bill Cipher. Who do you swap a crazy dream demon with? Nobody really fit the - dare I say it- bill. So! The fandom do what fandom do best and collectively built a new concept- if a character couldn't be swapped with a literal other character, we could swap their character traits! And thus was born the little blue offbrand tortilla chip, William Cipher. Rather than a cunning, laughing, know-it-all, powerful trickster demon, the fandom created the terrified, crying, powerless demon. Except if he was a demon he would be powerful right? So what if we made him technically powerful, however, it was HIM the one who got trapped in a deal, forced to serve the twins and provide them even more power than their amulets? Perfect. Fast forward again, the Reverse falls fandom gained a lot of popularity because the art was (mostly) awesome, the concept was cool, it was easy to get into. AND THEN FORD CAME ALONG and it got EVEN COOLER.

Once again, the fandom needed to work it's magic to fit another cool new character into the AU. should he be swapped with Stan, a con artist? Or maybe the same thing as Bill, swap his traits? Except all we had to go off of for MONTHS was the tiny clip at the end of Not What He Seems (the wait was EXCRUCIATING) and context clues/hidden messages in the shows codes (which I could make a whole other mega post about). It was hard to say what the "opposite" of this interdimensional Stan-twin would be because we didn't know who he was canonically. Plus some people had already tried to push that Stan and Bill shoydlve swapped, though most agreed Bud was a good enough fit. Will was super popular by then, so replacing him with Ford would be weird. Maybe swap McGucket with Ford... maybe just OC the hell outta him? This is how the concept of Rev!Ford got muddy. The general consensus was "he's probably evil" (until/unless we find out canon Ford is evil so then that would make r!Ford good...? Idk man we were just in shambles waiting after that cliffhanger). People made multiple versions of Rev!Ford and honestly I remember seeing petty arguments on here about it as if it was some big deal lol. Classic Tumblr.

Eventually we got more canon Ford! A genius inventor, author of the journals, estranged twin to Stan, Dipper's idol and teacher, and... trapped in a deal with Bill! Much to play with!

There are still a few versions of Ford that people cling to but for the most part, he got very similar treatment as Bill/Will, with a reversal of traits and character relationships. Rev!Ford is pretty much flipped with Bill, because the prevailing headcanon was that r!Ford was much more obsessed with magic than science, though still a genius with both, so he managed to trick the blue dream demon into giving him and his family power, almost gifted as a "pet" to Mabel and Mason (fans figured out the name long before it was revealed canonically and it was a cool/easy way to distinguish between rev!dipper and canon!dipper). Generally it was headcanoned that Dipper really wanted to *surpass* Ford rather than *impress* him, so it was an angsty tidbit to assume that the reason R!Ford would give "control" of Will to the twins would actually be to keep an eye (ha) on them and remind the younger twins how much more powerful he was than them.

Rather than being estranged, Stan and Ford were often considered business partners - Stan's work with the Tent o' Telepathy and selling fancy cars (a twist on Bud) distracting the townies so Ford could focus on his studies of magic and interdimensional travel, which many headcanoned he could do freely rather than being trapped like canon Ford was. A popular headcanon was that rev!Ford wanted Weirdmageddon and that rather than the lucky protagonists (Paz and Gideon) trying to stop Bill, they had to try to stop Ford. Eventually, Mabel and Mason recognizing that they were manipulated to hell and back by their great uncles and switching sides to fight along side the pesky losers who were trying to ruin their (somewhat murder-y) fun all summer.

Some really cool interpretations actually utilized the fact that multiple dimensions are canon to drag canon Bill into the Rev!Falls world to see big bad Bill and big bad rev!Ford simultaneously "working together" and plotting to stab the other in the back. Mmmainly that was the fandom excuse to ship Will and Bill because... fandoms gonna fandom.

If Reverse Falls interests you I cannot highly enough recommend the cosplay music videos by DeathArising on YouTube. The cosplays are all so cool and they made an insanely complex and cool story out of their version of Rev!Ford's lore, especially related to Will and Fiddleford (who also never really got swapped the fandom said nono he can stay young and hot forever as an evil scientist that works for Ford, sorry old man mcgucket, your twink death was denied). And the cinematography gets so freaking stunning as they continued making the music videos for years (I think they still are??) So very very cool. They are the rev!Ford cosplayer in the gif above as well!

So there is your insanely long answer!

TLDR: Rev!Ford is generally a mishmash of being a swap for Bill Cipher and of reversal of Ford's canon character traits, but ultimately, it depends on who you ask.

Is it after midnight for me? Yes. Am I normal? Absolutely not. Do I care way too much about this stupid AU of a show that's been over for a decade? Clearly. But I hope you don't mind this wall off text lmao I had fun recounting it!

man who the hell even is reverse falls ford

is he just ford but evil? there's a bunch of "ford but evil" fords like "one of us" ford where he takes bill's deal and works together with him (i know there's a lot of these concepts/executions but i just always call it "one of us" since he's ONE OF THE BOYS!!)

like is reverse ford just?? a scumbag shitface?? is that his only personality besides "old sexy smartish dumbass"?? doesn't he have that sobbing blue triangle?? wait hold up why doesn't he make a portal for his own personal gain?? that would be smart as shit

i only understand reverse falls as in "imagine that the roles are reversed" but ford has NO ONE? "uh who is he??" "evil!!" is he like the bill cipher of this universe minus the infinite power and all that? i don't know he's always been a mystery to me but i used to love drawing him with long braided hair and a cool eye (like sans?)

[aerequets]

Hello again!

I was wondering if you had any spy x family fic recs that are twiyor centric? AUs? I’m having trouble finding ones that are what I’m looking for. Ratings don’t matter. Anything from G to E would be appreciated! Thank you!!

boy oh BOY do i have twiyor fic recs !!!! it's like basically all i read LMAO and i am always on a hunt for more. i feel like i have read through a good chunk of what's on ao3 and i still feel starved. there's always my bookmarks you can sift through for twiyor fics, but for some more curated recommendations (and this is not gonna include all the ones i've lost my mind over, that's far too many, this is just what i can remember off the top of my head):

the living blues by @nire-the-mithridatist

GOD it would be such an understatement to say i am a huge fan of not only this work but EVERY WORK by this author because SHE HAS A WAY WITH WORDS OKAY. i avoid angst like the plague but i saw the happy ending tag to this fic and IT DIDN'T DISAPPOINT (chapter 6 is gonna be an epilogue)!!!!!!! AUGHHH this isnt even a good review im just yelling but yeah this is really good and also pretty much everything else by this author, i'll say it now so this list doesn't have numerous fics by the same person just do yourself a favor and read through what she's got if you haven't already

rated T, 5/6 chapters, currently 14k words

(edit: completed!)

With Kid Gloves by crownofrosegold on ao3

4 words: Mr Darcy Hand Flex

rated G, 1/2 chapters, currently 2.5k words

(edit: completed!)

the most yearning, pining, longing fic ever with the least physical touch ever. loid traces yor's gloves in his pocket with his thumb and its somehow intimate. yeah

it's been a hot minute since it's updated but the first chap can kinda be read as a standalone (to me) which is why i rec, even though i personally only go after finished fics for my own sanity :^) also its just too darn cute how can i not

How to Be a Supportive Husband by @nemaliwrites

rated T, 1/1 chapters, 910 words

short and sweet drabble of the most simpiest loid post reveal. what more could you want

MISSION: Bottom Feeder by SilverSupa on ao3

rated T, 2/4 chapters, currently 9.5k words

this one is just too good and funny LMAOO yor and loid are Peak Stupid and also Peak Attracted To Each Other so it's just. mm good mix. this one's also been a hot second since it's last update but i love it too much so its on this list

even when we're not together (will you stay with me?) by JaMills on ao3

rated T, 1/1 chapters, 4.5k words

gosh this is another one of those super good reads that make you sit and think after you're done. soulmate AU where they swap bodies as children until they meet. personally i'm not the most dedicated reader of aus where yor and loid meet as kids, but the way its handled here is just so good and adds to the story. it's also part of a series and the next installment is equally as good. this is another one of those authors that has a lot of quality stuff (although there's a good dash of angst which i keep my distance from JKFHISDH) so look through their page!

Enough by Frotu on ao3

rated T, 1/1 chapters, 4k words

EHEHE THIS ONE HAS ME GIGGLING AND KICKING MY FEET FR it is soooo cute. typical thing of yors coworkers getting into her head, she asks loid if what they have is enough, and... well.... you can read what happens from there ;] (spoiler: it's very cute)

a dream in charmeuse by selfetish (@selfetishizing ) on ao3

rated T, 2/2 chapters, 12k words

oh gosh, the prose in this is just?? so insanely good??? its such a pretty read. this is twiyor, yes, but it's also a deep dive into femininity and yor's understanding/rediscovery of it. i remember the first time i read it the opening scene of the first chapter was just so GOOD to me, i was like OMG i am not gonna forget this this is so iconic AND IT IS!!!!! i love me a good yor centric fic. we usually get more of twilight contemplation (i mean he has got the whole mission thing going on and hes our resident overthinker so, understandable) but this was such a nice look into yor's..,, like, fundamental building blocks?? if that makes sense?? its just good ok read it

"The Five Times Loid Forger Went Topless In Front of His Wife and the One Time She Reciprocated" Or “Bare-Chested in Berlint” by Talik_Sanis on ao3

rated M, 6/6 chapters, 17.5k words

that title should tell you all you need to know right LMAOOO it's just yor being incredibly horny, like embarrassingly so. she lacks a grip

again this is just 8 fics, where my bookmarks list are over 200 (yeesh) so feel free to look through those. i've also got some fics, most of which are twiyor lmao (brainrot i told you). and don't forget to show these awesome authors some love!

[hyunnows]

COFFEE | JJK

CONTENT/WARNINGS: fluff, high-school/university!AU, Nerd!Jungkook, loner!Reader

RATING: pg

WORDS: 6.2k+

SUMMARY: “Baby tonight, have a good night. Our first text and phone call. Was filled with awkward moments. Our highly anticipated first date. Why did I bite my nails? Why was I so nervous? As time went by, we naturally developed into lovers.”

A/N: A rewrite of something i made wayyyy back. there's probably a few mistakes and it needs more editing but ;-; i think its alright overall iufshufshuvdh any way i hope you all enjoy and have a great day/night <3

Drooling onto your palm, you continuously fail to stay awake, your morning drowsiness and lack of sleep the night before getting the better of you. Rubbing your lids harshly, you did your best not to succumb to the slumber you so desperately needed, and unfortunately, wanted so badly. It was already a struggle enough not to yawn in this classroom, trying not to pass out from a sheer lack of energy was just too much, and you were beginning to think preventing yourself from getting detention wasn't worth the trouble.

“Hey, uh… D'you want some coffee? I-I haven't drunk any yet,” a boy, one you'd seen many times before as he sat just behind you in class, offered you. You'd been startled at first when you felt a tap and heard the unfamiliar smooth voice, but we're glad you had decided to react.

Knowing you wouldn't get past today without a cup, you hesitantly ask. "What kind?”

“I think it's a—um, a caramel macchiato …”

With a sheepish look, you accept the hot drink, testing it to see if fate has truly brought you your favorite beverage. Then, upon realizing his words, you cock your head to the side. "You think? How could you not know what you got…?”

He chuckles, seeing your confused face. "I-I mean, it is a caramel macchiato, I-I'm just nervous I guess…”

Swallowing a bit of the coffee, you send the doe eyed boy a grateful smile, turning back to the teacher before she had noticed your attention—or rather, lack thereof. Barely making it through the class, you sigh. The coffee was great, but you felt guilty knowing you'd taken someone else's drink.

Searching for the Jeon, you finally find him. "Hey, Jungkook, right? Thanks for the coffee… Just uh—here,” You stammered, pushing four dollars into hands, awkwardly shifting in front of him. "I'm gonna get going—but thank you, again.”

“...N-no problem…” He dragged out. He was already surprised at himself for talking to a girl in class—even more so that he'd managed to speak to a pretty girl, but he was shocked that you'd actually chased him down the hall to repay him. Usually, nobody would pay any mind to his kind actions, and it flabbergasted him that you'd put effort into trying to make it even.

——

It's a breezy morning, and nothing is better on a cold Tuesday morning than hot coffee, right? Handing the cashier ten bucks, he glances around, eyes stopping on your hunched figure that's panting at the entrance, and he swiftly spins back to the barista. "How much coffee is left in the machine?”

“For macchiatos, maybe, I'm not sure… Five?” She calculated lazily, counting the bills he'd given her and splitting it to change. "Here, six dollars and twenty-five cents. Anything else while I grab your drink?”

“Make it two, please,” Jungkook decides, handing the woman four dollars, muttering a low “Keep the change.” Nodding, she gets to work, pulling out two paper cups and cardboard cozies. Thanking the woman—Lia—shyly, he makes his way to class, not wanting to seem suspicious.

Sipping his hot beverage, he watches the door subtly, waiting for you to walk in. There were only a handful of macchiatos left and based on the line behind him, you definitely weren't getting one. Spotting your mess of [H/C] hair, he smiles to himself a bit.

“Gosh darn it [Y/N]! You're going to fall asleep again…” You groan, taking your seat besides Jungkook and aggressively pulling out your supplies. There was no way another kind, selfless and undeniably handsome classmate of yours would offer you their coffee again—much less that it would be your favorite kind. You frowned, accepting that you probably wouldn't make it to the end of this class without earning detention for at least an hour after school.

Slumping, you try and find the best way to seem as though you were studying as you took a nap, pulling out a post-it to jot down possible excuses if you got caught. Murmuring, you failed to notice the nervous Jungkook beside you, contemplating how to offer you the coffee he'd bought for you without coming off as creepy. Finally calming down, he tapped your shoulder. "Hey, I-I’ve got an extra coffee if you want it…”

Lighting up, you quietly thank him, brushing your fingers on his briefly, causing him to blush and smile shyly. Doing your best to stay concentrated, your mind can't help but wander back to him, your eyes straying from the board to look at Jungkook. It was captivating, the way he seemed more reserved, yet still outgoing kind, barely hesitating to help anyone he could. You'd never noticed before, how often he offered people his assistance in class, considering he had one of the highest grades out of all the eleventh-years. Each time, he was struck down, some apologizing politely as they rejected his help, while others blatantly embarrassed him in front of their friends.

The sad thought that maybe he didn't want to be the shy, smart boy at the back of the class but was forced to be instead, plagued your mind. You couldn't understand why everyone in the class seemed to avoid him—he was smart, handsome, charming and thoughtful—certainly at least friend material.

Pushing the thought away, you realize that you'd managed to zone out throughout the entire class. You may not have had Jungkook's grades, but you figured it wouldn't affect them much that you missed one class—the homework Ms Kim assigned was at least enough to have you caught up with the rest of the class.

“Hey, Jungkook…” You tug at his shirt quietly, trying not to draw attention to yourself—you happened to have very judgmental classmates—keeping him behind to speak with him. “Thanks for the coffee… Again. I was wondering if you'd like to hang out sometime."

Frozen, he stares at you blankly, mouth parted slightly in surprise. He hadn't had anyone ask to hang out with him since fourth grade, when he met Taehyung—his best friend. He’s even more shocked that it’s the [Y/N]—his classmate who is, in a way, known for being a loner—is asking him. Snapping out of his shock, he blinks dramatically, holding his eyes closed a second longer than he normally would. "Y-you want to hang out with me…?”

“Yeah, you seem really cool and nice! Unless you don't want to, ‘cus that's fine too!”

“N-no, that's not it—I'm just surprised! Yeah, I'd love to hang out with you! Here, I'll give you my number… It's uh…” He stuttered, frantically patting his pockets for his phone. Curse his memory, not being able to remember ten digits! “Here…”

“Okay! I'll text you in a bit!” You smile, creating a new contact.

Waving as he left, he grinned, his pearly white bunny smile flashing. "See you later [Y/N]! Can't wait!”

——

“-and then Yoongi started cussing out my physics teacher!” Taehyung cackles, barely breathing as he recalls the memory with the rest of the boys. “I still can't believe he did that-”

Turning his attention from his friends, he looked at his vibrating phone, quirking a brow. One new message. From who? He wonders silently for a bit, his face lighting up in excitement as he realized who he'd given his number to. Unlocking his screen, he sees Hi Jungkook, it's [Y/N] from class! Sitting straight, he quickly typed back.

Noticing how the youngest boy had gone quiet, Jin stealthily pads his way behind him, peering over his shoulder to read the messages. So our little Jungkook has a girlfriend? Smirking, he continues reading, watching as Jungkook repeatedly typed something out—only to erase it and rewrite it.

“Who’re you texting, hm?”

Startled, Jungkook dropped his phone, flushing in embarrassment. The other five boys stare at the oldest and youngest two quizzically, only Taehyung reacting. “Hey, why did you drop your phone like that? It's an expensive device!”

Giving Jungkook a mischievous look, Seokjin whips his head back to the five, grinning. "Our little Kookie has a girlfriend~!”

“Yah! A girlfriend?” Hoseok exclaims,his eyes widening at the statement. Jungkook, their shy little Jungkook, a girlfriend? No way, he'd practically never been able to speak to a girl without freezing up—to call it a stretch was an understatement. “And you didn't tell us?”

“Obviously we raised him wrong,” Yoongi jokes, sinking into his jacket. “He's always keeping secrets.”

Giggling softly as his friends continue to joke about his so-called girlfriend and behavior, he typed out another message, So when are you planning to meet up?

I think next Tuesday after school is a good time, Jungkook grins at the thought of making a new friend. It had been so long since the last time someone other than his six friends had offered to hang out with him… And, truth be told, he also might have had a small crush on you.

“Good morning class, please welcome [L/N] [Y/N],” Mr Lee introduced, waving at the door. Slowly, a short girl with [H/C] hair entered, shyly clutching her school bag. Ushering her to the front of the class, he grinned. "Introduce yourself [Y/N].”

“Hi, I'm [L/N] [Y/N], 15 years old and I really like reading, music and I uh… I hope we have a good year.” You stuttered out, glancing from your shoes up to meet the many eyes of your new classmates. It wasn't ever ideal to transfer in the middle of the year, especially in high school, but you didn't have a choice. Your father had been moved here by his job and you couldn't live so far from him that you'd only see each other a couple holidays a year.

Peeking up from his “doodle pad”—as he often called it—Jungkook met your beautiful [E/C] optics. Jungkook was always happy to meet someone new, someone who could become a friend. But, as soon as your eyes met for the first time—even if it was only for a couple of seconds—Jungkook was captivated.

Since freshman year, he'd been in all your classes, and was always keeping an eye on you. He wasn't a stalker—thank goodness—but he'd watch you in class. During those first couple of months, he watched as you tried to make friends, tried to fit in with your new school, and watched you get ignored.

He noticed later that over time you'd gradually given up on making new friends, and decided to just be a loner. You'd of course participate on group projects and do your part, but you didn't make an effort to get to know your teammates; you clearly had no interest in getting to know you. It was painful for that year, watching everyone group together and have fun, but you eventually got over it. School was for education, not friends, thy was how you reasoned it in your mind.

He hadn't been in love with you or even had a crush. He just wondered why you were alone. You had decent grades, a nice figure—a bit on the chubby side but nobody was complaining, especially not the guys—and a laid back, fun personality. Perfect friend, or even girlfriend material at that. It just baffled Jungkook why you were so lonely, such an outcast at his school.

Then, one day, he saw you in the library, head stuffed into a book and face shielded by your hoodie. He hadn't been able to tell at first, but as he searched for a book in the aisles near you, he heard them. Your small, almost inaudible sniffles. And as he stated at your softly shaking figure, he noticed the paper crumbled in your hands.

As you left, you dropped the note in the trash, and Jungkook wasted no time to go read it—despite the odd looks he got. He knew his classmates gave them to him anyway.

To: Jung Wonwoo

From: [L/N] [Y/N]

You probably don't remember me, I'm not even in your class. Since I started attending school here, I always found you fascinating and wanted to know more about you. For a while, you helped me study in the library, and made me feel much less lonely. I grew to like you a lot and I hope you can accept my feelings, even if you don't reciprocate them.

It was crumbled and hard to read due to tear stains and pencil smudges, but Jungkook managed to read most of it. Flipping the small paper around, he quickly began to read the reply.

I'm very sorry [Y/N], I don't like you that way. I do remember you a bit, and you're a very nice girl who's very attractive, but you're not the girl for me. Your confession was flattering and sweet, but I'm going to have to reject you. Please forgive me.

Although the confession was not for him or meant to be read by him at any point, Jungkook found it to be so sincere and heart-wrenching. Most people tried to flood their confessions with details, tried to make themselves seem like the only person who could love the recipient, but you were just honest. He could tell that, although you most definitely liked this boy, and confessed, that you weren't in love with him nor did you expect anything in return.

Honest, genuine and true. Three qualities that went hand in hand, that you managed to have all three of, and Jungkook just adored it. He noticed how you never tried to hide your feelings or mask your personality to make more people like you. You accepted that you weren't everyone's ideal friend, but you stayed true and genuine to yourself and never wavered. Even as a loner, you managed to crack a couple jokes in class, help out a fellow struggling student and do your best to succeed.

It was so admirable, something Jungkook strove to be. All he wanted was for someone to like him, and to accept him, it was all he ever wanted to do. And, although he continued to try and please his peers, he didn't try to change himself to do so anymore, and he was grateful to you for that. Somehow, throughout your years in the same classes, he'd grown to have a certain fondness for you—a crush, and he was so glad that it was you his heart had picked.

“Hey Jungkook, I got you something,” You grinned, watching as he continuously tried to pry his eyes open, only for them to flutter shut once more in sleepiness.

Blinking at you, he mumbled. "Really..? What is it..?”

Pulling out a second coffee from behind your back, you quickly shoved it into his hands. "For the past two times you've saved me from falling asleep during class, I wanted to repay you.”

Taking a sip of the caffeinated drink, he sighed happily, grateful that you'd managed to be early today. Propping himself up on his fist, he took another long sip, before flashing you a grateful—and very tired—smile. “Thank you, you have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

Shrugging, you stirred your own drink, which was half empty by now. "Of course, you've already done the same for me.”

“So, are we going somewhere later or are you planning on hanging out by the library or something?” He questions, curious to what you had planned for today, considering you had a bit more than a week since you'd made plans with him to come up with an activity or destination.

Pulling out your textbook, you think for a second. "I was planning on something like a park or a Plaza but-”

“[Y/N], Jungkook, quiet!” Ms Kim growled, sending the both of you death glares from across the room. “As I was saying, we will be splitting up into groups for this project. You're allowed to pick your partners, as I'm curious to see how well you work with peers of your own choice. The project is about social relationships. I want you to document personal experiences of friendship, crushes or whatever social relationships you want and come to a conclusion of why they are important.”

As the class began pairing up, you and Jungkook remained seated, knowing there wasn't anyone in the class who wanted to pair up with you for a project that you'd be practically no help with. Focusing your attention back to your drink, which you'd beautifully decorated with scribbled swirls and circles—never mind a couple lopsided hearts—you sighed as you realized you'd probably have to ask for extra credit work to fill in for this assignment.

Clearing her throat in front of your desk, Ms Kim easily drew your attention from your creative cup to herself, gesturing to both you and the black haired boy you'd recently started to acquaint yourself with. "[Y/N], Jungkook, you two will be pairing up for this. Instead of documenting pre-existing relationships, I want you two to document your own friendship or possible romance as you two get to know each other. If you manage to pass this assignment, I will exempt you from the next assignment.”

Glancing at Jungkook and vice versa, you both tried to ignore the bright blushes on your cheeks, nodding to your teacher.

Scratching his neck, Jungkook gives you a reserved smile. “So I guess we'll be chillin’ in the library then…”

Chuckling softly at his subtle joke, you nod. “Yeah, I guess so. Can't wait to hit the books with you, Jungkook.”

“So, since neither of us is really… Experienced on the social aspect, how should we do this?”

Thinking for a bit, Jungkook pulls out his phone, quickly typing out something you couldn't see. Biting his lip, he scrolled through the websites, finally settling on one. "200 questions to get to know someone.”

“Alright, shoot.”

“What shows are you into?” He reads aloud, glancing up to look at you after he's finished.

Without the slightest hesitation, you quickly reply. "I'm really into things like THE FLASH and anime, but there are some dramas I'm into too!”

“THE FLASH? Isn't that a western show?” Jungkook inquires, pleased with his own knowledge when you nod. "That's cool. I like dramas, as ridiculous as it it… I also really like anime too, Attack on Titan is one of my favorites.”

“No way! I love AOT! Levi is the best character hands down,” You grin, eyes shining at the shared interest.

Pursing his lips, he shrugs. "Eh, I like Eren better but whatever… anyway, next question,” he smirked, knowing that you wanted to debate about the characters. "W-what would you rate 10/10?”

“Shrek.”

“FRIENDS,” at his answer, you can't help but let your grin falter into a tight-lipped half-hearted smile. But you quickly recollect yourself as he reads the next question. "What kind of art do you enjoy?”

Tapping your chin, you scrunch your face briefly. "Probably books, if you count literature. If not, then probably drawing and painting. You?”

Practically sparkling with happiness, he beams. "Photography! My friend is really good at it and sometimes… He lets me borrow his camera!”

“That's nice of him.”

“Yep!”

“Here, I'll read the next few,” You offer, reaching for his phone, which he gives you without reluctance. “What do you wish you knew more about?��

“You,” he answered sincerely, staring right into your [E/C] eyes with his own brown ones. "I'd like to know more about you.”

“I was going to say crabs but I think it'd be awesome to get to know you too,” You giggle sheepishly, scrolling doesn't to the next question. "What trend do you hope comes back?”

“ASMR,” laughing at himself, he clutches his stomach at your shocked face. "What? I'm serious, ASMR was so helpful and relaxing!”

“Sure… For me, probably something like baseball tees.”

“That wasn't a trend thou-”

“What fictional place would you like to go to? I pick Asgard.”

“Interesting, but I think I'm more suited to… Hogwarts..?”

Nodding approvingly, you imagine Jungkook in a Gryfindor uniform, stifling snickers.

Your game continues for about an hour, both of you staying from the list to ask questions of your own. Stretching your arms, you yawn. "I'm gonna start writing stuff based on your answers, and do some research on compatibility for friends.”

“Sounds good, I'll do the same.”

Sorting your answers between a diagram showing similarities and differences, he fails to notice that you've begun to sway a bit. Reaching for his phone, he freezes as you slump against him, soft snores and breaths flowing from your lips. Slowly turning back to you, he realizes how tired he'd become as well, the coffee from this morning wearing off after a hard day of keeping him awake, and he drifts off to sleep with his head above yours, holding you gently at his side.

“Jungkook, d’you think we should make it a scrapbook? I mean, that still counts as documenting, right?” You wonder aloud, tapping your chin with your pen. "Then we could add pictures for proof, we’d probably have less to write too.”

Nodding, the brunette agrees. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, I’ll ask my friend for his camera,” Jungkook mutters, jotting down some notes about the project. This will be an easy A… He thinks to himself, smiling at you as you search for a scrapbook. “This store is empty, maybe we should try a different one.”

Sighing, you purse your lips. "Yeah, I think you’re right,” taking his wrist and walking out of the store. You’d driven to a small town, one that was often called a tourist attraction due to how little people were there and how old it was—neither of you was looking for much socializing with strangers and you figured that you’d be able to have some fun experiences for your project. And true, there weren’t many people, but there wasn’t much in the stores either.

Standing close to you, Jungkook observes the empty block, realizing the entire area was empty. He'd practically driven you to a ghost town. Feeling anxious for your safety, he quickly took your waist, holding you close to him. "[Y/N], I think you should stick close, this place is empty.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing…” You sigh, leaning into Jungkook's protective embrace. By now, you'd been hanging out for almost two months and were considerably close friends—inseparable, as his friends called it.

Hopping into the car—Jungkook running around the side to help you in first—he slams a fist against the dashboard. You jump at the sound, surprised and startled, before realizing why he was upset. “You’re not serious.”

Grunting, he shakes his head. "We’re out of gas,” There it was. You let out a strangled groan, drawing Jungkook’s attention. "I’m going to see if there are any stores around here with some gas, you can stay in here with the door locked.”

“I can go too, so we can cover more ground—” you start.

Interrupting you without hesitance, Jungkook gives you a stern look. "No, we’re practically stranded in a ghost town without anything for a couple of miles—I’m not letting you walk out there without me.”

Scoffing, you mock offense, placing a hand on your chest. "You don’t think I can take care of myself?”

Shaking his head, he exits the car, locking the door immediately. "I-I just—I don’t trust anyone who might be here, especially not with you,” he mutters shyly, shutting the door as he leaves. You hear your phone ding, realizing Jungkook had already begun to check on you.

Coffee Boy: Make sure you don’t unlock the door to anyone. Call your family or someone just in case I can’t find gas.

Dialing up your mother, you listen carefully to the ringing. "Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice-mail messaging system—” you cut the call, dialing your father’s phone. "Sorry for missing your call. Unfortunately, I’m busy right now. Please leave—” Why did they have phones if they weren’t going to answer them? You give up, sending a quick text back.

You: They’re not answering :(.

After about 15 minutes, Jungkook returns, knocking gently on the window. "I couldn’t find any gas, are you sure nobody can pick us up?”

“I kept trying, nobody’s answering. Have you called your friends?” You inquire hopefully, frowning when he replies.

“They didn’t answer…” Pinching his nose bridge, it’s almost as if a light bulb went off in his head, he grins. "I did see a BnB though. We could just use it for the project.”

You snap, pointing at him in astonishment. "Right! This will just make less work! Jeon Jungkook you're a genius!”

“Can you say that to my parents?”

——

“Wow, this place is pretty cozy,” you mumble, petting the latte colored comforter. You drop your bag to the floor, sliding off your shoes as you launch yourself onto the queen-sized bed.

Jungkook slowly enters the room, stealthily dropping his bag next to yours, collapsing on your back, squishing you. "Is it? This bed seems pretty uncomfortable for me,” beaming as you wiggled and gasped under him.

Trying to crawl out from under him, you reach out dramatically. "I can’t breathe—get off me, Jeon!” You wheeze in laughter, inhaling comically when he rolls off you. Sitting up on the bouncy bed, you gaze at him quizzically upon realizing that this was meant to be your room. “Hey, I thought we got separate rooms.”

Scratching his nape sheepishly, his voice rises two an awkward octave. "About that… They didn’t have any rooms left…”

“That’s fine, just stay on your side, okay?”

Smiling, he nods. "Sure thing, let’s get working!”

The two of you are practically dead by the time you’d finished labeling the polaroids you’d taken each time you hung out, and you weren’t sure if you had enough in you to glue them all down. Still, you reached for a glue stick, flushing when you realize you and Jungkook had accidentally grabbed each other’s hands. "Sorry, you take it.”

He shakes his head, cheeks dusted pink as he hands you back the glue. You accept quietly, trying to focus on gluing when you realize your eyes have already drifted back to Jungkook. You figure it wouldn't hurt to check him out…

Oh, how wrong you were.

From his broad shoulders, toned arms, and snatched waist—you were in danger.

You were practically drooling by the time Jungkook decided he was ready to hit the hay, waving a hand in front of your face to catch your attention. You blink quickly to snap out of your trance, ignoring the flushed grin on Jungkook's face when you turn away in embarrassment. He was attractive. “I'm going to change, you should too—in the b-bathroom, of course.”

Still dazed, you nod, stumbling to the drawers filled with cheap sleepwear and into the small restroom. Pulling the pajama pants up your waist, you forget to check if he was done, opening the door before he'd put his shirt on. "I-I… S-sorry!”

“It's fine…” He mumbles, nervous. He may not have been too open about his insecurities or sense of self, but he hoped you'd at least liked what you'd seen—as odd as it had sounded. You were the girl he liked, and he wanted you to find him attractive. “Sh-shall we?”

You nod, sliding under the covers as Jungkook quickly shuts off the light, hopping on top of the sheets next to you, face to the door with your backs facing each other.

Warm arms slide under your back, pulling you into a strong chest. You inhale deeply. Something about the mysterious person's scent is familiar. Turning your head up, you meet the sleeping expression on your partner, the quiet boy who had become your only friend.

Brushing a couple of strands away from his face, you're startled as his eyes snap open, a confused yet fond look in his eyes. “[Y/N]?”

“Yeah?”

“I like you.”

And then you start waking up.

You yawn tired, tiredly when you're awoken by the smell of hot breakfast, your mouth watering before you've even opened your eyes. “Mm, what's that smell...?”

“I got breakfast!” The brunette coos, his teeth peeking through his bunny grin, "and coffee, of course!”

Sitting up, you beam at him. "Thanks Kook, this is probably the best I've ever woken up,” You admit, an appreciative look on your face as you grab the plate he'd been offering. Sipping the coffee, you groan happily. "What is this? It's amazing!”

“They only had a cappuccino machine so…” He smiles, glad you were enjoying the food.

Scrunching your face in delight, you stuff your face with the English muffin in the corner of your plate. "Well, if you ever get me coffee again, I want it to taste like this,” suddenly, you're reminded of your dream. What was that? You wonder, hoping that you hadn't just grown a huge crush on the class nerd. You sigh, thinking of all the details that had engraved themselves into your brain yesterday during your staring session. It wouldn't be bad to like him… “Damn,” I have a crush on Jeon Jungkook.

Dropping his fork, Jungkook stares at you wide-eyed, before returning to his meal. You're confused about the short action, but shake it off, he was an odd one. Jungkook, on the other hand, was ecstatic, evident by the massive grin on his face because you had just confessed to him out loud. He quickly realized you must've thought you said it in your head, but his heart was fluttering nonetheless.

“Hmm, what do you say we hang out later before my friend comes for us?” He inquires, a plan fabricating in his head. You nod, making his grin impossibly wider. "Great, I saw a cute mini-theater, which I'm pretty sure is doing dollar movies.”

“Sounds great, just… Can we go to a store first? I don't want to wear the same outfit two days in a row…”

Nodding, he doesn't hesitate to start writing down his plan.

——

“So, Mr. Jeon, what's this great big plan of yours?” you tease, punching his shoulder gently.

Smiling softly, he drags you behind him, hand in hand, towards the movie theater. “Plan? What plan?”

You scoff. "I saw you writing stuff down! Now tell me about this grand scheme of yours!”

“There’s no scheme, we’re just going to watch a movie [Y/N],” he shrugs, approaching the ticket salesman. "T-two for Time p-please…”

You fawn at his shyness. How adorable! Before collecting the tickets for him—he was too shy to take them from the salesman. You hand the man ten dollars and an extra two as a tip, considering he probably didn't make much in this town and looked like a good person.

The two of you make your way to the snacks. You order a large popcorn with extra butter as Jungkook pays—you were high school students, not billionaires.

The theater was small and empty—much like the town—and you were able to pick any seats due to the lack of an audience, only two other people in the mini-cinema. It was nice spending time with Jungkook. You'd thank your teacher for pairing you up later, but as you watched his eyes brighten at the screen, you wanted something more. You wanted this to be a date, where you could freely hold his perfect hands, tell him how much you liked him, and kiss him as you pleased, but alas, at the moment, you were just friends. You sigh, turning in your seat. "I need to use the restroom, I’ll be back in a bit.” Jungkook nods, and you laugh to yourself at how interested he seems in the previews and ads.

You wash your hands, splashing a bit of water on your face, whilst feeling grateful you hadn’t worn any makeup that could have been ruined by your sweat and nerves. Walking back to your seat, you’re taken aback by the girl who’s made herself quite comfortable in your seat, chatting Jungkook up. Pushing away your thought of how on earth she managed to pull his eyes away from the screen and make your way to the other side of him.

“Who are you?” The girl quirks her eyebrows, and you’re relieved that she at least doesn’t sound like a cliché mean girl, but a sweetheart who probably thought another stranger had just sat beside Jungkook.

Before you could answer, Jungkook quickly puts his hand in yours, leaning towards you. "M-my girl—my g-girlfriend…”

You quickly pick up that he was probably trying to shake her off—you weren’t dense—and play along. “Yep, I’m his girlfriend.”

The girl immediately releases Jungkook’s arm, apologizing profusely. "I-I’m so sorry, I had no idea…” Smiling politely as she gathered her belongings, ready to give you and your boyfriend so space. "I’m so embarrassed, I promise I didn’t know—”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” you assure her, giving a polite wave as she scurried off. Once she was out of ear-shot, you shoot the brunette a quizzical look. "Why did you do that? She seemed so sweet…”

Scratching his neck with his free hand, he chuckles, flustered. "I’ve kinda got my eyes set on someone.”

You deflate a bit, knowing you couldn’t get in the way of whatever he possibly had going for him, but forcing a smile regardless. Nudging him playfully, you poke some fun at him. "So… Who is she?”

“I’ll tell you later,” he whispers, his face flushed as the lights dim. "The movie’s starting!” he slaps your hand excitedly. "Stop talking, we’ll miss the whole thing,” pouting when you continue to mumble aloud, distracting him. You stick your tongue at him, pulling your hand out of his to eat your popcorn.

Focusing on the screen, you’re surprised when you realize he’d taken you to a romance movie. He waves his hand at you, dismissing you when you make a face at his choice. You were always down for a romance flick, but you figured Jungkook would pick something more along the lines of action or horror—most likely the latter if it was completely up to him.

However, the plot had been pretty good, enough to get you emotionally attached and crying when the male lead got rejected by the female and squealing when she later returned his feelings. Then crying again once you realized the story was being told by the lead as an elderly man who’d recently lost his wife, who happened to be the girl you’d wanted to punch for the first half of the screening.

“I’m so emotionally exhausted,” you groan, wiping your eyes with Jungkook’s shirt, earning a slightly disgusted yet mostly amused expression from the tall male. ”Are your bros here yet?”

Sighing, Jungkook pretends to check his phone, knowing full well he arranged for them to be there a bit later than they'd said so he'd have a bit more time alone with you, ”No, they're running late.”

”Let’s head back to the hotel then, I'm so tired…” you whine, dragging your feet in the general direction of the hotel.

Pulling your wrist gently, the doe-eyed boy wiggles his finger at you, ”I think I've got a better idea to pass the time.”

With a doubtful tone, you grimace, ”I doubt there's a better pass time than sleeping in a huge bed… But fine, ” you ultimately agree, allowing him to pull you along with him.

Your face brightens at the sight of the tiny cafe, you pick up your pace a bit, which he notices, a small smile on his lips. Sliding straight for the only booth in the entire installment, you breathe in the delicious aroma of coffee beans, chocolate, and various types of sweets.

Smiling at your reaction, Jungkook decides to make his move. "[Y/N], I-I…” he trails off, a lump forming in his throat, his nerves getting the better of him. Feeling you run your hand over his own, he relaxes a bit, inhaling deeply, ”I really like you… Would you g-go out with me..?”

You're blank, unable to speak even when the barista asks for your order multiple times, leaving poor Jungkook to order himself. It's only when you catch sight of his concerned and distraught expression you realize what impression you must have given.

Shakily, you open your mouth to answer, only to be interrupted by the ringing of Jungkook's phone. ”I-I have to take this… Be back in a sec.”

You nod stiffly, still processing the confession. He was joking, right? You quickly reject the idea, Jungkook wasn't that type of person. You flush when you fully come to terms with his words, creating a resolve that completely disappears once he walks back into the shop, sitting in front of you again, ”I…”

Frowning, he realized that you must have either gotten over your feelings quickly or had consciously said them earlier. ”Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything…” he mutters, heartbroken as he is his coffee, leaving you flabbergasted.

”Actually… I like you too…” you say breathlessly, trying to hide the smile that threatened to appear when you see the look of hope in his eyes. His face screams really!? You blush slightly, avoiding eye contact, ”I-I’d also like to go out with you…”

He grins, pulling out his phone to type something quickly before a lack of six other males come toppling over each other through the doors. They're cheering, slapping Jungkook on the back, and praising him for being so brave. “Our little Kookie has a girlfriend!”

[izzielizzie]

Rough on the Surface but You Cut Through Like a Knife

summary: When Bronwyn Rojas ends up next to the ever obnoxious Nate Macauley in Spanish class, she doesn’t really mean to hit him with a book. Well, she does, but she doesn’t expect to end up in the principal’s office with him. And she definitely doesn’t expect to find him amusing.

alternatively: Bronwyn hits Nate with a book and a long overdue conversation ensues (AU)

title from Willow by Taylor Swift

I’m about to drop into my regular seat in AP Spanish, my last class of the day, when Señora Trias calls “Don’t sit yet niños, we have some seat switching to do!”

I groan along with the rest of the class and catch Kate’s eye. We’ve sat together the entire year. I don’t even think I know anyone else in my class. She shrugs in a resigned sort of way. Señora Trias is a force to reckoned with, and we both know she’ll never let us stay in the same seats. We follow the teacher’s instructions, and I’m too busy trying to figure out the complicated dance we’re doing - row one to the left, row two to the right, front to back and back to front - that I don’t even notice that I’ve ended up next to a boy in a ratty leather jacket. 

Ugh. Nathaniel Macauley. The school’s notorious drug dealer/womanizer/delinquent/major headache. 

And this headache is smirking at me.

“Can I help you?” I ask.

“Nope, I’m all good… partner.”

I hate the way he says that word, it’s suggestive and disgusting and I suppress a shudder, turning instead to the front of the room, where we’re reviewing pluscuamperfecto. As a native Spanish speaker, I can confidently say I have no idea what the heck that is. 

“This is pointless,” Nate grumbles.

“Shhh,” I whisper back, taking a glance at his sharp jaw and deep blue eyes. I’ve known Nate from a distance my whole life, we’ve gone to the same schools since kindergarten, but this is the first time we’ve been so close - or exchanged words - in years.

I look back to the teacher, who’s now going over conjugations. I scribble them down in my notebook as Nate tips his chair back on two legs, rocking back and forth. 

“You’re going to kill yourself,” I inform him.

“Wow Rojas, I didn’t know you cared.”

I scoff and Señora Trias sends us a sharp look. “Señorita Rojas. Señor Macauley, no talking.”

I give Nate a sharp look. “Now look what you’ve done,” I hiss, feeling the reprimand as if it had been thrown at me. Nate just smirks. 

“You’ve never been in trouble have you?” he asks. I ignore him and he barks out a laugh, my silence serving as an answer. “Wow Rojas, I knew you were straight laced but I didn’t know you were that straight laced.”

And we all know you’re not I think, remembering the drug bust rumor Kate was whispering about last week. 

Nate clearly can tell I’m not interested in listening to him, so in the time it takes me to pull out the short novel we’re reading in class from my bag and read about a chapter, Nate doesn’t say a word. When I’m copying down the questions our teacher wrote on the board onto my notebook, he starts talking.

“What’s the answer to one?”

“Solo español por favor!” Señora Trias calls from the front of the class. I give Nate a triumphant look, expecting him to be unable to follow the teacher’s instruction of only talking in Spanish. Unfortunately this is Spanish class. And Nate’s not an idiot. He repeats the question in the correct language, and I decide that I’d be better off ignoring him. 

After a few moments, I can feel Nate leaning over my shoulder. I look over to see his eyes on my paper.  

“Stop that,” I whisper. 

“Spanish only,” he whispers back.

“That wasn’t even in Spanish!”

“Neither was that,” Nate points out. 

I huff and go back to my paper, flipping through my book to find the answer to my next question. 

“Help meeeee,” Nate whispers. 

“Shut up,” I say.

“Bronwynnnnnn.”

“Shhh.”

“Rrrrrrojas.”

My sister once told me about out of body experiences when we were children, and at the time I had scoffed because the supernatural does not exist. But when I close my book - marking my page with my finger because I’m not a philistine - and swing it straight into Nate’s face, I swear I’m not controlling myself at all.

“Would you shut up?” I snap as an unnatural silence overtakes the room. I look around for the first time, meeting stricken faces. Kate’s looking at me like she’s never met me before. 

“Bronwyn Rojas,” Señora Trias says dangerously. I risk a glance at Nate and feel a flash of sympathy when I see a red mark on his cheek. But he’s smirking at me so maybe he deserved it. 

I’m frozen, not quite sure what to say. Señora Trias points to the door. “Principal. Both of you.”

“Both!” Nate and I say at the same time.

“Yes, look at that you’re in sync, no use that rhythm to get to the office.” 

Not the best witty comment around, all things considered, but since Señora Trias looks like she’s ready to commit murder so I let it slide.

“So let me get this straight,” Principal Gupta says, staring at Nate and I, sitting side by side in the uncomfortable chairs in Gupta’s office. “You two were partnered in Spanish class, Bronwyn you were annoyed with Nathaniel, so you hit him with a book?”

Nate tips his chair back and I kick at his ankle. He kicks back. 

“Bronwyn.”

“Yes, sorry. This is correct,” I say. Principal Gupta stares at me. I’ve been getting a lot of stares lately. She opens her mouth to say something, but before she can, the secretary appears at the door.

“There’s a problem in the cafeteria,” she informs Gupta, who sighs. She looks sharply at us. 

“I am going to be gone for ten minutes tops. Please refrain from murdering each other.”

I nod vehemently while Nate tips his chair back farther, his smirk growing. I count backwards from fifty in my head just to make sure Gupta is really gone before wheeling back towards him. I push down on the arm of his chair with all my might. Nate crashes to the ground, a look of shock on his face.

“Jesus Bronwyn.”

“Stop tilting your gosh darn chair” I hiss, my face only a few inches away from his. I can see myself reflected back in his dark blue eyes. I look mildly deranged. He smirks again and I raise my hand. He flinches away. Ha. Take that. 

He holds up his hands in surrender, leaning away from me. “Would it make you feel better if I sat on the floor Rojas?”

“Yes, yes it would.” 

Nate slides to the ground, and before I can realize what’s happening, he’s pulling me down by the waist. “What the heck?” I ask.

Nate shrugs. “If I have to sit on the floor, then you do too.” He pauses for a beat. “And your legs look good in that skirt.

I slap his shoulder. “Jackass!”

Nate laughs. “She swears!” he announces to an audience of… no one. 

“Why is that notable?” I ask, self-consciously tucking my legs underneath myself, ignoring my tingling waist where Nate’s fingers ended up under my shirt. 

“Because a minute ago you said ‘gosh darn’ and not even grandmothers would say that Rojas.”

I can feel my face flush, but I cross my arms anyway. My little sister always teases me about how I don’t swear. Not that she swears either. “Is it really a bad thing?”

“Yes.”

I flush more, irritated at myself that Nate’s opinion matters this much to me. He senses that I’m done talking because he looks straight ahead at Gupta’s desk, where we can just make out a picture of her and her daughter.

“How’s your sister doing? Maeve, right?” Nate asks, and I turn to stare at him in shock. My sister Maeve left elementary school with cancer a long time ago. Nate was just starting to know her - they were on the same soccer team - and I don’t expect him to remember her, let alone her name.

“Yeah, it’s Maeve,” I say, my tone considerably softer. Nothing makes me happier than my sister. “She’s okay.”

“She’s in remission right?” 

I turn my body so I’m looking straight ahead at him, a concession maybe. My anger is ebbing, and I’m sort of guilty about that bruise on his face. “She is. Thank you for asking.” Not many people do. 

“You’re welcome.” What he says next surprises me so much I almost miss what he says: “Want to talk about it?”

I look at him for a moment, at his dark eyes and smattering of freckles and his closed off expression, and I can’t help the feeling that he’s being serious. And I don’t know why that’s so off putting.

I shrug, trying to figure out what to say. “It just sucks, you know?” I finally land on.

Nate nods. “I know.” I think back to his mother’s funeral, the dark, rainy morning where he stood in an old suit, his father too drunk to even show up. I kept thinking about Maeve, about how some day I might have to stand in the same place, shouldering the burden of a million worlds. 

I imagine that’s how it feels to lose someone.

I feel the need suddenly, to make those eyes light up so I shift slightly closer to him and pluck at the sleeve of his leather jacket. 

“Hey, remember when we were locked in that music room at St. Pi?” I ask.

Nate glances over at me through hooded eyes, his eyelashes unnaturally long. He nods, a half smile on his lips. “I remember. Sixth grade right?”

“Yeah.” I remember that day like it was yesterday. We had been arguing - much like today - in the middle of a music class, and our teacher sent us to the storeroom to sort flutes until we calmed down or something. But we - and the teacher - had forgotten that the door to the store room door locked from the outside. Nate and I were locked in for nearly an hour, which to twelve year olds, felt like forever.

“It was a pretty good day you know?”

“Really? I thought I threw a clarinet case at you.”

“Well you did,” Nate says. “But you know… it was nice. You’re nice.”

“Aww.”

“But you are violent.”

“Touché,” I admit.

He smiles at me, his eyes soft, and I smile back. I’m about to reach up to touch the bruise on his face when Gupta comes back, breezing through the door like she’s floating. She groans when she sees us. 

“Why are you on the floor?”

“Heat rises,” Nate says with a shrug.

“It’s November."

Nate and I just look at each other and smile. We climb back into our seats, and when he tips his chair back, I don’t say anything. And when I say “gosh” instead of “god” when I’m assuring Gupta that “I swear to gosh I didn’t mean to hit him I’m so sorry” Nate doesn’t even bat an eye.

Truce, I guess. 

Gupta spends ten minutes talking about pressure and how sometimes we cave but if Nate forgives me it’s okay before she lets us leave. Nate and I mockingly shake hands before we get up and it’s… nice. 

The bell has already rung, so we turn in opposite directions, me to physics and him to gosh knows where when he turns to me.

“Hey, want to go to the mall on Saturday? You can buy me a pretzel for my troubles.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll throw something at you?”

Nate grins his Macauley grin. “I think I’ll risk it, Rojas.”

My smile is his answer.

[archetypal-archivist]

Xisuma and Evil X- A Hero By Any Other Name

So. This happened. You ever get the urge to write 9000 words of Evil X and Xisuma as brothers that in a Super Hero AU where the government is corrupt and runs all the heroes into the ground in the name of “protecting the most people possible”? With lots of Evil X making poor choices to help out his exhausted hero of a brother? And then have that story end up taking over your life for about a week until you can get it all out? Yeah. Yeah, glad I finally finished this but gosh darn am I double glad that I can move on to other projects.

Also on AO3.

__________

A story in which there are two little boys, a pair of twins by the names of Evil X and Xisuma. Xisuma is good and kind and responsible, everything that his mother ever wanted and more. Evil X was the mistake, the additional child their parents didn't want nor could afford to have. Their parents had run the math, knew the risks, knew that if they penny-pinched enough, they could afford to have the child they always dreamed of. Evil X threw their maths into chaos, and if they wanted one son, they had to take both.

Evil X and Xisuma knew that Evil X was a mistake, that his presence was why their family could never afford to go to the movies, why they couldn't buy school lunches like all the other kids, why their parents were so stressed and tired and cruel. Still, Xisuma was glad that his brother existed, even if it made his parents' lives harder. He wondered if that made him a bad son.

In time, Evil X and Xisuma were left alone by everyone in their lives and until all they had are each other and the void that their parents left them with when they had to look them in the eye and tell them that they couldn't take care of them anymore. Even now Xisuma thinks that the void raised them better than their parents ever did, teaching him and his brother to lie through their teeth, be sneaky, be cruel.

In the orphanage and the many foster homes that followed, Evil X did his best to take care of his twin as a sort of penance for screwing up the life Xisuma could have led. In return, Xisuma lied and lied and lied to the matrons and the well-meaning children about anything and everything he needed to. They don't need anyone but each other. (Truth.) They are happy. He is everything that Evil X needs, Evil X doesn't want a family. Xisuma is enough. (Lie.)

(Gods, don't take his brother away.)

Xisuma grew up with lies on his tongue and smiles in his eyes, warping himself into the golden child, larger than life. Evil X grew up in the shadows with bruised knuckles, a bruised heart, and eventually, scars across his face from a fight gone bloody and wrong. He was protecting Xisuma, the scars were worth it- his brother accepts them with an odd little smile on his face and a shattering in his eyes. It is a moment that stays with them long after.

---

Eventually, foster homes turn into streets and dumpsters, and long nights spent under the covers together are turned into nights spent up in the branches of trees in the park. Xisuma makes friends with the pigeons while Evil X pretends not to like their feathered neighbors. They curl up the same though, bodies fitting together like puzzle pieces high in their bower. Made for each other, quietly shaping themselves around their twin so as to better protect them and shield them from the cold.

Evil X comes home to their tree with stolen sweaters and wilted flowers and popcorn kernels from behind the movie theater so that the birds don't starve. Xisuma meets him with tears of wonder in his eyes and fire dancing on his fingertips.

Xisuma has magic. Evil X tries not to be jealous. As it turns out, he has very little to be jealous of when it's revealed that there are many other people who have magic throughout the city- or rather, "superpowers." It's like something straight out of a comic book, if that comic book resembled something like Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" or the Transformers IDW continuity.

People start dying. A lot of people. Those with powers that make them look monstrous are feared, hated, and eventually outcast. Those with powers that are useful are drafted to fight wars and heal people for hours and hours with no rest in the hospitals. Xisuma sells himself to the city officials behind Evil X's back and in return, he and his brother get a cold glass and steel apartment and food enough that they will never starve again.

Evil X begins to build up muscle, fleshing out and growing tall and strong. He hates it, hates his body, because Xisuma never becomes more than whipcord strength and whispered words- down-turned eyes, up-turned lips. Reassurances that he's happy, really, truly. So obedient, his brother, the ideal filial son to the system that Evil X could never bring himself to be. They train the civilian out of his twin and mold him into a leader, a real proper superhero.

They don't give his brother lunch breaks. They need his power too badly, they say. There are people dying and they need his strength.

Gods, it makes him sick.

Xisuma's slight figure hides in his brother's shadow when they are at home, and Evil X does his best to wrap around him until the "monsters" of the world can't get him. Evil X lets Xisuma's flames dance across his fingertips and tickle his face, their gentle warmth driving out some of the chill in their big empty apartment. On truly special days, they go to the park to feed the birds. The higher ups don't like that, of course, insisting that Xisuma under Evil X's care is like using his spark for a kerosene lamp, contained, stifled, unable to help anyone in any way that matters.

The city wants a bonfire. Evil X growls and tells them no, but Xisuma just smiles and his eyes shatter a little more as he goes with them willingly, offering himself up as kindling. His superhero name is Matchstick of all things, and Evil X knows his brother well enough to know that he picked it out himself.

A nod to the fact that he is destroying himself? An inside joke and an apology in one, maybe. It breaks his heart too much to think on it.

---

With time, the rules and roles become a little clearer and the war begins to solidify. Basic rights for those with powers is still in the works, but Xisuma is able to start eating a little more. Evil X makes him protein shakes to take with him to work anyway.

The heroes are this: Matchstick, Reaper, Ivy-Over, Xenon, Spatter, Shank, Krypton, and Trigometric. Xisuma, Cleo, Gemini, Tango, Vintage Beef, Iskall, Impulse, Cubfan.

The villains are this: Armistice, Zyon, Ooze, Clockwork, Poultryman, Valkerie, and Lumesce. (Welsknight, Etho, Jevin, Mumbo, Grian, Stress, Pearl- but our hero doesn't know this yet.)

Evil X sits on their shared bed and holds his twin in his arms, listening to him talk about work with troubled eyes.

Reaper. Cruel, with a tongue like a knife and teeth even sharper. She eats her enemies whole and seems to enjoy the taste of blood. Somewhere in the dark of the building is a man named Joe who whispers comebacks and threats to her for her to use in her next fight. She has not seen him free or unshackled in three years. Around his neck is a metal collar, an irony too bitter for her to speak of often. Xisuma hopes they treat him well.

Ivy-Over, blinded by the glitter and shine of heroism, still firmly thinking the best of her political overlords. Naive. Carefully herded off the battlefields as soon as her fights are over so that she never sees the casualties her massive vines leave in their wake. Xisuma worries that one day the illusion will be broken and with it her mind. She seems like the kind of person who could regress to using entrails as a skipping rope if pushed far enough. Evil X does his best to reassure him, but the lies turn to mulch in his mouth.

Xenon and Krypton, a duo that never let the higher ups split them up or force them to fight alone. Together they share a record for the fewest recorded injuries, as well as a certain fierceness in their eyes as they volley explosive balls of shadow and light between them, bouncing them back and forth to build up velocity before letting them loose on their enemies. Still, the people whisper about how much more help they could do if they were simply separated, able to cover more places at once. At night, Xisuma hears them crying, bundled tight in each other's arms and mourning their missing third.

Shank, their sniper. Supreme accuracy, a consequence of his self-built bionic eye and his special laser rifle. The higher ups are murmuring about what he could do if more of him was bionic. What improvements could be made to his body? How many more lives could be saved? (How many more "monsters" could be put behind bars?)

Splatter, their brawler. A sip of blood and he hulks out, his strength becoming all the greater the more he drinks, so the higher ups give him all the blood he could stomach and more. They never tell him where it comes from, and he's too afraid to ask. (He was a butcher before this whole hero thing, he had explained to Xisuma once. He knows what animal blood tastes like. What they give him is definitely not animal blood- and sometimes, it makes him feel sick. He always was allergic to steroids.)

Trigometric, who bent reality into fractals, who seemed just a bit more broken than the rest. He actually liked his job, and that perhaps made him less of a hero and more of a monster. (Mr. Goodtimes was a head of government of some renown, famous for his power plays and his campaign that favored brutal action against those that the city condemned. Trigometric called him "Scar" with affection on his lips and that was perhaps scariest of all.)

It's terrifying hearing about his twin's coworkers and their varying flavors of unfortunate and unstable, even worse when he has to stay at home and watch the news to see if his brother has survived to see another day against the violent protests and the drug rings and mobs and super villains.

Because there are super villains. He even meets one.

---

The pigeons need feeding. Life or death, whether Xisuma is around to remind him or no, the pigeons need feeding so every Tuesday and Saturday Evil X goes to the park with a bag of bird seed. It just so happens that one sunshine-filled summer day there is someone there before him. Crouched close to a few pigeons, at first he thinks the figure is just dressed in a purple cloak, but when the figure stands up and stretches, the cloak separates to reveal a pair of brilliant purple wings. Poultryman.

Evil X has seen his brother come back from fights and he knows that while Poultryman is a figure of some renown, his battles rarely cause collateral damage- that's more the hallmark of his partner Clockwork. So when Poultryman turns to face him, trademark white mask over his eyes and an odd expression on his face, Evil X just glares and walks up to him to dump the bag of bird seed on the super villain's feet.

"For the birds," he says tersely before spinning on his heel, preparing to walk away. The sound of bright, cheerful laughter has him pausing and the sound of wings meeting the dirt has him turning around. Poultryman is on the ground, rolling around in the bird seed and laughing his head off, clutching his stomach and flapping his wings wildly, which only makes even more of a mess.

"Pffftt- hahaHAhAHaH! Oh gods, your face! If I couldn't tell you were so pissed off to see me I wouldv'e thought this was the greatest prank ever!" Oookay? Evil X crosses his arms, unimpressed and left with a sneaking suspicion he is being made fun of.

"And?" Poultryman lets out a last few wheezing gasps before smoothly rolling to his feet, mask askew and utterly covered in dirt, grass, and bird seed. The local pigeons have, surprisingly enough, not scattered just yet.

"And that was brilliant! Tell me, are you the one who's been feeding the birds around here? The pigeons have been dying to introduce me to their 'friend' and I've been eager to meet them ever since. Well, the word translates more to family but there's some non-pigeon implications mixed in there, so friend works a little better. I don't think my feathered friends have quite yet figured out how to buy their own bird seed. You don't look like a pigeon anyway."

"No. I am not a pigeon," Evil X sighs, shifting his feet but keeping his posture defensive. If he remembers right, Poultryman never did any real damage but he apparently came off to Xisuma as a little unhinged and he'd rather not test the super villain's good mood. "And yes, I feed the birds around here. Can I go?"

Poultryman tilts his head to the side, going abruptly silent and still, all emotion wiped from his body language, expression, and voice. "That depends. Would you like to make Matchstick's life a little easier? I have a deal for you."

---

It goes a little something like this.

Clockwork and Poultryman schedule a raid on a local food processing plant, hoping to take their newest shipment of tin. Matchstick and Splatter are in the area and are called in to help. It's a poor match up to begin with, with Splatter's strength not doing much against Clockwork's robotika and Matchstick- while able to keep up with Poultryman in the air, barely- can't seem to land a solid hit on the villain. It doesn't help that he seems to be limited in how hard he hits, too conscious of what his flames might do to Poultryman's vulnerable feathers and of just how high they are in the air. Clockwork, meanwhile, is free to pilfer what he and his partner please from the plant.

However, despite the lack of damage the super heroes are able to do, the villains do even less. To Evil X, that is all that matters.

In another part of the city, a group of civilians meet in an abandoned railway car, dry docked in a train yard with its rusted frame resting on several heavy blocks of wood. The door is chained shut, but that means little when the underneath has a hole cut into it and if one is determined enough, crawling inside is easy. There, they exchange moth-eaten blankets, half-broken appliances, tattered clothes, and the tools to fix them. Money. Documents.

Evil X brings food. The government promised food unending to him and his brother, he may as well take advantage of it.

A deceptively normal-looking man with glasses and a deactivated metal collar around his neck brings a stack of books in, most of them picture books for the children. Another man, this one with green skin and robotik prosthetics, brings a stack of battered but newly repaired mobile phones, gaze shifting around nervously, as if scared to be caught there. Evil X makes a quiet note of the men but moves on. Theirs is not a story he feels like tampering with today.

When Xisuma comes home to find Evil X laying face-down in bed, fast asleep, he just smiles and tucks himself in beside his twin. Today is the first day in a long time he had come out from a fight unscathed, and tomorrow he will share the good news with his brother. For now, he sleeps.

---

In time, Evil X becomes a staple of the Homeless Enforcing Principles, which quickly gets abbreviated to the rather unimaginative "HEP." He wonders in the back of his mind if a certain man in glasses had something to do with the name, but decides not to bother with that quickly enough. He has enough on his plate as is with his newly adopted duties.

You see, when you get a diverse enough body of people together from all echelons in the city, and then put them into a rather small space, they begin to do what every group of friendly strangers like to do on the train- start complaining. Sometimes it's about the new "neighborhood watch" starting trouble on the corner of 6th and Fruit, sometimes it's about the new increase in taxes their boss wants to implement, sometimes it's about the stock that slips through the gaps when the trucks come to restock the supermarket.

Between him and his twin, Evil X never really was the one for idle chit-chat, but he knew lies just as well as his brother did and public speaking was just lying with a pretty bow on top. Stock begins to get left off of inventory sheets and put into the hands of the needy. The "neighborhood watch" get pointed towards the parts of the city that actually need their help (conveniently drawing the attention of the local law enforcement, who can actually do something about the problem).

He begins to donate more and more food to the cause, waistline thinning in the process. He thinks he likes his figure better that way.

As Evil X puts more time into his new project, crime rates don't exactly go down, but the number of people arrested for stupid reasons certainly does. The other members of HEP begin to bring in their friends and family and the pool of resources and talents grows, expanding outside the walls of their train car and out into people's basements, gas station parking lots, metal trash bin bonfires in the park. Little pools of community, and for Evil X, wellsprings of information.

Clockwork and Poultryman are some of the first actual super villains to come to the meetings, this time under the names of Mumbo Jumbo and Grian, but they are not the last.

---

Armistice arrives hanging off of Lumesce's shoulder one night, his metal body forcing her to drag him along on the ground, shredded legs unable to hold his own weight. She cries steady tears of light, seemingly near-physically pained at being unable to further help him. Evil X watches quietly from the background as Grian looks up and over the bonfire from where he is tending the jagged gash in the unconscious Mumbo's leg.

"Wels. Pearl. Got you too, huh?" The carefully kept-up cheer is gone from the man's face as the duo settle down by the fire, sprawling out in a rough heap.

The woman, Pearl, nods wearily, pulling off her hood and wiping at her face, glowing tears staining her black jacket. "Yeah. Trigometric decided he wanted to come and 'play' for a bit, seems he finally caught on to the illegal clinic I was running down in Mr. TFC's basement. I was lucky enough to get an anonymous tip that he was coming, but Wels got caught in the crossfire for defending me." Grian nods back, eyes distant.

"Give Mumbo a hand with his leg, I'll go grab the last of our tin for Wels to eat so he can patch himself up. E-X?" Evil X straightens up at the winged man's attention. "Call up Keralis and see if you can't get some hew housing sorted for Mr. TFC. I doubt his house survived in the crossfire and you might as well fix it for him with my permission and funds rather than just sort it out behind my back and try to sell it to me as an 'investment' later."  With that parting remark Grian stands up stiffly and flies away, leaving Pearl to make her way over to his partner, healing tears already streaming down her face so that she can start to fix the wound.

On the other side of the fire, Wels reaches down and rubs at the sharp and twisted metal of the remnants of his left leg, expression lost and weary. "Things can't keep going like this, so many of us are running on fumes by this point. Something has to change." Expressionless, Evil X just turns away, pulls out his cellphone, and begins to make a few calls.

He carefully ignores the twisting of his heart in his chest.

The next day, Mr. TFC has a room in a decent hotel and Evil X sits on his perfectly white couch staring at his overly large TV, watching the news. Armistice and Poultryman are fighting against Matchstick and Ivy-Over, dashing in and landing a few hits before retreating to the shadows, then running up to repeat the process again. The fight ends with both sides retreating, the heroes to the hospital, the villains to skies with Poultryman straining to bear both Armistice's weight and the load of cash stolen cash in his arms.

Grian's going to pull a wing muscle again, Evil X just knows it.

Xisuma leaves the fight unscathed. Gemini isn't nearly so lucky.

---

The next super villain he meets is mostly on accident, a random encounter more than anything. Tired of lounging about all day, if you call making connections and surfing the internet doing fuck all, Evil X decides he hates himself a bit more than he usually does and decides to go job hunting. A quick internet search later and he finds himself standing outside an abandoned warehouse on the North docks. He and his brother never had much more than their birth certificates and social security numbers to their name, so shady suited him perfectly fine.

A man steps out from behind a corner dressed in a hospital mask, black pea-coat, and a sailor's breton cap as white as his hair. Evil X freezes, eyes going wide as the familiar-looking stranger goes bug-eyed to see him right back. Then the man shifts his weight to his back foot, crossing his arms and wincing playfully, very real trepidation lurking in his posture.

"Uh, you wouldn't happen to by Matchstick's brother, would you?" Evil X takes a careful step away from the man, who he now recognizes as Zyon from watching the news, one of Xisuma's more common foes. His own research proved that the fellow had ice powers to put an iceberg to shame, which was ironic considering that he was secretly the business mogul Etho, who ran a shipping company helpfully named "Titanic Inc." It was doubly ironic since "Zyon" was notorious for causing problems for "Etho," who then claimed the insurance payouts when the boats eventually sank.

That the boats that sank frequently carried weapons, junk food made with GMO ingredients, and weirdly enough, socks, was of little consequence to him, but he kept that amusing tidbit in his back pocket for later. (The sailors on board were... collateral. And a nonissue. Anyone who signed up on a ship run by "Titanic Inc." deserved what they got.)

(Their deaths were not his concern.)

"Yeah, that's me. And you're Zyon- or rather, Etho." Zyon chuckles nervously.

"Yep yep, that's me. And you're very firmly on the 'no touchie' list around here, so I'm just gonna gooo...." Zyon flinches as Evil X suddenly attaches himself to his wrist, expression steely.

"List?" It's more statement than question, but it has Zyon gulping back a frantic giggle anyway.

"Oh no, I'm not messing with that one. Let's just say you should take that up with your brother and leave it at that. Get too deep into that mess and someone's gonna end up regretting it- and I'm not that dumb, that's for sure!" With that parting remark, Evil X finds his feet frozen to the ground and Zyon running off, dropping the black pea-coat of Etho to reveal the icy blue Kevlar ninja suit of the super villain underneath.

Bemusedly Evil X watches Zyon vault up a stack of pipes onto a nearby roof, then off towards the city where he could better better disappear.

Hmm. Seems like he needs to step up his game.

---

He runs into Ooze at the supermarket. Apparently they both prefer the green grapes to the purple ones. The more you know.

---

It's his encounter with Valkerie that really sets things off.

Xisuma comes home one day, tears streaming down his face and his gloves covered in blood and dust. He crumples in a heap at Evil X's feet where he sits on the couch and drops his face into his twin's lap, trembling. His arms dangle at his sides, blood dripping from his fingers onto the sterile white carpeting.

"Four dead found in a park near here. All teenagers, just having fun. Just. Just fucking kids! She ruptured their ear drums and they bled out because they couldn't move to get to safety. Gods E-X, their eyes... They looked so scared..." Evil X stays quiet and runs his fingers through his brother's hair, heedless of the muck clinging to the ends. Xisuma shakes himself to bits in his hands. "They were just kids. We couldn't do even do anything but clean up the mess afterwards."

Xisuma pauses, hesitant, before choking out- "That could have been us. Had we still been on our own, that could have been us." Ah. So that's it.

"We're safe, you know. Whoever Valkerie is, she won't get us here."

"But we don't know that! What if you're out shopping and she's at the market, or if she gets on the news and her scream works through the TV? What then?! I can't-" The words die in his twin's throat and Evil X gulps back his own.

I can't lose you. It's a phrase that's crossed his own mind more than once.

"Okay. Okay. I'll stay home until she's caught, okay? Get delivery or something, I don't know. And I'll keep the TV off, the radio too. Shhh. Shhhhh. I'll be okay." Xisuma struggles closer, shoving his face into his brother's stomach and getting snot and tears all over the both of them. Evil X doesn't complain. It's a lie and they both know it, but they've lived lies before, are used to it. What's one more, in the face of that?

To be fair, Evil X gives it a few weeks before he makes his move, and he knows he'll be fine so really it's only half a lie anyway.

---

Feet crunch against gravel as Evil X approaches the woman kneeling in the center of the abandoned construction site, hands over her mouth, eyes scrunched, biting the flesh of her thumb to keep her sobs held in.

"Hello Ms. Valkerie. Grian's told me about you."

The woman whips around, eyes wide and bloodshot at his sudden appearance, before she shakily lowers her hands from her mouth to clutch at the fabric of her pink cardigan. "I'm- I'm not some monster, got it? I'm just Stress, j-just- I'm just me! I don't want to hurt anyone!" Her voice goes shrill and thin towards the end and Evil X hides his wince, although apparently not well enough because she immediately slaps a hand over her mouth again, eyes watering anew.

"Okay. It's okay, Stress. I'm here to help," he placates, lowering himself down to sit next to her in the dirt. Around them, rusted I-beams and concrete pillars rise, giving them some semblance of privacy. The full moon lurks overhead, casting them both in a silver glow. "You're life must be very hard, hm?"

Stress nods, expression wary.

"And retail is very- ha- stressful too, I imagine?" Here a little grin leaks out from behind her hand. "All those customers whining on and on about discounts. 'Oh, I have a gift receipt why can't I return this?' Like, lady, you opened this box. 'I'm gonna talk to your manager!' Lady, he's just gonna say the exact same thing."

A stifled giggle and a whispered "Worse! I work in the women's clothing department." Evil X gives a mock gasp, face going wide and shocked.

"So you don't just have to deal with fussy customers- you deal with fussy suburban soccer moms!" Stress tips forward with the force of her muffled laughter, tucking her damp face into the curve of his neck and putting her full weight on him. Hesitantly she clutches the tail of his shirt with her freehand, then a little tighter when he makes no move to shove her off. Evil X just wraps a gentle arm around her shoulders.

"Some of those customers must make you want to go home and just scream, huh." Her laughter tapers off, but she nods, quiet. "So you go somewhere empty and abandoned and scream your heart out so you don't kill someone." Another nod, a little hitch in Stress' breathing. "And you scream and scream, so glad to release some of your pent-up feelings, but oops. It turns out there are people there anyway. And your screaming just killed them. You've become a murderer and the police brands you accordingly."

The hand in his shirt tightens, tugging. "I- I didn't want to hurt them! I didn't want to hurt anyone! But- but it just happened and then I was running, and no one saw me so I had to just go to work the next day, a-and. And-"

"And now you're the wanted super villain Valkerie." His hand smoothes up and down her back as her breath hitches again, once, twice, and then wetness against his neck.

"Valkerie is such a stupid name, anyway. I'm not escorting anyone anywhere, let alone to Valhalla. I just scream and. And they're dead."

Evil X hums quietly. "You must be very tired."

"...Yes. Yes." The moon slips through the sky for a while and they drift with it, lost in thought. Evil X stares up at it, squinting against its light to try and figure out what time it is, if Xisuma is likely to be home yet. The gravel is harsh against his knees.

Then. "Things can't keep going like this. I'm so tired, all the time these days. It's just work, day in and day out, and all this stress." She pulls away then and Evil X watches as Stress scrubs at her face, expression going cold and determined. She stares him straight in the eyes, but something about her still seems lost, like she's gazing through him. "Something has to change or else someone is going to get themselves killed."

He tilts his eyes head, considering, thoughtful, with a well-hidden edge to his voice.

"I think I could help with that."

---

The morning news. Four calls placed, a frantic brother reassured, Stress is sitting a cafe on the corner of Elm and 5th. Her gut flutters with nerves but Evil X can see her expression is calm from her position in the background of the shot. The news anchor is a pretty blond-haired, blue-eyed young woman blathering on about how the cafe apparently is the oldest one in the city and some other historical nonsense. Out of shot of the camera, a desperate, dog-eared petty thief is running for his life down 6th street, the hulking figure of Spatter hot on his heels.

They round a corner, onto 5th. Past the cafe, the startled reporter, the public shrieking as their morning is disrupted. Stress nearly throws up as her heart launches itself into her throat but she's... There's a plan and she's going to stick to it.

So she stands up, small and in the background of the shot, but her bright pink jacket makes her stand out. She opens her mouth, expression going scared like a civilian's, and screams just as she had been told to. It's not for long, barely a second or two all told, but it's enough to have the people near her cringing away, blood trickling from their eyes and from where their fingernails dig into their skin in trying to cover their ears.

Spatter freezes in his tracks, pupils mere pinpricks as the sudden outpouring of blood triggers something deep and wild in him. The camera shakes, the frightened camera man ducking down to avoid notice but carefully recording what's about to happen, as if sensing that whatever happens next is about to be important.

The hero turns towards Stress, eyes wild, and although she's scared out of her mind, she stands her ground. Her voice barely even shakes as she speaks.

"S-stop. Stop running, can't you see you're scaring people? You nearly ran me over!" In the eyes of the camera Stress looks like a frightened civilian gone civil defender in pink, the morning light casting her in gold and the cafe's shadow creeping over Spatter's massive, muscled-out form to cast him in darkness and grey. The lack of harsh lighting makes it even more obvious when he starts sniffing the air, darting eyes pausing on all the bloodied hands and finally resting on the woman who caused the damage.

The world has insisted, long and loud, that he is a hero and with that comes certain ingrained responsibilities. Stress is Valkerie. Splatter fixes his gaze on her and with a snarl, he moves.

The camera catches it in perfect, awful clarity when his arm goes through her stomach and her blood starts pooling on the floor. Her expression is so betrayed.

From his place on his clean, white couch at home, Evil X turns the TV off.

---

Stress is buried with honors and all media depictions of Valkerie as a monster cease as the streets are made "safe" from the super villain. Instead, news programs and talk shows take up a new crusade, this one against the "heroes" that protected the city and the governing bodies that controlled their movements. Mr. Goodtimes has his name dragged through the mud, and each day his brother comes home with stories about how frazzled Trigometric is, Evil X has to hide his smile.

Seeming to pick up on the way things are turning, Clockwork disappears from the public eye while Poultryman steps up the showmanship, making more appearances in public spaces to egg government buildings and steal petty amounts of scrap metal from junk yards and factory scrap heaps. The heroes that give chase, usually Xenon and Krypton, end up causing more damage than they actually prevent.

Ivy-Over- shocked at the public outrage about the apartments left in shambles after her particularly brutal battle against Zyon- rather predictably ends up snapping, although not in any way Evil X expected.

She ends up going to the news and telling them everything. Public outrage rises anew.

There's a riot in town square and Matchstick and Reaper are sent in to stop it. Thirteen people die, kindly Mr. TFC one of them. Xisuma comes home, collapses into Evil X's arms, and cries.

Things have to change. And so they do.

---

Midnight and two figures meet on a roof top somewhere overlooking the domed silhouette of city hall. The first wears a set of armor shaded in green and grey, a purple visor over his eyes and an oxygen-filter over the lower half of his face. The second figure has wings, stretched wide to block out the light of the crescent moon above.

Matchstick. Poultryman.

Xisuma. Grian.

Matchstick tilts his head to the side, drawing himself up to his full height to loom over the far shorter villain. "The status quo is falling apart, Poultryman. Does the deal still hold?"

Poultryman rolls his head to make it clear he had just rolled his eyes, the purple insignia on his mask flashing to display his annoyance. "Yeah yeah, I've spread the word to the others and they're not as crazy as the news likes to make 'em out to be. No one has hurt your precious 'E-X,' nor do they have any plans to. Too much trouble to mess with beyond trying to keep him out of whatever crime scene we'll be making, and that's hard enough as is. Your brother has a habit of making himself hard to track and it's getting... troubling."

The hero's posture suddenly goes as stiff as his namesake, smoke starting to hiss from the vents carefully built into his suit. "Troubling?"

Violet wings flap once, twice, before pulling tight against Poultryman's back and not for the first time, Matchstick curses himself for never bothering to learn what his various wing positions mean. The villain in question just rolls his shoulders back and settles into a careful parade rest that gives nothing away, expression pensive.

"Xisuma..." Matchstick flinches back, the careful line between them wavering at the name. "What exactly do you about your brother?"

A hesitant head tilt and he taps his fingers along his leg, thinking back to when he had last spent more than a few fleeting hours with his twin at a time.

"He likes sweet foods, even if he pretends he doesn't. Has more money invested in Derp Coin than he probably should. Likes red and black but gets fussy if anyone calls him a goth. Never seems to sleep, or eat regular meals, but he never seems to forget anything either. Best brother I could ever ask for- he loves me, I know that for sure. All the important stuff. Why?"

A wisp of cloud drifts overhead, casting a brief shadow over the pair, and in the sudden darkness Matchstick could swear that Poultryman had pulled a frown. Then the moment passes and the villain is back to his usual inscrutable self, the only emotion in his body language being what he had put there intentionally. His wings remain tight to his back.

"Then I think you might be in for a bit of a surprise one day, Matchstick. Here's to hoping you can roll with the coming storm."

---

Evil X is beloved by the HEP network. Regardless of Grian's intention in putting him in contact with them- or even why the villain knew of the group to start with- his repeated contributions to their food stocks made him an opening among them and his ability to make and exploit connections made him their hero. If you were desperate, hungry, in need? Evil X could get you whatever you needed at the cost of a simple favor.

When it came to the price of a life, a favor is a small thing to ask indeed. Is it any wonder that they became so loyal to him? So when Evil X began asking questions about some of the city's more sensitive secrets and its shadier underbelly, it was only natural that they told him.

From the tall man with green skin, he learned the best places to dump things so that they disappeared. From a sleepy-looking fellow with a bandana, he learned the locations of the best drug dealers, and from those dealers he learned of their suppliers, their manufacturers, the places where heroes never walked. From the man with glasses, he learned about the back doors and hidden routes through the biggest, most important buildings, the places where they held people until they could make them disappear.

And with this information, Evil X's services expanded even further. Drugs for the addicts, as contaminant-free and trust-worthy as he could find them. Ways to make people appear and disappear in the eyes of the law (and the occasional abusive spouse). Alcohol, cigarettes- and most importantly, information.

Or rather, black mail. If you wanted to know something on someone, Evil X became the person to go to. Months of careful manipulation had spread his name and his reach through all levels of the city and people from all walks of life took advantage of her services, although usually all meetings were held over the phone and through a voice changer fashioned to look just like his twin's mask. The secrecy only increased his popularity, as people just love a good mystery and a grey-shaded crime boss made a lovely story indeed.

And soon, this caught the intention of another of the city's fabled figures- the mad scientist who lived deep in the underbelly of the city, a place where no light shone. The man, the myth, the legend... Void.

But then, myths never were all that accurate, especially with things like names.

---

Curly blond hair, brown cardigan, a ripped white lab coat. Calculating purple eyes and a wide, wide eerily white grin. Short and stocky with a complexion like a ripe peach, the blue light coming off the lights overhead casting hazy shadows over his form, everything about the good doctor is simultaneously creepy and a soft sort of handsome- he has to say, he's impressed. The mythical Zedaph lives up to the city's dark rumors of him and he says as much, which prompts that grin to grow all the wider.

"Ah, hello Weaver! Y'know, I kind of thought you'd be shorter. And down here a lot sooner, I almost could say I missed you~!" Evil X balks as the scientist steps forward and grips his chin to tilt his head down, purple eyes wandering over his scarred features.

"It's not like you make yourself easy to find- and that's not my name." Zedaph shakes his head, leaning his face up with just scant inches between them.

"Little spider, you might be pretty good at hearing things but you're awful at listening. If you have large enough ears, you'd find you're just about the most talked about thing in the underground these days-"

"Do spiders have ears...?"

"-so like it or not, your web is big enough that people have been spotting it in odd places, which means your twin will probably catch on soon. Which means..." Here Zedpah spins away to walk to the opposite wall, pressing a few buttons on his tablet which make the underground laboratory brighten considerably. Evil X tries not to feel bereft at the sudden loss of contact. "Your plans are gonna have to hit double time. And I love me a good speed potion!"

Speechless, Evil X just nods as the scientist opens a previously hidden door and pulls out a laptop case from inside, turning to present it to him with a fiercely proud expression on his face.

"Knock 'em dead darling. I can't wait to see you rock their world~!"

---

What does the end of an era look like? It's not a sudden collapse of civilization, people screaming and running through the streets. It's not the violent murder of the governmental leaders or riots against the past order. It's not as clear cut as all that. Nor is it so subtle that people look around one day and go huh, as the world around them had shifted beneath their feet without their notice. Indeed, there are many who saw the tide rising and were all too happy to watch the waters sweep in and away.

It goes like this.

The super villains go missing. First one week goes by with no wild scheme or dangerous incident, then two, then three. The higher ups are frantic with worry, running constant meetings and keeping the super heroes out on the streets for as long as they could without the heroes themselves rioting. It keeps Matchstick out of the way of Weaver, and at the moment, that's all the thought he can afford to spare his twin. It's for the best, really. The next step is important.

Across every government-issued computer in the city, an email is issued out. Personalized, first middle last name, parents' names, chidlrens' names. An alphabetical list of every law the person in question had broken in the last ten years, the number of witnesses who saw them do it, sometimes video footage or photo-copied documents if the crime was serious enough to warrant more concrete proof. What the punishments for those crimes would be. What could be done, if those punishments were waived for money or fame.

Nearly a thousand people get an email in the span of 24 hours. (Evil X never wants to write another email ever-fucking-again. None. Ever.) The heroes also receive an email detailing what laws were broken by denying them rights, food, decent living conditions and overtime pay, as well as the names of several lawyers who would work for them for free if the email was shown to them within three days time.

Every email is emblazoned with a web-like logo with a bright red "X" sitting in the middle like a bloody spider. Though some plucky tech people attempt to track the emails back to the sender, their every attempt is rebuffed by the impossible firewalls built into the computer the messages were sent from. As imagined, chaos in its most understated form ensues.

The city officials scramble to keep their sinking ship from falling apart and the little people kept cooped up in square offices and cell blocks come crawling out of the woodwork to jump ship. Some of the heroes, such as Xenon, Matchstick, and Shank try desperately to hold things together, but others like Reaper head for the nearest legal office and hole up with a team of vicious prosecutor attorneys. Meanwhile, the civilians go about their business, unaware of what is going on in the ivory towers far above their notice.

Xisuma comes home to fin their apartment empty, and although betrayal sits like a rock in his gut, his guts still squirm with desperate, aching fear. (No... please, no.)

The super villains make their reappearance with flair, setting the stage for the next act. Each one takes to a corner of the city, working in pairs to capture civilians and hold them hostage en mass, their efforts to wide spread for the remaining heroes to deal with in one go. From here, walking along a quiet street and watched by hundreds of frightened eyes- a captive audience- Weaver makes his debut as he makes his way to the city capital.

Tall, whip-thin enough to make his proportions lean more towards slenderman than super model, and dressed in red and black armor with a matching helmet and visor, Weaver cuts an imposing figure as he makes his way up the white marble steps of the capital building to where a nervous-looking reporter stands. She straightens up at his approach though and with a nod to her camera crew, she starts asking questions just in time for Poultryman to swoop in and land beside the newest super villain, expression stern but a clear presence of support.

In his hands a laptop is clutched.

---

The demands are simple in theory, but Xisuma feels his heart thunder in his throat at every point on the list.

The week would be split into three types of days. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays would proceed as normal and the heroes and villains could go at each other as they pleased. Fridays would be reserved for the villains to do as necessary without hero interference under the caveat that no blood would be spilled, and Sundays heroes could have the same. Tuesdays and Saturdays, no one would fight, a proper break for everyone.

The villains would keep to their side of the bargain, Weaver says darkly as he stares directly into camera, just so long as the heroes kept to theirs. And measures would be taken for anyone who chose not to comply. Xisuma's brain goes fuzzy with static as the super villain makes a few other demands, something about fair wages and from when to when each group could operate, but his gaze remains locked to where he can just barely make out his twin's face through his visor. The words filter through him, dismissed into a soft numbing blur.

The air suddenly feels chilled on his skin, fingers twitching in his lap, a rough, twisting feeling in his gut like the bottom of his stomach just dropped away. He feels trapped, unable to move from the couch, from the wrong side of the screen. Oh, he thinks hazily to himself, he's about to be sick. Hmm, ought to do- something. About all of- of this.

Gods... What did his brother do?

---

An era ends like this- Poultryman sweeps Weaver away in his arms and in his place, Evil X comes home. Xisuma watches his brother come through the door, eyes glued to his brother's face even as Evil X places his keys on the table by the door and takes off his shoes. There's a gentle realization bubbling up that this is the first time he's seen his brother's bare face with his own eyes, without the tint of a visor between them, in far too long. His twin's got paler as of late, making the eye bags and scars stand out all the more.

"You're home." The words hang in the air and Evil X sags at their weight, leaning against the door as if to prop himself up for the conversation to come. His arms hang behind his back, a laptop case dangling in his grip.

"You know this isn't home any more than the tree was."

"We- we were supposed to be safe here. This was where we were going to stay!" Xisuma is going red now, rising up from the couch in his anger, and Evil X watches him with the dredged-up calm of a man resigned to drowning. Good, anger he could handle.

"You thought this was where we would stay, got us a nice, normal apartment that looks like it's out of a fashion plate without asking me. You think I like staying in this pretty white bird cage that you bought by selling yourself to the most corrupt people around? This place isn't any safer for us than the tree was, and at least in the park we had company!"

"Says the one who fell into bed with the literal bad guy! At least here you weren't getting into fights every other week."

"No, now you're the one doing that!" They're shouting at each other. They never do that. An acrid taste fills Evil X's mouth and he gulps it back, along with a few words he just knows he would regret if he said them. A deep breath, a slow in and out. "Look, just. Don't be a hypocrite, okay?"

Xisuma pauses in his wind up for a proper tirade, eyes wary and wet. "What?"

"You aren't the only self sacrificing moron here."

"...Oh." Yeah. Oh.

Here Evil X takes another breath, resisting the urge to hold it, then extends his arm to show his twin the laptop case. "Hey."

Xisuma folds his arms behind his back, looking at his feet and then up again, shuffling back a step. "Yeah?"

"Got you a present. You always were the best of us, so. Here. It was the last part of the deal I kinda set up, a kind of fail-safe slash card to add to your deck. This laptop has evidence of my entire operation, every backroom deal, every piece of black mail, every person I've had killed or vanished or what have you. Everything I've been up to for the last however long. And... it's for you to read. It's not gonna be fun, but like, I trust you so it's okay. If you read this and really, honestly think I've crossed a line you can't forgive me for, you can turn this into the police and... I'll deal with whatever you choose to do with me. No loop holes, no take-backs."

Here Evil X leans his full weight against the door and lets his arm swing back down to his side, gaze sliding off to the side and a melancholy smile curling at his lips and pulling at his scars. "I trust you. I trust you. It... It'll be okay, yeah? Just make whatever choice you need to. Don't hesitate." He doesn't promise anything, keeps the words 'I'll be okay' from spilling into the air between them, but instead allows a careful submission to enter his posture, head bowed and figure loose and hanging.

It... might not be alright, but it will be right and that will have to be good enough. (It has to be.)

Xisuma chokes, a sob rising in his throat as his brave, strong brother gives up before his eyes. The air in his lungs freezes solid at the thought of having to choose whether or not his twin lives or dies, because that's what this is, he can't pretend that the city wouldn't execute him at the slightest chance, agreements be damned. His gaze tracks wildly from the laptop case to the top of his brother's head to the window, as if trying to see if anyone could be watching, could make the choice for him.

It's not fair. It's not fair, why him, why? He was so good, tried so hard- his heart is loud in his ears, breath rattling in and out in wheezing gasps- sobbing now, utterly sobbing. Evil X doesn't look up, doesn't try to comfort him. Won't even move, gods.

Fuck it.

Evil X startles, back banging against the door as Xisuma rushes forward and rips the case from his hands, only to chuck it into the far corner before throwing himself into his arms. On instinct Evil X catches him and holds him close just in time for Xisuma to bury his face in the crook of his neck and burst into messy, tearful sobs. They shake together and Evil X lets his head thump back gently against the door, eyes hazily gazing up at the ceiling.

"It's not- *hic*- it's not fair! I didn't want this!"

"I know. I know." He runs his hand over his twin's back, his taller form bowing forward to shelter his brother's smaller one. Somehow, even now it feels like Xisuma is the larger one between them, solid and warm in his arms.

"Why do I have to choose? I never wanted this! Why?! Why would you do this for me?"

"You're my brother. I love you." A gasping, wet sob against his neck and his twin lets out a moan like a dying cow, low and agonized. Evil X focuses on a soot mark on the white ceiling, tears stinging his eyes and running down his face to plop softly into his brother's hair.

"But why?!" Screaming. Gods, he can't-

"I love you. I love you." Rocking now, back and forth, gentle, just as he had when he had come home from beating up the men who had tried to lay stomp out his brother's heart, scarred and beaten and bloody. I love you, he had said then, and he repeats it now.

Later, much later, Xisuma will have to boot up the laptop and read through its contents. He will try to burn it, first, but Zedaph's work is more durable than most and Evil X will watch as his twin will dump his emotions into his flames, desperately trying to stoke them hotter and brighter. Later, a choice will have to be made.

But for now, Evil X will hold his brother, warm and safe, and let him cry.