#i probs wont do the whole week bc i cant commit like that wtf

[oceantail-oceantail]

Skephalo Week, Day 1: Soulmates

Title: spin me right round (read on ao3)

Summary: 

Bad’s red string of fate that looped around his pinky always jumped around, always spinning around him as his soulmate traveled across the world. They never seemed to stay in the same place for longer than a year.

Every time it moved, he used his father’s compass and globe to estimate where they might be and wrote down his calculations in his journal.

It was quite a coincidence that the locations matched up almost perfectly with Skeppy’s timeline of traveling.

Bad’s string didn’t appear when he was born. It wasn’t a big deal, around 50% of babies were born without a complete string. His soulmate just wasn’t born yet.

If anything, most people preferred to be older than their soulmate. It gave them just a bit more information on their perfect half: the age difference and their birthday.

And sure enough, almost 5 years later, Bad’s string flared to life, stretching northward.

He marked down the date in a small leather journal his mother gave him, in horrible, scribbly four-year-old handwriting.

January 17th, 2000.

~~~

Bad’s string always jumped around, always changing the direction it was coming from.

His soulmate never seemed to stay in the same place for longer than a year.

It started off stretching north. The day it appeared, his father flipped open an ancient looking compass and presented him a massive world globe. Bad spent the rest of the day learning about the Red String of Fate and how to use a compass and a globe to estimate where his soulmate might be, stretching his tiny fingers across the wide expanse of the globe, tracing outlines of different continents and oceans. (Later there would be computer programs to more accurately triangulate positioning, but his father always loved sticking to tradition).

The string only pointed north for a year before it did a complete 180 and now tugged out southward. It was a little embarrassing to admit that he brought his compass and globe to a kindergarten show-and-tell and figured out his soulmate’s new location in front of the class. (“and based on the direction, increase in movement, and degree, I think that they’re in Tampa!”). (Looking back, he was almost right. Clearwater, Florida was only a 30 minute drive from Tampa).

By the end of high school, Bad had several locations scribbled down in his journal, not even including locations that lasted only a week or two ( vacations, most likey).

-North, still in the US, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan?

-TAMPA, FLORIDA

-Farther north than before, Canada or the northernest states??? Ontario (Toronto maybe)

-California? Nevada? Definitely west coast

-Northeast coast, New York or New Jersey area

-Northwest coast? Higher than Nevada/California. Oregon or Washington?

The strangest change happened just after he graduated high school. The red sting pointed directly eastward, out into the open ocean.

That angle was an interesting one. And since it remained steady in that direction, he knew his soulmate wasn’t back in Florida. That means they lived on the other side of the world, and based on some quick calculations with his globe and compass, he would probably guess they were somewhere in the Middle East or Asia.

Bad only lived in one city his whole life and he genuinely wondered how his soulmate felt about having to move around all the time. The thought of having to adapt to a new school and a new city sounded terrifying to him.

But regardless, for as long as he could remember, his red string of fate always seemed to be spinning around him as his soulmate traveled across the world.

~~~

The muffinhead who tried to apply to be a mod on MunchyMC was so annoying. When the call ended, Bad could feel the beginning of a headache building up behind his forehead.

He had no idea why he didn’t decline the call the next time he called.

It was probably his imagination, but his string almost seemed… brighter?

~~~

A simple internet search informed him that Skeppy's birthday was January 17th, 2000.

Bad hit Ctrl+W as fast as he could and slammed his laptop shut.

For as much as he loved puzzling out where his soulmate was on the other end of his red string when he was younger, it was a completely different situation to have his potential soulmate one Skype call away.

~~~

Apparently, Skeppy would be moving in with TapL and Spifey in L.A. Bad was happy for them of course, but he couldn’t help the simmering of annoyance that churned in his stomach.

Did he have the right to be jealous? He and Skeppy had been talking about a meet up for months now and it still hasn’t happened. Bad had always been an indecisive person and he knew his inability to commit to a meet-up must have been aggravating for his much more energetic and decisive friend. It was his own insecurity and nervousness that prevented him from meeting up with Skeppy first, right?

It didn’t matter in the end though, he decided. Now just wasn't the right time. Besides, he’d only known Skeppy for just over a year at this point. Bad had known plenty of other online friends for much longer and he didn’t meet up with them yet either.

Next year, in 2020, maybe he’d be ready.

The day Skeppy was set to fly to L.A. the string slowly stopped from pulling south, and started pulling west.

~~~

The only excuse Bad has was that it was late at night and he was tired.

Vulnerability in general was complex for him. There was a surprising amount of accurate information out there about him either told by himself or his friend. He finds it easy to talk about stories from his life, sharing with his viewers random anecdotes and information but his online personality is different than his personal life. It’s hard to be vulnerable, truly vulnerable, especially with someone you love.

He stayed on TeamSpeak with Skeppy for hours, whispered conversations and secrets spilling out between them with only accompanied by the light tapping of their keyboards and soft mouse clicks as they aimlessly wander around the SMP.

Bad learned that Skeppy’s string was anchored in one spot. No matter where he moved across the world, the string alway pointed unerringly back to his unmoving soulmate.

Skeppy spent the first portion of the night rambling about the places he’s traveled in his short 19 years of life.

It was quite a coincidence that the locations matched up almost perfectly with Skeppy’s timeline of traveling.

When the sun rises over the horizon, they both pretended to not remember what happened.

The string keeps moving and moving, spinning him around and around.

~~~

Skeppy, TapL, and Spifey's lease on their L.A. house expired in Febuary and the string moved back south, stretching towards what Bad knows is Clearwater, Florida.

By May, Skeppy's already bored of Florida and packs up to move to Texas. Bad's string adjusted accordingly.

A trip back to L.A., then back to Clearwater, then to Dubai, back to Clearwater, then to Las Vegas for his 21st birthday, and back again to Florida.

Everytime Skeppy traveled, Bad's string followed.

~~~

Skeppy was a lightweight.

Only two shots in and completely wasted. Truly astonishing. Coupled with the fact that he was streaming, it was just a recipe for disaster.

Bad was trying desperately to keep his frustration at bay, hoping the irritation and desperation didn’t leach into his voice. He really hoped Skeppy wouldn’t mind him pulling this card when he watched back the VOD back sober, but at this point he just needed Skeppy to end stream before he could accidentally dox himself or spill even more embarrassing information about himself.

“Who’s going to pick me up from the airport?”

Skeppy’s reply was tentative, almost fragile. “I will.”

Bad pushed the advantage, ignoring the way his red string seemed to hum at his words. “Well, if you’re streaming you can’t be there.”

“Bad, I’ll pick you up,” Skeppy said, his voice soft, impossibly soft.

Bad felt his annoyance fade away, replaced with a rush of affection. “Alright, well end your steam and you can pick me up at the airport once we meet up in, a couple weeks or months or whatever.”

“Okay fine,” Skeppy whined, burying his face in his hands, “I’ll end it for Bad. Goodnight guys.”

He was going to have a long talk with that muffinhead after the hangover passed.

~~~

Bad didn't text Skeppy when the plane landed.

Skeppy should know.

~~~

“Hey dude!” Skeppy exclaimed, spotting Bad from across the baggage claim. Bad yanked his last suitcase off the conveyor belt before turning to glance up at his best friend, who was half-walking half-jogging awkwardly towards him. Skeppy’s body language screamed of apprehensive exhilaration, but Bad probably wasn’t much better. His hands trembled as securing his last piece of luggage on his cart.

Skeppy’s gaze was flickering back and forth between Bad’s face and the glowing red string stretching between their pinky fingers. He didn’t look surprised to see it, just nervous.

That one realization sent an inordinate amount of relief crashing over him. Skeppy wasn’t surprised. He knew. I knew. He’s here!

“BAD!” Skeppy finally crashed into him, wrapping his arms tightly around him in a hug, and Bad buried his head into Skeppy’s shoulder with a laugh.

“Skeppy!”

Their shared string of fate glowed brighter.