#katelyn shadows

[cuppapoo]

My street more like FREAKY street!!!!!

[mangotelevision]

minecraft diaries x warrior cats

[p0pcorn-hearts]

Aphmau characters full names

Most are my headcanons btw

Aphmau Ramirez-Ross (Ramirez is Sylvanna’s last name, Ross is Zach's)

Aaron Lycan (canon)

Katelyn Murphy

Travis Valkrum (canon)

Garroth Ro'Meave (canon)

Kim Adams

Zane Ro'Meave (canon)

Kaneko Hanami

Lucinda Incanto

Ivy Love

Adachi Michi

Adachi Mikai

Sasha Petrovna Lebedeva

Zenix Moore

Gene Hernandez

Dante Hernandez

Ein Ross

Dottie Collins

Daniel Evans

Blaze O'Hara (canon)

Also I know Aphmau’s last name is believed to be Shalashaska but I say nuh uh

[kurithedweeb]

I'm listening to the Prince of Egypt OST and the Ten Plagues has me thinking of your mcd rewrite...

Me when brothers standing against one another:

Hi Jaskier!!

Brotherhood and betrayal of brotherhood is turning out to be a big theme. On the more literal side of things, we’ve got all the Ro’Meave brothers, Dante & Gene, and also Katelyn & her brothers! I haven’t talked about Katelyn’s family yet, but there’s hella potential there during the war.

On the metaphorical side, we have the guards and the relationship they foster over their service together. Jeffory and Katelyn turning against the Jo9. Brian becoming a spy and a traitor. Garroth seemingly turning his back on Phoenix Drop when he made the deal with Zane. Laurance seemingly turning his back on Phoenix Drop when he dipped for his trip to the Nether. All of the Phoenix Drop guards having to band together when the citizens accuse them of being involved in Lord Malik’s murder and then many of them leaving. Not to mention Zenix attacking the town that’s harbored him for years.

Garroth and Zenix’s entire situation, I will count here even though we see them as more of a father-son duo from Garroth’s POV and a bit of a worshiper-worshipee dynamic from Zenix’s, the sort of thing we’re supposed to see from Zenix and the Shadow Lord except Zenix doesn’t care even a little about Shad. Zenix and the other Shadow Knights. The entire Shadow Knights rebellion.

Oh, so many choices. Oh, so many feelings to play around with.

[cinnamontoastcroonch]

i’m back with more Laurance food for myself and my fellow zvahlers

- fav fruit: tangerine. once Nana got her hands on some from a merchant, and she made tarts. knowing laurance loved the fruit, she brought him one. he lost his fucking mind over it.

- his eyes/eyebrows are very expressive.

- such sassy banter with Lucinda. they’re besties

- forever views Dante as his younger brother.

- i have this idea that all sks are sort of united by one hive sense—that being an open/active nearby portal. i like to think that if one is opened, all earthly shadow knights within a certain reach might experience a sort of burst of magnetic pain, located generally in the head but also near their “death scar” (scar of the final injury sustained before death). until that portal is closed or destroyed, the nearest knights could navigate their way to it without any input other than its energy.

- contrary to popular expectations, this man loves cold weather. meteli was always hot and humid, and the nether… was the nether. so, he finds the cold to be a nice contrast. once pelted Katelyn with a snowball. war ensued.

- the only people who have seen him cry/he has allowed himself to cry around are Cadenza (ofc) and Zoey (post nether. whether he knew she was there or not was unknown. he was awfully quiet about it) Vylad has too, but Laurance doesn’t know this.

^^please for the love of god somebody write him finally breaking down in front of somebody i need it (i am rolling around in my straight jacket and typing this with my nose)

[zaneworm]

Some more MCD sketches plus my original Molly drawing that inspired the other one I posted!

[maelihi]

Aphmau Body Claims!

please keep in mind all bodies are beautiful, and these bodies are based off of my own personal headcanons. don’t ever think less of yourself <3

Katelyn:

muscular, in shape and abs are present.

Aphmau:

plus sized, hips larger than top half.

Kawaii~Chan:

not much of a defined waist, plus sized with a bust that is symmetrical to her hips.

Dottie:

softer, not an active person, and wolves aren’t often petite in my mind, she has a bit more softness to her.

Lucinda:

hourglass figure, bigger bust since it’s referenced a lot.

Maria:

healthy, larger body. a firmer stomach and structure.

Sasha:

very thin and petite, smaller chest but it goes well with her smaller figure.

these are all very gorgeous women- and i love the diversity in body types and they’re all extremely gorgeous.

[y0urlittl3ang3l]

I’m just curious, because I saw your garroth genshin au which made me get back into genshin lol, which characters would you consider a 5 stars? And who would you consider 4 stars?

I consider Garroth(Cryo), Laurance(Pyro), Aphmau(Hydro), Aaron(Electro), Esmund(Cryo), Katelyn(Pyro), Lucinda(Pyro), Zane(Pyro), Ein(Dendro), Gene(Electro), Garte(Geo), and Jeffory(Geo) to be 5 stars

With Travis(Electro), Dante(Hydro), KC(Pyro), Cadenza(Dendro), Malachi(Electro), Ivy(Pyro), Blaze(Geo), Sasha(Electro), Zenix(Cryo), Michi(Hydro), Melissa(Geo) and Nicole(Pyro) to be 4 stars

[1-800-pastelskies]

so like hi, i’m the person who created those edits of nana/kc, lucinda, aph and travis like 2 or 3 years ago and i finally decided to like actually make more so i’m letting y’all decide on which ones i’m gonna do next

i’m gonna make all of them eventually but i’m gonna go in order of who gets more votes on the poll

once i complete all of these i’ll probably move on to more of the side characters who i’ll probably only make like minor adjustments to like kim or ivy

[dryya-doesnt]

Minecraft diaries but I need an excuse to practice drawing musculature and body types based on combat style

Clearly there is no favoritism here.

Reasoning behind this actually runs deeper than just drawing hot people unfortunately…

Garroth’s a tank, high defense, built for defensive combat — I like to think that he was trained also in the Ro'meave combat style plus guard academy, but switched to a more defensive combat style once settling down in a small town like Phoenix drop.

Laurance is similar in build to Garroth thanks to guard training, but he's quick on his feet and agile. His mobility has been permanently enhanced post shadow knight transformation, and his instincts are also heightened (SK but also his brief period of blindness)

Katelyn is broad — simply because her combat style focuses more on hand to hand / close range combat. Thus her upper body strength likely is more prominent in her design. She just really likes punching things.

[allforthegaymes]

Firm believer that the twinyards sort their shit out before graduation.

Both of them internally knowing that having a brother is better than fighting about their grievances.

Andrew was a foster kid longing for a permanent sense of family and getting betrayed each time and Aaron grew up surrounded by family that continuously hurt him at every turn.

And even though they dont have the best relationship in college they share the same dorm room and let each other hide in each others shadows when theyre with the team. Because even if their teammates cant tell them apart, at least they cant be openly aggressive at them without risking pissing the wrong twin off.

Aaron who hates Andrew for keeping secrets from him but knows he cant tell Andrew about Katelyn.

Andrew who hates keeping Neil a secret from Aaron but its only fair is how he sorts it in his brain.

Andrew who hates that he cant stop Aaron from dating women because how can Aaron not see how they keep hurting him?

But Aaron who cant understand why Andrew can be okay with Neil after finding out about Drake.

Stuck in the same cycle of being frustrated that they cant protect one another, because the other believes they dont need to be protected.

Andrew thinks his job is to protect other people, he’s never been offered it in return. Seeing Aaron kill Drake was a fluke, a one time thing, but Aaron is frustrated that Andrew cant see that Aaron is trying to protect Andrew from Neil the same way Andrew tries to protect Aaron from Katelyn.

And Bee makes them talk and see how they’re perceiving and trying to protect one another from the same made up threats stemming from their mutually abusive childhoods.

And when Aaron and Katelyn get in an argument senior year about how theyre going to have to intern at different hospitals if they both want to go into different specifications, Andrew has to suck it up and focus on comforting Aaron, running Bee’s words back in his head that not every argument is an attempt to hurt someone.

Andrew sitting across from Aaron as Aaron tries to fight through mumbled words about how Katelyn had told him she wasnt in a place to argue anymore that night and told him they could continue the conversation the next morning when they’ve slept on it.

Andrew confronting and accepting the idea that Katelyn isnt a mean reborn version of Tilda set on ripping Aaron apart from the seams again.

Aaron catching sight of the way Neil whispers “yes or no” to Andrew after a tense car ride where they havent spoken the whole time, the way Andrew says back a firm “no” and Neil turns to ask Aaron to swap seats with him for the rest of the drive.

Aaron seeing the way that Neil will respect Andrews boundaries even when theyre both frustrated with each other, giving Andrew the space he needs without taking it personally.

Aaron who cant stop seeing it after that, the way Neil says it before things that seem standard to other people. Asking before he leans into Andrew’s space to grab his helmet from where its tucked in the locker behind Andrew. Asking when they’re already holding hands, and when Andrew doesnt answer immediately he tugs their hands apart and shoved his own deep in his pockets as they walk.

Aaron and Andrew slowly coming to terms that the other doesnt need protection anymore, but needs support from the other.

And its awkward and disjointed, because neither fully knows how to be a brother of all things.

But it happens.

Andrew explains why he doesnt let Aaron drive his car and Aaron opens up that he’s too scared to drive anyways after the whole Tilda incident. But Andrew offers to teach him in the stadium parking lot if he ever decides he does want to try and overcome it and Aaron asks Matt to borrow his truck instead so Andrew doesnt have to get flashbacks to the last time he was passenger in a small car.

Aaron reaches out to text Andrew if he wants a coffee while Aarons out and he doesnt take the one worded “yes.” as a dismissal anymore.

Andrew sends Aaron pictures of him and Katelyn in their matching scrubs after their first intern shift at the hospital, both passed out on the bean bags in Andrew’s dorm even though Aaron’s lived in Matt’s dorm for months by then.

Aaron’s favorite peppermint coffee creamer is always stocked at Andrew’s dorm even when its out of season and he has to buy it for $7.

Andrew’s favorite milky way bars are always scattered around in weird places even though he knows he hasnt bought them himself in over a year.

Andrew’s the first person that Aaron tells when he decides he’s going to propose to Katelyn their senior year, and Andrew goes with him to countless different ring shops, set on helping Aaron find the perfect one.

When Aaron gets accepted to medical school after graduation, and gets his tuition fully paid for by an ‘anonymous donor’ he leaves a thank you note on Neils door.

And Andrew is the first person to send Katelyn the behind the scenes proposal photos of Aaron as he was stressed trying to decide which of five different button ups would be best for the dinner.

Theyre awkwardly trying to figure out how to be part of one anothers lives but the fact that the other is also trying is what really helps bring them together in the end.

[cinnamontoastcroonch]

it’s times like these (halloweekend) when i wish that diaries was more mainstream (not considered weird) for our generation growing up so that i could see some sassy mfs dressed up as my favs

[noybusiness]

Port Charles was a lot like Dark Shadows, which I also loved. If any modern soap opera deserves to be brought back, it's Port Charles. 

The weird thing is that Michael Corinthos (Chad Duell) and Starr Manning (Kristen Alderson) dressed as a vampire couple for Halloween 2012. Starr was a character transplanted from One Life to Live when that show ended. A year later, when ABC removed the former One Life to Live characters from General Hospital, their actors remained as different characters. Alderson now played Kiki Jerome, who was also a love interest of Michael's like Starr had been. Kiki was eventually revealed to be the daughter of Dr. Silas Clay, who was the brother of Stephen Clay/Caleb Morley (king of the vampires on Port Charles); both Silas and Caleb were played by Michael Easton. 

So Kiki was Caleb's niece. And two of Michael Corinthos's later love interests, Nelle Benson and Willow Tait, were also Silas's daughters and thus Caleb's nieces. Michael and Willow are currently married on the show. Michael's kids Wiley Corinthos and Amelia Corinthos, by Nelle and Willow respectively, are Caleb's great-nephew and great-niece.

Here's a behind-the-scenes video Chad Duell and Kristen Alderson made for their vampire Halloween:

sometimes I remember that Port Charles was a thing that happened and I feel this overwhelming sadness because I miss it. i miss how soapy and bonkers it was. i miss how excited i got to run home and watch it after school. I miss Livvie and Rafe and Caleb. I miss my little vampire soap so much.

[gumbootillustrations]

UGH I FUCKING FINALLY FINISHED THIS

so yeah, have the divine warriors of the second war of the magi!!

more deets n closeups under the cut :3

aph!! i like to think that although the incarnations of the divine warriors r generally pretty similar, they do have some minor differences. for example, whereas the matron of the first war of the magi (irene) had one of the sets of wings on her head covering her eyes, the matron of the second war (mcd!aphmau) has both of them held back. this is bc whereas irene had lost her humanity (and therefore the ability to connect with mortals), aph hasn't - and, therefore, her eyes are open to the struggles of humanity. additionally, i took a lot of inspiration from honkai impact 3rd for these designs - in aph's case, i was inspired by elysia's herrscher of human: ego battlesuit and how it looks like a wedding dress (which a lot of folks have interpreted as an expression of her love for humanity, which is smth i want to convey w aph).

i think my favourite part of aaron's destroyer form is his seal (the thingy behind his head like a halo). i wanted to rlly play into the whole destroyer/devourer aspect of his abilities and domains, and i thought a black hole would fit perfectly! it also sort of (unintentionally) plays into how i see the dynamic between the matron and the destroyer and how they're both mirrors of each other; whereas the destroyer, well, destroys (and his black hole devours everything in sight), the matron creates and nurtures (seen in how aph's seal is almost like a white hole). i also wanted his armour to look a lot like the armour that shadow knights wear, albeit without all the spikes and spines and whatnot given that he isn't a shadow knight himself (shad's destroyer form from the first war probably looks a lot more similar to traditional shadow knight armour).

i'm lowkey suuper proud of how travis's keeper form turned out (even if i had to go back right at the end n fix it bc i forgot to add his tail 😭). i wanted this form to sort of be a mix between a high mage and a rogue: whereas the keeper embodies knowledge and magick, travis himself is a prankster who relies on cunning and trickery to gain the upper hand on his opponents. as a result, he's the only one who doesn't automatically manifest a weapon when he shifts into this form - instead, i feel like he chooses to rely more on magicks and witchcraft during combat.

katelyn's design was lowkey the hardest to pin down. originally, i wanted to go for something that was suuuper inspired by roman armour and had a copper and teal/turquoise colour scheme, but it wound up feeling too magical girl-ish and i scrapped it. i've retained the roman inspirations, but i headcanon that her flames are so hot they burn blue, so i settled on a blue-and-white colour scheme w some purple elements. i think my favourite part is her gauntlets! i feel like she uses them as an extension of herself/another pair of hands to punch with. the blue elements also lean into menphia's association with the moon - in ashes, ashes, tu'la is based on the roman empire and, as a result, is where werewolves originate from, and with werewolves having such close ties to the moon.... yeah. i'll probably do a post on tu'la later on at some point.

my blorbo

garroth's design is probably the one that's changed the least, but i'll still need to update his ref sheet anyway. i don't know if i conveyed it very well but the sort-of wing-things on his back are slabs of earth that can be shaped into a shield - originally i had him holding a shield but i wanted him to look a bit more divine warrior-ish so i retooled his design.

the boy! i was tossing up between having vylad or dante fill the role of the wanderer, but i settled on dante as i feel like vylad fits better as a sort of weird guide sort of figure within the narrative. plus, i have a real soft spot for dante and wanted him to remain in the limelight a little bit - i love his dynamic with garroth and laurance and i wanted to explore that further. i sort of wanted to play into his whole red-and-blue colour scheme that we see in canon diaries, but bc kul'zak is a nature deity (specifically of the wilderness), i wanted to incorporate some greenery into his design. i hope i've done an okay-ish job here - overall i'm pretty happy tho, but i can't promise that there won't be any tweaks in the future.

this is a redhead laurance propaganda spreading blog and i Refuse to apologise for it. i'd like to think that laurance's original colour scheme is similar to his justiciar form - lots of beautiful reds and golds and oranges to match the flames of his father's forge - but after he comes back from the nether with a Severe fear of fire he switches to the greens and browns that he's known for in canon. eventually he slowly begins to reclaim his fire and returns to the golds and oranges that he's introduced with (haha colour symbolism go brrrrrr).

but yeah. the special interest is special interesting. let me know if u have any questions!

[that-one-i-think]

Fun Garorth Headcanons for my fic cause he deserves some love

- Garroth grew a beard after coming back from the Irene Dimension. With Aphmau pregnant, the threat of shadow knights, and rebuilding the Phoenix Alliance, he had no time to properly shave

- The reason why Garroth still has the beard is due to the fact that the one time he shaved, Alina and Lilith couldn't tell who he was and panicked

- Radiates body heat like a fireplace

- In my fic he is bigger than Aaron. They are the same height but Garroth is built like a strong man while Aaron is built like every 8-pack fantasy man in unrealistic media. (Shad is taller though)

- The man is hairy. Chest, arms, legs, everywhere (but he takes care of himself)

- Despite having some stomach, running into him is like running into a brick wall.

- The only person who can beat him in arm wrestling is Katelyn. Nicole comes close and so does Aaron

- Given the fact that he almost constantly wears heavy metal armor, out of it he is the designated pack mule. Got strength and stamina for days

- The only person he has ever been able to consistently win against in a race is Zane.

- During guard training he had a few close "friends" but it never happened more than once because he would feel bad.

- Either the most awkward hugs or the warmest and most comforting bone crushing hugs. No imbetween.

- The reason why he stuck with Garroth was due to the fact that the 3 years after his birth it was one of the most popular names in O'khasis so he didn't feel like he needed to change it while on the run.

- Light sleeper while in bed alone, heavy sleeper when with another person. Mastered the art of dad naps whenever Lilith would cuddle with him as a toddler

- Has a really high alcohol tolerance and did pay for a new shield with bet money once.

- Great at carrying heavy things and mining, a horrible carpenter and builder.

- His mother taught him weaving and calligraphy, and it is why he is so dexterous.

- Can not fire a bow to save his life. A lot better at taking arrows then firing them

- He is more scared of dolphins than sharks

- As a child, Zane convinced Garroth that he was a vampire and Garroth believed it until he was 11. Even now, he has a hard time believing that Zane wasn't a vampire at times.

- He can read fast and enjoys reading out loud. He read to both Zane and Vylad as children.

- Has a sweet tooth but would kill a man for a soft pretzel.

[ashestoashes7]

8. “Who did this to you?” with neil and aaron? 💜

who did this to you? - ao3 version

Aaron had a hand-shaped bruise wrapped around his wrist. Neil shouldn't be the one asking hard questions.

cw: implied/referenced child abuse

Aaron Minyard was no stranger to bruises. Being a backliner on a Class 1 Exy team known for their willingness to fight opponents and each other meant an errant elbow was never a surprise, but this particular circumstance hadn’t happened in a while.

The purple wrapping around his wrist wasn’t the result of a particularly unruly stick check or a pair of handcuffs, but he wished it was. If either was the case, the probability of Andrew seeking an early morning murder charge would be lower. Probably.

Aaron tilted his arm to catch the bright area of the broken streetlight and made out the shape of the warped handprint encircling his wrist. Familiar, he thought. And then, Andrew can never know.

It wasn’t that big of a deal. The other student-athletes at Palmetto had never been their biggest fans and this wasn’t the first time Aaron had a less-than-pleasant interaction with one of them. This was just the first time they got physical. First didn’t mean last, but Aaron could hope.

The knuckles on his other hand were swollen from his retaliation, but that wouldn’t be enough for Andrew. Whatever ‘some number of strikes and you’re out’ policy PSU was operating on wouldn’t be good forever. Aaron had yet to get ahold of the most recently revised version, but he doubted Andrew’s response would be by the book.

Andrew didn’t take kindly to hands being laid on Aaron and had never been known for his subtlety. His warnings were broken bones or a blade spilling rivulets of red onto his adversary’s shirt. While effective, the source of the wounds could easily be pointed out and punished which was the very circumstance Aaron was trying to avoid. Andrew didn’t do subtle things and Aaron wasn’t willing to lose him over something like this. Not again.

Besides, he had it handled. Matt had been more than willing to show him a few self-defense moves when he expressed interest, and Aaron was a quick study. Darius’s broken nose would be evidence of Matt’s successful stint as a teacher once he gathered up the courage and the excuses to get it checked out.

Though upon first glance the mark was similar, the imprint wrapped around the skin of his wrist was nothing like his mother’s. Her hand was smaller.

He pressed down lightly and winced at the dull ache that arose. It wouldn’t be enjoyable to deal with, but no one would ever have to know. Despite what most of the Foxes would say if asked, Aaron was a good secret keeper when he wanted to be. Aaron had cared about Katelyn too much to do her the disservice of pushing her aside harshly enough that there was no chance Andrew would know of her. But Andrew found out and eventually their deal snapped like the broken ends of a pencil Andrew tossed at his head while studying.

Sometimes, he wondered if in a world where Aaron had not broken it first Andrew's shadow would have been the final piece to shatter their deal. After a longer than usual period of watching the natural light of Betsy’s room rather than catch physical proof of his twin’s ephemeral dissatisfaction, he had almost asked Andrew that very question—Aaron or Neil—but he didn’t want to know the answer.

Andrew might not hate Josten the way his tone around such words would imply, but Aaron could do it for him. Mutual loathing was their preferred and silently agreed upon situation which was why when Josten trailed out in full running gear Aaron didn’t spare him more than a glance.

What a shame Josten couldn’t say the same.

Josten didn’t speak at first, but his worn-in shoes came to a halt only a few feet from the piece of pavement Aaron was directing his gaze at. The cracks and scuff marks could only hold his attention for so long before Josten’s lack of movement edged him even closer to intolerable than usual.

“Go away,” Aaron said, too exhausted to come up with something more poignant.

A shadow fell over his sitting form. When Aaron moved to place his hands behind his back to force himself up, Josten caught his wrist gently. His thumb traced over the marks distinctly shaped like fingers and something dangerous lay beneath his tone. “Who did this to you?”

“Wrong twin,” Aaron critiqued, pulling his arm free with more force than necessary.

“Aaron,” Josten stated, unimpressed. “What happened?”

Aaron stood up and met Josten’s emotionless blue eyes with an entirely warranted mound of surprise. “Like you care.”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t.” Josten tapped his foot on the ground as if he had the right to be impatient. By all means Josten could continue ahead and never speak to him again. Aaron would be immensely grateful, had even suggested the option many times to his face and whatever messenger pigeon came bearing Josten’s words. Aaron wasn’t blocking his path or magically removing his ability to run but upon hearing that Josten just frowned. “Give me a name.”

Aaron rolled his eyes and laughed humorlessly. “What? So you can kill him?”

“Him,” Josten repeated, eyes still locked in a one-sided staring battle with Aaron’s wrist.

A Palmetto Fox midnight conversation was never predictable, but Aaron had somehow managed to forget that when dealing with Neil ‘son of a mobster’ Josten murder was very firmly not off the table. “You can’t just kill people!”

Josten looked at him like he was stupid and asked, with genuine intrigue, “What does it matter if I don’t get caught?”

Aaron considered him for a long moment, a thousand words shuffling across his tongue, but couldn’t find anything to appropriately convey his incredulity. It was almost sweet in a morbid sort of way. The presence of such a despicable thought told Aaron the past week spent surviving off almost only energy drinks and whatever protein-filled monstrosity Kevin shoved in his hands once his taste buds had fucked off was truly screwing with him. He could deal with that later. Josten was a much more present and bloodthirsty issue.

“I have it handled,” Aaron said. To his immense dissatisfaction, Josten still didn’t leave. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell Andrew you pretended to care if he ever finds out. I’m sure your lies will be appreciated elsewhere. Very far from here. You’ll need some practice if you think that’s fooling anyone.”

Josten’s eyebrows scrunched up making him look almost confused. “You think I’m pretending to care out of some sort of supposed obligation?”

“I can play Exy with a few bruises, no need to have a little freakout. I’m fine—see, that’s what those words actually mean. Andrew currently tolerates you for reasons beyond my comprehension, but he isn’t about to buy you a cheap plastic ring for feigned concern. I’m calling it as I see it, and I don’t want to look at your face any more than I already have to. Fuck off!”

“I’m not pretending.” Josten tilted his head slightly, not rising to Aaron’s attempts at driving him off. “If you let me take care of it, it won’t happen again.”

“What do you mean by again? And cut the movie villain shit it just sounds weird. Wait I thought you were stalking Kevin and he hasn’t bothered—”

“So I’m right.” Josten snapped his fingers and nodded to himself. “Darius Smith. Baseball—” Josten’s face contorted like he had encountered a bad smell “—pitcher. Six feet even. Brown hair. Green eyes.”

“That’s creepy,” Aaron said, but he didn’t deny it.

Josten started walking off, calculations swirling behind his eyes when Aaron realized the gravity of what Josten was planning out. What he had just inadvertently sent Josten out to do. Could he be charged for conspiracy to commit murder over this? Was this coercion? Josten would probably find some way to talk at least one of them out of chains for the sake of Exy, but would it be Aaron?

This was the moment when he was supposed to call Wymack or campus security or someone who would be inclined and able to stop Andrew’s menace from committing what at the very least would be a minor felony. But Josten already knew who it was and Aaron didn’t really feel like chasing after him.

If Aaron got Josten in containment—knowing the FBI they’d pull some shit like that—Kevin would be a mess and Andrew would be insufferable. Again.

Aaron was the first person Darius had taken a swing at, there was no guarantee he would be the last. He watched Josten walk away and felt the weight of his silence like handcuffs covering up the remains of blood spatter he would never really be able to regret. Next could be Nicky or Andrew or, as the man had threatened before Aaron broke his nose, Katelyn. Josten might just prove himself useful after all.

“No killing!” Aaron called out before the man steadily vanishing into darkness could go out of hearing range.

“Maiming?” Josten shot back, voice loud enough Aaron winced. He couldn’t tell because of a conglomeration of factors that could be summed up to lighting and distance, but the fucker was probably smiling.

“What? Are you planning to give him a stern talking to?” Aaron wasn’t sure which option would be preferable.

Whenever he was given cause for anger—a strange thing to think of in Aaron's favor rather than wielded against him—Josten was vicious. Removing his filter created a different beast entirely. Josten always went for the throat, words or a borrowed blade would strive for the same typically disastrous outcome.

Aaron should be horrified; he didn't know what to think about all the ways in which he wasn't. Violence wasn't endearing, it was a fact.

Josten shrugged emphatically enough that Aaron could see it. Then, he held up his hand in the air. It took a few moments for Aaron to realize his fingers were crossed. “No promises!”

“Asshole,” Aaron murmured under his breath.

He was thankful there was no one around to make the egregious and mistaken claim that he sounded almost fond. Aaron said Josten’s name again, drenched it in as much loathing as he could muster, and then let it vanish into the night air.

It wouldn’t be the first time Josten proved himself a liar.

The next morning, Darius Smith was not in his Hal seat or mingling around about the edges of the room. He wasn’t in the hallway or lurking within a doorway. Darius Smith was abruptly gone, and Aaron knew why.

It seemed the most prolific of liars could dabble in honesty once in a while for unpredictability’s sake. That was the only reason Aaron dared to consider.

When the professor landed on ‘Darius Smith’ in the attendance record Aaron didn’t say a word. The clock ticked on closer to the start time, and no familiar flower awaited him through the small windowpane placed in the entrance. His suspicions were confirmed when moments before the bell the empty seat in his physical chemistry class was filled by a redhead who had vehemently sworn off any iteration of the subject.

Neil met Aaron’s eyes immediately and with an intensity that wouldn’t be out of place speckled in blood. He drew a finger across his neck slowly and took enjoyment in Aaron’s brief hesitancy to return his enthusiasm

Andrew didn’t have taste by any means, but perhaps Neil wasn’t the worst person he could have chosen. Second worst, perhaps.

No, that was too generous. Definitely the worst. Andrew would probably agree with that, and might have even said it in their weird pseudo-flirting that sounded more like threats than foreplay. In Aaron’s voice. Oh f—

Aaron was not going to head down that particular train of thought. That momentary lapse in judgment would never leave the secrecy of his head.

“I hate you,” Aaron reminded them both.

Neil’s eyes lit up like it was the greatest compliment Aaron could have ever offered him. “We should do this more often.”

“No. If I wanted a terminal annoyance, I’d ask Nicky about how Erik finds all of his games. Or Kevin about the Greco-Roman wars.”

“I did that once,” Neil said, mouth downturned in remembrance.

“I know.”

Neil peered at him curiously. “You know, you’re not so bad.”

“Wrong twin,” Aaron reminded him.

Neil’s face turned into a mockup of a glare and he pushed out of his seat sharply, interrupting the lecturer’s chalk etchings with a high-pitched squeal. “Numbers shouldn’t work like that.”

Aaron stuck his foot out so Neil tripped as he moved to shuffle by him. Neil caught himself on the edge of Aaron’s desk and not-so-incidentally tipped over his pencil case.

Neil flipped him off once he reached the doorway in plain view of the rest of the class. Aaron stared pointedly forward until Neil gave up and the wave of whispers commenced.

Aaron would rather jump out of a moving car than call them anything close to friends.