#equiara

i was going to post this one again with the meowrails one but tumblr exploded

AU in which Aradia didn't die and Equius became a ghost, obsessed with idea being around her all the time because she makes him feel alive

Another collaboration with @veta612! The concept belongs to me, I also colored art and she did lineart.

The full description of this AU below:

Summary: The Heir of Breath is recruited by Alternate Calliope to help ensure Homestuck^2 never happens. The clearest way to make it work is to force the game to run a patch before its completion, but it will require a lot of work on John's end, and the results are something no one but Alt Calliope and her increasingly fed up editor could have expected. John has never felt closer to the Makaras, and as time goes on, the feelings start to be reciprocated.

Author: @linguisticssystem

EQUIUS => SEEK THE HIGHB100D.

EQUIUS => THE HIGHB100D APPEARS TO HAVE AN ENTIRE VAMPIRE ARM DOWN HIS WORDCHUTE.

EQUIUS => GOOD LORD HE CAN FIT A LOT OF ARM IN THERE.

EQUIUS => ...YOU ARE HAVING...DIFFICULTIES.

--

NEPETA => GENTLY SPONGE YOUR DAMP AGGRIEVED MEOWRAIL. HE'S AN IDIOT, BUT HE'S YOURS.

AradiaAugust week 2: relationships!!

For flush, Arajade is an absolute classic, naturally. Your Honor they are Simply in love

For pale, I went with Feferi. I briefly considered putting Tavros here, but Arafef is just so Good and lately I've really been preferring Tavros as her auspistice. So the gay girls it is!!!!

For ash, as mentioned, I really like Tavros mediating her and Equius. I feel like its just something that would be really good for all three of them, as well as the mutual respect involved being present and able to make the relationship work.

(I know you requested summer camp, but i ran out of milk today. My horrible espresso con leche is now equiara's problem)

He had to have been the worst would-be barista she had ever trained, and with five years of Green Mermaid Coffee under her belt, that was saying something.

The man had no sense of muscle control or dexterity, spraying frozen cappuccinos everywhere in his attempts to just lid the damn things. Every time he tried to steam the milk he'd push too far and scald it, ruining gallon after gallon until Sollux had to make a milk run. GM Corporate footed the bill, of course, but it was the principle of the matter. The guy managed to make throwing out trash into a challenge, tying the bags with so much force they split in the can.

By the end of his first shift, Aradia had a nice migraine thrumming behind her eyelids. Luckily Damara was a decent manager and let her take a fifteen, swatting her little sister's ass as she slumped to the back.

Decent, not professional.

The next day Equius was back, obviously lacking the good sense to quit and find a job he was better suited. One of those garbage mashers at the dump, that make cars into cubes, something like that.

He stood in front of her, already sweaty and muscles bulging. His black cap shaded his eyes as he bit his lip with crooked teeth. "I'm shadowing you again today, Miss Megido."

"Aradia, we've been over this, you don't have to be that polite on the floor. First name basis is fine." She sighed as she grabbed a sleeve of large cups and three bags of caramel drizzle. "I'm register today, think you can tap out orders without cracking the screen?"

His shoulders rose up to his ears, which were pinking up fast. "I can try."

"Well that's all they ask, right? To try?" Aradia didn't roll her eyes as she walked out of the back and to the floor, smoothly packing the cups into the cup stand and handing the caramel off to Sollux. He already had the empty bottles out and was date dotting them, just needed to load up. He nodded at her in thanks, and she walked over to the monitor.

Equius stood a safe distance back, but she needed him to actually see what she was doing, so she grabbed his apron strings and gave a little tug. He walked forward instantly, his front bumping against the counter to stand next to her. Aradia pointed to the screen and listed off all the key info, paying his unnaturally stiff posture no mind. The day before he'd been practically made of iron, she could almost hear the squeak of his joints as he moved.

Customers flowed in and she stood back, letting him take an order or two, and watched him stumble his way through the customer service script. Objectively, it was a trainwreck. He stuttered, messed up the names, pressed the wrong keys for cash and card, and had to be corrected each time. However, it was impossible to miss the endeared smiles on people's faces as he apologized so earnestly, saying it was his first time on register and he was trying his best.

Aradia patted him on the back, gentile and safe, but Equius flinched like it was a bracing smack. "Dude. You gotta relax."

"Er. Yes. Sorry." He ducked his head, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. "I didn't break the screen, I was very gentle with it."

"So you were." She raised an eyebrow. "You're one of those guys with an Otter Box on your phone, aren't you?"

"Um. Once."

"...Wow."

The next customer walked to the counter and Aradia stepped back, letting Equius take over. He didn't end up needing correction very often, and by the end of the day Aradia found herself being the shadow, observing the new guy get comfortable in the new role.

This is such an Equius song & rather resembles many of his interactions with all the beta trolls that aren't Nepeta (specifically Aradia & Gamzee)