Requested by KatzKun333

Also by the way, thank you for all the suggestions but please no more? I suddenly have probably too many for me to be able to finish before I crack down to continue Tattoo AU. Thank you for having so much interest (since in other fandoms when I ask for requests for inspiration I get none) and PLEASE don't be offended if I don't manage to get to your request in time... I'm trying to do as many as I can ASAP but I also need to manage my time and inspiration, you know?

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Xisuma was identified by his helmet.

He knew this, the hermits knew it, everyone knew it.

There was a running joke that he had based his armor off of some old video game about travelling through hell- ironic since everyone knew that he was from the End (even though that raises questions of HOW since the End was more inhospitable than the Nether.)

Xisuma NEVER took his helmet off. At least, not that anyone ever saw. Sometimes he would change his helmet- he had appeared as a turtle for a while, or a yeti during the holiday season. From a distance most of the hermits agreed that the purple and grey were what they used to determine that a figure was Xisuma since the green suit typically camoflaged into grass.

When asked, Xisuma typically would just shrug and say he never felt like taking it off. The newer hermits accepted that, or guessed that maybe he couldn't breathe without his helmet, being from the End where the air is slightly different composition and the void islands were constantly cold enough to cause hypothermia. But then they would get into the argument of the dangers of the End- being so close to the void, there were the dangers of becoming glitched or voided from exposure, and that no reasonable parent would raise their child in such an alien place.

The older hermits preferred to make absolutely wild stories about the origin of Xisuma's helmet that even X got a hoot out of when they eventually got passed to him. Except for Joe, who just snapped at anyone asking and repeating that X probably just didn't like showing his face for whatever reason.

Which is why when a guy that no one recognized entered the weekly community meeting, there was a wide reaction from the hermits. Scar fell out of his chair, Grian set off several rockets, Cleo threw a book, and Doc nearly strangled the guy on sight.

"Who the heck are you?!"  Bdubs yelled while pointing at the newcomer while clinging to the back of Keralis's chair, the occupant of the chair looking wildly between the one unbalancing his seat and the one who drew that person's attention.

"What do you mean, Bdubs?" the stranger asked. Immediately everyone recognized his voice: soft, British, and unmistakable.

The room went absolutely silent.

Before it exploded with a comical amount of shouting and questions!

"Xisuma?"

"Cizuma? That you?"

"Shishwammy! You have a face!"

"Oh my goodness, you genuinely startled me there, X."

"This is a red alert, I repeat, red alert! Ex-I-zooma-void's alternate clone has attempted to breach the server!"

"Evil X has red eyes and white hair, Grian."

"How would you know, Zedaph?"

"Uhhhhh, Wormman told me?"

"Who?"

Xisuma chuckled and waved his hands for everyone to calm down. A blush was spread across his cheeks and tinted his uncovered ears and a nervous smile graced his face.

"Hi, everyone, sorry I'm a little late. My armor got pretty beaten in a wither fight and I didn't have time to repair it before the meeting, though I did try, hence why I'm, uh, a little tardy?" he explained with his voice lifting nervously at the end as all twenty-four other hermits stared at him.

It was almost inconcievable for the hermits to be seeing their admin helmet-less- it was just not really a concept that had been imagined. X was always the grey helmet, purple visor with usually at least three different screens up on the inside, green armor and pale orange sleeves and grey elbow and knee pads. Covered from head to toe in a way some people might say was secretive. This man, with short brown hair on the sides and almost fluffy on top and rather pale skin, a faint sprinkling of freckles that didn't seem like normal freckle patterns, the few unkept patches of an unkept beard, two vivid violet eyes to rival Zedaph's color-changing ones and a long single scar running over his left eye from his forehead down his cheek, and not to mention the jeans and green hoodie over a black T-shirt and rather unmatching scratched and dented mechanical boots of his usual armor... it was difficult to make the connection that this was Xisumavoid.

At the same time though, it felt impossible to imagine him looking any other way, beneath the helmet.

It was obvious that the admin was nervous, for obvious reasons.

Stress somehow magically appeared in front of Xisuma and squinted at X's face for a moment. Then her examination stopped and she cheerfully brought their admin into a quick embrace.

"No biggie! I'm glad you could make it! We wa're a teensy bit worried about ya, you know?" she said.

Xisuma grinned and quickly returned the warm welcome from the former ice queen (since apparently Etho had claimed that title) before TFC gave a careful, firm hand on his shoulder before melting into the crowd again. Wels bowed to the admin and Ren waved with a quick comment of "looking fine, if I do say so myself!" while Team ZIT started clapping and whooping and gave X a trio of thumbs-ups and X was bashfully smiling and ducking his head at the overdramatic welcome. There was no need to say what anyone was thinking but the silent conversations and support were the trademark of their group of friends. Xisuma made his way to the end of the hermits' incredibly long meeting table that at this point was more of a running joke than anything and sat in his seat.

"Alright everyone, should we get started with this week's meeting?"

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Word count: 951