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#I guess it is janus critical
beauty-and-passion · 5 months
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sooooo, latest video
Well... it seems like there is a video XD
Jokes aside, thanks anon for letting me know Mr. Sanders posted a video that was Sanders Sides related. Kudos for that <3
Then... I have some thoughts about this video. Thoughts I will divide into pros and cons, to make everything easier to explain.
If you don’t like long posts or reading criticism of any kind, please save yourself (and myself) some time and ignore this post. I won’t get offended, I promise.
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PROS
A real Aside
It looks like Thomas finally learned the difference between Asides and main episodes. It took him three years, but he finally realized that the Asides should be simple, no plot-related stuff. Good to see he finally got it.
(Still don’t understand why ATHD is a main episode, tho. It’s not plot-related and it’s very clearly more low-effort than FWSA and DWIT. Maybe Thomas didn’t want to leave it all by itself?)
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Some hopes for the characters
I was very relieved to see that the characters’ personalities are not completely butchered. There are a few things I will talk about in the cons section, but the overall vibe has stayed more or less the same. I’m especially relieved Virgil isn’t the fratboy he was in Thomas’ latest Instagram post, in which he talked all fratboy-esque and I almost expected him to bully me and steal my lunch.
The most in characters are Janus and Remus, which is nice to see too. Remus in particular, is still a chaotic rat man and I love him so much.
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Remus is my chaotic child
I personally think the best part of the whole video is Remus saying the others told him he could kill Bing Bong. I laughed so hard, I had to stop the video. That wonderful, chaotic rat man deserves to kill everything, as a treat <3
But actually, everything Remus says is great and that proves he’s the best, in this essay I will-
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CONS
A weird start
Let me recap my experience while watching the video for the first time.
So, the video starts and I’m welcomed by this guy with an orange shirt and blue hat, all happy and excited. For a split second, I think he’s Patton… but then, a Patton-esque guy with a sweater appears.
Okay, now I’m confused because I have no idea what’s happening here and don’t know who these guys are - I mean, if sweater guy is Patton, who is the orange guy? The orange side was introduced and I missed it? What’s happening here? Who are they? Are those the Inside Out characters as seen by Thomas? Will these guys meet their Sanders Sides “counterparts”?
But then another guy appears and he looks like Janus, so now I’m really lost because, seriously, who are these people? They call each other by name so they should be the Sides, but they also call the orange guy “Joy”, so who is this guy? Who are they? Are they the Inside Out characters cosplaying the Sides? Or vice-versa? What’s happening here?
I got my answer, only when Virgil appeared and clarified this was all a weird roleplay.
I have several questions:
Was it really necessary?
Why?
No, seriously, why? The Sides are the first to admit they aren’t an exact match to the Inside Out characters, so why doing this? Why flatten their multifaceted roles and personalities to do this? Because Mr. Sanders isn’t able to handle them?
Okay, fine, I know why Mr. Sanders wanted to do this weird roleplay and it could’ve been fun to see the Sides acting as the Inside Out characters… if only the Sides’ personalities stayed the same. But since their personalities are not the same anymore, all the viewers feel are confusion and a weird sense of “something’s wrong here”, which they can’t exactly pinpoint.
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Wrong aesthetics and confused personalities
In order to explain this point, I will bring two examples: Janus and Roman.
First of all, Janus. I know, he’s our beloved sassy queen and we all love him… but his aesthetic in this episode was completely wrong.
Janus is a character who wears layers upon layers of clothing. That’s the first thing you get, the first thing that characterizes him. But in this episode, he wears nothing but a gilet and a scarf. He shows with bare arms, bare shoulders, a deep V-neck and doesn't wear his gloves: for his standard, he’s basically naked.
You can tell me: “It was to match Disgust’s dress”. But since Remus put his own color on the costume, why couldn’t Janus put his own twist too? He’s not doing a perfect cosplay after all. So why not wear a sheer shirt underneath the gilet, to mimic the “nakedness” without showing his skin? Or a greenish/yellow shirt to match both his and Disgust’s aesthetic? I know Mr. Sanders loves to show his skin, but since he created a character whose aesthetic is to not show skin, why “strip” him just to show some more skin? Did Mr. Sanders forgot this aspect of Janus’ character?
But if Janus had at least his face and personality to remind us who he is, Roman had nothing. Seriously, look me in the eye and tell me that, when you saw that guy in orange, you immediately thought: “Ah yes, here is Roman”. There was no way to recognize him, because he had nothing of Roman.
First of all, not a single drop of red anywhere. And I know, roleplay and whatever… but Mr. Sanders is a theater man. He knows the importance of colors. He created seven characters by associating a color to each of them. And yet, Roman appeared without a drop of red, while Remus had no problem turning Fear’s sweater into green.
That doesn't mean Roman had to turn full red, but he could wear a red accessory at least: a bracelet, a necklace, a pin on his hat, whatever. Logan’s tie was blue after all. Or wasn’t Roman allowed to put a twist on his cosplay? This weird roleplay session gives me more questions than answers :/
Second (and most important), Roman’s personality was nowhere to be found. This guy is a more obnoxious, forced version of Roman. When he talked, I didn’t see a person talking: I saw Mr. Sanders reading a script. Or better, screaming a script. Seriously, why was he so loud? Why was he screaming this much, during the roleplay session? I almost got a headache and I don’t get headaches so easily. Seriously, if I needed to hear him louder, I could’ve turned up the volume of my computer, no need to scream this much.
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The makeup and the importance of details
The dark sides’ makeup has been butchered.
Remus’ eyeshadow used to be of a deep dark black/blue/purple. So why is it so light? Because of the roleplay? But it’s still light after the roleplay. What happened, did Thomas finish the eyeshadow? It’s not too expensive, can’t he buy some more?
Same goes for Virgil: his eyeshadow is basically non-existent. And that’s even weirder, considering that in the Christmas episode, he said he wanted darker makeup to match the darkness of his soul. Does that mean his soul isn’t dark anymore?
And then, Janus. My poor, beloved Janus. His makeup used to be impressive, with scales of a deep green/yellow/brown hue: now they look more like a weird, yellow-y rash, with a thin black line crossing them (probably made with an eye pencil?).
I know Thomas doesn’t have the same makeup artist, but experts exist. And if the one he has isn’t doing their job well, then I’m sorry, but he should hire another one. That’s not being mean, that’s being real.
And before any of you says: “That’s just a detail, you’re being nitpicky”... sure, you can see it like that. But let’s say someone gives you a cake and when you see it, there are missing decorations, the fondant doesn’t fully cover the cake and the phrase “Happy birthday” is wonky. And when you eat it, it has a weird aftertaste too. Sure, it was a gift, but would you think “That was the best ever!” or would you think “Thanks, but you could’ve spent a little more time making it better”?
Heck, you can apply the same concept with this post too! If I posted something with incorrect grammar and misspelled words, would you be happy? Or would you think “man, you could’ve spent a couple more minutes to correct it”?
Skipping details doesn’t make me think you care about your work: it makes me think that either you’re lazy or don’t really care. And if you’re okay with something with missing details, good for you. But from someone with a certain degree of expertise/professionalism like Mr. Sanders, I expect something professional too.
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Subtle vs thrown in your face
I enjoy the “Janus being a wine mom” thing: it’s funny, it makes me smile, poor boy dealing with the little shits he has around, please give him wine.
But you know what’s really funny about this? That it’s subtle. It happens once in a while. It’s not thrown in the face. And it’s not thrown in the face like that, with Sides luring Janus with wine, almost as if he’s an alcoholic and you can use wine to make him do anything.
Also because the whole “Janus loves wine” thing doesn’t work too well with the functions he embodies. I mean, this guy is responsible for lies. Do you really think lies and alcohol work well together? You need to be extremely lucid and focused to be a good liar. And I don’t think I have to explain to you why alcohol and self-preservation don’t work well together either.
So seeing him with a glass once in a while is funny, but seeing him being all like “you promised me wine” as if wine is his drug… that’s not funny.
Speaking of things that are funny when not thrown in the face, let’s talk about “falsehood” too.
Just like the wine, falsehood was funny when it came once in a while. It wasn’t a switch you could press and bam, Logan says “Falsehood!”. It was a momentarily outburst because Logan’s main reaction isn’t to yell: Logan’s main reaction is to explain things by using cold logic. Because that’s who he is: logic.
So, when I see him dropping a “falsehood” like this, I don’t enjoy it. I feel it old and stale. And it saddens me too, because it looks like Thomas is using the easiest bait to get his fans’ attention. A bit like a bunch of dangling keys: see? Your favorite character says his catchphrase! Now laugh!
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Apollo gave me the gift of prophecy (or maybe it was just too obvious this would happen)
Right after Roman stops screaming, Virgil starts screaming. And he does it in the most out-of-character way, for the most out-of-character reason.
Since the Q&A episode from season one, Virgil was the first one to tell Thomas that Anxiety looks different for anyone and that he specifically chose the dark persona to keep “everyone’s guard up”.
So why is he complaining so much about a movie representation of Anxiety now? And why should everyone remind him that hey, Anxiety looks different for everyone? He should already know that. He was the first to tell that.
Do you know what this is? No, not a pathetic excuse to talk about a trending topic (i.e. Inside Out). It’s proof I was fucking right and of course I was, because I experienced it too.
What did I say in my old post about the problem with this series? That SaSi doesn’t have an outline. And what happens when you don’t have an outline and, instead of focusing on that project/writing an outline, you do 20 other different things instead? That more time will pass. And the more time will pass, the more you will forget things you already talked about.
Like, you know, a topic from season 1 that was clarified, over and done by the same character who now forgot it.
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The golden goose will never die
Call me a conspiracy theorist or just an old hag with a heart of stone. But I really would like to know the real reason why, deep down, Thomas made this video.
I doubt it was because he missed the Sides and wanted to do something with them. He doesn’t miss them the slightest, it’s quite clear. He doesn’t even care enough to remember what their personalities are supposed to be, how can he "miss" them?
But oh look, there was new merch to advertise. And Inside Out is a trending topic and the fandom knows about the association between SaSi and the movie. So if Mr. Sanders makes the right video at the right time, he can get a lot of views with minimal effort.
But he should advertise a shirt with all Sides in, so he can’t just make a video about Virgil reacting to a trailer: he needs all of the Sides to be there. So, let’s rush a video with the first idea that popped into his mind: that Virgil doesn’t like the Inside Out take on Anxiety.
Maybe that’s not what truly happened in his mind and behind the scenes. Maybe Mr. Sanders really just wanted to make a video with the Sides and I’m a cynical, heartless person. Personally, I would be way happier to know I was wrong and there weren’t ulterior motives behind this video.
But without any actual proof, I won’t believe this video was made just for passion. Passion doesn’t make you skip details. Passion doesn’t make you put on a sloppy video, without taking two more minutes to check if your characters are IC or the topic you want to talk about makes sense.
Believe me, I’m very sad to say this. I don’t want to think all of this. I always try to be optimistic and think good of people. But if this is what I get, how can I believe this video was made with good intentions and no ulterior motives? Especially since it’s coming from a guy who can be accurate, detail-oriented, and very subtle while acting? He did all of this in the past: now it looks like he forgot everything.
If you want to still watch this Aside, do it. If you enjoy it, even better. For me, that was just a tiny waste of time and it left me nothing except a momentary smile. At the end of the day, I don’t even care enough to watch it twice. And for me, that's a failure, coming from a series I used to watch on repeat.
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logically-asexual · 1 year
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okay here’s my hot take
there should be three kinds of Sanders Sides episodes
1. what asides should have been
(this category is actually optional but became necessary as a means to fill in the time between other episodes.)
these kinds of videos are under 10 minutes long (best if around 5 min) and they are just one or at most two sides talking about a random topic with almost no deep emotional significance for Thomas. could happen anywhere in the timeline of the show because they have zero relevance to the plot. Thomas comes out of them having learned basically nothing. ads could fit here too (or should strive to fit in this category)
this episodes should be exclusively fillers and could come whenever there’s a long wait or the plot could use a break.
examples: Dad’s Big Game Day Tips, Becoming a Cartoon, Dark Side of Disney.
2. normal episodes
most of the episodes in the show, specially the first season ones. these episodes involve Thomas having a problem and choosing to call his sides to reflect on it and how to solve it. each side gives his opinion, they debate and argue, and at the end they come to an agreement and/or solution. Thomas learns something new about himself or makes a decision to change some minor aspect of his lifestyle. there can be hints to an overarching plot but the episode is self contained. ideally involve just Thomas talking to the Sides in his living room, can involve musical numbers and visual effects but it should be limited so the episode doesn’t get too long (i wanna say… under 20-25 minutes?)
these should be the great majority of the episodes, the main part of the series.
examples: everything between Alone on V-Day and Making some Changes, Fitting In, Embarrassing Phases, Are there Healthy Distractions.
3. life changing episodes
these are episodes that may begin with a problem Thomas has in his life, but the discussion soon shifts to an exploration of Thomas’ character and the relationship with his Sides and the one of his Sides with each other. Thomas has to look back on his past and his social context to understand why he’s thinking the way he is and has to dig deep into the arguments of each Side to understand each one of them and their interactions better. they may even argue about bigger, generalized issues and topics about society and not only Thomas. the resolution of the episode might not be totally conclusive, because of the magnitude of the topic, but Thomas comes out of this episode with some aspect of himself or his life changed permanently.
these episodes should not come often, with maybe at least 4 normal episodes in-between, except when it’s a two-parter.
examples: Accepting Anxiety, Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts, Flirting with Social Anxiety (yes. i know this one is officially an Asides, but i stand firm), SvS parts 1 and 2.
this is how i ideally would structure the Series. but i don’t think this is how they’re doing it. in my personal opinion, lately we’ve had too many of the last kind of episode, the ads may try to lean into the second kind of episode instead of the first, and the episodes classified as Asides aren’t consistent with the team’s original idea nor the expectations the fans had for them.
so yeah. that’s my hot take. thanks for reading.
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hyperfixated-homo · 1 year
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finally watched the new ad video. ngl im very confused-
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caruliaa · 5 months
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despite the whole theater kid-ness of pokeys i feel like maybe its just me being a certified logan disliker having a more critical view of him but the whole singular voice thing not tolerating anyone elses voices or thoughts is soo logan like hes always wanting to have thomas do his life exactly by his plans and his order yk and ofc they r both dark blue but im trying not to factor the colours into this bc thats so boringgg it should be either about thematic links or vibes. tinky is remus ik theres no time and space link to remus but they both have the same chaotic almost playful in a kinda twisted way energy to them and idk if remus is ever called a bastard in canon but i feel like he is in fanon/by the fandom a lot sooo. roman and nibbly is like soo obvious imo if u dont get hung up on the very weak idea that pokeys theater kid nature means hes roman by defult like i mean beyond being creativity roman is the personification of thomas' dreams and desires and nibbly is a not only the "hungriest" of the lords in black but feeds on the people that have the most passion and desire or need for something. virgil feels like an obvious choice for blinky bc of the idea of like anxiety = being always Watched (and ourple but we arent counting that) but i also cant stop thinking abt the "weve been watching you gracie, someones been a little naughty" line and linking blinky to the idea of failing strict xtian ideas of morality and the belief of always being watched by the xtian god and always being watched by blinky so i almost want to say patton for tht reason (tho iirc pattons whole thing was like catholic upbringing and morality specifcally and grace wld think thats not real xtainty but this aint abt her sorry) but yk there r five lords and six sides so they can share blinky yay. and then janus and wiggy which even tho there isnt really that much of a strong link between them i feel like still rly fits just bc like i feel like they have a similar demeanor in the way they like talk and act i guess and i feel like they both have a conniving nature to them. but all of this could be bs i havent watched tss in so long . but i dont think it is i think im right . okay bye .
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Checkmate
Ship: Anxceit (Whumpee!Virgil, Whumper!Janus)
CW/TW: (be aware that what I am about to describe is not censored.) graphic themes and descriptions of violence, this includes: forcing someone to relapse with self injury, allusion to past self harm, cutting someone with a knife, mind games/emotional abuse, malnourishment/starvation, talk of weight in numbers, themes of suicide and suicidal ideation (this is pretty detailed, you have been warned.)
Summary: After Virgil joins the light sides, Janus slowly reaches a psychotic break due to abandonment and feelings of betrayal and takes it upon himself to take Virgil back to where he belongs, via kidnapping him and holding him in the dark side of the mind palaces basement, AKA the subconscious.
A/N: this is my first time writing Whump, so If anything feels rushed or misplaced please understand that I am a beginner to writing these kinds of things. I am personally not open to (constructive) criticism—I am really sensitive when it comes to things I’m passionate about 😭—so please, let me learn at my own pace if things do need to be changed around a bit, thank you!<3
(I’m editing this at 12:44 AM because I can’t sleep so, uh, surprise oneshot release I guess? Idk 😭🙏🏻)
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Janus’ eyes glimmered as he stared at the rusty chains that were around Virgil’s wrists, the ones keeping him shackled against the wall of the basement, leaving his arms raised up in the air and his legs crisscrossed beneath him. Virgil’s head had fallen against his chest in defeat after trying to scream into the dark abyss for help again, quickly realizing that his pleas wouldn’t be heard with the muffling of a rag in his mouth.
His lower jaw poked at his collarbones with horrendous uncomfortability from the consequences of malnourishment. He was already relatively small—around 115 pounds or so—and the past few days without food were weighing on him. His bones protruded like knives against his skin. You could see the outline of his collarbones to his shoulder blades through his torn up band tee. His bangs—or what was left of them—had fallen over his eyes, keeping him from seeing Janus whose gaze had shifted to Virgils face, eerily delighted.
Virgil thrashed his head around—though in reality more like hazily bobbed it in circles—trying his hardest to spit out the aforementioned rag that Janus had put there after his lazy attempt at being noticed by the others on the second day of his kidnapping. On the first, Janus had knocked him out hard enough to where he drifted in and out of consciousness, leaving Janus enough time to chain him up without a struggle. Despite the chains, he actually thought he could trust Virgil to not scream for help. He was wrong, hence, the rag.
It had now been five and a half days since his initial kidnapping, and the light sides seemed to have gone off of the deep end…almost. Patton had shut down, preventing himself from feeling any kind of emotion due to the fact that if he even shed one tear, it would lead to a messy and disgusting breakdown. Logan wouldn’t come out of his room for anything at all, as he was drowning himself in as much work as possible, writing and re-writing scripts even if he thought they were already pristine and perfect as was, he needed something to keep himself from flying off the hinges. And Roman was…quiet, withdrawn. He wasn’t his usual ego-centric self anymore, he was timid, almost like a ghost or a shell of who he once was. You could practically call him a people-pleaser. All of them had their own ways of grasping for the tiniest bit of control they had left, and it was shocking to see what came out of it.
But Virgil couldn’t comprehend any of this as Janus updated him on it day by day, Janus’ way of slowly ripping Virgils freshly acquired healthy emotional state apart by using his new “found family” as a means of revenge for the gaping would of abandonment Virgil had left him with. Hell, between Virgils drug induced haze and all the sheer sharp pain searing throughout his body, he could barely comprehend where he was. But one thing stopped him from forgetting his new surroundings completely, and that was Janus.
Janus leaned down and took Virgil’s face in his hands roughly, forcing Virgil to look him in the eyes. Virgil’s eyes were dim and worn out, as if he wasn’t all there, like he was somewhere else in his head. He looked so, so very tired. It was almost thrilling for Janus. Virgil had always been one to get lost in his head as a way of coping with things that were out of his control.
“I think,” Janus hissed, the sound full of no-longer suppressed anger and a slight tinge of fear over the fact that Virgil could have been found had he not noticed his pitiful cries when he did a few days ago, “we should play a game.”
The small lightbulb that hung from a loose wire (seemingly appearing from thin air, there was no way to tell where the lightbulbs origin came from) between them illuminated the human side of Janus’ face harshly, putting the crazed look in his eyes on display for only Virgil to see. It felt like Janus could see into his soul, read his thoughts, know every gritty detail of everything that he had ever done down to the way he breathed whilst doing it, just by staring at him.
Virgil’s eyes narrowed as Janus’ thumb ran over his busted lip. If it weren’t for the rag stuffed in his mouth to muffle his cries for help, he would have bit it clean off. Instead, he let the small amount of fury left in him ignite behind his eyes as he stared into Janus’, not moving any longer. He was confused and scared, and when those things were combined, it usually turned into anger. Rage, even. But It was as if the moment Janus touched him, he froze on impact.
“What do you think?” Janus prompted, hand still firmly on Virgil’s jaw. His voice may have been smooth, but his grasp stayed there to show control.
Janus smiled at the incoherent sounds coming from behind the bloodied rag. He laughed to himself, amused by the struggle. “Ah, I forgot about your little…predicament.” He ribbed, pulling out the soaking rag with ease.
Virgil inhaled harder than he’d ever before, taking in as much oxygen as possible. It had been days since that rag had been placed there; a precaution so that were the search for Thomas’ anxiety to continue and a meeting be pursued once more, they wouldn’t hear much from upstairs. Virgil winced a bit at the memory of Janus’ footsteps quickly echoing throughout the basement and walking up to him. (“tsk, I thought you would’ve been smart enough to know not to scream. Here, let me help you with that.” He had said, hastily shoving a clean rag forcefully into his mouth, rendering Virgil silent; mostly because of fear but also because of shock. He had absolutely no clue why Janus was doing any of this.) It also didn’t help that the dark mind palaces basement was usually hot and stuffy already, which made the struggle to breathe worse; especially if you had to rely on only breathing through your nose, which was broken, meaning the little oxygen he could muster wasn’t enough, leading him to pass out only a few minutes after regaining consciousness, over and over and over again over the past 84 hours.
“Let…go of…me.” Virgil demanded, panting. He struggled against his chains, trying to wriggle his way out of them. His wrists ached as they strained against the cuffs around them.
Janus grabbed Virgils arms firmly, chains rattling, rag dripping blood and saliva down Virgil’s right arm. “No need for that, sweetheart. I’m not going to hurt you again. Not yet.”
His lips curled upwards slightly at the fear that shocked through Virgil at such simple words. He watched as the hair on Virgil’s arms began to stick up, his arms covered in goosebumps. It was absolutely hilarious to Janus that Virgil had no clue what was coming at any given moment.
Virgil could put on a defiant act all he wanted, but his body would always show how he truly felt: Afraid, Horrified, Helpless.
It was a beautiful sight to see someone at the mercy of his actions considering he had always felt helpless against the others, it was nice to feel in control for once. …And also quite pathetic how hard Virgil tried to stop him from achieving that feeling of powerfulness.
“How about a game of chess?” Janus suggested, throwing the rag to the ground, sounding more demanding than anything else. His nails dug deep into Virgil’s wrists, letting him know that if he didn’t answer correctly, there would be consequences. Though, from all of the times he’d seen Virgils eyes light up from winning against Logan in a Chess match, he knew he would probably say yes anyway. Not that Virgil knew that he knew that.
That sparkle in his eyes. It was almost as if Virgil felt like he could finally do something right.
In Virgils drug addled mind, something…clicked. Chess? Since when did Janus know that he had gotten good at Chess? Unless he was…
his eyes almost brimmed with tears at the thought of such an invasive act,
Watching him.
Despite such a heart dropping realization, Virgil nodded, slowly. Even though it had only been a few days, he was numb to any minor pain Janus inflicted upon him anymore. If it wasn’t worth bleeding, it wasn’t worth focusing on, or atleast that’s the mindset he was set on adapting to get through this. Who knew how long Janus would keep him here? how long this would last? But the pressure against his wrists served as a warning, so he gave Janus the answer he wanted. Or so he thought.
The pressure increased as Janus dug his nails deeper, pricking the pale skin a bit. “You speak when you’re spoken to, Virgil.” he ordered, “Or do I need to remind you?” he asked, nodding towards the blood stained knife on the floor; A reminder of Virgils previous mistakes.
Virgil shook his head frantically, “No, no, you don’t” he begged, mouth still tasting of metal from where he was forced to lick up his own blood from the cuts up and down his arm. “A chess game sounds nice, really.”
Janus hummed, satisfied with Virgils response. “Perfect. Well then, I suppose I should explain the rules.” He dropped Virgil’s arms and let them fall into place with the chains, then summoned a chess set and sat it on the ground next to the knife, eyeing the way Virgil tried to breathe in a rhythmic pattern. He really didn’t think he was getting out of this. How glorious.
“If I win, we pick up where we left off last night,” Janus recited, hinting back to only ten hours ago when he was burying a knife deep into Virgils arm. “If you win, I may dress your wounds properly this time.” he watched Virgil as his eyes closed and snapped back open time and time again, barely taking in anything Janus was saying. He was sleep deprived, Janus was sure of it. He had already planned this out ahead of time, so the results were finally setting in. Janus had dissolved a few…”unknown sleeping pills” into Virgils drink the night before after Janus had his fun with the sharpest knife blade he could find, making sure Virgil was extremely drowsy and paranoid, but not too drowsy and paranoid, because otherwise, what’s the fun in that?
Oh, and the “sleeping pills” were actually Janus’ antipsychotics, but Virgil didn’t need to know that.
He kept Virgil awake for two and a half days straight, slicing open the old wounds on his arms. Turning the faded self inflicted cuts into newer, deeper, non-self inflicted ones. Sometimes he forced Virgil to do it himself as he watched, making him restart if there wasn’t enough blood for his liking. Virgil deserved this for leaving him, so the least he could do was cause a bloody mess.
Janus hoisted Virgil up and carefully unlocked the cuffs on his wrists with a small key from his pocket, holding him as his body gave out against Janus’.
Even through the fog of Virgils mental state, and the amount of adrenaline pumping through his veins, and the exhaustion that crept up on him so suddenly over the past few days, he was cognizant enough to understand that not being able to stand up on his own two feet was humiliating. The weakness and feebleness of his body and state of mind were meant to make him feel humiliated. And unfortunately for him, it was working. Janus was succeeding.
Janus, using this as a moment to exert power over his captive, whispered in his ear. “Bring your all, Virgil.”
Virgil vaguely acknowledged the phrase as something Patton would say to him before every match. Eyes glistening, like a proud father-figure. (“You did great last time Virge! Logan was so mad that you won against him that when you left to go back to your room to listen to that PG-13 music, he used one of those slang words the kids use these days. I can’t remember exactly what it was...I think it started with a C? I don’t know, but I’m so proud of you!” Patton had said, so joyous and amazed. Virgil had given him a half-smile and shrugged it off as Patton just being Patton.)
Virgil almost started sobbing then and there; finally feeling a wave of emotion crash over him other than rage and terror for the first time in what felt like forever, but in actuality had only been a few days. A few tears slipped past him, leaving behind a trembling lip in their wake. He clung to Janus for some sort of sick comfort, Janus being the only thing he had right now, even if he was the one causing all of this.
Janus tensed and snickered, pulling away from Virgil and yanking him to the ground, looking down at him through fiery eyes. “Don’t be so emotional already, we’ve barely even started” he rubbed his arms with his hands as if Virgils mere touch had deemed his upper arms distasteful, “and don’t cling to me like that again, it’s disgusting.”
Virgil wiped at his tears obediently, trying to put on a blank face for his captor. He just wanted to go back home. To sit with Patton and Roman and make homemade hot chocolate while bickering over the appeal of the newest Disney shows. His chest hurt, likely from the drugs and blood loss, but also likely because of his longing for his actual family, not whatever this was. Whatever it used to be.
Janus sat down on the opposite side of the board, and slowly removed his gloves, placing them next to him on top of each other and started setting up the pieces.
“Let the game begin.” He stated after a few moments had passed and the board had been properly set up, prompting Virgil to move his first piece.
Virgil reached out reluctantly, placing one of the pieces further on the checkered board. Almost knocking it over as he pulled his hand away as fast as he could, not wanting to be close to Janus.
Janus smirked, noticing this, as he placed one of his pieces further on the board aswell. Deep down, he was hurt by Virgils need to stay as a far as possible, however. Not that it mattered, he could always punish Virgil for that little stunt of emotion later down the line.
This back and forth continued for at least twenty-five minutes, before Virgil could feel the walls closing in around him. He looked at the board in desperation, praying to God that maybe, just maybe if he stared long enough the pieces would maneuver themselves to where he could win.
It didn’t happen.
Janus had him stuck, unable to move without getting defeated. In this sick game, and in real life. It was as if Janus was making a mockery of his own doings.
Virgil moved the piece on the board with a shakey hand, trembling from the dread of what he knew was to come, and looked up at Janus; fear evident in his eyes.
Janus took a breath and moved his piece in front of Virgils quickly, as if he had been waiting for this moment his whole life.
“Checkmate, Virge.”
Virgil stared at the board, filled with shame and regret. He used to be a pro at Chess, and now he was watered down to this. He couldn’t meet Janus’ burning gaze as he stared at him from across the board. Any glint of hope for his future here that he had behind his eyes had been crushed and faded away completely. He was certain that he was going to die here before Patton or any of the others found him. And if he didn’t die, it would become so bad that he would beg Janus to make him do it to get it over with.
Janus got up and pulled Virgil to his feet, clasping the cuffs around his wrists again, not willing to waste any time, taking notice of the newfound compliance.
Janus laughed a little as he picked up the knife, running a finger over the blade. “You know, I really thought you would have been good at that,” he placed the base of the blade on Virgil’s arm and began to drag it agonizingly slow. “I guess it just goes to show that you really are incompetent.”
He watched the blood drip down Virgils forearm, “what a shame, really. You probably would have gone on to be a real good player,” he teased, “probably even better than Logan. I mean I saw the way that blood vessel in his head almost popped from stress and frustration during your match a week or so ago.”
Janus watched as Virgil grit his teeth so hard he thought he would break them from trying not to scream. The confession and the pain were almost too much emotional and psychical trauma for Virgil to bear.
Janus ran a finger over the fresh cuts, looking up at Virgil with nothing but malice in his eyes. “Too bad you’re stuck here now, you really could have been something.”
“Please…please, I’ll do anything, please just make it stop!!” Virgil whimpered, actually thrashing now, a drastic difference from what he had meant to do earlier. He couldn’t handle it anymore, it was all starting to dawn on him. He wasn’t getting out of here. He wasn’t getting out.
“Keep begging, it’s not like I’m going to stop. You’re selfish, that’s all you are. You think you can leave me to pick up the pieces of your abandonment and expect not to face the consequences? I don’t think so.” Janus threatened, slapping Virgil’s arm, causing stinging pain to shoot its way through him. He took the knife back to Virgils skin, digging deeper into the wounds he already created, using his rage as a source to block out the cries of his former best friend. Virgil used to be like a brother to him, but none of that mattered now. This was Virgils fault, he chose this.
Virgil’s hands curled into loose fists with the little energy he had left within himself, desperately trying to wrap his head around Janus’ reasoning but ultimately failing to be able to think of anything due to the hot and awful pain that washed upon him every few seconds. That was why Janus was doing this? His acceptance? He let out animalistic sobs every time the blade met his flesh. None of it made sense. His head hurt and all he wanted was to drop to his knees and bleed out, leaving himself a cold shell of a person. Anything but this. Anything but this. As much as he loved the others, he wanted anything but this.
Eventually, Janus dropped the knife on the floor, blood splattering in every direction. He was tired, and Virgil was beginning to pass out which meant that the fun wouldn’t be able to last any longer. After all, it’s no fun torturing someone when you can’t see the outcome of your work.
He flicked his wrist and summoned a small baggie of crushed up antipsychotic medication and a glass of water, carefully pouring it into the glass in front of his captive. It didn’t matter if Virgil saw what he was doing, what could he do about it? Absolutely nothing.
“Open your mouth.” He instructed sternly. Virgil listened and he tilted the glass back with precision, making sure no droplets of water fell down Virgils face and on to the ground.
Janus set the glass down beside him, “don’t say I never did anything for you” he mumbled, turning on his heel and heading back upstairs to the commons as if nothing had happened.
Janus’ footsteps slowly faded and a door opened. Virgil could hear Remus cackling in the distance, and even though he didn’t exactly know what was so funny, it was presumable that it was about the state of his family. The others were falling apart with the lack of him being around, or that was at least as far as he knew with the “help” of Janus.
Virgil let his legs give out from underneath him and curled in on himself as best he could, searching for the warmth of his own body heat, not necessarily because he was cold, but because he was desperate to feel the warmth of a comforting presence, even if that meant it had to be himself.
He tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his arms by thinking of Patton. Sweet, tender and kind, Patton. Patton who was always there when he had night terrors and was screaming for help, crawling into Virgils bed and cradling him gently until he was conscious enough to know what had happened, and then staying until he fell back asleep. Patton who always let him hold on to his shoulders when the panic attacks got so bad he couldn’t stand upright because he was so dizzy. Patton who always had a cheesy dad joke no matter the severity of the situation. Patton.
It hurt more than any of the psychical pain combined to miss him. He would rather die right now than miss such a sweet soul. If Patton were here, he would have bandaged him up so gently he would have barely even felt it, while humming softly to distract Virgil from the fear and uncertainty burrowing deep in his stomach.
Tears fell down his face as his eyelids finally fluttered close, not being disturbed by a jarring malicious voice ready for revenge. He could finally sleep.
Though, how do you sleep peacefully knowing you’ll probably never get out of a nightmare?
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Text
Sated
Analociet (Virgil, Trans!Logan, And Janus)
Warnings: Period Sex, Overstimualtion, D/S, Sensory Deprivation
Read it on AO3!
Summary: Logan's boyfriends are both vampires, and they've found a much better alternative to hunting for their food.
It was often that Logan found himself wandering down to the library of his lavish new residence whenever he was looking to wind down. The rows of both familiar novels he enjoyed and unknown tomes waiting to be investigated called to him often to break the monotony of his daily work, and he would never resist the tempting offer to sit in the reading nook that allowed its resident to gaze into the forest around the large abode. However, with the house being so large, and its company preferring to relax in their own environments, he did not expect to hear two voices arguing in his personal paradise.
As he walked down the corridor, the identity of said voices revealed themselves. The quick gravelly whispers could only belong to virgil. Whatever he was saying couldn’t be made out, but it was met with Janus’ calm response. Why the two were in the library at this hour Logan could not guess, but he entered to hopefully find out. He looked between the two men who sat in the nook in the corner hunched over a medium-sized book.
“May I ask why the both of you are here?”
They instantly quieted and looked over at the human, Virgil slamming the book shut. 
“Oh, L, you’re up. We thought you went to bed a few hours ago.”
“I did,” Logan replied, “I was unable to focus on falling asleep. I thought maybe coming here and reading for a while might help me relax- but you still haven’t answered my question.”
“Yes, Virgil, why don’t you tell Logan about your little proposal?” Janus said with a teasing grin.
Logan’s brow knitted in confusion as he stepped closer to the two, “Proposal?”
“Really threw me under the bus there Jan, thanks. Well, we were talking and- It…it has been kinda- well, not exactly easy? I guess? To, um… okay how do I say this-” Virgil had a clear look of worry as he stammered, trying to form the right words to form his point but struggling as he often did. Logan gazed down at the book the two seemed to be reading as he walked in, a medical textbook. It wasn’t exactly the type of material he suspected they’d be delving into but he would hardly criticize them for it. 
“We want to do a scene with you.” Janus interrupted.
“Janus.”
“You were never going to say it!”
“That doesn’t mean I wanted you to!”
“So…is that all, then?” 
The two sitting down seemed to steal Logan’s look of confusion. Virgil drew his knees up to his chest while Janus put the book behind them.
“We have rather thoroughly discussed scenes and sexual desires before. I see no reason to be embarrassed discussing it now.”
“Well, this time we’d like to try something different, love.” Janus stood and walked over to Logan, putting two of his hands at his waist in a small gesture of affection. Virgil looked nervously at the ground before clearing his throat, “Jan, do you think you can…?”
The other nodded and pressed a soft kiss to the back of Logan's head, “First of all, like all of our previous discussions you are welcome to refuse our offer, as well as request any adjustments. This is a negotiation-”
“I am well aware of how these conversations work, Janus. What is the proposal?”
“Virgil and I have to take a break from feeding in our usual manner. We’d like to feed off of you.”
A brief silence hung in the air as Virgil held his breath, Janus tried to read his boyfriend’s emotions, and Loan pondered the request. He knew both his partners would treat him with the utmost respect and would ultimately respect his decision if he denied them, but denial never came to his mind. Instead, this plan of theirs piqued his curiosity.
“How is this related to sex?”
The question cut the tension in the room, with both Janus and Virgil offering a chuckle and a smirk respectively.
“We’d like to eat you out during your period, Lo.” Virgil clarified. 
“Oh. Oh.”
“You don’t have to agree to it, I just- we just thought it might be a way to, well… satisfy all of us.”
Janus slowly ran his hands down Logan’s figure, “-And maybe have some fun while doing it.  What do you say we talk specifics?” 
A chill ran down Logan’s spine, “Please.”
~~~~~~~~~
A thorough discussion was had about the scene. Logan had notified both of them of when his cycle typically started. He also wanted to partake in other kinks and dynamics they’d previously played with. Things like sensory deprivation, bondage, and submitting to his boyfriends. He’d also expressed to them he didn’t want this to be an overplanned scene, since doing so both gave Virgil more anxiety and he felt it would take away from the thrill of it. A vague timeline was set and safewords and signals were prepped. Now all they had to do was wait.
~~~~~~~~~~
Logan was tired.
It had been a week filled with near constant work. He was fortunate enough to work from home, but after the internet went out for a couple days and an influx of new material to work on, he had to double his efforts to complete everything. It left him exhausted at the end of the week, so both his boyfriends had generously prepared him a relaxing bath to destress before bed that night. 
After donning his robe and squeezing the water out of his hair with a towel, Logan began walking towards the bedroom. His glasses rested atop his head after fogging up in the bath’s steam, and the dim lighting accommodating Virgil’s sensitivities didn’t do much to help his vision. It’s unfortunate he didn’t see the figure lurking around the corridor before it was too late.
As soon as he reached for the door handle to the bedroom, a pair of sharp teeth sunk into the skin between his neck and shoulder. He expected one of his boyfriends to drink from the wound to satiate their hunger, but instead of the hollow cold sensation of blood being withdrawn, he felt a blossoming warmth travel through his vessels. It wasn’t long before his vision faded and he crumpled to the ground from the injected venom. The last thing he heard was Janus’ smooth baritone.
“I can’t wait to drink everything you have to offer.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Logan woke up to pitch black, feeling the cloth tied tightly over his eyes.
He felt the strong silk holding down his arms and legs as he stirred awake.
For a moment, his heart raced, not knowing where he was or what was happening, but then the hands scratching over his thighs and warm breath tickling his skin forced him to focus every touch he would receive. The confusion faded quickly into a pleasant wave of thoughtlessness as something warm and wet licked over his folds.
“Well, how does he taste?”
“Mm. Sweet… and tinny. Like a cherry if it bled.”
Logan whimpered from behind what he assumed was a ball gag in his mouth. It wasn’t until now that he’d realized the warm arousal that had been pooling in his gut since he woke up. He shifted sharply and bucked his hips in search of contact, only to be met with those sharp nails pinning his hips down and holding his legs apart.
“Quit moving. You aren’t going anywhere till we’re both full.” Virgil hissed before diving back in again, this time sweetly kissing Logan’s clit and working down to his hole to drink his fill. He delved his tongue inside and began to coax that sweetness out of his lover. With every lick and thrust, Logan felt his mind go blank, unable to focus on anything that wasn’t that pleasurable heat eating him out. He shivered as Virgil’s warm breath tickled at his thighs, only to whine once again when the vampire’s fangs grazed his skin.
While he couldn’t see, Logan assumed Janus took the role of voyeur. He couldn’t remember how many times his partner sat content in the corner of their room giving him sultry commands. Virgil preferred the active side of dominance- manhandling, leaving bruises, overstimulation, and edging, whereas Janus masterminded the delicate subjects of degradation and humiliation. The latter would call him a slut and the former would make sure he knew it by forcing his cock down his throat over and over again. He was perfectly content to be the recipient of both styles of dominance.
The mattress dipped as someone moved near Logan’s head. What could only be Janus’ hand pet his head and smoothed his mussed hair, he leaned into the touch only for it to immediately be removed. 
“Oh you greedy little thing,” Janus chuckled, “Receiving so much pleasure and still wanting more.”
At the same time, Virgil licked deeper into him while sinking his nails into his fleshy thighs. If Logan had the ability to speak and higher cognitive function he would have told his lovers that they have the right to wake him up like this every day, unfortunately all that he was able to do was groan behind the gag.
The sensations paused briefly as Virgil pulled away panting. He huffed out a laugh, “He’s shaking.”
This wasn’t untrue, the muscles in his thighs started to twitch from being forced apart, as well as from the pleasure that exponentially increased from the warm tongue relentlessly swiping over his cunt. He could imagine how pathetic he looked beneath his boyfriends from the scoff Janus let out. He let a series of high pitched whimpers, begging desperately with his limited capabilities.
“Are you close, slut?” Janus asked in a monotone.
Logan did his best to nod. God, Virgil's mouth was sinful. This would be over far too quickly for his liking. His muffled moans grew in volume as Virgil delved into him once more before sucking harshly on his clit. In a matter of seconds, he was bucking wildly against his boyfriend's face as he rode out one of the most intense orgasms he’s ever had. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed down on him as he rode out his high, giving half-hearted thrusts as it turned into pangs of overstimulation. 
Virgil finally looked up from between Logan’s overworked thighs, licking his now stained lips.
“Fuck, that was good.” He said easing back onto his knees, a thumb rubbing into his submissive’s leg as a small sign of support.
“It sure seems like he enjoyed that.” Janus responded, his hand slipping behind Logan's head. He undid the clasp of the gag with a resounding click and eased the spit-coated plastic from his mouth, gently massaging his jaw once it was removed, “Isn’t that right, honey?”
Logan, still comprehending his most current period of consciousness, didn’t respond at first. This worried his dominants momentarily, prompting Virgil to open his mouth to ask for his safeword, but Logan managed to show a thumbs up, their safesign used when verbal check in’s weren’t possible.
“Good boy, thank you for communicating.” Janus hummed. He kept softly working over Logan’s jaw till he was sure there was minimal soreness and that the man lying out in front of him was sufficiently blissed out. He cupped Logan’s cheek with one hand-
As the other made a resounding smack on the opposite side of his face.
“It’s too bad that whores like you don’t understand that you have to ask permission before you cum.” Janus said harshly. 
Logan groaned at the stinging pain blossoming through his face. At least with his newfound speech he could beg for mercy.
“I’m sorry, Master, I didn’t mean to-”
“Butcha did, L.” Virgil quipped, moving out from in between his thighs, “You know the rules.”
“Please, please you know I couldn’t beg for it.”
Janus laughed, “Oh, we know. If you think begging is what makes us give you permission then you are gravely mistaken, slut. We own you, we’re the ones who control you and if you don't understand that yet then we might have to punish you until you do.”
“Let’s save it for another day, Jan. He’s already looking pretty pitiful right now.” Logan felt the bed dip on his other side as Virgil sat. He reached to take off the blindfold tied rather tightly, per Logan's request, around his head. He blinked a few times as his vision adjusted. The room was fairly dark with just the fairy lights tangled in the bed frame providing illumination. His glasses were slipped onto his face by Virgil. Logan now saw the scene in its glory. He, of course, had been completely stripped save for the restraints on all four limbs. He noticed Virgil was naked as well, his hard cock already leaking against his stomach. Janus still had trousers on, but the outline of his lengths could be seen pressing up on the fabric. 
He watched as Virgil leaned over to tenderly kiss Janus, allowing for a brief moment of softness before they broke apart.
“Taste him?”
“Mmm you’re right. He’s delicious, then again, I don’t know if I expected anything else.” Janus grinned down at Logan like a predator about to devour its prey, “I think it’s my turn to get my fill.”
Logan whined, “Please!”
Janus sunk down to get between Logan's legs, giving teasing nips to his stomach and thighs as he did. Meanwhile Virgil straddled his chest. He glared down at Logan with a scowl, deciding how to occupy himself while Janus got his fill. He casually ran his hands across the scars on Logan’s chest, before rolling his nipples in between his fingertips. 
“Oh fuck- Sir! Ah~!” Logan moaned at Virgil’s actions.
Virgil hummed in acknowledgement, “Hm, I think we ought to fill that mouth of yours up again. Open.”
Logan did as he was told, parting his lips to take whatever Virgil wanted him to. Both his doms knew that he had a huge oral fixation and used it to their advantage. He would be reading in the library or cuddling with them and they’d slip two fingers onto his tongue like it was perfectly normal. But now Virgil was looming over him, giving his own cock a couple of strokes before lining it up with Logan’s mouth and pushing in.
In the meantime, Janus continued his teasing touches and bites. He made sure to add a few of his own marks alongside Virgil’s on Logan’s thighs. While sucking the pale skin between his teeth, he sunk two digits into Logan’s hole, causing the man to whine around the cock now in his mouth. He was still sensitive from Virgil’s time pleasing him, and he couldn’t help but whimper at the pleasurable ache that began to form when Janus scissored his fingers. All too soon, he pulled them out and licked over the blood-coated skin, pulling off them with a pop once they were sucked clean.
“I think we need to make you into our little pet whenever you’re like this, doll. We’d barely have to hunt anymore and you’d get to sit there in the most pleasurable torture.” Janus stated. He grabbed Logan’s thighs and forced them apart before slowly licking over his cunt.
Unfortunately, Logan couldn’t relish the sensation as he did with Virgil since the mentioned man was gripping his hair and slowly grinding into his mouth. Virgil sighed when he pushed his whole length down Logan's throat and gave a small thrust, causing Logan to gag around him. He pulled out so just the tip rested on the other’s tongue while he stroked his cock.
Janus had finally stopped teasing and began to eat Logan out in earnest, sucking out what was left of the blood. He let his own fangs nip at him. Logan was trapped in a loop of sexual gratification that he wanted to be in forever, even if that meant he would be mercilessly teased and used to get there. 
After a few minutes of Janus indulging himself and Virgil using his mouth for his own end, Logan felt the latter pull out and let his head rest on his lips. He fisted his hand over his cock and sucked in a breath, “Fuck, so fucking good for us Lo, so pretty. Gonna mark you with my cum while Jan keeps eating you!”
Virgil delivered on his promise a few moments later, letting his seed fall across Logan’s face. He panted as he came down from his high, letting Logan lick at his cock’s head.
“Yeah, that’s it. Gotta clean up this mess, right L?” 
Logan hummed in agreement. Virgil ran his fingers through the cum on his face and immediately stuffed them in Logan’s mouth, who in return softly sucked around them until they were clean. This continued until it was mostly gone and Virgil was satisfied. 
Janus was less focused on making Logan feel good and more focused on feeding. His pet tasted so good he couldn’t believe he and Virgil had spent so much time hunting when Logan was here the whole time. He buried his tongue deep in the other’s hole and savored the taste. He grabbed Logan’s hips and pulled him close to dig out every last drop he had to offer.
Logan just moaned at the action. Virgil had moved so he was no longer hovering over him, and so he could watch his boyfriend work. 
“What’s he doing to you, babe?” Virgil asked with a grin, fully aware Logan was in no state to fully describe what was going on.
“Nnngh-ah! He’s-fuck! More Master!”
“Is he making you feel good?”
“Yes Sir!”
“Too bad you already came. Maybe you wouldn’t be so sensitive.”
Logan just whined in response as Janus licked a slow stripe up his cunt, “Mm, I think I’m done here. At least in regards to my hunger being saited. I think he still owes me some pleasure.”
“Ohhhh, Jan. I have an idea.” Virgil said with a grin, never a good sign for the man currently tied to their bed.
“Do tell, dearest.”
Virgil leaned over to Janus and covered his mouth before whispering in his ear. Janus barked out a laugh,
“Oh well that is just deliciously evil, how can I say no?”
Logan sighed. He loved submitting to these two but why did they have to torture him so much?
He watched as Janus bent to untie the silk restraints around his ankles. Once free, he bent his legs up to his shoulders and moved closer, thank god Logan was this flexible. Once Janus had him in a suitable position, he held one of his cocks to Logan’s hole and teased the head in. He pushed in slowly at first, giving small thrusts to ease his way in. After he felt the other adjust, he slipped two more fingers alongside his cock to prepare him to take both his lengths. Once he was fully seated with both his dicks filling Logan, he began to thrust for real, allowing a growl to form in the back of his throat.
“You feel so fucking good, honey. I love getting to use you like this. Our little toy. Such a little slut for us. Fuck-”
Janus continued to slam his cocks into Logan while saying the nastiest things to him. Logan just lay there reveling in the pleasure. He moaned for his two doms, and closed his eyes to focus on the feeling of being fucked. It was just when he was starting to get close again that Janus pulled out.
“Virgil, C’mere.” Janus sighed as he moved to the side. Virgil gave Logan one last smirk before reaching across him. He leaned down and took one of Janus’ cocks into his mouth, licking around the blood that coated it. He moaned around it and licked it clean, savoring the taste. He pulled off and switched to take the other, causing Janus to let out a hiss. He started to stroke the length he wasn’t giving attention to while he hollowed out his cheeks and bobbed his head. 
One look down at Logan’s pathetic state had Janus crashing over the edge. He spilled into Virgil’s mouth, and partially across his hand and Logan’s stomach. He groaned, pulling out and resting on his haunches.
There was a moment where they all just sat in the afterglow, catching their breaths. It was Virgil who kicked off the aftercare, reaching up to undo Logan’s arm restraints. 
“How was that, L?” He asked, pressing a kiss to Logan's temple.
The man in question just looked at Virgil with bleary eyes and gave him a thumbs up again, earning a chuckle from Janus.
“Aw, poor thing’s so fucked out he can’t speak. Let’s take care of you, love.”
Janus got up to grab some cloths to clean up with, as well as some water and a light snack. When he returned Virgil was cuddling beside Logan and gently playing with his hair. He sat beside them, caring and attending to their need for the rest of the night until they found themselves clothed and tucked under the fluffy duvet of their shared bed. Maybe tomorrow morning they’d ask Logan if they can have a repeat of tonight, but for now they’d lay content with their precious boyfriend drifting off between them.
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loganslowdown4 · 2 years
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Joan: Alright, thanks for taking over as producer Quil. Thomas, please introduce all your characters.
Thomas: Alright… *cracks knuckles*
Quil: Oh boy.
Thomas: The father.
Dad Character: Hi!
Thomas: The other father who turned into a frog that one time.
Patton: Yup!
Thomas: The actual frog.
LilyPadton: Me!
Thomas: Anger issues.
Orange Side: Fuck you too.
Thomas: Insecurity issues.
Roman: Fair enough.
Thomas: Smart dumbass.
Logan: I-
Thomas: Dumb smartass.
Janus: Called out.
Thomas: Dumb smartass, this time with actual venom.
Critic: Here!
Janus: … Hey!
Thomas: Space gay with no off switch.
Logic character: Salutations
Thomas: The Stress Express
Anxiety Character: Ok I guess
Thomas: Gossip handler.
Prince Character: That’s me!
Thomas: Gossip handler, but a bitch.
Sleep: Oui babe
Thomas: The diabetes risk.
The Stove “Stovie”: Thomas I-
Thomas: The actual pure one.
Picani: \\*^o^*//
Thomas: The Cool One.
The Other Side of the Pillow: *winks*
Thomas: The Tough One.
Dragon Witch: *thumbs up*
Thomas: The Emo One.
Virgil: What in the mad banquet of darkness…
Thomas: The one who keeps asking us to call him Octopussy, but we won’t.
Remus: Sup
Thomas: Honourable mention: Me but more clueless. I think.
Character Thomas: Wait-
Thomas: And last but not least, the mistake.
Spambot: Bitch.
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ravencromwell · 2 months
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This is the worst story I know about hocuses. And it’s true. Four Great Septads ago, back in the reign of Claudius Cordelius, there was a hocus named Porphyria Levant. The hocuses back then had this thing they could do, called the binding-by-forms, the obligation d’âme. It happened between a hocus and an annemer, an ordinary person, and it was like an oath of loyalty, only a septad times more. The hocus promised to protect the annemer from everything, including kings and other hocuses and basically anybody else who had an interest. The annemer promised to be the hocus’s servant and do what they said and no backchat, neither. And they renounced their family and all their other connections, so it was like the only thing in the world that mattered to them was the hocus. And then there was a spell to stick it in place and make sure, you know, that nobody tried to back out after it was too late. You can see the problem, right? Most half-bright folks can. But some hocuses were so powerful and so nasty that I guess it seemed like it was better to go ahead and do the obligation d’âme with a hocus you sort of trusted than to go wandering around waiting for a different hocus to get the drop on you. So there was Porphyria Levant. And there was Silas Altamont. Silas Altamont was annemer, a guy who’d been the favorite of Lord Creon Malvinius, and then when Lord Creon got married, Silas Altamont was out on his ear, and scared shitless of Lord Creon’s wife, who was way better connected than him, and was rumored to have three or four hocuses on her string to boot. And she was poison-green with jealousy, because she loved Lord Creon like a mad thing, and everybody knew he didn’t give a rat’s ass about her. So Silas Altamont goes to Porphyria Levant—who was powerful enough to protect him from Lisette Malvinia, no matter who she had running her errands—and begs Porphyria Levant to do the obligation d’âme. And Porphyria Levant smiles and says okay. Now, the thing about the binding-by-forms, the way my friend Zephyr explained it to me, is that it lets the hocus make you do what they want. Except for kill yourself. They can’t make you do that. But what Porphyria Levant tells Silas Altamont to do is fuck her. I’ve heard it different ways. Some people say Silas Altamont was beautiful as daylight, and Porphyria Levant had been hot for him for indictions. Some say Porphyria Levant didn’t know he was molly, thought he was janus and wouldn’t mind. And some say—and I got to admit, this is what I think—that she knew he was molly and that was why she did it. There are other stories about Porphyria Levant, and it’s the kind of thing she would do. Anyway, there’s Silas Altamont. He’s molly, and he’s still in love with Creon Malvinius, but he has to do what the obligation d’âme says, and it says, You got to fuck Porphyria Levant and make her happy. And after a while he goes to her and says, “ can’t stand this no more, please, let me stop or I’m going to go out and slit my wrists.” And Porphyria Levant says, “Silas,” and smiles her little smile, “I forbid you to kill yourself.” That’s what hocuses are like, and that’s why, if you live in the Lower City of Mélusine, you keep one eye on the Mirador all the time, same way you would with a swamp adder. It’s just common sense.
I forget when I first heard rumblings about a book series called the Doctrine of Labyrinth by an up-and-coming writer named Sarah Monette. It was undoubtedly before 2014, because when she published Goblin Emperor as Katherine Addison, I bought it without even reading the synopsis I was that ecstatic to finally get a taste of her writing. You see, Monette had a string of publishing woes, notoriously leading to at least one of the books being out of print before the series was even finished despite having amazing critical press and quite good initial sales. And one of the books just _vanishing from shelves was pretty much the series' death knell; new readers wouldn't start something they knew they couldn't get their hands on half of; and if readers weren't buying, neither were libraries.
It was this unicorn series: dark (dealing extensively with the aftermath of abuse and mind-control), inventive as hell, all about found family and the juxtaposition of brothers: one a high-class sorcerer with a stick up his ass and the other a slum-dwelling lord of cat burgling. With, from what tiny, glorious tidbits I could weasel from the internet the cat burglar acquiring a physical disability later in the series that was not! magically cured; queerness _everywhere; redemption and betrayal and invented languages. And magic absolutely _dripping off every page.
Anyone who's followed me for more than five minutes understands why this was a great white whale, over which I would eternally envy those fortunate few who had glimpsed its splendor.
But then! late last year, joy and jubilation poured forth from nowhere when Open Road Media re-published the whole kit and caboodle. ^^ (Monette/Addison had been low-key promising for a while there was good news in the pipe-line, but she's been very busy with her Tor ventures, including the magnificent Angel of the Crows, and I of little faith thought this news a very pretty mirage).
And then I got scared shitless. What if I'd poured inordinate amounts of the last decade into finding a copy of the whale someone could scan into text for me (cause the Open Road debut is its first in an accessible E-form), failing again and again only for it to be decidedly meh? ^^ But it's spring break and if I don't read at least the first one now, it aint happening 'till May. So, I girded my loins and y'all: just swoon with me over the brilliance of Melusine's prologue.
Mildmay, our lord o' the cat burgle: clearly educated, for all he's in the worst part of the city, but not bothering to sand off the patina of the slums either. An absolute mélange! of expressions, from the Georgian English "Molly" for gay men to the Latin "indiction" for calendric cycles (I'm assuming in this world they're as close as you can get to its original meaning of the five-year Roman Republic lustrum because there are also septets--clearly based off the Latin seven which seem to be the largest counting group so far within the city. Which wouldn't be the case if the indiction were the later fourteen- or fifteen-year length--unless of course indictions are meant to be multiples of seven and septads are a way of breaking that down into more manageable units damn now I can't wait to find out which theory is correct even the fucking prologue is crammed with world-building mysteries). Not to mention the slyest introduction of "Jaus" my beloved god of gates and duality as the perfect bisexual slang my GOD. And I know the linguistic pallet only gets richer, having caught a glimpse of Demi-Monde to explain the circumstances of an unfortunate courtesan Mildmay will be assisting.
Somehow, Monette weaves this mishmash of languages into something entirely comprehensible, giving the city a rich flavor you don't find in ninety-nine percent of fantasy, stuck on its castles and knights and feudalism. Fuck, this is gonna be so good. @dr-dendritic-trees this might be up your alley (not sure how dark you tolerate your fiction and this goes some pretty dark places from reviews, but know you were a huge Crow fan) ^ Open Road has a penchant for collecting out-of-print titles that become my heart's beloveds ala Elizabeth Wein's Aksumite cycle (opening in Winter Prince with an Arthurian-esque re-telling, but steeped in ancient Ethiopian culture and proceeding into…how the hell does one even describe Telemakos? Mixed-race child prodigy of thievery and diplomacy, simultaneously clever and mischievous as any trickster should be who will make you cry six times in every book is about the best I can do. These are absolutely as good as! Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief and even more underappreciated. ^^ Having grown up shamelessly queer in a landscape that only in the last decade has made significant strides towards making queer books accessible to the blind, I have so many white whales. Heather Gladney's Song of Naga Teot y'all. Sometimes, I just quietly keen over how much I wanna read this trope-filled book I don't even care if it's good people could probably make me accomplice to terrible deeds if they just promised to read aloud all the pulpy queer books, I still can't get my hands on after all was said and done.
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Thank you for your answer! Indeed, I didn't perceive very well the "insults" of Janus towards Martius, which is why I thought of the scene as a little strange (for Aprilis things are much more obvious)
Two more questions. 1) There is a mention of Martius always making sure to "not hurt" Yufina when he touches her. What do you actually mean by this? I have seen people presenting it under two different lights, some saying this is just meant to say he is a kind and not forceful person when it comes to physical contact ; other interpreting it as Martius being carefuly not to hurt her with his body weight, due to him being obese.
I personally see much more the first option, and believe the second one might be a extrapolation, but that's just me. It is just that while Martius and his siblings are described as large, fat and pig-like, I didn't see anything insisting on his body being so enormous it would actually harm Yufina. But at the same time, Japanese media is known to have some pretty... interesting views and perceptions of fat people so maybe that's what Mothy meant
And my second question (I know I am obsessing over little details, but they're always the thing that fascinate me with Mothy's work, and the more I'll get down the novel I'll probably have others just as silly questions). There is a line in the translation, after Martius shows his spinelessness, about Janus grinning (disdainfully I guess) to his brother and patting his belly which is "not to be outdone" by Martius' own gut. I had read somewhere (I guess it was more of a headcanon of someone, but I still think of it as an interesting interpretation) that this could be read as Janus not just imposing his superiority by his royal position and his status of older brother, but also by his largeness which, by outdoing Martius' own, shows him as more "powerful" or "important" than the Marlon king, in some sort of bizarre brotherly rivality "in the flesh", quite literaly. Is it that someone just massively over-interpreted this little line merely meant by Mothy to point out Janus was fat, or is there something to it that can be found in the original Japanese text?
To address things in order:
1)Yeah, in this case it's probably more the way he said things that was the insult, and not the words themselves. I've been meaning to go back and revise my older translations specifically to clean up scenes like this one, but I've struggled to maintain my focus when doing so. I've stalled halfway through revising Cloture at the moment.
2)At the risk of sounding indelicate, my interpretation of that part was that Yufina "likes it rough", as it were, and Martius is too kind to...behave...that way. Or at the very least, he's too gentle to put any passion into the "romantic" parts of their marriage. I don't think it's about his physical girth--again, the primary criticism of Martius in this scene is not that he's fat (though that is being criticized, of course), but that he's not manly enough for her. She views his kindness and gentleness as an extension of him being weak and servile.
3)The negative emphasis on them being fat in particular I view as being more of a comment on how Yufina sees them, as this scene is very strongly tied to her POV--she despises the Beelzenian royalty as being corrupt, overindulgent, and lazy, taking advantage of their vassal territories, and sees their bodies as a physical representation of that.
4) It's just a bit of narrative flourish explaining that Martius is roughly the same size as his brother (it's Martius' size it's commenting on, not Janus--Janus is already established as fat in an earlier line). That one I might just go and change now, if it's giving people the implication that they're actively competing to see who has the bigger gut. They're not.
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vinbee631 · 8 months
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13 - The Bar Isn’t the Best Place to Find Advice, Thank God We’re In the Hallway
Prodigal Sons and Daughters Alike
If Janus had known private high school was going to be filled with as much teenage angst as regular public high school, he never would have bothered with the hours of work it took to apply.
Little Janus angst for the soul, title loosely based on Shape of You by Ed Sheeran because I Could Not Think of Anything Else and it's funny.
god, i love their dynamic so much.
If Janus had known private high school was going to be filled with as much teenage angst as regular public high school, he never would have bothered with the hours of work it took to apply.
That was only partially untrue, unfortunately.
It did not help that he’d chosen a track that was full of the most dramatic individuals on the planet: actors and dancers. 
Yes, he was also very dramatic, what of it? It takes one to know one, after all. He reserved the right to be critical of all his whiny classmates, when he too, spent an unreasonable amount of time complaining and being a pain in the ass. 
It would seem, with every bone in his body being the dramatic and sarcastic ones, that he would fit in well with his department.
The fact that his only ‘friends,’ if you could even call them that, were exclusively his dormmates, only one of which was even close to being in his track, did not back up that statement whatsoever.
Despite being much more outspoken than a certain recluse roommate the twins had initially taken to creating conspiracy theories about and inevitably started scheming about instead of actually talking to him, Janus did not succeed in the department of making and keeping friends, he never had.
So, when faced with the sudden reminder one of his classes involved a semester-long group project without assigned partners, he realized he had just been royally fucked, pardon the french.
It was enough to forget about the fact he was supposed to be planning his big get-to-know-Virgil thing the others had been chatting about excitedly for a few days now.
Logan’s success on the matter didn’t help, either. There was now an expectation that Janus had to come up with something convincing enough that Virgil would actually agree to it, he didn’t have the crutch of someone else’s failure. No, that would be too easy.
With all that in mind, it was a bit easier to explain how he found himself in his next, and most current, predicament. One that he literally ran into as he was distractedly making his way to his next class.
“Fuck, I’m so sorry. One would think that brainstorming and walking would be easy to multitask, but I’ve never been the type to effectively do two things at once.” Janus crouched down to help the poor sap he’d rammed into gather the papers they’d been carrying.
“Whatever, it’s fine,” the person replied, and Janus glanced up to find he recognized that prickly voice. He smirked up at Virgil, handing him the rest of his scattered papers.
“Well, if my apology isn’t good enough, I’m not quite sure what else you expect from me. As great as turning back time would be, that is unfortunately not in my skillset at this time.” A filter in this situation would have been immensely helpful, but he was pleasantly surprised at Virgil’s snort in response.
“Really? It’s not that hard to learn. I took an online course over the summer, you should consider it,” Virgil snarked back, surprisnging himself and Janus.
The latter scoffed. “Not all of us have ample free time to evolve beyond human nature, although if you have any better, less time-consuming options, I hope you will keep me in the loop, yes?”
Virgil rolled his eyes. “If you don’t have the patience for the zoom meetings, that’s on you. But sure, if I hear anything, you’ll be the first to know, I guess.”
“Good, it’s the least you could do after rubbing your privilege in my face. Although… here’s an idea, perhaps we would both benefit from you teaching me instead? I wouldn’t get to complain about how hard to access the classes are, and you wouldn’t get to complain about my- laziness, or whatever,” Janus proposed sarcastically, inspecting his fingernails casually.
“Ah, I don’t know enough to be a teacher. I barely know enough to use it, to be honest, hence why I didn’t reverse time to stop this whole thing from happening. It’s finicky, takes years to perfect, and even longer to master it enough to teach it to someone.”
“Well, you see my predicament then! I’m not going to start learning something that takes years if I don’t have the time or motivation to do so. So I’ll appreciate you refraining from any judgment,” Janus continued, surprised Virgil was putting up with him for this long, but he was not about to point that out.
Virgil raised his hands in mock surrender. “I concede to you point. Although, I never said you had to master it, just that I was shocked you wouldn’t make an effort to try it out… Anyway, I gotta…uh, get to class now… Good talk.”
Janus nodded, a bit too scatterbrained to wave goodbye. In hindsight, that was his chance to keep Virgil’s attention, to offer to walk to class with him or carry the papers he had previously scattered, or- something. 
Virgil surprised him once again by taking that step for him.
“Is… is everything- good?” When Janus glanced back up, he realized Virgil hadn’t, in fact, left for his class. He even had the decency to look a bit concerned for him, how sweet.
“Uh… yes, never been better,” Janus stammered to reply when he realized he’d taken a bit too long in his shock to respond, “why do you ask? I thought you had a very important class to be getting to.” Virgil shrugged. “You just… looked like something was- up, I guess.” He fidgeted with the straps of his bag as he spoke, obviously just as uncomfortable as Janus was with the question. 
“Do you actually care?” Janus asked honestly. “I mean, I’m sure you have better ways to spend your time than listening to me complain about something I will likely have resolved in a week or two.”
Virgil simply shrugged again, going as far as to step to the side so they weren’t in the way of anyone walking past. “I have time, actually. And, I don’t know that I’ve seen you express any emotion other than smug, so you have me intrigued.”
Janus laughed. “I suppose that’s not entirely innacurate. I… suppose it sounds a bit silly out loud, but, well… I have yet to find a partner for a semester-long group project, and everyone in that class has already found someone to work with. And, as fun as it would be to interrupt someone’s hard work, joining an already established group would completely throw off all of my ideas.”
Virgil nodded in sympathy, pursing his lips. “I mean… does it have to be someone in that class? Like, I’m sure whoever the teacher is has other periods. Maybe, someone else in another class is looking for a partner?”
“It seems we do think alike,” Janus smiled grimly. “I already tried that, asked the teacher and everything. He said I have to join a group within my class, it would be too complicated to not be able to utilize our class time to finish the project.”
“Huh, I guess that’s reasonable. Sucks for you though…” Among all the outcomes Janus had complied in his head of this particular conversation, Virgil making an honest effort to help him had not been one. But hey, help was help, he wasn’t going to refuse it just because he was surprised it was happening.
“What… what kind of project is it? Is it something you can just- word-gymnastics your way into doing by yourself?” Another idea Janus had considered, and he shook his head ruefully.
“Um, well, I have the syllabus and assignment sheet if you even care that much. It’s a production class, more theater tech than acting, but we have to script and perform something, and we can either record it ourselves or perform it live. Has to be a collaboration, unfortunately, unless I want to fail the class.”
“Hm, you really are stuck,” Virgil muttered, reading over the papers Janus had handed to him. Now that he was this invested, he supposed there was no turning back. Honestly, he did kind of feel bad. He wouldn’t have said anything in the first place, but Janus had suddenly looked so- stressed. He wasn’t sure why that had tugged at his gut in the uncomfortable way it did, but now he was too far in to question that feeling.
“Oh, wait, maybe… I know your teacher said it had to be someone in that same period, but what if it’s someone not in the same class? You could… uh, write the whole thing yourself or whatever, then find someone you’re friends with to help put it on? Just like, anyone, but it might help if they’re at least in the same track, or track adjacent.”
Janus blinked, slowly smiling. “Huh, you’re onto something. I could try it. Honestly, I wouldn’t know who to ask, but if I get permission, that’s a start.”
“...Well, what about someone you see a lot? Like… one of our roommates or something?” Virgil suggested. “I know you guys spend a lot of time together, so it could be a fun side project, and you would still have plenty of time to actually…y’know, work together without the class time?”
Janus blinked. That was… actually really smart. “Well, I wouldn’t want to jump the gun. I will still have to check and ensure I am allowed to outsource my partner. But, that is really smart. Thanks, I- I really appreciate the help.”
“Hey, man, not a problem. Just as long as I don’t have to go talk to any teachers for you.” Virgil smirked, and Janus met his tentative eye contact with an appreciative smirk.
“First I make you listen to my problems, and help me with them, then I force you into social interaction? You think so cruelly of me, Virgil, I would never!” 
Virgil snickered behind one of his hands. “You didn’t make me do anything, but… well, you’d be amazed at how selfish people can be.”
“Nah, I get it. One favor can turn into forging someone’s homework for the rest of the school year. I dunno what the public school system was getting at, but there are no benefits to being a smart kid,” Janus bemoaned.
“Bold of you to assume I was allowed to go to public school but yeah, something like that.” Virgil grimaced as he realized what had just come out of his mouth. 
“What- what do you mean by allowed?” 
“Nothing… just- um, forget it. See you.” Janus supposed he’d touched a nerve, as he watched Virgil speed off. Although, he had bigger problems to worry about at the moment. Namely, another debate with the offending semester project teacher.
Although, maybe he would be trying to have more conversations like that soon. Virgil was quite witty, and seemingly without even trying to be. 
And, he was also responsible for Janus’ success in his project, when later that afternoon, Roman enthusiastically agreed to help, but only after he begged for the details of the conversation earlier. 
Huh, he supposed this whole, befriending Virgil business was going to work out after all. With any luck, the others would have the same luck he and Logan had.
Oh, and that Virgil would get the hint and begin spending time with them willingly, that too, of course.
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chaoswithcausation · 1 year
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Free To Feel
I’ve been considering writing a Sanders Sides oneshot or something for a while now and well I guess I’m finally doing it.
Description:
High school au hurt/comfort with Janus and Patton. Patton has learned something from his mom, and he’s pretty upset about it. He doesn’t know why- it took place years ago, so he doesn’t have any reason to feel sad about it, right?
Then why can’t he stop crying?
It takes a talk with Janus to let him know that his feelings, no matter what they are, are valid.
Warnings for: discussion of past miscarriage(s), Remus (he only shows up briefly and says one thing to warrant this, though), some swearing
If you read it and have any constructive criticism, please share!
Patton was having a shitty day, and Janus could tell.
It wasn’t like it was hard or anything- he was great at reading body language, and Patton’s had been practically screaming “THIS SUCKS!!!” all day long.
Granted, that was what Janus saw. Patton was actually very good at concealing his negative emotions, so it was no big surprise when none of their friends seemed to pick up on the distressed vibes radiating from the usual sunshine. Janus had roughly half his classes with Patton, so he had plenty of time to observe his mood. Rather than excitedly volunteer answers like he usually did in History, Patton had sat quietly in his spot looking out the window. That in itself didn’t seem like much cause for concern at the time, but when he offered no topics of conversation at all during lunch Janus began to worry.
There wasn’t much he could do about it until after school, though. So he waited, keeping a careful eye on the softest of his friends while in the classes they shared, and formulating a plan for talking to Patton after school. Since he didn’t know what the issue was, he figured that he’d swing by his house after school before heading to Patton’s. They lived only a few blocks away from each other, and were regularly coming and going between houses as if they lived together. This was essentially the norm for their entire friend group- though the twins and Logan did live at slightly greater distances than the rest.
When the bell rang, Janus totally didn’t run out of the classroom. Nopity nope, he definitely did not. Doesn’t matter what you heard, the hall monitors are bitchy liars.
Regardless of the verity of what the hall monitors may or may not have seen, Janus did arrive at he and his friends’ designated meetup spot at the front of the school very quickly— but was somehow still the last to arrive, excepting Patton.
What? It wasn’t his fault that his final class was all the way on the other side of the school!
He didn’t plan to stop and chat, though, considering two things. A) he was on a mission, and didn’t have time to listen to Roman talking about the upcoming theatre production today, and B) he had absolutely zero I desire to get involved in whatever was happening.
Virgil and Roman were lounging on the ground against the wall, watching Logan and Remus scream at impressively loud volumes.
“HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS?! YOU CA-”
“IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU TELL ME, I’M NOT GOING TO LISTEN!!!”
“YOU ARE SINGLE-HANDEDLY THE MOST INSUFFERABLE PERSON I’VE EVER MET!!!”
“YOUR MOM IS- oh hey Jannie!”
Janus rubbed his temples. “Hello Remus. Have any of you seen Patton?”
“He already went home,” Virgil piped up. “Said he was tired and didn’t feel up to listening to these two go at each other like a couple of wild animals. Well, not in those words, duh, but that was the general vibe I got.”
Remus snickered at Virgil’s comparison of him and Logan. “Y’know, going at it like a couple of wild animals sounds pretty fun, huh Logan?”
“Why you-”
Janus didn’t stick around to hear the rest.
When he arrived at Patton’s house, he knocked on the front door and called out as he stepped inside to let them know it was him entering, then poked his head into the kitchen where Patton’s mom always sat at the table working. “Hi! Is Patton home yet?”
She had scarcely opened her mouth to respond when Patton came sliding down the hallway in socks at top speed, bowling over Janus and knocking them both onto the floor.
“Oh, sorry Jan!” he exclaimed, hauling them both back up to their feet. “C’mon, let’s go to my room so Mom can work.”
Patton’s mom was clearly suppressing a laugh. “Pat, honey, what have we told you about sliding down the hallway at Mach 4?”
“Sorry, mom. Won’t happen again!” he called, already moving back towards his room. Janus followed, and after setting his bag down on the floor, immediately flopped down into the absolutely enormous beanbag chair occupying the corner of the room. Patton shut the door then followed suit, plopping himself down onto the other end of it.
It was huge. They could have easily fit another person in between them— although at that point it would’ve been a bit more like a cuddle pile.
“So, what’s up?” Patton asked. He wore a calm smile on his face, but the emotion he was trying to convey did not reach his eyes. He looked, like Virgil had said, tired.
“It’s vibe check time,” Janus replied. “And before you start spouting some ‘I am a-okay!’ bullshit, let me tell you that I know something’s been off with you all day. Whatever’s going on, you can tell me about it.”
“Right to the chase, huh?”
“Yes.”
Patton sighed heavily and sunk down in the chair. “I don’t want to burden you with my garbage.”
“You aren’t burdening me, Patton. I asked. And I sincerely hope that your ‘garbage’ is referring to the contents of your trash can, and not your personal issues.”
Patton sunk a little deeper into the chair. “So, I was talking with my mom yesterday.”
He paused for a long time.
“I don’t think you know this, since we didn’t really hang out then, but when I was littler my parents tried really hard for another kid. That’s my brother.”
Janus was very familiar with Patton’s little brother. The kid was smart as a whip, just as silly and sunshiney as his older brother, and had probably seen every Disney movie in existence. Their entire friend group doted on him like he was an angel- especially Logan, who normally was awkward around kids at best. The others liked to tease him about it, but it was clear to anyone that they all adored Emile as well.
Patton pulled his sleeves down over his hands and balled them up to make sweater paws. “I remember, when I was really little, I used to ask for siblings all the time. I wanted a bunch of siblings to play with and hang out with and have little sleepovers with— all that fun stuff. I never really stopped to wonder why it took so long for Emile to get here.” He paused for a moment to breathe— in for four, hold for four, out for four. Virgil used the same trick to help with his anxiety.
Patton let out a small chuckle. “I was so excited when he arrived. I finally had a brother! Yeah, he was really tiny and squishy at first, but as he got bigger he started to grow into this amazing person who is so much fun to be around, and now he’s one of my best friends. Sure, he can be a goober sometimes, but so can I! I love having him as my brother!”
Another long pause.
“But… I didn’t stop hoping for more siblings. As we both got older, though, and he got to be old enough to actually talk and stuff, I kind of forgot about it, but… not completely. I wondered, sometimes, why it was just me and Emile. Heck, once I was old enough to realize that we aren’t getting any more siblings, I even felt sad that he wouldn’t get to be a big brother too.”
Patton rubbed at his eyes, and remained quiet for a bit.
“Yesterday, my mom and I were talking. I can’t even remember now how it got brought up, but…” he took a shaky breath and continued. “We wound up on the topic of siblings, and she— she told me that she—”
There were tears flowing down his cheeks now, but he seemed determined to continue.
“She told me that she miscarried! And I— I don’t— I don’t know why I’m so upset, because it’s not even like I knew the babies existed back then and it was years and years ago so it shouldn’t matter now, but— I couldn’t stop thinking, about how I never knew how risky it was, and then I started thinking about how it just as easily could’ve been me or Emile and— and that just scared me so much because I can’t imagine not having him in my life because he’s such an incredible kid, and then I was thinking about how we could’ve had more siblings that probably would’ve been just as amazing as him and— and—”
Patton buried his face in his sweater-paws and wept. Janus reached out an arm and gently wrapped it around his shoulders— enough so that he could feel it, but still light enough for Patton to move away if he wished to.
Instead, Patton collapsed into his embrace, and Janus enfolded him in his warm arms, not saying anything, just letting him cry.
“Four,” he sobbed. “There were four.”
They stayed there like that for a while, as Patton cried out the word ‘four’ again and again. When he did sit up and dry his face, he wouldn’t meet Janus’s eyes.
“Sorry to dump all that on you. It’s silly to be so upset about something so long ago-”
Janus cut him off. “Patton, you don’t have to apologize for anything. I came here because I noticed that you seemed sad, and specifically asked you to share with me what was wrong— and I am so glad that you did. There is absolutely nothing silly with the way you are feeling. This is an entirely natural and reasonable response to learning what you have, and your feelings are completely valid. Additionally, you don’t have to hide when you feel upset over something. You have one of the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever met, and you have friends and family who love you so much. Please don’t ever feel like your emotions are silly, or that you can’t talk to anyone about them.”
Patton’s eyes welled up, and he wrapped Janus up in a huge hug. “Dang it, Jan. How do you always know what to say?”
Janus wrapped his arms around his friend once more, and held on tight. “It’s my specialty.”
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What is Home? Chapter 2
Materpost Chapter 1 Chapter 3
TW: Food Mentioned, Implied Neglect, Implied Abuse
Age(s): Janus (16)
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After three more hours of driving, the two of them finally make it to the neighboring state. Roman looks out the window with an amused expression on their face. They have never really ever been outside of their town and even then they barely ever explored their hometown. So, they were excited to be in a place outside of the bubble they‘ve been trapped inside their whole life.
They look out the window for a few minutes before they’re hit with the realization that they don’t actually know where they’re going. Remus hasn’t told them where they’ll be staying yet, so they turn to their brother.
“Rem, where are we going now?” they questioned, “You haven’t exactly told me where we’ll be staying for now.”
Remus hums, “Oh yeah, I guess I must have forgotten to tell you, my bad. Anyway, I called my friend, Janus back at the Waffle House and they agreed to let us stay at their house for a week.”
Roman nods before turning back to the window and thinks for a while before continuing to talk, “So, Janus goes by they/them pronouns too?”
“They go by all pronouns.” 
The younger twin nods, “Oh okay. I’ll keep that in mind then.”
The other doesn’t respond this time and instead just goes back to focusing on the road. He has never driven in this city before so he had to make sure he focused as he drove to Janus’s house. He doesn’t really want to deal with getting lost.
Remus successfully gets to Janus’s house without getting lost after about 10 minutes.
“We’re here,” the older twin announces as he stops the car and turns to his sibling. “Ready to get out?”
The tanner teen takes a deep breath and nods, “Yeah, let’s go.”
The two of them get out of the car and walk to the front door of the decent sized one story house. Roman makes sure to walk behind their brother. They’ve never met this Janus person before, so they’re nervous to just walk in and live in a stranger’s house. I mean, they trust their brother’s judgment but it’s still nerve racking. 
On top of that, the twins have always been considered hard to be around. The two of them are often considered loud, obnoxious, mischievous, and frustrating. And for the most part, these criticisms are valid since the twins played into these assumptions. They were okay with being seen in a less than positive light. Now, however, they can't risk keeping up their bad reputation. 
The two of them can no longer misbehave the way they used to in the past. In their hometown, they were able to get away with vandalism, stealing, fighting, and smoking. They were able to get away with these actions because they believed they were untouchable. Now however, they’re runaways. They have to fly under the radar. They can’t risk getting in trouble with the police because if they did their plan would be ruined and the consequences they tried to escape would hit them harder than ever.
So, now that they have to live with someone else, they have to be on their best behavior. The last thing they can afford is getting on Janus’s bad side and being kicked out of his house before they could get an apartment. 
The door opens and Roman is immediately stunned by how beautiful Janus is. 
They admire the way the stranger’s dark skin seems to glow in the sunlight. The way his long wavy hair managed to look messy yet well kept at the same time. The way his dark chocolate colored eyes appeared both inviting and serious. What caught Roman’s attention the most though, was Janus’s birthmark that covered a large amount of the left side of his face. It was unlike any other birthmark Roman has ever seen and it was beautiful.
“Hey Rem. I’m assuming this is your twin?” Janus spoke, his voice relatively deep.
Remus smiles and nods, “Jan meet Roman,” he turns to his sibling, “Ro meet Janus.”
Roman waves at the taller teen, “Hey, nice to meet you. Thank you for letting us stay with you for a while.”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” the other replies, “And of course. Your brother is a good friend of mine so I don’t mind helping when I can. Anyway, come on in.”
The twins go inside and Janus begins to show them around the house. Janus shows them the guest room and where everything they might need is such as toilet paper and bandages. Once the tour is over, the three of them go to the living room.
“Hey, Ro do you mind starting to move some of our stuff to the guest room while Jan and I catch up?”
The younger twin nods, “Yeah, sure. You better come help me if I need help though.” 
“I will, I will, now go.”
Roman hums and walks out of the house after getting the car keys. They start getting out their stuff, which wasn’t really much. They only had a couple of backpacks and plastic bags that carried the couple of stuff they took with them.
“So, when did you move out of your parents house?” Remus asks as he sits down on the couch, across from Janus, who is sitting in an armchair.
The dark skinned teen shrugs, “Like two months ago. I was able to convince my parents to let me move out after I bought my car.”
The curly haired boy nods, “Well that’s good. If you hadn’t moved out then Ro and I would be screwed right now.”
“Okay, tell me what happened. Why did you two run away?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think this is a good time to talk about that, Jan,” the taller teen says with a sigh. “I mean, all I feel comfortable telling you is that Ro and I couldn’t deal with our parents anymore. Before I can tell you more about what happened, I need to make sure Ro is okay with me telling you.”
Janus nods, “Alright, I understand. Well can you at least tell me a bit about how you got here? I mean, I didn’t know you had a car and stuff.”
“Oh, yeah I recently got the car actually,” Remus begins to explain. “I’ve been saving up some money for like 3 years and I finally raised enough to buy one. I had to keep it hidden from our parents though.”
“Damn,” The other teen can’t help but be impressed by his friend, “I’m glad you managed to buy your car. Anyway, what did you guys bring?”
“Ah,” the tan 16-year-old looks down, “If I’m being honest, not much. We brought our clothes, not all of them since some of them were too old. We have our phones, our toothbrushes, pillows, blankets, and just some other small stuff. We have some snacks and water too but that’s really it.”
“That doesn’t sound like a lot of stuff for two teenagers moving out.”
“Yeah well we can’t exactly bring everything you know?” Remus tries to justify how little stuff they brought, “I mean, if we took too many things it might be too obvious that we ran away. Plus, a lot of the things we had our parents owned so we can’t risk taking it and our parents reporting it.”
Janus just shakes his head and stays quiet for a while before realizing something, “Wait! You both took your phones? Can’t they track your location that way?”
“No, they can’t,” the twin reassures, “They didn’t know we had phones, we had a “friend” buy them for us.”
“How much stuff do you guys have that your parents don’t know about?” The shorter teen asks with a concerned tone, worried as to how parents could be so negligent and naive to what their kids are doing.
Remus laughs, “A shit ton of stuff. Ro and I have a lot of secrets, especially from our parents since they’ll just throw a fit at some of the stuff we got.”
“That’s not a good thing Rem,” Janus states, worried that the other teen can just laugh about the way his parents treat him.
The twin just shrugs, “So, how’s school?’
With that change of topic, the two of them continue to talk about their lives. Despite the fact that Janus and Remus have been friends for a while, the two of them have only talked online so there was a lot of stuff for the two of them to learn about one another. 
“Hey Rem, I’m done moving our stuff,” Roman walks into the living room.
Remus nods and checks the time before standing up, “Alright. Well, it’s getting late, we should probably start setting up the room and stuff before it gets too late.”
“Do you guys want something to eat first?” Janus offers, “You two haven’t eaten since this morning, right?”
Both twins go quiet for a while. If they were being honest, the two of them weren’t sure what to say, after all they’re not used to eating more than once a day. It was especially strange for them considering how much they ate for breakfast.”
“We’re good actually,” Remus eventually says, “We’ll tell you if we get hungry though.”
The oldest of the three teens hums, “Alright. Well, I’ll see you both later then. If either of you need anything, feel free to tell me.”
With that the twins go to the guest room and the two of them begin to organize the few things they have. They keep their clothes in some bags since they won’t stay at the house for too long. Once they're done setting everything up the two of them sit on the bed, that both of them will be sleeping on together.
“So, what should we do now?” Roman asks, not used to having nothing to do.
Remus shrugs, “How about we try to find some apartments nearby? Afterall, we have to figure out how expensive stuff is here so we can decide what type of job we should look for.”
The younger twin nods and the two of them get their shared laptop. They begin their research, spending the rest of the day doing so. Once it’s 10 pm the two decide to call it a day, after all they want to explore the neighborhood. On top of that, both of them haven’t slept properly in a few days, so the two of them quickly go to bed.
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ravenhilarious · 3 years
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Roman doesn’t trust words anymore
Patton keeps telling Roman how amazing and loved he is, but Roman doesn’t trust words anymore
Thomas assures Roman that he is indeed his hero, but Roman doesn’t trust words anymore
compliments and words of affection have been used against Roman
“love the new outfit Roman”
“the honorable Roman”
“you know I love you Roman”
those were words, empty words
Roman doesn’t trust words anymore
now, what does Roman trust?
actions
grand gestures
bravery
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logically-asexual · 3 years
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im so annoyed about this whole remus and logan thing i can’t stop thinking about it. so a long ramble under the cut.
i finally am being able to put into words what bothers me about logan’s character development, particularly him vs the dark sides.
first of all, virgil. virgil had a whole season for his development that was kind of natural and credible. he is a nuisance in different ways, thomas recognizes he has anxiety and looks for ways to cope, which logan learns to bring up later, then virgil keeps causing trouble but makes some good points sometimes, then thomas decides to accept him for the good he brings and they all manage better. all this happens within episodes that aren’t always about anxiety. they SHOW us how the sides’ perception of him and his character have changed through the stories, instead of lecturing us about it.
with janus they kind of attempted the same thing but with a speedrun of three episodes that crammed everything together with little plot. in fact the plot is just an excuse to make every single step of janus’s developement happen, and this progress with janus is the center of the episodes. at least there is some plot, but its not as natural, we don’t see thomas struggle with him casually, we don’t see logan or patton learning information about how to deal with him. its not how a normal person would go through this. but we do see different stages of his acceptance and we see all the sides learning new things about janus gradually.
but then with remus they just pressed literally everything in one video and all the learning thomas would have to do about him and dealing with him that he did with virgil in an entire year happens in?? 40 minutes? because he (logan) somehow already knew everything and he just had to remind himself (patton and virgil) of it?
that’s how i see the dark sides’ development (?). now logan.
with virgil you could assume logan took note of what Lilly said in that first video, then logan and had thomas research about it and find strategies to later use them when they were necessary. as if Taking on Anxiety was a first step with learner’s wheels and then My Negative Thinking was thomas being able to repeat the process on his own. it makes sense. first someone teaches you and then you do it independently. you can believe there was a learning process with Logan’s help right there, beginning with Logan (and thomas) not knowing something and then researching (between videos), understanding it, to finally accepting it.
after the debate logan was still neutral about virgil, and was pushed to reflect more about his role until he disappeared, to finally come to the realization of why he was necessary, by remembering a small fact he learned while researching strategies (the yerkes dodson curve). that one isnt a streategy, so makes sense that logan just saved the info and didnt completely internalize it until it became useful. thomas learned what he was told to and then used it when the situation required it.
but with janus and remus thomas has to figure it all out on his own. except he doesn’t, because Logan already knew everything. he already knows what the dark sides represent, every single thing they encompass, he knows what the studies say about the problems they cause, he has understood, accepted, and internalized everything before the videos even start!! and then its only him telling the rest of the sides what he already learned on his own? he learned all this with the rest not being present or without it causing any emotion whatsoever? how can logan memorize all this stuff if thomas used to be indifferent towards it? you learn through connection with your emotions. it mAKES NO SENSE that logan knows all this.
also logan is defensive and gets frustrated easily. thats essential to his character. and you could see he was annoyed and bothered by anxiety in the first season. anxiety got in his way sometimes so logan also didn’t want him around at the beginning.  WHEn did logan have this development of suddently not caring at all what the dark sides do? not caring at all how remus affects thomas’s productivity while when roman does it he goes into screaming matches and even throwing stuff!!. it is stated that he does have feelings no matter how much he denies it, , then why doesn’t he feel anything At. All. when confronted by remus? why is he so calm around him? when did he learn to deal with him?
even worse: logan went through a whole arc of accepting virgil, just like the rest of them, but he still can’t even deal with Roman and Patton with whom he interacts literally every video?? he is so affected by them everytime they do something irrational, gets angry, and starts yelling about what does and doesn’t make sense. he says he doesn’t have this problem with remus because his ideas shouldn’t have an impact on thomas if they don’t let them. but when and how did he learn this? how does he know intrusive thoughts are different from other thoughts thomas has that he, as logic, doesn’t like?
logan said in the video its bad to try too hard to make sense of remus’s contributions. that sounds like something LOGIC would do. try too hard to make sense of him until (with experience and research) he realizes it is impossible and gets them nowhere, and also would end up hurting thomas more in the long run. then why can’t we see this development? how does he JUST. KNOW? how does he know before the duke is introduced what will and wont hurt thomas if this is the first time ever that thomas is hurt by him?
i can stay here complaining all day honestly. there’s so much logan as rational thinking, reason, logic, of a person (who doesn’t have any experience with therapy or believe in it, apparently) could have gone through while learning about dark sides of your personality. they dont have to show it on camera if they think they already showed enough of this process for virgil! but somehow imply that this development happened, and not just have logan suddenly be this perfect all knowing  entity that knows exactly what to do before it happens. i think logan lecturing them about intrusive thoughts for 20 minutes was a lazy decision, no matter how much work it took to write those dialogues. its lazy because it doesn’t fit with the storytelling style they chose to make Sanders Sides with, but they didn’t take the time to figure out a way to make it fit.
im going off again.again i can do this all day. but im going to stop now. sigh.
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romanapologist · 4 years
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huh i guess i am just biased as a roman kinnie good 2 know
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unsympathetic-snake · 4 years
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Janus using the fact that he was right that one time to get Thomas to do things that he would normally not want to do. Like hes like "Cmon, I did so much for you, just do this one thing for me!" or "I was right that one time, so I'm obviously right now!" 💙
Oh shit. Yeah he totally did that. 
Just because someone is right a few times doesn’t mean that they should always be the most listened to, just because Janus was right about that one thing doesn’t mean that he deserves to be immediately trusted. 
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