#i aspire to be as happy as this patton

[daedriyth]

New Love?

This is my entry for the bachelor challenge by simsinfinitylt for the heart of Mr. Adam Patton.

Name: Ariana Willett

Aspiration: Painter Extraordinaire

Traits: Family Oriented, Art Lover, Bookworm

When Ariana saw the call for love for this particular bachelor she was more than intrigued.

"A man that prefers grey? How interesting, I would love to bring some color to his life!"

I think her crush started there, the more research she did on Adam the more she yearned to meet him. She wanted to discuss the latest romance novels with him, to laugh with him, to... maybe have a family with him. See Ariana is an only child, and always dreamt of having a sibling. Her parents have been very supportive in her dream to be an artist, and respect that she wants to take life at her own pace. She's even been considering going to college to pursue a degree in art! Fame isn't even on her radar, she just wants to be happy with her soulmate, children and surrounded by the beautiful things she can create.

#ts4 #simblr #ts4 cc #ts4-poses #the sims 4 cas #ts4 bachelor challenge #@ts4bachestate

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

Crown Princes and Butterfly Wings (3/?)

Chapter 2 : Friendly Stranger

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Our pair of adventurers becomes a trio, because neither Logan nor Roman have a clue what they're doing. At least now they have an expert on adventuring to help them out.

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@cutebisexualmess :)

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Sorry about the lack of a chapter last week! It was Christmas, as I'm fairly certain most people are aware of even if they don't celebrate, so I was really busy. Not to mention I mass-posted nine chapters of a fic (go read it if you want, it's on my page) in three days and I didn't want to bombard people, so I kind of skipped a week with this one, haha. Oops.

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Warnings: Roman is still kinda loopy at the beginning

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"Roman?" The prince heard Logan yell from across the garden and seconds later the tiefling was in front of him, giving him a once over before turning to the person who had helped him. "What happened to him? Did you do this?" 

"Wha- no! No, of course not!" they cried. "Is- is he your friend? He wasn't looking too good and he said to bring him to the fountain so I just-" 

"Hey Logie," Roman said, only half aware of what he was saying. "I ate'a weird cake mmm- mn- now I'm here…" 

Logan stared at him, baffled,  before sighing, and chiding him in a tone of voice Roman thought made him sound like a dad. "This is why we don't accept random food from strangers, you dunce." 

"'m already feeling better though." Roman shrugged. "Thanks to glasses."

The person giggled. Roman could see them better now, they had curly dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and they weren’t dressed nearly as classy as he or Logan were, but the puffy blouse and bluish-grey overalls made him look rather friendly, so Roman didn’t mind. 

"I'm Patton!" he said with a smile. "Always happy to help!" 

"Are you familiar with this area?" Logan asked him. "I believe it would be the best course of action to find somewhere to stay after this… incident.” 

"Um- well I only just got here myself! But I need somewhere to stay too, so I'm sure we could look together?" Patton said, with a blinding grin. "There should be some kind of inn nearby, there always is!" 

“Alright…” Logan said slowly. “I will- concede that you likely know more about this process than we do, so I will agree to going with you.”

“Um- cool!” Patton said, his smile not faltering in the face of Logan’s slight strange way of words.

“Logaaaan- your words are loopy,” Roman whined, “Talk normal for once.”

“I am simply talking formally, Roman, and you should aspire to do the same,” Logan chastised. Patton giggled.

“And you’re the one who’s loopy, mister,” Patton said before standing up and shifting a big backpack that Roman had completely missed before onto his shoulders. It was a pretty big pack, almost as big as Logan’s, this guy must be travelling too. Roman thought, “Anyways, c’mon, I think I saw an inn on the way over here.”

Roman tried to stand up before tripping over his own feet. The only reason he didn’t fall face first onto the paved path of the garden was Patton’s quick reflexes. He quickly righted Roman again, but this time he slung one of Roman’s arms around his shoulders and let the—much taller mind you—man lean on him.

“I can take him,” Logan offered as he watched Patton- not struggle, per say, but he did look slightly off balance.

“Don’t you worry.” Patton smiled. “I’m stronger than I look! And besides, you’re already carrying that big ol’ pack! I wouldn’t want to put more weight on you!”

“You calling me dead weight, glasses,” Roman slurred, while Logan muttered about the fact that Patton was also carrying a similarly sized pack. 

“Of course not.” Patton laughed again, it almost felt like they were already best friends, like they’d known each other for years. “But you are pretty tall.”

“Comes with the high social class,” Roman giggled with a lopsided smile, obviously finding his own joke way more funny than it actually was in his state.

“Well that would explain why I’m so short,” Patton said. “Come on now, buddy, we gotta go.”

Together the three of them found the closest inn and Logan paid for Patton’s room as a thank you for rescuing Roman from his own shenanigans before they parted ways. Or, so they thought as Logan forced Roman to take a nap in their room while he busied himself studying the maps they had brought in an attempt to work out where they should go next.

—-

“Are you feeling well enough to discuss our journey?” Logan asked him as they waited for their food to be brought out. They were eating at the inn, because Logan didn’t trust him when he said he was fine enough for them to go and find somewhere nicer to eat.

“Yes,” Roman nodded. “I’ve told you already, Logan, after that nap I’m feeling better than ever!”

“Good, but please keep in mind your volume, we are in an unfamiliar space and I am not yet sure I have quite figured out the etiquette,” Logan told him quietly.

“You worry so much, Logan,” Roman said, rolling his eyes, but he did lower his voice, much to Logan’s gratitude.

“Thank you, now if you’re willing to be quieter about it,” Logan said, pulling out one of the maps he had been looking at before, “I would like to discuss the route we should take.”

“We have no idea where he’s going,” Roman said, looking at the map and then at Logan, “There are- hundreds of towns and villages in this kingdom, we can hardly search all of them.”

“No, you are correct we cannot,” Logan agreed. “It would take us years.”

“Then… what do we do?”

“I don’t suppose you remembered to bring anything with you that belonged to him, did you?” Logan asked slowly, “If so, I could perform a fairly simple tracking spell…”

Roman felt a little sheepish, why the hell hadn’t he brought something? It was obvious they needed a way to actually try and find Remus! It was true that it had been on the list Logan had given him and he just… hadn’t. Roman knew they had to find Remus—the Kings of this land may be his fathers, but that didn’t mean Roman could disobey orders—but then again… Remus was his brother, and he couldn’t just- do that to him. So… he’d just keep playing dumb, dumb was safe and didn’t want him to answer any complex moral problems.

“No I… forgot about that,” Roman said slowly, shaking his head. Logan sighed.

“Of course you did.” Logan shook his head. “There are more complicated spells that could be used, but almost all of them require an personal item… We may have to find somewhere that I can read up on magic spells. I know there are some that can do what we need… but I am unfamiliar with them.”

“H-hey um-” Roman jumped, looking up at the voice only to find Patton lingering a few steps away from the table, wringing his hands. He looked so nervous, looking down at the floor, Roman felt a little bad. “Sorry for- um- overhearing, but- but I heard you were looking for someone…”

“That’s true, though it is a private matter,” Logan said, eyeing Patton without turning his head, clasping his hands over the map that was still spread on the table. 

“Oh! I completely understand!” Patton quickly assured, raising his hands. “I just- it’s… kinda obvious that you’re new to this- or you wouldn’t be talking about something private in a bar- but I’ve been travelling for the last- um- eight? years? So I thought I might have some advice you guys could use…”

“...Alright.” Logan nodded. “You said we shouldn’t be talking here… is there somewhere better?”

“Aboslutely, if um- if you don’t want people hearing about whatever it is you’re doing, this is probably one of the worst places to be talking.” Patton chuckled. “Taverns and inns are the number one spot for gossip. If you want information, you come here, if we want to have a secretive conversion, we should go to your room, or mine- either way.”

“If that’s so,” Roman said, “I suppose we should continue this conversation once we have finished eating.”

“I didn’t mean to intrude on your dinner!” Patton yelped, stepping back. “I’m so sorry! You didn’t have any food, so I just assumed- I’m sorry for interrupting!”

“It’s alright,” Roman said immediately, and he noticed Logan relax from the corner of his eye, “You’re trying to help us, and you helped me earlier as well, I owe you.”

“No- no you don’t.” Patton shook his head. “I don’t expect anything in return! I just- I like helping people.”

“Still.” Roman shook his head with a smile. “Feel free to sit, if you’d like.”

Logan gave him a skeptical look and Roman just shrugged with a smile. He knew trusting strangers wasn’t a good idea (Logan had lectured him on it for fifteen minutes after they had left the castle) but Patton… Roman couldn’t help but like him. He was just so… friendly. But not just on the outside—Roman considered himself a fairly good judge of character and there was absolutely nothing about Patton’s niceness that seemed off in the slightest.

With an awkward smile, Patton pulled over a chair from the next table and sat down with them. Logan put away the map just as someone brought over their food and they ate in silence, with just the sound of other people having their own conversations in the background. 

When they finished, Logan led Roman and Patton up the stairs and to the room they had rented for the night before taking out the map once again and laying it across the small table in the corner of the room. The three stood around it. 

“Ok! So,” Patton started, looking at the map, “You’re looking for someone?”

“Yes.” Logan nodded.

“Can you, um, tell me who?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to be a secret,” Roman said with an apologetic smile. Logan glared at him.

“Of course it’s supposed to be secret, Roman, that’s the whole reason we’re here and not someone much more capable.”

“Alright, um, not knowing who we’re looking for might make things more difficult.”

“My brother,” Roman said slowly. “I can’t tell you much more than that, but we’re looking for my brother.”

“Does he look like you?” Patton asked, tilting his head.

“They are twins,” Logan said with a sigh.

Roman nodded, “But he has a silver streak instead of gold, and green eyes instead of red.”

Laughing made Patton’s eyes crinkle at the corners and Roman couldn’t help how it made him smile. “So you’re… opposites?”

“Pretty much, yes,” Roman said with a shrug.

“Ok, so if you’re looking for information, you’re going to want to go here,” Patton told them, pointing at the map. The town his finger pointed at wasn’t that far away, though it was distinctly separate from the capital. “Mirefeld is known for its gossip, they have a pretty big trade and travel route going straight through the village, if anyone knows something about your brother, I’ll bet it’ll be someone there.”

“Mirefeld…” Roman said slowly, before lighting up. “Oh! I’ve heard of that, aren’t uh- aren’t they known for being a big meeting place for crooks and thieves too?”

“I believe so,” Logan said, nodding, before looking suspiciously at Patton. “Why would you wish for us to go somewhere with such a reputation for crime?”

“They’re the ones with all the gossip,” Patton said with a shrug, “And usually they’ll leave you alone, especially if you’re careful. I go there often and I haven’t had a single penny stolen yet… It’s kind of like a safe haven, I guess. I’m not trying to trick you, I swear.”

“This town is at roughly a three days walk from here,” Logan said with a sigh. “We’ll have to set off early tomorrow if we want to head in that direction.”

“Walk?” Patton blanched.

“I am unable to ride a horse,” Logan deadpanned, gesturing to his own legs. “I am not built for such an activity, and I’m fairly certain we don’t have the funds to buy a carriage.”

Patton flushed and looked away. “R-right- um- yeah that makes sense, sorry.”

“There’s no towns between here and Mirefeld,” Roman pointed out, still looking at the map, “Where will we stay for the nights we’re on the road?”

“Well sometimes there's outposts…” Patton said, “but I don’t think there’s any on the way to Mirefeld.”

“I suppose that means we will have to sleep on the road, then,” Logan said, eyes narrowing. “Which means we’ll need to allow time to buy some equipment, which means we will likely not be leaving until the day after tomorrow.”

Patton burst out in laughter. “Wait- wait- you don’t- you don’t even have camping equipment? What on earth have you got in that big bag of yours?”

Staring, Roman watched as Logan’s cheeks went purple—the guy was blushing. Roman was pretty sure he’d never seen Logan blush, Roman could barely keep down a laugh. Patton didn’t seem to have the same control.

“I… have brought with me multiple spellbooks and supplies for said spells,” Logan said, his tone carefully steady. “As well as a few others that I have been meaning to read for recreational purposes, and of course I brought a few journals to write down everything we learn on our travels.”

Roman stared at him. “You brought a library and have the audacity to call me the dumb one?”

“Excuse you, I am undoubtedly smarter than you,” Logan said.

“Yeah well at least I thought to bring spare clothes.” Roman rolled his eyes. Patton laughed again as Logan went even more purple, and his- literal- constellation of freckles dimmed slightly.

“It’s alright,” Patton said. “We can go on a shopping trip tomorrow- um- that is- if you’re both ok with me coming with you? I don’t- mean to be presumptuous-”

“Patton,” Roman interrupted, “I understand you seem to be nervous around us, but we’ve already proved multiple times that neither of us have a single clue what we’re doing. I for one would be delighted to have someone who actually knows travelling etiquette with us for this journey, Logan?”

“I believe… your company would be… beneficial,” Logan said eventually, after seemingly much consideration.

“Ok! Great- um- I guess I’ll leave you both be, then?” Patton said, already backing away from them. “I’ll- I’ll see you both downstairs in the morning?”

“Indeed!” Roman said with a nod of his head. “Sleep well, friend.”

“Um- you too!” Patton called, before bolting from the room.

It was a few minutes after Patton left before one of them spoke. Honestly, Roman was surprised it was Logan.

“He is… odd.”

Roman couldn’t help but burst out laughing against “Oh my- goodness, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush so much! I need to get him to reveal his secrets!”

“Respectfully, your highness, shut up,” Logan said, before walking over to one of the beds and sitting down. Roman just grinned and winked at him. “Go to sleep, you fool, we have a lot to do tomorrow.”

“Yeah yeah, got it, Mr. ‘I’m going to bring a library on a travelling expedition,’” Roman said, before lifting his bag onto the bed and removing the nightclothes he had brought with him. He heard Logan scoff, but he was fairly sure it was fond.

Roman couldn’t help but smile as he settled down for the night. The bed was nowhere close to as comfortable as the one he slept in back at the palace, not even to mention that it was a single compared to his usual bed which was likely large enough to fit five people at a squeeze, but somehow he found that it really didn’t matter. He had spent the day in the city, hell he’d even made a friend—he was fairly certain he’d never made a real friend by himself since he’d befriended Logan, and even that wasn’t really his own doing. Logan was two years older than him and Remus, so they’d basically grown up together anyway. 

His thoughts were getting off topic, but he’d made a friend, which was… amazing, in itself, and Patton was going to help them with their journey! So now their party was of three instead of two. 

All things considered, this journey was shaping up to be an incredibly good one.

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#sanders sides #fanfic #fanfiction #sanders sides fanfiction #rowans writings #rowans fantasyau #roman sanders #ts roman #logan sanders #patton sanders #ts logan #ts patton

[turneverybodyintopuppets]

I’m sorry but why does a sanders sides Undertale AU fit surprisingly well?

Patton = Toriel (loves silly jokes, strikes up an Odd Friendship with Sans/Virgil, gave up personal happiness--throne and marriage--because of her morals, just wants to protect her kiddo even if it means hiding the truth)

Virgil = Sans (fandom favorite, “ugh guess I gotta” attitude towards work, is simultaneously cool and incredibly dorky, more of a watcher than a do-er but ultimately more important than he seems)

Roman = Papyrus (loud and Extra, very creative and relishes showing it off, a bit naive in his quest to be a hero + other high aspirations, brash/egocentric in an endearing way but also deeply insecure)

Remus = Undyne (ADHD as hell, is unapologetically honest and herself when cackling and destroying fruit, a darker counterpart to Papyrus/Roman, the only one of this lot who will unapologetically kill a kid)

Logan = Alphys (Very very intelligent, difficulty with social norms, not-so-secretly knees deep in fandom culture, has trouble communicating her feelings and detaches herself from others because of it)

Janus = Asgore (was willing to make a morally dubious decision for the sake of the people he wanted to protect, which marks a difference between him and Toriel/Patton) or, alternatively, Gaster (elusive figure that seems to be pulling the strings, subtly forshadowed, suspicious connection to Sans/Virgil, the player still doesn’t know the extent of his role and that of those like him)

C!Thomas = Frisk (progressively meets a cast of zany characters whom they can choose to work with or work against, and those choices in turn shape Frisk’s identity)

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #logan sanders #janus sanders #intrulogical #moceit #undertale #tagging those ships bc the corresponding characters are together in ut

[thecrowslullaby]

sunday's best

ao3 link

first | prev | next

masterpost

warnings: trasphobia, mention of trasphobic parents

fic under the cut cuz it’s long-ish. We’re back with the current story line tomorrow :D

Patton

Patton Picani had a gift of filling up each space he resided in with happiness and warmth. Whatever room he was in lit up like a christmas tree. There was just something about him that made everyone around him smile. Maybe it was his ridiculous tendency to always be optimistic. To have a smile on at all times.

But not today.

Janus found Patton curled up in their small, shared bedroom. His shoulders were shaking and the aspiring lawyer could hear weak sniffles. A sundress, with a vibrant sunflower pattern, a gift from Patton’s parents, was laid out neatly on the bed.

“What happened?” Janus asked. Neither of them mentioned how his voice cracked with concern.

There wasn’t a clear response, just a silent grunt that sounded a little like the word ‘mum’.

Janus crossed the small distance between the door and his boyfriend and sat down on bed next to him. The cheap cover they bought from the thrift store around the corner provided an unpleasant sensation under his fingers.

Patton sunk into his side immediately, handing him his phone.

He made sure to give Patton a side-hug. The fabric on his shoulder was becoming damp already. He paid it no mind as he started rubbing small circles on his boyfriend's arm while reading the message.

I hope we finally get to see how the dress fits.

Love Mom

Janus was slow to anger but this? This took the fucking cake.

“What a bitch ” He all but hissed. He could feel his skin crawling at the mere thought of how much distress she must be causing her son …

“It’s fine, Jan”

“This is not fucking fine in the slightes!” Oh how he wanted to shoot up and do… well something! But no, Patton needed him to be here, and he was more important than anything else right now. He let out a frustrated breath. Eyes narrowed, he looked at Patton. “You’re not going to wear it, are you?”

“I…” Was all Patton managed before breaking down again. His silent sniffles felt like needles stabbed right into Janus' heart. He needed to fix this, somehow.

They stayed like that until Patton’s shoulder stopped shaking and the only sound in the room was the old fan that kept them awake at night.

Patton took a deep breath, before he spoke up again.

“I don’t want to ruin what little there is left between us” There was nothing left there. Not after Patton's parents kicked him out 3 years ago. Both Patton and Janus knew this. Both pretend otherwise for Patton’s sake.

It was hard to watch. It was hard to watch how much faith Patton had in everyone. It was hard to watch him cry because the world has never been as kind as him. It was hard to watch him lose hope, lose passion, lose spark. It was hard to watch him crumble. And Janus could watch no more.

“You won’t be wearing it, unless you want to wear a dress.”

“But, she said, she wants to see it on me.” Janus smirked because his boyfriend was wrong. She never did. “Besides, it’s not like I have anything remotely nice to wear. I don’t think I could fit into any of your shirts.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“But….” Janus stood up, grinning. An idea slowly forming in his head.

“She’s dealing with two lawyers and soon enough she’s going to regret the text” He said waving the phone which earned him a confused expression from Patton.

“What are you-”

“Oh you’ll see.” Janus said, hanging the dress back into the closet.

Janus

The bedroom was a mess, the pile of clothing growing rapidly as Patton was empting the cabinet in a frenzy.

“No, no, no” he whispered as panic rose. He hoped to put the dress on before Janus came back so he could no longer talk him out of it, but the dress wasn't where his boyfriend put it last night. Granted, his eyes might have been puffy yesterday, but given how small their apartment was there really weren’t a lot of places where Janus could hide it.

Still, after emptying the closet of it’s last item and no sunflower dress in sight there was only one logical conclusion to be made.

Janus must have taken it with him.

“Well I’m certainly not looking forward to cleaning that.” Patton heard Janus say in a rather cheerful voice. “I don’t think it’s a good time for spring cleaning considering we need to leave in about 20 minutes.” Patton’s fists tightened in frustration as he stepped from behind the closet door.

“Janus, you hid the-”

His voice died in his throat as he saw his boyfriend wearing the item he had been looking for all morning.

“Hid what?” Janus asked all innocently.

“My dress!!!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say ‘hid’, considering it’s in plain view, isn’t it?” The smirk on his lips was irking Patton. ”Did you want to wear it?”

“NO! But that’s not the point.” Patton became desperate. “My mum said she wanted me too-”

“Technically no.” Janus interrupted, still far too pleased with himself for Patton liking. “All she said is that she wanted to see how the dress fits. And as you can see...” The blond did a little twirl for emphasis  “...it fits me rather nicely.”

And Patton did have to agree, the dress did look nice on Janus. No focus. This isn’t the time to admire your boyfriend.

“I think yellow isn’t really your color. Blue on the other hand...” the lawyer grinned. “suits you better.” he said, lifting up a baby blue dress shirt that looked nicer than anything they had bought in months .

“Janus I can’t wear that!” They could buy so much food with what it must have cost.

“Oh don’t worry about the price.” Janus grinned. “Logan was kind enough to donate one of his shirts.” Logan? As in that terrifying Logan Kowalski who looked like he murdered puppies as a hobby?

“Janus!” The man in question handed Patton the fabric. He turned around, but stopped in the doorway.

“Oh and Patton” He wasn’t facing his boyfriend, but Patton could hear the smirk in the blonds voice. “If you still want to have the dress after the lunch all you have to do is ask~”

Patton's face went red at the implication.

“Janus!!!!” The man just laughed, closing the door behind him.

Well, that was certainly a thought that should not be occupying Patton’s mind during a lunch date with his Parents. But maybe this once, just this once, Patton should let himself do what he wanted and not what his parents expected him to.

Logan

Out of all the people Logan expected to be knocking on his apartment door on a Sunday morning Janus Dolos certainly wasn't one of them. And out of all the things Logan expected Janus Dolos to be wearing on a Sunday morning a summer dress with a bright yellow sunflower pattern certainly was at the bottom of the list.

"Janus?" The man looked up at him and suddenly Logan became very conscious over the fact that he was still wearing his navy blue pajamas and had not yet shaved.

"Good morning to you too, Logan.'" The man responded a little more cheerfully than usual. "May I come in?" His friend appeared to be full of surprises today.

Perhaps describing him as Logan's friend would not sum up their relationship perfectly. It wasn't that they were on bad terms. Neither were there on good terms. In all honesty it would be hard to describe their relationship in any terms considering there was nothing to describe. Not since Janus moved in with Patton. From that point on he appeared to have little time left for Logan. Their life-long friendship was put on hold.

"What's the occasion?" If Janus detected the bitterness in his voice he chose not to bring it up.

"I need a favor." Of course. The first time Janus decided to visit him in 132 days it would be for a favor.

Yet Logan had not yet closed the door on him. After all, striking a favor with Janus meant Logan would be getting something out of it.

"What do I get in return?" Janus narrowed his eyes, but his smirk persisted. Janus was one of the few people Logan could read perfectly. And he could tell that the blond was by no means mad, he wasn’t expecting a free hand out coming here. It was like their little game has never really been put on hold.

"What do you want?" He was testing the waters. After all it never was about the favors, was it? It was who could get a better deal.

"Depends on the favor." Janus laughed, melting away all sleepiness left in Logan with one simple sound.

"I need to borrow a dress shirt." Logan tried to not let all the romantic comedies he watched these past two months cloud his judgment. It certainly wasn’t his first choice in genre but his roommate insisted that Logan was a ‘disaster when it came to feelings’ and ‘desperately needed help of a professional’, which, granted, both were very true statements but even Logan knew they could have been phrased more politely.

"And you come to me because?"

"Because…"

"because who else could I come bother on a Sunday morning?" Janus raised his brow as if it were a perfectly valid explanation. And Logan reminded himself that Janus had a boyfriend. That he and Logan were friends. And asking your friend for help early in the morning should not be interpreted as a silent love confession, no matter what Roman’s romantic comedies had to say on that matter.

‘ Because you were the first person I thought of, L’

‘Because it’s the two of us against the world four-eyes’

‘Because I needed an excuse to meet up, like old times’

‘Because I trust you to keep a secret’

‘Because I know I can rely on you like on no one else’

‘just because…’

"Well, not that I don’t appreciate the visit but I fear my shirts would look more akin to a dress on you." As alluring as it sounded Logan decided not to give into the temptation of imagining such a scenario. It wasn’t in the realm of possibilities so it would be illogical to give into the thought. "unless you want to expand on your collection." Janus looked down on himself as if just now remembering his choice of outfit for the day.

"Ah. No this is actually Patton's" He said as if Logan was in on whatever plan Janus formed in his mind again. The taller man remembered faintly the mention of a lunch Janus was supposed to attend. "His mom said she wanted to see how the dress fits." Janus clarified and Logan couldn't suppress the chuckle.

"She never specified who the dress should fit, did she?" Janus' grin was all the answer Logan needed.

"She really should have chosen the wording better."

"Thankfully for Patton at least you have a sharp mind." It was as much a compliment as it was a jab at Patton’s intelligence. Janus has always been quick witted and brilliant. Patton? Patton was not. At least not according to Logan.

"Oh he's not gonna be pleased when he finds the dress gone." Janus chuckled. "But he'll definitely appreciate the chance to wear pants."

"So the dress shirt," Logan concluded "is for Patton?"

"Well aren't you quite sharp yourself, Mr. Kowalski." Janus said with a smile as he slipped into the apartment under Logan's arm. Good thing the tall man always kept his side of the apartment clean. He only wished he could say the same for his roommate. Thankfully, Janus seemed indifferent to the mess and chose to look at Logan with a cheeky smile instead.

"Lead the way." he said as if he didn't just invite himself in. So lead the way Logan did. As soon as they entered his room Janus sat himself on the bed deep enough to make his feet dangle slightly above the floor. Logan started rummaging through his drawer, trying to give himself a distraction. It was silent for a while before Janus suddenly spoke up.

"Darn it, your cover is so soft." Logan risked a glance behind him, the smaller man was spread across the mattress, buried in the fuzzy blanket Logan got from Roman after the jock accidentally spilled beer on his old one.

"I think everything must feel soft after sleeping under what the thrift store has to offer." Logan had visited them once after they settled in and he swore half the things they bought still had bed-bugs in them. He only hopes they managed to get rid of them in the meantime.

"Well it's not like we can afford much else." The reply was icy sharp, making Logan flinch slightly. He forgot that since Janus moved in with Patton their little apartment was consuming all their finances so money tended to be a sore spot for him as of late. Seeing no point in continuing the conversation, he turned back to the closet, when something occurred to him.

"How are you going to know which shirt is going to fit Patton?" Gifting the man one shirt, for Janus sake, was fine but he wasn't exactly looking forward to emptying half his closet for this.

"I measured out 3 of his t-shirts today while he was asleep so I know roughly what we're looking for." Ah! Clever! Just as he’d expect from his old friend.

Logan took out a few different sizes of shirts he no longer wore or those he never had the chance to put on. His grandma always sent him clothing. They were always nice and Logan really appreciated the gesture but given the fact she hasn't seen him in 6 years they seldom fit.

Things usually didn't hold much sentimental value for him, but it was different when it came to the woman. He couldn't bring himself to give them away or tell her they didn’t fit. They felt more like reminiscences of childhood than clothing. She’d be happy to see him giving it to someone who needed it. And she would scold him for not telling her earlier that she had his measurements wrong. He smiled to himself thinking of her as he smoothed out the fabric.

He laid the shirts out on the bed, next to Janus, who appeared to still be enjoying the comfort that the soft cover provided.

"Janus."

"Hmmmm. One second" the smaller man made no attempt to move. So Logan laid down next to him, careful not to wrinkle the clothes he just laid out.

It was nice.

Calm.

He remembered when they were eight and Janus convinced Logan’s parents to let him stay for a sleepover for the first time. How excited they both were. They could both fit in a single bed back then. Talk the night away.

Janus opened one eye to look at the taller man.

"Your bed is really comfortable. I think I should move in here" it took all of Logan's willpower not to respond 'I'd like that' because at the end of the day Janus Dolos seldom meant the words he said and they certainly never meant what Logan wanted them to.

“I think Patton wouldn’t approve of me stealing his boyfriend.”

“Who said anything about stealing?” Janus rolled onto his side, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I’ll take him with me. You can sleep on the couch.”

“And why would I agree to it?” Logan asked, turning his body to face Janus.

“Because you love me.”

No.

No.

He couldn’t know?

Could he?

There was still that glint in his eyes, but nothing more. He still hadn’t noticed. Logan felt both relief, disappointment and bitterness fill him all at once.

Logan was bad at reading people, while Janus prided himself in this skill.

Yet here they were, Logan, a closed book to his friend all the while reading him easily. Janus was all Logic and Patterns after all. Logan liked that. And he liked Janus.

“Not that much.” Logan Kowalski never lied. Except if it came to Janus Dolos, who made it far too easy to bend the truth.

Janus rolled back and spread his arms out again.

“Worth a shot.” his eyes were closed again, his smile content. And for a little while it was just the two of them. Like they never really stopped being eight. And he decided to savour every moment like this he got, because with how things were going, this truly might be the last one.

“You’re staring at me.” Were the words that brought him out of his thoughts. Janus was looking back at him sleepily. Logan smiled.

“I’m simply wondering when you’ll remember about the shirts.” Janus shot up from the bed.

“Shit the shirts. What time is it?”

“Half past eight” Janus’ shoulders relaxed slightly. So he wasn’t running late. Good. Maybe he could stay a little longer.

“Curse you for seducing me with your warm bed.” And Logan watched far too much romance as of late not to see another meaning in the sentence.

“Make sure to phrase it that way when Patton asks you why you’re running late.” He could see the gears slowly turning in Janus' head and the next thing he knew was his own pillow hitting him square in the face.

“Since when do you make jokes like that ?”

“Since my Roman introduced me to, and I quote ‘the absolute fucking genious that are romcoms’” Janus laughed and it made Logan smile. He really missed the sound.

They made quick work of measuring the shirts Logan had laid out and they managed to find a baby blue one that should fit Patton.

“Blue and yellow should fit well together.”

“You’re right.” Janus grinned. “It should fit his eyes nicely too.”

“I’m sure it will.”

“Thank you, Logan.”

“Don’t thank me yet. You still owe me a favor.” Janus looked at him, his eyes narrowing again. “I need you to convince my roommate to watch star trek for the next movie marathon.”

“What?”

“Or at least a murder mystery. I don’t think I can handle another romantic comedy.” And Logan must have looked desperate because Janus laughed. “You can come over with Patton and then we’ll have the majority of votes.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Janus smilled. “Though I must say your negotiation skills are getting rusty.”

“You didn’t try to bargain it down either.”

“Touche” He said, picking the shirt up. ”I guess I missed you too.” He smiled at Logan. “Maybe more than I’d like to admit.”

And for the first time in months Logan could not decipher what Janus meant, he strayed away from the pattern. An awkward laugh followed.

“Well I should probably get going, wouldn’t want to keep Patton waiting” The blond said as he squeezed the shirt to his chest. “Text me when you want to have a movie night.”

“I will.”

And with that Janus was gone leaving Logan with nothing but a promise to visit him again.

@ray-does-stuff @ace-ace-in-yo-face @dante1138 @bloodyjay-0666 @ranboo-but-booran @cultof-medusa @mothman-juicy-ass @everythingisstardust @not2cools @lackadae

#tss murder mystery #logan sanders #moceit #janus sanders #loceit #tss au #patton sanders #trasphobia #mention of trasphobic parents #Transphobia #Mention of transphobic parents

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

How are you feeling about that heart shattering episode? I have a feeling the fandom is going to start screaming intrulogical XD

I mean your local aroace is here for the found family first and everything else second so I’m happy for all you intrulogical diehards

SOMEONE PLEASE LISTEN TO MY BOY HE LOOKED SO S A D

*ahem* Logan has been pushed to the side—or at least felt as though he has—for a while now and Thomas’s mainly emotional turmoils mean that he probably isn’t listening to Logan as much as he should be. We all know Roman angst has a special home here but Logan’s arc is COMING and frankly I’m scared. But as I have insisted before and as I will insist again, anyone who thinks that Logan doesn’t understand emotions or is emotionally unintelligent has some heavy citations to make because this episode SCREAMED it. Like, so much. The soft voice??? The gentle encouragement??? The immediate rerouting from the schedule to being supportive of helping Thomas take it at his own pace? When I help my friends I aspire to be that kind and respectful.

Also uh are we just gonna sleep on how smart and insightful Remus is??? Boy is making Rube Goldberg machines out the wazoo AND calling Logan out on who he actually wants to yell at. Good. More of that. Less of whatever the hell that tongue lollipop thing was. I mean he spends most of his time with Janus so I guess you get pretty good at insight with that caveat.

Please let Logan go apeshit. He deserves it. He and Roman can just go apeshit and let the others deal with the mess.

Janus did you have to be that obviously gay? Perhaps.

Virgil thank you for calling out Patton I needed that for sustenance.

Patton…was there. Sorry, I really DON’T like unsympathetic sides but Patton can just squick me out so hard and even though he was there for like three seconds it just…mmm. No thank you.

Honestly I know the fandom’s gonna split between Logan being the orange side and the orange side controlling Logan and I’m just over here like ‘either way that’s gonna hurt please give my boy some support’ so you know?

Also…Roman. Sweetheart. Please. Get someone to hug you.

#dragonbabbles #sanders sides #sanders sides spoilers #roman angst #logan angst #Logan sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #orange side #who knows

[fanartfunart]

Sanders Sides as the MLP:FIM Elements: Another character analysis via another show’s organization methods~ (by request of @broadwaytheanimatedseries​ :P)

Honesty: Logan

‘Hey now’ you may say, shouldn’t Remus, the Brutally Honest guy be Honesty? And I’ll say: and Logan, “Must Scream the word ‘Falsehood’ when he hears a lie” Sanders should not??? (they’re both good options tho). Logan’s role, as Logic, is essentially to spit out honest information to the best of his ability. He has a very direct and strives to be accurate in every sense of the word. Even his Jam Ad was all about the physical truth of the jam. It makes him the best candidate for Honesty.

Loyalty: Roman

Roman has... such a one-track mind I love him. Roman is a very dedicated and passionate character (being the embodiment of passion and creativity be like that) and lends him very well to the element of Loyalty. He even had his own “giving up joining the fake-wonderbolts for friends” style-moment through the Wedding vs Callback decision. Roman has been very loyal to his ideals and when those ideals are changed (ie, Accepting Anxiety) he works hard to make it up to someone he’s perceived to have wronged. He seems quick to trust and give people a chance and his loyalty seems to only be lost when someone (cough, Janus, cough cough), when the individual has harmed him or his friends. Prince Roman, someone who aspires to heroic heights does make it very understandable for him to be the Element of Loyalty.

Generosity: Virgil

This, is best exemplified with his moment of Bravery with Roman in Flirting with Anxiety. To Virgil, pushing Thomas didn’t serve his ideals (he spent the entire episode trying to get Thomas to avoid conversation) but it did serve Roman’s. Virgil, often, has to give up something (ie, usually his need to Thomas to be Super Safe) in order to help others. He’s a very giving character in this way, despite his gruff, pessimistic nature.

Happiness: Janus

‘Wait what’ you say ‘what about Patton?’ you say, but, consider... Janus’s whole goal, as deceit, is to manage a form of happiness for Thomas. He pushes the topic of selfishness and selflessness so often because he wants Thomas to choose his own happiness. Janus isn’t exactly a traditional Happiness, but, giving his goals thus far, he fits well enough into the place.

Kindness: Patton

Patton loves people and friends and just wants to do the right thing. As such, his role for Kindness just Makes Sense. He’s not quire Happiness, because he’s not motivated to make people happy all the time per say, but rather to give them what they “need”, although making people happy is usually what he sees as their need. Morality is a very kindness-driven trait in general.

Magic (of Friendship): Remus

This... is my biggest stretch. (but, in all Honesty (pun intended), it’s really hard for me to find any applicable element for Remus because... he’s terrible and he loves it.) It takes a more roundabout method with Remus, as his negative effects are reduced by an agreement to ignore him. Thus, the friendship and agreement of others combine to “defeat” him. However, it could also be the start of a very magical friendship journey in which Remus learns how to manage his idea-giving to a comfortable level while the other sides learn how to accept and understand Remus’s perspective and how to communicate with each other effectively to maintain an equilibrium of mental comfort-....if you’re interested in that kinda stuff. :P

(Really, I’d make Remus Discord and make Thomas Magic in an ideal world because- ya know, Thomas is the Main Character & also literally made up of the sides/friends, and Remus is just.... Chaotic and loves it and after the first fight w/ him is just There sometimes.- But Broadway asked for sides as the elements and I shall give Sides as elements. :P)

BTW here’s my Sides as MLP ponies, if you were curious about my ideas on that too.

#Remus Sanders #Roman Sanders #Logan Sanders #Virgil Sanders #Janus Sanders #Patton Sanders #Elements of Harmony #Sanders Sides #Sanders sides MLP au #kinda #I can also see Remus as Honest #I can see Logan as Magic or Loyalty too #And I can see Virgil as Magic and Loyalty #and I can see Roman as Generosity #fanart's textposts #analysis #character analysis

[steepgan]

someone dear (i) — d. ragnvindr x f!reader

PART I - PART II - PART III

bye i created this on a whim ive always wanted to write an mc who just likes money yet still carries the “happiness/freedom” ideals of mondstadt.. essentially its an mc whos like hell yeah i love money <3 and fun..!!! okay also i did not edit this at all i was just like <3 writing time baby..

Of course, working for the wealthiest gentleman in Mondstadt was no easy task. There were two places you could work: Dawn Winery or Angel’s Share. The winery, settled in the countryside, was a cozy job with friendly workers who saw rolling hills of green every day; however, the only available occupation within your skillset was being a maid. So you worked at Angel’s Share which was planted in the city, and there you were greeted with weary workers and angry people. It was plenty more fun, anyway.

Your boss was as impassive as a tree, giving you your pay and leaving you be. He kept a strange emotional distance. Which was fine. Totally fine. But whenever you wanted a raise, his aloof attitude warded you off and you’d tell yourself you’d try next time.

Growing up in a household where money was a prominent figure in your life, you had materialistic values and a great love for money. So during your employment at the tavern, you picked up more shifts than anyone else and seldom splurged. You were stuck giving your laments to your friends and returning customers who were kind enough to humor wails.

“One of these days, Lisa, I’m actually going to lose it,” you said to the librarian of the knights. You slumped your body on the bar, clearly in a professional fashion. “What do you want to drink?”

Lisa gave you a pitying look. “You could always become a knight or an adventurer. They receive plenty of pay through commissions.”

“No, thank you! I kind of want to live.”

“I don’t think I’ll have anything to drink,” Lisa said. She laughed at your sullen expression. “Today, at least. I have to explore these ruins later today. I really, really don’t want to, but Jean is making me.”

You slid a tin can labelled TIPS to Lisa. “Every time you don’t want to do something it’s five mora.”

“Since when did this become a thing?”

“It’s always been a thing. I was just giving you a family-friend discount up until now.”

Lisa dropped the coins into the can. You smiled at the sound of click-clank. Lisa rested her cheek on the palm of her hand and said, “have you ever thought about… not working for the tavern? I’m sure there are other places in the world that’ll appreciate your pleasant company.”

“Yeah, but Master Diluc pays the best in Mondstadt if you don’t have a decent education under your belt,” you said dryly. “I’d have to travel out of Mondstadt to find a better opportunity.”

“There’s always the cathedral,” Lisa offered. 

“Do you see me as a devout follower to any god other than money? [Name], Humble Follower of Barbatos Since The Beginning! Engrave that on my tombstone, would you?”

“I don’t really want to do that.”

You pushed the tin can toward the librarian.

Lo and behold, the man of the hour strutted in with his typical apathy. If he carried himself with a more open chest and with his chin up, you’d find him more agreeable, more approachable. He’d be knightly, even. But Diluc hated knights. He hated small talk, too. He hated a lot of things.

He was a man of good looks and good fortune, in addition to being Mondstradt’s most eligible brooding bachelor bastard, donning a nice black coat with golden trimmings and tassels. A coat that’d fetch a nice price if you were to pawn it off. Not that you were thinking about selling your boss’ clothes. He stood at a decent height with his vermillion messy hair tied back and narrow eyes framed with thick lashes. 

When Diluc walked through the doors, he didn’t spare you a glance before climbing up the stairs to deal with some other matters. As long as you did your job, he didn’t bother you.

Lisa whistled. “He’s so cold.”

“Pays well, though,” you murmured absentmindedly. Lisa looked as if she wanted to say something. Maybe it was something about how money didn’t exactly suffice for human relationships. Or something about her future job for the knights. Whatever was on the tip of her tongue, she chose not to say it, and dropped a few more mora coins into your little tin can.

Your relationship with Diluc was strange. You took enough shifts to be one of the most well-compensated workers under him, but you didn’t exactly know Diluc outside of his cool exterior. You didn’t know if you’d wanted to, either. Some nights, he’d come home right before the tavern’s opening, his clothes tattered and dirty and a grim feature coating his pretty features.

Typically you’d be working and cleaning, and you’d nod to him. Diluc would then take off to the second floor of the tavern. You never questioned it. You never would, either, unless you were paid to do so. 

One late night, it was just you cleaning up for the night and Diluc sitting at the bar, going through some papers. Diluc offered to take Charles’ shift for the day, to which the man was grateful for. As you were wiping down the bar, Diluc said, “I never knew we had a tip jar.”

“It’s an ongoing gag with Lisa,” you said. “Please don’t mind it.” It wasn’t a lie, exactly. It was a joke with Lisa! You simply kept it out on the counter for every customer to see all day and all night. If they happen to drop mora in there for your charming smile and excellent service, who were you to stop them?

Diluc said nothing. You hadn’t expected him to. He’d let it slide, you supposed. If the tavern had a best employee of the month award, you would have won it consecutively for the last few years you’d been employed under the pretty man. However, Diluc was no great lover of trivial awards that were actually poorly concealed incentives, and as long as you were paid accordingly, you didn’t care about awards, either.

“If you needed a raise then say it,” he said suddenly. And you were surprised.

“Thank you,” you said.

“No need.”

When you left the tavern you squealed. Patton, the caller, awoke from his nap from a chair supposedly for customers. His legs had been propped on the accompanying table, which you had cleaned earlier so you didn’t have to deal with a certain customer who had too much to drink inside.

Patton rubbed his eyes groggily. “What’s up, [Name]?”

“I got a raise!” you exclaimed. “I’m so happy I could kiss you right now, Patton.”

“Please don’t,” he said. “What’s that in your hand?”

“Oh, leftovers.” You gave the small bag you were holding a good jostle. “It’s for the dog up there. I have a habit of feeding him every once in a while whenever there’s good scraps.”

Patton eyed you. “If you get bit and infected with rabies, maybe I’ll take your raise. Try and pet it for me, would you?”

“In your dreams, Patton.”

After a few taunts and banter, you left Patton alone. In a few hours, you’d come back to the tavern to work more. Before your mom had been hospitalized, you’d maybe put your extra money to treat yourself to Good Hunter or to buy new clothes. 

Of course, while money was one of your many goals, you had other aspirations as well. More than anything, you’d like to resume a humble life in Mondstadt. If you could afford it, then you’d travel to Liyue and sightsee. And then maybe a little further. But you’d always return to Mondstadt. It was just home to you, and you liked home.

You crouched and fed the dog. He pressed his snout into your palm, warm and comforting. You giggled and finished the leftovers from your little sack. As much as Patton wanted you to die of infection, the dog was very tame and kind toward you. He let you brush his fur and scratch behind his ears. If you had enough patience and enough time, you’d teach him to bite Patton.

The next day, you were working with Charles, as per usual. He’d been working here far longer than any of you. You’d been employed here for a while now, and you’d come to know the man quite well after rowdy nights and quiet days in the tavern. He despised a drunk customer as much as you, but whenever you were on shift with him, he always offered to take care of it.

If not you, then Charles would get the nonexistent employee of the year award.

“Just put up a work wanted poster,” Charles said, cleaning a glass. “Judging by our usuals, we won’t get an honest inquiry for it in a while.”

You, who’d been making an apple cider, said, “oh, for the boars?” While you did want to work at the winery for its pleasant view and people, there were boars who’d been uprooting vines and you did not want to tussle with a boar. 

“Say, [Name], you heard of the Darknight Hero?”

“Who hasn’t?” you asked. “My friends talk about him all the time. Everyone likes a good mystery around these parts. Have you seen the library? Oh, and the idea of him being handsome isn’t that bad… Do you think he’s rich, Charles?”

Charles snorted. “If he can afford to leave at night to protect Mondstadt, then he must be rich. He’s no worker like us, but he’s definitely noteworthy. He may as well just be an urban rumor, though, so don’t go around trying to seduce him only to get into his pockets.”

“I would never!”

“I saw you make eyes at a customer who was wearing very fine jewelry that could be pawned off for a high price.”

“I liked her eyes. They were kind. Reminded me of a princess from a fairytale.”

Diluc came from upstairs to the first floor. He was the same as he’d always been—closed off, calm, and collected. Fitting. He cast a quick glance at you and Charles before disappearing outside onto the streets of Mondstadt.

“That’s Master Diluc for you,” Charles said. “So elusive you could call him a ghost. A handsome, ghost, that is.”

“I barely know anything about him,” you said. “Elusive is correct, if not absolutely distant.”

“Really? You should talk to him more often.”

There was already a set difference between you and Charles. Firstly, it would be the years working at Angel’s Share. Charles knew Diluc more than you did. You wanted to point this out, but instead you slumped your shoulders. “He’s just so unapproachable, Charles. You wouldn’t understand. That mustache of yours makes you look amicable and agreeable.”

Charles self-consciously twirled the end of his mustache. He looked as if he wanted to say something. He turned back to his work, setting the clean glass down. “You and Master Diluc seem to complement each other, that’s all.”

You were very friendly and a good person underneath all your materialistic values. Had it not been for Diluc’s offstandish personality, maybe you and Diluc would be a little more than boss and employee. Maybe you and Diluc would be friends.

Of course, your main focus was your happiness and sanity. If you’d interacted with Diluc outside of work, you might’ve gone insane. Oh! And money. It was always money. You watched a customer drop a few mora into the tip jar.

PART I - PART II - PART III

#diluc #diluc x reader #diluc ragnvindr #diluc ragnvindr x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact diluc #x reader #PLEASEEEE IM LOSING IT ITS ACTUALLY SO BAD IM NOT HAPPY AT ALL #genshin impact fluff

[magpie-of-a-birb]

@paint-the-ravenclaw tagged me in on sorting Sanders Sides characters (that post is here), and I decided to make a whole new post for it. Here we go-

Editor Magpie here! It's a good thing that I made this a post of its own, cuz boy is it long. Patton's section took up three pages hand-written, if that tells you anything.

(Also, beware spoilers. If you're not up-to-date, I may reference things you haven't seen yet)

Patton

I'm starting off with Patton because, quite frankly, what he's got going on is fascinating. Sad, but fascinating.

He's a very obvious badger primary, but he also has a badger performance layered over top of it. If you've seen The Good Place, or listened to the @sortinghatchats podcast episode where they sorted TGP characters, you'll be able to see that this is the same as what Tahani did.

Patton's primary is for his community, but he also has an idea of what his primary should be. Not "should" as in aspirational, but "should" as in expectation. So he makes a badger primary performance, something that says "look at me! I'm a good person!" but creates self-loathing because he believes that he isn't living up to that performance. And here's the kicker:

His performance is exploding.

He thinks that, to be a good person, he (and Thomas, by extention) has to sacrifice everything for others. That is the badger primary performance that he thinks he should be.

Disclaimer: this is an unhealthy example of badger primary. No house is inherently healthy or unhealthy. There are many healthy, thriving badger primaries, and they are beautiful, just as every other house is.

And his exploding primary put a lot of strain on his badger secondary (he's a caretaker and loves courtier badger). He has to work hard and show up for everyone all the time and he... can't. It's not possible.

The fact that he cannot humanly live up to his own expectations makes his secondary start to burn. You especially see that in the courtier aspect of his secondary. He feels like he should be the "optimistic, goofy dad-friend" and he loves using courtier badger for it. But he burns out from being there for everyone, that face becomes unreliable in courtier badger because he can't feel it all the way down, he's not happy. So his badger starts to burn, and what does he do?

He takes up an actor bird model to handle the strain. He's used to the "happy, goofy dad" mask that it's easy for him to shift it from courtier mirroring to an actor role.

And whew boy, is that actor bird obvious in Selfishness vs Selflessness Redux. When it's clear that the others aren't siding with him, Patton isn't able to shift to match the change to make a stronger argument - as a snake or mirroring badger could - so he doubles down on his role.

"Remember, guys, I'm morality. My role is to make correct moral choices. Look! This is my good and helpful mask! I'm good and helpful!"

He does that all the way until he's sure that it's a lost cause, and that's when he snaps. But his snapping isn't drawing what he knows of the others, it's not using things that he knows will hurt them, not as we expect him to (especially since he uses similar tactics to manipulate Thomas into doing the right thing).

He transforms. Because he can't be angry. He's not allowed to be angry. Being angry is wrong. If he's angry, according to his exploding primary performance, then he's not a good person.

So he transforms. Because he can only be angry if he isn't himself. Patton chooses not to be Patton. He chooses to be a monster. Instead of translating his thoughts to fit the role (like with his dad role) he's using the role to justify the feelings.

Another disclaimer: like with primaries, no secondary is inherently healthy or unhealthy. There's even an example of healthy actor bird later in this sorting.

Logan

First off, his bird secondary is obvious. He loves collecting and using things. He loves lists and plans. His insecurity stems from his tools not being enough. He is a bird.

His primary is a bit more difficult because he doesn't usually make decisions from a moral standpoint, that's not his job. It's clear that he's not a felt primary, and due to the lack of intensity in general, I think snake can be ruled out. So, bird primary.

Virgil

His system is very lion primary. His gut says that something is wrong and he acts immediately.

His tactics are very bird secondary, preferring to construct a reasonable argument about why Thomas should be anxious over forcefully shoving panic at Thomas (which he does do when he sees the situation as an emergency and he needs Thomas to stop/do something now, but it's not his preference).

On top of that, Virgil has a birdy mask up at the beginning of the series. It's one born out of duty (lion primary), so he embodies the role that he's expected to play as anxiety (a bad guy who's goal is to make Thomas scared) instead of being himself (someone who's trying to keep Thomas safe). So he plays the role until he's shown that he doesn't have to.

Also, look at how he acts in the debate between him and Logan. All of his snap-back retorts are of the same type: general, playground insults. They're predictable and formulaic, like a default response a bird may have when they don't know how to respond while in a given mask. Basically: he's falling back on pre-set common phrases that the character he is embodying would say when he's not "translating" his thoughts into those of his character fast enough.

On a side note, I think that's how you differentiate between actor bird from the other forms of masks: playing a role with a tangible name.

Anyways-

Roman

LION BIRD LION BIRD LION BIRD

He hoards music, plays, movies, and musicals like a corvid and references them like nobody's business. His quick wit is in wordplay ("panic at the everywhere" much?) which, while not indicative of a bird secondary, is bird-flavored icing on the cake.

He lives in actor bird, and while his role isn't always applicable, I think that Roman is an easily-visable example of healthy actor bird. He loves and takes pride in his roles and doesn't solely use them as a shield (like Patton and, to a lesser extent, early Virgil).

He's a bit of a glory hound, he's attracted to the glamor that being a well-known creative and a hero entails, and that feeds into his default Hero/Prince in Shining Armor role. But it's wrong for him to pursue that at the expense of those he loves being miserable (see: Selfishness vs Selflessness).

Remus

Remus shares his primary with his brother. However, he's a horizon/fey lion. Everything that is fun is good which, when combined with his loves-to-mess-with-people snake secondary, spells pain for everyone else in a garish neon-green sign that smells vaguely of a landfill and intentionally leaves glitter everywhere.

Janus

Janus is a double snake. His person is Thomas, and anything is okay (especially deception) if it's to protect him.

Bonus sort: Thomas

Thomas is an interesting character. Because he is a character, within the context of Sanders Sides, that is. Sanders Sides!Thomas is not the same as Real Life!Thomas, even if the former is heavily inspired by the latter. As such, I think that there's enough to sort Character!Thomas.

Character!Thomas is very much a badger primary. It makes sense that he'd match primaries with Patton, his morality, but more so, the entire premise of the show has heavy healthy badger messages. Most episodes are about choosing the right thing to do, and Thomas makes that decision depending on what his community (the Sides) think. He's clearly a felt primary, but if he were a lion, then the "get input from others" aspect of the show would not be as effective.

His secondary is less obvious, but I have to go with bird. Most of the Sides have bird secondaries, and as they're aspects of Thomas, that would logically reflect his secondary to some degree. And he has many of the same hoards as the others, joyfully drawing on and pointing out references to things.

There may possibly be a badger (particularly courtier badger) model in there, but I can't confidently say that it's the case.

In Conclusion:

Patton: badger primary with an exploded badger primary performance. Semi-burned badger secondary with an unhealthy bird secondary model (specifically actor bird)

Logan: double bird

Virgil: lion bird

Roman: lion (glory hound variant) bird

Remus: lion (fey/horizon variant) snake

Janus: double snake

Thomas: badger bird with a possible badger secondary model

#magpie speaks #magpie sorts #sanders sides #patton sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #thomas sanders #long post #tw long post #sortinghatchats

[lovelylogans]

honey, you’re familiar (like my mirror)

see other chapters, notes, and warnings here!

chapter five: obligate mutualism

obligate mutualism: a type of mutualism in which the species involved are in close proximity and interdependent with one another in a way that one cannot survive without the other.

REMY

Emile appears in Nice, squealing and jumping up and down.

“Hey!” Remy says warmly, hugging him; Emile’s joy is so infectious that Remy can feel Emile’s smile stretching across his own face. “What’s got you so happy?”

“They let him off!” Emile says exuberantly. “Rem, they let Remus off! Jay proved that they don’t have anything on him so Remus is free to go!”

“Oh my God, that’s amazing!” Remy says, then, “wait, what was Remus under arrest for?”

“Oh, murder,” Emile says, waving that off, “but Jay proved that Remus was just joking when he was threatening him, so Remus got off! Oh my goodness, he’s out! He can finish his latest book! He can stay with Roman! Yay!”

“Yay,” Remy cheers weakly, wondering what the hell kind of cluster his boyfriend has birthed.

ROMAN

Roman drops a substantial amount of money on champagne on their drive home.

Remus rolls his eyes, but he’s grinning a little bit, so Roman assumes that he’s happy about it. Or maybe he’s plotting how to ruin Roman’s possessions with champagne. One of the two.

Roman opens the door, balancing the champagne bottles in his arms, feeling a lot like he’s forgotten something. He drops his keys into the bowl on the entry table.

“Hey, Roman! Ooh, champagne—on a Tuesday? What, did you land a role with Guillermo del Toro?”

“God, I wish,” Roman says wistfully, then, oh shit I forgot to tell Sasha.

Sasha blinks a couple times before she stands up.

“Um, hey, sweetie,” she says. “Who’s your friend?”

Remus snorts loudly at the fake endearment.

“Um, Sasha,” Roman says, shutting the door behind him. “This is my twin brother, Remus.”

Sasha gawks at Remus. “I didn’t know you had a brother!”

Remus socks him in the shoulder so hard that Roman nearly drops the heavy glass champagne bottle. “You bitch, you said you’d tell her!”

“I forgot?” Roman says weakly.

“I have no idea how you put up with him,” Remus tells Sasha. “Is the convenience of a beard worth hearing him sing Disney in the shower?”

Sasha, looking a little startled that Remus knows the full truth of the deal Roman and her made, rebuts with, “

“Where have you been before this, anyway?” Sasha says.

“Oh, jail,” Remus says brightly.

“Oh, okay,” Sasha says, and, with a level of casualness that frankly stuns Roman, moves on to, “So, I’ve had a gripe with one of your books for forever.”

“Oh?” 

“I didn’t know you read his books,” Roman says, mystified.

“Yeah, I started back when I was doing that slasher pic a year and a half ago, you remember that?” Sasha says. “Helped me pick up on the internal life of a stalking victim. Anyways, the first book I read of yours—”

“Behind the Bushes, I’m guessing,” Remus says.

“Yeah!” Sasha says. “I super love that you subverted the expectations and the victim was the one that slaughtered the stalker, but I do think you could have carried through a threat she was considering through the book.”

“Which threat is that?” Remus says. “I write a lot of threats.”

“She should have castrated him,” Sasha says. “Duh.”

Remus looks at Sasha how an inventor might lovingly look at a device that finally works.

Roman groans, because he should have expected this outcome, and feared it.

“Oh, no,” Roman says. “You’re going to be friends.”

Sasha and Remus give him identical grins full of mischief.

LOGAN

Virgil appears sitting on the counter. Logan isn’t even fazed by the surprise of seeing him, although his heart rate does pick up a little.

Over the past few days, this is the way it’s been, between them; Logan suddenly finding himself looking over Virgil’s shoulder at his dinner when he’d meant to be looking at data charts, Virgil finding himself with handfuls of flowers in the face of the barren landscape of the Antarctic. 

Even when he isn’t actively visiting, Logan still feels that pull, his mind turning to Virgil at the oddest times of day. He tastes coffee when he should be drinking tea. He finds himself idly doodling South African native flora during dinner. He thinks Virgil might like this when he tries to read a novel during his relaxation times and wonders how best to explain the minutiae of his science to another scientist.

“Hey, Logan,” Virgil says, and Logan feels that thrill in his stomach again.

“Hello, Virgil,” he says, after making a show of turning on his Bluetooth, for the benefit of the other scientists in the lab. “How have you been today?”

“Pretty okay,” Virgil says. “My mom said she was gonna see if she could find any of the other sensates down here that my grandma knew, so I might be able to hear more about her cluster.” 

“Excellent!” Logan says. “Be sure to ask if they’re connected to the Archipelago?”

“You and that Neolithic Google,” Virgil says with a lopsided smile. “But, yeah. I’m being careful about it; I know not every sensate’s a great person to connect to. Ergo mom as a mediary.”

“A wise plan,” Logan says. “It does seem like a disadvantage that all that’s needed for a lifetime of connection is a singular instance of eye contact.”

“Maybe I should invest in a really good pair of blocking glasses,” Virgil teases, and he reaches over. Logan hadn’t even noticed they’d been slipping down the bridge of his nose.

Virgil gently nudges Logan’s glasses back into place, his finger resting on Logan’s nose, and Logan’s mouth goes abruptly dry.

This might be the first time one of us has touched the other.

Logan tries to swallow, coughs a little bit, and says, “It could potentially be a wise investment, yes. I’d—um. I’d have to do more research into what exactly would suffice to block eye contact.”

“Yeah,” Virgil rasps, and he clears his throat, too. “Yeah, that’s probably, uh. That’s probably a good thing to ask Emile about.”

“Yeah,” Logan says, and he fruitlessly tries to refocus his attention on his research. He’s much too aware of Virgil’s eyes on him.

JANUS

Janus turns the phone over and over in his hands.

One last job, two more jobs, three more jobs…

He remembers getting arrested for the first time. He remembers the lawyer who got Janus out of it, pro bono, and managed to keep it off his record by the skin of his teeth. 

He thinks about representing Remus in the courtroom; he thinks about the state of his accounts; he thinks about how the threat of jail that Remus would have faced was what spooked him into pursuing a law degree in the first place.

He thinks about Remus and Roman, side-by-side in the courtroom; he thinks about Roman declaring that he doesn’t care if Remus killed him or not.

Roman is an idiot. An idealistic, loyal, altruistic idiot.

Janus is many things. He is not an idiot.

Key, scowling, sits across from him at the restaurant. Sriracha aioli, fried cod. Janus has been here a thousand times before.

He proffers the little box; Key takes it.

“This is my last job,” Janus says.

Key snorts. “I’ve heard that before.”

Janus hands him the burner phone, too.

“Oh shit,” Key says. “For real?”

“For real,” Janus reaffirms. 

“Shit,” Key mutters, sitting back against the booth. They stay quiet. A waitress drops off their meal. They stay quiet for a bit longer.

“Don’t suppose I can lure you back with money,” Key tries to joke.

“No,” Janus says. 

Key heaves a sigh. “All right. Well.”

He moves for his wallet, and Janus shakes his head.

“I’ve got lunch,” he says. “I can appreciate that I’m leaving you in the lurch for a computer guy.”

Key snorts and shakes his head disbelievingly. “Yeah. Somethin’ like that.”

Janus chews the inside of his lip. “If you ever need a lawyer…”

“Yeah,” Key says. He stands. “Yeah.”

Key leaves. Janus stays.

He’s been here a thousand times before. And yet.

PATTON

There’s a hint of spice in his mouth, and Patton rolls over in his bed to see Janus.

“I keep showing up when I should be sleeping, I think,” Patton muses, before he reaches out and takes one of the chips that Janus is neglecting.

Janus snorts. “Roman was stealing those the last time I was here. Perhaps you all keep showing up to eat my food.”

Patton smiles, dipping the chip in the sauce. “Maybe,” he says.

Janus exhales loudly, before he says, “I have a brother too.”

“Oh?” Patton asks, intrigued, and for a moment they’re in Patton’s bed, Patton lying down with his head propped up on his arm, Janus sitting uncomfortably at the corner.

“Unlike Remus, mine did it. Does it,” Janus amends.

Patton frowns. “That’s tough.”

“I did too, until,” Janus checks his watch. “Three minutes ago.”

Patton’s eyebrows lift in surprise, but that’s the only sign he shows. 

“It’s the reason I became a lawyer,” Janus says.

“Oh,” Patton says because that—that clicks. He doesn’t know Janus very well—he will, surely, but he doesn’t yet—but taking on the good-quality job of lawyer for self-protective reasons makes a lot of sense. Janus kind of seems like the type of person to not really want to rely on other people.

“So, I don’t,” Janus says, and he sighs again. “I’ve been chasing down just one more job for years and years, and now…”

“Now, you’re done, and you don’t really know what to do with yourself?” Patton asks sympathetically.

Janus nods and he drinks some of his Ribena. The fizz of blackcurrant condensation pops in Patton’s mouth.

“Can I offer some advice?” Patton says. “You can do whatever you want with it.”

Janus scoffs a little, but he gestures for Patton to go ahead.

Patton takes another chip. “There are a lot of other people who need a lawyer’s help to stay out of jail. Not just sets of brothers.”

He dips the chip, takes a bite, and is back in bed right as a thoughtful look dawns on Janus’s face.

REMUS

Roman’s fake girlfriend is delightful.

They spend almost the entirety of dinner talking about their favorite horror movies—Sasha is quite the aspiring scream queen in her career, so it makes sense that she’s studied the greats—to a point where Roman puts his hands over his ears and went “I can’t hear you, lalalalalalaLALALALALALALA—”

Truly excellent. Especially when Roman had screeched at the top of his lungs when Sasha had gone into an in-depth side tangent about the verity of the special effects of slitting throats in movies.

And now—

“Ooh, that was good!” Remus says eagerly, pointing at the Sasha in the little screen as she gets stabbed.

“Right?!” Sasha says, and they ooh! in unison as the movie gets increasingly bloodier.

“I hate you both,” Roman grouches from where he’s slouched between them, one hand covering his eyes.

Sasha ruffles his hair. “Go ahead and break up with me, then, I’m sure the press will get us both booked like crazy.”

Roman grumbles to himself, and Remus grins at Sasha over Roman’s head.

“If any of my shit gets adapted into movies, I’m absolutely gonna make sure you get cast into a leading role.”

Sasha grins back. “You’re the best fake brother-in-law I could ask for.”

⁂

Sasha is flopped out on the couch, asleep, as the credits of the movie roll in the background.

“Where is your nearest sharpie,” Remus asks, and Roman rolls his eyes, pulling Remus to his feet.

“Leave her alone, Freak-a Kahlo. I’ve got a spot set up for you to sleep.”

“But,” Remus whines, images of lewd drawings dancing in his head, but he allows Roman to pull him away anyway.

Roman has got a little cot set up for him in his room; it’s like they’re ten again, on a trip to see their abuela, except Remus can’t tackle him and wrestle him to the ground for the honor of sleeping on the bed.

Well, he could, but considering Roman posted Remus’s bail, he figures that roman could be allowed to sleep in his own bed.

All the same, it does give Remus a strange sense of deja vu of their (admittedly rare) family vacations; Roman brushes his teeth and does his extensive skincare routine in the bathroom first, then he cajoles Remus into handling his hygiene, please, they’re living together in the same room, eating soap didn’t exactly work to make Remus smell like a spring rose. To which Remus would usually rebut good, he doesn’t want to smell like a spring rose, he wants to smell like sewage, to which Roman goes ugh, how are we twins, how did two people so catastrophically different come out of the same womb, at the same time, to which Remus says it’s payback for stealing my dick in utero, to which Roman says that doesn’t even make any sense, it’s not like I have two, to which Remus says—

It’s a whole familiar argument, anyway. But Remus does at least dunk his head into Roman’s bathtub to get his hair sopping wet and swish around some mouthwash.

They’re both tucked into their blankets, and Remus is staring at the ceiling, wondering at the best ways to ruin Roman’s fancy linens. He thinks Roman’s fallen asleep until his voice pipes up.

“I’m glad you’re not rotting in jail.”

Remus ugly-snorts. “Yeah, I guess I am too.”

“Thanks to our weird psychic lawyer, anyway.”

“And your fuck-off big actor money,” Remus reminds him, rolling over to face him. The room is so dark that he can barely see the outline of Roman’s face. 

“Yeah, honestly, bribing the cops was going to be my next plan if you didn’t show up,” Roman says sleepily.

Remus grins at Roman in the dark. “I’ve been a fantastic influence on you.”

“Incorrect,” Roman grumbles.

“You’ll be watching slashers with Sasha and me in no time.”

“Ugh, I hope not,” Roman says. 

“They’re inspiring!”

“Yeah, to you, Mr. Big Horror Novelist.”

“You know what else is big—”

“Ew! Ew ew ew, I know I set it up, but ew. No.”

“...This—”

“Remus, I’m kicking you out, I swear to God.”

“No, you’re not,” Remus sing-songs, “You were gonna bribe the cops, I’m holding this over your head forever.”

“I didn’t actually bribe the cops.”

“Yeah, but you were gonna,” Remus says. “Funnily enough, that seemed like the biggest case the cops had against me, too. That I was gonna.”

“I know you’re a horror writer, but I hope you don’t write about Miguel,” Roman says. “Might look a bit too If I Did It to the public.”

“Course not,” Remus says, his eyes slipping shut. 

“Good.”

“I’m going to be writing a book about murdering the cops.”

“Oh, much better,” Roman sighs.

VIRGIL

Virgil spits out his toothpaste into the sink and looks up into the mirror to see Logan in his reflection, his glasses off, a toothbrush in hand.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Virgil quips.

The Logan in his reflection smiles at him awkwardly around his toothbrush, blushes, then redirects his attention to finishing off brushing his teeth as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Virgil uses that time to wash his face; Logan follows not long after. Virgil gets a whiff of the facewash Logan is using; it smells rather nice, something floral.

They do their respective routines in companionable quiet; Logan, waking up for the day, and Virgil, about to go to sleep. 

“What’s on your agenda for the day?” Virgil asks, moisturizing his face.

“Research, research, and more research,” Logan says dryly, rubbing sunscreen onto his face. Their hands move in unison; moving in small circles on each cheek, up to the forehead, down the nose, the chin, down the neck. Mirror images, if not for their distinct physical differences.

“Probably should’ve guessed that,” Virgil says, rubbing the excess moisturizer into his forearms. 

“Oh, you missed—”

And suddenly, Logan is not just in his mirror, but in his bathroom, reaching out a hand to smooth some more moisturizer into his skin.

“Right here,” Logan says softly, his fingers gentle on Virgil’s cheekbone. Virgil barely even breathes as Logan smooths away the smear of moisturizer.

“There,” Logan murmurs, but he’s still cradling Virgil’s face.

“Thanks,” Virgil rasps.

Logan smiles at him, just a little. “You missed right there when we first met, too.”

“Did I really?” Virgil asks. He can barely focus on anything else except the cool smoothness of Logan’s hand.

“Mhm,” Logan says. “There I was, thinking I was going crazy, and there was this African man planting a jacaranda tree into the tile, with a smear of sunscreen on his face…”

“And I had this note-taking Pole talking to me about preferring if I were a hallucination,” Virgil says. “Telling me you’d ignore me if you saw me again.”

“And then I immediately started questioning you,” Logan says, smiling. “And…”

He trails off. His hand is still on Virgil’s face. Virgil is standing so stock-still he could probably turn into a scarecrow, if only for the virtue of keeping Logan’s hand on him.

“And then I kept feeling this pull,” Logan continues quietly, looking Virgil in the eyes. He isn’t wearing his glasses; there is nothing between Virgil and those bright blue, captivating eyes. “This pull to come to you.”

“Me too,” Virgil says softly.

Logan licks his lips. He says, softly, “I do wonder why it is us, that keep feeling this pull to each other.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes,” Logan affirms quietly. “Maybe there’s that call to those similar that we theorized about, that day. Maybe that’s what fuels this connection. Whenever I learned something new, I flashed to you. Always to you. I’m not sure if we’ll ever find out why. Perhaps there’s a level of…”

A level of what, Virgil doesn’t know, because he leans in and kisses Logan.

Logan freezes, and, with anyone else, Virgil would panic and pull back, thinking he’d been presumptuous, but he abruptly feels a thrill in his stomach and a yes in hid mind that may as well be in Logan’s voice, and Virgil’s shoulders relax at the presence of it, of that pull between them finally being eased.

Virgil wraps his arms around Logan’s waist, and Logan’s arms twine around Virgil’s neck, and they kiss, continents and oceans apart, able to taste the minty toothpaste on each other’s breath.

#my fic #my fanfic

[askintothevoids]

The Epilogue:

Roman and Virgil:

They never did get married, because they didn’t want to. Virgil believes it to be a british social construct to control women and the lower class, and Roman believes marriage to be bad luck.

They did get into that huge funky war that we were talking about, and had to put Babe with Protection. After weeks of convincing, Valentine, Mac-Kenzie, and Junius fought by Virgil and Roman’s side, and they won after 5 years of fighting.

Virgil fulfilled his lifelong dream of making Bonner regret his words, and plunged his mother’s dagger into his chest. Something about Bonner that Virgil never mentioned was the fact that the man often shared the same words as his former husband, so perhaps that fueled his anger. After a lot of crying, Virgil came to the conclusion that maybe he’d leave the fighting to Angie, and hire a royal therapist.

There was more to Virgil’s story than that though, he did raise Babe with his beloved partner, Roman, after the war. He made an excellent father. Anne even came back and apologized, earning her role back into Virgil’s and his son’s life. He even got to see his nephews more often.

Seeing that his son is now only 12 years away from being a full fledged adult (to him that isn’t very long), Virgil now has to see that Babe is very different from other children. Honestly, he never thought his own very very dead mother would be assisting in the parenting of his child, but hey, Virgil has to remember that he isn’t always right, even if he can see the future.

Meanwhile Roman pursued his love for music and theatre, he even opened a music program for Oteriphanne, showing the lovely folks the beauty of music that isn’t just only about killing the French and Brits in order to stop deculturalization of their land (though that’s not a bad topic, Roman literally just wanted 14th century vampires to enjoy Spice Girls and it worked).

He obviously, but admittedly very awkwardly, learned how to parent a child. Roman wasn’t as picture perfect as he would’ve liked to be, he did after all accidentally make his son cry many times. Like Virgil, he now sees that their kid is different. His son’s ears are full of words that he can’t understand, but hopes to try his best to ease Babe’s worries and hardships in life.

Through five years of virgous studying, Roman became a quarter fluent in Pterannan. With even more studying and training, he finally became a fully trained Knight and earned his spot next to Virgil with his forementioned music program (turns out teaching a population several new skills, means he bettered the population which is a requirement to become a king when you're not blood related to royalty).

Still there’s somethings that Roman still regrets, he never did come to an understanding with his stepfather, who was his namesake. Nor does he see Remus and his husband as often as he wishes he did. And he kinda wants to buy a cow.

Even after being together for almost 10 years, they still love each other, and yes, Virgil still calls a phone, a magic box because some things never change.

Patton:

After he and Logan adopted the children from the Dragonwitch au that they accidently orphaned, Patton certainly was trying his best to keep going, and he did a pretty alright job.

Patton single handedly traveled across the country from Florida to Indiana with four small children whose identities he had to hide along his.

Once he had made it to the David-Dase residence, he explained what had happened and asked for help, and here’s what happened.

Nicholas and James owned property in rural Saskatchewan, which they had inherited from Jane Phoebe David (James’ deceased mother) and never really knew what to do with it. So in order to keep their son’s husband and their new grandchildren safe, James and Nicholas let Patton and their grandchildren live there. It was a good spot for them, it kept the reporters away from Patton and kept people away from Daniel, Jane, Harper and Buddy.

After receiving help from James and Nicholas, Patton had to figure out how to explain his disappearance to the police so that he could gain some form of normality, and a good enough job to support his growing family.

Stuff didn’t exactly go well at first. Still grieving over his separation from Logan, he did often find it hard to smile for his children, nor did he find it easy to explain to them that they couldn’t out in public without being hidden from the world’s view. It didn’t help when his O’Pa (Janus Van Den Bosch-Brzozowski) passed away from a deteriorating body, it was for the best, but it hurt to lose another parent.

He kept going though. His brother, Patton Reyes-Baker, moved in with him and got a job helping a local beekeeper. It wasn’t so bad, grief can strengthen some bonds. His step father, Remus, visited every so often, it was clear that he probably wouldn’t be around much longer either.

He’s doing a pretty good job raising those kids. Still it doesn’t help that Patton wishes he did it with his beloved. There have been many long nights of waiting and crying. There’s a good chance that Patton won’t move on until old age, which could be a good thing for a certain someone. Overall, if he were to describe it, it’s like the worst nightmare and the best dream ever at the same time.

Patton did get to open that diner, he did get to take his puppies home with him, and he did teach his kids how to ride bikes (except Buddy), but it still wasn’t the same. For all he cares, he’s still a married man.

Hymnthian:

Being one of the oldest motherfuckers ever, Hymnthian is still kicking it. Under Virgil and Roman’s rule, he’s pretty happy. He does find some common ground with his great (times a couple hundreds) grandchild though. Babe’s remarkable ability to hear the dead often comes in handy for a grieving widower. In return for hearing what his dead wife has to say, he teaches Babe how to play To-Ouch, an Oterian instrument.

Janus and Remus:

As you might've heard earlier, Janus passed away. It’s important to remember that death is an important part of life. In Janus’ case, they were fine with it. After an aspiring career as a ballerina and potter, not being able to use your hands or foot can often be depressing. When their body finally gave out, Janus figured it best if their sister took their place. Janus died comfortably and happily. What else can I say that will convince you? Death isn’t always a bad thing.

Remus O’Malley-Gator was a different story. After the death of Janus, he found himself once again lost. He visited Patton, Patton, and his step-grandkids every so often. Remus spent most of time adventuring, looking for some kind of fulfillment. I suppose that sounds bad, but I always write a bittersweet ending.

Camila and Lotte:

After spending most of her adult life in the void, Camila was beginning to feel hopeless. Her sons were already grown and had found their soulmates, while she had still had nothing. Camila wandered for a while, universe after universe, she turned up with nothing once again.

With Janus having passed, their replacement would soon have to come in. And well, she was certainly surprised. Camila had no idea Janus had a younger sister! Lotte had been frozen for over 200 years, and arrived fresh from the fridge at the ripe old age of 48.

Camila had her fair share of trying to tell this beautiful, intelligent, strong woman that she was from a soulmate universe and that Lotte was her long awaited soulmate. Let’s just say, it took her a couple years.

Lotte had her share of pining as well. I mean, Camila is an equally beautiful, intelligent, strong woman who was tall (every short lesbian’s weakness).

She found her footing as her sibling’s replacement eventually, while she didn’t wield a shepherd's crook but having arms of pure steel sure did come handy when dealing with the dangers of the void.

Eventually, you know that their had to be an equally cute lesbian void wedding, where Patton and Roman became cousins, so that’s cool.

Logan:

As the only void dweller that actually only lives in the void, his life, honestly, sucks.

As the years go by, Logan’s hair only gets grayer and his yearning only grows stronger. He builds his tough exterior up once more, with some dull hope still intact. Logan knows the probability of never seeing his husband and kids again, and lets the gnawing feeling eat away at him.

But you know what? He did get to be cool Uncle Logan (his Ultra Secret Oterian Code Name was Protection) for about five years. He loved the shit out of Babe, even taught that boy some french and how to clear his mind even when people’s thoughts are louder than all shit.

Then he had to give Babe back to Virgil and Roman, knowing he should take the offer to live in Oteriphanne, he did.

Nothing became of it, he’s just a guy in a country full of vampires. There’s nothing there for him after all. Logan knows Babe isn’t his to parent, and chooses to keep his distance so he doesn’t crowd Roman and Virgil. Maybe in a few years, he’ll risk his life. For now, he’ll just become a grizzled middle aged man.

#tw death #tw death mention #tw loneliness #tw war mention

[hetacon]

Thoughts on Virgil’s Anxiety and the Balance Between Roman and Virgil in “Flirting with Social Anxiety”

I thought this asides episode was honestly really interesting and wanted to share some thoughts on what I noticed. It’s quite long so I’ll put it under the cut along with a TL;DR. But regardless, buckle up and let’s get started!

I ended up watching the episode twice before deciding to make this and there were certain things that I noticed that really stuck out as interesting to me.

Virgil obviously represents anxiety, a force that can be both constructive and destructive as has been discussed in the series before. “Accepting Anxiety” really gave us a lot of insight on the relationship between Virgil and Roman and I think it’s important to bring it up in relation to this one. Up until that point in the series, Roman was fairly antagonistic towards Virgil. There would be some moments where he’d mean it in more of a tolerable way and he would be able to see some of the things that Virgil could bring to the table but by no means was he necessarily on very good terms with Virgil.

When Virgil ducked out, Roman’s original intentions in going were for Thomas’ sake and he didn’t even really want to in the first place. He thinks that they would be better off if Thomas wasn’t afraid of anything and it would be easier for Roman to go after what he wants and aspires for. Ultimately though, he sees that Virgil not being there was causing more harm than good and goes along in order to figure out the situation.

Virgil finds himself somewhat convinced to come back and appreciates Thomas approving of him more but still isn’t entirely convinced. Patton and even Logan have seen eye-to-eye with him on issues and have more or less tolerated him being there. It wasn’t much of a stretch for them to say that they needed him around. But then Roman tells him that Virgil’s makes them better.

Roman’s speech accentuates that while he and Virgil aren’t on the best of terms, Roman’s seen firsthand that Virgil is capable of working as a team, as part of a unit in order to achieve their goals as they move forward. Hearing Roman say that they need him and that his contributions matter is what convinces Virgil to come back. Not only does he have Patton, Logan, and now Thomas backing him, but also Roman, the one side who has been the most difficult and confrontational with him.

With this discussion of letting Virgil have more of a voice, a presence in the discussion, Virgil doesn’t use this in order to go harder on his points but actually eases up. He expresses his concerns where needed and it is received with a noticeable change. The others are receptive and interacting more with his ideas and Thomas hears him out on what he has to say. Virgil having more freedom to voice his concerns relieves him of facing to yell over the noise just to be heard. He knows he will be heard. All he has to do is let them know and they will take it seriously.

In relation to this episode, Virgil’s anxieties actually seemed a little more open and complex. He isn’t shutting down the ideas that Roman is coming up with, he goes along with what Roman wants to do. All Virgil really does is voice concerns in how they go about it.

When Roman brings up that they won’t exactly know if Nico is gay or not unless Thomas talks to him, Virgil is against it. However, as soon as he sees the stickers on Nico’s laptop, he voices that, letting Thomas and Roman know there’s a possible way to approach the issue without worrying him too much. Both of them listen to Virgil and take it.

When there are no clues on the stickers, Roman again suggests that Thomas talks to him. Virgil still doesn’t feel comfortable with that and then notices the pins on Nico’s backpack. Again, he brings it up in relation to the stickers and Roman actually claps, getting excited about them having “more clues.”

Virgil is helping to provide alternative solutions to the dilemmas that are coming up while voicing concerns. He isn’t controlling the conversation, he’s providing input and slight critique in line with Roman’s wishes, helping to work together but also provide a necessary counter.

One of the points that really furthered the fact that Virgil is working in tandem with Roman’s wants rather than trying to shut it down is that he says he’s been apprehensive of talking to Nico without a plan. It was never about avoiding talking to him, it was about doing so before thinking out how Thomas should do so. He knows Roman’s ambitions are strong and sometimes all consuming and so he wants to limit the amount of unknown variables as well as the anxiety as much as possible to prevent the three of them from getting hurt by the outcome. It never was about shooting down the idea, it was about thinking it through, something Roman doesn’t commonly do, though it is a fairly minor fault.

Eventually, Roman and Virgil acknowledge that their efforts aren’t working. Virgil starts to panic as Nico catches up to Thomas and it gets worse as Nico walks away. Roman comments on how they’ve squandered another opportunity and another chance of happiness. Virgil, within a split second, decides that he can’t passively allow this to happen and takes action, pushing Thomas forward despite his worst fears. Despite his own discomfort, he is unwilling to ignore that Roman’s wants are valid and should be listened to and he takes drastic action in order to give Roman a much needed chance.

Virgil and Roman’s relationship as well as the way Virgil reacts to his own fears has changed drastically over the course of the series and Virgil has made a lot of growth. While Virgil and Roman had an unfortunate start, they’ve managed to reconcile and are now more capable of working together effectively. Roman is still idealistic in his pursuits but Virgil provides a necessary caution. Vice versa, Virgil’s fears are balanced out by the hope that Roman holds for any situation. The line in which Roman says that they don’t know if Nico is not gay is honestly a really crucial idea that I support. It can go either one of two ways in the broadest of senses but assuming the worst should also be balanced out by assuming the best. Considering both options is important and both Roman and Virgil provide a necessary balance to each other’s opinions and actions.

TL;DR: Virgil now works towards influencing how Thomas and the sides go about things they’d like to do rather than if they should do them or not. Roman and Virgil have learned to work together and balance out each other’s faults.

#ts spoilers #sanders sides #prinxiety #platonic prinxiety #virgil sanders #roman sanders #character study #stan's rambles

[thetomorrowshow]

Slower Than Words Ch. 18

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More Patton today! I wasn’t a big fan of writing Pat before this fic lol, now I love seeing him. Hope you enjoy!

cw: hospitals, angst

~

“Say it again.”

Logan sighed. “Patton broke the Prophet's nose.”

“He had it coming!” Remus crowed. Logan tried to not smile, but judging by Remus's continued snorts of laughter, he failed.

It was two days after the successful mission that resulted in the takedown of the Haven. Patton was asleep, still in the hospital. The doctors were mostly concerned about what seemed to be melted portions of his ear canals, once they were certain that he was going to recover from his starvation.

Patton was dreadfully thin, little more than skin and bones, and yet he still smiled whenever he was awake, conversed excitedly with him, exchanged a few stilted signs with Remus, who was only just learning ASL. Right now though, in his sleep, he seemed less than content. He shifted regularly, the blanket curled in his fists, his brows drawn in a frown. The jacket he refused to let leave his sight was draped over the foot of the bed, smelling much nicer than it had earlier—Remus had taken it upon himself to smuggle it out of the hospital and wash it, only having just returned.

This was only Remus's second visit with Patton. Patton recognized him from the cult, and was thus not incredibly open to him, but he was polite, which was more than Logan could hope for. Patton being here, being alive, was more than Logan could hope for.

-

The mission had been stressful. Logan had been prepared to leave with two day's notice, yet it seemed that everything that could go wrong did. Logan wasn't superstitious, but he found himself thinking back to the night before leaving, when he'd told Remus that the plan was simple, and that they would have to try to mess it up. He should have knocked on wood.

First, nobody had bothered to tell him that they were fairly certain the cult had been relocating for the past couple of weeks. In small groups, people were exiting the settlement and only one person was coming back. Nobody had set foot inside the laboratory for days, instead, all residents were meeting in the communal dining area in the morning, and randomly moving to the church. For all anyone knew, Patton was no longer even in the Haven—and Logan knew, perhaps better than anyone, just how possible it was that the cult had 'disposed of the latest experiment'.

There was an entire squad sent by the FBI, as well as far too police and forensics workers, a handful of lawyers, two detectives, and several rubberneckers. For a stealth takedown, that was not exactly the team that Logan would have brought. They were too noisy, and visible from a mile away.

When they were halfway to the settlement, two tires blew. Logan had had to bite his tongue in order to not scream in frustration, but there was nothing to be done. Forty minutes later, they were back on the road.

Until a civilian's engine stopped.

Two hours later, they reached the Haven. It looked much like Logan remembered, except with the beginnings of a paving project for walks up to houses. There wasn't time to look around, though—Patton was possibly somewhere around, and he had to be found as soon as possible.

That ambition was quickly shut down, however, when they were confronted by the Prophets, backed by what seemed to be half the men in the Haven. What followed was a long discussion of rights, which only served to make Logan more and more anxious. He happened to know quite a bit about laws and rights, having been studying them over the past year—he was back in school part-time as a law major. He shared his insights and opinions with the only person he knew here: the detective who had been handling the case since the beginning. The man brought Logan's words into the argument, which, against his hopes, did not speed up the process.

Eventually, the Prophets became hostile, and some of the Haven men began to threaten with physical violence, which gave the police officers more than enough reason to arrest them. Logan was honestly surprised they hadn't acted immediately. He'd received the impression that the police force acted with very little (if any at all) evidence and responded violently to retaliation.

It didn't take too long to find Patton. Remus had told him in advance (rather sorrowfully, knowing he wouldn't be able to accompany the group) what cell his son was in, and Logan knew the halls of the laboratory very well. He'd been rather detached from his actions all day, even more so when they entered the Haven, and he finally realized that he was disconnected so as to not become violently ill. This was where he'd lived, imprisoned, for years. The people here had caused the death of his wife, had tortured his son. Logan was barely holding himself back from destroying everything he passed.

Once found, Logan didn't let go of Patton for an hour at least. The boy was shaking, his skin was cold to the touch, the bones that formed his face were clearly visible under taut skin. Still, he was alive, and Logan couldn't be happier.

The scientists hadn't stopped feeding Patton out of any seriously malicious intent. The cultists had abandoned all work in the lab in their preparations for escape, neglecting every experiment—including Patton, the only human experiment there.

Patton could walk, by some miracle, and was finally able to leave the building, Logan just behind him to catch him if he faltered. His son looked so happy, letting the sun hit his face. A lump formed in Logan’s throat, and he looked away from his bright eyes after ruffling his hair lightly, marveling at how long it was.

Seeing Patton punch the Prophet brought a smile so wide to Logan's face that he'd had to pull his bandanna back up, chuckling lightly in a way he thought he could pass off as a cough. All mirth vanished, though, when Patton's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed.

There was a flurry of activity, but Logan was the first to reach Patton. He gripped his son tightly, pretending that a tear did not slip out of the corner of his eye. He was going to be okay, he had to be okay, they had just been reunited!

Patton didn't respond to Logan's shaking of him. An animalistic sound tore from Logan's throat as he let the tears fall. The world closed in, smaller and smaller, until all that existed was him and his unconscious son who was certainly dying. Logan's hands were fists curled into the back of Patton's faded blue shirt, and he hugged his son to his chest, shaking off anyone who got too near.

Someone managed to tear them apart, and Logan fought. He kicked and yelled, tearing at their skin with his fingernails, trying to keep Patton is his sight as he watched several people lift him onto a stretcher and place him in the back of a van, before driving away.

Logan slumped against the officer holding him, hearing the man say something about stress and trauma to someone else. He managed to get control of his tears after a few minutes, sniffing and wiping his eyes on the inside of his sleeve. The detective was watching him pityingly, and Logan rolled his aching eyes. He didn't need this, these feelings. He had to focus.

The detective approached him cautiously, asking if he needed to leave to be with Patton sooner. Logan waved him off. They needed him here, he was the only one with insider expertise.

As he provided his opinions and knowledge, though, his thoughts were with a black van, speeding across a dusty desert to the nearest hospital.

-

Patton was still on oxygen, but it was no longer a tube down his throat. Just a small tube poking into his nostrils, and it looked like he would be off it very soon. He was going to need to meet with a psychiatrist, a physical therapist, and a nutritionist for at least the next six months, likely extending to a year. Patton was severely underweight and was having trouble keeping down food at the moment, but the doctors were all hopeful for a full recovery. In fact, they thought he would be able to go home within the week.

Logan had been busy prepping a space for him in the spare bedroom of his apartment. Remus had graciously offered to move to a sleeping bag on the living room floor—not that Logan was going to let him stay in the bed once Patton was home.

Remus eventually left the hospital room, muttering something about work. Logan continued to stare at his boy, constantly reassuring himself that Patton was indeed still there, and was not going to disappear.

They'd have to look into school, and Patton would be so confused. Of course, he did not need a higher education, but Logan had always had aspirations of any child of his becoming wildly successful. His love did not depend on this, though. As long as Patton was happy, he would be.

Still, if Patton desired to attend university. . . . Logan had homeschooled him as well as he could, and Patton could almost certainly attain a high school diploma. After that, what were Patton's interests? Helping people? He could become a teacher—it would be hard, but perhaps at a school for the deaf? Patton had always enjoyed his job working in the Haven kitchens, so perhaps a chef or a baker? Logan's mind spun as he thought of all the things Patton could do, a pleasure he'd always denied himself of in the past. Patton's world was open now, he could move up, he could do whatever he wanted. He was no longer restrained by the cult's strict set of rules and limited options.

Logan felt like a new father all over again—Patton's liberation seemed to have led to his rebirth. All the joys that had been missing from watching a baby grow up were now available, and Logan wiped away a tear as he imagined all the things his baby boy would grow up to be.

-

Patton woke with a start, pulling Logan out of his thoughts. Patton looked around frantically, only calming when his eyes fell on the purple-patched jacket laying at his feet. Before he could even ask for it, Logan had leaned over and handed it to him.

Patton pressed the jacket to his face, then froze. Logan waited patiently for him to bring it down, his veins filling with ice. Was there something wrong with it? Was Patton recalling something traumatic? What was wrong?

Patton sniffled, then let the jacket fall to his lap. His lip trembled as he clumsily signed, impeded by the IV in his hand, “Did you wash it?”

“Remus did.” Logan was still not sure what was wrong, but knew he did not want to have Patton upset with him already. “Is something wrong?”

Patton shook his head, but his face crumpled. It had to have something to do with the quality of the jacket before it was washed.

“Patton,” Logan tried to reason, “It smelled like that place.”

Patton shook his head more fiercely, tears spilling from his eyes. “It smelled like him!” he insisted. His hands shook as he signed.  “It was the only thing left! You took it away!”

The heart monitor beeped as Patton cried harder. Logan was frozen, not sure what to do. Should he hug him? Turn away and let him cry? He still felt that he was right to wash it—it had smelled horrible—but he felt inexplicably guilty. He didn't want to see his baby boy cry, especially over something he'd done.

A nurse bustled in, and Logan stepped back hurriedly. The nurse checked Patton's vitals, tried to get him to calm down; Patton sobbed into the jacket, which he had brought back to his face, as if to try and find vestiges of the old scent. Logan felt utterly helpless as another of the hospital staff entered. He tried to look anywhere but at Patton's watery, accusing eyes, his own eyes falling instead down. As they were kept trained on the floor, he saw in his peripheral vision Patton tracing something, over and over, into his own arm.

Somewhere, deep down, Logan's healing heart broke a tiny bit more.

~

Taglist (let me know if you want to be added/removed): @enragedbees @gotta-love-alejandra @bunny222 @basiic-emo @patt0n-sanders @rosiepupper @fangirlgeekandfreak @dn-fan21 @that2000skid @remy-the-lemon-berry @itsadastraperaspera @xionbean @sanderssides-angst @hell-yea-we-gay-tonight @maybedefinitely404 @broken-pens @thewhimsicallibrarytech @doomllily @hereissananxiousmess @judyismydog  @arodynamic-enby @at-that-one-nerd @therapysides

#slower than words #thomas sanders #sanders sides #sanders sides fic #ts #ts sides #patton sanders #ts patton #logan sanders #ts logan #remus sanders #ts remus #i am a little bit sorry for the angst at the end #i felt bad while writing it #sorry if you're overly empathetic #sanders sides fanfic #sanders sides fanfiction #angst #sanders sides angst #can anyone else spot logan's bad coping mechanisms? #that ain't going to work babes #i swear i'll make a chapter list soon #btw we have surpassed 30000 words! #that's a lot longer than originally planned #but i'm still having fun writing! #so it continues! #hope school/work isn't getting y'all down #ik it sucks rn lol #hope you enjoyed! #love you guys

[doomstypewriter]

abt the last ask: u dont have to include it ofc (if u write it at all) but i thought id let u know that its based on the mental image i suddenly had of j climbing up to pats window, knocking on the shutters, pat pulling him in by his lapels and immediately kissing him (if you can even call it that with how hard theyre smiling) & then sometime later pat hearing like his dads footsteps coming toward his room as theyre making out so pat scrambles off his bf & shoves him in his closet (the irony)

Anon, finally, here you have it, but with a twist. This got completely out of hand, as per usual when I write anything. Since you were so nice (/li) to send me your request in two parts, I will actually break your prompt into two parts, otherwise, it’s never going to end. I hope you’re pleased by the first part, also, I am answering to this first because it matches the content of the first part. 

Thank you so much for your lovely prompt! Hope you enjoy! 

If anyone wants to be tagged for this let me know in a comment!

AO3

Chapter 2 >>

We call it an affair because it’s a forbidden romance

Summary:  An encounter in the dark. The disdain of society. A forbidden romance. Royalty is involved and a title is at stake. Will an aspiring count, Patton Morandi and his rogue lover Janus overcome the barriers laid in front of them?

(We're in it for the drama)

---

“So long away and what I least expect is not you saving my life, but finding myself having missed your nonsense”.

“Is it nonsense when I make you smile like this?”

Word count: 3848

Pairings: Moceit, future Prinxiety.

TW:  Homophobia, internalised homophobia, deadnaming a trans person, misogyny, mentions of religion, hopelessness, ideological things you would expect from the period (I'm not sure if there's anything else, but please tell me).

Chapter 1 of 2: 

Balcony kiss

How the moonlight shone in its quiet dance with the nightly air. It was a mostly clear summer evening, the second day of the week-long festival. The sounds of music and colourful lights could be heard and seen from the distance, but gradually decreased as a certain thief made its way across the gardens of Villa Morandi. For certain, the head of the family would not be excessively happy about the entire ordeal, but no disgruntlement could come out of those things of which one has no knowledge of, and Janus surely intended to keep his entanglement a secret. 

He crossed the bushes and jumped over marble balustrades expertly, careful to avoid the lights of the servant quarters, where their residents were reading themselves for departure. 

“Signor Morandi seems to be in good spirits lately, it is fortunate that most of us can leave for the festival”. 

Any news about the man was something worth listening to, given his situation, so he decided to stay and see if they mentioned something useful. Also, he, admittedly, enjoyed gossip. 

“Loretta! Don’t be such a bragger in front of us!”

“Why? I’d say the only one lamenting not being able to go is you. You should be ashamed for dragging poor Virginia in with you to make yourself sound less self-centred”. 

Janus silently nodded. 

“That is not true! I am merely trying to make the newcomer feel welcome! And here you are making her feel excluded, who is now in the wrong?” 

Weak retort, wannabe-partygoer, he thought. 

“Va, va…” the other maid answered dismissively “Quit holding her like that! Don’t you see she’s uncomfortable?! Povera bambina”. 

“Come on Virginia, don’t you think it’s a waste for such a wrinkly woman to be let out instead of us?” 

“Who are you calling old?!” 

“You did, but now that you so kindly brought it up, you are old! Turning wrinklier by the second!” 

Alright, at this point, Janus could not help but be rooting for Loretta, going for the old card was the low-hanging fruit. 

“I may be your senior, but I promise you that regardless of that nonsense about wrinkles you’re babbling I’m ten times more fair looking!”

“Ah!” she exclaimed with feigned indignation. “Can you believe her? She’s delusional!”

“Well then, the delusional one will not search for a man at the festival, such a pity I will not be introducing anyone to you this week!”

He smiled at the comeback. Way to go, Loretta. 

“Loretta! Just because you had the luck to get engaged doesn’t give you the right to rob others of their chances. Don’t be so mean, I’ll apologise if I must”. 

“Alright, but never dare call me wrinkly again, for you will owe this old woman when I find you a husband. Virginia, I can help you too if you want it, I know plenty of young lads who would love to…” 

“Oh, no, I’m not really interested”. 

At this point Janus had quenched his thirst for amusement and begun to lose his interest, having more pressing matters to attend to. But, one new comment made him reconsider the usefulness of his eavesdropping for longer on the ladies’ conversation. 

“That’s right, Loretta, don’t you see she’s here on official duty. To suggest for her to slack off with men… ts, ts… “

“Oh, you shut up! Don’t fret, Virginia, dear, I should have remembered you were sent for an urgent matter”. 

“True, true! Tell us if you can, is it as they say? Was her ladyship done in by pirates?” 

“Elda! Such crude language, you dare call yourself a lady, how can you say something so insensitive?”

“What? You want to know as badly as I do, besides, if it is true, then there is no changing it, and if it’s not then it’s fine, as her ladyship is still alive”. 

“I’m so sorry, Virginia, just ignore her”. 

“Don’t worry. As far as I’m willing to say, her ladyship still lives but I cannot disclose any further information”. 

Oh. 

No. 

When one spies on others, bad news exists as a possibility, but, usually, in the form of getting caught. This happened to be worse. Being spotted? That he could deal with. Having his heart ripped out after one stellar month? Not so much. 

He ran. 

Not from his problems. More or less towards them. 

The marble balcony seemed as unreachable as ever. A sense of dread loomed over his thoughts, while a mix of feelings, now turned into urgency, settled in his heart. 

Raising a hand Janus willed his trustworthy companion to fall from the nightly skies. Meanwhile, he began to climb the walls of the manor. There was an undeserved elegance in his motions, not becoming of such an honourless goal, and, nevertheless, fitting for a thief like him. 

The hawk swept inside the room from a window and cast the doors to the balcony open. 

Janus promptly grabbed onto the bass of the marble balustrade. One month ago he had received news of something that would simplify his life. He knew he should not care, it was going to end poorly no matter what. But, rereading two months worth of love letters and hoping for an uncertain future, he could not help but feel happy. That made his resolve to return in time for the festival. 

From the room came a sound of rushing footsteps. 

Three months of yearning to see a face again. 

That image made Janus more desperate, and, in his haste, he committed one fatal mistake. His grip on the marble slipped. At a thirty feet height, the ground beckoned him. 

But, just when his doom seemed so certain, he was caught by the front of his cape and safely gathered against a pair of lips. 

With such smiles stretching their faces, it could barely be called a kiss. But, the intensity of the affections behind it rendered the notion meaningless. 

“My love”, Janus muttered as they parted ever so slightly. 

“You scared me, silly. I miss you for three months and when you’re returned to me I almost lose you for good”. 

“Let’s be happy you were there to catch me”. 

“Thank the Lord, and if He wills it, I will always be”. 

“I ought to be grateful to you, my dear, not the ones above” he answered while stepping to the safe side of the balcony. 

“Well, our poor feathery friend can’t be too happy about that” Patton laughed dismissively, gazing at Janus’ hawk. 

“You’re right. I neglect to show my gratitude, perhaps you could give me somewhere to start?”

“Oh, but how can I hand you my room, my sweet, the stones of the house are too heavy!” 

“So long away and what I least expect is not you saving my life, but finding myself having missed your nonsense”. 

“Is it nonsense when I make you smile like this?” 

Janus laughed in delight. 

“Let me make you smile in turn, then”, he said, whilst extending his hand. 

The touch of Patton’s palm felt like a warm pressure through the barrier of his leather gloves. Perhaps all of his interactions were as imperfect as their naked hands not being able to meet. Janus’ fake gallantry, their hopes, may be short-lived in the face of change. But, for now, he would rather enjoy pretending. 

He pulled Patton to the inside of the alcove. 

“Are you refined now?” Patton laughed. 

“Of course, I have always been. Whatever could lead you to ask such a question? If I were to be a thief, which I am not, I would be the most honourable”. 

There was a certain amount of delight to be found in catching his lover in the midst of changing into his night robes, judging by those being laid out onto the bed’s ostentatious covers. Despite such a degree of luxury surrounding Patton, he still refused to task any servant to dress him. What was there not to love about the man? 

Patton made a motion as if to hold his hands, only to surprise him by pulling his gloves off. Any other person, and it would have been a display of sensuality, coming from him, it was like movement turned into honey, perhaps a mixture of both. Indeed, there was everything to love about him. 

Maybe not all. Janus dreaded to admit how deep in he had allowed himself to be for this man. 

A fool for a good man. 

His hands felt the light night coldness in their grip on the linen shirt. Janus almost wanted to chastise himself as the thought of kissing away the kiss of the midnight breeze came to mind. He hid in the curve of Patton’s neck, sliding his lips along it, feeling like a coward whispering a lie. Countless lies. Telling himself this was enough, that he could bear the thought of this man taken away from him by a woman, that the thrill in this forbidden form of vice was not his worry taking yet another disguise. 

“Oh, you’re a thief alright”. 

“Is there something of yours I happen to have taken?” Janus retorted with a vague tone of amusement. 

Patton cradled his left cheek in a firm request to see his face. Who was Janus to deny him? 

“You know all too well you have”. 

Oh. 

“Well, that would make two of us”. 

Patton’s expression melted into more honey. It always made Janus unsure as to whether he had made a mistake, no matter how unfounded the doubt was. 

“Thank you” the words rebounded in proximity against the other’s lips. Janus didn’t know Patton could also be cruel. 

“A little sincerity never hurt anyone”. 

“You are not anyone” he smiled softly. 

“Then make the pain up to me”.  

Both their lips made contact like a wax seal on a letter. Janus pushed Patton against a low piece of furniture. From how the other fumbled, he could tell a corner was pressing against him. Despite the sting, Patton still committed himself to their affections. If that wasn’t a metaphor for their relationship Janus didn’t know what it was. Janus knew Patton would disagree, of course. 

It seemed that exchanging one piece of furniture for another, the bed, would not be possible. Someone was knocking on the door. 

“Janus…” Patton panicked in a hushed voice.

“Not a problem, my dear, this is my speciality” he smiled at him. 

Janus’ feet almost flew over the carpet, muffled by the Persian fibres and his expertise on avoiding the parts of the floor that creaked. He turned the key of Patton’s wardrobe without the distinctive noise most people couldn’t avoid. Luckily for them, he wasn’t most people. The door mysteriously closed itself from the inside. Janus could swear to hear Patton draw a breath in wonder as to how he had done it. 

“My son, let me in!” a voice came from the corridor. 

“On my way, father”. 

The mule-like bray of the alcove’s door hinges Janus detested preceded the sound of a set of footsteps he knew and loathed just as well, if not more.

“Were you reading yourself for bed? Ah, do not answer, I can already see your night robes over there. How many times need I tell you, call the servants to dress you, it is unbecoming that you do not. Moreso with the status you are to acquire”. 

Janus almost scoffed upon hearing it.

It wasn’t that Janus outright looked down on Signor Morandi. He certainly held an admirable reputation and an even more admirable wealth. He contributed to the church, upheld his honour, was a patron to a few talented artists and did everything expected from someone of his status. By societal definition, he was an outstanding man. But, he could never understand Patton. Yes, Patton’s behaviour in public also stood to scrutiny. He was a young man to be admired, for sure. Yet, it somehow mismatched any other person’s strive for reputability. Patton lacked this performative quality, eagerness, if you will, that he found time and time again in people. 

At first, Janus struggled to comprehend it. Everyone had desires outside of the strictly polite, they either pretended they didn’t or tried to hide it, that’s why they paid the church, after all. Janus didn’t believe people made an effort to actively align with the global canon for morality, just to look like it or deceive themselves. This theory on society made it so when he met Patton he simply dismissed him as a try-hard, later to relabel him as self-deceiving. Maybe he was a victim of his own biased cynicism. 

As they grew closer, he started to get the whole picture. To his surprise, Patton tried to get his desires to align with what he perceived as morally correct, sometimes failing miserably. Janus’ presence in his room didn’t qualify as a success by society’s criteria... Patton’s effort to be ‘good’ did not come from a place of wishing to be perceived as such. Patton didn’t want to look good, he needed to be good. A good man. The realisation was hard to process but true. 

Once he understood that, Janus could not let go. It stands to reason that, if that kind of person were to earn his affection, someone like his father would awaken his spite. Signor Morandi had simply never made an effort to understand his son’s motivations, unlike Janus. If he was a cynic, Patton was a victim to his own good intentions. 

“I do not understand”. 

“Lady Renata Regio is alive”. 

“Oh”. 

“Yes, it is most fortunate, you will no longer have to stay inside and miss the festival”. 

“Well, father, I am not sure if that is appropriate, her ladyship must be feeling poorly after such a horrid experience. Perhaps it is best if I stay in and promptly send a letter to help soothe her”. 

“Patton, it honours you to be willing to put the weak’s suffering before yours, but it is not needed in this case. You do not have to concern yourself with her. I am afraid that she is safe and sound on the account of having planned her own kidnapping. Lady Renata Regio has joined the pirates bringing disgrace upon her family, the wretched woman”. 

Yes! Janus thought. Neither the wardrobe nor the entire room could contain his joy at hearing it. 

“That is most unfortunate, should I reassure her family that I do not hold any resentment towards them?” 

“It would be no good, there is going to be a scandal!” Signor Morandi sounded too happy. 

Janus could not help but to smile a little.

“Are we going to pursue any retaliation?” Janus almost saw Patton shudder in the tone he used. “I do not think it necessary, it is a matter of marriage, although important, there are many other options that--” 

“Yes, there are many other women to pursue, that is the spirit! In said spirits, I must inform you of the most wonderful news I have just received”. 

What? 

“Today a trusted servant from the Regio estate arrived at our home”. 

“Yes, Virginia Fusco”, of course, Patton knew her name. “I personally received her, she refused to tell me exactly why she was sent here, also insisted to wait to talk to you”. 

“Precisely, well, it turns out she is the personal servant of Lady Romina Regio”. 

“The eldest of the twin daughters of the Regio?” 

“Indeed. Let me be frank with you son, the Regio know they cannot keep the true actions of their lesser daughter hidden forever, a rumour is meant to surface eventually. This is very unfortunate for them, I have heard they were planning to match Lady Romina with a higher member of the nobility. Her sister’s actions have ruined her chances, it is unlikely that whoever was to marry her will accept such a union. My son, you know I always have your best interests in mind, Lady Renata Regio was a fine choice to provide you with connections to nobility. In turn, her family would have got access to our wealth, which, after their losses in the war, they need”. 

Oh no. 

“This being the circumstances, they have to choose how to align themselves in the future and what would be more advantageous to the family”. 

“Shit” Janus said under his breath. 

“We are about to reach an agreement for a marriage between Lady Romina Regio and you. I need you to understand that, if you are to accept, you will have to face some troubles, at least initially. The rumours about Lady Renata’s motivations may taint your reputation for a short while and the Regio’s rush to marry off Lady Romina will raise more rumours”. 

“What choice would please you the most?” 

“Oh, Patton, you idiot”. 

“The union could make your child a count, you could potentially obtain a title depending on how we negotiate with the family. It is my wish that you accept this marriage”. 

“Will this bring honour to our family?” 

“Certainly”. 

“Then…” an air of doubt went through Patton’s voice. 

Janus was debating whether or not to burst out of the closet, either to tell him to refuse or to scold him for not accepting immediately what was probably the best opportunity of his life. 

“Of course I will accept”. 

“You make me very happy and proud, my son. I will meet with the servant girl to send her back with a letter requesting to meet with Lord Regio”. 

The words were spoken carelessly. Signor Morandi often did that around his son, not knowing how many times he had been overheard by him. He may be a great man by society’s standards, but he could never be a good man. 

Janus slumped against the back of the wardrobe, surrounded by pieces of clothing he could never afford. There was a world in which Patton had refused. But Patton hadn’t been left a real choice, so he could find some comfort in knowing this thing between the two had to end due to him being backed into a corner. Better than having Patton’s morals come between them. That, he would never reconcile with. 

This was better than before. Being cast away for something as mundane as marriage, no matter the useful connections involved, was one thing, being left for a countess, well, if that’s what it took to refuse him he wouldn’t complain too much. 

He would have preferred a marchioness or a duchess. 

He would have preferred to be the only thing standing in between Patton and kingship and still win. 

He would definitely prefer it if Signor Morandi was to accidentally fall down a flight of stairs on his way to writing his pesky letter. 

There was nothing like a fire to persuade someone, even a countess… 

But Patton would be upset. 

His hawk screeched from the roofs above. Then footsteps rushed to his side, followed by candlelight flooding the inside of the closet. 

Patton had no right to look so humble yet so marvellous. Not even the warmth of the flame could rival with that of his gaze. A gaze that was his’, not of any countess. But, still, a gaze that deserved to become a count. 

“Janus…” 

Honey clogging up his ears, that was the shape of a whisper. 

“I suppose”, he shook off the dust of his cape and held his head up with dignity, “this is when we part. I’d love to say it’s a pity, but we saw it coming. Guess it was nice to enjoy it while it lasted. I’m always a letter away, my dear, that countess of yours wouldn’t ever find out”.

This was the bitter taste of selflessness. He never understood how Patton enjoyed it. 

Janus turned around, ready to make his merry way out of Villa Morandi or fall off the balcony properly this time. Suddenly, Patton’s armed chained the two of them to their spot in the room. Patton’s chest heaved pitifully in a mockery of a hiccup. 

“I’m sorry. What was I supposed to do? There was no other choice. I didn’t wish to upset you. Please--” 

“What do you think you’re doing?” 

He promptly let him go. 

“I…”

Janus turned back to face him.

“You think crying will make this easier? Do you seriously think I enjoy this? I would gladly rob you of everything and have you entirely to myself. It is taking so much self-restraint to not get your father into a tragic accident, my dear. If anything, you’re making it worse by crying. I am doing this for you. Don’t you dare ruin the one honourable thing I will do in my life”. 

“How can I pretend to be happy when you’re leaving?” 

There were sparks of light encased in his tears. Something about their ironic beauty left him even more heart-broken. 

“What am I going to do, then? I can be selfish to an extent, but I cannot take the rest of your life too. You’re being offered a title and a wife, all the things someone at your level could wish for. Don’t be more of an imbecile, keep it. It is already inappropriate for you to be seen with the likes of me, and it’s even worse with me being a man”. 

“You’ve never cared about that”. 

“But you do! Let resume, dear”, he tried to say in his most condescending voice. It didn’t sound even remotely like it. “You go to church each Sunday, you have five bibles just in this room and the most sincere good-samaritan complex I have ever seen. I know you can’t bear to live in sin”. 

“I can’t bear to live without you either!”

Oh, Patton, you fool, silly, ridiculous man…

  “What…” he felt as if he was going crazy. 

A chuckle escaped through the spaces in between his teeth. Janus looked downwards and whispered. 

“What are you saying?” 

This self-consciousness, he had never felt anything like it before. Was he blushing? 

“I love you… I know it’s wrong, so why doesn’t it feel like it?” 

More honey. What a way for his plan to backfire.

“This is ridiculous, you should be concerning yourself with more important--” 

Patton placed the back of his hand under his jaw to raise his head with such gentleness... stupid. 

“Is it ridiculous when it’s making you cry like this?”

A compassionate man’s tears were not worth his. He had never been as sure as now that this was a mistake. Yet he longed for him more than ever. 

“Of course not” he wiped away his tears feigning some kind of dignity. 

As quickly as ever, he also pretended to regain his composure. 

“Do you have any sort of plan for what you’re going to do next? Under pressure, you’re a terrible improviser, my love”.  

“Well...I can’t let you go. I know as much. I should, for my family, father, my honour. But I will not. You’ve shown me that acting selfishly doesn’t make someone evil. I will find a way to fulfil my duty without giving you up, you have my word”.

#moceit #moceit au #background prinxiety #renaissance au #renaissance!Janus #renaissance!Patton #ts janus #Janus Sanders #sympathetic janus #ts patton #patton sanders #moceit fanfic #deceit sanders #ts deceit #tumblr ask #ask prompt #doomywrites #doomstypewriter #fem!virgil #fem!roman

[coconut-cluster]

This isn't even important but do u ever think about how there are so many more prinxiety moments in season one than there are in season two bc I do a l o t and it makes me appreciate the moments we get in season two so much like. I see the "no one hates you" nd I go nuts. They say "mistakes" and look at eachother like That and suddenly I've gone feral. It's a whole 'nother experience fjvjfkkvldlr

no SAME THO, and I think it has so much to do with the tones and messages of the old vs. new episodes!! Season one was mostly suuuuper lighthearted and jokey and fun, very “haha princey and anxiety held hands” yknow? But with Accepting Anxiety, we got our first big glance into the world of Thomas’ genuine struggles - Virgil had insecurities and doubts about his role in Thomas’ life that needed to be addressed for Thomas to actually live a happy life. It was still funny, but it was a serious problem that the other Sides had to understand and work on with him. 

With season two, we’re getting a far more nuanced look at the Sides’ relationships - Logan and Roman butting heads about basic life aspirations, Deceit and Remus interacting with the “core four,” Patton and Virgil starting to argue more, etc - and I think the moments we get between them are so much more touching than in season one because they mean more. Virgil assuring Roman no one hates him, for instance, is interesting on a bunch of different levels because it:

directly contrasts their original/usual dynamic of being standoffish or insulting, even jokingly, to one another 

acknowledges a fear or insecurity of Roman’s, especially interesting because he’s so usually the confident and arguably arrogant one 

highlights Virgil’s intuition in regards to anxieties/flaws/insecurities in the others

shows that either/both a. Virgil for sure cares about the others (and is a sap) more than he admits, and b. he and Roman’s relationship has potential to be more outwardly friendly in the future

The moments between them - and the Sides in general - have so much more depth and characterization to them yknow!!! Roman’s jokey “Anxiety is the fairest of them all!” is hilarious but holds NOTHING to his monologue in Accepting Anxiety about how Virgil makes them better, like COME ON MAN. COME ON 

#the sushi line? 'so sushi- i mean sue me!' 'don't act like that was an accident' #roman has such a fond 'my friend is a dork' tone!!!! and virgil's smile at the end of DWIT? #he's so relieved roman is awake (and/or alive)!!! #it's the MEANING BABEY #ask #prinxiety #Anonymous

[giant-sketches]

A Little Anxious

A BIG thank you to @crystalk17​ for the wonderful prompt that inspired this short side. I really liked their idea and while I changed a few thing, the overall concept remains the same.

In this story the Light Sides are giant-sized and the Dark Sides are tiny-sized. Anxiety is paranoid that if he doesn’t act soon he will vanish from the mindscape and seeks out Thomas to beg for his very existence.

This story includes 3 sketches and 1 super surprise I hope you all enjoy!

Word Count: 2372

Disclaimer: crying, almost being stepped on, panic, self-hate

For a long time now Anxiety had been observing the movements of the giant Light Sides as they interacted with Thomas. It always looked like a lot of fun to talk about their day smiling and laughing. He wanted to do that too, but he wasn’t like them. He was one of the tiny Dark Sides Thomas didn’t express often. Sometimes Thomas would go a long time without feeling anxious and Anxiety was beginning to feel like his presence wasn’t needed in the mindscape.

What would happen to him if he was forced to vanish completely? Would he be instantly forgotten like he never existed in the first place? Those thoughts haunted him each day as his paranoia grew into full blown panic. He had to take action! One night Anxiety formed a plan to confront the creator of the sides, Thomas, personally. Cautiously, he placed his ear to his bedroom door and listened intently. He had to make sure the coast was clear before sneaking out. Usually the sides were summoned by Thomas himself, but at times you could force a summoning by diving into his dreams.

The dream pool was located closest to Logan’s room at the end of the hallway. After confirming the hallway was void of giants, Virgil gingerly opened the door and stepped out. Before moving he looked both left and right down the hall to double check his surroundings. Then he bolted down the corridor as fast as his legs could take him. He flew right past Patton’s door and was about to pass Roman’s when two voices caused him to stop.

“I don’t see why we can’t come to a sort of compromise on this!”

“There’s nothing to compromise on is my whole point.”

It was Logic and Creativity bickering per usual. They were like cats and dogs sometimes when it came to what they thought was best for Thomas. Usually, Anxiety found their quarreling amusing, but when he was about to be stomped on not so much. The giant sides hadn’t taken notice of Anxiety standing in the hallway as Creativity started walking backwards to keep arguing with Logic, who had stopped at his door. Anxiety ducked in fear and braised himself! Shockingly as Creativity's boot reached the floor it landed beside Anxiety, barely missing him.

“We’ll continue this discussion in the morning.”

“Fine, but just know I could go on all night if need be!”

Anxiety continued to lay on the floor shaking. He was too scared to listen any further to the giant's ramblings and only stayed put until both had returned to their rooms for the night. That had been way too close. Anxiety was starting to lose his nerve about this plan of his. He was starting to regret passing up the idea of just possessing one of the giant sides like Deceit and Remus do and going to talk to Thomas in disguise. Sure he’d never done it before, but they made it look pretty easy. No, no he couldn’t do something so dubious, not when he was trying to win Thomas over. He had to be himself for this to work.

“I have to keep going...even if I’m scared, I’m more afraid of disappearing.”

Anxiety struggled to his feet, but managed to keep walking meekly towards the dream pool. Once there he jumped in without hesitation. There was no going back now. Gradually, he spread his energy outward into the surrounding environment to instigate Thomas’s lingering anxieties and cause him to wake up. Jolted awake from the sudden surge, Thomas flung himself upwards in a cold sweat.

“What was that?” he huffed.

“Sorry...that was me.”

Anxiety had succeeded in his plan and was now standing on top of Thomas’s nightstand. Thomas was stunned to see the tiny person and rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

“Am I still dreaming?”

“No, I woke you up. I’m one of your sides, Anxiety to be exact.”

Anxiety forced a smile in order to show he was friendly, but on the inside he was terrified.

“You’re my Anxiety? Why are you so small though?”

Before he could answer Thomas reached out his hands to lift Anxiety closer to his face for a better look. Anxiety flinched at the sudden movement, but he didn’t sense any hostility from Thomas and remained calm. Was this going to work? What if Thomas hated him and wouldn't listen to his plight? Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. He was beginning to fall apart as all his uncertainties about his existence surfaced. Was being so close to Thomas causing him to feel vulnerable? Tears quickly flooded his face in response to these new emotions.

“Wah! What’s wrong Anxiety? There’s no need to start crying, I’m not going to hurt you or anything. You’re safe here!”

Safe? Was he really safe? He didn’t even know what that felt like. Anxiety had gone his whole life believing he was unwanted and despised. Was Thomas now telling him that wasn’t true?

“Yo-you won’t make me vanish?”

“Vanish! Of course not, you’re a part of me just like all the other sides.”

“But I thought as a Dark Side I was just a hindrance to you. After all I’m this size because you don’t express me that much.”

“Is that why? Sure it’s not very fun when those guys show up uninvited, but you’re all needed. I need to learn those hard lessons in order to be a better person. You help me do that Anxiety.”

“I-I help you?”

“Yeah, in fact you may be able to help me with something right now!”

“Really? I will if I can.”

Anxiety was happy at the mere mention of him being helpful to Thomas. He listened intently with twinkling eyes.

“Okay, so I want to help with a local production of Red Riding Hood at the park downtown, but I’m not sure what I should volunteer for. I have a background in stage management, but I also like the idea of helping make the set pieces. Logan says I should go with stage management since I have prior experience, but Roman wants me to have fun with my more creative side and help with the set. Patton says either is good, but that doesn’t really help me decide. What do you think I should do?”

That was a lot of information to take in all at once. Were those the names of the other sides? Based on their answers Anxiety could infer that Logan was most likely Logic and this Roman person was definitely Creativity. Patton must be Morality by default then. Was this what Logic and Creativity were arguing about in the hallway? He’d never heard their names before so it was a little confusing, but he thought to himself on what would be the best option.

“Are you playing a part in this production?”

While Anxiety didn’t know a whole lot about Thomas, he did know he was an aspiring actor.

“I am, I’ll be playing the part of the wolf that eats the grandmother and tricks Red Riding Hood.”

Thomas was going to play the villain, that was unexpected. Anxiety always thought of him as a hero type that saw the world in black and white. Maybe there were more grey areas then he first thought in Thomas’s mind.

“Then I think you should help out with stage management, since you might hurt yourself working with power tools or moving larger set pieces around.”

“Hmm, that’s a good point. I think I’ll do that then, thanks for your input.”

“What really? You’re actually going to go with my pick?”

“Why not, you made a clear case and stated your concerns for my safety. I appreciate that a lot.”

A strange realization swept over Anxiety’s mind. What if this whole time it was actually Anxiety keeping Thomas safe and not the other way around? An immense feeling of relief caused him to laugh out loud at his own stupidity. There had never once been anything to fear, it was all in his head.

“I’m such an idiot! This whole time I’ve been so afraid you hated me and was going to get rid of me. I was trying so hard to not cause you any problems that it slowly drove me crazy.”

“Anxiety, I had no idea you were so stressed out over this. No matter what you have a place here. You keep me safe from danger, help me proceed cautiously in risky situations, and make it so I can deal with new forms of stress. I’m sorry I’ve been holding you back, but I think more than ever I need you.”

“To be needed is all I’ve ever wanted!” he mumbled through his tears.

Gently Thomas lifted Anxiety to his face and had him hug his nose. All those feelings of love, appreciation, and kindness washed over him as he giggled nervously. Anxiety had no idea how to deal with such an overwhelming flood of tender emotions, but he definitely enjoyed the sensation.

“Welcome to the family Anxiety! How about I summon the others and you say hello to all of them?”

Anxiety shivered slightly at the notion of being surrounded by giants, but he trusted Thomas. He also knew he’d have to introduce himself at some point if he was going to be sticking around.

“O-okay…”

Instantly, the other sides appeared in the room. Anxiety found it funny seeing them all in their pajamas and chuckled a bit. The sound quickly caught the attention of Morality who was completely amazed at the sight of the tiny side.

“Oh my gosh who is that?!”

Unfortunately, the sudden shouting frightened Anxiety and made him scurry towards the back of Thomas’s hands. He knew the giant side didn’t mean him any harm, but that was way too loud!

“Hang on Patton, you’re scaring him. You need to calm down and speak softly.”

“Oh I’m sorry kiddo, I didn’t mean too. I’m friendly, see?”

Patton displayed a soft smile of reassurance and Anxiety sheepishly uncurled himself and walked closer to the edge of Thomas’s hand.

“I’m Anxiety. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Anxiety? Isn’t he one of those Dark Sides. What is he doing here?”

“Well you see he was worried I might make him vanish so he came to talk to me about it.”

“Vanish him?! Anxiety, there’s no way Thomas would ever do something like that.”

“Indeed, Thomas understands that all sides, big and small are necessary for him to have a healthy mindset.”

“Yeah kiddo, you’re safe here.”

“I-I know that now.”

“That’s a relief to hear.”

“Yep, he even helped me decide on what to volunteer for, for the show.”

“Interesting, what did you decide on then Thomas?”

“Yes, yes tell us!”

“I’m going to be helping with stage management after all.”

“What!? B-but wouldn’t making props be more fun then stuffy management?”

“Now Roman, Thomas has made up his mind and we need to respect that.”

“Ugh, I know Patton, but that means Logan wins.”

“Roman, Anxiety was the one who helped me choose, not just Logan. Also this isn’t a competition.”

“Ack! Oh, you’re right. I apologize. May I at least know what Anxiety said to make you go with that choice?”

“I first asked if he was also going to act in the play and he said yes. Then I thought about how it would be bad if he got hurt while moving props around or building them since power tools can be dangerous if you don’t know how to handle them properly. Thus, I believed stage management was the better option to keep him in the best possible shape for his performance.”

Silence filled the room as the giant sides had gone quiet. Anxiety could feel the tension rising and grew worried that he may have stepped over the line somehow. Suddenly, multiple cheers were directed towards him,

“Tha-that’s genius!”

“Wha-”

“A similar, but different perspective then my own. I’m impressed.”

“Huh?”

“Anxiety, I’ve missed judged you! At first I thought you were like that robot over there, but you really do care about Thomas’s well-being the same as I.”

Anxiety had no idea how to respond to this amount of praise. All he did was speak his opinion.

“I hope now you see how needed you truly are here Anxiety.”

Anxiety blushed.

“Yeah, it’s a lot to handle though.”

“You’ll get used to it. Anyway, I want you all to introduce yourselves to our new family member here. Would you be okay with each of them holding you for their introductions?”

“I don’t mind. As long as none of them drop me.”

“It’ll be just fine. Here you go Patton, you first.”

Slowly Patton cupped his hands together and placed them in front of Thomas’s in order for Anxiety to walk across.

“Hey there kiddo, my name's Patton and I’m Thomas’s Morality. I look forward to working with you!”

Patton was so warm, he wasn’t anything like his counterpart Deceit.

“Now Roman.”

Roman mimicked Patton’s movements from before.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Anxiety. My name is Prince Roman, but for friends Roman is just fine. I make up Thomas’s Creativity.”

This one was Remus’s brother, but comparatively he was a lot nicer and cleaner.

“Last we have Logan.”

Following suit yet again Anxiety felt the most nervous about this one. His eyes were cold and his demeanor was rigid.

“Hello Anxiety, it’s nice to finally meet you. My name is Logan and I’m Thomas’s Logic. I want you to know I look forward to your company.”

A small smile crept on Logan’s face as he handed Anxiety back over to Thomas’s hands.

“From now on you’re one of us Anxiety.”

Leaning down Thomas placed a kiss on Anxeity’s head. He giggled with embarrassment. Not in his wildest dreams did he think he’d ever find his place in Thomas’s mind, but now he was also a part of his heart too. Overtime Anxiety enjoyed hanging with his new family and grew into his role.

“Hey Virgil, hurry it up. Thomas needs to see us right away!”

“Coming.” he said as he grabbed onto Roman’s hand.

The End

@thought-u-said-dragon-queen​

The tag list is just starting for my short sides, so if you’d like to be added just send an ask or comment on this post. Thank you again for reading!

#short sides #sander sides #sander sides au #tsart #holy shit a colored one #virgil #thomas sanders #virgil x thomas #thomas x virgil #giant!thomas #tiny!virgil #giant and tiny #giant kiss #tiny hug #hand held #anxiety #virgil sander #giant sander sides #gt #g/t fluff #gt fluff #gt angst #g/t angst #gt sander sides #g/t sander sides #sander sides gt #sander sides g/t #thvi #platonic thvi #thomoxiety

[miguel-manbemel]

For some reason I can imagine Roman belting out this song in his room using a hairbrush as a mike, while Remus, hidden behind the curtains, is recording him with his phone to upload it to the web and shame him. Truth is the lyrics are very Roman. The song is the classic “The One and Only” by Chesney Hawkes.

Bonus scene where the other Sides watch the video (mostly comedic with a couple dashes of angst):

PATTON: [happily] Yay, self-positivity! Way to go, Roman!

JANUS: [sarcastic] You have so many reasons to feel happy, Patton. Roman totally identifies with what he’s saying in the lyrics of that song.

LOGAN: [confused] Why is he singing to a hairbrush? It doesn’t communicate the sound waves to any amplifying or recording device, so it’s completely useless. I do not understand live shows.

VIRGIL: [sulking] Can’t relate with that song. Too happy and, to be honest, I hate to be me.

PATTON: I will physically fight you!

REMUS: [while running away] But you wanted to be famous, didn’t you, Roman!? And now, you’re better than famous, you’re viral! Hehehe!

ROMAN: [chasing Remus sword in hand] I’m gonna kill you in a slow and agonizing death, Remus!

REMUS: Oooh, do you promise!?

I am the one and only, oh yeah Call me, call me by my name or call me by number You put me through it I'll still be doing it the way I do it And yet, you try to make me forget Who I really am, don't tell me I know best I'm not the same as all the rest I am the one and only Nobody I'd rather be I am the one and only You can't take that away from me I've been a player in the crowd scene A flicker on the big screen My soul embraces one more in a million faces High hopes and aspirations, and years above my station Maybe but all this time I've tried to walk with dignity and pride I am the one and only Nobody I'd rather be I am the one and only You can't take that away from me I can't wear this uniform without some compromises Because you'll find out that we come In different shapes and sizes No one can be myself like I can For this job I'm the best man And while this may be true You are the one and only you I am the one and only Nobody I'd rather be I am the one and only You can't take that away from me I am the one and only Nobody I'd rather be I am the one and only You can't take that away from me

#thomas sanders #sanders sides #roman sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #sanders sides animatic prompt