#roman: dw that just means he likes you

[dykexiety]

Nah but I do think Remus tries to flirt with Virgil All The Time, but he always ends up saying shit like "you'd look great on an autopsy table :D" which is how Virgil still remains oblivious

#sanders sides #dukexiety #ts virgil #ts remus #remus sanders #virgil sanders #this is partly in reference to the incorrect quote i reblogged recently #Virgil: i think remus keeps threatening me #roman: dw that just means he likes you #virgil: dude ur family is weird

[jgracie]

WHO’S AFRAID OF LITTLE OLD ME?

masterlist | rules

♡ dedicated to giselle @pinkdiorluvr <3 our leo/ttpd/aphrodite parallels resulted in this epic crossover... love u sm !

in which leo was tame and gentle ‘til the circus life made him mean (alternatively, the one where you teach a son of aphrodite how to love again)

pairing son of aphrodite!leo valdez x roman!reader

warnings self-loathing (happy ending tho dw), ooc / dark!leo? idk tbh but this is a deep dive into his mind lowk 😭 also this is kinda long sorry in advance LMAO

on the radio . . . who’s afraid of little old me? (taylor swift), the only exception (paramore)

an aphrodite cabin leo my beloved… read the comments under this for a bit of context :) also in this they know the ghost of the battery is venus cz it fits w the story ok

If you looked up the word ‘tragedy’ in the dictionary, Leo was convinced you’d find his whole life there. It’d take up half the book, listing every event that’s ever happened in his life from the moment his mother died in that fire, her body so charred there was nothing to bury, until present time

It would talk about how after that, social services arrived, and how his aunt had refused to take him in, calling him a diablo and shouting at the social workers to take him themselves. It would talk about how none of his other relatives wanted him. It would talk about all the foster homes he’d run from, both the okay and the ugly (because they were never good. They didn’t want him either) opting to sleep under the Houston bridge for months instead. It would talk about how Leo was completely and utterly unloveable

Years of his life being this endless cycle of misery resulted in Leo toughening up. He was no longer the sweet boy who’d sit on his mother’s lap as she worked with pieces of metal, who’d run to get her a hammer or a screwdriver before she even asked for it, his heart so full of love for her he was close to exploding. No, this was a new Leo. This Leo learnt to deal with the bullies and the streets and everything else life decided to throw at him, his skin calloused and his heart cold. Sure, he was still elvish and scrawny, but he wasn’t afraid. That alone was enough

Eventually, he befriended Piper. She was nice. For once, he was around someone who didn’t seem to mind his company. But no matter how much Piper liked him, she still liked Jason more. Leo wasn’t an idiot, he knew from the moment Piper laid eyes on the perfect blond that this was her dream guy. And he was happy for her, she was his friend after all! However, he couldn’t help but resent her feelings towards him. He found himself left out again - unloveable Leonidas Valdez, that’s who he’d always be, now that his mom was gone

Then, he discovered a whole new world of Gods and monsters and for a moment in time, Leo thought everything might finally begin to click. He never fit in with the other kids in his foster homes because he wasn’t like them, he was a demigod, of course he couldn’t fit in. For the first time since his mother’s passing, Leo became an optimist. Maybe things would turn around? He’d get to meet his second parent and they’d explain it all, possibly even reward him for his perseverance? Leo toyed around with the idea, replaying the fantasy in his head. In the end, to him, just getting a glimpse of them would be enough

He got claimed as soon as he arrived. Usually, that would be considered incredibly lucky, and Leo really tried thinking of it in that way. Annabeth had told him some campers wait years for that symbol to float over their heads, to finally be able to move out of the crowded Hermes cabin and have people they can genuinely call siblings, a place they can genuinely call home

Leo would’ve been happy if his Godly parent wasn’t her. Aphrodite. What a sick joke. How could the Goddess of love be his mother? No one loved Leo, even Piper and Jason saw him as a nuisance at times. They tried to disguise it, but Leo knew. Years of being bullied had given him excellent training in reading the emotions of others. He knew that whenever the three of them were together, they wished they could be alone. He’d almost refused to sleep in cabin 10, but his new siblings grabbed him by the arms and dragged him over, excited to meet a fellow child of their mother’s

Luckily, it didn’t take Leo very long to get a quest. He, along with Piper and Jason, left Camp Half-Blood to go find and save Hera from the cage she was trapped in. Although the quest was hard and there were many times he’d come close to death, Leo was happier away from the cabin that reminded him of everything he should be and was not. The trio came back to camp just in time and immediately started planning their journey to Jason’s home, Camp Jupiter

The days Leo was building the Argo II were some of his happiest. He had an excuse to not sleep in his cabin (the Hephaestus cabin had kindly offered him bunker 9) and he was around the one thing he truly did love - machinery. The smell of oil and clang of metal reminded him of his mother, the one person who’d truly ever loved him. Sure, Leo did occasionally find himself yearning for human interaction, but every time he felt that ache in his chest, his fingertips longing to touch another, he’d push it down and continue his work. Just because he was a son of Aphrodite, doesn’t mean he deserved love. If he did deserve love, surely, he would’ve gotten it a long time ago

Soon enough, the ship was finished and Leo, Jason, Piper and Annabeth set sail for Camp Jupiter. On the boat, he felt less pressure to fit into the constraints of the stereotypical role of a child of Aphrodite, consequently becoming more like one. Away from land, he could shed the Leo Valdez who was tough and hard as stone, becoming as fluid as the sea instead. He wasn’t anywhere near as social as the others, but this time, he didn’t lock himself up in his room. He taught Annabeth about the mechanisms of the ship and teased Piper and Jason whenever he caught them kissing

From above, Aphrodite watched and hoped the Fates were feeling kindly towards her baby boy. It broke her heart watching him lose faith in love, but she couldn’t do anything about it - not with Zeus keeping a close eye on her

“Okay, I’ll show you the ship. Come with me,” Leo told Octavian - Camp Jupiter’s joke of an Oracle. The boy annoyed him, reminding Leo too much of some of the manipulative bullies he had to learn to fight back, but he knew giving him a tour of the Argo II was essential for gaining the Romans’ trust. Surprisingly, it was going well. Octavian was quiet as he examined it all, only making a few snide remarks about the ‘obviously Greek methods’ Leo had used

Then it happened. Leo felt his mind go blank and his limbs move against his will, heading for the ballistae. He tried to stop himself, but he couldn’t. He fired on Camp Jupiter

Other than Jason, who had gotten hit by a brick and was currently passed out, everyone was fine. What wasn’t fine was the fact that the Romans were no longer on their side. The others gave him accusatory glances, even though he’d insisted didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Only Piper seemed to be on his side, but even she was a little hesitant, a little confused

You were the anomaly. Leo didn’t notice you - quiet and observant, wanting to see how this would play out - until you spoke up to defend him. You, a Roman who’d just had the only home she’s ever known destroyed, who’d just been labelled an outcast by all her friends and family thanks to him, had defended Leo

“Guys, I don’t think he meant any harm,” you said, immediately silencing the other six members of the Great Prophecy. Leo’s mouth was agape, unable to say anything as you continued, “why would he fire on Camp Jupiter on purpose?” You asked, “isn’t he a part of this eight, one of us?” Then, turning to Annabeth, you said, “isn’t he your friend? Why aren’t you defending him?” She blushed and looked down at her feet, unsure of what to say

You smiled, happy that another problem had been solved, “let’s not ruin this quest before it even starts, okay? We can’t save the world from Gaia if we don’t act as a team.”

For the first time since his mother’s death, Leo felt loved. However, he knew all too well how good things never last

Leo distanced himself from you, as well as everyone else on the ship. After that day, he’d decided to coop himself up in his room and work on upgrading the ship instead, only coming out when absolutely necessary. Meanwhile, you eagerly got to know everyone else who was part of the prophecy, intrigued about the differences between Greek and Roman demigods. The one person who you desperately wanted to know, though, was Leo

No matter how hard you tried, he always seemed to escape your clutches. You’d been worried for him ever since that first day on the ship, and after finding out he built it, you were dying to know more

“Venus only appeared when Reyna was alone, so I don’t think any men can come along,” Jason said. Yet again, you were splitting up for another quest. This time, it was seeking the ghost of the Battery, who you’d deduced was Venus, the goddess of love. Suddenly, you had an idea

“Shouldn’t Leo come along? He’s her son, isn’t he? She’d show up for him,” you said, giving the boy a kind glance, which he averted. He really didn’t want to meet his mom. She didn’t care for him, so neither did he for her. If she cared, she wouldn’t have left him to fend for himself all those years. She was no better than his Aunt Rosa

Unfortunately, everyone on the ship agreed with you. Venus would probably be more helpful if her son was there. It was settled, you and Leo would go find the ghost of the Battery

The walk was awkward. This was the first time the two of you had been together since the first day on the ship. You made small talk, asking him about the ship and Camp Half-Blood. He thanked you for that day, and when you’d given him a toothy grin, your eyes sparkling, Leo felt as if Cupid had shot an arrow right through his heart. He couldn’t breathe. He’d never been more overwhelmed with love

“Lady Venus?” You said, your voice tentative as you looked around, suddenly doubting your plan. Immediately, she appeared in front of you. She was beautiful, with curly brown locks and fiery brown eyes. Her smile was kind, making you feel a warmth spread throughout your body. Then she noticed Leo. Instantly, her fiery eyes became sad, and… were those tears?

She floated past you and towards Leo, cupping his face in her hands. He flinched, about to pull away before remembering she’s a Goddess and could easily smite him if she were in a bad mood. His eyebrows remained furrowed, the crease in his forehead only deepening when she said, “my boy, my Leo. You’ve grown so beautifully.”

You could tell Leo’s relationship with his mother was strained, despite never meeting her. He scoffed, gaining the courage to remove her soft hands from his rigid face

“I am not your Leo. I am Esperanza Valdez’s Leo. She’s dead, in case you can’t recall. She died and you did nothing to stop it, nothing to ease the pain. I will never be your Leo. I’m only here for the sake of the quest, so please just tell us what we need to do and we’ll be on our way,” with every word, you could tell Venus’ heart shattered into several tiny pieces. Never in a million years did you think you’d see a Goddess look so heartbroken

She tried to reach out for him again, but this time, Leo didn’t let her, inching closer to you instead. Sighing, Venus opted to use her words, “look, I’m really sorry. You have no idea how bad I feel. I wanted to help you, really, but Zeus–”

“It’s always Zeus with you Gods, isn’t it? No, you don’t get to tell me you feel bad. You wouldn’t have survived an hour in my childhood. Do you know how horrible it felt, being wanted by no one? Do you have any idea how much it hurt finding out your own mother, the Goddess of love, didn’t do a single thing to help, choosing to leave you feeling unlovable instead? If you really loved me, you wouldn’t have given up just because of Zeus.”

Venus was quiet after that. You looked up at the sky, afraid Jupiter would strike you with his lightning bolt at this very moment, but he didn’t. With tears in her eyes, she said what was necessary and as soon as she was done, Leo got up and began walking away. You, however, stayed. You couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the Goddess, even though Leo was in the right

“He likes you,” she said, breaking the silence, “but he thinks he’s incapable of love, and it’s all my fault, I know, but I beg of you, please save my son before it's too late.” Her hand was tightly gripping yours, and you gave her a sad smile before going to catch up with Leo

You found him crying behind a bush. He had his face in his hands and sat with his knees touching his chest as horrible, gut-wrenching sobs left his open lips, desperate for some air. Calmly, you sat next to Leo. You didn’t do anything - no stupid words, no trying to fix his issues, you knew that wasn’t what he needed. Leo just needed some love. So you wrapped an arm around him and let him let it out on your shoulder

With the grass leaving indents on your skin and the light breeze cooling your bodies, Leo opened up. He didn’t say everything, but you got the gist of it all. You also got that seeing Venus face-to-face and crying afterwards had taken a load off of his back. With every word he said, Leo’s face seemed to brighten, his curls gaining shape and his eyes becoming a warmer shade of mahogany. The realisation hit you like a truck: he looked just like his mother

As the days passed, you paired with Leo for quests more often. He was more comfortable around you than any of the other crew members, which didn’t go unnoticed by them. They were glad Leo had found someone he could let loose with. Your journey across the Mediterranean continued and your friendship blossomed and bloomed, every late night conversation proving to Leo that maybe love was something he could achieve in this lifetime after all

Despite this, he kept his distance. A part of him was scared you stayed out of pity. As a son of Aphrodite, he knew that wasn’t true - he could read people like a book, after all. But he would never forget how his life is an endless loop. Just as he’d think he was finally getting a break, the universe would greet him with the worst event he’s ever experienced. Soon enough, something awful would happen. Something that’d push you away. You should be afraid of him, an unstable boy with extreme detachment issues and a history of bad relationships. What was there to love?

Everything. To you, there was everything to love about Leo. From the way he always had a piece of scrap metal to fiddle with in case he got nervous, to the way his nose would scrunch up when he’d laugh. Leo Valdez had ripped your heart out of your body and decided to keep it, and you were okay with that

Your confession had happened after Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus. Everyone was absolutely gutted, of course, but no one more than Leo. He blamed himself for their descent into the deep pits of hell, and you began to see him slowly go back to the Leo he once was, the Leo he was used to being. The difference was that this time, you were there

You forced him to give you and the others some of the watch shifts he’d assigned to himself. You made sure he ate and drank water and took care of himself. You were there to pick the pieces back up again

One night, it was just you and him

“Why do you do this? Am I not a burden to you?” Leo had asked, just as you were about to leave his room. After finding him half asleep at the wheel, you dragged him to bed, tucking him in yourself and making him swear not to leave until the morning

You turned, your eyes holding a mix of fondness and hurt. Not for yourself, but for the boy who has never looked into the mirror and seen a person worthy of loving. Your voice as clear as the sky above, you said, “because I love you. You could never be a burden to me, because I want to do this.”

“Why? Why do you love me?”

Making your way over to his bed, you sat on the edge, cupping his face, just like his mother did during your first adventure together. This time, he didn’t flinch. In fact, he seemed to melt under your touch. You felt anguish in your heart at this - no matter how much Leo insisted he should be alone, he still craved another

“Because you’re you. You’re sweet and you’re loyal and most of all, you’re so deserving of love. That’s more than enough reason for me.”

As Artemis rode her moon chariot across the starry sky, you shared a tender kiss. You saw Leo for everything he was - a black dog, a broken boy, the definition of the word ‘tragedy’, and chose to love him anyway

You weren’t afraid

#leo valdez x reader #leo valdez x you #leo valdez x y/n #leo valdez #leo valdez x fem reader #percy jackson #pjo #percy jackson x reader #pjo x reader #leo valdez fanfic #pjo fanfic #percy jackson fanfic #leo valdez drabble #aphrodite leo valdez #son of aphrodite leo valdez #aphrodite pjo #cynwrites

[roguekassa]

love bringing yall fluff with the guts au (which is still going on dw!) but let me introduce you to : intrulogical hurt/comfort (?)

monk au!!!!!!

we meet detective remus monk, a man with ocd and plagued by intrusive thoughts/nightmares about his husband’s, logan ellison, death.

he hires his first assistant, virgil fleming who has a young son named patton who reminds him all the time that the world is better with him in it. virgil eventually quits in order to finish schooling but Remus supports him entirely. (he closes Logan’s office in order to pay for it but he doesn’t seem to mind.)

his second assistant, roman teeger also has a little boy named janus who reminds him so much (too much) of logan with his quick wit.

remus hadn’t meant to solve the first murder case of the counselor nor did he mean to solve the next one of the librarian nor the missing maid.

he doesn’t understand how people are just - Not seeing what he sees. How could they not see shoes squeaked clean? Cigarette buds that are one too many?

but the only case he can’t solve is logan’s. logan’s pretty face getting into the car on their driveway only for it to never return again.

he doesn’t like to tell people that he sees logan in his dreams, his soft fingers on his. he can almost smell the daisy perfume he would always put on before going to his class.

#sanders sides #ts sanders sides #logan sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #remus sanders #patton sanders #janus sanders #intrulogical #monk au

[mikkokomori]

Okay then, so

-I headcanon dw basil as autistic and I think he uses he/they. But he’s straight. The specific reason for this is because I think a man can be feminine and straight 👍. Also I personally think he’s Norwegian-Mexican mixed, but has a light skin tone (kind of olive-y) and doesn’t know much about his Mexican side but a LOT about his Norwegian one. Also he’s a pagan, specifically Roman pagan. He has a shrine in his little plant house for working magic and sometimes Mari gives him food he can give to the god/goddess hes worshipping! Also, him and Kel hang out a lot because sunny and Aubrey do when hero and Mari aren’t around. Kel thinks it’s cool he talks to gods and wants to do it someday when he’s older.

-I also headcanon rw Hero as having some form of schizophrenia that he takes meds for, and sometimes Kel has to calm him down and remind him of his breathing exercises. He wears glasses sometimes because he can’t see that well and Mari used to tell him he looks handsome in them, so he doesn’t wear them as much anymore which means he struggles to see. His hair is also just like that in the mornings he doesn’t do anything to it lmao. I think he has ASD as well and when be gets frustrated he smacks his hands or bangs his head against something, but he normally hides it. Also his favourite colour changes depending on the day of the week and he still likes to cook and bake, but the one thing he can’t touch is stuff to make cookies.

Rw sunny - Sunny is Asian-American (Japanese) and speaks it fluently. Also something I don’t headcanon as much but I find funny is that sunny doesn’t speak English very well which is why he doesn’t talk, so he has no idea what everyone is saying most of the time. It wouldn’t make much sense in the final battle with omori tho so idk. He sleeps with a stuffed toy because he gets lonely and sometimes dresses like a girl because it makes him feel happy. He has a really good singing voice (but it’s probably very deteriorated from not being used haha) and he likes karaoke.

If I keep going I’m going to write a mini novel but those are my main three

That Basil one is very interesting :00 really like the thought of him worshipping a deity, definitely something I see him doing 👀 also *points at him* STRAIGHT!!!!!/pos

Definitely agree on the part were a man can be straight while still liking feminine things, it's something I don't really see a lot of people talking about :0

The Hero....... I'm kissing him on his little noggin and HE WEARS GLASSES??????? omg....omgomgomgoggmfkkfdkcjhdchs SLAY FR!!!!!

Personally really liked the Sunny ones, they are all so so so cute I am in love, ESPECIALLY THE KARAOKE AND LANGUAGE ONES... Maybe for the language one, he can understand what everyone is saying along with reading and stuff, but if he were to speak, his english would be sort of broken? :0 it's a thought but aheem aheem........ I really really like your headcanons on Sunny....... The karaoke one reminds me of one of my own hcs as well!!!

The stuffed toy and the dressing up............ exploding from the love rn you are so so SOOO RIGHT ON THESE,,,,,

#i love these ahahaha eats them eats them #omori #omori sunny #omori basil #omori hero #omori headcanon #lethargicrowan asks #miko panta #miko talks

[christ-our-glory]

From slavery to slavery

1 Corinthians 7:22 For the one who was called in the Lord as a slave, is the Lord’s freed person; likewise the one who was called as free, is Christ’s slave.

Christians are no longer the people they used to be (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). We are no longer slaves to sin; instead, we are now "Christ’s slave" as the apostle Paul said. All Christians go from slavery to slavery. As the apostle Paul said in Romans 6:18, those who have “been freed from sin, [have become] slaves of righteousness.” We have no righteousness of our own (Isaiah 64:6), therefore, this enslavement to righteousness here is not our own righteousness but Christ’s!

Slavery is a loaded word these days but we're all slaves to something. Who isn't a slave to technology in this day and age? We are slaves to the nutrients we need to consume in order to survive. And just like we were slaves to sin, we must now be slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:15-23). The apostle Paul is clear: we go from "slaves to sin" to "slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification." One type of slavery leads to eternal torment, while the other leads to eternal joy.

All Christians are slaves. By definition, the word Christian, or Χριστιανός, is the combination of two words: the Greek word Χριστός (Messiah/anointed/Christ) for Christ, with the addition of the suffix -ανός which is the Greek transliteration of the Latin suffix -ianus which means belong to/slave; hence, a Christian is a "slave of Christ" or someone who “belongs to Christ.” If you're not a slave of Christ, by the very definition of the word, you're not a Christian. Side note, according to Thayer's Greek Lexicon, it wasn’t until the second century that the word Christian was accepted as a title of honor.

People tend to neglect the fact Jesus Himself tells us in His Word that “His yoke is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). He calls all “who are weary and burdened, and [Jesus] will give you rest” but He tells us about the yoke that is now upon us. Yes, His yoke is light but there is a yoke! We are not to roam around, lost, like the ones without any types of yokes. To be “free” in such a manner as described in Romans 1:24 is to be abandoned —or to be “given up” as the Bible says— by God.

Though we will sin in this life, and to say you are without sin makes you a liar (1 John 1:8), we will never willingly sin because we know that willful sins must not be committed (Hebrews 10:26).

To have a renewed mind means we have let go of willful sins. The apostle Paul couldn't be clearer: "such were some of you." Though their sins would sentence them to eternal damnation, they have changed their ways and let go of their sins. It’s worth keeping in mind the original beginning of verse 11 in 1 Corinthians 6. Matthew Henry said, “The Greek word [in 1 Cor. 6:11] is tauta—such things were some of you, very monsters rather than men. Note, some that are eminently good after their conversion have been as remarkably wicked before... How glorious a change does grace make! It changes the vilest of men into saints and the children of God. Such were some of you, but you are not what you were. Note, the wickedness of men before conversion is no bar to their regeneration and reconciliation to God. The blood of Christ, and the washing of regeneration, can purge away all guilt and defilement… All who are made righteous in the sight of God are made holy by the grace of God.”

Letting go of sins might not always be easy but we must let go of them. There is a prayer in one of A.W. Tozer’s books that should be a prayer of every true Christian struggling with letting go of their favorite pet sins: "Father, I want to know Thee, but my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival… Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there."

Don’t lose hope after you’ve just become a Christian and you’re not walking in Christ as proper as those who have been walking in Him for many years. There is an immediate change, that much is undeniable, but just because you might not be as holy as someone else doesn’t mean you’re lost either. I think J.C. Ryle said it best, “Gradual growth in grace, growth in knowledge, growth in faith, growth in love, growth in holiness... all this I see clearly taught and urged in Scripture... but I fail to see in the Bible sudden, instantaneous leaps from conversion to consecration.”

Another point to consider is that although we're all drawn toward sin, we're not all drawn toward the same type of sin. The sin that entices you might not be appealing to someone else. We have all been "born this way"—that is, with a proclivity towards sin. We must never identify with our sin. Mortify your sin every single day. Aim for holiness—for we are called to be holy as He is holy; don’t settle for unrighteousness.

Be a slave to Christ, not a slave of your sins.

#A.W. Tozer #J.C. Ryle #Matthew Henry #holiness #slavery #slave to Christ #slave to sin #change in Christ #enticing #appealing #born this way #sinner #mortify your sin #prayer #praying #regeneration #reconciliation #sanctification #grace of God #consecration #conversion #evangelism #Bible notes #Bible study #Bible quotes #Bible verses #theology #reformed theology #Christianity #Christian

[shcherbatskya]

Hey :)) please talk more about your ocs and your cool idea, I really think it's epic (different anon than before btw, you have an Audience of At Least Two)

Who is the emperor at the time? If the sister gets set up with the upper class, does she ever meet the brother again? Do they know the other person is missing/ time travelled? Are they even sent back to the same time, or do they miss each other by decades (or longer)? Do they live their lives there with their gay roman lovers, or do they go back to their original time? Is it like Narnia where they live their lives, get time travelled back, and boom now they have all the experience and the memories but they're just as young as the day they left? What jobs could the total loser (affectionate) boy dude guy get when he is Barely Figuring It Out? Are you going for a more shenanigans filled comedy vibe, or Serious Time Travel/historical fiction Drama, or heartfelt something or other?

Sorry if that's like waaaaayyy too many questions but like,,,,,you're so cool and this idea is rad as hell

okay hi hi hi <3 ty for listening i loveee questions esp when i just come up with an idea it gives me ideas about Where To Go With It. oh man timeframes augh… they’re SO hard for me to figure out. tbh i was thinking about putting it from like 55-50 bc (late republic) just cause that’s the time period i know most about? if not, then definitely augustus just cause like. that’s the time in the empire i know the most about…. (sue me for staying in my comfort zone!!) but tbh it’s all tbd and i have a nasty habit of switching around timelines in my stories just to further confuse myself. <3 i think they DO eventually reunite. maybe it takes like. a year or so but i wouldn’t want to keep them apart forever and ever… i think they’re also in the same timeline but somehow got separated post time travel or something? brass tacks have not been sorted yet. as for endings! honestly im open to all of that tbh, i think i might go with it that in the end they’re like “oh maybe we will just live here cause we’ve already dealt with enough without like. trying to find a way back? and we’ve created this life and now we have someone we’re in love with so maybe it would be easiest just to stay” but i also like to Leave Endings Undecided and write up a bunch of different ones and pick when it’s called for. omg jobs i hadn’t even thought of that… he’s Educated in the modern sense of the word and also like. knows things about history so he could conceivably get a job as like. a shopkeeper or something. maybe he has political ambitions and could care less about the timeline and runs for office or something… maybe he works as a fisherman… as for the vibe!! i am definitely going to try and keep it lighthearted and fun <3 if im going to write a time travel it will make no sense and i won’t examine any implications of time travel <333 im sure i’ll have moments of emotion? i mean you really can’t have a story without that so. ALSO have i even said their names. i don’t feel like i did… well they are felix and julia <3 ALSO ty ty and dw i loveee questions this wasn’t annoying at all <333

#samael speaks #angel radio #oc tag

[higheldertala]

wild blue yonder commentary

okay im done being dramatic about this episode, it was fine i guess

the isaac newton scene was very random. sure the joke was funny but does the scene have a point? idk, does it matter if there’s a point, is it fine just being a joke? im over thinking this

‘he’s got a time machine which means he can blame me for all eternity’ 😂

‘isaac newton that you above all others can appreciate the gravity of the situation’ theyre so unserious 😂 i love them

‘is it knackered?’ i love how british that was

i love how we got rid of the sonic for the episode! 🎉🎉🎉 slay

the green screen is very noticeable unfortunately

doctor companion arguing!! we love to see actual conflict again

hand kiss!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰 this is my roman empire. there’s something so tender about it, i love it so much. can david tennant kiss my hand like that?

‘once spent three years in orbit’ is this a reference to something? bc nothing is coming to mind

i didn’t say this out loud so you’ll just have to trust me but i called it that donna named the robot jimbo

‘can you still hear me? no.’ i love their banter. no other doctor companion duo banters like they do

‘it’s okay, im here, i’ve got you’ 🥺🥺🥺 i love how doctor actually cares about his companions (side eyes a certain era)

when the ‘non-things’ have the warped body parts i don’t see this is as body horror more just goofy to me. not that dw can’t be goofy i suppose

but it’s good to know they used at least some practical effects rather than just wholly cgi

the bit where both doctor and donna go into different rooms is clever directing, definitely keeps the audience guessing who’s who

i don’t like the idea that donna saw the past ‘15 years’ of the doctor. as it would implies there’s a constant link between them as the doctordonna which just seems unnecessary to me. and if she just forgets it anyway what’s the point?

not sure how i feel about rtd referencing the timeless child and flux arcs. (from a writing perspective) the emotional impact should really have been 13’s and not 14’s and so in a way feels unearned. anytime this gets mentioned by russell really just highlights how chibnall never addressed/ emotionally completed these arcs. i feel like rtd should focus on 14’s arc escpecially since we only have a few episodes with them. it shouldn’t be rtd’s responsibility to mop up the mess from the chibnall era and i wouldn’t hold it against him for not bringing it up again. i suppose russell has more fondness for his friend’s work than i do lol

but from an in universe perspective it’s a good emotional scene for the doctor i guess

‘it destroy half the universe because of me’ so the universe WAS destroyed and not repaired from the flux? i don’t want to do this discourse again 😭 please russell don’t make me think about flux again, haven’t we suffered enough?

‘donna is that you? all those years. i missed you’ 🥺🥺🥺 so cruel for the doctor to be baited by the non-thing as he so desperately wants that comfort from donna 🥺

i fear the ‘who’s who’ gimmick gets a tad repetitive

‘i look quite good’ war flashbacks to moffat selfcest jokes 😭🤮

i appreciate the comedy of the revolving door with the doctor and donna thinking they’re safe for it to immediately rotate back around

i fear this has very chibnall-esque the doctor just tells us the solution rather than the audience being shown :/

i don’t understand why slowness confuses the ‘non things’ but sure

you always look goofy running on a green screen im sorry

i’ve never heard the wild blue yonder song before so the tardis appearing all ethereal playing it is so random to me

catherine tate always brings out her best acting for doctor who

i never believed she was gonna be left there and die though, i don’t know why people thought this?? was it just a stressful episode for people?

hug!! 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

there’s nothing better than the doctor kissing donna on the head. this is how i always want the doctor to be 🥹🥹🥹

WILF!!!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 it’s so lovely to see him and the dedication to bernard cribbins at the end

‘now i feel better, now nothing is wrong, nothing in the whole wide world’ 😭😭😭

the heavy breathing in the end theme tune is awful, who added this in? 😭😭😭 i beg they get rid of this for ncuti’s era.

concluding thoughts: upon a rewatch, the episode is fine, but i don’t think it’s anything groundbreaking. why they made a big deal of keeping this episode secret is puzzling. perhaps intentional marketing to cause hype/ speculation? i think it would work better if this was just a standard episode in the middle of a season but i don’t really understand how this fits in with the anniversary celebrations. as always the doctor and donna are great and i love their dynamic, with all the emotional beats and banter. i enjoyed the star beast more, perhaps it had more of a novelty to david tennant as the doctor and donna returning and the star beast works as a somewhat call back to the franchise. maybe the horror aspect didn’t land for me like it did for other people. i wouldn’t say it was bad overall but rather just okay it’s get 6/10. and maybe for an anniversary special i wanted something with a bit more oomph. and yes maybe i would be partial to a bit of fan servicey cameos i won’t deny it, but i recognise im not entitled to as a fan so we’ll take the L. i hope the giggle will deliver on the oomph but we shall see.

#dw commentary

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 159

There Will Be Blood/The Rebel Flesh

“There Will Be Blood”

Plot Description: to defeat Dick Roman and the Leviathans, Sam and Dean must locate three key items that must be retrieved from Castiel, Crowley, and the Alpha Vampire

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: somehow, no one died…even with that episode title

Poor Kevin. He doesn’t deserve thisssss

Negotiations with Crowley are always just super fun for the boys…

Ok sometimes you just have to stand in front of an open freezer door, though. Sure THIS time, they’re out of it because of the additives Dick’s company is putting in corn syrup but it’s not ALWAYS that

Poor Dean has to give up fruit pies and start eating actual fruit

Ew. On one hand, I feel bad for this girl…on the other, I kind of don’t trust her

You know, I spent a lot of time comparing Dean to Touya…I’ve overlooked the Dean and Sokka parallels, the meat and sarcasm older brothers

It wasn’t until just now, as the Winchesters pulled into Missoula, MT, that I remembered that Hank Green (who hit send on a tweet at the exact time I was typing his name) once tweeted about the time spn took place there (even if it was actually in Canada. I don’t really know)

Yeah I knew not to trust herrrrrrr. She’s totally in league with the alpha vampire

Oh nooo this Bobby situation only keeps getting worse. He’s now possessed a poor girl…

Oh. The Leviathans want EVERYONE except humans gone…and humans only get to stay as a source of food. Coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool

Oooo, they took Edgar off the playing board (for now at least)

So Crowley goes to see Dick and gets stuck in a Devil’s Trap. Great job

Mmm no. His smile’s so creepy

“The Rebel Flesh”

Plot Description: a solar tsunami liberates doppelgängers from their human “originals” in a factory

I’m so sorry to this show but I can’t hear Supermassive Black Hole without thinking Twilight. It’s not a choice, my brain is just like this…

Things never go well when the Doctor runs into a team of top scientists, do they? Thinking about the crew that met the devil, waters of mars, the ones that met the Silurians, and now this team and “the flesh” And I mean that it’s almost never fully outside forces. So many of them make terrible decisions

Is it in these episodes that they confirm the Amy we’ve been with at least all season is a fake? It would make sense

I’ve forgotten how many of the scientists are the originals and how many are the doppelgängers…

(I’ll say it nearly every time, but dw just doesn’t do two parters all that well…)

Oh…but Rory can really feel for the doppelgängers in a way no one else here can yet…he’s BEEN not really him before

Oh they’re really trying to take over the originals’ lives, and you can’t REALLY blame them

The weird amount of…slight body horror is really off putting

It’s kind of shitty that only the female scientists got replaced at first…just.

This is a whole mess.

Man…how does the Doctor keep finding the WORST humans to have in these extremely tense situations?

#hellsite nostalgia tour 2023

[twinhood-2dot0]

My adventure into J-Pop

My music taste is very multilingual. As an Indian living in another state, there's of course 4 default languages, although eh I only have like 2 or 3 Bengali songs, so let's go with 3, namely Malayalam, Hindi and English. But I have very little interest in lyrics, and don't have the listening skills to understand what they say, so that may be why I prefer EDM and songs in other languages. This past month however, I decided to try out J-Pop, after listening to all the stellar tracks from Attack On Titan. Seriously, you can't tell me there's a better soundtrack than AoT. So, what better song to try out than uh um the most popular Japanese song to ever exist. Yeah dw I'm not the kind of person who actively goes out to seek the most popular things, I just happened to fall in love with this song that happened to be the most popular J-Pop song.

Note: There's gonna be a lot of addendums. I wrote this post a while ago and watched a lot of the movies mentioned here.

夜に駆ける/Yoru Ni Kakeru/Racing Into The Night/Into The Night

Kanji (I think?), Romanised, Translated, and English release respectively. Yoru Ni Kakeru is the debut single of duo Yoasobi. Their slogan is "Novel into music". Already pretty intriguing for an avid bookworm and music...worm..? Although, it kinda disappointed because I couldn't really like too much more of their songs, wish it was otherwise. Haruka is decent, and a few other songs that I forgot to check the romanization for, but other than that, they were pretty meh. Okay, I listened to more, they have some pretty good songs, but none compare to this though. Okay anyways, onto why this song in particular became my favourite song. Damn, my favourite TV Series and comic series and movie and song are all Japanese. I might undeniably be a weeb now.

Go on, listen to the song, I'll wait. The whole thing, not the preview. I love this song so much I'm doing a part by part breakdown.

Done? Sounds peppy, doesn't it? So uh well, it's about suicide. TW for the rest of the section where I explain backstory lyrics etc.

Lyrics :P IDK how else to denote subsections better.

This song is based on a short story called An Invitation From Thanatos (translated). Read it here. If you wanna. It's pretty cool.

The basic premise of the story is that there are two kinds of people. People controlled by Thanatos and those controlled by Eros. You know who those are. Anyways, the former are destined for death, and the latter for life. The protagonist falls in love with a woman standing on a rooftop prepared to jump, and she does that a lot after their first meeting and texts him so he arrives. By the fifth time, he admits to himself and her that he doesn't want to live, and jumps off with her. It's left ambiguous as to whether she was real or a manifestation of Thanatos.

The song's lyrics are basically a retelling of the story in music form.

Here's a direct translation.

That's the direct translation. There's also the official English version of the song.

The English Version

The English version of the song is probably the best translated version of a song to exist. Don't believe me? Listen to this.

Use a headset, it's stereo.

See what I mean? They didn't just directly translate it, they also went to the trouble of using words that match the Japanese ones, while also keeping the meaning, although sometimes they're gramatically incoherent.

The song begins like

Jap (Romaji, that's what the Japanese called Romanization. It's also shorter, so that's what I'm gonna call it too.)

Shizumu you ni tokete yuku you ni Futari dake no sora ga hirogaru yoru ni

Eng

Seize a move, you're on me Falling, and we were dissolving You and me, skies above and wide It brings on the true night on me

Yeah, "Seize a move" has no meaning in English, but it does match "Shizumu". There are some egregious examples where they take liberty with grammar like "What can "night" for you mean, infinite?" and "Locating, never tough when I'm with you" and the rapped verse

She's gonna try to me, she's gonna lie Got to force a belief and trust to keep on.

The chorus is also a work of art.

Romaji

Sawagashii hibi ni waraenai kimi ni Omoitsuku kagiri mabushii asu o Akenai yoru ni ochite yuku mae ni Boku no te o tsukande hora Wasurete shimaitakute tojikometa hibi mo Dakishimeta nukumori de tokasu kara Kowakunai yo itsuka hi ga noboru made Futari de iyou

Eng

Saw what got seen hid beneath, and louder nights keep beating I'm going to you, and giving brighter shiny tomorrows What can "night" for you mean, infinite? You could run with me Place your hand in mine, you gotta stay, hold up Want to leave it behind, dark cruel days In deep, you may have hid before I'm embracing you until more heat dissolve what is caught up Sun will soon rise up into a day you're no more too afraid Keep all of me in you

(Damn English is a really inefficient language. Oh well, I'd take less letters to memorise over really short words too ig.)

The Intro

My favourite part of the song, for some reason. It's starts with a vocal solo, then a quiet piano sets in, vocals pause, vocals start, piano intensifies, and is joined by drums and bass. I especially love the tiny bass solo after the vocals end and the piano starts.

Verse 1

The first verse is nothing much of note, except for her voice being awesome, and the instrumentals are stellar too. I have a thing for a prominent bass and piano melodies and repeated melodies.

Pre-Chorus

I love the piano that play after the first part of every line, like "Itsu dakke"-piano + "chikku takku to".

Chorus

Ah, the part that made me fall in love. Nothing much to say here tho, except for oh my lord eargasm. The piano (drop?) that follows is also awesome.

Rapped Pre-Chorus

I usually despise rapped parts of most songs, be they rap songs with a few sung parts (Like so many awesome Adam Levine verses. Oh my lord, I love his verses in Stereo Hearts and Locked Away so much, I would honestly loop them if it were just him, but the rest of the song is just insufferable.) or a pop song with an inexplicable rap part (Like See You Again and Like It Is by Kygo. That song has Zara Larsson and Kygo, could it be any more perfect? Yes, as it turns out, because some dude called Tyga is also on it for some reason. Sorry about the angry rants, I hold an intense grudge against rappers). But this one however with her great voice and Ayase's production is perfect.. I miss my laptop so much, I had spicetify installed with an extension that let's me just loop a section of any song, would have been so useful for this song, literally every section is so loopable.

This song also spawned various hilarious parodies.

Of course you have no idea what Bing Chilling is or who that guy who vaguely looks like Mr. Beast is (if you even know who Mr Beast is lmao) so here's a more familiar one.

Okay, that's it for this song, I have a lot more to cover, so let's get a move on. Huh. Is that what "seize a move" means? Welp, no idea.

Your Name and Weathering With You

Your Name (Romaji: Kimi No Na Wa) is a 2016 anime romantic fantasy film created by Makoto Shinkai. You may be asking, why am I talking about a movie on a post about music, and most importantly, why a romance??? Well, uh, I may have watched it and uh um l-ummm okay I'm saying it, I loved it. I stumbled upon RADWIMPS' Sparkle while discovering music on YouTube. Yes, I discover music on YouTube, I hate Spotify recommendations, that's one and probably the only thing YouTube does better. Anyways, the song starts with a enchanting piano performance. So, I was intrigued and discovered that it was composed for a movie named Your Name. So, I immediately closed the tab. I believe music in like movies, games, series are very impactful, so I didn't want to spoil that experience. I don't think like all the soundtracks would have the same impact had I not experienced the main work itself. So, knowing nothing about the movie except for it has one track with an awesome intro, I watched it. It was BEAUTIFUL! I went in expecting nothing more than idk typical Freaky Friday stuff (if you don't know what that is, don't look it up! I already regret spoiling this much) and typical romance. Oh boy was I wrong. I won't spoil much except for saying that it was so much more than that, and it's the first time, well, anything, has made me tear up. I cannot understate how good this movie was. I still have it downloaded so that I can go back and watch scenes and I do that like every day, so much so that I have the timestamps memorized by now. (Dream Lantern-1:36, Zenzenzense-29:50, Kataware-Doki-1:18:20 (hands down the best scene of the movie btw), Sparkle-1:22:00, Nandemonaiya(movie edit)-1:37:37, Nandemonaiya (movie ver.)-1:40:50. Thank me later. Actually, this is an idea for a website I had, a wiki for soundtracks and its timestamps. There's tunefind, but that only has a description of the scene. Maybe I could contribute to tunefind with timestamps. Idk.). And yes, all of the soundtrack is equally epic, and I'm so glad I put off listening to it until watching the movie. The chills when listening to them again, like wow. Best movie soundtrack ever. Sorry The Batman, you're a close second now. Okay, I need to stop talking about this movie, before I end up ugly crying.

Here's the album, although I recommend watching the movie first. I know you hate romance even more than I do, but this movie is an experience you can't miss. (The song was Sparkle btw)

Oh, and here's my jp-origin songs playlist, before I forget (Yes, Yoru Ni Kakeru is in it 4 times :P).

Also, the director behind Your Name, he's apparently a big deal. 3 out of the top ten highest grossing anime films are all his, and you know about my tendency to obsess over everything made by someone who's made something I loved, so I am probably gonna watch all his movies.

Addendum: I just finished watching Weathering With You. Like, right now, I'm watching the credits lmao. It's an awesome movie, did not disappoint, although not as good as Your Name. The songs too, when the movie just started I was kinda disappointed but it picked up real quick by the penultimate uh arc?

Here's the album.

I can't link because there's a 10 audio limit for some reason? so uh I'll just mention them by names.

There are five lyrical tracks, namely Voice Of Wind, Celebration, Is There Still Anything Love Can Do?, Grand Escape, and We'll Be Alright. I'm too lazy to find the other non-lyrical great songs, all of the lyrical ones have "(Movie Edit)" appended. My favourites are Grand Escape and We'll Be Alright. Okay, well, I loved all of them, except for Voice Of Wind. When I heard it in the movie I was like "Noooooo RADWIMPS you can't do this to me" and then everything was fine after the intro.

Fireworks

On the topic of anime soundtracks, Fireworks is another one I discovered, although I listened to the whole thing before finding out it was a movie song :P. Anyways, it's another one I really loved.

Addendum: The movie was pretty meh :P. It wasn't terrible, but was pretty ick at the starting but the rest was not so bad. And the song was just a credits song and not an awesome heartwarming moment song. The other songs were also pretty good but I'm too lazy to find them.

Yuika

Nothing much special, but really cutesy catchy songs. She's also apparently in high school??? As if I wasn't already wondering what the hell I'm doing with my life 😭. Damn, Windows emojis are very ugly. Also, I have no idea how any of these are pronounced, except for Sukidakara.

Attack On Titan

Attack On Titan was my first exposure to Japanese music, okay well, manga and anime as well :P. But Attack On Titan has a mishmash of languages. There are German songs, English songs, German and English songs, German and Japanese songs, sometimes all of them. So the first purely Japanese song I heard was Akuma No Ko (Child Of Evil) by Higuchi Ai.

It was the ending/credits song for Season 3 I think. Aside from having symbolism (akin to literally everything Attack On Titan), it's a really great song to listen to. Awesome piano, chorus you get the jist. There are more AoT songs in my playlist, you can find them, the cover art makes them obvious.

(Damn oops I forgor Shinzo Wo Sasageyo! :P I thought it had German parts. Anyways awesome song, check that out too.)

Sukitte Ii Na Yo

It's um another romance anime. Look, it's not particularly good, but it's the first manga I ever read but didn't get to finish so I'm watching it all over again because completionist. What is good, however, are the opening and ending songs.

Wow, I think I crossed like 2300 words :P. Guess that's what happens if you write it over like 3 weeks and don't cut out the rants. You seem exhausted, here, have some water🥤. Don't worry, the next post has been heavily cut down on rants. See you next week!

#Spotify #jpop #attack on titan #j pop #anime music #your name #kimi no na wa #makoto shinkai #Youtube #yoasobi #yoru ni kakeru #into the night

[threecrowsinatrenchcoat]

For One More Hour or One More Day

Dukeceit Week Day 6: Horror/Comedy

Remus and Janus work in IT, and Remus never fails to make Janus' life a bit more exciting than it should be. Janus wouldn't have it any other way.

AO3 Link: [here]

Word Count: 1416

Warnings: swearing, typical Remus-levels of implied sexual content. 

@dukeceitweek <3

-

[06032021 Network Node Down- 172.12.203.1 - Dee Why ]

Janus stared at the next ticket in his queue. He didn't even have to look at which tech wrote it. He just knew. He picked up his phone and dialed. 

“'Sup, DeeDee?" 

"Because they use ancient technology and refuse to upgrade, that's why." 

There was a beat of silence on the line. Janus didn't need to see him to know Remus was grinning like a maniac. 

“Oh, JD, I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," Remus said finally. His voice was laced with barely-contained glee. 

“Uh-huh, sure," Janus replied dryly. He watched on his screen as an incoming call diverted from his in-use line. "Do you want to clarify for me, in excruciating detail, what, exactly, it is that broke this time? After all, if it's something I can fix from here, it would save the company an awful lot of money. And you know how I love saving this company money." 

“You don't feel like taking work calls either, huh?" 

“Ree, I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."

-

[06142021 CRITICAL | Device failed Availability and Latency checks - Dispatch Requested]

Janus sat in his truck for a few minutes, cross-checking the address across his e-mail, Slack, and the ticket itself. And yeah, they all matched. This wasn’t a repeat of that time Remus had changed the address on the ticket from 96th St. to 69th St. as a joke. 

(Janus had almost gotten mugged. He was still a little salty about that one.)

But this time, all the addresses matched. The problem was, he was parked in front of a restaurant instead of the usual office building, and that just didn’t seem right. He opened up Slack on his phone. 

Janus D’lyre: Are you sure the address is right?

Remus Rey: Yeah, it’s right.

Janus D’lyre: It’s a restaurant. 

Remus Rey:  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Janus D’lyre: Are you positive it’s right?

Remus Rey: I just write the tickets, Dee, I don’t do a background check. Just go in.

Janus sighed. He got out of his truck, hefted his tech bag over his shoulder, and went inside.

It was a nice restaurant. Very fancy, with a goddamn chandelier hanging over the front lobby. Field engineers weren’t required to dress in a suit and tie, but Janus did by habit- and he was glad he did, because he would feel like a horrible slob standing here in jeans and a polo.

“Can I help you?”

Janus looked over to the host, standing at the counter with a bright smile that only looked 52% faked.

“Yes,” Janus answered. “I’m here about the network issues?”

“Oh!” The host- his name tag read ‘Patton’- brightened up a bit. “Yeah! Remus is waiting for you, this way!”

“Remus is what?”

It was too late. Patton had already darted around the counter and off into the dining area. Janus sighed and, regretting every life choice leading up to this exact moment, followed.

Sure enough, Remus was waiting for him. Patton led him to a quieter area of the restaurant, where Remus was sitting at a table. Well, sitting was a generous way to phrase it, because in reality, he was tipped back on the rear two legs of the chair, combat boot-clad feet up on the table. He jumped up eagerly at the sight of Janus, and somehow managed not to fall backwards and crack his skull open. 

“Hey! You made it! Thanks, Pat!” 

“No problemo!” the host replied with a grin before heading back to the front counter. Janus briefly considered that he might be having a fever dream right now.

“Remus, what the fuck?” 

“Told you it was the right address!”

Janus glared. “That is not what I’m ‘what the fuck’-ing you about.”

“I mean, I’d prefer me fucking you-”

“Remus.”

“Well, you work so hard, DeeDee,” Remus said calmly, as if he wasn’t standing in the middle of the fanciest restaurant on this side of town, dressed in his usual tank-top and leather vest combo and probably mashing dirt into the plush red carpet, and definitely doing something that should get him fired. “I thought you could take a break, and we could have a nice dinner.”

No, he wasn’t doing something that should get him fired. He was doing something that should get them both fired. 

“You’re joking, right?”

“Kinda a lame joke.”

“Remus, you had me dispatched to a random address for a fake problem, to have dinner with you on company time?”

“‘Course not, who do you think I am?”

Janus did not dignify that with an answer. He turned to walk away.

“Jannie, wait!” Remus darted around the table to get in front of him. Janus stopped, and glared. “This is Roman’s restaurant! It’s not a random address, he’s an actual client.”

Janus’ glare lessened. Ok, sure, they did have some smaller commercial clients. And sure, Remus had mentioned his brother’s restaurant was using them as tech support now after a bad experience with a different company. But- “It’s still a fake problem, Remus.”

A shit-eating grin spread across Remus’ face. “Nah. I unplugged the router.”

Janus snorted in a totally dignified manner. “You didn’t.”

“I did.”

“...Well, I suppose… I’d better investigate the issue. Couldn’t be solved remotely, hardware problem and all.”

Remus held out a hand. Janus took it, and let Remus lead him back to the table.

“Great, cause I already ordered!”

-

[06192021 Switch is problematic. Unable to get into the switch || Serial No. 111-0203-2018]

Janus very calmly cleared the ticket, set his work phone to away, pulled out his personal phone, and sent Remus a text. 

Jannie-D: I know you’re upset I didn’t let you fuck me last night. Get over it. 

Remster: i will not 

- 

Virgil Caligo: yo are u and remus like good?

Janus D’lyre: We had a small argument last night. Why?

Virgil Caligo: [image attached]

Janus sighed. Virgil had sent him a screenshot of a ticket update Remus had just posted.

[06292021 Ticket #00679 Update.] ‘The device is not only unresponsive to simple ping requests, but is being kind of a jerk about it. 100% package loss, a tragedy. Device was confirmed to be connected to a working power source, but they all say that, so who can really be sure. Dispatch requested, please confirm maintenance window. Actually showing up would be great, too.’

Janus hastily typed a message to Virgil. 

Janus D’lyre: Did you take that one?

Virgil Caligo: ya. logan didnt see dw

Janus D’lyre: Thanks. You can transfer it to me, I’ll take care of it. 

Janus leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. What a comedy of errors this day had been. It was the last time he’d forget he and Remus had a date night planned, that’s for sure. 

- 

Remus sighed when a priority ticket popped up in his queue. He was having a grand time ignoring his other queues in favor of sculpting a rather elaborate dick out of the green Play-Doh he kept at his desk, but he really did not feel like getting bitched out by Logan for missing a priority ticket. Grumbling to himself, he stuffed the Play-Doh back into its tub and opened the ticket. 

[06292021 Ticket #00679 Update.] ‘Likely a hardware bug. Possible remote fix with reset and reconfigure. Device information missing from online records. Please check file and update record.’ 

Fuck. Remus hated pulling files. What a pain. He trudged his way upstairs to the records room, which was always dark and depressing because nobody ever went there because who the fuck used physical paper in 2021?

But when he unlocked the door and pushed it open, the light was on. And every surface was covered in flowers.

“What the fuck?” Remus asked the flowers. They didn’t answer. But, at the small desk near the door, there was a stack of green boxes from his favorite bakery- and on top of that, he saw an envelope with his name on it. Eagerly, Remus tore open the envelope. 

Inside, he found a single sheet of Janus’ fancy stationery paper, the kind with the little holographic snakes along the edge that he only ever used for special occasions. And on that paper, one single sentence, penned in Janus’ elegant, flourishy handwriting: Ok, you can fuck me tonight.

- - -

[06292021 Ticket #00679 Update.] ‘I take it back, the device is no longer being a jerk, and I love the device very much.’ 

#dukeceitweek #dukeceit #janus sanders #remus sanders #sanders sides #sanders sides fic #kye writes

[make-me-imagine]

Submission by @thebookbakery; this is their first published fic, so I hope you guys enjoy it, and let them know what you think!

—–

Bruce Banner (MCU) x Female!Reader (sorry…)

Warnings: Reader with mental illness, so much fluff, code green (but dw, Hulk is a softie)

Marvel Taglist: @aquariuslavenderhoney

Fic Written by: @thebookbakery 

Go check out their new fic blog @trashywritestrash !!!

—–

Bruce’s POV

  I shove my head in my hands, closing my eyes in a desperate attempt to calm my mind; even though I know it’s pointless. My thoughts have been bouncing around all day, leaving me unable to focus on any task for longer than thirty seconds. Even as they run circles in my head, my thoughts keep making their way back to her.

  Y/N has been avoiding me for the past four days. But, to be fair, it’s not only me that she’s been avoiding. Wanda and Bucky noticed it too, but when I asked, they told me to let her come back in her own time. I understand why they would say that; but it’s getting increasingly difficult to hold myself back from knocking on her bedroom door. I’ve never been the type to be that direct- especially when it comes to women- but these past couple of days have been driving me to my wits end. I thought I was just worried, like any good friend would… But that’s not it. Tony’s daily ritual of annoying me while I try to work made me realize that I’m not worried I did something wrong.

  I miss her.

  Normally, she would come into the lab with enough coffee to kill a horse and sit with us. She would occasionally help me with an equation or grab Tony some tool he needed- but Y/N mainly stayed to keep us company. She’d join in on jokes and keep us from losing our minds to an unfinished project or a lack of sleep. I miss having her sit on an empty desk and read my screen over my shoulder. I miss seeing the sparkle in her eyes when we’d explain what we’re planning next. What I miss most is simply hearing her laugh at something I said. It’s nice. Knowing that Y/N enjoys my company. Or, at least, she did.

  I have no idea what time it is, but it must be late. The compound is dead silent, and it’s pitch black outside. Suddenly, I can feel the other guy clawing at my brain, trying to take control. My head feels as if it’s splitting open, my eyes watering as a searing pain shoots from my temples outwards. The reflection of my face on the desk shows green veins appearing.

Oh no.

Y/N’s POV

  I feel nothing but the cool water lapping at my ankles. My mind has been almost blank for the past week. This isn’t new, it’s basically a routine by now. Every once in a while, my head will empty, save for a few thoughts here and there. I won’t feel emotions, and when I do, they are so watered-down that I wonder if they’re real or if it’s just a reflex I’ve picked up after faking it for so long. When I get like this, I hide. I stay in my room, only leaving when necessary. I speak in short sentences, if at all. They don’t need to see me like this. I’m not fun, I don’t speak up, I sit on the couch and zone-out the whole time. Words will go in one ear and out the other, leaving only a small trace behind. I don’t want this version of me to be all they can see.

  So here I sit with my feet in the pool at three in the morning because I can’t fall asleep. The pool is my usual choice on these nights. If anyone has a nightmare, they’ll go to the kitchen or the common room. No one comes out here. Especially not at night.

  I take steady breaths, keeping myself calm. My eyes drift shut as tears slip out and land on my pajama bottoms. I lift my hand to cover my mouth as I sniffle, not wanting to make noise. The worst part of this is that I don’t have a reason for crying. I just feel like I need to get it out.

  As I wipe my tears away, I hear movement behind me to my left and quickly turn. Years of spy training and paranoia helps in the reaction time department. My eyes widen.

  “Bruce?” Loud footsteps approach and I realize that isn’t Bruce. The large green figure steps closer, dropping onto the ground beside me, “What are you doing out?”

  “Hulk heard pretty girl cry,” He mumbles, not wanting to be loud. Y/N wonders if he’s being quiet out of courtesy or fear.

  “I’m okay, big guy. But what about you? Are you okay? Did Stark do something stupid again?” He gives a small shake of his head.

  “Y/N cry.”

  My chest tightens slightly, “You… you came out just to check on me?” Hulk hums in agreeance, looking down into the clear blue water of the pool. “That’s sweet of you.”

  After a moment of silence, Hulk glances over at me. When our eyes meet, he looks back to the pool and gently slides in, careful not to splash. Although he went slowly, Hulk is so large that the water overflows and spills over the edges of the tile. It soaks my bottom, but I don’t care; it’s just water. I give him a smile as he steps in front of me, “What are you doing?” the depth of the pool makes him slightly shorter than me, causing me to look down the tiniest bit to see his face.

  “Pretty girl still sad,” he answers simply. I huff out a laugh.

  “Why do you call me that?”

  “Hulk think Y/N pretty,” Hulk looks down, like he’s nervous.

  I roll my eyes with a soft chuckle, “Well, you need to meet more people,” he looks back up at me.

  “Puny Banner think Y/N pretty too,” my eyes widen slightly.

  “Really?” I feel my face heat up, but I try to keep calm. I don’t want to get my hopes up. So, what if he thinks I’m pretty? That doesn’t automatically mean he thinks of me as anything more than a friend.

  “Yes,” I take a moment to collect my thoughts before Hulk asks, “Why pretty Y/N so sad?”

  After taking a deep breath, I explain, “Sometimes… my mind goes blank and I- I feel kind of empty?” Knowing he’s probably confused, I elaborate, “Do you remember that shell I showed you? It was small and pink- you called it fragile.”

  His eyes light up a bit as he nods, starting to get it, “Remember how I told you that a crab used to live inside of it, like a home?” Another nod, “Well… I kind of feel like a shell without a crab. It’s empty, and it just sits there until it’s useful again. When I feel like that, it’s sometimes hard for me to feel happy.” Hulk seems to get it but doesn’t say anything. Then, suddenly, he goes underwater. I watch curiously as he resurfaces, cheeks puffed out full of water. He looks up and puckers his lips, spurting water from his mouth like a roman fountain. And for the first time in the past week, I laugh. It’s quiet, subtle, but it’s real; and it feels good. Hulk sees and smiles when he’s done. Looking at him now, in this moment, it’s even harder for me to understand how people could be afraid of him. Hulk may look big and scary, but he’s a sweetheart.

  “Y/N happy?” I couldn’t stop my smile if I wanted to.

  “I am now.”

  He looks excited, “Hulk make Y/N happy?”

  “Yes, you do,” He smiles wide and steps forward, setting his head on your lap. He’s so precious. Carefully, I slide my fingers into his sopping hair, gently massaging his scalp. His eyes fall shut as he stays where he is. I’m completely soaked now, but I couldn’t care less- the incredible Hulk himself is snuggling me like a puppy and it’s adorable.

  I don’t know how much time passes like this. Eventually, Hulk pulls away with a frown, “Puny Banner want out.” I reach out to cup his cheek, causing him to lean into my touch with a content smile.

  “That’s okay, isn’t it? You can see me again soon.” I use both my hands to pull his face closer to mine, allowing me to place a small kiss on his forehead. He nods slowly.

  “Bye-bye pretty Y/N,” And with that, he begins shrinking. I move my hands under his arms so that Bruce doesn’t drown as soon as he wakes up. When he’s back to normal, he immediately shoots up and looks around frantically.

  “Bruce- it’s okay, you’re okay! I’m right here,” he calms down and leans his arms against the edge of the pool to hold himself up.

  “Oh my- Y/N! Are you okay? Are you hurt?!” He begins looking over me for any injuries.

  “No, no, I’m okay. He didn’t hurt anyone,” once he relaxes some, he places his head in his hands. Bruce didn’t move far after transforming, so he’s still close enough for you to comfortably place your fingers back into his hair.

  “Y/N… Are you okay?”

  I sigh, “Bruce, I promise you, Hulk did not hurt me,” he tenses slightly.

  “I wasn’t talking about him…” I get the message and remove my hand from his hair.

  “I’m sorry. I was playing with Hulk’s hair before, but I shouldn’t have assumed that you’d be okay with it too,” he looks confused. “You’re two different people with two different opinions. Just because he likes something, that doesn’t mean you like it too.”

  “Actually,” Bruce looks down in his attempt to hide a blush, “I, uh… I do kinda like it. It feels… It feels nice.” I smile softly and nod, continuing the motions I was using on Hulk, getting a very similar reaction.

  Bruce opens his eyes and looks up at me, not speaking until our eyes meet and are locked for an amount of time that is probably too long for ‘just friends’.

  “Are you afraid of him?” I shake my head no, “Why not?”

  I hold back my giggles, “Because you’re both big babies.”

  His eyes widen slightly with curiosity, “What did he say that would make you think that?” The laugh escapes before I can stop it.

  “Let’s see… He came out just because he heard me crying and wanted to check on me, then he called me pretty. After all that, he spit water out of his mouth like a fountain to cheer me up,” Bruce smiles softly, but it falls as he thinks on the words.

  “Wait… What did he call you?” He sounds nervous. I was hoping he’d overlook that, but I guess I’m not that lucky.

  “Hulk kept calling me ‘pretty girl’ or 'pretty Y/N’,” suddenly feeling shy, I continue, “He’s actually really sweet when you get to know him…” My voice trails off as I worry if I said too much. I know Bruce doesn’t like talking about Hulk, especially right after switching back. However, he only seems to blush at my words.

  “Did he- uh, did he say anything else?” Bruce is looking down at his hands, fidgeting nervously like a child who is afraid he’s going to be yelled at. As if the skies finally clear on a cloudy day, I get an idea as to why he is acting this way. Against my better judgement, I speak up.

  “He said that you do too… That you think I’m pretty, I mean!” I press my lips together tightly, trying to form a seal. Maybe if my lips fuse together, it’ll finally get me to shut my mouth before I make a fool of myself rather than after. Alas, it doesn’t work, “Hulk probably only said that to make me feel better though, so don’t worry.”

  Bruce tenses up at the mention of that. I open my mouth to apologize, but he beats me to it, “No, he didn’t. I- um… I do… think that you’re pretty…” His face flushes beet red and he refuses to meet my gaze. I slowly inch my hand closer to his until they are on top of each other. Carefully, he interlocks our fingers, obviously still scared that he might hurt me. I give his hand a gentle squeeze, causing him to look up.

  “Thank you.”

  We spend the next few minutes in total silence, staring at our joined hands and appreciate how calm this moment is. No missions, no aliens, no Loki, and most importantly- no Tony. I don’t think either of us could do this with him teasing us the whole time. Bruce moves his hand and, for a second, I’m afraid he’s going to pull away. Instead, he holds both of my hands in both of his, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles lovingly.

  “Y/N, would you… Would you like to go to dinner with me?”

  I quickly- probably too quickly- nod, trying to conceal my smile. After realizing how desperate I must look, I pull myself together, “I’d love to, Bruce.”

  His eyes shine in the moonlight as he smiles wide. Keeping his hands in mine, I pull them up to my face and plant gentle kisses on his knuckles. We just stay there, blushing and grinning like idiots as we bask in the comfort that comes with not being alone. No words are spoken, but they don’t need to be. I look into his eyes and I can feel the warmth and love radiating from him. And I will do everything in my power to show Bruce that I trust him and Hulk. That I am not afraid of him and never will be.

Tony’s POV

  “Did I just see that right?” asks Steve as he stares in disbelief at what we just witnessed.

  “Do we need to get you bifocals, grandpa? I knew you were old, but I didn’t think your eyesight was that questionable yet,” I quip as I slide my phone back into my pocket.

  F.R.I.D.A.Y alerted me as soon as the code green began. I woke Steve on my way to where the big guy was, but when I saw what was happening, I held Cap back. Y/N has a special effect on Hulk, we all know it. This only proves it. Steve scoffs at my comment, but I don’t care, it’s about damn time Bruce talks to her. Y/N is good for him, she makes him happy… They both deserve to be happy, to feel loved. If they can do that for each other, who are any of us to call it dangerous.

  Steve looks back at them through the sliding door, “What do we do now?”

  Bruce looks so happy. He’s never happy after going green. We can’t see Y/N’s face from this angle, but I can only guess how she must feel right now. For being a couple of Earth’s mightiest heroes who kick ass for a living, they seem content. Peaceful even.

  “We go back to sleep.”

#bruce banner #guest writer #hulk #submission #thebookbakery #avengers #marvel #bruce banner x reader #the hulk #the hulk x reader #hulk x reader #bruce banner oneshot #bruce banner one shot #avengers x reader #marvel x reader #female reader insert #bruce banner x female!reader #hulk oneshot #the hulk oneshot #hulk one shot #the hulk one shot #oneshot #one shot #submitted works #submitted oneshot #marvel oneshot #avengers oneshot #marvel one shot #avengers one shot #female!reader

[spicycreativity]

Howl - Chapter 1

Rating: Teen

Fic Content Warnings: Blood, injury, suggestive content, alcohol use

Characters: All

Pairing: Analogical, background Moceit because apparently I can't help myself

Add'l Notes: dw if you don't know what a loup-garou is or how the lore works; all is explained in the story / Have I ever been to Louisiana? No 💕Did I write an entire story set in rural-ish Cajun Louisiana anyway because I hate myself? Yes 💕 / If you're from Louisiana and noticed any screw-ups, pls correct me so I can fix it

It also comes with a playlist! For ambience, not necessarily for the lyrics

Summary:

Two things happen to Virgil Landry on Halloween:

1) Logan Doucet, his longtime friend and slightly-less-longtime crush, asks him out

2) He becomes cursed to spend his nights as a half-man, half-wolf monster: a loup-garou

Despite his new affliction, Virgil strives for normalcy all the way up until he can't anymore and everything falls apart.

The floorboards creaked in their familiar pattern as Virgil paced over them, his feet sliding around awkwardly in his over-the-knee boots. He was supposed to meet Logan alone in an hour, an hour! His heart thumped painfully under his ribs. What did Logan want?

Virgil yanked his phone out of his pocket to re-read the message for the 85th time, ignoring a few new messages in his assorted group chats:

Logan: If it's not inconvenient, could you meet me early at the Plaza tonight? Maybe 6:30?

Virgil: yeah sure 

Virgil: everything OK?

Logan: Yes :-)

What did it mean? Was everything okay? Or was Logan just lying to make him feel better? Because if so, it wasn't working. Virgil ran his hands through his hair, careful not to smudge his makeup. It had taken him an hour and a half to perfect his vampire makeup in the mirror and he didn't want to risk messing it up.

With a sigh that turned into a groan, Virgil threw himself down on his couch. It made the walls rattle, nearly displacing a few trinkets on his crappy, rickety shelves. He heard a tell-tale scrape above his head and knew that his favorite painting had gone crooked again. God, this place was a wreck-- Just like Virgil. He made a mental note to ask Patton for help patching up the leaky roof. It was as good a time as any, as they were well out of rainy season, but it did seem a little rude. What was he even supposed to say? Hey, Patton, I know carpentry is literally what you do for a living, but could you help me for free since I'm broke and sad? Thanks, bud. Yeah, right. He sighed again and tugged at his medallion, a rusted old thing with a glass gem in the center. He had picked it up from a thrift store months earlier in anticipation of Halloween, but maybe he should have made some effort to restore it. It smelled strongly of rust and decay and felt terrible between his fingers, all oily and sticky.

So far, the only saving grace of the day was that it wasn't raining now. Virgil had spent his workday in silent anxiety, eyeing the storm clouds through the shop window and rubbing a small piece of sunstone between his thumb and forefinger. It seemed to have worked, as the clouds had dispersed a little and allowed the watery light of the autumn sun to peek through.

Virgil's phone lit up with a few more messages in his group chats: Roman having hysterics over some detail of his costume, Janus and Remus discussing how to avoid the small army of toddlers that always ran rampant at the Halloween parade. Virgil ignored them all. He was in no mood to be friendly, would probably snap at them. Logan hadn't said anything since his message to Virgil, which he had presumably sent on his lunch break. The question haunted Virgil, that great unknown lurking behind him and instilling a fear that no ghost ever could: What did Logan want?

Virgil set his phone down and leaned forward, heaving a sigh that turned into a yawn. Great. Whatever. That meant he was on the verge of hyperventilating, his breathing already irregular. Damn it, Logan knew better than to leave him hanging like this! They'd known each other for so long and he'd always been more perceptive to Virgil's needs than the others.

Especially lately… They'd been spending more time alone, and Virgil couldn't deny the sweet, warm giddiness that enveloped him every time they were alone together. First meetings were always his favorite, seeing Logan's face light up with a smile. He hadn't dared to think that Logan might feel the same way, but it was getting harder and harder to keep his fantasies on a leash. Worst-case scenarios and best-case scenarios dueled in his head: Logan kissing him, Logan telling him they couldn't be friends anymore, Logan confessing, Logan announcing that he had some incurable disease.

Virgil grabbed his phone and jumped to his feet. He couldn't do this anymore, couldn't sit here and torture himself. He would just leave now. He would rather arrive freakishly early than face another minute of this self-inflicted torment 

He double and triple checked he had his wallet and his plastic fangs, which he

was planning on putting on later. The medallion bounced against his exposed chest as he walked and he wondered briefly if it might be more trouble than it was worth. He could always swap it out for one of his pendants, maybe amethyst to calm his nerves. But it looked so good against his skin, falling perfectly in the deep V of his flowy white poet shirt. Unlike his other necklaces, it screamed vampire. And Janus would tease him if he caught Virgil wearing a subpar costume, and then Roman would join in, and Remus, and it would turn into a whole thing . He could wear the stupid medallion for one night.

 -

Virgil regretted this decision as soon as he got his moped going. Even at its 30 mph crawl, the heavy necklace bounced against his chest in a maddening rhythm. At least it was distracting. Every time he started to worry about Logan, the erratic tap-tap-tap of cold metal on his chest brought him back to Earth.

It was a long ride into town down a windy country road. He hugged the shoulder as best as he could despite the lack of traffic; Virgil's neighbors were few, but they all liked to take corners at frighteningly high speeds. The one person who did drive by honked at him and flashed their lights. Virgil's heart dropped and he nearly flipped them off before he realized that they liked his costume. It occurred to him then that he must look pretty absurd: A vampire riding a purple moped, cape fluttering on the wind.

Upon reaching the Plaza, Virgil did a few laps around downtown, smiling at the spiderwebs decorating Vaillant City Hall. Another lap revealed that empty parking spots were already becoming scarce, so Virgil pulled into one and checked his phone. Nothing from Logan. Just more hysterics from Roman, and Patton's best attempts at comfort. Virgil rolled his eyes. Maybe Roman did need some tough love. He scanned through the messages to orient himself, to make sure he didn't look dumb, and then typed out his reply.

Virgil: look, Prince Charming. 2 rolls of body glitter is more than enough. Stop freaking out

Roman: That's DOCTOR Prince Charming to you

Virgil: :*

He put his phone away, tucked his keys in his pocket, and forced himself to walk slowly toward the Plaza. He was still excruciatingly early, but maybe he could pop into a bar or grab a coffee or even swing by his work-- Oh.

There, standing by the reflecting pool with his hands in his pockets, was Logan. Virgil smiled despite his nerves and sped up. Leave it to Logan to somehow be earlier than early.

"Hey, Data," Virgil said once he was in earshot.

Logan's face lit up, and even the yellow contacts he was wearing couldn't mask the fondness in his face. "Evening, Virge," he said. His smile dropped too quickly and he kept his hands shoved in his pockets. Virgil surveyed all this with dread. Was he reading too much into it? Most definitely. Could he stop? No way.

"Everything okay?" Virgil asked, tugging at his medallion and turning his nervous gaze upon the placid waters of the reflecting pool. Great. Now he had two awesome reasons to be nervous. It was an old Vaillant legend that anyone who disturbed the waters of the pool would be cursed, and Virgil did not mess with curses. He usually took pains to avoid the Plaza, even if it meant he had to take the long way to work.

"Yes, Virgil," Logan said in a voice that was far too breathy. He cleared his throat. "As you know, we have been friends for a long time. I…" He paused, blinked. "I forgot what I was going to say."

"Jeeze, Lo," Virgil tried to tease. "You're making me nervous."

"But I--" Logan ran a hand through his hair. "Virgil. I had prepared something far more eloquent than what I am about to say, but I can't seem to remember it at the moment. Forgive me if this comes across as confusing."

"All good," Virgil said, making only a minimal effort to hide his confusion. The medallion was cold and oily under his fingertips, but he couldn't stop messing with it, tugging at it, rattling the chain. He needed some outlet for all this nervous energy.

"We've been spending more time alone together and I

thought-- I wanted--" Logan touched his face and Virgil realized a second later he had tried to push up his glasses, which he wasn't wearing. Oh, how cute. "Virgil, I would like to go steady with you."

A rush of vertigo smacked into Virgil with such force that he had to take a step back just to keep his balance. "Go steady?" he heard himself say. "Like-- Like, boyfriends?"

"If you are amenable to that," Logan said, furiously running his fingers over the piping on his uniform. "If not, I-- We can pretend this never--"

"Yes," Virgil interrupted. "Yes, yes, yes. Logan, I do want that."

"Oh," said Logan, his face breaking into a smile. "Good."

Virgil clenched his fist around the medallion wondering if it was too soon to ask for a kiss. He took a breath and felt something give with a quiet snap. The broken chain snaked along his neck, dragged down by the weight of the pendant. Virgil watched in silent agony as the necklace landed in the water of the reflecting pool with a quiet splash. "Shit."

"Allow me," said Logan, already in motion.

"No!" Virgil caught his hand and held it. "The curse." He realized what he had done and let go of Logan's hand.

"I don't believe in such things, Virgil, but if it's important to you, then I'll leave it."

"Thank you." Virgil stared down at the water and sighed through his nose. He'd already disturbed the water. Would it be better to leave the necklace or take it out? Littering seemed more disrespectful, he supposed. So he bent and grabbed the necklace before he could change his mind. "I'll, uh, de-curse-ify myself later."

Logan nodded, looking preoccupied. "Let me know if I can help. I might be able to repair the chain."

"Actually," said Virgil, stuffing the wet necklace into his pocket, "I was wondering if maybe, um…"

"Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?"

"Please do."

Virgil closed his eyes so he wouldn't get weirded out by Logan's contacts. He had been expecting a short kiss, sweet and chaste, but Logan's hand tightened in the loose fabric of Virgil's poet shirt and his teeth grazed Virgil's bottom lip. Fuck propriety, then; the Plaza was still fairly empty. Virgil raised a hand to grab a fistful of Logan's hair and ran his tongue along the edge of Logan's lip.

They were interrupted by a wolf whistle and golf claps. "I'll be damned." Crap. Why did it have to be Janus? He was never going to let Virgil live this down.

Virgil pulled away so fast it made pain shoot through his neck. He exhaled sharply and covered the area with his hand for all the good it would do, turning to face Janus with a blush blooming on his cheeks. "What are you supposed to be?" he asked, looking Janus up and down. Janus had always been unnecessarily private about things that really didn't matter. He had evaded all of Virgil's attempts to guess his costume, and now presented wearing an old-fashioned suit including top hat, gloves, and cane.

"Don't change the subject," said Janus, dismissing Virgil with a wave.

In true vampire fashion, Virgil snarled and bared his teeth, then remembered something. "Oh, shit, my fangs!" He dug in his pocket for them, leaving Janus to do… whatever he was going to do.

"Logan, I presume?" Janus asked. Virgil stopped in the process of sticking on one tooth, heart hammering again. Janus and Logan had never met, and they could both be… a bit much in their own ways.

Logan nodded. "Logan Doucet." He held out his hand for a shake.

Janus took it. "Thank God you didn't bother to paint your face, else Virgil would have more than smudged lipstick to contend with. You've got some on your mouth, by the way."

"Thank you," Logan said stiffly. He withdrew his hand and used it to wipe away the lipstick stain on his face. "Nice to meet you, Professor Moriarty."

Virgil's eyes darted back to Janus, who smiled. "When I'm not acting as the Napoleon of Crime, you can call me Janus. Janus Bellefontaine."

"Where's Remus?" Virgil interjected, looking around. "Didn't he ride with you?"

"He got waylaid by some angry mothers because his costume made their kids cry," Janus said, nonchalantly running a

fingertip over the brim of his hat. "He'll be along." To Logan, he said, "Virgil tells me you're an accountant."

"Yes," said Logan. 

"And you haven't killed yourself yet, so I assume you must like it."

Virgil busied himself sticking his fangs onto his canines so he wouldn't worry about the conversation at hand. A sideways glance at Logan revealed that he seemed to find the comment amusing, thank God . "I've always been good with numbers. People, less so."

"Never would have guessed," Janus said, and Virgil didn't have to look at him to know he was smiling that crooked, tight-lipped smile that might have been genuine or might have been mocking. Asshole. "Well, if you have any rich clients, send them my way, won't you? I sell nice suits to dumb men with low self-esteem and too much money and I'm always on the lookout for another rube to swindle."

"If the suits are any good, I'd be happy to," Logan said.

Satisfied that his fangs were in properly, Virgil's attention shifted suddenly to the cold, wet medallion in his pocket. Right. He was cursed. Despite his interest in the occult and the supernatural, Virgil didn't have much experience with curses. His friends weren't really the type to play around with magic (well, maybe Janus, maybe- maybe Roman) and he wasn't the kind of guy who made enemies. No one had ever cursed him before. How soon would this one take effect? Should he go home and come back? Should he hop into the bayou, makeup be damned? Did bayous even count as running water?

He was so caught up in his panic spiral that the sudden sensation of hands on his shoulders made him jump. "Fuck!"

To his surprise it was Roman, not Remus, who laughed from somewhere behind him. "What, are Logan and Janus boring you?"

Virgil looked up and flinched again. While Roman looked relatively normal in his glittery Doctor Frank-n-Furter costume, Remus, who was lurking just behind his brother, was a horrorshow of fur and face paint and fake blood. "Um…" He shook himself and noticed Patton standing a ways off, peering at Remus. Distracted, he went to introduce Patton to Remus and Janus only to learn that he and Roman had run into Remus on their way over and rescued him from a brigade of shouty young mothers.

"He's Macavity," Patton said in a tone like he was pronouncing the death of the family goldfish.

"The other Napoleon of Crime," Janus agreed. "And you are?"

"Patton Haydel!"

A pause. "I gathered that. " Janus gestured at Patton's costume, which he had also kept a secret. Virgil had been staring at it as well, trying to figure it out. Patton was wearing what appeared to be a headless bear costume, round glasses, and what might have been a cowboy hat, though Virgil wasn't 100% sure. "What are you?"

"You have to guess!" Patton said, extending his arms and backing up so everyone could get a good look at him.

Virgil stared at him, running his tongue over the edges of his plastic fangs. "I got nothin'."

Logan took a sideways step and tapped Virgil's hand. Virgil nodded, and Logan interlaced their fingers as casually as he might clock in for work. "He's Teddy Bear Roosevelt."

They all groaned. "Good work, Pat," Virgil said begrudgingly.

"You have a big wet spot on your crotch," Remus pronounced, pointing at Virgil.

Janus raised his eyebrows, turning to Virgil with undisguised schadenfreude, but Logan stepped in before anyone could say anything. "It's water. He dropped his necklace in the reflecting pool."

"Well," said Patton, "that's not good."

"You dropped something in the reflecting pool and didn't immediately run for the nearest source of running water?" Janus asked. He looked from Virgil to Logan, then to their intertwined fingers and grinned. "Ah. More pressing matters at hand?"

"Maybe it's not too late," Roman said, drumming his acrylic nails against his thigh. "We can still dump him in the bayou."

"There's alligators in there!" Virgil said. "Fuck that. You know my house is plastered with wards. I'm sure I can make it through one evening."

"Your funeral," said Remus, leering. "Let me know if your dick falls

off.

 -

Despite his friends' concern, Virgil had a wonderful evening. Logan stuck close the whole night through, and they even snuck a few kisses here and there like infatuated teenagers. Each one sent a lightning thrill down Virgil's spine and made him want a dozen more. His friends noticed in turns and either teased or cooed, but each reaction was encouraging.

Logan kissed him goodbye at the end of the night and he practically floated back to his moped. He was so caught up in his daydreams that he only remembered the curse when he caught sight of the nazar hanging on his kitchen wall. Cursing under his breath, Virgil went to his bookshelf and began to compile a few methods of curse-breaking. Did a shower count as running water? God help him, he was not getting in the bayou. Maybe he could combine methods.

A few moments later, Virgil had everything set up in the bathroom. He lit the last candle, tightened the herb sachet around his neck, and stepped into the shower. Okay, time to focus. He was washing himself free of the curse and wouldn't it be nice if Logan were here? Logan didn't believe in magic and his clear-headed confidence would undoubtedly make Virgil feel better, too-- Focus! Wash away the curse. Logan would probably help him if he asked, helping Virgil set up the crystals and making sure his candles stayed lit-- Virgil! The curse! Wash away the curse.

The bathroom smelled of candles, incense, and herbs. Almost like Virgil's workplace, except that Virgil was using lavender and his boss preferred nag champa.

He stepped out of the shower and inhaled deeply, letting the mixture of scents relax him and draw him toward sleep.

#sanders sides #analogical #sanders sides fanfic #spicypost #spicywrites #spicywrites howl #Spotify

[anonymous-gremlin]

Remus angst fic.

Tw's are in the tags

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Remus remembers the good old days

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Lazy Days are good for memories

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It had been a lazy day for Remus. Sprawled out over the sofa in his dark green pjyamas listening to his favourite musicals. Although it was more a lazy week or rather month, than a day.

He didn't do much these days. Thomas had decided to ignore him and everything he does so Remus decided to stop trying. More being bored out of his mind for days on end.

Before it happenend, everything had been better. The split had ruined everything. Not the split between him and Roman although that ruined many things, but the split between dark and light was way worse.

Slowly he stood up and walked to the wall. Among the bloodsplatters and weird dark stuff from Remus' last art project were picture frames. Each made with care and each photo filling the frames was important.

Two twins, red and green side by side. Smiling and just having fun. How long was it ago? Remus couldn't exactly remember. He just wanted to go back how it was before.

"Come one, Roman, we got to defeat the dragon witch!"

"I'm coming, dear brother of mine!"

"Logan and Janus are the ones captured and we have to save them!"

"How dare she take the nerd and the snake! We shall save our braincells!"

Laughing, they made their way across the imagination, bickering playfully the entire way.

They were so close back then. Playing pretend together. Sometimes even Janus and Logan would join them. They were ofen the damsels in distress. He remembered the time that the twins had arrived at the dragon witch's castle only to find the two braincells having a cup of tea with her and debating about something to with scales.

DW had laughed and pretended to attack the two creative sides so the pretend could continue. Or that one time, the two braincells had decided to sneak in a twist of their own and after they got saved, had attacked the prince and the duke as plottwist villians. Remus had been surprised. The two usually stoic calm sides playing villians? It was amazing.

But all of that changed.

"That was amazing, Janus, I can't believe you did that! It was so cool! You're an amazing villian!"

"Thank you, Roman, if I may say so, you are an horrible hero"

"Princey, kiddo, can you help me with something?"

"I'm coming, Padre!"

The next time they had seen him, he was packing his things to go live in another corner of the mindscape saying something about getting "accepted". Why couldn't he stay living with them in the gray? What did accepted mean? Remus still didn't understand and cried himself to sleep at night his twin left. They only saw him once after that, but something was different.

Gone were the confident smile and eyes that sparkled when he talked in place were smiles that seemed just a bit off. Not prideful anymore. Just off. Like when all the furniture in the room is moved by two inches.

He wore a long sleeved prince oufit now instead of the t-shirt with a red sjerp. To be honest, Remus had been a bit jealous of it. So he copied it with his own little twist. He was sure Roman wouldn't mind.

Next to get "accepted" with Roman and Patton was Logan. Remus had been close with the logical side. Not as close as with Roman ofcourse, but still close. They would talk for hours, bouncing gruesome facts back and forth.

"Hey Lolo! How do you get rid of a dead body?! I have one!"

"How did you ge- nevermind, did you know pigs eat bones when hungry enough?"

"They do?! Could humans do that to! I mean..they can bite of a finger with the same amount of force like biting into a carrot, so they would be able to actually eat bones, right?"

"Maybe, wanna do an experiment on it?!"

"Abso-fucking-lutely!"

Remus didn't actually see him leave but when he later spoke to him, he too was different.

Way too big labcoat was replaced with longsleeved neat shirts and a tie. New glasses with behind them no long curious eyes ready to explore the world. No more bright smiles but an apathetic expression.

A few years went by and everything was good for a while. Ofcourse, the others didn't talk to them anymore and started calling themselves the light sides and them the dark sides. Remus didn't understand why they did that but accepted it after a while.

They got repressed. A new side formed. Anxiety. They were very scared of everthing and Remus and Deciet had to do much to earn the little guy's trust.

"Come on, spiderman, just eat something"

"But what if you posioned it or something?!"

"It's absolutely poisend"

"See, he even admits it!"

"Double D speaks in lies, it takes some getting used to"

It was funny for a while seeing Janus and Virgil interact while the anxious side didn't understand the upside down speech, like Remus called it to annoy Janus. But Virgil eventually became closer to them. Not for long though.

"What do you mean you did not went out to meet the light sides?!"

"I just wanted to meet them, it isn't a big deal, they are nice."

"Virgil, please do do it again. I don't want you to get hurt"

"Don't overreact like that, Dee, you're starting to sound like me"

He started to spend more time with them, often coming home late or spending entire nights with them. Sometimes he just went for an hour sometimes for days. Remus would never forget how their spider son changed during those days.

It was subtle and Janus didn't seem to notice it or at least he didn't act like he saw it. But the change was there. How he would sit up straighter and slouch less, how he would speak his mind less, how he would close himself off from the two of them.

And Remus would never forget that dark bruise he saw under Virgil's hoodie one time. He didn't knew who did it but it was there.

Then one day, Virgil just didn't come home. The last thing he told them that he was accepted and went to go live with the light sides. All the wgile smiling brightly like he didn't have any guilt whatsoever. Leaving Remus to console a crying Janus who didn't come out of his room for a month.

Why couldn't they go back to when they were kids? When Roman would still be confident, when Logan would still laugh, when Janus wouldn't cry himself to sleep and when Remus wouldn't be repressed.

They all changed. All except one.

Morality.

He had never changed, remaining that smile full, childish dad friend that was a bit too very pushy.

The one who convinced Logan and Roman to go live somewhere else. Who started the light sides. The one got close to Virgil. The one who started it all.

Remus suddenly understood. It had been Patton all along! The stupid moral side!

All the pieces fell into place. Why they all wore long sleeves, why Roman seemed to stop making dramatic gestures, why Logan flinced anyone touched him, why they suddenly became a family, excluding Remus and Janus, Virgil's bruise. It was Patton all along.

He had tricked them to being his famILY and moving, accepting them into the light sides and then started his abuse. Only with Virgil, he had done first the abuse, then the accepting.

He felt a small bit of wetness going across his fists. Looking up, he saw that he had punched a wall, blood dripping from his fist.

A picture frame shattered, hitting the ground. The one with the whole group on it. Six kid sides laughing at the camera. The broken pieces were like Remus' heart. Completely broken.

Hearing the door open behind him he turned around, seeing the figure running towards him brightly smiling.

"Remus! I didn't get accepted!"

#sanders sides #remus angst #janus angst #virgil angst #roman angst #logan angst #unsympathetic patton #tw implied abuse #tw abuse #tss #tw bruises #tw punching #tw blood #i was bored so i wrote this

[whyiask]

Just a Stupid Dare (ch.11)

Masterpost Ao3 Link tw/cw: virgil has some anxiety. I think that's it. Notes: one word to describe Virgil right now is Gay. Roman thinking some deep thoughts. enjoy. you have a few chapters of fluff to prepare yourself for the worst, dw :D

This...was nice. This rhythm they had fallen into, eating lunch together, meeting sometime in the evening to just hang out. It was Friday, and Virgil didn't know how time had flown by so quickly. It wasn't fair. He wasn't ready yet.

Come Monday, Janus would break apart everything they'd become. Come Monday, it would mean nothing.

It didn't bother him in the slightest. Not one bit.

Now, now, he said to himself, no need to lie. Wouldn't want to be like Janus, now would we?

Virgil always associated Janus with lies in his mind. Just like Roman was to theater as Remus was to a spiked metal baseball bat; and Logan was to science as Janus was to lies. But truly, everybody lies. The only difference is whether you're lying or you're lying to yourself. Both are equally as addicting. Both are equally as spiraling and both would lead you down a path of hurt. Virgil didn't know which kind he hated more.

Thinking about all the lies in his life always sent Virgil spiraling, too. And there he was, on a bench with Roman, Friday night. Lying to himself, lying to his friend, and breaking down silently.

"Hey," Roman said softly, nudging his shoulder. "You good?"

"I'm fine."

Roman sent Virgil his most scolding look.

"I will be fine," Virgil amended.

Roman nodded, absently taking Virgil's hand and squeezing it. It was warm and flush against Virgil's cold skin.

"Why is your skin freezing?" Roman nearly yelped.

"You know what they say," Virgil replied, flushing a bit. "Your body heat reflects your soul."

"Oh please," Roman rolled his eyes fondly. "You always pretend to be so dark and brooding. We all know it's an act."

Roman's face was closer now. Why was he so close? The sunset lit up his features with an ethereal glow that only Roman could possibly achieve.

Focus, Virgil.

Virgil tuned back into what Roman was saying.

"-feels stereotypical. If this were a movie, I reckon we'd kiss right here on this bench."

Virgil flushed harder, stuttering out an awkward reply, before finally settling on, "oh?"

Roman took that as an invite to expand on the idea.

"And!" He cried out, making a grand gesture. "There'd be a sappy speech right about now. Maybe I'd profess my undying love for you. Maybe you'd do the same. And in this same spot, only a few months later, is where we would break up. We'd get into an argument, and I'd dramatically storm away. The sky would start to rain."

The corners of Virgil's lips quirked upwards. Roman's brightness was so infectious, Virgil decided to ignore the fact that he was basically planning out a whole ass fanfic for them and their non-existent relationship.

"But maybe someday, we'd make it up to each other. And...maybe someday, we'll be right back here again, and everything will be so much more confusing than it is now. Maybe we'll be in this same position again, and everything will be so familiar and... nothing and everything will be the same. One can only dream of a story like that. Fairytales don't come true, but maybe happy endings can."

Virgil nodded, not much he could say in response, and Roman lowered his arms slowly.

"That's all I really want, I think. A happy ending."

Virgil tilted his head to the side. "A happy ending is still a lot to wish for."

"I'm not gonna wish. I'm going to make it happen. It's not luck, it's action."

Virgil snorted softly. "Now you just sound like a motivational poster."

Roman looked at him, a dead serious look painted across his face. "If that's what it takes," he said, before breaking character and falling into peals of laughter.

Virgil's smile stretched. "If a happy ending is too much to ask for, then I'd settle for a content one. Or a hopeful one," he said, after a moment of contemplation.

"Those are two very different things," Roman frowned slightly.

"I know."

"I think I could settle for a hopeful ending to my story."

"Do you think of all things as cinematic or just another page in a book?" Virgil asked, genuinely curious.

Roman hesitated for a moment. “I like to think of life as one big storybook. And I know-” he rushed on, “-that it’s not, and it never will be. I know things don’t always work out. But it gives me hope, y’know? That even if the whole world is against me, things will still work out okay in the end. That I’ll be satisfied when the day is done. I think that’s what I’m afraid of, to be transparent. I’m scared that one day I’ll look behind me, and everything that used to be there will be gone, and I will die without ever leaving my mark.”

He looked weary, an expression Virgil had never seen on Roman’s face before.

“I like believing in the fantastical because in a story, a movie, a musical, everyone plays a part. They say ‘there are no small roles’ in theater, and it’s true. Everyone is there for a reason. I don’t want to live life without ever finding mine.”

Virgil hummed in agreement, and sat back, letting his head rest on Roman’s shoulder. Virgil didn’t know what was going to happen in the future, and the idea of time passing always gave him chills, but whatever happened, Virgil knew he would remember this moment for the rest of his life.

If life is a story, Virgil thought, then this is by far the best chapter.

.

---

.

Virgil was starting to regret everything. It had been an accident when he hit send on the text inviting Roman over for the weekend. Maybe he had typed it, but he wasn't actually going to send it, for crying out loud.

Too late now, he supposed.

Too late when Roman was already standing outside his door with a duffel bag, familiar coat, familiar red glasses, familiar coiffed hair. Familiar smile, familiar bright sparkling eyes.

...too late for any takebacks now.

"Fancy seeing you here, stranger," Roman joked, standing awkwardly for a minute before Virgil startled out of his anxiety-induced trance and gestured him inside.

“Welcome, welcome, to my humble abode, princey,” Virgil said, taking Roman’s jacket almost by instinct and hanging it on the coatrack. His father was out of town for the weekend, so they wouldn’t need to worry about that, which gave Virgil some small sense of comfort.

Roman slid out of his shoes, placing them by the door and heading up the stairs to Virgil’s room.

Virgil flittered about, wringing his hands together.

“I don’t have- ah, an inflatable bed or anything, so you can sleep on the couch downstairs if that’s okay?” Virgil said quickly. “If not, that’s fine too, we can figure something out- or, unless you brought an inflatable mattress? No, that’s weird, nevermind, you probably didn’t-”

“Hey,” Roman cut off Virgil’s ranting with a fond smile. “It’s okay, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Maybe it was something about the hysteria of the moment, or the adrenaline running through Virgil’s veins, but Roman’s words seemed to break through his walls, clear as a bell and easy to focus on. Virgil clung to Roman’s voice like a lifeline.

He breathed. And again. This was fine, it was just Roman. Somehow the thought simultaneously soothed his nerves and scared him more.

It was just Roman, funny, charming, Roman. Roman who made him feel real compared to the Dark Sides. Roman who could light up his world with one glance.

Roman, his platonic friend who he loved platonically, as a friend. As friends do.

Ah.

He would be fine, because this was just his friend. Nothing more. And they were going to have a fun time. As friends do.

Because they were friends. Platonic friends. He was just filled with so much platonic love for Roman.

Mhm. Yep.

For some reason, he was beginning to question it.

#sanders sides #roman sanders #virgil sanders #ts roman #ts virgil #eventual prinxiety #prinxiety #slowburn #multi chapter fic #high school au #sanders sides au #sanders sides high school au #ask to be on the taglist #chapter 11 #just a stupid dare

[shortprince-cos]

Sanders Sides Masterlist

The updated one! Cause i didn't want to fix the old one!

These are most of my writings from over my Tumblr history! Please enjoy, and remember to read the warnings!

---

Oneshots:

Domestic Remile- Exactly what is sounds like! Just a quick fluff request!

Lost- Angst. Death. More angst. Why would you read this. Why did I write this. Ah yes. Because Angst.

Comforting Moceit- Patton is sad, and Janus helps.

Insecure Intrulogical- Logan thinks he isn't needed, and Remus thinks that's stupid.

Parental Moxiety- Roman has a nightmare, but his adorable dads are there to help!

Insecure Intruality- Patton doesn't think Remus loves him, once again, Remus thinks this is stupid.

Angst Baking Moceit- Patton sad-bakes and Janus decides to not let the house burn down

King's Prank- Roman and Remus team up to prank Virgil, but Roman's feelings get in the way.

Movie Night- Remus decides to cheer Patton up via movie night.

When You Fall, You Get Back Up- Patton finds himself on the forest floor, and he can't get up. Luckily, he finds someone who can help him.

Battle Scars- Virgil decides to ask his Dad about the scars on his arms, which he had been theorizing about for some time, and Virgil doesn't know if he'll like the answer or not.

Two- Patton receives an anonymous love letter from someone called "Two". Panic ensues.

Patton Angst Fic Because I Can't Stop- Patton decides to run...a little experiment.

Some Help Required- Patton needs some help on his way to recovery, and luckily Virgil is always there.

What I Want To Be- When Trevor ruins the musical, there's only one himbo who can save the show.

Virgil's Guide To Being A Matchmaker- Virgil is tired of his friends' mutual pining, so he decides to take matters into his own hands.

Snakey It's Cold Outside- It's Christmas, which means it's present time! But did Logan get his boyfriend the right gift?

Presents or Pranks- Janus assumes his "secret admirer" is a prankster, but a familiar face proves him wrong.

Random Logince Hurt/Comfort- Exactly what it sounds like. Its rlly short dw.

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Chaptered Fics:

Don't Take My Sunshine Away (Part 1) (Part 2)- When Patton leaves Janus all alone, Janus decides to keep his secret from everyone else. But how long until the others realize that Patton is actually a dark side?

The Woes Of An Emo- Virgil has a crush on his Internet friend, but of course, Virgil isn't the most lucky guy. His crush ("Princey") has a boyfriend, and to top that, Roman King (the most popular theater kid in school) asks him out. How does Virgil get out of this odd predicament? Even he doesn't know.

The Truths Of Highschool- Patton and Janus hated each other, but when getting trapped in a closet reveals several secret fears, they decide to attempt to be civil to each other. Until "civil" turns "flirtatious".

---

Ty for reading! If you liked these and want to see more, please don't hesitate to ask to be on my taglist!

#sanders sides #thomas sanders #masterlist #ts logan #ts roman #ts patton #ts virgil #ts janus #ts remus #sanders sides fic #sanders sides fanfic #sanders sides fanfiction #kawaiikat54 fic #logan sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders

[hottestthingalive]

If the fake fic titles are still open: id like to suggest “its too quiet” as a fic title (if they arent open feel free to delete this)

ooooohhhhh this is gonna be fun

-It’s quiet when Logan wakes up.

-Far too quiet, he thinks, because he lives in a castle, and there’s always some noise by the time he wakes up, even if it’s just the birds or the wind or the creaking of an old building in the winter. 

-He cannot hear any of these things. 

-Logan is the advisor to royalty. He did not get this job by having bad instincts, and so he sits up and gets dressed immediately. 

-The castle is empty, he thinks at first, because it’s almost past noon (and why oh why did he sleep in so late?) and no one is there. The throne room, the kitchens, the gardens, the library, even the town outside -- not a single person seems to be there but himself. 

-And then he checks the rooms, and he understands. 

-They’re asleep. Everyone in the castle (and he can guess the town outside, too, and possibly the whole land) is fast asleep, and no matter what he does, he cannot wake them. He does his best, desperately tries to wake King Thomas, but he fails. 

-He fails, and it is so, so quiet. 

-And then there is noise. 

-“Get away from our father, witch!” yells a familiar voice, though one he has never heard quite so desperate, and the twin princes crash into him, dragging him to the floor, knocking his head against the tiles as they stand over him with swords they must have pilfered from the guards and helmets and shields that are too large for them. 

-“Roman? Remus?” he says, because he cannot believe they are awake, and the five-year old crown princes’ eyes widen in recognition. 

-“Lolo?” Remus says first, and tears up, and he drops his sword to fall into Logan’s arms, already sobbing. “What’s happening? Why is everyone asleep?” Roman joins the hug quickly, and Logan sits up holding them both, and does not care that his tunic is soaked with their tears because he is so glad to see them. 

-“I don’t know,” he admits. 

-They leave the castle, eventually. Though the food does not rot and everything still works, they are all getting sad and scared and angry staying in this empty palace, and besides, Logan says they must look for a cure for whatever this is. Once they have waited two weeks, and know the sleepers do not need food or water or cleaning (once they have waited two weeks, and have been alone with just each other for so long, the quiet creeping into their bones and hearts and souls) they leave the castle.

-Everywhere has been affected, Logan starts to think. Nothing rots, nothing decays, but every living thing they see in their travels is fast asleep. They take food with them, and when they run out they borrow it from the more affluent homes they pass. Roman and Remus change from their princely attire to clothes better for traveling, and though Logan does his best to seem respectable at all times, he does as well, too. The twins grow out their hair, and he teaches them to braid it, keeping his own tied up as best he can. 

-It is months before they meet Virgil and Patton and Janus, before Logan wanders into a pub when the princes are fast asleep to try and get a drink, Virgil popping up from behind the bar with wide eyes, a confused expression, and a sleeping baby in his arms. Patton is a toddler, who calls Virgil “Ver!” and Janus is so young, barely old enough to eat foods other than milk. Logan does not question the scales that cross one side of Janus’ face, nor Patton’s green-tinged skin and webbed fingers, or Virgil’s sharp teeth and purple and green eyes, but his princes do, incessantly. Virgil does not seem to mind. 

-“Are Janus and Patton our new brothers?” Roman asks one day, whispering it to Logan as he and Patton play “Patton-cake” (A name Logan despises, for the record) and Virgil rocks Janus to sleep, Remus tracing the scales on the baby’s left side with careful curiosity. 

-Logan exchanges looks with Virgil (Virgil who has begun to sit closer to him when the children are asleep, who exchanges stories and points out stars and is a shoulder for Logan to cry on, who he thinks is quite pretty and maybe, just maybe, could be something a tad different from a friend to him) and smiles, soft and sad. “They might as well be,” he says, and the young prince just grins, and takes Patton’s chubby hands in his own, and says “You hear that, Pat? We’re brothers, now!”

-Patton giggles, and says “Ro!” and “Re!” and “Lo!” and “Ver!” and “Ja!” and then “Mily!” 

-Virgil looks over, still holding Janus, and frowns. “What’s ‘Mily’?” he asks, stepping closer. 

-Logan might have guessed that it had been Patton’s family, before, but Virgil had told him one night, in a hushed whisper, that Patton had never met his parents, Virgil’s brother and his partners, that they had died when he was a baby and Virgil had taken him in. Janus was a more recent addition to their little band, a changeling left to die in the forest before Virgil had rescued him. 

-“Family,” Remus says, in the way of his that almost seems unnatural, how he and his brother always seem to know what one is thinking, and perhaps they do. (This correlates to Logan’s theory -- that they remain awake because of magic in their blood. Virgil has confessed that he is a witch, a healer, primarily, that his brother had had the gift too and had thus given magical blood to Patton. Then there is Janus’ changeling nature, and Logan’s own magical descent from a human father and faerie mother. No one knows where the twins came from, just that the king and his partner had adopted them, and they could very well have power running through their veins, enough to know a toddler’s thoughts, or when someone is not looking so they can steal cookies from the kitchen, or to tease Logan about his ‘crush’ on Virgil.)

-“Family?” Logan says, and Patton repeats it; “Mily!” 

-They find a way to break the curse, eventually, after three years, after they find the Dragon Witch and she warns them of a sorcerer who had plunged the world into an endless sleep. They have been living in a cottage built by Logan and Virgil and Janus’ budding telekinesis for years, now, the princes nine and strong and fast and brave, Patton six and an unusually fast swimmer and so, so kind, Janus nearly four and in awe of his brothers, toddling along after them at any opportunity. Virgil insists that they need to find this sorcerer, break the curse, when the children have been put to bed and he and Logan and the Dragon Witch sit at the kitchen table. The Dragon Witch (DW, as she insists they call her, refusing to give her real name, wary of Logan and Janus and their fey descent) says it is too dangerous, alone, and he reminds her they are three, seven with the children too. Logan sides with DW, though he sees Virgil’s point, and eventually he is swayed. 

-Logan has long since fallen in love with Virgil, though he has not told him. He hopes Virgil knows that the long hours sitting on the bench under the willow tree outside their cottage and the mornings of cooking together and sleepy conversations and the nights spent in the same bed after the nightmares from being alone became too much for them both mean more to him than anything else in the world, save for the children they raise together. Sometimes, he thinks his feelings might be returned, and those are the days he feels like he might be glowing from the inside out. 

-And when the sorcerer aims a spell at Virgil, says “If you are so lonely without the human-kind, you may sleep with them!” Logan jumps in the way, finds himself staggering and falling backwards into Virgil’s arms, sees horrified glowing purple and green eyes just before his eyes close. “I love you,” he whispers, and then he drifts away. 

-And then he wakes up, and Virgil is clutching his face in his hands, eyes wide with shock, tears wet against his cheeks, and he says “Logan Logan Logan!” like it is a prayer and pulls him into a hug.

-“What happened?” he asks, and Virgil turns a furious shade of red, and DW laughs and laughs. “True love’s kiss!” Patton exclaims, eyes wide and shining with glee, and Logan finds himself blushing too. 

-As in every fairy tale, true love’s kiss does indeed break the spell. The king is shocked, to see his sons so grown, but he is also more than happy to accept his new ones. “I do not want to make it seem like you are not their parents, as well,” Thomas tells Logan and Virgil, “for you are, and it would be selfish of me to think otherwise. Thank you, for saving me, and for caring for my sons.” He and Logan are rather good friends, after that, and when Logan is made a lord (and a rather powerful one, at that) it is only surprising to him. 

-Virgil lives in the palace with them, and Logan finds himself flirting and holding hands and blushing far too often. They kiss again a few months later. They are married when Roman and Remus are eleven, Patton nine, and Janus five, and the king himself performs the ceremony. Patton scatters flower petals when they walk up the aisle hand in hand, Roman and Remus ties the long black and purple and blue ribbons around their wrists, binding them together, and Janus presents them with the knives they had given each other, as tradition dictates, to put in marriage sheaths at their sides. The Dragon Witch (who has long since told them her name, by now) makes the sky explode in color for them, and watches the children while Virgil and Logan dance together. 

-Logan finds his family in the quiet, and yet he loves them for the noise they bring into his life. And in the end, he would not have had it any other way, even for all the hardship, for he cannot imagine a world without them. 

I really do have a brand, and it is Analogical™. But I loved loved loved writing this piece, and I might expand on it in the future for funsies because sometimes family is a half-fey advisor to the king, a witch/healer, two slightly magical princes, a small frog child and the witch’s nephew, a tiny baby changeling, the king and his partner, and a dragon witch pretending to be mean who’s really just a big softie. 

Send me a fake fic title and I’ll tell you what I’d write for it!

#asks #analogical #romantic analogical #familial drlamp #creativitwins #ts virgil #ts logan #ts patton #ts janus #ts roman #ts remus #ts thomas #ts dragon witch #cinder writes #anon #cinder's prompts #cinder's prompt fills #virgil sanders #logan sanders