#unsympathetic dragon witch

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

Remus: Dragon Witch! Free Deceit or face my wrath!

Dragon Witch: Oh, you mean this puny little snake? *throws Remus a bloody bag*

Roman: Remus...

Remus, softly: She killed him.

Roman, trying to hold him back: Remus? Remus!

Remus, fighting to attack her: SHE KILLED HIM!

#sanders sides #sympathetic deceit #unsympathetic dragon witch #remus sanders #dragon witch #roman sanders #creativitwins #incorrect sanders sides quotes #incorrect quotes #source: my brain #aka my missing noon post #tw blood mention #tw death mention #tw caps

[tsxsides-hotel]

76: You need to wake up because I can't do this without you. Ship: Thomceit(Character!Thomas x Deceit) Thomas saying it to Deceit.

Wake Up

Couple: Thomceit (Deceit x Character!Thomas)

Summary: After an encounter with the Dragon Witch, Thomas is just hoping Deceit isn't gonna leave him.

Warnings: Stabbing (Mentioned), Knife (Mentioned), and an Unsympathetic!Dragon Witch (Maybe?)

Word Count: 1,113

Note: I'm so sorry it took so long, Online School is just a mess to deal with. I hope you and everyone else enjoy this. I will try to update more often, let me know which TSxSide ships you want to see more of.

+×+

"Deceit!"

Thomas saw Deceit fall to the ground from a terrible stab wound to the chest. "Really, Deception? You're gonna take a fall from a knife? I didn't even use one of my spells!" The Dragon Witch berated with a big smirk on her face. Deceit didn't respond as he merely laid on the ground and Thomas struggled to stand on his two feet. The Dragon Witch walked toward Deceit and poked his unresponsive body with her staff. "Please! Don't hurt him!" Thomas yelled out as he tried to crawl toward his Side.

The Dragon Witch quickly looked at Thomas, she noticed the desperation and fear in his eyes as she continued to poke at Deceit's body. "Please! I beg of you, don't hurt him anymore." Thomas continued to yell as tears started to appear in his eyes. The Dragon Witch bit her lip as she thought of what to do before she let out a huge sigh and looked at Thomas. "Fine, go to your beloved one. This is a waste of my time, anyway." She responded before turning into her dragon form and flying away. "Thank you…" Thomas mumbled as he continued to crawl over to his Side.

Thomas finally made it to Deceit as he rolled over on his back and sat up. "Deceit? Love? Are you okay?" Thomas asked as he gently shook Deceit. No response. "Deceit? Please, wake up. I don't want to believe that you're dead. Please…" Thomas spoke as he continued to shake Deceit. Still no response. The tears in Thomas's eyes started to flow down his face, so many regrets filled his head, panic started to settle down on him, and his heart kept pounding inside his chest.

He should have listened to Deceit when he said it might be dangerous to visit the Dark Side of the Imagination. He should have listened to Deceit's warning of the Dragon Witch. How could he be so stupid? Now, here he was. The Dragon Witch attacked them, she damaged Thomas's legs and stabbed Deceit. What is he even supposed to do now? The only way out of the Imagination is by the portal.

Thomas couldn't stop crying knowing this was all his fault. He slowly intertwined his fingers with Deceit's as he held his hand close to him. "Deceit, please, wake up," Thomas spoke, his voice shaking. "Deceit, you need to wake up because I can't do this without you. I can't live my life knowing I caused your death. I can't live without your love at all. Please, don't leave me, Deceit." Thomas continued as he let go of Deceit's hand to cry even more. Thomas wanted his Deceit back, he wanted for Deceit to hug, kiss, and cuddle him.

As Thomas continued to cry, Deceit blinked his eyes twice before his vision wasn't blurry anymore. He looked around at his surroundings as his hearing was starting to get less fuzzy to hear. He noticed someone crying and realized that was Thomas but, why? Why was Thomas crying? Was Thomas covered in bruises? Actually, did his stab wound finally heal? Deceit slowly got up using his arms before he finally sat up in front of Thomas.

"Thomas?"

Thomas screamed before he hit Deceit in the chest, said Side fell back onto the ground in pain. "Deceit!" Thomas exclaimed before he immediately hugged Deceit tightly. "What was that for?" Deceit yelled, not understanding the situation. "Hey! Don't yell at me, I thought you were dead!" Thomas exclaimed as he wiped away his tears. "Dead?" Deceit questioned and Thomas nodded.

"Deceit, I'm sorry. I should have listened to your warnings about the Kingdom of Darkness and the Dragon Witch. She attacked us and stabbed you, I thought she killed you and I was so scared. I didn't want to be left alone and I felt so guilty knowing I would be responsible for your death. I don't want you to die because of my stupid and ignorant mistake!" Thomas explained, tears once again flowing down his face. "Oh, my little angel…" Deceit mumbled as he wiped away his boyfriend's tears. "It's okay, everything is okay, I promise." Deceit spoke as he kissed Thomas on the forehead. "But...how did you survive a stab wound?" Thomas questioned, wiping the last of his tears away. Deceit sighed before he cleared his throat and held Thomas's hand.

"I'm sorry for not telling you this sooner, I probably should have to be fair with you. Sides are extremely different compared to humans, I guess you can say different species? In order for a Side to die from a wound like that, they would need to be hit in their badge or, as you call it, their logo. Other than that, we heal ourselves from wounds like that." Deceit explained as he shrugged his shoulders afterward. Thomas just sat there in awe which made Deceit chuckle at his boyfriend's curiosity. "I am dating the coolest man alive on this planet!" Thomas exclaimed. To Deceit, it looked as if Thomas had stars in his eyes after hearing, once again, how incredible Sides are. Deceit slowly got up which made Thomas nervous again knowing his legs were damaged.

"Hey, you okay? Are you tired or something?" Deceit asked, concerned. "Um, remember how I said the Dragon Witch attacked us?" Thomas questioned as he chuckled awkwardly. Deceit nodded, confused by his boyfriend's tone of voice. "Yeah, well, she, uh, damaged my legs and I can't stand up meaning I can't walk at the moment," Thomas explained quickly, blushing furiously. "So what? You want me to give you a piggyback ride?" Deceit questioned. "Please?" Thomas answered as Deceit sighed.

"Alright, hop on." Deceit spoke, a blush appearing on his face. Thomas smiled as he got on Deceit's back, Deceit positioned himself and Thomas well before he started his walk back to the portal. "Man, this definitely is annoying to deal with. You're so heavy." Deceit remarked as he held onto Thomas tightly. "I'm sorry…" Thomas mumbled, not being able to tell Deceit's lie. "Hey, uh, wanna like...watch a movie or something?" Deceit asked, trying to make up for the misunderstanding.

Thomas gasped before he smiled and nodded quickly to accept the offer. "Oh Deceit, you're the best caring boyfriend ever! I love you so much!" Thomas exclaimed happily. "Oh, uh, same, I love you a lot too." Deceit replied, blushing. "Please, don't ever leave me," Thomas mumbled. "I won't, love." Deceit spoke, being able to hear Thomas clearly. "The truth?" Thomas asked, surprised at Deceit catching that.

"I'll do you one better, a promise." Deceit responded with a smile which made Thomas feel reassured and happy.

#thomceit #tsxsides #character!thomas #deceit sanders #stabbing mention #knife mention #unsympathetic dragon witch #requests completed

[i-am-bella-donna]

Here’s to the Heartache Chapter 3: Lower Than Bugs

Dukeceit Week Day 3: Snakes/Bugs

AO3 | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Story Summary:

What if I told you life was built to break? What if I warned you you can’t outrun your fate? Would you believe with time comes grace? In perfect light, in perfect place. Every dream was mine to lose, and that’s what it took to lead me to you.

Janus and Remus were alone…but at least they had each other.

So here’s to the heartache….

Chapter Summary:

The trial comes and goes. Everything falls apart.

Pairings: Romantic Dukeceit

Word Count: 3,300

CONTENT WARNINGS: ARGUING

A/N: Chapter Theme Song: If It’s War You Want by Fire Follows

I edited Chapter 2 and highly recommend re-reading it!

~~~

“He has a prior engagement-related engagement that day.”

Remus conjured a knife and hurled it into the wall with a frustrated shriek. Janus groaned loudly and let his head fall into his hands.

“This—” Remus fumed, throwing his arms up. “This is the best opportunity that Thomas has had in—in forever, and Patton is gonna ruin it because of that giant stick up his ass!” He slammed his fists into the couch, sparks flying from where his skin made contact with the fabric.

Janus shook his head, standing up and schooling his expression into one of fierce determination. “No,” he hissed lowly. “Not on my watch. Not this time.”

Remus lifted an eyebrow at his boyfriend’s behavior. “What are you going to do?”

Letting out an uncharacteristically cold chuckle, Janus’s eyes glittered as his form began to shift, yellow morphing into navy. When he spoke, his voice was not his own. “I’m taking him to court.”

And with that, he sank out.

A moment later, a new voice arose from the television speakers. “Speaking for someone is a disagreeable practice, Patton,” said Logan.

Or rather—someone who only looked like him.

Remus grinned wickedly as his boyfriend began to work his magic. This was going to be hilarious.

~~~

This was a disaster, and that was coming from Remus of all Sides.

He could not help but wince as his boyfriend made yet another desperate analogy; another painful plea for the Light Sides to understand.

“Life…is like a piñata.”

“Colorful and full of stuff that makes you happy?”

“…Sure.”

Everything was falling apart—Patton was avoiding a moral crisis, Virgil was being an absolute bitch, and Janus was inches away from a breakdown!

And Roman….

Remus growled, his fingers tightening around the handle of his morning star. Next time he saw his brother, they would be having words.

Very harsh—and very uncensored—words.

Why was everything breaking? Roman had betrayed them without so much as a second thought. Had chosen Patton over Janus and Remus—and Thomas—in a heartbeat. Maybe he had not meant it?

“No!” Janus screeched, causing Remus to jump.

…Or maybe he had.

“I’m trying to teach you a lesson, but it’s literally impossible!”

Remus straightened at the words, his eyes widening in concern. It was rare for Janus to lose his composure—Remus had not even seen it happen since….

He narrowed his eyes at the purple-clad emo.

That—fucking—bastard.

His grip on the morning star grew even tighter, his knuckles growing white from the pressure. Yet another person added to his Death List.

Nevertheless, that was something he could focus on later. For now, Janus needed his attention. And speak of the devil….

“I’m not going anywhere,” Janus said as he sank out. Remus felt a pang in his heart. He was able to read Janus like a book—it was easy to tell when his smile was false and brittle; when his voice was barely capable of masking his pain. All right—his first item of business was comforting Janus. Murderous threats could wait.

But as the minutes passed, Janus never showed up.

Remus frowned. If Janus did not sink out to the Dark Mindscape…then where did he go?

~~~

Janus clenched his hands into tight fists, his nails digging into his palms, even through his gloves.

After everything—all the work Thomas had done; all the weeks spent planning—their effort was flushed down the drain.

Courtesy of Roman.

Hence why he was currently waiting in Roman’s room, prepared to give his best friend a piece of his mind.

Janus was not hurt by his actions—not in the slightest. He was not bothered by Roman turning on him. By Roman abruptly changing his tune and acting as though Patton was correct; as though Janus was the real villain.

Janus was angry—only angry—and nothing more.

He swiped at his eyes.

Suddenly, he was distracted by a figure rising up into the room.

Showtime.

“What the absolute fuck is wrong with you?!” Janus choked out. He meant to shout the words, but much to his mortification, they came out as a dangerous whisper.

Roman glanced up, clearly not expecting to see him. A million emotions flashed across his face in a quick succession—surprise, anger, fear, pain, and sadness—all intense enough to almost make Janus lose his nerve. Almost.

He glared at Roman, whose expression settled on fury.

“Wrong with me?” Roman asked, his own voice trembling. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I am not the one who just forced Thomas to give up his dream!” Janus spat. He somehow managed to clench his fists even tighter. “After everything you worked for—after everything we worked for—you just gave it up?!”

Roman growled. “We can’t let Thomas become evil!” he snapped, taking a step toward Janus. “I’m supposed to be his hero—his protector—so I can’t just let you—”

“Let me what, Roman?” Janus asked lowly, his voice hardening into a dangerous snarl.

For a split second, Roman looked sad—remorseful, even. However, his expression smoothed out a moment later, leaving Janus to wonder whether he had simply imagined the moment of weakness. “I cannot allow you to hurt Thomas,” he said, his voice quieter. “Patton was right—about everything.”

His heart almost stopped.

Patton was right.

And then he exploded.

“Are you fucking serious?!” Janus finally screamed. “ After everything—after all the good memories, you really think so low of us?! Just like that?!” Do Remus and I really mean so little to you? “I thought you wanted to be different from them!”

I thought you cared.

Roman laughed, the sound so low—and so bitter—that Janus felt chills run down his spine. “Let’s think about that for a moment,” he said with a cold smile, taking another step closer. “After we accepted Virgil, I was convinced that you and Remus must be good people, too, so I decided to do the princely thing and befriend you. Even when everyone else said I was wrong—Logan, who is the least biased of us all; Patton, who was the first of us to accept Virgil; even Virgil himself, who grew up with you—I was so sure that I was right! I thought it was worth it to sneak around.” His smile, as fake as it was, slid off his face. “Now I see that I was wrong all along.”

Janus growled, his vision literally going red. “How can you even say that?! I thought I knew you! I thought I could trust you!”

“I thought I could trust you, too!” Roman screamed back. He inhaled shakily, somewhat softening his voice. “But after watching you spend an entire afternoon trying to convince Thomas that he’s a bad person? That he’s evil?!” His tone was desperate. “I cannot let you hurt him like that.”

“I wasn’t trying to convince Thomas that he was evil! I was trying to convince him that he was lying to himself! I was trying to convince him that he wanted to be selfish! That it was okay to be selfish!

“Were you even present today? Being selfish is evil! Lying is evil!”

Lying is evil.

Something inside of Janus broke at those words.

Roman’s expression was closed off. “Of course you would think that being selfish is okay,” he continued coldly. “You are selfish. You want to be selfish. But like I said, Deceit—Patton was right. Being selfish is bad, and you’re proud of being selfish! You’re evil, and you’re proud of it!” Roman took a shaky breath, calming his tone once more. “This entire thing was a mistake. I never should have befriended you—I just wish it hadn’t taken so long for me to realize.”

Janus froze, not daring to take a breath. “…What are you saying?” he whispered, not caring how desperate he suddenly sounded.

“We aren’t friends anymore,” Roman said icily. “I’m sorry, Deceit, but I can’t be friends with people like you and Remus. I can’t be friends with someone who wants to hurt Thomas. I can’t be friends with someone who’s evil.

“The two of you are cruel. You may be powerful, but I’m a prince—whereas you two are lower than bugs. This is no longer worth it. I’m sorry it has to be this way, but…we’re done.”

We’re done.

We. Are. Done.

Janus blinked, unable to comprehend what he was hearing. Roman stared back at him, his expression growing neutral; anger morphing into a monotonous tone.

“Now get out of my room.”

~~~

Remus paced back and forth, fingers running through his already-mussed hair. Janus was not in the Dark Mindscape. There was no way he was in the Imagination—Remus would have heard him using the door. According to Remy, he was not in the Neutral Mindscape, either.

So where—

He was broken out of his thoughts by a sudden flash of yellow.

Oh, thank goodness.

“Jay!” Remus exclaimed, relief flooding his body. He raced over to his boyfriend, grinning widely. “Where were—”

He cut himself off and did a double take, alarmed by the sight before him. Janus’s expression may have been frozen in shock, but his cheeks were flushed and his eyes were red. Remus took a hesitant step forward, his arms raised questioningly. “…Jay?” he asked.

No reply.

“Janus?”

Silence.

“Sweetheart, what is it?” Remus tried again, gingerly setting his hands on the other’s shoulders. He tentatively rubbed his thumbs in what he hoped was a comforting manner. “What’s wrong?”

Janus slowly lifted his head. Remus held his breath as their gazes met.

“I think…” Janus whispered, his voice layered with sadness despite the emptiness of his expression. “I think you lost your brother. And…and I think…

“I think I just lost my best friend.”

~~~

It took several hours for Remus to extract the full story from Janus.

And Remus—was—pissed.

Of course, once Janus recovered from his initial shock, he did his best to appear unfazed; to act as though he could not care less about the loss of his best friend. Remus did not believe the pretense for a moment. However, he went along with the lie as Janus suggested that they have an impromptu movie night for absolutely no reason at all.

It was not until the next day that the grief fully sank in.

Roman was…gone.

There would be no more playfully sparring matches.

No more singing battles.

No more frantic midnight meetings where Remus pressed Roman for relationship advice.

I never even got to say goodbye.

The next few days passed in a haze—pain and fear and hurt blurring the moments into one. Neither Janus nor Remus wanted to address the true impact of the situation, opting to shut off their phones and refusing to respond to the concerned texts from Remy and Trivia. They ended up watching movie after movie, running from their emotions via escaping into fantasy words.

It was midnight on the fourth day when the plan fell apart.

Janus was already asleep on the couch beside him, but Remus was unable to catch even a moment of mental reprieve; even a second of peace. His mind was running wilder than chickens with their heads cut off—he could not shake the feeling that he was forgetting something important. That added to his burning desire to punch Roman for hurting Janus and simultaneously tie him up and never let him leave—

Overwhelming was an understatement.

But the real question—am I going to deal with whatever I forgot? Or am I going to deal with the pain of losing Roman?

Was it even a question?

Remus carefully draped the blanket over Janus’s figure before entering the Imagination, darting out of his castle and into the mountains, all the way to a familiar door—an apartment carved into a cliffside. An apartment only five people knew the location of.

One of them lived there. The other four had sworn to never come by in the absence of an emergency.

Hopefully, Trivia would forgive him for breaking his promise.

The door swung open before he even had the chance to knock, Trivia immediately stepping onto the front steps. “What happened?” she demanded, holding up her phone, the unanswered texts from her and Remy on full display. “Roman left the group chat and you and Janus disappeared! Where have you been?”

Had he not been so distracted, he would have been touched by the rare display of concern. Instead, Remus let out a chuckle that was so uncharacteristically cold and bitter, Trivia froze in her tracks. He ignored her shock and gave her a vengeful smile. “How do you feel about activating Nightmare Mode, my dear advisor?”

Trivia scanned him before breaking into an equally cold smile. “I thought you would never ask, Your Grace.”

~~~

Janus blinked as he sat up, the blanket across his body falling into his lap as he rubbed at his bleary eyes. He was unsurprised to find himself laying on the couch—as he had been for the past few days—but it took him a moment to realize he was alone.

It took a moment longer to remember the current date.

For the first time since the trail, Janus found himself struck by emotions other than grief and pressing numbness. Granted, guilt and embarrassment were not much better—and the grief was still present—but it was a change. A few hours of clarity.

I survived this loss once. I can do it again.

Maybe things can be okay again.

Unfortunately, that peace was shattered with a simple text from Remy.

Remy: Gurl, you need to check on Thomas. NOW.

Janus frowned, fear curling in his gut as he sprinted to the living room, his project forgotten in the kitchen. He flipped on the television to view the channel of Thomas, only to see….

“Why, I’m your Creativity!”

Janus froze, equal parts terrified and ecstatic. Remus had revealed himself to Thomas.

What did I miss when I was asleep?

He drew out his phone and pulled up the group chat between the two of them, Remy, and Trivia. The group chat that—those were a lot of missed texts—Roman had apparently left four days ago, sans explanation.

As much as Janus would have loved to answer their questions, however, he currently had bigger problems.

Snakey: Someone. Explain. Now.

Sandman: Idk what to tell you, J.

Sandman: Remus just showed up and knocked Roman out. Put everything in nightmare mode.

Sandman: I think he did something last night too?

Dragon Witch: He did. I helped.

Dragon Witch: And I’d do it again.

Sandman: At the expense of Tommy-boy? Damn, I didn’t think @Snakey would let you two do that.

Snakey: YOU DID WHAT?!

Snakey: What brought this on?!

Dragon Witch: What kind of question is that? Revenge.

Dragon Witch: They hurt you. They hurt Remus.

Dragon Witch: So we decided to teach them a lesson.

Janus hesitated.

“It’s clear you all won’t listen to reason.”

They had not listened to reason…so Remus unleashed the opposite.

He did that all for you.

Janus was a little annoyed to have been kept out of the loop—but more than that, he trusted Remus. If this was what Remus had planned, then he would not interfere unless asked to.

Besides, he was touched by the gesture—a spot of light in the recently dark days.

Not that he had been upset before, of course. He was pissed at the Light Sides, but not hurt. Not missing Roman.

Not one bit.

He. Was. Fine.

His mouth exploded into bitterness.

~~~

As the hour continued, Janus felt himself progressively growing sicker.

What did the Light Sides even want from them?

Janus had been pushing for Thomas to be honest with himself, even if that meant being selfish. He wanted Thomas to do whatever was best for his mental health. However, the Light Sides had ignored this, assuming that he automatically wanted Thomas to lie.

Remus was giving an example of the consequences of negative mental health. He was displaying the consequences of brutal honesty. Apparently, the Light Sides did not like that, either.

So what—did—they—want?!

Did they want Thomas to be dishonest with himself? Did they want him to live in denial? Did they want him to set himself on fire to keep the world warm?

Did they want Janus and Remus to bury themselves deep in the Subconscious? To disconnect themselves from Thomas completely?

What will it take for them to accept us?

Janus was yanked from his thoughts by Remus appearing in the middle of the couch and immediately throwing himself onto the former. It took Janus a moment to recover from his shock and hug Remus back, but once he did, he realized that the other was sobbing. Hard.

Holy. Fuck.

Roman is dead.

Janus cleared his throat, his fingers carding through Remus’s hair. “Darling?” he asked, careful to keep his voice quiet. “Cephy?”

Remus did not reply, silently digging his fingers into Janus’s shirt as his tears soaked the material. Janus squeezed his own eyes shut and brought out another pair of arms, wrapping them tightly around the other. The only sounds in the room were the television—which Janus quickly muted—and Remus’s heart-wrenching cries.

Janus swallowed. “I’m so sorry, Remus,” he whispered. “I’m sorry they did this to you. You…you never deserved this.” Listening to Remus releasing his emotions for the first time in days—it brought tears to Janus’s eyes.

I’m sorry you were caught in the crossfire of my mistakes.

Janus held Remus for the rest of the morning, not even letting go as the crying faded into silence.

The birthday cake continued cooling on the counter, long forgotten.

~~~

The day of the wedding only made things worse. Buckets of shit collided with the fan; gallons of fuel added to the fire.

Remus could not help but stare at the television screen in horror. He was known as Dark Creativity for a reason. He loved the stories he wrote; the paintings he made. He was accustomed to working with darker themes—at this point, rarely anything was able to shock him into silence.

As it would seem, the events of the current day were an exception.

Patton—a frog. A buff frog, no less.

His former brother—an even bigger bastard than he had thought.

Janus—sweet, sarcastic Janus; the most incredible boyfriend on the planet—a protector.

Thomas’s protector.

Emotions swelled inside him; a tidal wave of shock, fear and excitement.

He was happy for Janus, who was not only on the road to being accepted, but who had earned respect from both Patton and Thomas.

He was hurt, not by the fact that Janus compared him to Roman, but by the fact that Roman saw it as such an insult.

And he was afraid—if Janus earned the respect of the Light Sides, would Remus get left behind?

He hoped not.

He really hoped not.

At the end of the episode, Janus rose up, his own expression matching Remus’s for shock, his eyes trained on the ground. “They…” Janus began, his voice hoarse with shock. “They accepted me?”

He lifted his head and met Remus’s eyes. Something in their expressions clicked and the pair rushed toward one another, slamming into a hug.

“I’m so happy for you,” Remus tried to insist, remembering just a moment too late that Janus could detect his lies. His boyfriend shook his head.

“Remus, what’s wrong?”

Would it be worth it to avoid this conversation?

No.

“Please don’t leave me, Jay. I’ve lost everyone else. I can’t lose you too…”

“Never,” Janus swore vehemently. “Not in a million years.” His grip on Remus tightened. “And…I owe you an apology. When I insulted Roman—”

“It’s okay, Janus. I don’t blame you.”

“But—”

“No. I blame Roman, but not you. Not in a million years.”

“I’m still sorry. And I promise not to leave. Not without you.”

“I believe you. If it makes you feel any better, then I forgive you, too.”

“I love you, Remus.”

“I love you, too, Janus.”

~~~

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I hope you all enjoyed!

Taglist: @dukeceitweek

#nightshade writes #here's to the heartache #fanwork event #ship week #dukeceitweek #sanders sides #roman sanders #unsympathetic roman #janus sanders #remus sanders #remy sanders #dragon witch #dukeceit #romantic dukeceit #pre putting others first #selfishness vs selflessness #dealing with intrusive thoughts #post putting others first #putting others first #angst #angst with a happy ending #fluff #hurt/comfort #family #friendship #marriage proposal #thunderstorms #weddings #arguing #inspired by music

[loganisanobody]

A Scar to Remember

@badthingshappenbingo

tags: unsympathetic!janus (sort of), royalty au, vampires, hypnosis, trance, torture, assumed death, betrayal, dragon witch

inspired in part by @ironwoman359's Close Your Eyes and Dream of Me (which, yes, makes this the second fic I've written inspired by that fic)

*****

"Listen to me, we need to get you out of here. I'll explain later but we need to go now."

Roman stared at Virgil. He seemed so serious, but what could possibly be happening? There were guards throughout the castle, at Virgil's insistence, so no one could have gotten in. Virgil himself could be kidnapping him, but Virgil was smart enough to not let something like Roman's whim up to chance. Or was he smart enough to know Roman would listen to whatever he said…?

"Roman!" Virgil hissed, bringing Roman to the present.

Roman nodded. "Let's go."

They headed down the tunnel, following narrow hallways and steep sets of stairs built into the walls. How had Virgil even known this was here, or that the entrance was behind a painting in Roman's room?

They walked in silence, Virgil leading the way with a torch, though he turned his head often to check behind them.

Finally, they came to the bottom of a set of stairs and the hallway widened and led straight on for a while. Roman figured they must be below ground now, and if his sense of direction was correct, they were headed away from the castle.

He and Virgil were walking side-by-side now, and Roman glanced over at his knight.

Virgil noticed and sighed. "I guess you'll be wanting that explanation now."

Roman wanted to say something snarky, but he could see the tension in Virgil's shoulders, jaw, eyes… his whole being bearing a load of seriousness and worry. Instead, he nodded. "Please."

"The dragon-witch has taken over the castle, taken over the minds of your guards. I was able to get away, and luckily found you before she did…"

Roman stared at Virgil, then looked behind them to where his castle was.

"And we ran away?!"

"What would you have me do, Roman?!" Virgil turned to him and shouted. "She had your guards, your servants, your advisors! We wouldn't know who we could trust, and we wouldn't dare hurt them even when we couldn't trust them. They'd overpower us before we got down the hall from your bedroom."

Roman was quiet as he noticed the tears in Virgil's eyes. Roman knew Virgil was very close with his fellow knights and guards. To know they were under a spell so malicious must be tearing him apart.

"I am sorry, Virgil," he said quietly. "I just… I hate running away. I'm the king. The king shouldn't be a coward."

"Sometimes running isn't cowardly. Sometimes it shows strength, planning, a cool and clear head."

"Not to some people."

"To the people who matter."

They continued in silence for a while before coming to another set of stairs that led upward.

Virgil led the way up, carefully opening a door at the top of the stairs into a bare room.

The door they came from and a door opposite were the only exits from the room, and the only things adorning it.

"Sorry there's nowhere to sit. We were hoping to never have to use this place," Virgil said in a hushed voice, locking the door to the tunnel.

"We?"

"Logan was with me when we discovered the entrance in your room. We told Patton. The three of us inspected and, er, renovated the place to make it safer. It was a bit worn down when we found it. Now, no one can get in."

"Ah… so… we wait here?"

"Yup."

"Until…?"

Virgil paused. "Um… until everything dies down a bit… and I come up with a plan…"

"We could come up with a plan," Roman offered.

Virgil rolled his eyes. "Your idea of a plan is to run in, swords blazing."

Roman made an offended sound, but was cut off in his retort by a scream outside.

"Roman!"

Both their eyes went wide.

"Patton," Roman breathed.

Virgil had to stop him as he rushed to the front door.

"No, Roman! You open that door, you let them in!"

"Yeah, that's kind of the point."

"No, you let the dragon-witch in. Without that door, you have no protection. You can't open it. Not until we're ready."

"Ready to what, fight? I'm ready to fight!"

Virgil shook his head. "Have you forgotten what I said? She has our people under her control. Patton may not be in any actual danger, but you will if you open the door."

"Oh Roman~" a woman's voice called out. "Aren't you going to save your little friend? He's so soft and tender, I could cut him open with just my pinky nail."

Patton let out another scream.

Roman pushed against Virgil's grip. "I can't leave him," he growled.

"And what will you do? You don't even know how many of them are out there."

"Yeah, good job thinking of windows."

"Glass is breakable, and less easy to magically protect. You know we don't have a strong magician."

"Okay, well what's your plan? They'll just wait us out. If they have Patton and Logan, they'll find the other entrance and trap us on either side. We'll have to give up or starve."

Virgil froze, and Roman took the opportunity to push past him and rush to the door.

"Roman, no!"

Roman flung open the door and was immediately pushed out of the way. As he fell, he heard a scream. He turned to see Virgil in the doorway, surrounded by a yellow glow, as he screamed in pain.

"Virgil!"

Before Roman could get up, the glow subsided and Virgil dropped to his hands and knees, breathing heavily.

"Good job, my pupil. Now, go get our prize."

Footsteps crunched through dirt and grass, walking up to the door until a figure appeared. Before Roman could finish his first step toward Janus, the latter had flicked his hand, suspending Roman in the air without even looking at him. Janus crouched in front of Virgil and grabbed the knight by the hair and yanked his head up.

Virgil growled at him.

Janus smirked. "Good to see you, too, my friend. But, sadly, I'm not here for you. So I'll leave you with a gift." In one swift movement, he took a dagger from his belt and slid it along Virgil's cheek, cutting a deep gash into his skin. Virgil hissed in pain.

"A scar to remember the day you failed your king." Janus smirked at Virgil's glare, then flipped the dagger in his hand and hit Virgil over the head with the butt of it, letting go of Virgil's hair so the knight collapsed limply to the floor.

"Virgil!" Roman cried.

Janus stood, sheathing the dagger, then waved his hand as he turned and walked away. Roman, still magically suspended, followed him out the door and to the dragon witch.

Patton stood nearby with a bunch of Roman's guards, all staring blankly into the distance.

The dragon witch, though, watched gleefully as Roman floated up to her.

"Very good, my pupil. You are progressing well. We'll have to show our dear king more of what you can do when we get to the castle."

"You won't get away with this," Roman growled.

"I don't have to get away with anything, your highness. I'm here to stay."

*****

They brought him back to his own castle at first, but found the dungeon "lacking", so he was relocated a few days away to the dragon witch's lair, where the dungeon was much more… furnished.

Roman didn't know how long he had been there, he was hardly aware of anything except pain and exhaustion.

"I won't… I won't…" he mumbled as the interrogator did his work.

He didn't see it, but the interrogator shot him a dirty look then rolled his eyes.

"Take him back to his cell. We're not getting anything more out of him today."

The guards started to take Roman down, when more guards burst in the door. "There's an issue, sir."

The interrogator turned back to Roman's guards. "Take him to the secure location while I see what the situation is."

The guards nodded and dragged Roman out of the room, turning a different direction than usual. They dragged him further into the dungeon, the hallways getting darker and darker as they went, until they came to an end of the hallway and a door. They dragged him into the room and attached his chain to the wall so that he sat with his arms raised. Then they left.

By the time Roman heard footsteps again, he had recovered somewhat and was more conscious of his surroundings.

"Ah, I see you're awake. Good. I have news for you."

The interrogator tossed a lump of fabric at Roman's feet.

It was dark in the room except for the interrogator's torch, but Roman could make out the color of the fabric: royal violet. He held in a gasp.

Purple dyes were reserved for royalty, but Roman had never been partial to the color, himself. So he allowed his head knight to don the royal color.

Virgil's cloak lay now at his feet, and it was covered in blood.

"I'll leave this here for you to process."

The interrogator left Roman staring at the garment, clinging to any sight of it in the diminishing light.

It was when he could no longer see the cloak that the tears started to come, and he let out a sob.

*****

Roman woke up to the sound of footsteps, and he tensed. 'I won't give up the kingdom. I won't. I won't…' he started to repeat in his mind, steeling himself. It was hard not to think about the cloth at his feet, or what it meant.

The door opened.

"I won't give up the kingdom!" Roman yelled, closing his eyes to hold back tears.

"Well, that's good, Princey."

Romans eyes shot open and he looked up. "V-Virgil?"

Virgil knelt down next to him with a soft smile. "It's me, Roman. Sorry it took so long." He reached up to unchain Roman from the wall, and Roman looked down at the cloth in front of him.

Virgil helped him put his arms down carefully, though they still were incredibly sore and stiff.

"Am I dead?" Roman asked quietly.

"You better not be."

Roman's head shot up, tears still clinging to his lashes. He didn't know why he suddenly felt angry.

"You're going to joke?! Here I am in a dungeon for who knows how long, thinking you're dead and I'm dead, and you're going to joke?!"

Virgil looked stricken, and Roman reeled at his own outburst.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry—"

Virgil moved, and Roman was surrounded by a new warmth. He sobbed, melting into Virgil's embrace.

"I'm sorry, Roman," Virgil murmured as Roman's sobs died down. "I'm sorry I let them get you, I'm sorry they hurt you, I'm sorry it took me so long to find you—"

"Stop, stop." Roman shook his head. "If I don't stop you now, you'll keep going and we'll never get out of here."

"Yeah, when were you going to get out of here?" came a voice above them. Virgil whipped around, drawing a dagger.

Janus held up his hands. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here to help, if you want me."

"Why would we want help from you?" Virgil snarled.

"Because they're still fighting out there, and if you want to get our beat-up king out of here safely, I know a back way to take him."

"And why should we trust you?"

"You shouldn't. Not now anyway. But I've always… always hoped you would again someday." Janus looked away.

Roman looked at him in a stunned, semi-lucid stupor, but Virgil still seemed to have his wits about him. "You're not really making your case, there, snake."

Janus flinched. "I… I left to get better at magic. Though she's evil, the dragon witch is one of the best wizards in the land. I thought if I could pretend to betray you and gain her trust, I could learn from her and… be a better wizard for Roman." He looked at Virgil seriously. "I know that, as I never told anyone of this plan, I have no proof of my intentions. But I have learned much and am ready to fight for Roman and his kingdom, not against it."

Virgil squinted distrustfully, but Roman reached out and touched his arm. "I… I may not be in my right mind… but I think he's telling the truth."

Virgil paused, and looked back at Janus. "You understand you will be subjected to questioning, punishment, and have to work your way back into our trust."

"I'd rather do all of that than be the dragon witch's apprentice any longer."

Virgil squinted again, then nodded. "Lead the way. And if this is a trap…"

Janus nodded gravely. "I understand."

*****

"So, first question—"

"Oh, we're doing this now."

Virgil poked a log further into the fire, then looked into the trees around them. "There'll be a more thorough questioning at the castle, but one thing bothers me: what was this?" He gestured to the cut on his cheek. "'A scar to remember the day you failed your king?'"

Janus stared at him blankly from across the fire.

Roman stirred in his sleep next to Virgil.

"Care to explain yourself? If all you were doing was gathering knowledge, this was a bit unnecessary."

Janus looked away, and remained quiet for a moment before quietly asking, "Was that from when we kidnapped Roman?"

Virgil furrowed his brow in confusion. "Y-yes. It was. Are you saying you don't remember?" He scoffed. "Poor excuse to get out of answering a question."

Janus shook his head. "It's not that I don't remember. I never knew." He looked at Virgil. "I didn't learn all I wanted to. I'm not as strong as the dragon-witch. But I needed to leave. I…" He looked down at the fire. "I started blacking out a few weeks ago. I didn't know what was happening, but I knew it wasn't good. I found out recently the dragon-witch had me under… some sort of trance. I had no idea what I was doing. If I hurt you… I'm sorry. That day, I blacked out when we got to the hut, and came back to see Roman floating in the air, by my own magic, and you passed out in the doorway. I knew then I had to get away from the dragon-witch, before she made me do any more harm."

"And how do I know you're not under this 'trance' now? And why did your 'trance' look different than the others’?"

"Roman's brother got to me. He pulled me out of the trance, I hope for good, just like he was pulling others out of theirs. And… I don't know. I suppose mine was of a deeper, more complex magic than what it took to take over your guards. Remus did give me an odd look before continuing to the next victim."

Virgil mulled over this for a bit, calling his mind back to the battle, if it could be called that.

It had been utter chaos — Remus leading his vampire clan to break the trances on Roman’s people, only to have them turn around to fight the dragon-witch’s guards so that Virgil could get into the dungeon.

Of course the dragon-witch herself was furiously trying to fight and cause chaos of her own, making the battle that much harder as Roman’s people couldn’t know who to trust.

Virgil hated to admit it, but Janus finding him and Roman had probably saved them, because they were able to get Roman out and away, and Janus was able to send a magical message to some key people on Roman’s side to get everyone out of there.

Virgil only hoped they had been able to.

They sat in silence for a while, the heaviness of the past’s events hanging between them, until Janus shifted to lay down.

“I hope,” Janus thought he heard over the sound of his own clothes rustling, and he paused. Even then, it was a quiet moment or two before Virgil spoke again, softly, “I do hope you are telling the truth, Janus. However that may come back to bite me in the end.”

#unsympathetic janus #sort of #royalty au #vampires #hypnosis #trance #captivity #assumed death #betrayal #dragon witch #ts roman #ts virgil #ts patton

[fangirltothefullest]

WARNING!!! LOTS OF REMUS AND UNSYMPATHETIC PATTON!

Bells of Notre Dame! At LONG LAST! Took 2 days but I DID IT! Hyperfixations are wild. Anyways I thought this would fit really well and I had a lot of fun with this. Unsympathetic Patton isn’t my usual go to but I was thinking about how he’s the moral authority and shuns Deceit for the most part, and I loved making Remus narrate! If it;s not obvious I was playing with my other more exaggerated style and you can blame @aimasup​ for inspiring me because I just LOVE the way they draw so here’s to you kiddo! 

Stills below the cut, sans Latin.

Don’t repost any of my artwork without credits. 

@thatsthat24​

#sfw #sanders sides #remus sanders #patton sanders #unsympathetic patton #logan sanders #virgil sanders #the dragon witch #tashiarts #sympathetic deceit #bells of notre dame #hunchback of notre dame #sort of an au??? #i worked SO hard on this #please like it

[98prilla]

Hidden Shapes

Based on This Post by @fangirltothefullest (who is awesome and amazing, go follow). This was supposed to be a simple one shot, but as always, it’s really gotten away from me, so expect three to four chapters, instead. 

...

AO3

Next

The dark sides all have animal traits. But they also have hybrid forms. Something Patton, Logan, and Roman don't realize until Janus isn't able to help it. 

....

He doesn’t feel quite right.

 He brushes it off, at first, ignoring the slight chill that comes over him, every once in a while, the mild achiness to his bones, he ignores them all.

 Then Patton comments on how his scales look pretty on his arms, when he’s doing the dishes, sleeves rolled up, and he nearly drops the plate he’s washing, before he regains his composure, letting Patton think the slip was from the unexpected compliment, as he excuses himself.

 He notices his fangs are longer, sharper, the next day, and his chills are stronger as well, he spends nearly the whole of it working at his desk, wrapped in a blanket, trying to ignore the pain taking up residence behind his temples, pounding dully against his skull, as he examines and rearranges the schedule to make sure everyone has at least a day of self care planned for the week, before sending it back to Logan for assessment. He won’t admit it out loud, but he rather enjoys the back and forth, the bargaining, the trade offs, it’s a bit of a game of wits, finding how it all can fit. But today it just makes him exhausted.

 He makes an excuse, not to come out for supper that night, saying he’s tired and plans to turn in early, which is true, he just leaves out the reason, which would lead to Patton trying to take care of him, and the last thing he wants is to force pity from Patton, so he keeps his mouth shut.

…

He’s shaking. The world is swirling and writhing around him, shadows stretching and shifting around him, forming almost figures, eyes glaring at him accusingly, whispers menacing his ears, telling him how poorly of a job he’s really doing, and he grits his teeth and bears it, even as he feels himself shifting into something different, scales blooming across the entirety of his face, his arms, coiling in on himself, as his tail forms, a ball python’s markings, in deep blacks and hazardous yellows, marking him as the venomous creature he is.

 He doesn’t want to be this monster, but he can’t stop it, can’t stop the change, so he just hisses, cursing the world, burying himself in his tail so he doesn’t have to see anything, feel anything, outside his little bubble, though he can’t seem to stop shaking, no matter how tightly he curls.

…

He sees clawed hands tearing at him, shredding him to ribbons. Dark figures laughing as they rip him limb from limb. Violet eyes and neon green grinning, as they set him aflame, burning him to ash, and somehow, he can feel every second of it, taste the smoke on his tongue, convulsing and writhing as he tries to escape the smoke, but there’s nowhere, nowhere to go. Webs, pinning him down, eight eyes, eyes he knows so well, staring into his as the pincers bite into his neck, tentacles wrapping tight around his throat, lifting him off the ground, constricting him until he can’t breathe, until his own weight suffocates him-

 Then suddenly it’s bright, far too bright, and he can’t see clearly, and he hears gasps, voices around him, hissing and flinching back at a touch to his forehead, slitted eyes flashing as his tail lashes, coiling.

 “Leave me alone!” He growls, baring his fangs, his claws, ready to spring, even as the world spins and colors blend, everything shifting as if he’s looking through a fun house mirror.

 “You’re burning up…”

 “Calm down, Janus, let us help!” He hisses, drawing back further, heart pounding with fear, pulse racing with adrenaline, but everything is too much, too loud, too bright, and he can’t focus, can’t figure out where he is or what’s going on or who is speaking, past the pounding in his ears.

 Then a hand comes into view, trying to reach him, and he snarls, letting the coils do their job, propelling himself forwards, pouncing, but the sudden movement sends a wash of lightheadedness through him, and the world goes dark.

 “Janus! Janus, are you ok?!” He groans, barely managing to register the voice, barely managing to flick open his eyes for long enough to see a flash of deep blue, to realize someone has caught him, stopped him from falling.

 “lo…gan?” He manages weakly, feeling the logical side let out a relieved breath, though he’s no less worried.

 “Yes. You’ve got a severe fever, Janus, how long have you been sick?” His mind seems to be working at half speed, his tongue feels heavy and thick, and he barely manages a shrug.

 “w-week?” He offers, already slipping away.

 “Oh honey. We’re gonna take care of you, alright? You just get some rest, and when you wake up it’ll all be better.” He doesn’t trust that voice, not completely, but he knows in this case, it’s telling the truth, so he nods, shivering at the cold air on his scales, wishing for his heating pad, before he blacks out once more.

…

Logan lets out a low breath as Janus collapses in his arms, cheeks flushed, even through the scales now peppering both sides of his face, his pulse coming in odd unsteady beats, his breathing shallow and uneven. He’s ill, extremely ill, and he doesn’t know how none of them had noticed.

 Then again, even after becoming accepted, Janus has always been the most aloof of all of them. Even now, they don’t really know much about him, he holds everything close to his chest. Which is maybe why Virgil and Remus are the only two who don’t look entirely surprised at the state of him.

 That state being a half human, half snake, commonly known as a Naga, in folklore.

 “We need to break the fever. Help me lift him, onto the couch?” Logan states, more than asks, and instantly, the twins are there, each taking half of his tail while Logan takes his torso, sliding him onto the couch, before wrapping him with blankets, trying to quell his incessant shivering, coiling tight, teeth chattering.

 “Now what?” Roman asks, uncharacteristically quiet.

 “Heated blankets, he has some, yes?” Remus nods.

 “I’ll go get them.”

 “Virgil.” He startles at Logan addressing him, his eyes had been locked on Janus’s form, huddled and so small, despite his large coils. He hadn’t realized his breath was starting speed, his heart starting pound. “Virgil, I need you to answer some questions for me. It could help in my treatment of him.” He nods, though his throat feels dry.

 “He has shifted like this before?” He nods again, forcing himself to take a deep inhale and exhale.

 “yeah. He doesn’t… he usually doesn’t. Doesn’t like to. But when he gets sick or hurt, he loses control, sometimes. Goes… goes into attack mode.” Logan nods.

 “It makes sense, that as self preservation, he would have this kind of protective mechanism. Given his scales, I’m not surprised that he would take Naga form. And Remus has his tentacles, his half animal form being an octopus-“

 “Kraken, dear Logic!” Remus trills, returning and tucking the heated blankets around Janus, making sure they aren’t set too high. They want a toasty snek, after all, not a toasted one. A minor distinction, but an important one, in this case.

 “And Virgie here is-“ Instantly, the room grows ten degrees colder, the shadows lengthening, as it grows darker, all eyes turning back to Virgil, who is shaking his head, maybe just shaking in general.

 “don’t. Remus, please… don’t.” Remus pouts, but instantly nods, coming over and rubbing his arms to dispel the chill, smiling as Virgil’s head thumps against his chest.

 “Sorry, Vee. I forget what I’m not supposed to say and what I am. I didn’t mean to spill the beans.” He feels Virgil nod, knows he understands, he’s just scared and stressed right now, and so is he, it’s why his tongue nearly slipped. He has a bit more control than the others tend to think, at least when it comes to important things, secret things, like this.

 “Virgil? You… you have animal traits too? That’s really cool, kiddo, why didn’t you tell us?” He winces at Patton’s question.

 “you wouldn’t like them. Trust me, Pat, it’s better I just keep them tucked away, where they won’t cause any problems.” He mutters, a bit of fear curdling in his chest, at what he is, fear blooming at what they would do, if they knew.

 If they knew his eyeshadow was to hide the three smaller eyes dotted underneath his normal ones, if they knew about his eight, spindly spiked legs, that could extend from his back, much like Remus’s tentacles, making him much faster and stronger than any of the rest of them, if they knew how quickly he could move, slinging web, how reflexive an action it once was, when he and Remus were young and would tussle, if they knew about his own deadly, venomous fangs, if they knew how when he was stressed, he still vanished into Remus’s imagination, to weave intricate webs, to put his hands to work so his mind would be silent.

 “Virgil. I love you kiddo, no matter what, okay? Just remember that, if you ever do want to share. Whatever it is, it won’t change that.” He looks away, nodding once, though if Janus were in working order he’d call bullshit from a mile away, there were some things that they could grow to accept about him, yes, but his half spider form? Definitely not one of them, when even curtains with cartoony spiders warranted being called “creepy crawly death dealers” and getting attacked by Roman’s sword.

 “So… now what do we do?” Roman asks breaking the silence.

 “wait. He’ll shift back, once he’s feeling better, in control, again. Until then, we should all give him plenty of space, you three especially.” Virgil answers.

 “Why is that?” Logan asks, and Remus grins.

 “Janny’s got quite a nasty bite. Those fangs aren’t just for show!”

 “He might lash out, is what he’s saying. And it’s better if no one is in reach when he does. Me and Re have a certain amount of immunity, to the venom, thanks to our… traits, but it would be really, really bad, for any of you. Plus, he isn’t used to you all being around yet, he’s less likely to lash out if it’s me or Remus, nearby.” Virgil explains, “you, um, you’ll trigger his fight reflex.” He doesn’t have to look up, to see the slightly hurt expression on Patton’s face.

 “He doesn’t trust us yet.” Logan says softly, and Remus nods, though his face is tight, with a frown.

 “That’s… understandable. We haven’t been the best of companions.” Roman murmurs, surprising both Remus and Virgil.

 “He trusts you.” Remus states, looking firmly at Logan, who’s eyes widen in surprise, hand flying to adjust his glasses. “He doesn’t trust you.” Remus states, looking at Roman, who nods minutely, a brief look of regret flashing across his face. “And none of us trust you.” He turns his sharp gaze on Patton, who winces.

 “Remus!” Virgil hisses, grabbing his arm.

 “What? It’s true, otherwise you would have told them what you are, by now! Tell me, the reason you haven’t, isn’t exclusively to do with Patton.” He flinches, drawing back, eyes glued to the floor so he doesn’t have to see the hurt on Patton’s face, though he hears the sharp inhale of breath. “Tell me you aren’t afraid, of what he will do.” He gasps, the air flooding out of him, feeling as if he’s been punched in the gut, tears welling in the corners of his eyes. He opens his mouth, ready to deny it.

 “I can’t.” he whispers instead, blanching at his own words, drawing further back, into himself. “I… I can’t.”

 “that’s ok, kiddo.” Patton’s voice is soft, trembling, and he looks up in surprise, at the words, Patton taking a step closer, though still giving him his space. “It’s ok. I’ve hurt you, a lot, in the past, unintentionally, but I still hurt you. It’s ok, that you don’t feel comfortable telling me everything, telling me anything. I don’t expect you to. I don’t need you to. I’m happy to just be here, that you’ve let me have this much with you, and it’s ok, that you don’t entirely trust me. It’s ok, Virg.” His lip trembles, then he’s in Patton’s arms, head tucked against his shoulder. “we’re ok, kiddo.” Patton hugs him tightly, rubbing circles against his back, pretending not to notice the sniffling.

 “thank you.” Virgil whispers, pulling away, Patton reluctantly letting him go.

 “Of course, Virgil. I’ll go get started on some soup and grilled cheese. Everyone needs to eat something, and hopefully we’ll be able to get some soup in him, too. Thank you, Remus. For being honest with me. It… it hurts, but I need to hear it, sometimes. It keeps me moving forwards. Keeps me getting… better.” Patton flashes him a small, tired smile, before ducking away, into the kitchen.

 “I’ll go help. He gets shaky, when he’s worried, and he’ll nick himself cutting the vegtables, otherwise.” Roman mumbles, looking back at Remus, hesitating as if he wants to say something, before shaking his head and turning away, a rueful smile on his lips, a promise in his eyes, that they’ll talk later, when he knows what he wants to say.

 “He… trusts me?” Remus rolls his eyes, sitting on the arm of the couch.

 “Um, duh? You’re the only one who accepted all of us, right of the bat. Sure, you aren’t buddy buddy with us, but you also didn’t just dismiss us. You also listened to us, took us seriously, debated, not disagreeing just because of who we are. You treat us like… equals. That’s a rare thing, around here, Logan.”

 “…oh. I… I see. Well. I will be keeping an eye on his temperature, checking in every few hours. If anything changes, fetch me immediately. I’ll get some cool water and towels, for his forehead. See if you can’t coax him into drinking something, as well, he’s likely severely dehydrated. I would suggest an IV, but I doubt his reaction to that would be ideal.”

 “Ok. Sounds good, Lo. Thanks.” Logan nods once, before leaving, dropping off a bowl and towels, before vanishing once more. Virgil slumps to the ground, back resting against the couch cushions, hands buried in his face as he lets out a long, shaking breath, trying to stave off the panic creeping up his shoulders.

 Remus frowns, brushing back Janus’s hair, dabbing the rag across his forehead, willing with all his might for the fever to go down, for his eyes to open, for him to smirk and say something bitingly sharp.

 “Come on, DeeDee. Playing coy doesn’t suit you.” He whispers, eyes flicking to Virgil at the small snort from the emo, who shoves his hands up through his hair, leaving it messy and disheveled, his eyeshadow smeared across his face. If he looks hard enough, he can spot his dark little eyes, shiny, pure pitch little things, like reflective black buttons. “you know I’ve always found your little quirks cute, right?” He asks, not mentioning specifics just in case someone came by. Virgil lets out another short laugh, though the small smile stays on his face, as he shakes his head.

 “I think you’re the only one who would describe them that way, Ree, but yeah. I know.” He mumbles, not protesting as Remus slips off the couch and onto the floor beside him, slowly and gently resting an arm around his shoulders. He scoots closer, tucking himself against Remus’s side, letting himself burrow into the warmth, safe and protected. “I’m scared.” Comes the low whisper, and Remus coos, turning to wrap his other arm around him in a warm hug.

 “I know, shadow. I know.”

#sanders sides #tss #Janus Sanders #remus sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #dragon witch #sympathetic janus #unsympathetic remus #sympathetic virgil #sympathetic patton #sympathetic logan #sympathetic roman #sickfic #sick janus #naga janus #spider virgil #kraken remus #dark sides have animal forms #hurt/comfort #angst #fluff #eventual happy ending #patton's trying to be a good friend #protective remus

[nachosforfree]

Would Roman ever be jealous that the dragon witch raised Remus and not him?

Probably never at first. But maybe then he saw how happy Remus actually is with his family... How Remus can talk to the Dragon Witch about practically anything, and not be guilted into agreeing with her, or made to feel stupid... How Remus can look her in the eyes and smile geniunely... And Roman feels all the jealously in the world.

#asks #implied unsympathetic patton #? #mama dragon witch

[dead-inside-mcgee]

The Dragon, the Duke, and the Priest - Chapter 1

Special thanks to @griffin-tortures-schneep for helping me right this and also for being all around a sexy sweetheart 

Summary:  A rumor started in the Kingdom of the Light that the queen was pregnant. When this rumor was confirmed, those of the Light were overjoyed. They were even more overjoyed when it was revealed to be twins.

Warning: Attempting murder, actual murder, Unsympathetic Patton, blood

There once were two kingdoms. One was known as the Kingdom of the Light, and the other known as the Kingdom of the Dragon. Though it was titled the Kingdom of the Darkness from those of the Light. Between them was a forest that was known by no name. It was just a large, old, and creepy forest. 

  Neither of these kingdoms like each other. The reason they do not get along was forgotten, but hate does not just disappear after a few generations.

  A rumor started in the Kingdom of the Light that the queen was pregnant. When this rumor was confirmed, those of the Light were overjoyed. They were even more overjoyed when it was revealed to be twins.

  None were more overjoyed than Patton Lyre, the kingdom’s priest and royal advisor. He happily helped the king care for the boys while the queen rested. 

  Three peaceful, endearing months passed, and it came time for Patton to bless the children. The blessing was an old tradition carried out by the priest to insure that the heir to the throne lived a long, prosperous life. 

  The blessing was typically a private thing, only viewed by the oldest parent and the priest. During this blessing, there was also a snake hiding under a pew, but of course neither of them were aware of that. 

  The blessing typically goes as follows:

  Step 1: The priest puts their dominant hand over the child’s heart. 

  Step 2: The priest chants the old blessing spell.

  Step 3: The parent states the traits they wish to see in the child.

  Step 4: The parent makes a small blood sacrifice, using a special knife. 

  Planning the blessing, Patton places a hand over each boys’ heart, chanting an old spell in a language very few know the origin of. 

  Before the priest could properly finish, he stumbled back in pain. The king catches him before he falls. 

  Patton stares at his hand in horror. It was covered in a dark mass that was eating away at his skin. He was rushed to the doctor and got his hand bandaged. The blessing was never completed. 

  That night the priest and the king fought for the first time in history. It was in the king’s private office where no one heard, except for a snake outside, by the window. 

  “Don’t you see! That child is a monster. His soul is full of darkness, he must be destroyed!” Patton screamed. He was holding the sacrificial knife that was banned for any use except blessing.

  “I’m not going to just stand there and let you kill a child! Maybe something went wrong with the blessing?” He argued.

  “Is that an accusation? My family has been doing blessings for hundreds of years, I did not mess up!” 

  “I wasn’t accusing you of anything! I’m just suggesting something could’ve gone wrong. This is the first time I’ve heard of two children being blessed at once. Perhaps that caused a problem.” 

  “You should not be defending it! If you let that child live, our kingdom will be destroyed!” Patton said and then proceeded to shove the king away and storm towards the door.

  The king grabbed his shoulders and, with more force than he intended, threw him into the wall hard enough to leave a crack. 

  “You have damned us all.” Patton said in a raspy voice. 

  “Get out of my castle!” The king screams. 

   Of course, as far as the general public was concerned, none of that ever happened. The bandage on Patton’s hand was due to an accident with one of the royal dogs, and the crack in the wall was just due to the king slipping and slamming into it. 

  Telling the public this was easier than explaining the incident with the blessing. People would be suspicious if they knew the blessing wasn’t complete. 

***

Thinking he was doing the right thing, Patton broke into the royal chambers a few nights later. The queen awoke to the sound of unfamiliar footsteps and screamed when she saw her child being held over the balcony railing. The child was far too peaceful considering the situation.

  The king jumped up, grabbed a sword, and charged for him as Patton tossed the baby over the balcony. The king hit him with enough force to break the wooden railing and sent both of them tumbling off to the ground. 

  They were found the next morning, the king with a sacrificial knife in his chest, and the priest with a sword in his head. 

  What the queen believed, and what the people heard was distorted from the truth. According to her, there was a third person trying to take the child, and the priest was only there to help. 

  There was indeed a third presence there, a snake hiding under the balcony unbeknownst to the incident. The child’s body was never found, having been caught by said snake, but he was proclaimed dead. 

  The kingdom was devastated by the news. A festival was held to celebrate the previous lives of the two fallen royals. Around the same time plans were made to build a statue of Patton, in his honor.

***

“...Around the same time plans were made to build a statue of Patton, in his honor.” The Dragon Witch, named Yrerth, finishes off the story and puts up the book she had written. The title of Dragon was similar to the title of King or Queen, just as Snake is similar to the title of Prince or Princess.

  “That was a dumb story,” Janus lied. He was the Dragon Witch’s son.

  “No it wasn’t!” Remus elbowed him gently. Despite being friends with Janus for many years, Remus still couldn’t tell when Janus was lying. 

  “This isn’t just a story, my dears. I was there, ten years ago, back when I was just a snake...” Yrerth remembers her past fondly. 

  “If this story is true, does that mean the prince is still alive!?” Remus asked, bouncing up and down. 

  “Of course he is! I saved his life myself! Would you like to meet him?” 

  The two children nod vigorously. 

  Yrerth holds a mirror up to Remus’s face. 

  “Is the prince trapped in the mirror?” Remus asks as he pokes the glass, “That would be pretty epic.” 

  “No, honey.” Yrerth pets his hair. “You’ll get it eventually, for now go out and play.” She offers. There was a playground near Yrerth’s house where other kids were playing tag.

  Remus hesitates, staring at the mirror before getting up and running outside. Janus got up to follow him, but Yrerth but and hand on his shoulder and pulled him aside to talk. 

  “Janus, my dearest. You’re getting older—” she pauses to kiss his forehead, “—and soon you’ll start training to take my place as dragon. I want you to enjoy your last free years to the fullest. Do you understand me?”

  Janus nods and Yrerth could tell he was lying. She sighs, gives him a pat on the head, and sends him outside.   

***

There is a tree growing in the forest between the two kingdoms. It is very large, but young and full of festering hate. It’s roots are deep and it drinks the life from those around it. 

  It is getting closer to both kingdoms and it wants blood. 

***

Remus is eighteen now. He stands on the border between the Kingdom of the Light and the forest. He struts into town, not caring about the looks he earns from regular citizens. He holds a giant, silver Morningstar that he lets drag on the ground, tearing up the nice stone roads. 

  He’s wearing an all black outfit with a lime green sash. The typical outfit for royalty in the Kingdom of the Dragon. He wasn’t royalty, but being a Duke was the next best thing. 

  Two guards stop him. “People like you are not allowed here. Leave immediately or we’ll have to use force,” they said... Or at least that’s what they were going to say. Remus had already knocked both of them out with the Morningstar before they even touched him. 

  Remus came across a large crowd of people standing outside the castle. This looks promising, he thought. 

  Up on a balcony far above the crowd was Prince, and soon to be King, Roman. Remus frowned, there’s no way he would be able to get his attention all the way down here. He also could not push through this crowd. Luckily Remus did not abide by the normal laws of physics. 

   He pulled a small bottle out of his pocket and chugged the substance inside. His whole body was engulfed in shadow, earning some gasps from the people around him. The next thing anyone knew was that Remus was now standing right in front of Roman.

  “Hey brother! Been awhile since we’ve talked. Now that I think about it, we’ve never talked! I’m Remus!” Remus held out his hand to shake. 

Roman dropped the crown he was holding and promptly passed out, which was a very rude way to greet your long lost brother.

#sanders sides #roman sanders #remus sanders #patton sanders #king creativity #unsympathetic patton #fantasy au #janus sanders #the dragon witch #the dragon the duke and the priest #my fic

[imtryingthisout]

Midnight Snacks

[Based on @nachosforfree Au @sanderssides-magicalgirlau ]

[warnings: flashbacks, refrences to past abuse, unreliable narrator, unsympathetic/evil Patton]

The apartment they lived in was modest and modern. With two large sunburst style windows that let in pale streams of moonlight into the kitchen. The silvery shadows reflected off the cool marble tile and illuminated the layout without the need to turn on the overhead lights. Which was well and good since Virgil didn’t have the energy to bother doing so.

He crept in on the balls of his feet as to minimize sound. Quiet as he could be he slowly made his way into the room- constantly looking over his shoulder, shadows swirling around his hands and feet ready to transport him away at the first sign of danger.

He was hungry, the small stash of food he had squirreled away had ran out. Leaving Patton’s room when he was asleep was always nerve racking, but there was only so many hours he could stare at the ceiling before the queasiness in his stomach became too much to bare.

(He didn’t have a room to himself here- no safe recluse or small closet to hide away in when everything became too much to bare. Just a corner in Patton’s room that he claimed. That could always be taken away.)

(Patton claimed it was like an eternal sleepover when he first came-he always wanted Virgil near by- and who wouldn’t want to room with their Best Friend? )

(He hasn’t felt like Patton’s Best Friend in a long time )

(Will he ever again?)

He was mentally praying to every God under the stars that no one was awake- he couldn’t handle getting caught by Wrath or one of the others. Dragon Witch maybe, but she would always give him this pitying look that made him think of—

Dee had the same eyes and pinched expression how did they never figure out—

Something unimportant. He couldn’t remember, but it would leave a guilty feeling in his gut for days afterwards.

He opened the fridge as slowly as humanly possible, cringing at every noise it produced. The chemical bright light emitting from the inside was harsh, and Virgil had to blink to adjust to it. But soon enough he began mechanically picking through the leftovers and forgotten meals. Never taking enough to be noticeable. To be gluttonous.

(No wonder he was losing so much weight so quickly, he’d be as skinny as Remus if he kept it up. )

(Wait who’s Remus?)

He stuffed the stolen goods into the lining of his hoodie, his pockets, under his shirt, anywhere he could really. If he rationed it right he could make it last a month at least- and it wasn’t like he never got fed. But Patton got so focused sometimes he forgot to get dinner for them both. And the others didn’t really trust him (or like him) enough to share their meals. Satisfied with his prize he was about to turn to leave when-

The lights flicked on.

The lights flicked on and Virgil froze.

The lights flicked on and Virgil was filled with pure terror.

He could see a shocked pair of (blue, cold like a frozen lake) staring at him in shock (and anger he was angrier all the time now, his saccharine sweetness barley masking the mania underneath). The figure was cloaked in the shadows of the doorway. It froze for a second before making it way toward Virgil.

“Pat” he begged, his body shaking so violently it was hard to stand. So he fell. His knees hitting the smooth tile with a resounding thud. “Pat- I’m sorry I was just so hungry- no please, no I’d never leave you I’m sorry for making you worry. I’m sorry, I’ll go back to bed, I’m sorry- please don’t I’m sorry”

Virgil felt himself being lifted from his kneeling position, but it was a distant knowing. His head placed in someone’s lap. “Oh baby” a voice murmured, stroking his hair. Virgil felt his heart plummet- Patton only got this affectionate when he was really- really mad. And when he was really-really mad he got—

Virgil curled into himself, trying to shield his stomach with his arms and legs. A broken bone could heal but if an organ was damaged he doubted he could walk it off. “I’ll be good, please don’t, no-stop! I promise. I’ll be better, please”

The hands on his head and back started rubbing gentle circles- and Virgil let out a choked sob.

The voice wanted him to open his eyes, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t look into the face of his friend, his brother, couldn’t accept the reality that he couldn’t remember his (ex) friends faces. That he had nowhere to go. That he was going to get hurt by someone he loved so thoroughly and completely that the thought of leaving was inconceivable. Hands lifted his face from the fabric he was burying himself in, gently caressing his chin and cheeks.

—-roughly pulled at his hair. So hard Virgil could feel hair being ripped from his scalp—

-Please no stop it hurts I don’t want it I’ll be better please no I’d never leave you stop please I promise-

—-Grabbing his neck possessively, crushing his windpipe. So tight he couldn’t breath couldn’t breath can’t breathe —

Gasping for air, his chest convoluting spasticity. He pawed starts himself trying to get the imaginary hands off of him. He needed air.

Someone tried to grab his arms to stop his clawing. Tried to hold him in place in their chest. Virgil struggles more and more till the damn broke and he could finally breathe in the sweet scent of roses, charcoal and petrichor.

Wait what?

Patton had many things, but he did not own the rosey perfume that Diana Anxiti favored. He did not have the feeling of static and rainfall that laid underneath whatever fragrance she wore, no matter how much she put on, there was always a smokey undertone.

“Mom?” Virgil croaked out, looking up, and sure enough there was the face of his mother.

Diana has spent years training her senses as a magical girl, so when she heard someone moving about in the Kitchen, she went to investigate. Most likely it was Andy coming to get a late-night snack. She never thought she would see her eldest child slinking about, never thought she would have to hear him begging for mercy to someone not there.

“That’s right baby, I’m here,” her voice was deep and rich like honey seeping into the wounds of his soul. “Do you know where you are Virgil?”

Where was he? “I’m… home?” He wagered, his mom must have heard the uncertainty in his voice. “Mhm do you know where that is?”

(Home had been synonymous with Patton’s embrace. Holding his hand at the playground, drying his tears after a nightmare. Later home became him and his team, Disney marathons. Ranting with Dee and Logan. Laughing at the twins antics. Home was his and Remy’s coffee-scented backroom- stolen kisses and witty banter. Home had never been a place for Virgil)

“Your house.. I’m at your house. In the kitchen.”’

“That’s right baby. Can you tell me why you’re in the kitchen?”

“I woke up hungry, and then I was- I was back there. What happened Mom? What happened to us?”

Diana had felt much pain in her life. Injuries after Villain fights, having to bury her mother and father, waking up to find her husband had disappeared without even a note explaining why. Yet none could quite compare to watching the boy she had accepted into her home, had loved as her own flesh and blood, become the person he was. The person who hurt her son.

She cradled her eldest child against her, like she did when he was nothing more than a mere babe, and tried to gift him some comfort.

“Sometimes people aren’t who we think they are baby, that maybe they never where, and sometimes we gotta learn to let them go”

She hasn’t married young, wanting to continue her career as the herald of the night for as long as possible. But she fell in love fast, fast and quick, with a man she thought she knew. Thought she made a family with.

But he vanished like a phantom, yet his echoes still lingered, he and her little blue eyed boy still haunted her home and heart even after she tried to scrub both of them away.

Dawn would break upon the horizon, blazing strands of orange and pink would stream through the window, painting the room in their vibrant hues. And mother and son would still be locked in pieta-c embrace, trying to find solace in each other’s arms from the cruel world that lay outside their door.

#sanders sides #nachosforfree #magical girl au #Virgil Sanders #Patton Sanders #unsympathetic patton #hurt virgil #fic #writing #angst #tw flashbacks #tw past abuse #Diana Anxiti #Virgils Mom #hurt and comfort #Dragon Witch #Wrath Sanders #Roman Sanders #Remus Sanders #deceit sanders #Logan Sanders #Remy Sanders

[sasmeo-bisaster]

Witch roman and prince deceit au a bit inspired by witch hunt from vocaloid at the beginning and then taking another whole direction with help by @purp-man @jajathelivingmeme @mijako98 :

-roman is a witch specialized in potions always followed by baby dragons

-those dragons are thomas, joan and talyn

-thomas is the dragon prince

- talyn can change colors

-joan is the most adorable one

-Roman doesn't know it but the entire dragon population is willing to kill for him

-he just ended up saving thomas and the others baby dragons more than once and got adopted into the dragon royal family by thomas

-roman wears classic witch dresses just for the aesthetic

-roman lives in the woods near the castle deceit lives in

- deceit is the heir of whatever kingdom but is too focused on the mysterious person the he always sees by the forest to pay attention to his lessons to prepare him to rule

- anytime he can he goes there to see if he can find him

-roman and deceit end up friends in a way or another

-roman is the first to fall in love and rants about it to the dragons

-deceit the day after finds himself followed by dragons that wish to do a shovel talk to him

-no the dragon don't talk in a language comprehensible to humans, but they do understand them

-roman doesn't even know he just likes to talk and the baby dragons are always willing to listen

-deceit is scared af by the attempts of draconic shovel talk

-deceit has virgil as a brother but nobody actually knows cause virgil is also a witch and got send away for his magic powers

-virgil is very talented in spells

-roman and virgil know each other and roman considers them rivals, virgil just wants to protect his brother and roman feels like a treat

-Patton is virgil and deceit's father and he is very fearful of magic

-Roman not wanting deceit to discover that he is a witch cause he heard about what happened to virgil, not with enough details to know it happened to him and the fear to be rejected by deceit and then cast away from the woods he considers his home

-once roman shows deceit the way in the forest and he knows it so well and is very comfortable and he's got that cute little smile and Dee goes

OH

OH

-they hold a ball at the palace and deceit invites roman but the witch can't come for fear of being discovered and because virgil makes sure it's impossible for him to come

-deceit runs away from the ball to go to roman and they dance together under the moonlight in a clearing in the woods

-virgil starts to think that roman isn't so bad but it takes a while to trust him but in the end they become friends

- when they become friends, virgil convinces roman to tell deceit he is a witch cause it would be worse if he were to know by any other way

-deceit is very curious about magic and the brother he didn't even know he had

-they start to work together to convince patton and the rest of the kingdom that magic is good

-remus is also there but he doesn't really interact with the others

-remus is a warlock that gets help with his uncontrolled magic from a lovecraftian demon

-that demon is logan and he is very powerful don't even try to cross him

-remus tries very hard to keep in check his very powerful magic but can't and when he almost destroys a whole city logan comes and be like "I can't leave such a danger to the whole world alone so now I will teach you"

-remus immediately wants to gets in his pants cause like logan is hot and tentacles

-but also he's like "how can a demon like you be so cautious"

-Remus constantly flirting with logan

-logan not understanding at the beginning cause demon don't really flirt to court each other and remus has just a really weird way to flirt that includes organs way too many times

-one day logan sees remus sleeping covered in dirt and unknown things and goes to clean him up a bit and remus leans in his hand and logan softly smile and then

Oh

OH

-and then he disappears in his dimensions cause how he is supposed to deal with the fact that he has just found that rat of his warlock cute

-remus not long after notices he has disappeared and goes after him cause that's his demon and how dares he escape from him and he opens a portal that no human should be able to open but we love an overpowered boi

-in the dimension he meets remy, a god of mischief

-remy wants to become his patron cause he can literally feel how powerful that boy his and also he finds him very funny

-remus doesn't really care about it cause he just wants to find his demon

-logan is not very pleased when he knows about remy's and gets a bit possessive

-after logan remy leaves remus alone cause he can't deal with possessives demon

- remus and logan go back to the normal dimension and both promise to the other to never leave each other

-meanwhile virgil has to deal with roman and deceit being pining oblivious messes

- he gets tired at one point and locks them in a closet with magic

- he only opens when deceit finally confesses to roman

#sanders sides #ts #tss #ts au #au #fantasy #dragons #magic #demons #prince! deceit #witch! roman #witch! virgil #witches #demon! logan #warlock! remus #king! patton #unsympathetic patton #just at the beginning nothing too big #god of mischief! remy #roman sanders #deceit sanders #remus sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #remy sanders #roceit #intrulogical #tw long post

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

remus angst?

*cough cough* Remus singing The Next Right Thing after Roman dies fighting the Dragon Witch and having to be the only Creativity left, having to find a way to become King Creativity again so that he can keep Roman’s ‘good’ brand of Creativity alive. *cough cough*

#sanders sides #unsympathetic dragon witch #remus sanders #roman sanders #king creativity #creativitwins #sanders sides imagine #imagine #snoweyanswers #anon #tw angst #tw death mention

[the-small-one-to-rule-them-all]

How to Befriend a Dragon Part 2

Sequel/continuation of How to Befriend a Dragon part 1

summary: Virgil meets Logan, gets to know Patton’s friends better, and finds himself some friends 

word count: 3949

warnings: Remus shows up this time, unsympathetic remus, panic attacks, crying, I think that is it but if I missed something please let me know!!

a/n: So i finally had some inspiration and got around to finishing this part two that I started a while ago. you will probably want to read How to Befriend a Dragon before you read this. I mean I guess you can read it by itself but you won’t have much context, but i mean do what you want, I certainly can’t stop you. Anyway, I did work hard on this and I hope you enjoy the ending I came up with. =) I would love to hear your thoughts!! (aka please leave a comment I thrive on them, they make my whole week)

The three of you take a moment to collect yourselves before Roman clears his throat, “Uh, I believe there is still one more friend to meet.” he prompts.

Patton startles, “Of course, you should come meet Logan. He would love to meet you!”

You smile and nod, you are a bit tired from all the crying but you think you should be able to manage meeting one more person. 

You all get up and Roman leads the way out of the room towards the kitchen table. 

As you approach the table, the man sitting there looks over at you and nods, “I suppose the three of you have worked out the previous misunderstandings?”

“Yeah, i'd say everything is good now, Specs.”

The man hums and looks to you, his face unreadable for a moment before a small smile crosses his face, “Hello, you must be Virgil. It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Logan.”

You smile nod and bow your head to him in greeting. 

“Why don't you join us for the morning meal? Patton had made some fried potatoes that look and smell amazing  and I am excited to eat them.”

You nod, joining him at the table, sitting down facing him.

Roman joins you two, sitting next to you. “We never did tell you why we’re here, did we Patton”

“No, you didn't,” Patton answers

Roman smiles, “Logan is looking for something for the shop.”

Logan nods, “Yes. We heard wind of a magic book being uncovered around here and I felt it was worth it to come look. Partially because even if we don’t find the book we still have the chance to visit you and catch up.”

You tilt your head as Patton excitedly begins asking Logan all about this book. 

Roman taps the table in front of you to get your attention, “Logan runs a magical bookshop back in the city. Well, magical might not be the writing word, he sells all sorts of books, but as an alchemist, and a wizard, he does love magical books and items.”

You grab the paper from the middle of the table and write down a response, “What is an alchemist? And what is the difference between a witch and a wizard?”

“Uh, that’s not really a question I can answer.” He turns to Logan, “Hey Specs, Virgil has some questions.”

Logan immediately turns his attention to Virgil, “Oh, yes i'm sure you do. Sorry for not asking. What questions do you have.”

You spin the notebook to him for him to read.

Logan reads them over for a moment, “Ah, okay, well first off, alchemy. It is a magical practice, under the umbrella of transmutation,” he notices your confused face and elaborates, “the practice of turning one substance into another. Alchemy specifically is more focused on turning base metals into gold, finding cures for all diseases, and finding a means through which to indefinitely prolong one’s life. 

The part of the practice which most interests me is finding cures for diseases, though I am no doctor. I find that magic is it’s purest and least corruptible when being used to help others, and most specifically when healing. So I aim to find healing items and spells. I use these for some profit, admittedly, I do have to keep up shop somehow. 

I do so through the coffee shop that is attached to my book store, which Roman runs. We sell magic drinks that assist with various ailments, and others that are just useful on certain occasions. For example, tea with healing properties for those who have a cold, coffees with a shot of charisma potion in case one has a big presentation or such that day, though it is often bought by young men before attempting to ask out a suitor, and other such things. Does that make sense?”

You nod, trying your best not to stare in awe for a moment before remembering your other question and pointing to the paper again.

“Ah, yes, the difference between a witch and a wizard. This, surprisingly, is a little more complicated than the other question, partially because the title can just be one of personal preferences. See, I choose to use the term wizard because I study my craft more from books and ancient practices than I do from nature, which is, traditionally, where most witches will draw their power. Also the title witch implies and internal magical nature, which some, like Patton, possess and use to hone their craft. I do not have such a nature and am merely learning through study, not relying on any internal intuitive knowledge. But largely it is just a question of preference.”

You listen quietly, nodding to show your attention. When he finishes he hands the paper back to you and you scribble down a comment, “That bookstore/ coffee shop sounds really cool!” 

Roman taps next to the pad, “Is it okay if I read it outloud for you or would you rather show it to him?”

You are surprised he asked but pleased he would think to. You realise that him talking for you would probably make it easier so you nudge the paper closer to him so both of you can read it and he smiles. 

“I'm glad, maybe you can visit someday.” Logan responds.

You nod, but your face falls as you think about what the journey would entail, “I think I would rather stay here, but thank you.”

Roman chuckles, “We weren’t saying today, we do have a book to look for after all, but if at any point in the future you end up visiting the city we would love for you to stop by.”

You feel the tension leave your shoulders and you nod in understanding and agreement. 

“How are you enjoying your time here with Patton? Have you found any hobbies you enjoy?”

Roman smiles, “Virgil says, I like being here. Patton is very kind. I have enjoyed spending time in the garden and like that I don't have any big responsibilities like I used to.”

Logan nods, “I'm sure that the opportunity for rest is enjoyable. Is there anything to do around here for fun?”

You can't help the snort that leaves you as you write, “Depends on how you define fun.”

Both Roman and Logan let out a laugh at that and some of the tension falls from your shoulders. Perhaps this Logan man is okay too.

You write more, “No, but I do enjoy how beautiful the flowers are. I often wish I was able to capture their image so I could look at them again later.”

Roman turns towards you a little, “Virgil, have you ever tried to draw the flowers?”

“What’s that?” you ask.

“Oh. I hadn't considered that maybe you wouldn't know. Umm-” Roman looks around for a moment before turning back to you, “Can I borrow a piece of blank paper and a pencil for a moment?”

You look at him for a long moment before conceding and hesitantly handing over your voice.

“Logan, may I draw you?”

“I suppose.”

You watch in silent fascination as Roman alternates between staring at Logan and the paper, writing, or drawing, you guess, but why he is looking at Logan you can't tell. It is only when he hands the paper and pencil back to you that you realize what was happening. Looking back at you off of the paper is a messy, but recognizable Logan. Your jaw drops as you look from Logan to the paper and back.

“What do you think?” Roman asks with a chuckle.

You blink up at him in awe. And grab the pencil from the table and carefully tear the picture of Logan from the pad. You stare at the paper, close your eyes for a minute remembering the image you want to make then open them and bring pencil to paper. You make lines and specs and focus intently on the paper in your hands and the look of the marks you are making. When you are satisfied you set it down on the table with a small smile. 

Roman looks over to see that you have drawn a beautiful, if a bit messy, rendition of your dragon form. The proportions are a bit off and it’s really sketchy but it is noticeably you. 

“Oh cool! Who is this?” he asks, not having seen you in dragon form before.

You smirk and allow yourself to shift into dragon form, hopping up onto the table next to your drawing. 

“Oh woah! It’s you!”

Logan smiles, “That’s quite the artistic rendition. Your skills impress me, especially for not being able to see yourself.”

You shrug and shift back, hopping off the table as Patton brings breakfast over for the four if you, “Here ya go! I hope you guys are hungry, I know I am.”

“Hey Pat, look at this drawing Virgil did!” Roman exclaims with a smile

Patton squeals 

You can't tell what is happening. That is so loud! He’s yelling! Why is he yelling? What did I do wrong? I didn’t mean to do anything wrong. Please don't hurt me please don't hurt me. You think over and over. 

Patton is saying something else. It's so loud. You don’t know what he’s saying. There’s talking then silence. It’s quiet. Too quiet. Hands grab yours and you freeze. You open your eyes and see Patton looking gently back at you. You look away, resisting the urge to close your eyes. A thumb runs across the back of your hand. 

“Hey there Kiddo? You back with us?”

You frown and furrow your brows in confusion. You never left, you just... couldn’t hear. You nod. 

The answer is only partially true. 

“Hey, I'm sorry kiddo. I shouldn’t’ve yelled. I didn’t mean to scare you so bad. I was loud because I liked it so much. I know that’s no excuse for scaring you like that, but that’s why. Could you forgive me kiddo?”

You take a deep breath, letting yourself relax, and nod. 

“You okay?”

You nod. 

“Okay, well then let's get back to eating. I'm hungry.”

You take a deep breath and pull the hood around your head a bit further forward. You are excited, but nervous, you’re going to go visit Logan and Roman at their bookstore in the city with Patton.

You look over at Patton who is walking confidently beside you before looking ahead. As you turn your eyes back to the path you see the view of the city pop up over the horizon and you stop in your tracks. Seeing the city you realize... the last time you were here you were being bought by Remus. You entered a free man. You left in a cage. 

“You okay kiddo?”

You shake your head. You thought you were ready. You can't do this. It’s not safe. There are too many people. It’s too risky.

Patton stands in front of you, effectively blocking your view, “I can't tell what is wrong, you are going to need to tell me.”

You pull out the paper and tell him you don't feel comfortable going into the city so alone. You feel vulnerable.

Patton is quiet for a moment, “Oh. I didn't realize.” He looks very thoughtful, “Would having Logan and Roman with us as we go help you feel safer? More people, more magic users, more protection?”

You think about it a moment, then nod, that would make you feel safer.

Patton smiles a little and nods, “Okay, give me a moment to contact Logan and see how fast they can get here.”

Soon enough Logan and Roman make their way out of the city and join you on the hilltop. 

The four of you start walking and Logan and Patton fall into conversation naturally. You stick to Roman’s side and he sticks to yours as the four of you start walking. You are a bit slower than Logan and Patton but that is okay. You don't mind as long as they are close and you can see them.

After you make it down the hill in relative silence, Roman looks at you sadly and sighs, “The last time you were here you left with my brother, didn’t you?”

You nod. 

He sighs, “I understand. Just stay close and you will be alright. You have two fantastic magic users and me, a trained soldier, protecting you. Do your best not to worry about it too much.”

You take a deep breath and nod, then you take Roman’s hand as people leaving the city start to approach you, walking the opposite way. They are walking slowly and seem to have some stragglers in their group. It takes a good few minutes, but then they come into view. You grip Roman’s hand tighter as you recognize the man in the front or the group. He is walking straight at you. Your stomach drops. You refuse to make eye contact. It is Remus. 

“Lo, Pat, c’mere.” Roman calls cheerfully.

You watch in a daze as they hurry back to you, “What is it Roman?”

“My brother is heading towards us.” Roman says calmly. 

Patton nods, “Virgil you stay by my side. Hold my hand. Keep your hood all the way up. Look down and straight ahead. Do not engage.”

You tug up your hood and grip his hand as tightly as you can. Logan walks in front and Roman behind. You do your best to swallow the panic rising in your chest and into your throat as you walk and  he gets closer. Patton’s hand on you tightens and you see his free hand slip into his wand pocket. You notice Logan is keeping a startlingly exact pace as you walk as though keeping time to music. You stare at his feet and just keep walking when suddenly you hear his voice. 

“Brother!”

Roman stops, you hear his footfalls quiet and sense his presence fall away. You hear him huff, “I don't have the time to talk right now. I have training.”

Remus seems to pout, “But I miss our talks!”

“I'm sorry, I do too, but I'm so busy. I just don't have the time!”

Remus sighs, “Fine.” he wines, “But tell Virgil I say hello!”

You nearly stumble but manage to keep the pace as you hear your name from his lips. He saw you. 

You only just hear Roman ask, “Who?” over the sudden ringing in your ears. 

Remus’s laugh cuts through easily, “Oh, oh I see. Nevermind then.”

Roman huffs and you hear his footsteps start coming closer.

“Bye bye!” Remus calls before turning and continuing his path away from you.

Roman stays back until Remus is far enough behind to no longer be a danger before slowly increasing his pace until he catches up with you three. 

None of you say a word until you enter the bookshop. 

You step in the door and the world spins. Nausea hits you, then the life shattering panic. You feel your legs give out and you sink to the floor. You are vaguely aware of Roman sitting next to you. Then the world seems to shrink and all you can hear is Remus saying your name, again and again. He knows where you are. He knows who you’re with. He is going to come back for you. He is going to kill you. He is going to kill you. He is going to-. You feel a hand on top of yours and you pull away, flailing back and hitting the wall. Someone is saying something but you can't hear it. You can't hear. You can't tell. It hurts to breathe, when did that happen? Why can't you breathe you must be dying! Suddenly you hear a tune, a happy peaceful one. It is pretty and calming. You hold onto it, hoping it isn't a trick of your mind, or a trap of his. 

Slowly the world comes back and you find you are leaning against the wall of the bookshop. Roman is about five feet away from you and Logan is next to him humming the song that pulled you from your panic attack.

Patton is in front of you. When he notices you have come back a little, that you are aware of the things around you, he speaks. “Hey kiddo, it’s me, Patton. You are safe. Everything is okay, everything is going to be okay.”

You turn to him and grab his hand, not as tight as before, but enough to remind you that he is there. 

Patton smiles.

You catch some movement out of the corner of your eye and look to see Roman uncurl his legs and put his head in his hands. Logan moves to gently rub his back.

“You’re safe, my star.” Logan tells him gently, “You are free.”

Roman takes a deep breath, finally sits up, and looks over at you.

The two of you share a look, a smirk, and a shrug. You both will be alright, in time. 

Roman sighs and stands, taking Logan’s hand to help him up, “Sorry your welcome to the bookstore was not what we had hoped it might be, but i'm glad we were with you.”

Logan clears his throat, “Well, here is to a new opportunity, Welcome to Books and Brews, the best magical bookshop in town!”

You shrug, standing with Patton’s help, and finally get the chance to take a good look around the store. It is beautiful. There are clearly labeled shelves going in every direction and lining the walls. You see a reading nook they’ve implemented with fairy lights and beanbags, pillows, blankets and lots of comfy chairs to sit in and read. There is a second story that goes around the outside walls of the store where there are fancily bound books, books organized by color intended for decoration, and a beautiful spiral staircase leading up there. Not to mention the coffee shop. A small opening in the middle of the right wall leads into a coffee shop, a sign with the name hanging over the doorway. Inside you see a cozy coffee shop with soft lighting, and lots of sitting room. 

You smile wide, you think this place is fantastic. You spend the afternoon with Roman wandering around the bookshop while Patton and Logan discuss book preservation techniques. He shows you his favorite books and spots to read, shows you their little collection of succulents they have filling the windowsills. 

You and Roman end up sitting in the reading nook, each reading your respective books. You sit in a soft fluffy chair under a canopy of blankets and he takes to a big chair, like a desk chair but more cushioned. He has his legs thrown over an armrest and is leaning against the other. After a few minutes, Roman sighs, “I am sorry about what happened on the road this morning. I should’ve ignored him and kept walking. I am sorry I was too afraid to protect you like I should have.”

You shake your head, he is not responsible for his brother’s actions. Nothing he did would’ve stopped his brother from letting you know he recognised you. You never held him responsible for that in the first place.

Roman sighs, “Thanks for forgiving me.”

You shrug and return to your book, but notice that Roman doesnt, he just stares off, deep in thought. You leave him to his imagination until his call of your name pulls you from the story you were reading. He turns to you and asks if you want to see the cafe. 

You nod, and head over with him. 

As you had noticed before, the cafe is well lit with soft light. It has comfy couches and chairs set around multiple tables around the room. The handwriting on the menu is beautiful, but parts of it, the titles of each section especially, are written in such a fancy swirly font that you can hardly make them out. Thankfully the lists of items and ingredients are easily legible. 

“I wanna make you a drink. It’s one of my favorites and I think you’ll like it!”

You smile and take a seat at a counter where you watch Roman create this drink he has in mind. You’re so captivated by the almost beautiful process and amount of care you watch Roman put into making this drink that you forget to ask what it is. 

He hands it to you, a warm tea of some sort, you came to realize, and you take a sip. It is delicious! After several sips you feel something strange in the back of your throat.You suppose it is just the feeling of it hitting your throat after you kinda wore it out with the panic attack earlier so you don't say much. 

Roman seems glad you are enjoying the tea and drinks some himself.

After about half the cup is gone you realize your throat hurts quite a bit, it feels very raw. So you tell Roman and ask if that is a normal part of drinking this tea.

Roman shrugs, “I don't know if it is normal, but it makes sense. This is tea with some healing elixir in it. I find it helps energise me and make me feel better after i've had a panic attack, that’s why I figured I would make you some. I assume perhaps your throat hasn't healed all the way yet. You don't have to finish it if it hurts. I didn't think it would do anything honestly. That is part of why I asked you to try to make a noise earlier. If your throat hadn’t healed all the way I didn't want to give you something that might hurt.”

You sigh and set the drink down, relieved you don't have to finish it, despite how good it tastes.

“Sorry I didn't mean to give you something that would hurt.”

You shake your head, you don't mind, he couldn't possibly have known. Then you realise. If this thing heals injuries... you wonder.

You sit thoughtfully for a moment, “How fast does this drink heal wounds?”

Roman frowns, “Umm... diluted like this, I think it would take about half a drink to heal a fresh decently sized cut. Why?”

You shake your head focus for a minute and go to hum. 

A noise comes out. Small, but distinct and definitely there!

You gasp and Roman nearly drops his cup. You grab your pad of paper and run to the front of the bookstore where Patton and Logan are chatting with Roman on your heels. You wave frantically at them and they stop talking to turn to you.

“Yes Virgil? Is something wrong?”

You shake your head, no. Nothing is wrong, something is very right, You think. You don't know how strong your voice is or how long it will last, but you clear your throat and freeze, unsure.... What do you say? After all this time, after everything Patton has done for you? What do you say first?

You stop, taking a moment to think about it. You clear your throat, look at Patton and say, “Thank you.” it is just above a whisper, but Patton hears it loud and clear. Immediately he begins to tear up. You let out a shaky breath and smile, “Thank you Patton.”

“Oh Kiddo!” He says running around the table to hug you, a giant smile on his face. He wraps you in his arms and you begin to cry as well.

“Thank you for everything.” you say.

“Of course! I wouldn't dream of doing any less.” Patton replies through happy tears, his arms still wrapped tightly around you.

You smile bright as he lets go and grabs your hands insead, “Thank you for being my friend.”

tag list:

If you asked about a sequel/follow up/part 2 I tagged you

@abstractedthinking

@aceof-pans

@thesynysterunknown

@onlytrueinparadise

#hobbit writes #patton sanders #witch!patton #logan sanders #wizard!logan #roman sanders #roman sanders runs a magical coffee shop #virgil sanders #shapeshifter!virgil #dragon!virgil #remus sanders #unsympathetic remus #panic attack #crying

[ask-dc-sanders-sides]

We know how Romulus acted towards Roman, but what about everyone else?

Romulus when interacting with everyone:

Roman:

Romulus:

Roman:

Romulus: dungeon time

Roman: *sCreAmS*

----------------

Remus:

Romulus:

Remus:

Romulus: who are you again?

Remus: D a d

Romulus: Oh wait the bitch that ran away

Remus: gksnfokec

------------

Dee: bitch

Romulus: hoe

Dee: asshole

Romulus: fuckface

-------

Virgil: Fuck you

Romulus: No thanks

Virgil:

Virgil: s i r-

---------------

Logan:

Romulus:

--------------

Patton: Hello Romulus.

Romulus: Hello Patton.

---------------

Remy: I'm gonna fuckin crusade against you

Romulus: Oh? With what army?

Remy: your son is the prince and people like him more than you

Romulus:

Remy:

Dragon Witch: Oop.

-----------

Ray: *immediately punches in the face*

Romulus: Yup going going

#unsympathetic patton #ts virgil #ts logan #ts remus #ts roman #ts patton #ts dee #ts remy sanders #oc romulus #oc ray #ray isnt mine #romulus gets decked #ts dragon witch

[logina-logic-sanders]

The secret

Open Rp

My character(s): Logan, Deceit

Your character(s): y/c

T.w: unsympathetic patron and Roman, sympathetic Virgil, Deceit, Remus, abuse, neglect, attempts of suicide, suicidal thoughts, cutting, overworking, not eating

Logan has a huge secret that he is keeping from the other light sides. Logan is part dragon yeah pretty shocking right? Well logan is actually the son of the Dragon witch but he keeps it a secret not wanting the others to hate him. The only ones who know are Virgil, Dee, and Remus and that's because they saw it with their own eyes. Logan can have dragon like features when he chooses to be. He normally has blue dragon ears, black horns, yellow eyes, sharp teeth, blue scales, blue wings and a blue tail. Logan can hide these features pretty well. But what happens when one of the other two light sides find out? Will logan be accepted or will he be kicked out?

#roleplay sanders sides #sanders sides angst #logan sanders #sanders sides #logan angst #dragon witch #unsympathetic patton #unsympathetic roman #sympathetic dark sides

[peachscribe]

peach’s summer book list

i had a lot of fun compiling the list of books i read during the 20-21 winter, so i decided i would do a summer one as well! i still have a lot of books i own but haven’t read, so im definitely not lacking in material

if you didn’t see my winter list, how my book list works is basically like this: i read a book that i own but have not previously read, write a short summary immediately after finishing the book, write down my thoughts on the book, and then provide a rating for the book. i also might include background info on why i read this particular book/feelings about the author, but that depends on the book. that’s how each entry works

without further ado, let’s get started!

1. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

okay so i absolutely adore another book by andrew smith (written after grasshopper jungle) called the alex crow. it’s one of my favorite books of all time, so naturally i wanted to see if grasshopper jungle would make me feel similarly. just like the alex crow, grasshopper jungle’s plot is. so fucking weird. it stars austin szerba, a teenage polish kid who lives in ealing, iowa, and is often sexually confused regarding his girlfriend shann and his best friend robby. and in ealing, iowa, austin and robby accidentally and unknowingly unleash an unstoppable army of huge six-foot-tall praying mantis bugs that only want to do two things: fuck and eat. and i just have to say: andrew smith’s got an absolutely dynamo writing style. alex crow is similar, where it’s a book about kind of everything all at once, framed in a moment centering around teenage boys. it’s fantastic, and it’s more than a little gross, and i love it. this book made me feel so many things, and i thought austin was such an amazing narrator and main character to identify with. this book has it all: shitty teenage boy humor, fucked up science experiments, and poetic imagery that will make you want to cry. and explicit lgbt characters.

412/10 andrew smith what do you put in your water i just want to know

2. Burn by Patrick Ness

patrick ness has written a plethora of some of my favorite books (such as a monster calls, the chaos walking trilogy, and the rest of us just live here) so when i saw this one in the store i knew it would be a great one. burn is an alternate history fantasy that takes place in 1957 frome, washington, during the height of the cold war, and it begins with a girl named sarah and her father hiring a dragon to help out on their farm. but there’s not just dragons, farm living, and cold war tensions; there’s also a really shitty small town cop, a cult of dragon worshippers and their deadly teenage assassin, a pair of fbi agents, and a prophecy that sarah’s newly hired dragon claims she’s a part of. i think eoin colfer’s highfire was on my winter list, which also featured a story that included dragons and shitty cops, so when i first began burn i thought it was funny to have two books that had both things. you know, if you had a nickel etc etc. but that’s really where the similarities end because burn is entirely it’s own monster (dragon). burn is entirely invested in its world, and its fascinating. not only that, i had no clue where the book would take me next. there were so many surprises and amazing twists that honestly just blew me away. this book also includes beautifully written complicated discussions on family, race, and love - it features interracial and queer romances as the two most prominent romance plots which was such a nice surprise from a book i wasn’t expecting to have that kind of representation. this book is witty, fast-paced, and a very heartening read - i absolutely adored it.

9/10 dragons and becoming motivated by the power of love and friendship are so fucking cool

3. As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann

i hate this book! as meat loves salt is a historical fiction novel which takes place in seventeenth century england, which is going through a grisly civil war. the protagonist, jacob cullen, is a servant for a wealthy household and is engaged to another servant in the house. but due to certain events that are almost entirely jacob’s fault, he flees the house and is separated from his wife. from there, he joins the royal army and meets a kind soldier, ferris, and the two become fast friends. jacob and ferris’s relationship begins to bridge past friendly, and jacob struggles with his homoerotic feelings as well as the growing obsession and violence inside him. also, they try to start a colony. listen, i don’t know how to describe the book because so much happens, but it basically just follows jacob and all the terrible decisions he makes because he is, truly, a terrible person. ferris is kind and good, and jacob is scum of the earth. he sucks so bad. the entire time i was reading this book (which took absolutely so long), all i wanted was for jacob to just get his ass handed to him. i wanted to see him suffer. and it’s not like i just personally don’t like him - i believe the book purposefully depicts him as unsympathetic even though he is the narrator. i did enjoy the very in depth and accurate portrayal of what life would’ve been like in seventeenth century england, and i think it was interesting to read a character that is just the absolute worst person you’ve ever encountered and see him try and justify his actions, so if you enjoy that kind of thorough writing, then this book would be perfect for you. however, i did not see that bitch ass motherfucker jacob cullen suffer enough. i’d kill him with my bare hands.

2/10 diversity win! the worst man on earth is mlm!

4. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

i know ive had a friend tell me how great one of schwab’s other book series is, but truthfully i bought this book because the cover is sick as hell and it was on a table in the store that advertised for buy two get one free, i think. something like that. anyway, this savage song takes place in a future in which monsters, for whatever reason, suddenly became real and out for blood in a mysterious event nicknamed the phenomenon. august flynn is one of these monsters, but he takes no pride in that fact and only wants to feel human. kate harker is the daughter of a ruthless man and is trying her hardest to be ruthless, too, but deep down she knows it’s just an act. their city, verity, stands divided, and kate and august stand on either side - but when august is sent on a mission to befriend kate in the hopes of stopping an all out war, the lines begin to blur. this book rules. august and kate are such interesting and dynamic characters, and the narrative is familiar while still being capable of twisting the story around and taking the feet out from under you in really compelling ways. this savage song is part of the monsters of verity duology, and i can’t wait to dive into how the story continues and finishes.

11/10 sometimes you can judge a book by it’s cover

4a. Our Dark Duet by Victorian Schwab

this is the sequel and finale for this savage song and i’d figure i’d update everyone: fantastic ending, beautiful, showstopping, painful.

12/10 loved it and will definitely be keeping an eye out for schwab’s other books

5. White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

oh boy. okay. white is for witching is about a house, and it is about the women who have lived inside of it. when her mother dies abroad, miranda silver begins to act strangely, and there’s nothing her father or her twin brother seem to be able to do about it. she develops an eating disorder and begins to hear voices in the silver family house, converted to a bed and breakfast by miranda’s dad; and she begins to lose herself in the house and the persistent presence of her family legacy. white is for witching switches perspective dizzingly and disorientingly between miranda, her twin eliot, miranda’s friend from school named ore, and the house itself. this story is a horror story as much as it as a tragedy as much as it is a romance as much as it is a bunch of other things. oyeyemi brings race, sexuality, nationality, and family into this story and forces you not to look away. this book is poetry.

(like i mentioned briefly, this book heavily deals with topics of race and closely follows miranda’s eating disorder. read responsibly, and take care of yourselves)

15/10 this book consumed me and i think i’ll have to read it another 10 more times to feel it properly

6. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

okay. okay. strap in for a ride. these violent delights is a romeo and juliet style story, taking place in glittering 1920’s shanghai. the city stands divided - not only between the foreign powers encroaching on chinese land, but also between the scarlet gang and the white flowers, who are at the height of a generations-long blood feud. juliette cai, heir to the scarlets, has recently returned from four years abroad and is determined to prove herself ruthless enough to lead. roma montagov, heir to the white flowers, is standing strenuously on his place as next in line due to a slip up four years prior and is desperate to keep hold of his title. and in the midst of juliette and roma’s burning history with each other threatening to combust, an unnatural monster lurks in the waters of shanghai, loosing a madness on scarlets and white flowers alike. this book has it all - scorned ex lovers, political intrigue, deadly monsters, and all set on a glamorous backdrop of the roaring twenties. i absolutely was enraptured by this book and the way it plays around the story of romeo and juliet so well that it easily became it’s own monster, but with the punches and embraces of something classically shakespearan. gong does just an absolutely breathtaking job of fitting this fantastical story amid the larger world of shanghai and the real life historical events that had shaken the city to its core. completely immersive and outstandingly heart racing.

17/10 i was chewing on my fingernails for the last thirty pages and will continue to do so until the sequel is released (our violent ends, 16 nov 21)

7. The Antiques by Kris D’Agostino

you ever heard of the american dysfunctional family story? this is most definitely that. at the same time george westfall’s cancer takes a turn for the worse, a hurricane hits the east coast, and suddenly all at once the issues of his health, the hurricane, and all three of his children’s achingly dysfunctional adult lives are crashing into each other. reunited by george’s death, the westfall siblings have to face their grief, each other, and the problems in their own lives they attempted to put on hold while planning their father’s memorial. this is a nice story about grief and loss and love and somehow finding the humor amidst it all.

(this book does include a depiction of an autistic child who does experience several pretty bad meltdowns due to ignorant people around him not understanding how to cater to his needs. im not an authority on what depictions are or are not harmful, but i do believe this depiction is ultimately loving and well-intended.)

7/10 it made me laugh and cry and was generally one of those books that somehow hit you close to home

8. Fierce Fairytales by Nikita Gill

fierce fairytales is a poetry anthology that reimagines classic fairytales from a modern, feminist viewpoint, acknowledging that the line between hero and villain, monster and damsel, are not as clear cut as the classics try to make you believe. this book also includes illustrations done by the author herself, which i think is really cool. my personal favorite story reimagining was the story of peter pan and captain hook, called ‘boy lost’ which looked at how peter and hook’s relationship began and rotted. all in all, i think this collection of stories had a lot of important things to say and said them in frank, easy to understand poetry and prose.

7/10 beautiful message and pretty prose, but at times a little cliche

and that’s all from the summer! my fall semester starts tomorrow, and overall i feel very good about all the reading i did this summer. i even read four other books not on this list for work! so i definitely feel like i made the most out of my time, and im really glad i was able to read so many stories that made me feel a variety of different things

thanks so much for reading this list, and let me know if you read or have read any of these books and tell me what you think of them!

happy reading<3

#book recs #book rec #book rec list #grasshopper jungle #burn #as meat loves salt #this savage song #monsters of verity #white is for witching #these violent delights #the antiques #fierce fairytales #just like my winter list i did write ever review immediately after finishing the book and i think. #i think here you can really tell what my immediate reactions were based on how the review is written fbfjfjd

[lio-the-chaotic-nonbeanie-weenie]

Bad Things Happen Bingo: Sanders Sides

Hidden Scar

[Creativitwins centric, unsympathetic Patton]

WARNINGS: DESCRIPTIONS OF SCARS, TW SCARS, TW UNSYMPATHETIC PATTON

Pairings: BROTHERLY CREATIVITWINS 

(A/N: card provided by: @badthingshappenbingo​)

Roman and Remus share a lot of things. A theme. A title. A love for fantasy and fighting beasts. A tendency for recklessness. And most importantly, scars. Lots and lots of scars. Roman loves going on adventures and being a hero. He loved fighting beasts and saving his people. Of course, he never came out unscathed. Every other week he’d have a new scar. Remus is chaotic. He’s constantly doing something new and dangerous for fun. From explosive experiments to playing with something sharp and pointy. Most of the time, it ends up with him getting injured and adding a scar to his collection. Now, the twins may have scars but one twin’s scars aren't identical to the other’s. Except for one. One that they kept hidden for a reason. But not for long.

It started in the Imagination. Janus was watching over the twins as they rolled around in the grass field of Roman’s side. Roman had shoved Remus into the grass but had paused for a quick moment to glance at Remus’ left side. Then they went back to play-fighting after that. Anyone else could have missed that but Janus noticed. He has the ability to see things others won’t notice. Like a fake smile rather than a real smile. Janus sets his book down and watches from where he’s sitting under a tree. Remus shoves Roman down this time but pauses to look at Roman’s right side before tackling him. 

It makes Janus hum in curiosity. He knows both twins have scars everywhere, Roman more than Remus which is very concerning. But both twins seem to only check their sides. Roman had scars on his cheek from a past Dragon Witch battle. Remus had a scar across the bridge of his nose from when a shard of glass cut his face while he was smashing old wine bottles for Janus. But that’s not what either twin was looking at. They seemed more focused on the blank space just beside it. As if there were a scar there too. That makes Janus think again, humming as he watches Roman check Remus again after shoving him down.

“Remus, are you hurt, dear?” Janus calls, deciding to try something.

Remus pokes his head up beside Roman from the tall grass.

“I’m okay, Jan! And not bleeding! No, Roman isn’t bleeding either!” comes the reply.

Janus chuckles fondly. Typical Remus.

“Alright. Then may I ask why you both keep checking each other’s face like you are injured?” 

Both twins hesitate, Roman whispering to Remus who nods.

“Just making sure we’re okay. Stupid Patton’s gonna freak if I make RoRo bleed again.” Remus replies with a grin, making Roman snort.

Janus hums. A lie of omission. Clever.

“I assume Roman’s doing the same to assure me?”

“Yep!”

“Alright then. Continue whatever you are doing.” 

Janus hums again. Interesting.

The next day, Janus made his way to Roman’s room. Remus had gone over to hang out some more with his twin. Janus is happy to see the twins getting along again. In fact, they seem closer than ever. Which was good. They seem to balance each other perfectly. As Janus approaches Roman’s shiny red and gold door, he hears the twins’ laughter. It’s been ages since he’s heard that sound. He listens to them for a moment, smiling fondly. 

“Ree, stop eating all my foundation! I need that!”

“Don’t make it look like delicious looking cream then, RoRo!”

“Give it ba-really?!”

“Bleh!…It did not taste like cream!”

“It’s for my face not your tongue!”

“Ooh~”

“Don’t-”

“But you were thinking about it!”

“Shut up!”

More laughter is heard.

Janus shakes his head fondly. Then he composes himself as he remembers what he came here to do. It’s currently lunch time now and Janus had offered to call the twins down. He knows Roman’s grown uncomfortable around Patton. Janus understands. Patton still has a lot to learn about being a dad and how to care for the other sides. The twins, especially. But that’s for another day. Pushing that thought aside, Janus knocks on the other.

“It’s Janus. Can I come in, boys?”

There’s a few crashing noises heard followed by Remus’ swearing.

“One second, Janus!” Roman replies followed by some thumping and, “Remus, put that away!”

Janus raises an eyebrow at the noise. Before he can ask, the door opens and the twins stand there. Remus has foundation smeared around his mouth and cheeks while Roman has a tiny bit of foundation on the right cuff of his jacket. Janus looks the twins up and down with a curious look.

“Do I even want to know what you two did?” Janus asks, smiling small.

“Well…I learned that foundation is not tasty cream.” Remus grins.

“I warned you, dumbass.” Roman snorts.

Janus shakes his head fondly.

“Fair enough. It’s time for lunch so start washing up, you two.” 

The twins nod.

“You got it, Jan!” Remus grins, wiping some foundation off of his left cheek.

That’s when Janus blinks and sees it.

It’s a scar. One he hasn’t seen before. It’s a dark red and jagged, running down his cheek. It disappears under the foundation and Janus wonders if that’s all or if it goes down further. It looks like such an old scar yet Janus has never seen it. 

“Uh, Jan? Whatcha staring at, snakey?” Remus asks, blinking as he breaks the silence.

Roman blinks and looks over to Remus, gasping.

“Ree! Your cheek!” he whispers.

Remus blinks again and feels his cheek, eyes widening as he feels a rigid texture on his cheek rather than a smooth texture.

“Shit!”

Janus shakes out of his shock and softens, seeing the twins starting to grow uncomfortable. 

“Hey, it’s alright. You can tell me what that is. If not, I won’t push it.”

Remus looks to Roman who nods after whispering something to Remus. Probably assurance.

“Alright, we’ll tell you.” Remus finally says.

“But could we do it in my room?” Roman adds.

Janus nods.

“Of course, Roman.”

The twins relax a little at that and let Janus in, shutting the door as soon as he’s in.

“Whenever you’re ready. If you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to tell me everything, ok?” Janus assures the twins.

Janus has been trying to help both twins talk about their feelings since they seem to be struggling. It seems to help that the twins are together when they talk about this kinda stuff. Again, especially for Roman.

The twins nod in reply and take a deep breath, nodding at each other next.

“Before we explain, we’ll show you what the scar really looks like.” Roman starts.

Janus nods and sits on Roman’s bed.

The twins wave their hands and the foundation Roman put is now gone. The  foundation smeared all over Remus is gone too. Now, Janus can see matching scars on the twins. They’re both dark red and ridged, starting from their temples and running down their cheeks then down their necks and disappearing under the collars of their shirts. Janus has to resist the urge to reach out and touch them. How long had this been hidden?

“How…How far does it go?” Janus asks after a moment later.

Roman shifts, his insecurities flaring up a bit. Remus is quick to squeeze Roman’s hand.

“I’ll show it to him, Ro.” Remus murmurs to Roman. 

Roman nods and Remus waves the top half of his own outfit away.

Janus has seen Remus naked before but this is something new. The scar runs down Remus’ left shoulder to his left arm and down to his hand to his finger tip. It continues on the other side of his finger and up his palm to the underside of his arm. It still keeps going up to his armpit then down again the side of his body, down his waist and hips. It disappears below the waistband of his pants. Janus wonders what could have happened to give the twins these matching nasty scars.

“Does it…go further?” Janus asks, still a little in shock. 

Remus nods.

“All the way down to the tips of my toes.” he says. “Like a big ol’ seam.”

Janus reaches out but pauses, looking up at the twins.

“May I?” he asks.

Remus looks at Roman again and Roman nods once more, Remus following with another nod.

“But take your gloves off. It hurts a little when fabric scratches it.”

Janus nods.

“Of course. I’ll be gentle.”

Janus takes his gloves off and takes both the twins’ hands, examining the scar. There are other small scars littered all over Roman and Remus’ hands but they’ve faded into white stripes on their skin. Yet, this big one…is still a dark red.

“Who gave you this scar? Will you tell me what happened?” Janus asks, gently squeezing both their hands.

Roman shifts again, more shyly now. Or is it shameful? Roman’s too good of an actor for Janus to tell. Another concern for later.

Remus is quick to assure his twin again before answering for them.

“The split.” he replies.

Janus looks at the twins.

“The split..gave you this scar?” he asks.

The split was awful. Janus still remembers how the twins screamed in agony that day, begging for it to stop. The King, Janus’ old…friend and the twins’ true form, had been separated and literally pulled apart against their will. By Patton. Patton said it was for a good cause. For Thomas’ sake. Janus tried to argue but Patton sent him away. Janus had to fight his way back to the twins. He managed to take them and keep them safe for a few years but after 6 years of being together, Patton returned and took Roman again. All Janus could do was care for Remus and sneak him over when he could before the big gap of silence between the twins started.

Remus nods in reply.

“When we were pulled apart like grilled cheese, it hurt so bad. But that bastard didn’t stop. He pulled and pulled and when we were finally apart, it left a big painful scar. Roman and I tried to heal it while Patton was away but nothing worked. Not even our magic. We figured it’s more like a seam. A reminder that we were once whole.” he explains.

“W-We begged Patton to heal us but he said to keep it as a reminder that being The King was bad…” Roman adds quietly.

“And when you came back for us, we started hiding it. Covering it in any way we could. We didn’t want you to think we were bad too.” Remus finishes. 

Janus was in shock. All those years…the twins were hiding this because of Patton. He gazes at their matching scars again. These poor things. He can’t believe Patton would hurt one of his own. He thought the moral side was all about being good and a dad who cared about family. The dad side doesn’t seem to care much for the twins. Janus runs his fingers over their scars as regret wells up in them. He should’ve protected them both better.

“Janus?” comes Remus’ voice. “I can hear you thinking. It’s not your fault, y’know…I’m pretty sure this scar was unavoidable. That, and Patton was a selfish asshole. Kind of hypocritical, don’t you think?”

Janus nods, smiling small.

“I suppose…Still, I wish I had protected you both better. I made a promise after all.” he sighs.

This time Roman chimes in.

“Well, despite everything, you’ve still kept that promise. I mean…I don’t think Remus and I would have ever reconnected without you, Janus.” he adds.

“I guess you’re right. I just wish I could heal you both. Do know I won’t think of you both any less with these scars. Neither of you are bad. Especially to Thomas.” Janus replies, his smile now soft.

Janus runs his fingers over the twins’ scars once more, watching as the twins smile.

“Thanks, Janus.” the twins reply.

Janus nods, letting go of them and putting his glove back on.

“Of course. Now, I believe we were supposed to go to lunch downstairs but…I know a better place.”

Remus perks up.

“Home!” 

“Yes, Remus. Lunch at home. Roman may come.” Janus replies, huffing a laugh as Remus bounces excitedly.

Roman blinks in surprise.

“Really?”

“Of course. It was once your home after all.”

Roman smiles at that.

“I’d love to. What about Patton?”

Janus hums.

“We’ll deal with him later.”

The twins grin at that and follow Janus as they sink away to the dark side. Janus makes another vow to himself to be better at protecting the twins. And maybe, just maybe, he might be able to put them back together if they so desire. If not, he’s still happy to have them both home again.

Meanwhile, on the light side is a table with three empty chairs. The three already present are eating quietly. Patton occasionally gazes at the door but it doesn’t open and not even one of the missing three come to have lunch. So, after lunch is over, Patton goes up to Roman’s room to at least come get him. When he opens the door, he’s greeted by someone else.

“Janus?”

Janus smirks, snake eye glowing as he looks up with a bottle of Roman’s foundation in his hand.

“We need to have a talk about scars~”

#sanders sides #sanderssides #roman sanders #remus sanders #brotherly creativitwins #janus sanders #tw scars #tw unsympathetic patton