doing-an-okay-job-miranda

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

Hi! It's the anon that sent the ask asking for fic recommendations. I was right to assume you have a great taste in fics lol, I've read a lot of those and see a good bunch I'd love to read, so thank you! I've read through a lot of Ao3 but have some issues with finding fics on Tumblr lol

saoifjsdfgd thank you!! i’ll get around to reblogging that post with more when i have the energy to search for the fics I really enjoyed

yeah tho, the tagging system is kinda hard for fics on tumblr, especially when everyone uses their own version of tags and stuff usually I use the tag “sanders sides fic” to find things but it’s not the best and I know I miss a lot which is a shame so I usually stick to AO3

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Do you have any fanfic recommendations?

i usually read on AO3 so I don’t know a lot of peeps tumblrs but I’ll try

First, anything from @delimeful Here’s his masterpost 

my personal favorites of his are “Watch it burn and rust” an alien au where humans are death worlders and rip virgil

“To taste your beating heart” A vampire au where virgil is a vampire with no memory of his past life while the other sides are hunters who were his friends, also rip Virgil

Also his Minecraft au is super cute, I doodled a little comic thing for it

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@stillebesat fics are amazing too

“In these tangled webs”  “The Butterfly Effect” and “Contained” destroyed me but like so much of her work is just that good shit

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@kaysigns  “Hidden in Shadows” is something i immensely enjoy, Virgil is the teenage boogieman who decides that he doesn’t enjoy murdering kids

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Ayri’s “Plea for my new self” is a vampire au that’s just all around fun with Virgil being this really old vampire who decides to go to collage again and this whole world is just super interesting with lore and i love the relationships and writing, i don’t have their tumblr unfortunately, also small warning since this one has some suggestive moments

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@skeletonsloverockcandy “A hitchhiker’s guide for Androids” is about an Android Logan who rebels against his creators because they’re dumb and greedy and it’s such good shit

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“De in the Sea” by Billcipher111 on AO3 is a pirate au and is super fun and I love and should really have more attention

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AdrianaintheSnow  is a person who’s tumblr I dont have but all their writing is amazing Edit: found 'em @snowdice

Is There Anything Left of Patton? is a zombie au with a nonviolent zombie Patton who’s kept by his husband Logan and its so good and hurts and I love it

Their Labeled series too, superpower au about hero Logan adopting the “villain” Virgil who’s really not a villain at all since he’s just like, a baby

There’s so many but this is getting long and it’s 7am so just take these and run

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

favorite to least favorite side? go!

oh uh, this kinda came out of nowhere but sure lmao

If you look at my fics, you’ll probably notice a lot of the snake man. I have a million aus with all the sides but Deceit is just the easiest to write and the one i find the most motivation for.

So Janus is my number one.

Probably do to my interest in psychology and philosophy and also people who are just very self aware but impulsively defensive, you’ll notice when I write him he often knows the things he does wrong are the wrong thing to do but is either too prideful or angsty to change his path which tbh is a thing I enjoy too much, having a character know what they should do but too angry or self destructive to try is good shit. Also he’s flirty and that’s fun.

Logan for second place.

I don’t know, I think I like the calm smart bois with that loud anger but Logan is super fun and smart and I love writing him even tho I don’t do it as much as I should rip his aus, eventually I’ll get you your Garden AU buddy

Every time I write Logan tho he comes out really soft and I have no complaints with that, I love a soft nerd. I also love space so, I may be a little bias but this whole list is bias

Roman and Remus for third, I put them together because I kinda love them for the same reasons

I love royal aesthetic, dramatic bois, sibling rivalry

Roman is fun to write because I can just go off on tangents with flowery metaphors and just have him get distracted, he’s also super fun for writing gay panic and just general sweetness, I love the knight in shining armor and I love this man, also rounding back to the impulsively defensive thing that I like

(Roman also won my heart a little when he insulted Logan but immediately apologized and I was really soft, realizing your mistakes make me soft)

Remus hasn’t had much of the chance to shine in my fics as I keep shoving him into the more antagonist roles by accident because I just think he works super well as a scary dude but the times I have written him fully sympathetic were super fun and I love him and I could just say whatever popped in my head for him but also I wrote an entire oneshot just so I could talk about him getting hugged and I see him with that strange kinda sweetness that makes it hard for me to choose him over Roman

I guess Virgil’s next one number four

Love the purp man and always fun writing him because I can flip between angry and protective to panic and oh shit- and self sacrificing, he’s the type of character that would like do that dramatic thing where they like lock their loved one in a room and then run into battle to keep them safe even if it risked his own life and that’s very sexy of him.

He’s also a scary but soft monster in a lot of my stories which I think probably says a lot about me

Last is Patton, sorry buddy

I love Patton, I do. I love that dad man and just him being a good dude that struggles with himself but holy heck, is writing him hard.

I don’t know why he’s so hard to write for me, maybe its the puns I can never think of, maybe it’s that I can’t picture him as aware of his behavior as the others so my writing style is a little harder, maybe I’m too much of a pessimist but he’s just super hard. I wanna write him, I love that dad and I love reading about him but oh my lord, does my brain just not work with him

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

The Night Fellow story is very fun to write because Logan is a very dumb man when it comes to self preservation

I love him

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

Crowns and Treehouses: Chapter Two

AO3 / Masterlist

Chapter One - Chapter Three

Chapter warnings: Mentions of past parental death, unintentional bullying for a second

---

"So, where are you taking me?" Janus asks walking beside Roman as Remus stomps several feet ahead. "I'm starting to question the kidnapping bit now."

The twins had been forced to stop running near the edge of town by Janus who had stopped and freed his hand from Remus's hold and hissed at him to ask permission before touching him again, which Roman makes a note to watch his brother since Remus wasn't always great with personal space.

"That's right! We lured you into the woods to kill you!"

"We just have a treehouse in the orchard," Roman is quick to explain. "We usually play around there."

"Yeah, we can't actually murder you." Remus pauses to turn around, walking backward. "Grandma would be really mad if we got blood on her apples again."

'Again.' Janus mouths and spares a glance to the more saner twin but Roman just gives him a shrug, it wasn't actually all the fun of a story so it's better left a mystery.

"Are you from the capital?" He asks instead. "You and uh, that guy? Logan works at the castle and you're in some pretty clothes so we kinda assumed."

Janus looks away from him, any amusement the kid had before now seems to have faded back into the sad look he had before. "Yeah, I grew up there."

"We lived there for a bit when we were six, it's pretty there." Roman sends Remus a look before his twin can say anything, hopefully cluing in his brother to be gentle. "Ma had a tailor shop there, it's how we know your wearing good fabrics, that and the embroidery is pretty." He resists the urge to touch the little sunflower embroidered at the base of the boy's shirt.

"Oh, I actually did that myself," Janus mumbles and runs his fingers over the designs. "I usually got in trouble for doing it but Virgil doesn't care as long as I can hide it."

"No way!" Remus bounces forward towards them and lifts up the capelet the boy was wearing and Roman is in immediate awe at what he previously missed, the inside of his black capelet were tons of small embroidered flowers. "You did all these?!"

"That's so cool!" Roman smiles as Janus gently tugs his cape back from Remus but looks a lot less tense, even giving his brother a small smile. Roman with his much more trained tailor eyes could see spots in the fabric where mistakes where made, where Janus had probably pulled the thread back through to fix it which isn't anything bad but the boy does find it a little weird that all those little holes where only in one area with the more sloppy of embroidery flowers.

"I'm sure your mother could do better." And just like that, the mood has fallen again, this time for the twins.

"Yeah, nah, mom's dead." Remus fills in, turning to actually walk beside them rather than backward and in front of them. "It's why we aren't still in the capital."

"Ah, I'm sorry to bring it up." Janus rubs his arms, looking a little uncomfortable.

"It's cool," Roman and Remus say at the same time, giggling at each other before Roman continues. "We did just talk about her so you know."

"What about your parents?" Remus, of course, asks the worse question as Janus clams up again.

"They died recently." The boy says, fiddling with the ends of his capelet with his brow furrowed. "That's why I'm with Logan and Virgil, they-" Janus hesitates, looking confused and angry. "They got me out before I was hurt."

"Oh," Remus opens his mouth to say something but Roman shakes his head and shuts him up before he can ask. "Uh, well, I don't know about Virgil but Logan's really nice."

"Virgil is a liar," Janus mutters quietly but nods slightly. "Logan seems fine, I never really talked to him much."

"Logan's good." Roman agrees as Janus just shrugs. "He always buys us a batch of cookies from Patton if we keep up on our reading."

"I feel awkward!" Remus declares very loudly to break this conversation before he lightly smacks Janus on the back. "Tag, you're it!" And the twin dashes off down the path.

Roman acts quickly to follow him before Janus gets out of his surprised daze but a little down the way he realizes Janus doesn't chase them and instead just stands there looking a little lost as the twins run from him. "C'mon, aren't you playing?" He slows to the stop, letting the new kid catch up.

"I'm not sure, exactly, what we're playing." The boy comes up to stand beside him and being as used to Remus as he is, half expects this to be a trap but Janus makes no move to reach for him or anything.

"REMUS!" Roman cups his hand over his mouth to shout, making his brother pause and stop running. "He doesn't know what tag is!"

"What?!" Remus shoats back from his distance away before turning to start bounding his way back to them. "How does he not know what tag is?!"

"Yeah," Roman parrots. "How can you not know what tag it?"

"Well, excuse me." Roman watches Janus's cheeks flush as he puffs up and crosses his arms. "I had actually important things to with my time back home besides act like a stupid kid."

"Ooo, touchy!" Remus giggles as he approaches. "I bet you just didn't have friends!" He goes to poke the new kid's cheek but Janus quickly slaps his hand away.

"I had a friend!" He stomps his foot, huffing out in anger. "I played better games, not whatever tag is."

"Oh yeah?" Remus teases. "What's their name if you had such a cool friend?"

Janus opens his mouth to reply but snaps his jaw shut and looks away from the twins, his face still burning red but the anger fades quicker than Roman can blink and he catches Remus panicked expression before realizing that Janus's eyes get shiny with building tears.

"Oh, oh no..." Remus waves his hands frantically. "I didn't mean it, don't cry!" His brother looks at Roman, desperate for help from the one who's actually good at feelings.

"I'm not going to cry." Roman watches as Janus scrubs his eyes with his sleeve, schooling his face into a glare at the two of them that doesn't hold any heat. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin the game. I should probably go-"

"No!" Both twins shoat at the same time, startling the poor boy in front of him.

"Don't go!"

"Stay!"

"Here." Roman holds out his arm. "Just tap me." He waits for Janus to reach out and tap his arm. "There, now I'm it and I chase you and Remus around until I can tap one of you and make you it, and then you chase us. It's easy to play, I'll even give you a head start!"

Janus stares at him for a long moment before looking at Remus before his gaze softens. "So, I just run from whoever's it and try to tap someone when I'm it?"

Remus gives a sharp nod. "Yup! We'll go until we get to the treehouse." Remus gestures down their path. "Whoever's still it by the time we get the tree loses. Loser does the chores next time grandpa asks."

"Uh," Roman cuts in. "We're probably not going to do anything for the loser since your playing, don't worry."

"Aw, why not?" Remus grins widely. "Janus and I are gonna kick your butt anyway."

"No! I always win." Roman huffs.

"Ha! You never win."

"Yes, I do!"

"Liar! liar! Ants on fire!"

"It's pants on fire!"

Janus appears to already be a natural as in the middle of bickering with Remus, he looks up to see the new kid already running down the path, having slipped by them. Roman interrupts his twin mid-argument to shove him. "You're it!" And he takes off laughing down the path, ignoring Remus's hiss as he leaves him behind.

Remus is right in that Roman ends up losing, not because Remus is faster than him but because Roman, the valiant knight that he is, slows down when Janus is it to let him tag him as the boy doesn't seem as used to running around as the two of them.

He's a little salty he couldn't get Remus again before reaching the tree but Janus is giggling with his brother when he arrives so Roman can't be too upset.

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

Crowns and Treehouses: Chapter One

AO3 / Masterlist 

Chapter Two

Chapter warnings: Mentions of beheadings, mentions of death, mentions of a rebellion

Summary:

Janus and Virgil arrive from the kingdom's capital with the village's old scholar Logan out of nowhere.

But Roman and Remus are just excited when they hear about a new kid their age and are immediately determined to make friends with the boy no matter how different Janus's old life may have been from theirs, the three of them will become the bestest of friends and no, Janus does not get a choice on the matter.

-

Remus buzzes with excitement as he dashes through the trees of grandma Lori's apple orchard (Not actually his grandma but Remus doesn't doubt that Grandpa would change that if he didn't have that stick up his butt.) It only takes Remus ten minutes running full speed to get from the village square to the treehouse he knew Roman to be in.

"Roman!" Remus shoats from the outside, scrambling up the latter and into their small shelter. "Get up, get up- Ha!" Remus barks a laugh as Roman lays on the ground, looking rather confused with his feet still tangled in the hammock. "You fell again!"

"Shut up!" Roman glares at him. "Your yelling keeps startling me awake! I got into attack mode!"

"Is your attack mode just falling to the floor?" Remus cackles as his twin detangles his legs to stand up. "Good strategy, they might think your a doormat and trip over you."

"Is there a reason you woke me up?!" The other ten-year-old glares at his brother and Remus bites back the joke about Roman needing his beauty sleep because this is so much better.

"Logan's back!" He bounces on his feet, pumping his arms up and down with his excited energy. "You'll never guess who he's with!"

"He's back?" Roman immediately perks up at the idea of the scholar having returned, the man who taught the twins how to read during the small windows he came home to visit. Remus would never admit it like Roman but the both of them were a little worried about the man, all the adults were talking about the revolt in the capital and the death of the royal family lately with no news about who was spared or not. "Thank goodness he's okay! Do you think he's staying this time?"

"Not important right now!" Remus whines as Roman completely misses what he's putting down. "He came back with another guy and his kid! An us age kid." Remus wiggles his eyebrows as Roman's eyes light up.

"New kid?" Roman asks, starting to bounce like Remus.

"New kid!" And just like that, Remus is bounding out the entrance door and practically hopping down the ladder to take off back towards the village.

"Hey!" Roman shouts after him but Remus doesn't need to look back to know his twin is following a bit behind him. "I call dibs!" Roman catches up fairly easily as he didn't just run all the way to the treehouse and would have run past Remus if the boy didn't shove him to the side.

"You'll scare him away!" Remus calls back.

"I'm the charming one!"

"No! I'm better at friends!"

"No! You smell weird!"

The twins bicker as they run, eventually slowing down as they approach the down both because Remus's lungs burn from running so much and because they always get in trouble from their grandpa for running around people since Remus changes paths for no one and will barrel his way through a crowd.

"What do they look like?" Roman asks like a dummy, how would he not recognize the only new people in the village.

"Clean." Remus still answers though. "He and his dad looked kinda fancy, I bet they're from the capital with Logan."

"Do you think Logan has a boyfriend?" Remus makes a face at that as his brother giggles. "Lo could have saved them and escaped the castle together with their child."

Remus snorts at whatever gross romantic daydream wedding his twin is having. "More like they saved Logan, the dude looks ripped. Do you think they saw the King and Queen get beheaded?"

"Remus!" Roman hushes him with a shove. "Grandpa said not to talk about it!"

Remus shoves back, harder to make Roman stumble. "Now I wanna talk about it more! I bet they squirted blood all over the place! I bet the castle was on fire-"

The boy is promptly shut up with a hand over his mouth. "Shhhh!" Roman shushes and pulls Remus behind one of the shops. "Is that him with- Eek! Gross!" Roman cries out and wipes the slobber from his brother linking him off his hand.

"Oh! That is totally him!" Remus peeks from behind the wall, completely ignoring his brother's sputtering behind him. "Look, his dad is talking to Patton." Roman, of course, pushes Remus's head down to look over top his head instead of just leaning around him.

"Oh, he is strong." The twins look at a tall man wearing dark clothing smirks as he talked through a window with the baker. Now that Remus was actually looking, he could see the scars that travel up the man's arms, and Remus can only assume past the rolled-up sleeves. This was obviously someone who's seen a lot of battle so Remus couldn't help but agree when Roman spoke again. "He's totally evil."

"Duh, look at his cloak!" The dark fabric only covers one half of his body, obviously made more to look nice then actually keep him warm.

"He's an evil wizard." Roman nods above him.

"No, no. He can't be a wizard." Remus points to the man. "Look at all those scars, that's close combat. He's some sort of warrior, definitely magic but he probably uses a sword."

"A Knightmare." Roman says in a mysterious voice but Remus just snorts.

"Nightmares are horses, poo brain."

"No, like a Dark Knight!" He explains and the twin feels more inclined to agree with that so just nods along because an evil knight sounds really cool.

"Oh!" Remus shoves his brother off him as he finally spots the kid they came here for, who was just leaning against the side of the bakery looking kinda sad. "That's him!"

Remus doesn't wait for Roman, immediately running forward towards the other kid who notices him near immediately and looks increasingly startled as the boy approaches. "Rems!" He ignores his brothers hisses to wait and instead stands in front of the shorter kid and holds out his hand.

"I'm Remus, I'm ten and I like to eat worms because it makes my brother scream." Remus introduces himself as Roman catches up. "That's my little brother-"

"We're the same age."

"Roman, we're twins but I'm older so I'm cooler and we're friends now." The boy in front of him looks alarmed but hesitantly reaches out to shake Remus's hand.

"I am- I'm Janus." Remus has to bite back a giggle at Janus's accent, this is totally a fancy city kid. "I don't know if friends work like that but okay."

Roman takes this moment to push forward, taking Janus's hand from Remus and bowing to the other boy. Remus doesn't miss the way the new kid tenses up and sends a panicked glance to his dad who didn't seem to notice them at all. "I am Roman, protector of this town, and slayer of dragons!" Roman introduces himself like the wannabe knight he is. "Please forgive Remus, he has hit his head on hard surfaces more times than I can count."

"He can't count very high but it's still been a lot." Remus informs and Janus raises a hand to hide his snicker as Roman's face turns red, the boy relaxing as his brother stands straight again.

"I can count higher than you!"

"Can not."

"Can too!"

“Can Three!”

"As riveting as this conversation is," The new kid interrupts before the twins can get too deep in an argument. "Is there a reason you're talking to me or..?"

"We're kidnapping you." Remus puts on his serious face and stares the kid right in the eyes but Roman punches his arm before he can get much of a reaction.

"Don't scare him!" Roman snarls before flipping back to smile at Janus. "Wanna come play with us? Remus won't actually kidnap you, promise. He's all bark except sometimes he'll actually bite so don't put your hand near his mouth or anything."

"I'm... not sure if I should." The new kid hesitantly looks between them and his dad and immediately Remus can tell that this is a snobby rich kid who's probably never had fun in his life and Remus completely blames his Knightmare dad guy since obviously that has to be the reason he looks nervous.

"You can ask your dad first if you want." Roman gestures to the Knightmare and Remus watches Janus as it seems like a switch has been flipped.

"That's not my dad and I don't need his permission to do anything." Janus moves forward from the wall he was leaning on, heckles raised like a pissy cat. "Let's go, he's too distracted with his flirting anyway."

"Ooohh, rebellious city boy." Remus giggles and doesn't hesitate to grab Janus's hand. "Let's go!" He yanks the boy with him, cackling as he scrambles to run with Remus and as Roman sputters in offense at having been left behind.

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

Restart the Story

AO3 / Masterlist

Warnings: Blood and Violence, Temporary Death, Implied memory loss, Loss of control, forced to kill, sword fighting, hurt no comfort :(

Summary:

Roman is designed to win.

Remus is designed to lose.

It's a game, a test, a simulation. They're both aware of its false nature but this is how it's always been. Time doesn't move linear, it's a story that needs to be finished, it's multiple stories that continue forever.

--

Roman is designed to win.

Remus is designed to lose.

Neither of them thinks they are human, at least not anymore.

It's a game, a test, a simulation. They're both aware of its false nature but this is how it's always been. Time doesn't move linear, it's a story that needs to be finished, it's multiple stories that continue forever.

Once Roman wins, he gets rewarded with a short view of a happy ending he won't actually get to live before a new story begins and he loses it all. Roman is the prince, the savior, the hero.

Once Remus loses, he gets to watch from his cell or from beyond the grave, gets to see Roman be offered not real smiles that are wiped away forever once it resets. Remus is the Duke, the monster, the villain.

This is how it's always been.

Remus is happy to destroy whatever he can while he's around and Roman is happy to protect and be praised for defeating him.

Roman has never killed Remus before.

At least, not directly. Remus always is defeated but he's either imprisoned or somehow brings about his own demise so Roman has never shed his blood.

"Kill me," Remus tells Roman the first time the story changes, the Prince is standing over the fallen man with his sword against the Duke's chest. "It's alright."

Roman doesn't realize he's crying as he struggles to regain control of his arms, to pull the sword away and not be forced to kill his brother.

"I've been dying for years." The Duke does nothing to move and neither of them knows if it's because he can't move like Roman or if he simply doesn't care to. "It doesn't even hurt that much, you should try it." Remus giggles as Roman's hands shake with the strain of resisting.

Roman isn't happy anymore after his arms give out and the blade plunges into the Duke's heart, he's not happy when people cheer and reward him for killing his brother, he's not happy when the story forces him to marry the maiden he saved before erasing her forever.

Remus and Roman are never brothers, the story never connects them like that, the fake people never recognize what they look like. They have no reason to be brothers but they know that they are, that they once were.

It's a simulation, a test. They always pass, the game never lets them fail, Remus can't stop being the villain and Roman can't stop defeating him.

"I want to stop fighting," Roman tells Remus as they meet on the battlefield for the millionth time. "I'm tired of this story."

Remus's ever-present grin falters slightly. "I don't think we get the choice," Remus says and they both draw their weapons, Roman's body moves without his permission but Remus just gives in and does it. "I think we're just code at this point, a bunch of numbers."

Roman shoots forward with his sword, metal clinking against metal as Remus blocks. "How do we even know what that is?" Roman asks as he dodges the morning star that almost smashes into his head. "Why can't we break it? Why do I want to go to a home I can't remember?"

Remus chuckles at that, looking sad and resigned. "I miss mom-" He's silenced as Roman cuts off his head and Roman watches in horror as it rolls and blood squirts from the neck.

Roman doesn't get a happy ending that time, the story resets immediately into something new and Roman goes through the motions until he's at the first battle but the cloaked figure that stands before him doesn't wear a manic smile or a similar face.

"Who are you?" The stranger asks, looking just as scared and confused as Roman. "You're not- where's Patton?"

"I am Prince Roman." The prince doesn't have the energy to put effort into his introduction, he hasn't in so long but the story demands he reply. "I am- I am the hero of this story, here to-to put an end to your evil ways." Roman raises his sword to point at them. "I'm sorry." He says when his voice is freed from the script. "I'd imagine they are wherever Remus is."

"I see." This fight is harder than any fight Roman's had, not because the cloaked man is stronger but because he's obviously scared. He doesn't fight directly like Remus does, dodging and weaving around the Prince's blade.

It's only so long before he makes a mistake, either because he's tired or because the story demanded he did and Roman finds his sword buried in the man's gut. "I'm sorry." He whispers, standing this close to the person who has scales marking down their face.

He only let out a small pained wheeze, gripping around where the sword pierced his stomach.

They have to wait, Roman has to stand and watch a man slowly bleed out because he's not allowed to move and help him die faster to end his pain. Remus always died quick, Roman was never forced to watch, this stranger reaches out with a bloody hand to grip onto Roman's shirt and leans on him.

"It'll be okay." They whimper out. "Thisss- it's a punishment. It'll end soon."

The story resets.

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

I drew how I imagined Deceit in my fic Selfish Creatures I don’t really go into detail about how he looks in the fic so peeps can imagine whatever they please, no worries but i like this poor boi

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

Ajdkshdjs aahhhhh!!!!! Pretty boy!!! Oh my gosh look at him!!! I'm so honored I could inspire you aaahhh

I have a soft spot for boys wearing skirts, and after reading a lovely fic by @doing-an-okay-job-miranda called Sunflower Skirts, I felt inspired to indulge and draw our favorite snake boy!

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

Sunflower Skirts

AO3 / Masterlist

Warnings: Janus wears a skirt, little bit of insecurity

Ships: Thomceit (could be seen as platonic or romantic)

Summary:

It's sort of ridiculous to worry about it. It's just a skirt, after all, Roman and Remus at the very least have worn extravagant ballroom dresses before so a simple silly yellow skirt wasn't going to raise any brows besides the normal "Oh hey, your outfit is different." So, Janus really shouldn't be nervous, especially since the side actually wears this skirt a lot when in the safety of his room.

Or, Janus is nervous about showing off this one of his favorite pieces of clothing and Thomas shows him really has no reason to be.

----

Janus is nervous.

He really has no reason to be, it's sort of ridiculous to worry about it. It's just a skirt, after all, Roman and Remus at the very least have worn extravagant ballroom dresses before so a simple silly yellow skirt wasn't going to raise any brows besides the normal "Oh hey, your outfit is different." So, Janus really shouldn't be nervous, especially since the side actually wears this skirt a lot when in the safety of his room.

It was a gift from Remus after all, something the other dark side had struggled to create without any flaws or horrible twist to it. A long flowy yellow skirt with black lace along the bottom and an embroidered sunflower at his waist that would be hidden if he didn't have his shirt tucked in. It even had hidden pockets! Remus had been very excited to show him that fact, no bugs inside or anything.

The skirt is Deceit's favorite piece of clothing next to his gloves and hat, he wanted to wear it around freely without judgment but the nagging tiny piece of doubt that makes him bite his tongue. This skirt is something precious to him, he wants to keep it close and hidden away where no one can ever scorn it or taint it with any bad memory or words.

It's irrational though because even if the others and Thomas still hated his guts, they would never actually judge him for his clothing.

What if they even like it?

The thought makes him disgustingly giddy, gripping the smooth fabric of the skirt and watching at how flows as he moves it. Patton would surely compliment it, whether he actually likes it or not but he couldn't actually imagine that fluffy bright side not liking it with how pretty it is. Logan and Virgil probably won't say anything about it, Logan because it doesn't matter and Virgil because he probably won't want to say anything nice relating to Janus. Roman would surely love it, might even ask him to spin to show how it twirls and Remus would be ecstatic to know Janus had shown off his gift.

Or the more realistic option of none of them really saying anything, maybe a small comment before returning to the issue at hand but that wouldn't be bad either if not a little disappointing.

But what if Thomas likes it?

Janus feels the flush in his face at the very idea of his host complimenting him.

What if Thomas says he look nice or pretty?

The elevation of the idea quickly fades though because what if Thomas doesn't care or asks them to stay in his usual outfit? Suddenly changing clothes in a video can throw people off, not that Deceit plans on wearing his skirt in a video, that would be far too much. There's no way they could show off this side of him to the world, that would give them too much that Janus couldn't take back.

He goes back and forth on the topic for the next hour, standing in front of his mirror and debating the pros and cons until he hears a little lie whisper in his ear.

It's a summoning, an obvious and intentional one even if Thomas thinks he's being sly. Janus almost thinks to ignore but soon enough Thomas calls out his actual name as he appears to take too long.

Janus almost snaps his fingers instinctually to change his clothes but stops himself.

Thomas is alone right now, summoning him for whatever reason and Janus could use this as a test run because if Thomas likes it then surely the others will too.

So, with a deep breath Deceit sinks out and appears in the living room before he could lose his nerve. Thomas is sitting on the couch with his laptop, not looking up right away.

"Hey, Janus." Thomas greets casually instead of screaming his title at him. "I wanted to ask you about-" The host pauses as he glances up to look at his Deception. "Oh, that's so pretty!" He immediately gushes as his eyes land on Janus's skirt.

And Janus- Oh, Janus's heart melts just a little bit. "You think so?" He asks, gripping the fabric to sway the skirt back and force.

"Yes!" Thomas sets the laptop to the side to stand up and come closer to him. "Oh my goodness gracious, you look amazing!"

"Thank you." Janus has to fight really hard to keep the smile off his face, a useless battle as eventually the snake side finds himself mostly focusing on repressing giggles with a stupid grin. He presses his palm to the human side of his face, hoping to cool down his blush. "It was a gift from Remus awhile back."

"Really?" Thomas looks over the skirt again, looking surprised and mildly impressed. "I didn't think he could- You know."

A small giggle escapes Janus's throat but he forgives himself as it sounds more like a snicker. "Oh, I know. I was just as surprised but he worked very hard on it."

Thomas only nods, giving his own bright smile. "He did an amazing job, it's so pretty!" Janus is sure that any semblance of suave villain is ruined as a few of those horrid giggles escape him, how is he expected to keep his composure when his literal reason for existence keeps flattering him?

He finally manages to make himself meet his host's eyes and nearly loses the air from his lungs. Thomas's eyes a bright with fondness and joy, he looks at Deceit with a gentleness that Janus has seen only directed at the others.

It makes his heart soar and his stomach sink.

He can salvage this, he tries to convince himself as he clears his throat. "Yes, well. You called me for a reason?" He keeps his voice low but he's sure the effect is ruined by how red half his face it.

"Oh! Uh..." Thomas blinks a few times. "I, um." His host glances back to the laptop and stares blankly before turning back to Janus with a small chuckle. "I completely forgot what I was doing."

Janus fights back his smile once more, instead just letting a smirk grace his lips. "I'm sure you'll remember soon but if you don't need me-"

"No!" Janus doesn't even get to finish his sentence. Thomas reaches out and grasps his hands. Thomas holds his hands. "You should stay, I was just about to watch Tangled." His hands, Janus can feel the warmth of his host's palms through his gloves. Thomas is holding his hands. "Jan?"

"Hm? Oh-" Janus snaps out of his daze. "I don't know, I'm very busy at the moment."

Thomas only huffs out a laugh and tugs him towards the couch. "I'm sure you could spare a little time."

"Oh, I do have a packed schedule." Janus makes no effort to pull away from Thomas at all, even sitting back comfortably as his host sits him down. "But I'm sure I could squeeze this in for you."

"How gracious of you." Thomas chuckles and sits beside Janus, even going as far as to lean against him slightly.

Janus tries to keep himself together but before the snake finds himself curled up against Thomas while the host idly fiddles with the bottom lace of Janus's skirt before they even get through Tangled's intro. Purely because of Thomas's warmth, of course. No other reason at all, that would be silly. Janus is just a cold-blooded snake, after all.

This is completely necessary and totally some evil plot and not cuddling.

Yeah, no. Janus doubts he could even get Remus to believe that.

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

You know when you read something and your hooked? Yeah, The Night Fellow hit me like a truck and I just wanna commend you for your writing skills. Thank you!

Djsiyshdha f rick thank you so much

I was super proud of how The Night Fellow came out and so many peeps like it and I'm dying but like holy heck thank you

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

If it's okay to ask, what exactly is Virgil in the night fellow? and how common are monsters like Virgil in that world?

I'm open to any asks tbh, just be careful. I'm really bad with not spoiling things...

Anyway, I have no idea what exactly Virgil is. I can say a few of the inspirations tho. Like I saw something about Edward Scissorhands though Virgil's hands aren't scissors, they're more like thin blades... I guess kinda like wolverines if his actual fingers where the blade? The fact that Virge walks around but drops into a crawl when they see people is just something that would scare me but I realized after writing that I probably got that and the mechanical bits from "Escape the Ayuwoki" which is a horror game I watched Markiplier play

So Virgil isn't really anything in particular that I know of, just things I think are cool and creepy.

As for how common creatures are in this world... I say common enough that everyone knows they exist but rare enough that you usually don't see them unless your unlucky/lucky or looking for them.

For example if you plan to travel alone at night, you might wanna Google if anything's hanging around the highway you plan on taking but usually you don't have to worry about it unless it's a less used road.

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

PLEASE WRITE MORE OF THE NIGHT FELLOW

I plan to!! I'm just trying to figure out ideas rn, I've got quite a bit of lore to explore but I keep drawing a blank on where to start lol but there's definitely gonna be more once I get myself writing

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

im not sure if its just because im on mobile and mobile SUCKS but your welcomed arrangements fic isnt linked on the masterlist. just the post its inspired by. if it is just bc im on mobile then im sorry to bother you and feel free to ignore this!

Oh, no, it just wasn’t linked for some reason?? I don’t know how that happened but it should be fixed now lmao

Thanks for letting me know or I probably wouldn’t have noticed <3

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

Avsjshahdbf Monster!Virgil is my jam!!! Soft monster Virgil is my whole life!!!! And genuine paise I don't know how to respond to but very much a appreciate because now I want to write more whdhahdg

The Night Fellow

AO3 / Masterlist

Warnings: Body Horror, Monster Virgil(he’s a creepy friend right there), mentions of violence and shooting, descriptions of teeth, please let me know if i should tag anything else

Summary: 

The Night Fellow is a creature made of both flesh and metal that lives in the long-abandoned mansion on top of the hill outside of town. At night, the Fellow creeps out of their home to roam through the trees and walk along the overgrown path between the mansion and the town.

Logan has a fascination with this (somewhat) passive creature and decides to go find it.

Or, Logan hunts down the town’s local cryptid and shoves his hands in their mouth and the thing kinda decides they like him.

Keep reading

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

!!!!!im so in love with the night fellow!!!!!! i am just as curious as logan about everything and aaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also a princes guide to seducing monsters is hilarious and adorable and basically im just very in love

Jqsidhahd thank you!!!! Hopefully I can get myself to write more parts of that because there is a whole lot to find out there for Logan lol

It was mentioned briefly but when Logan checked his phone he has missed calls from a friend which I imagine is Roman who's gonna flip on him when Logan tells him what he was doing

A princes guide to seducing monsters is super fun to write and I'm part way through the next part with Virgil and I got two other ideas to explore as well as actually decide what sort of creature Logan is

[doing-an-okay-job-miranda]

deceit: my name is janus

fander writers with wips in which deceit already has a name: