#AND I WAS FUCKING RIGHT ABT THE ROMAN SAYING THE DARK SIDES FIRST THING. BTW.

[villlainarc]

im such a fool for this actually i could’ve gone a much better route here this is so wishy washy. girl wtf do u mean “roman believes ambition is bad so he’s a dark side” BUT “roman believes ambition isn’t all bad which is why he becomes a dark side” youre a goddamn FOOL me of july 2020

bc obviously what happens is that roman thinks ambition is bad. he knows it’s bad and it is him accepting that ambition can be good that drags him out of this situation

and yes, he starts out being ambition as a result of janus telling him he was wrong + janus being accepted

only, why would the conclusion he draws be that ambition is good when janus, in his mind, is evil?

no, the conclusion is that selfishness, that ambition gets things done.

with roman’s black and white view of the world, how could i have misunderstood him so thoroughly as to believe he just. changed his mind on the fundamental truth of the morality of ambition?

rather, i think it’s a more accurate interpretation that against his will, he chooses the option that gets things done rather than what he perceives as The Right Thing To Do

because, as janus’ acceptance proves, it’s doing what gets things done that makes you the hero now, not doing The Right Thing

so no, roman’s worldview doesn’t change. his understanding of what c!thomas and the other sides want from him does.

so he becomes ambition!roman while still believing ambition is evil. he allows himself to become cutthroat and and selfish and desire things for thomas’ gain

but.

the thing about what happens in this version is that roman hates himself for his choice.

that’s why he’s a dark side.

that’s why accepting that ambition can be a good thing allows him to be just roman again.

and isn't that so much better than the contradictions of my explanation before?

in my head and my heart, roman’s view of the other sides is part of what divides them into dark and light.

yes, patton as morality plays a part in that.

no, i have not rewatched the series in probably nearing two years at this point.

however. i have some recollection that in that dramatic way of his, roman was the first to vocalize the term dark sides

SO i will run with that idea and suggest that however much of a role patton may have played in the divide of the sides into light and dark, roman with his all-or-nothing mindset would have pushed that divide to the logical extreme, giving the dark sides their own specific name and deliberate association with evil

if so much of what the dark sides are is in their name and roman gave that name to them, it stands to reason that he’d be able to give it to himself as well

in dismissing his own interpretation of what is good, roman becomes the very thing he despises. he ignores what he believes to be The Right Thing in order to be loved and appreciated instead.

no wonder he hates himself for that fundamental betrayal of himself.

(yes, this reinterpretation would affect some of the other things i’ve written for ambition!roman, particularly the aftermath (which, tbh, would make more sense w this version lol it’s also wishy washy as it’s written rn). but not much externally since he Is an actor and not enough for me to do this for all of my posts lol)

i wanna hear more about how roman takes his ambitions to the extreme please and thank you!!!

!!!!!!! meri you spark indescribable amounts of joy

,,cue me trying Desperately to remember What The Hell i was thinking about when i made that post last night

okay so context from the original ambition!roman post: “i can easily see roman pushing back against his own failings by taking the ambitions that he’d been ignoring before and just... pushing them to the extreme.”

i’m pretty sure what i meant when i said there was more here was just that it isn’t as simple as i ended up putting it, because roman wouldn’t decide to do something so dramatically against what he’d previously stood for without more reason than “janus said so,” which is essentially what it appeared to boil down to in the post. there’s more that happened before that, and more that will happen after that if roman were to truly become ambition!roman.

to start,, there’s obviously the mental awakening of janus telling him that he chose wrong in pof, but it goes even past that, because janus is at least tentatively accepted almost immediately after that

now, what conclusion is roman going to come to but “ambition might be good, actually”

(note that this conclusion likely wouldn’t be conscious. it’s going to take a little bit more than that to get roman to change his entire worldview, after all, but it’s a start, at least. it plants the seeds of doubt, and all that.)

in an ideal world, i would be able to remember Several More Examples where it was proven to roman that “ambition might be good, actually,” but alas,,, it is not an ideal world and i have No Idea if those other examples even exist in canon, though in my head the world of ambition!roman, at least, they very much do.

point is, though, that roman has to believe that ambition isn’t all bad if he is to embody it.

even when he believes that he is completely dark, there is a small part of him that holds onto the idea of him being a pure, chivalrous hero

and that small part is what stops him from giving up on himself entirely

so! we now have a set up where roman realizes that ambition might just be what he needs to have to get Everything He Wanted (rooooll credits!)

and it’s vitally important to note that he still wants stuff. he’s thomas’s hopes and dreams, of course he wants stuff! 

and of course he wants what’s best for thomas

and with janus’s “you made the wrong choice” spiel fresh in his mind... what if he just did... what ever it took... to make thomas happy... to give him what he wants, not what morality might dictate is right? what if he just... wanted to prove... that he wasn’t useless? that he could still achieve things, still help thomas achieve things?

what if he just wanted to be appreciated?

well.

doing Whatever It Takes to get what you want?

that’s ambition, babey!!

yeah, roman would try to deny it at first. it’s in his nature to denounce anything he considers evil at this point in his arc, isn’t it?

but when it starts working? when the other sides start appreciating what he’s doing for them again? 

when thomas starts appreciating him again?

well.

maybe he is ambitious, and maybe it’s not so bad.

so he starts doing more. starts convincing thomas to push away the friends that don’t do something for him, that don’t increase his social standing, don’t improve his image. he starts becoming just a bit more ruthless. if thomas comes across someone he’s auditioning against, someone who poses a threat to his career and they just happen to be near a flight of stairs... what’s the harm in a little nudge, right? “oh, calm down patton. it was a short flight of stairs!” the other sides—thomas—deserve to get what they want, after all.

even if it means stepping on anyone who gets in the way.

at least they’re all happy now.

at least they all appreciate him.

right?

[im-basically-logan]

me yelling abt the new sander sides episode because i have no chill

under the cut, friendos!

i’m typing this as i listen/watch the video btw so it’s all in order! also this is very long

that’s... an intro.

i love joan so much hghfhgjfdhjk

new channel news yay

Tweet Tunes blz come back

“give me my shirt back!”

i still love the intro to sander sides so much

thomas what the fuck. i’m so confused

“Cast: Thomas Sanders” that’s sander sides in a nutshell

also thats a big fuckin wine glass

dont eat bad chicken wraps blz

“yeah but what’s your actual job?” oof

the beginning is very slow paced imo blehh. a good reflection on thomas’ mood in the video tbh

“i feel bad about feeling bad” me all the time

i cant believe roman got slapped in the face

roman x katana otp uwu

“Logan!!! It’s Patton!!” that was both cute and kinda odd? did he think logan would be suspicious of him being deceit? probably not

logan really goin for those claps and syllables

“Although I am overcome by a titillating, tingly sensation whenever deadlines are met” l-logan? what??? did you just say?? i agree with roman’s reaction on this one.

the poor 4th wall. also i’m not belittled

patton called himself, roman, and logan daddy

VIRGIL!!!!

virgil flapping as he’s like “Are you serious??”

the countless amount of beeps as roman and logan argue.

bestest duo

god the stretching shit

ROMAN GOT CALLED THE FUCK OUT

i mean we been knew he’s insecure but still

“do you know how dangerous that is?”

“I’m shooting straight, even though I’m gay”

dfkghdfkjhdskj patton knows what everyone calms down with hghghgfh

i love how logan just immediately starts solving the cube lol

it was 25 seconds jfc logan

tfw you’re just so good at being creativity that you color the mona lisa with shitty colors

are.. are they making a vine reference?? with the loop thing??

F r o o t

S am e  s i  es  logan s w ea t y B L Z

“get naked??” ROMAN PL E A SE

he was ready to strip what the  F UCK

intact and wet?

hfgjkhdjk logan’s trying his best

Sometime’s we don’t know that there’s a question to be asked: clarified

LOGAN COMPLIMENT PATTON FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE

i want a cogitating cap but it’s $25 sobs

textbooks, m I S T A KES (roman jfc), PUPPETS!!

yes virgil defend pat

tbh i had the same thoughts as logan at first abt the adult thing..

roman you over did the chin, buddy

“you are unbelievably extra any time you get” “put a sOCK IN IT!”

and then virgil becomes a sock puppet

I LOVE HIM I’LL TAKE 5

sweet coraline!!! BA BA BAAAAA

“if by up you mean the opposite of down to do this” that was very convoluted

what is with roman not liking the word figuratively??? are you ok?? is there some secret angst behind the meaning of that word?

patton cursed again

is... 5 by 5 a thing???

jfc logan, you wear light wash jeans?? i thought they would be dark

oh and you hit roman in the eye

ngl i laughed because he’s a puppet and couldn’t blink

oh my god logan looks so regretful w h a t?

also L is a new nickname

“Maybe I should go” “NO”

o shit

slight throwback to when Logan left in moving on part 1??? :3c

hfdjkhfkjd like mAR IA

ew feelings

“i’d rather go live in a garbage can” same

thomas we love you so much feelings are weird

jfc patton.

“oh i’m sorry, EXCEPT I’M NOT!”

big oof at roman being called out

“oh my gosh, what is up your butt?” “... an  ARM”

i mean he’s not wrong but i feel like he could’ve thought about that phrase a little more carefully

i really liked the text stuff when logan was talking about “Why?”

solid electric company reference yeet

SHSHDHGHSHSHDHHSHSHH

logan flailing his arms is a mood

“i could list off several factors that very well could be contributing to your doubts” someone let him sp e a k

and it’s virgil.

lmao that was a big “I’ll take what I can get” bit for logan ngl rip

hfgkdhjdkfs virgil as the count i’m

logan’s looks he’s giving virgil are m o o d s

“three depressing speculations, ah ah ah...”

“four uncomfortable characters in this room”

“jeez you slobbily eat some jam and accidentally make a jew puns and now you’re suddenly sensitive about being taken seriously?” “I’m not a joke!”

YI K E S

the logan angst i’ve been craving

logan blz hhhhhh

headcanon: adjusting his tie is a big stim

you can see virgil’s expression in the puppet when patton calls him a cute muffin wowie puppeteering is neat!

roman ur being an ass

“it’s too bad your brain isnt as big as your chin” “well you smell like FOOT” hfdjhgjfkdhs

there’s so many more logan screenshots i gottttttt yessss

“what? no-” too late, it’s musical time

“another song, really?” logan, you literally sang last episode

this patton angst return

“Did that work?” “Nope!” logan’s face at that. b o i did you not pay attention? to moving on pt 2? he was kinda there as thomas right?? maybe?? oh no

“I knew you’d listen to me as too scary to ignore” hello @asofterfan got that thing down to a T.

logan just looks so shook like “oh shit”

“but when you lo-care for someone...” virgil, we all heard it.

logan breaking down the musical into just the keyboard was p cool

hghgnhghfhsg THE ONE SHOT SLAM

ahdsdshjkdfsk i love this part with logan and thomas so MU CH

ALSO! I think there was a key change to something minor? sounded much more overlooming/scary as they ended their verses

“You’re lost” “I’m right here” “It’s okay. I was lost once too...” i’m just shook.

roman just hangs his actual dirty socks jfkdkfdh

that trumpet thoooooo

virgil just callin everyone out today

logince angst content yeet

“logic always has a part to play, logan” ye  s s s s ss  validate him, virgil

virgil is callin out and validatin everybody today

dont hug me i’m scared ref, nice

moxiety hug!!

“that god i can move my arms again”

i can’t say i was surprised with logan becoming a robot sorta puppet

“iron giant nerd!” yeah

“I’ve never felt anything in my life” no patton squeal?

oh my god logan just said beep boop what a nerd

virgil telling patton about the innocent talks thing was something i really liked and was expecting eventually tbh

logan giving roman a high five!!!

“you did the stretchy arm!” “it’s not as gross when a robot does it” i need to see the arm thing jfc

“Can you tell me how to get-” “How to get to sesame street!” they just all... left him. rip

logan can’t summon well or control his shapeshifting powers that well?? hmm?

i love that ending with the sesame street throwback again aaaaaa

the way roman and patton laughed in the end card?? what the hell lmao

thomas throwing shade at himself with his own characters is a mood

Thanks to everyone who works on Sander Sides!! This was the longest episode yet, I think. The team grew so much