#I love the idea of orange being scared of Patton

[ask-nico-and-the-sides]

Hey Janus, what do you think of Orange simping for Logan? You know, as his Snake Mom?

Patton: As for my question, I think he’s alright. I used to be better friends with him, but once I developed into the representation of morality, he kinda backed off.

Janus: He’s kind of scared of you.

Patton: I don’t know why.

Janus: You used your dad voice on him one time when we were kids.

Patton: Oh crap, did I?!

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

silly soulmate au prompt: the characters can see all colors except for the one of their soulmates eyes until they meet them? (from @virgeandhis-pocket-protector)

@virgeandhis-pocket-protector hi :)

Over The Rainbow (1/4) - Patton

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Reds oranges and pinks almost always took centre stage in his drawings and paintings - after all, they were the only colours Roman could see, but the backgrounds were always made up of shades of grey - for him - that would be bright, vibrant colours for everyone else. They represented how he saw the world, and being honest… Roman was a little scared for it to change.

Later on, he would wonder why he worried.

He saw blue first.

----

| Ao3 | Next Chapter -> |

Fic Warnings: Nothing overarching aside from Remus being himself - any chapter-specific warnings will be in the notes.

Pairings: DLAMP, platonic creativitwins.

Notes:

This one got away from me a little and now I have a whole college/soulmate au. oops?

I've sat down and written almost 5k in one session... oops???

Anyway, this is eventual DLAMP! Each chapter we get a new soulmate added to the pile :))

I really hope you enjoy!

----

Roman couldn’t see colour. 

That was a common soulmate tell, and he knew it was a soulmate tell and not regular colourblindness because he coud see pink and red just fine. 

What was odd about Roman was just how many colours he couldn’t see. 

He’d been drilled enough by his family and friends - and even a colourblind specialist to make sure this wasn’t just regular colour blindness - to determine which colours he couldn’t see, which was… most of them.

They’d determined he must have at lest two soulmates - if both of them happened to have heterochromia - or at lesat five if they didn’t. There was always the chance for there to be more than that, considering many people had the same eye colours. Though having five was rare enough anyway. Even having two soulmates was rare enough. 

Roman didn’t know how to feel about it. Not entirely. 

He was excited to meet his soulmates - of course he wss! He was Roman, for goodness sake, he wrote romantic poems in hopes that he might recite them to his soulmates whenever he was to meet them. He read romance novel upon romance novel that included soulmates meeting in wondrous ways, he was so excited to meet them. 

Especially the ones with Violet and Yellow eyes, because those certainty weren’t common eye colours - hell, even the doctor had been surprised - by the yellow especially, since purple was at least possible if not rare. 

So yes, as Roman prepared to move states for college, he was excited to find his soulmates. 

But he had also… struggled. 

Roman was an artist. People told him he had a talent with pencils and paints. He loved putting paint down on a canvas, creating shapes and patterns with his brushes - and he’d found a way to make colourblindness almost part of his brand. 

Reds oranges and pinks almost always took centre stage in his drawings and paintings - after all, they were the only colours Roman could see, but the backgrounds were always made up of shades of grey - for him - that would be bright, vibrant colours for everyone else. They represented how he saw the world, and being honest… Roman was a little scared for it to change. 

Later on, he would wonder why he worried. 

He saw blue first. 

—

In college Roman was sharing a dorm room with his twin brother. He’d considered when applying that rooming with a stranger might be a good idea - a way to make a friend, or maybe even meet a soulmate if he was lucky - but in the end he’d backed out. He was glad Remus was coming to college with him, and while he was near certain that sharing a bedroom with his brother wasn’t going to be amazing, it would be… better, than a complete stranger. 

He’d immediately gone about applying for jobs on campus - god knows he needed the money - and that’s where he’d come across Blue, or as he now knew them, Patton. 

It was a rather sunny Saturday morning, and he’d been invited to a campus cafe for an interview after he’d submitted his application a few days ago. The place was nice - Roman had no idea if the walls were actually grey, or if they were just painted a colour he couldn’t see, but it was nicely decorated and smelled like fresh coffee and spice - as a coffee shop should. 

The person behind the counter was currently wiping down the espresso machine - the morning rush had died down by now so the shop wasn’t so busy. They had curly hair that brushed their jaw in a pale grey - Roman couldn’t know what colour it really was, but he suspected blonde from the lightness. They were turned away from him now, but Roman couldn’t help but still think they were pretty.

“Excuse me?” Roman said as he approacthed the counter, “I have a job inter- holy shit!”

“Language!” The person with sparkling blue eyes seemed to say almost on instinct, before gasping in surprise, “You’re orange!” 

“What- oh! Yes! You’re blue!” Roman said, face breaking into a bright smile as he blinked his amber eyes, “And so are the walls in here, oh my goodness!”

The barista - who’s nametag read ‘Patton’ leant across the counter, reaching for him, and Roman stepped closer to take his hands, “This is amazing! I didn’t expect to meet you here - oh! I’m Patton, um, I’m majoring in children’s education, and, uh, uh, what else? Well obviously I work in this shop-”

Roman chuckled, “Easy there - I’m sure we can get to know each other properly soon? I’m Roman, uh- do you have a napkin?”

“Yes, why?” Patton asked, passing him a napkin, on which Roman wrote down his name and phone number in sparkly red gel pen - he carried it everywhere, just in case. 

“I have a job interview I really need to get to,” Roman said, “But here, take this, and we’ll get coffee soon, yeah?”

“Absolutely! Oh I’m so excited - wait - you’re the guy here for the job interview? Oh my gosh I’m so sorry! I’ve made you late!”

Roman shook his head, “No worries, really, I’m actually quite glad about this particular distraction.” 

He winked and then grinned as he watched Patton’s face go red as they started spluttering, before shaking their hands and giggling. 

“I’ll um, I’ll be back with the manager,” Patton squeaked, before running out of a side door in about three seconds flat. Roman couldn’t help but chuckle, unable to keep the grin off of his face - he’d met the first one of his soulmates! Oh he couldn’t wait to tell Remus about this!

—

“So,” Patton said, elongating the vowel as they leant forward to look at Roman, who laughed. They’d gotten coffee as promised, but decided to take a walk through the campus instead of sitting to drink it, “Have… you met any of the others yet?”

Roman took a sip from his coffee, smiling at Patton before looking up at the bright blue sky - Roman hadn’t been able to stop staring at the sky since he’d met Patton, he’d probably painted it enough to make anyone else bored of seeing it by this point. 

“Not yet,” Roman answered with a wistful sigh, “I wonder if we share them all?”

“Id hope we do!” Patton said, nearly hopping with optimism, “I mean, I know some poly people prefer like - relationship chains, but I like it when everyone’s dating everyone, so that would be my ideal - you?”

“Oh same, I think I’d get jealous if my partners were dating people I wasn’t also dating,” Roman nodded, “So we’re still looking for… maybe four people?”

“I still can’t see green, purple, brown or yellow,” Patton said, bouncing on the balls of their feet as they walked, “Oh I can’t wait to see how pretty rainbows are! Or the grass! I’ve been told the grass and trees look lovely.”

Roman couldn’t help but smile at the other’s excitement, “Me too-! I really want to make a big painting symbolising all of us once we’ve all met - using all the colours properly.”

“You paint?” Patton gasped, grabbing Roman’s arm with one hand to stabilise themself as they almost tripped, “That’s so neat! I’m so awful at art.”

“I do!” Roman nodded, before glancing up at the sky as he got another idea… for later, “I’m sure you’re not that bad?”

“I am,” Patton chuckled, “I am that bad, thanks for trying to reassure me, though.”

Roman shook his head, “Maybe I can show you some things.”

“Maybe!” Patton grinned, “That could be fun! Oh - what’s your major?”

Immediately, Roman brightened, “I’m doing theatre, with minors in creative writing and illustration.”

“Wow!” Patton gasped, “That’s a lot! You look happy with it! Are you in the theatre club? I know my roomie Remy is part of it.”

“You’re roommates with Remy?” Roman asked, shocked, “I’m genuinely surprised you’re still sane.”

“Awee c’mon, he’s not that bad,” Patton waved a hand, “I take it that’s a yes?”

“Yeah! I’ve only been to one meeting so far though.” Roman grinned, “But Remy already seems like… he had a lot of character.”

“You can say that again,” Patton giggled, “Okay - next question…. Hmm…. thoughts on cats?”

—

“Hello, I’m-”

“Patton, the soulmate Ro’s been raving about nonstop the past two weeks to the point where I actually went outside to sleep in the dumpster, yea, I know who you are,” Roman’s twin brother interrupted Patton, his giggles counteracting the words, “Not that I wouldn't’ve done that anyway.”

“Remus!” Roman hissed, “You’re gonna scare him off!”

Remus rolled his eyes, “I’m not gonna censor myself for your fucking soulamte-”

“Language-”

“-If Patty here can’t handle me he doesn’t deserve you,” Remus continued as though Patton hadn’t even spoken, he walked over and plopped down on his messy bed, “So, have you two sucked face yet or what? Any kinky shit?”

“ Remus! ” Roman cried as Patton squeaked and covered their face to hide the dark blush, Roman did nothing to hide the equally vivid blush on his own face, “ No! ”

“Awee that sucks,” Remus huffed, “What have you two even been doing if you haven’t fucked yet? It’s been like - a month.”

Roman just sighed, “Patton, you don’t have to listen to him.”

“It’s- it’s okay,” Patton said, chuckling awkwardly, “Um, yeah, it’s uh, it’s nice to meet you, Remus.”

“Wow!” Remus grinned, “This guy really is resilient! Maybe he does like you after all, Ro!”

“Of course I like Roman!” Patton yelped, “We just - we wanna wait for a relationship to happen naturally, because being a soulmate doesn’t mean you have to rush into a relationship - and besides, we still have others to meet! I don’t want them to feel left out!”

Remus made a gagging noise before rolling his eyes at Roman, “You really had to find the sunshine one first? Not like - I dunno, someone cool?”

Roman just sighed, “Patton I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay!” Patton giggled, winking at Roman before bounding over to sit on Roman’s bed across from Remus, “So, you wanna hear about the time I beat up a kid outside a Denny’s in highschool?”

“ Do I! ” Remus gasped, grinning and leaning forwards so far that Roman thought he might fall off of his bed - he seemingly pulled a bag of popcorn from… somewhere as Patton began to explain and Roman could already tell that they’d won Remus over with this one. 

Roman couldn’t help but sit down at his desk to listen intently too.

Apparently, the kid in question had been in Patton’s year - a junior, at the time - and had been bullying a few freshmen Patton had been decent friends with at the time. Somehow, Patton defending the kids had gone far enough that they ended up fighting the kid outside a Denny’s at night - and winning, mind you. The kid hadn’t done much bullying after that. 

they’d become something of an older brother figure to the younger teens in highschool - with the teachers not wanting to do anything about reported bullying, someone had to step in. Honestly, Roman was impressed by the dedication that Patton seemed to have for taking care of people.

“That,” Roman said once Patton had finished their story, face a flustered red, “Was…. so unexpected.”

“Not bad, though, right?” Patton asked, worried, “I mean - maybe I should’ve have gotten physical-”

“No man!” Remus interrupted, “That’s so fucking cool, dude, how the hell did you win a fight like that? You look like a breeze could knock you over!”

“Oh, well, I uh, I did a lot of sports as a kid - swimming, gymnastics, some soccer,” Patton listed, “So I got pretty strong, and my mums made sure I knew self defense just in case…”

“That is awesome ,” Roman grinned, “I’m glad our soulmates can count on us to protect them!”

“Aboslutely!” Patton nodded rapidly, “I wouldn’t let anyone hurt any of you!”

“Hear hear,” Roman nodded.

“If anyone hurts either of you I will rip their throats out,” Remus cackled, “With my teeth .”

“Glad to know you got our backs, buddy,” Patton said, giving Remus a thumbs up.

Yeah, Roman thought, t his might work out alright after all. 

---

tags: @full-of-roman-angst-trash @reptilianrapscallion420 @your-local-random-dino @cutebisexualmess @glacierruler @roseianxiety @bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti

| Ao3 | Next Chapter -> |

[luckylazylurker]

Who wants to hear my Sanders Sides (set in Steven Universe) AU~

I can't say who Steven is because it's a Surprise, but you as the reader have about as much knowledge as Steven does going into it. I'll be using "you" as a stand-in for these posts.

So it starts with Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl - with Emile Picani (listen, he's the Perfect headcanon fusion of Patton and Logan, okay?), Roman, and, strangely enough, Janus taking each respective spot.

As for Thomas, Virgil, and Remus, they take the place of Rose Quartz, Peridot, and Jasper. For fun, I might throw in Orange Side as White Diamond, but you won't really hear anything about Orange here, since we don't *know* anything yet.

On the surface those positions could potentially not make sense, so I'll dig into it with separate posts so each one doesn't get too long - they'll be under the tag TS/SU AU with the name of whoever's being talked about also in tags for clarity.

So let's start with Emile Picani (Garnet)

Emile Picani is simultaneously very forthcoming...but also pretty tight lipped. Other than that he likes cartoons and helping people, how much do we actually know about him?

He sees things we don't see (in ourselves, but hey, we can pretend that's a kind of future vision!) and takes a leadership/mediation role when interacting with others - they can talk and feel and do, but when it comes down to it, if Picani has something to say, you listen.

(I also really like the idea of giving him some depth through Garnet's Future Vision episode - imagine Picani knows something, and you pester and pester him for an answer, so he finally tells you. You thought you could handle it, and he knew you couldn't, but he wanted you to make your own choices and learn when seeking "truth" isn't as good for you as you think it is.

And so at the end of the day, when you're crying and scared and asking him *why he told you if he knew it would end up this way?* he just says "I just wanted to give you the chance to choose for yourself. I'm so sorry I ended up hurting you - I never wanted to be one of the people who hurt you."

Ugh, just 🥺)

And for awhile, that's all you know about him.

...Until you meet Logan and Patton, and then more and more things start to happen.

He argues with Janus about trust and breaking boundaries, he admits to you how inadequate and unprepared of a leader he feels like he is compared to Thomas, he breaks down into pieces and puts himself back together again multiple times.

He learns about and expresses love more often, settles into a role of supporting and mentoring you - so much like he did for Thomas, but different, better, healthier, happier - becomes more open, and learns how to get support from others instead of just remaining the rock they lean on.

And it's amazing.

(Next up - Logan and Patton! You already know they're Ruby and Sapphire...but do you know which is which? 😉)

(...no seriously, tell me which you think is which, because I'd love to hear your thoughts on it - Logan and Patton were simultaneously the easiest and hardest to place in this AU)

[ms-awesome52]

SPOILERS FOR THE NEW SANDERS SIDES EPISODE!!!

I have reason to believe that the orange side isn't wrath like many of us have theorized. I think he may represent passion instead.

Now when I say passion I don't mean Thomas's passions since that role is Roman's. I mean the emotional drive definition of passion. Passion has been coming up more and more in recent episodes in addition to an increase in anger.

Anger is an emotion that stems from other emotions like fear, hurt, insecurity and passion. Now, while there have been outbursts of anger that have stemmed from all the emotions I listed above, quite a few of the angry outbursts lately have stemed from passion(you can skip these and still get the idea):

In learning new things about ourselves, the infamous paper ball incident started when Roman was saying that Logan was going overboard with ensuring that he was speaking clearly and Ro called his thoroughness stupid. Before that the two were arguing so emotions were already elevated and being called stupid was the final nail in the coffin. (Please note that I do not condone Logan reacting with violence in this situation. He did apologize and had an explanation, but that doesn't excuse the action) It is revealed later that Logan is that thorough to prevent distress due to misunderstanding and also to prevent Remus from using his words against him. Logan is passionate about being understood and being taken seriously (to quote, "I'M NOT A JOKE! At least I can't be seen as one.") Pretty much everything that happens this point in the episode directly contradicts these passions of his. After that last straw you can understand why Logan lashes out even if you don't think it was justified.

The entirety if Embarrassing Phases was Virgil was of expressing his anger with the other sides about reducing a large part of his life and identity as "just a phase" and also not being scared when he tries to scare them. It's obvious (to me at least) that Virgil is passionate about both staying true to your identity and also being able to do his job and scare the others (affectionately). I know I have fun occasionally scaring my family and friends so I wouldn't feel great if being scary was literally a part of my identity and my loved ones reduced it to a thing of the past.

Selfishness vs. Selflessness starts with a hello fresh promo, then Virgil walks in to give us anxiety as retaliation for Thomas dying his hair back to brown. We established that Virgil values staying true to yourself and he liked expressing himself using the purple hair.

In the same episode Virgil trys very hard to convince Thomas to send Deceit away. We don't know the history between Janus and Virgil (yet) but he was very passionate about removing Janus from the conversation.

In Selfish vs. Selflessness Redux, Thomas him is angry that he had to give up a major opportunity in an industry that he was passionate about.

In the newest episode at the 10:07 mark Patton says that "sometimes passion makes you act a little silly" and then it cuts to Logan thinking about that statement. Earlier in the episode Patton literally kicked a door open and made a video because Logan suggested donating Thomas's stuffed bear, Ben. I think this line was foreshadowing that the orange side, passion, is the one putting everyone on edge. But I guess we have to wait to see.

Idk if any of this made sense (I'm writing this at midnight so brain doesn't work the best)

[beauty-and-passion]

So, how do you think Orange will interact with everyone, going off what we've seen so far?

Oooh, that's interesting! Well, this is all speculative and it will mostly depend on how Orange's character will be, but let's try it anyway!

----

PATTON: considering that Orange should be his brother, things would be very interesting. He could be a nice, affectionate (even if hotheaded) brother, who wants Patton to grow a spine and impose himself. Or he could have a lot of resentment towards him, because Patton's moral imposed Thomas to be good at all costs and the consequence was shunning Orange away.

Both ideas would be very interesting, but I'm very weak for the second one because angst is never enough.

----

ROMAN: Roman doesn't like the dark sides, so why would he have a nice relationship with Orange? It's very possible he can't stand this guy, just like he couldn't stand Virgil and he still can't stand Janus and Remus.

Orange... it depends. He might be sarcastic like Janus, insult Roman or lash out against him. There are a lot of possibilities.

----

LOGAN: that's currently the most interesting relationship we all want to see, because there's a huge chance Logan would be afraid of Orange. It's 90% confirmed that Orange will be the embodiment of Wrath and wrath defines logic. So if we have Logan scared of him, that would be veeery interesting to see.

But Orange’s actions towards Logan would be even more interesting. He could be a scary Side who looms over Logan, follows him in his every step and lurks in the dark, waiting for his chance to take control.

Or - and I really like this possibility - he might present himself as an ally and offer his services to Logan. On a superficial level, it would look like he does it just to reach Thomas, because he’s a Dark Boy TM. But on a deeper level, it would be a great way to show how useful he can be - and this alliance would give a great push to Logan's character arc, so I’m all for it.

----

VIRGIL: I’m sure Virgil and Orange are definitely very familiar with each other, because they’re both dark side. And, just like it was for the previous two dark sides, Virgil will definitely not like Orange. Maybe because he will be a violent Side (or appear as such?), maybe for other reasons. But we can be 200% sure that Virgil will not like him.

While Orange... who knows. Maybe he will ignore Virgil or like him. But I would adore if he’s resentful. I would love if he’s the only Side who will face Virgil and tell him he’s an hypocrite and a traitor, because he left his family to go to the Core Sides. I want Orange to hate Virgil for this and be very, VERY bitter.

----

REMUS: Orange’s nature makes him a good fuel for any kind of action - creative ones included. So they could be a great duo, with Orange being the fire from which Remus gets all the energy he needs for his creative ideas. And they could enjoy the dark, violent turns of them.

I just want them to be chaotic friends, is it too much to ask? ;P

----

JANUS: again, it depends. We know Janus is the Side who hides him, just like he hides Remus. And we know Janus and Remus have a friendly relationships. so he could have a friendly relationship with Orange as well.

And here we have two big possibilities:

A) Orange might appear as nice and friendly but secretly hate Janus because of his confinment. He might pretend to be nice, while all he wants is to kill the other Side.

B) Orange adores Janus. He’s his biggest fan and does everything he says, because he trusts him with his life. And he could do it, because Janus gave him a new home, when Patton sent him away from the first one he had. Janus accepted him for who he is, while his own brother did not.

That could connect beautifully with a potential resentment towards Patton and explain his hate for Virgil: how dare Virgil left for the brother who never liked him? It’s very easy to see Virgil is a traitor.

Also (and I know it’s a small thing, but it works), chromatically speaking, yellow and orange have very, VERY similar tones and that could explain a potentially close relationship between these two.

[gothighunicorntolerance]

Daydreaming (all the time)

AO3 link

When Nico comes home and sees an two identical Thomases asleep on the couch, he discovers some new sides of his boyfriend. When Nico throws his car keys on the wall-mounted hook and sees Thomas asleep on the couch with someone sitting next to him, his first, anxiety-ridden thought is “he’s cheating.” But he quickly dismisses it, replacing it with his second thought: “I didn’t know Thomas’ brother was over!”

When Nico tiptoes to the couch to better see which of Thomas’s many brothers it is, his third thought is “ Thomas never mentioned he had a twin brother!”

Everything about the two men is identical except for their clothes- the way their lips quirked up into a small smile, the little mole on their chins, even their sleeping positions.

But his fourth and most conflicting thought appears when the man next to Thomas, clad in a purple shirt, black skinny jeans, and a black jacket with purple patches, wakes up with a jolt and looks directly at Nico.

“Uh,” Nico smiles. “Hi. Didn’t mean to wake you up sorry about that! Thomas didn’t mention his brother coming over- last-minute visit? Can I get you something?”

The brother pales (as much as he can, between how pale Thomas is naturally and what seems to be the even paler foundation the brother used.) and the black lines under his eyes, which Nico had previously thought were just bags from lack of sleep, suddenly stretch down to his cheekbones.

“I- uh- Thomas!” The brother stutters, his voice increasing to almost a shout when he calls Thomas’s name.

Thomas jolts awake, almost flying off the couch as he sits up. He looks around wildly for a second, his hair flopping into his eyes before he looks up at Nico.

“Ah! Nico! You’re… home. Early. Is it early? Uhm, I, he- we were- uh-“ Thomas stutters. Nico had known him long enough that he only trailed off like that when he was particularly anxious.

“You never mentioned having a twin brother! That’s so cool!” Nico sits down next to Thomas as the brother stood up, moving to the stairs.

“Oh- he’s- we’re… we aren’t actually twins. Or brothers. Or related at all, actually,” Thomas rubs the back of his neck.

“Oh! A doppelgänger, then? Don’t worry, I still like you better,” Nico laughs. Thomas gives a small grin.

“No… he’s…” Thomas looks towards his purple-clad… friend? Nico wasn’t sure anymore. The friend sighs and nods before sitting down on the bottom step and crossing his legs. “I should just… show you. It’s hard to explain.”

“Oh, okay then. Er, what exactly are you explaining?”

Thomas took a deep breath. “Okay. Nico, I, um, so you know when you hear me arguing with myself sometimes? Well, uh, I’m arguing with him.” Thomas pointed to the person on the stairs, who gave a smirk and a small two-finger salute. Nico gave a slight eyebrow raise as he noticed the eyeshadow had gotten darker and even more caked on, almost looking like black tears.

“And, uh, he’s not the only one,” Thomas continued. “That’s Virgil, and there’s Patton, Roman, Logan, Ja-“

Thomas was cut off by another voice chiming in.

“Yes Thomas, please do ruin my entrance. I love it when that happens.”

Nico whipped around to see who had spoken and did a double-take as he saw who was standing in front of the blinds. It was another person who looked eerily similar to Thomas- well, on half his face, anyway. The other half seemed to be a snake? And to top off the look, the snake-faced man was dressed in a getup similar to what Nico imagined a Victorian-era vampire would wear; a black capelet, black tunic, and a black bowler hat with a yellow band.

“Who-“ Nico started but was cut off yet again by someone else appearing right next to Snakeface. The newcomer gave a bright smile towards Thomas and then turned to face Snakeface.

“Hiya Janus! Um, you’re in my spot again… I’m sure we can share, though!”

Janus- an odd name, but weirdly fitting, Nico thought- rolled his eyes. “Patton, congratulations on being the second person to ruin my entrance today alone,” he drawled.

“What entrance? Thomas already knows all about you- oh!” Patton suddenly looked directly at Nico. “We’re doing this now? Hi Nico!” Patton grinned and clapped, while

“Ah, Thomas,” Nico whipped around yet again to see who had appeared next to the stairs. ��And Nico. I suppose you are doing this now.”

“Not without me!” Someone else sang as he appeared in front of the couch.

“Boo!” Another shouted from… behind the TV? All of the other Thomas Clones screamed, and the newcomer clad in green with what seemed to be a mustache sticker taped on.

“Okay… what’s happening? And… Why do they all look exactly like you?” Nico asked cautiously.

“Okay,” Thomas took another deep breath, holding this one for several counts. “So… these are all the guys I argue with when you hear me arguing with myself. And I actually am arguing with myself, because they’re all me, but- agh, this doesn’t make any sense.”

“Allow me to explain, then. Hello, Nico. I am Logan, the representation of Thomas’s logic. We are what he calls sides, for the alliteration I presume. We each represent a portion of his personality, in a way. I am every fact he’s ever learned, his critical thinking, curiosity, and the only reason he graduated college with a chemical engineering degree. And then proceeded to waste that degree, but that is not today’s discussion.”

“Not true! Remember all the argumentative papers? That was all me!” Janus glared.

The other Thomases broke out into an argument and Logan rolled his eyes- Nico could have sworn he saw an orange tint- and Thomas gave an apoplectic look.

“Sorry about… that,” he gestured.

“Do they- you? Does this happen often?”

“Yeah. Sometimes they mix it up and argue in song form.”

Nico looked around the room and nodded. “So they’re all you? Is it like a superpower or something?”

“No, I don’t really know what it is. They’re all imaginary, so I don’t know why you’re able to see them… I knew if you were somehow able to see them I’d tell you, but…” Thomas trailed off.

“But what?” Nico prompted.

“I didn’t want you to think I was weird.”

“Hey, don’t worry- if no one was weird I’d think we’d all be pretty boring. Besides- this actually makes a lot of sense.”

“Yeah- wait, what do you mean it makes sense?”

“Well,” Nico gave a nervous laugh. “I’d seen a bunch of stuff moving on their own, flashes of color out of the corner of my eye, even heard voices a couple of times. I was nearly starting to believe in ghosts!”

Thomas chuckled. “I never even thought about that! Well, I’m glad I haven't scared you off yet. I didn’t scare you off, right?”

“It’ll take more than figments of your imagination to get rid of me, Mr. Sanders,” Nico smiled and planted a kiss on Thomas’s cheek, smiling as he flushed a bright pink. “Now come on, I’m going to bed. Pack up your… you’s … and join me.”

taglist: @theimprobabledreamersworld @edupunkn00b

inspired by a prompt from @tss-au-slash-fanfic-ideas !

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

My friend is a big fan of you as well and asked me to request this:

A Janus fic based on the song Monster by Dev https://youtu.be/5iA_oFDNt9E

I think the song could fit him quite well, maybe with the others being like “out of all of us, h i m???”

-🦑

Songfic?? With Janus angst?? My time has come *ascends*

CW: Unsympathetic Light Sides (they're not assholes but they're basically unsupportive, concerned for Reader, and hateful/distrustful of Janus)

...........

Call the doctor, call the doctor Must be something wrong with me He's a monster, why do I want ya Please tell me, please tell me

"What?!! [Y/n] this..this cannot possibly be true!"

"Roman-"

"You could've had any one of the fine gentlemen here...but more importantly me.."

"Roman, just calm-"

"And yet you chose him?! That wretched slimy snake?!" The princely Side pointed rudely at Janus, who was just sitting on the couch beside you. He frowned as he fiddled with the chain of his capelet, finding more interest in that than the uncomfortable conversation currently taking place.

This wasn't even the direction you nor him expected it to take. It was already going south..straight towards hell.

All because Remus couldn't keep his mouth shut and blurted out the revelation that you and Janus were dating.

Ironically, he was the one who confessed to you first--something that you're certain no Side would ever believe.

"There's got to be something wrong with your head." Roman shook his head in dismay, before approaching you. "Come now. We'll find you a true Prince Charming! One that's not a vile fibber like-"

Suddenly you sprang up, moving away from him. "You don't get to choose who I fall in love with. Remus.." You glared at the dark half of creativity. "I'm gonna kick your ass if you don't leave right now."

"Do ya promise~?" He giggled, refusing to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation. "You know I'm into that."

"Let it go, [y/n]." Janus tried to assure you. "They're both bumbling fools."

"A fool?!" Roman gasped. "The only fool here is YOU!! Trying to tempt them with your false promises of love and affection! What do you know about romance?!"

"Apparently more than you." You interrupted, standing by your lover in a defensive manner. "I know this isn't exactly how I planned to tell you but god just calm down for a minute."

You definitely didn't anticipate this kind of freakout from him. You thought he'd be asking about the how's and when's of falling in love, as one would expect from the "romantic expert" of the Sides.

You had a plan to tell all of them individually, but..starting with the guy who was deceived most and openly mocked his name probably wasn't a good idea.

Eventually the two halves of creativity left you both alone. And only then did you sit back down next to the now-dejected Janus, holding his hand. "Sorry you had to hear all that."

"Oh don't worry, it'sss new to me." He muttered, squeezing your hand in turn. "I'm sure Roman will have a tough time realizing he's definitely the most handsome one around here." The smirk he gave made you chuckle.

"Yeah, well..he'll get over it. We got off on the wrong foot with him, but I'm sure the others will be more accepting."

He's a monster He's a monster That boy, he's a motherfucking monster But I love him, yeah I love him Ooh ah, ooh ah ah

"Seriously? That guy?"

"Just hear me out, Virgil-"

"Oh I've heard plenty. I'm just warning you that it's a bad idea." Virgil huffed as he put his phone down. "He's a monster who's gonna use you for some selfish gain. You've seen it. He only cares about himself and hurts people to keep it that way."

"I know you've known him longest but...I'm pretty sure at this point he's moved past all of that." You pointed out. "Honestly, the only one being hurt here is him. First Roman, and now you?"

Despite your arguments, he just didn't seem convinced. "I'm not doing this to give you anxiety...I can only do that to Thomas. And I'm not gonna say "breakup with him right now". I'm just telling you that he's not what he seems."

"I appreciate your worries, but I love him and that's that." You insisted, crossing your arms over your chest as you stood defiant. Obviously it was in his nature to tell you to stay cautious, and he'd probably say the same if you were dating anyone else.

But calling Janus a monster seemed awfully harsh. You haven't even heard him call Remus that, which was odd.

'Seriously why is he being such a prick?'

"..whatever you say." Virgil shrugged before sinking out, leaving you alone by the staircase.

"I wouldn't worry. His opinion of me has never changed."

You realized Janus was eavesdropping and turned to face him, sighing. "Jan, are you doing something that's making them be so... brutally honest? This just seems unusual for them."

"Not that I'm aware of." He had briefly removed his glove, indicating he was tell you the truth.

"Hm..then again, Roman and Virgil are sorta the least-rational ones. One's jealous that he doesn't have a date and the other overthinks a lot."

"Wonderful observations, my dear."

"Patton and Logan are more down-to-earth and clear-headed so they might have more understanding."

"I'm sure they will." Janus' tone didn't match the optimistic words he uttered as he slipped the glove back on. "Oh and..I'll try not eavesdrop anymore."

Little did you know, that would be two lies.

Most people are scared When they look him in the eyes, all they see is fear (but) Let me make this clear I want him near

"How can you look into his eyes and..and.."

"Go on."

"And not be scared?! I know I would be, kiddo."

"...Patton, is that seriously your only argument? That he looks creepy?"

"No, no! I just..." For a moment the fatherly Side paused, before he sighed and patted your shoulder. "Listen, I do think you're being a good influence on that wriggly snake but...I only worry he's being a bad influence on you. Every time he's near you I-"

"It sounds like your only argument is "he's a creepy crawly snake so I shouldn't trust or love him". Is that all?"

"It's...a bit more complicated than-"

"It's a yes or no, Pat."

"...I'm trying to look at the bigger picture and, sure there's some good in him but..I worry he's gonna hurt you in the end, that's all. Like he hurt us several times by impersonating us." He tried to reason, but you just brushed his hand off your shoulder in disbelief.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be one to judge books by their covers." You frowned slightly. "Well let me make this clear: I want him near me. I feel safe around him. I love him, outward appearances and all. So if you can't accept the way I see him then...we're done here."

With no more defenses, Patton sank out as you left the room. But in the hallway you spotted a familiar capelet vanish around the corner, and you found Janus, who manifested a brown eye contact over his snake eye. His scales almost vanished under his skin, but you called out to him before they could disappear entirely.

"Janus? I thought you weren't going to-"

"I..n-never expected Patton of all people to say that.." He held the side of his face shakily, keeping his head lowered so you didn't see the gradually forming tears. Only now he was starting to feel the impact of everyone's words. "If..it's my looks then...I can surely make adjusssstments.."

"No, sweetheart. You don't have to change your looks or be anyone else for me." You cupped a hand over the one that still covered the scales. "C'mon. You can't seriously believe Patton's dumb reasoning, right?"

"........."

All you got was a silent nod.

Most people can't sleep Feeling he's out, on the streets (but) He is my creep He is my creep

"While I see your relationship to Janus is beneficial-"

"Actually, nevermind. You're just gonna tell me the same shit everyone else did."

"...now [y/n], remember what we've discussed on cognitive distortions-"

"Jumping to conclusions? Overgeneralizing? I know. But I have valid reasons for those. You all think Janus is gonna hurt me because he's some "freaky selfish snake". But he's not, alright? He's been more truthful with me lately and I'm sick of the others not believing anything we say. So please, Logan..can you take my side for once?"

Logan was surprised by your outburst. He didn't even know you've talked to the others about Janus and assumed he'd respond in a similar fashion.

But he adjusted his glasses and looked at his notebook, all traces of emotion vanishing. "Logic can't take sides. If you would just listen..I've observed that your interactions with him have been generally positive, and that's helped Thomas-"

"There you go again..why does everything always gotta lead back to Thomas? Can't you just recognize Janus as his own person without assuming I'm only dating him to help-?"

"Because he can't be distracted from his core function!!"

You jumped a bit as he slammed down the notebook, scowling at you with a slight orange tinge behind his glasses. Though it was quick to disappear as he sighed. "He can never be his own person. You two will never have a truly normal relationship. I only advise that you keep that in the back of your mind."

And just like that, he left.

Every discussion you've had with a "Light" Side only left the bitter taste of frustration in your mouth...

Now what should you-?

You were startled again as you heard a nearby door slam shut, before realizing who overheard this conversation.

"Shit."

Is he human, does it matter I know he's what I'm after I can reel him, from disaster I know

"So..th-that's how they all see me, huh? A monster..n-not even a person."

"Jan.." Joining your boyfriend on the king-sized mattress, decorated in black and gold much like himself, you could finally see those walls he built up now crumbling to pieces.

One way or another, he heard what every Side had to say about him. And it was more than enough for him to realize they not only shun him for simply existing..

But they refuse to accept the idea that he's worthy of love, too. He can take the name-calling and insults in the videos, but this is what truly broke him.

He just scratched at his scales, his human eye already red and raw from crying as he wondered why you went through all of this just for him.

Any sane person would listen to the others and just breakup with him. He wasn't worth the effort.

You clearly deserved better.

You deserved someone who's more handsome, chill, kindhearted, or sensible-

"I know you can't truly be human but..does it matter?"

"...does it?" He sniffled, leaning into your touch more as you ran a hand through his hair. "Because apparently not. I know I'm not a perfect, flawless individual..I-I don't expect any of us to be. But if only I-I never-"

"Jan..you can't focus on what you can't change. I know you feel guilty, and if the others can't see that...it's their own fault. I won't stop fighting for us and for your happiness. I love you, okay?" Turning to him fully, you cupped both sides of his face and looked into his eyes.

"And in case you think I'm lying, I'll say it again: I. Love. You. None of their words will change that."

Hearing you become so determined to love him despite all odds made him sob again, this time from relief, as you put your arms around him.

Nobody's ever taken his side on anything...and certainly never defended him the way you did.

You felt several extra arms manifest to hug you back, and you smiled, closing your eyes.

Maybe in time the others will understand. But while it's true he looked like a monster and had his deceitful ways..

You knew what you were after.

And so did he.

Call the doctor, call the doctor Must be something wrong with me He's a monster, why do I want ya Please tell me, please tell me

[iclaimedtobethebetterbard]

Virgil for the character asks?

YES OMG ty for the ask AAA!! i have SO MANY thoughts about virgil’s character sdklghsdfkjlghsdfkghsdfk

[ask me abt my thoughts on tss characters]

First impression: i didn’t get into the fandom until just after dwit was released, so i already had plenty of character-development material to get to know virgil by; he was definitely one of my favorites from the very start.

Impression now: virgil is still (one of) my second favorite side(s)! he is so stupid and dorky and he would do anything for his friends and he is such an asshole. i love him. <3 i also think he is a lot less blameless in whatever went down between him and janus (and remus) than i used to think; i think they probably all hurt each other and it was very messy. which i like, tbh. it allows for lots of fun character stuff as the story unfolds.

im also VERY excited to see what goes down in the next few episodes, now that janus is at least kind of accepted. in-depth character (over)analysis and predictions coming up, buckle your seatbelts.

because the thing about virgil, imo, is that he very much sees his own acceptance as being conditional and as something that can be taken away. (the 5 year special with the whole “it’s nice to know they THINK they feel that way” made it clear that even now, virgil is reluctant to accept that he is loved.) and i think specifically, virgil believes that his acceptance is dependent on the fact that, as roman actually went so far as to state out loud and spell it out for us in AA pt2, “you are NOTHING like the Others.” (did roman mean it that way? no, absolutely not. but i think that some part of virgil latched onto it and was like “oh so THIS is why he’s okay with me now.”)

now, obviously “separating himself from the Others” is not something that virgil’s acceptance actually depends on. but i do think that part of virgil believes that it is. his mindset is ‘i’m good BECAUSE i am not like these other guys, who are the bad guys. i’m in the in-group BECAUSE there is an out-group to differentiate myself from. i have earned my spot here by making myself different from them.’ which is also why he’s been so bent on painting janus and remus as wholly unacceptable, and unwilling to compromise even a little bit with them. he needs them to be bad guys in order to feel secure in his own acceptance.

i think virgil is going to see patton’s new friendship with janus as patton actually rescinding his acceptance of virgil and giving it to janus instead. which is obviously not what’s actually going on. but i do think that’s how virgil is going to interpret it, at the very least on a subconscious level. he is going to be TERRIFIED that janus hanging around and not being vilified will ultimately result in first patton and then thomas changing their minds about wanting virgil around, and lead them to reject him again.

i think a big part of his character development in s3 will probably be around learning that love and acceptance is not a finite resource, and that his own acceptance is not threatened by janus and remus and orange also receiving it.

Favorite moment: im actually SO soft for the bit where virgil shows up in in moving on part 1 and is all “wait im the first on here?? o-o thats not good” and then is really concerned and caring towards thomas even while still being himself and having lots of funny lines. it’s so good it makes me so soft. hes so good i love him. basically the whole time from when virgil shows up to when the other sides show up in that episode (approx. 0:34-1:35).

Idea for a story: okay you get two lol. bc the first one is not really fleshed out at all beyond the premise but i think it would be GREAT already. basically this one would be a oneshot about the puppet sides, but would also be like. a horror story. and it would be like almost over the top in just how creepy and jump-scare-y and stuff it was. and then at the end it would be revealed that virgil and roman are collaborating on a story, and were in a brainstorming meeting and using the puppets to illustrate while virgil talked about his ideas. and there would be like a really cute platonic prinxiety moment to close it out. 

the second one is like. kind of a very niche genre of fic in this fandom already i think. there are definitely a handful of fics like this already. but it’s a very good kind of fic, so i could totally make another one. basically it would be a really cute canonverse LAMP fic about how virgil fell for LMP one by one (first patton, via some cute midnight-baking-after-accidentally-running-into-each-other type stuff, then logan IMMEDIATELY after “my negative thinking” or possibly even right in the middle of it, and then roman last of all right after AA pt2). and then of course there’s like some angsting about “they’d never want me, ive already been accepted i can’t push for more," etc etc before it is revealed that of course they all do love him. and then they are all fluffy and in love together <3

Unpopular opinion: 1) i don’t think spiders are his animal trait, i think cats or raccoons are more likely if he has one at all. 2) okay so. you know the posts that are like “grr stop making virgil into a soft baby who must be protected, he’s mean and snarky and tough!!” (i am. exaggerating, but you get the gist.) and the posts that were all “virgil was out of character in rotj when he was all dorky and awkward! he’s actually really cool and tough!!” those posts annoy me SO much. bc actually ALL of those things are extremely integral parts of virgil’s character!!! not just being snarky and tough!! yes, he is very snarky and sometimes mean!! but he is ALSO extremely dorky and awkward (and always has been)!! AND he can be soft and in need of support and that is okay and good—in fact, he talked a bit in the puzzle song about how developing this softer part of himself was something that increased his life happiness!! and!! virgil having that softer more vulnerable aspect of himself does not invalidate the other things about him or make them go away!! all 3 of those sets of character traits are really REALLY important parts of who he is!! you do not need to pick just one in your characterization of him!!!!!! and to prioritize his snarkiness over everything else is to ignore a lot of character development that has improved his relationships with the other characters and made him happier!!

Favorite relationship: of COURSE analogical. frankly i like most relationships involving virgil a Lot, but analogical wins without question. they just. fit so well together. they balance each other’s weak spots out so perfectly, and they share a lot of similar interests and personality traits, and they get along really well, and they’re able to resolve conflicts and disagreements with each other in a peacable and mature way, and they’re willing to call each other out when it’s needed, and they trust each other so much, and they are so close, and THEY ARE JUST IN LOVE AND MARRIED I DONT MAKE THE RULES. they are SO tender with each other and i think they get surprisingly sappy in private and are just SO cuddly with each other when normally they would never be. i just. UGH THEM.

Favorite headcanon: i rlly like the idea of him being able to sense when the other sides are anxious!! and even if he can’t necessarily take it away, i like the idea of him being a lil extra gentle with them and very subtly nudging them towards coping mechanisms that have helped him. <333

in case ppl don’t want to scroll back up: [ask me abt my thoughts on tss characters]

[the-sanders-sides]

(wtit spoiler warning)

unpopular opinion, but im not really a big fan of the idea of the orange side being wrath or anger. while similar to inside out, the sides arent really emotions; rather, they are your different conflicting thought processes when you work through a problem. you have the side of you that is logical and knows the facts and tries to use reason to solve things, the side of you that focuses on your morals and tries to use steadfast loyalty to your values to solve problems. there is the side that is anxious and tries to use to make use of fear to protect u and solve the problem.

there are the sides of you that are creative that think of fantastical solutions to your problems, whether good or bad, that try to take you to your dreams and desires. with roman, this is with disney-esque tales and hopes that keep thomas going and having a reason to things. with Remus, I think it may be using the intrusive thoughts to get Thomas to slow down when thomas is overwhelmed and wants to rest, which makes sense bc, at least with me, ik when I have an uptick of intrusive thoughts, it usually means i need to rest and relax so I'll be less overwhelmed and take care of myself.

and there is the side that is deceitful and cunning and mean and self-centered as a means towards approaching your problems with your self-preservation as the primary thing to uphold. unlike morals which may tell you to share what you have, this deceitful side of you acts selfishlessly to make sure that you are put first, no matter the cost. which is why I think any anger or wrath would come from Janus. anger as an emotion is often an expression of self-preservation. you feel anger when you know you've been hurt and you lash out in anger to protect yourself. janus has lashed out a fair amount for the small amount of episodes he's been in.

by now, it's also fairly agreed upon that Janus and patton are opposites/counters as well as roman and remus. with both pairings, it's seen that you need a healthy balance between those two sides, those two lines of thought, to not completely fall apart.

i am a firm believer that anxiety is the counter or parallel or opposite of logic. your logical thought processes get so messed up when you're anxious and scared, and logical thinking is often used as a tool to combat anxiety. this was explored between Virgil and Logan very early in the series. virgils anxiety causes cognitive distortions that weaken logans logical processes in being listened to. logans logical thoughts are able to tame Virgil's anxiety when it's too strong. i think Logan and Virgil balance each other out. those are the two who make a healthy balance together which has been discusses, albeit briefly, early on (remember the Yerkes Dodson curve?).

this is why I think that whatever the orange side, the seventh side, is, it won't be a counter to anyone in specific, and it won't be wrath/anger. right now, orange is showing up when Logan is weakened in someway. when janus kidnaps him in svs redux, orange only shows up after that. when Remus messes with Logan in today's wtit and logan is frustrated and out of it, only then did orange come through. we don't know if orange can control other sides as well, but if it's like janus at all, where janus tries to remove logan and his rationality from the problem solving, there's a reason it would focus on messing with logic & rationality to achieve it's goal of however it helps thomas.

because remember, all the sides do what they think is best for thomas. the sides are the manifestations of his different thought processes driven by different outlooks that all have an end goal of trying to solve thomas's problem in that way. but in the end, it is always up to thomas to choose which thought pattern he'll listen to. thomas chooses what he will do based on the persuasiveness of his different thought processes.

(for example, c!thomas comes across a wallet on the sidewalk. morally, he thinks the wallet should be turned in to the local authorities at all costs no matter what. his self preservation instincts tell him to take the cash and leave the wallet behind since the detour would waste his time. his anxiety tells him to leave it alone so he wont get framed for stealing. good creativity/roman would make him imagine a grand heroic prize for tracking down the owner of the wallet and personally delivering it, and bad creativity/remus might make c!thomas imagine finding and killing the wallets owner so he can take all the money. logical thought would say for c!thomas to return the wallet to local authorities if he has the time to do so, and if not, to leave it be. these are all just the different thoughts running through c!thomas's head which can then be personified as sides, and whichever action he does is attributed to the side who had the most persuasive line of thought, but none of these lines of thought are trying to hurt thomas, it's all different ways of protecting/helping him.)

so whatever orange is, needs logic and rationality to be a bit disrupted before being able to be persuasive enough to be listened to. this doesnt really seem like anger/wrath to me. someone can be rational and angry (ie. planning a revenge later rather than hurting someone now, passive aggression, etc.) which all feels more like Janus things to me, and I think you actually need to be rational to use your anger effectively. going ham on someone without thought will not have the same effect as thinking about the best places to hit without them getting you back. anger and logic don't need to keep each other in check like deceit and morality or logic and anxiety; rather, they need to work together. i dont think logan would be opposed to a side that represented anger at all. and orange would not destabilize logan so much if it were anger.

plus, Virgil is the only side that really represents an emotion. but I think people generally always have a sense of anxiety and fear in their problem solving, but anger/wrath isn't always there. for a quick issue like a lost wallet, i can see how these other sides of thought processes can exist, but i dont know what anger would tell Thomas to do there since anger is just an emotion.

so the question is, what is a thought pattern that exists when solving problems that tries to protect/help you, while also needing to push away or overpower your sense of logic & rationality to be persuasive enough to be listened to? I don't have the answer to this but I'd love to hear what other people think about this! especially if u see flaws in my reasoning of why orange isn't anger, I'd love to know!

[bilgisticallykosher]

Not going to tag every side, even if they were technically all mentioned but. I'm. Very screaming still.

Pre-episode. Squealing, so much squealing. Remus. I'm just. Remus, but intense. Remus 💚 Anyway, I see Thomas looking horrified- OH ARE WE GETTING TO THE DREAM THING? Are we dealing with The Thing from DWIT??? Aaaaa. Also, Logan? I thought it was supposed to be Virgil. Hm.

Okay, let's- hnnnnnng content warning I happy flapped. Frick I keep squealing, the green smoke and the bear trap in the A of asides. Omg omg omg.  FORBIDDEN FRUIT! Is it two am or pm? Gasp! NICO! No Nico, don't jk the date, please. I'm begging you, I can't. (Edit: legendsgates told the server that it was Thomas who texted Nico, not vice versa.) Oh no, he slept through the text notif? Oh no. Logan! Oh, it's two pm. I mean, I figured because of sunlight, but. FFFF 69TH! *snicker* Thomas smirked, too.  

Ooh, daily schedule. Degree a couple degrees! Five am Thomas is a bastard. Logan is… very whelmed by all the Thomases. Oh boy, this schedule is… not going well. Snort. Don't mention it. You don't have the time. Did he schedule time for scheduling? That's a lot of alarms. 

ARM!!!! Oh is that a bear trap? Oh. Yup. Whoops, that's- oh. Nope. He's fine. Old?? Aging? NICO IN REAL LIFE OMFG AAAAH! HE HAS A FACE!!! Oh. Aging. Hm. Okay, so he bear trap was less physical, more like Remus is trapping Thomas's thoughts. Neat! Also I have to take a break right, now I cannot handle the dramatic music and his face omfg. Aaaaaaaah. Okay I'm good maybe. Oh! That's the face from the thumbnail, nice. Green light in his hair looks nice. 

Aw, Logan is concerned about him. He's a good boy. And yikes that's a lot of um. Filth. Is that a nail? "Muck" is- Remus, points for effort, but no, dear. I mean, only if you say it outloud, backwards. K-Cum. Okay, you know what? I'll allow it. 

Remus. Rearranging his sentence is less intimidating than you think. I think he's putting back(?) Caressing? A book of Broadway… something. "You couldn't turn anything on, if you tried." WOW, WAY TO BE WRONG, LOGAN. I mean. You know. Uh. I'm just holding this attraction for a friend, it's not mine-

Thomas looks resigned. Hmm. Shiny green notebook, nice. Does that say "call updog?" Mmm. Yep. Yep it did. Lot of Updog on there, on the other hand, Remus's handwriting is gorgeous, wow. Dinner with Updog (can't cancel that again) I may have injured myself laughing at some point. 

This. This is that point. Oh my gosh. Who. So freaking close. The freaking tension! Did they censor damn? Yeah, sounds it. FFFFF LOGAN. Janus and Logan wine moms confirmed. Oh my gosh. He just freaking rips the cork out with his teeth. Chug. There's, like so much tension in this episode. Predicting that the screw is him "screwing" with his mind? Yep, nothing. Hmm. What if I choke. Is that Remus's influence? Or Virgil's? "I'd be screwed" Ha! Oh, wow, Logan! Look how much you're putting Thomas's mental health first! Wonder what was on Remus's second list…

Okay what's going on with the roomba. Ayyyy, Intrusive Thoughts! He's so good in this, Logan. WHAT KIND OF RUBE GOLDBERG GARBAGE- oh, garbage disposal, wow this was well set-up oh my gosh, the drawing attention to the garbage disposal, the book he placed there. Never stack your knives on top of anything, guys! 

The little 'yes!' Oh. Oh. Um. Okay. Wow. "I don't care about the knife, but the soap!" You guys, no, this can't be canon help. Oh he's cleaning! Ohhhhh, eyepatch. Love it. This feels very reminiscent of Dealing With Anxiety way back when. But with more Remus! Oh no he got his string caught in his weiner.

Bratwurst, whatever. I bet that was not originally in the script. I.e., accident. Hey, Kingdom Hearts! I know he is. Thomas, Logan, or Virgil? The chords before "He said you're wanting to be more honest"!!!!! 

Cue freakout. Yeah, it's Virgil. Man if Remus keeps setting these things up, he's like a genius, the physics involved, geez. Oh. Well, listen, not all experiments work the first time. Oh nope. There it- nope. Hmm. Pink panther-esque? Um, sir that's glowing. Sir, that's a keyblade. Oh, Nico again. Coffee, he says, after guzzling wine. Puzzle? Cognitive distortions!!! "It was a stab" Virgil!!! Logan's such a good boy, oh my gosh, I can't. Yeah. Sounds pink panther. I beg your pardon??? Whomst? Love the 'ooh~' in there. Haha, just stops at Logan. Oh, he's trying to get to Logan- ffffff, Remus, oh my gosh. Okay, why are there text alerts but no new texts? Remus, did you wear his shirt while getting stabbed? Rude. Ha! Got an ad for Anxiety/stress, that's funny. Aw, ketchup. Logan how can you be so wrong? Ha! Solenium lycopersicum again. "Yes. You. Am." Help I love him so much. Nico napkin? It's not me, right? He's not contacting him? (Edit: It was me. 😔) Okay, so the thoughts are being very tied up into anxiety, with like being alone, but he's also obviously scared to take a step towards relationship? Maybe??? Man, Remus is so good at these things. Okay, also stress about someone being in his house? Just high stress in general, I gu- !!!!!!!!! Oh hi. 

No, Remus, your puppet is being mean- oh, no, that's the, he's just stabby. Mutual stabby? You have no idea how hard I'm looking at his eyeshadow right now.!!!! MUSIC??? Song? Oh, okay, cool. Ahhh, what your momma gave ya. Remus, omfg he's so pouty at lack of stabbing. It's not lost on me that the lighting is purple. WOW, Logan. Willing to see his merit. Squeak squeak flick. He's not pretending he doesn't- yeah. Oh tongue lollipop. What was in his ear??? That he ate???

Manicure on severed hand. Ignoring dummies for dummies. Aw, does Nico have a carrot next to his name? WOAH WHAT!!!! Holy crap, fandom was right-

WAIT ARE HIS EYES ORANGE NO WAIT NO. 

THEY ARE! 

No, I wasn't ready for this theory to be right! Idk if…… rage/anger/wrath is orange through Logan or if that's a Logan thing or if he's turning into orange, gosh, I,,, really hope not. Nico calling! Ohhhhh, Remus likes that. 

Ahhh, Nico. Aww they're cute. Wait, is Logan supposed to be angry at Thomas? Oh. I really liked Procrastination as orange, and. Hmmmmmm. Oh man. We got some. Good, yet heartbreaking Logan there. 

Oh my gosh. I'm like. Almost shaking. Oh my gosh. I like. Don't know what to think. Love that totally real phone convo, though with Hello Fresh. Aaaa, what even do I think?! I'm so concerned! On multiple levels! But aw, Nico. I'm reeling. That angry Logan changed everything. Squints that seems lot a lot of paprika. Nico date! Patton!!! Roman!!! Virgil!!! Aw, Logan. Rome didn't fall in a day. "He's giving him permission," WAIT HE'S ANGRY ABOUT THAT TOO??? Okay, Logan's calming down, being okay. OH NO OH NO OH NO THAT WAS HELLA COOL WITH JANUS BUT THE EYES!!!! Crap, orange is anger. Damnit. Chills.

ALSO I had a belated realization at about Janus being in the tree and freaked out about it all day so expect something on that soon.

[starcats1219]

Coherent post part 2 lmao

More under cut

Also long post

Logan getting rid of murder dude with just a look? King shit

Remus is just being a dramatic fuck and Logan does not know how to respond

sad puppy

the dunce cap i cant-

"Yes Remus lovely lyrics well done" Logan sounds like an exasperated parent

Remus wanting Logan to...yknow. I'm not even gonna go there

Remus has better catching skills then Thomas confirmed (and throwing skills)

"You, you are funny" "no Im not" Logan you are amazing

solanum lycopersicum returns

"Yes you am" Remus I think you need a grammar lesson

The napkin note made me sad

At first after all the sheets I thought "oh. Remus...made his bed?" And I was very confused but nope. Pillow person instead

The knife bit actually scared me at first, just because it was sudden, poor thomas

Thomas holding his knife like a wolverine claw or something

Logan with the music let's go

This whole scene with the lighting and cinematography was absolutely beautiful

Logan who taught you this I just want to talk

Thomas dances like I would. And I'm a trained dancer.

him dancing as remus' Nico is just there with a knife. I can't imagine filming this

Remus acting like a stubborn child while Logan talks to him is so funny

Before I get to the part I know everyone is freaking out about I just wanted to say that Logan has come a long way. Watching him talk to Remus was a good way to show that

"You pretend I don't exist, so I'm going to pretend you do exist" a little bit of Remus angst there, but we also got some Logan angst right before with the "he doesn't always feel like listening to me"

The things Remus is doing while ignoring Logan is...interesting

and we made it

oh boy do i have a lot to say about this. i love the idea of logan being the orange side. but do i think it will happen? To put it simply, no. I think that the orange side just influenced Logan, and based off his character, this will continue to happen quite a bit. Logan is not the calmest of characters. I do love the idea of him being the orange side though, and I would be excited if this were the case. Logan looked shocked after it happened, so it wasn't a choice on his part.

Thomas getting a call from Nico immediately after? I doubt the orange side, whoever they are, would be able to influence that, it was probably just a coincidence.

Thomas quickly fixing himself up before the face time is such a mood

"But who do you really want to scream that at?" Thomas and all the other sides, off the top of my head

Oh no Logan Thomas is just leaving him

He looks so disappointed nooo

Logans literally just trying to help and Thomas interrupted him why would you do this

And then he just hugs the schedule and sinks out Logan no

Roman and Virgil, classic

It is sad that the other sides (Roman and Patton) aren't understanding why Logan is upset, they aren't used to being ignored by thomas, so they don't understand why "oh so Thomas didn't wash a few dishes" is such a big deal. Thomas committed to doing it, and he skipped out on it for something more important than that. Someone more important than Logan. But no, "you'll be fine, Rome didn't fall in a day"

Virgil definitely isn't too happy with Patton "oh thank goodness, you're giving him permission" clearly there's still some things there

I thought Thomas being the o in stay connected was a cool touch, considering a lot of this episode was him trying to do exactly that. It was an interesting detail. I've seen other people thinking it meant different things, all of which I love, this is just what I thought of at first

"Yes, everything is just...fine" that's a lie and we all know it. Also Janus I love you

And there's the episode! I've seen people with other theories/comments/ideas that I also agree with, so I've been trying to reblog them, these are just my first thoughts while watching!

[hydra-collector]

beginnings & ends

AO3

Ship: Prinxiety

Characters: Roman Sanders, Virgil Sanders

TW: suicidal thoughts (highly descriptive), self harm mention, food, blood mention

Words: 1233

Summary: There was a little spot was tucked away in a corner of the Imagination, a few trees looking over a sharp cliff. Roman came here when his cuts got too deep, when his mind turned to darker thoughts.

He invited Virgil there, and maybe found a little more than he intended.

Roman leaned his cheek against the rope hanging from the tree, swinging idly on the wood plank he'd put there.

This little spot was tucked away in a corner of the Imagination, a few trees looking over a sharp cliff. He came here when his cuts got too deep, when his mind turned to darker thoughts. He rarely properly toyed with the idea of jumping, but it was nice to have the option.

After visiting it over and over, it had become tainted with sadness and resignation to the end. He'd invited the other sides there to attempt to remedy this, without telling them why.

Today, he'd invited Virgil for a picnic. He found it easier to lose himself in conversation with the anxious side, easier to get distracted. With the cool breeze passing through his hair and Virgil swinging quietly beside him, talking and laughing occasionally, it was difficult not to forget why he'd ever want to die.

It was lonely as he waited, though. The sunset would be coming soon, and if Virgil didn't come before then the anxious side would get stressed about being late, convince Roman it was later than it was, and they'd have a much shorter time together. And God, sometimes he never wanted moments with Virgil to end.

A picnic basket sat at his feet, filled with sandwich supplies borrowed from Patton. The other sides were having individual dinners tonight, no one had really been up for cooking and Logan and Remus seemed to want to do their own thing anyway.

Virgil would probably bring some food himself, fearing there wouldn't be enough or just as a gift for Roman. He smiled at the thought.

The sun was low in the sky, but it hadn't quite turned orange yet. He'd chosen this spot specifically so it faced the sunset, so that the day he finally did kill himself, he could be a part of the end of something.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I was making cookies, if that's a decent excuse."

Roman's heart softened at Virgil's little laugh, getting up to spread the picnic blanket on the grass.

"That's quite alright. I'd probably be late as well if I didn't like sitting here. Anyway, we've got a variety of sandwich ingredients, courtesy of Patton."

Virgil sat down criss-cross applesauce, setting his paper bag of cookies between them as Roman took the food out from the basket in the middle of them.

They chatted lightly as Roman distributed their food, the occasional brush of their fingers making his heart flutter.

"What's with the bandages?" Virgil asked as he swallowed a bite.

"Oh, just, uh, just another battle in the Imagination," he replied, the white bandages tugging at his palms. Underneath, the backs of his hands were scratched with razor cuts, marks full of desperation for pain.

"You've been getting into a lot of those lately. Don't you think you should take a break?"

"Well, a prince has got to slay, doesn't he? I'm imaginary anyway, I can't die unless I want to."

"I mean, you can also miracle away your wounds, can't you?"

"I… it's complicated."

Roman left it as that. He had no desire to get rid of his cuts, and he didn't think he actually could. In the world of someone's head, belief and thought had a lot of power.

"The sunset's always so pretty over here," Virgil commented, looking out onto the horizon, setting his sandwich down.

Roman couldn't help but notice how the orange light cupped Virgil's face, tracing his jaw and his nose, outlining every lock of his hair. It was so bright in comparison to his skin and hair. And he noticed, briefly, the little tint of light touching his lip, the glitter in his eyes, how it accented his little smile. He couldn't help but stare as he wavered in the wind, until he turned back to face Roman.

And then it had ended, in a moment.

"Oh- uh, yeah. It is."

Virgil just smiled softly, and Roman vaguely wondered if his eyes looked like that for anyone else.

Roman's eyes lingered on his lips, and all his prior desires seemed like the most far-fetched thing when he could be here, with Virgil, instead.

"You okay?"

He was snapped out of his haze by Virgil's quiet voice. The anxious side hadn't moved either, yet still seemed to be tracking Roman's eyes and face.

"Yeah. Sorry."

His moment of euphoria had ended, and now embarrassment drove intrusive thoughts into his head, telling himself that he could jump, he could jump right now. But he kept eating his sandwich instead.

"Do you ever wish this would end?" Roman asked suddenly, perhaps trying to fulfill his want for help.

"Define 'this,'" Virgil said absently, looking back at the sunset. Roman was looking down now, though.

"Just… everything that hurts. Being angry, and… sad, and people hurting you. Just, just anything that scares you. Do you ever think of… of trying to get rid of it?"

Virgil set his sandwich down, looking back at Roman. "I don't think there's many ways to do that, Ro."

Fear bubbled up again in Roman's throat. He knew why he'd said that, but he wasn't sure if he wanted Virgil to know exactly what he was going through, so he desperately tried to change the subject. "I- I, um- you. You help me forget about it. With you, I'm not- I'm not so scared. It's not like that with the others, and- and I think I figured out why."

He was doing his best to keep himself afloat, despite his fear of rejection. He suspected Virgil felt the same as he did, however.

"I'm in love with you."

For a moment there was nothing but the quiet rustle of the wind of the trees, Virgil's face placed so elegantly against the sky, mouth slightly open in a small smile.

And then, it was everything at once. Virgil had grabbed his sash before he could process it, tugging him into a kiss, light and passionate all at the same time. They both were leaned over the basket, the warm light of the sun hanging low on one half of their faces. It was eternally quiet; in the way where you could hear every soft breath, every slight movement, every slide of Virgil's hand resting on his cheek. They didn't break for a long time, drinking in every bit of it they could.

Roman took shallow breaths after Virgil returned to his spot, just staring into the anxious side's dark eyes.

"Why do you really come here?" Virgil asked. The question was perhaps out of place from an outside view, but both of them knew the topics were intertwined from the moment Virgil arrived.

Roman took a few moments to catch his breath, heart still skipping beats. "To remind myself that the end could be right there."

He would look back on this moment and see it as a dark moment in a pit of even darker ones. It wasn't happy, it wasn't any kind of relief, and he would change the start of their relationship to anything else if he could. But he knew he never would have gotten that chance to have a sweeter, happier moment before he jumped.

So at least this confession was part of a beginning, rather than a last ditch attempt at the end.

[amethystdarkwolf]

My ‘Orange Side’ predictions, theories and a lot of Logan angst.

So I've had this theory for a hot second, and only recently decided to finally sit down and write it out. This goes on for quite a bit, and is a little bit on the heavier side, as it has my predictions for the last dark side, and a bunch of little patterns that are interesting to point out, that mostly lead to angst.

Okay, enjoy!

TL;DR is right before the little bonus thing at the end that's just more angst stuff for Logan that kind of applies.

So if you've been in the fandom for really any amount of time, you will know about The Rainbow Theory. Basically, all it is, is that the sides colors will make up the rainbow, and it seems to be nearly canon. We have all the colors except one. And that color is Orange.

Using the knowledge that this side will (most likely) be orange, we have a clue about him. That he's watching, and that he's aware of the audience.

From 26:34 to 26:44, in the upper left hand corner there is a score in orange text, the number is '07734'. Now, if you were to put that number into a calculator and turn it upside down, it would spell out, 'hello.'

Now this is mostly common knowledge at this point due to the fandom (me included) absolutely losing it over the hint of a new dark side. Especially since he shows up seemingly out of nowhere. I just needed to get those establishing bits out of the way before I continued on with the theory so it's a tiny bit easier to track my thinking (I tend to not explain my points correctly before moving onto the next one so I hope I did a better job of it this time through).

He is speaking to us. He's not saying hello to Patton or Roman or even Thomas! They don't even notice it! He is speaking to the viewer, which leads to the question of what exactly this side knows, and more importantly what this side is capable of.

There is also speculation that this dark side is going to be somehow attached to or the opposite of Logan. The opposite of Logic, that implication alone should be at least a little unsettling. Now, I love Logan, I love him a lot, him and Janus are my favorites. But he does seem to have kind of not the best relations with the others at times. However, I do not think we've reached him actually despising any side, not even Remus or Janus. I think that is going to change.

The color schemes Thomas and the team have been using are really clever. They convey a lot about the character just by having the color associated with them. They have also been working with the idea of opposites. And those opposites seem to conflict quite often.

What I mean is, violet on the color wheel is the opposite of yellow. Virgil and Janus' colors. Now, it is very, very plain to see that Virgil and Janus do not get along. Whatever history they have is still up in the air for specifics, but it's obvious that they have one. And at least Virgil hates Janus.

Red and green are also opposites on the color wheel. Even though they have barely interacted, it's clear by Roman's language towards Remus that they don't have the best relationship. Roman breaks down at the mention that him and Remus are similar. Also the funhouse simile, (DWIT: 35:56) "It's a little like, looking into a funhouse mirror,  but instead of a giant head, or, like, long legs and a tiny torso... It shows you... Everything you don't want to be."   That's more than enough evidence to prove they aren't on the best terms.

Now, onto blue. Blue, more specifically, Logan's shade of blue, is opposite to orange. And judging by the pattern we see developing with the opposite colors. Logan will not like the orange side one bit. Hold onto that piece of information for a moment while I make a few more predictions based on some more patterns.

Someone has already pointed this out, (if someone will be so kind as to remind me of who pointed this out that would be lovely <3), but back in Moving On Part 2, in the background, there is a picture hanging on the wall that will typically change  to fit whatever topic they're currently on, (ex: it changed to a picture of Thomas preforming in the show he won the golden apple for when it was brought up, or a zoomed in picture of the children's book he made.) At 1:30 the picture changes to show Thomas doing the 'speak no evil, hear no evil and see no evil' poses. (Covering his mouth, ears and eyes)

The dark sides and Virgil seem to each have a connection to one of these.

Virgil: See no evil. (Embarrassing Phases: 7:32. Virgil makes the room go completely black, blocking everyone's field of vision while he changed Logan's costume.)

Janus: Speak no evil. (Self-explanatory)

Remus: Hear no evil. (DWIT: 5:36-5:48. Remus muffles the other sides conversation, making Thomas hear him clearer than anyone else with the "Have you ever imagined killing your brother?" line.)  

The last one in that same vein, would be 'do no evil'.

So what does this pattern have to do with the other patterns I've pointed out?

Well, in order to get there, I need to point out, yet another pattern. (I'm so sorry)

Logan has always been a bit more physical than the rest of the sides I think. I don't really like using pre-Fitting In information in my theories, as I'm unsure of exactly how much they had planned at that point?, but I'm unsure of how to explain my point that well without this example. In Accepting Anxiety part 1, at 6:36 you can see Thomas rubbing the back of his head where he was hit with the laptop, immediately after, you can see Logan do the same thing.

To me this sort of establishes that what happens to Thomas can happen to Logan, making him a bit more of a physical presence than the others. The brain is what stimulates pain after all, it controls all the nerve endings and pain receptors.

Another much looser example, is his puppet choice in LNTAO, the whole 'not made of felt' thing was most likely just because of what Logan said that y'know, he didn't feel anything. It is also the fact of, all of the others puppets had felt somewhere on them, except his. Which makes the puppet, in contrast, feel more sturdy and physical.

I don't think this one applies all too much, but it is worth noting that out of all of the sides, Logan tends to always end up holding something/having something more physical in his possession more than the others. (Moving on being the exception)

The note cards.

The yerkes-dodson curve chart.

In Can Lying Be Good he was given a little headset.

Logic Vs. Passion he had a notebook (Which also made an appearance in Embarrassing Phases) as well as the drawings and graphs, while he wasn't physically holding them, they were real and not animation like Roman's examples.

(If you wanna count the crofters go ahead...?)

LNTAO also had the paper ball throwing physically hurting Roman.

In SvS when he was summoned (lmao summoned to appear in court I just got that as I was typing this out.) He is holding a law book.

In DWIT he gets physically hurt, twice. Having his teeth pulled out, and the throwing star. [Side note: the little interaction at 19:07 could also apply here, showing how he's more grounded as he stays almost completely still when Remus practically jump scares him.]

In the Healthy Distractions video he has what I'm assuming is coffee-

Then in the redux, he physically ends up hurting Patton by popping up too close. An odd little detail that really didn't apply, don't you think? And it's immediately followed up with Patton reiterating that they were just figments of Thomas' imagination.

Logan is much more grounded in reality and more physical than the other sides. Which is a very good thing for Logic to be, that's what it has to be.

Now what is the actual theory?

Virgil can blind the others

Remus can mute the others

Janus can silence the others

My theory is that the 'orange side' is going to have the ability to physically or mentally control the others.

And Logan is going to be his chosen victim, at least at first.

Logan is going to have an antagonistic relationship with this side because of the fact that he takes control away from him. Which order and control is what Logan seems to thrive on!

Keeping schedules, having everything in order, being taken seriously, attempting to make sure that Thomas is punctual, all of those things are Logan trying to maintain control. Now that isn't a bad thing in this circumstance at least, he's trying to make sure Thomas doesn't do anything that would cause his life to devolve into chaos.

But when it's taken away from him it's going to send him into some kind of spiral, and lead to his two-part video. Losing control of things is scary as hell. It was one of the points brought up as to why Remus was being a pest more than usual (DWIT: 29:37-29:56). And obviously being ignored and pushed to the side isn't helping either. It could just be the straw that breaks the camels back.

Long story short, Logan's arc is going to be directly tied to that other dark side, at least in my predictions.

And it's going to hurt.

Okay, this last little bit, is purely speculation, with very little connection to anything in canonicity. All of the dark traits seem to have a connection to some kind of animal, and they're typically ones that are seen as gross or creepy in some form, spider, snake, octopus.

What if the last dark side's animal was some kind of bug? A beetle or something. Like seriously the thought of a bright orange beetle or cockroach is, disgusting.

The only reason I'm saying this is because of a random thought I had. We all know Logan's 'robot' persona he puts up, he can't feel anything, he's mechanical, right? Well, a side coming in and completely flipping all of that on it's head, and ruining the control Logan had...

That would be a real bug in the system, now wouldn't it?

Well! Thank you for reading through all of this! I know it got a bit long-winded I just like having as much evidence as possible before stating a theory.

But those were just my thoughts and I'd love to hear yours! So please tell me what you think!!!

TL;DR: My prediction is that the orange side will be able to take control over the other sides, and he will take control of Logan which would cause Logan to spiral enough to warrant his two part video.

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

BONUS: Some more angsty bits about Logan and control, that didn't apply to the theory too much! 

So first off, to me Logan seems like a very straight-forward (ha.) problem solver. If there is a problem there is no need to go through extensive loopholes or anything, no emotional mires or musical numbers unless necessary, the problem just needs to be fixed, period end of sentence.

I have a feeling that Logan applies that same logic to himself.

In the videos prior to Losing My Motivation, Logan was very very happy and bubbly. Easily excited and willing to participate in things he probably wouldn't have otherwise. He was much more expressive. (I know this is most likely because he was not a fully fleshed out character yet, but it can tie into some angst.)

Then in Losing My Motivation, Logan was brought the conclusion that he was the problem. (Note: this was also where the infinitesimal mistake was also made.)

From then on, we can slowly see minor changes to him in the videos, he starts becoming more reserved, serious, as well as trying new things to sort of fit in? (i.e the note cards) He saw the problem, and he tried to fix it. He became the definite voice of reason. Him smiling also went down a lot.

Looking back on this better explains why Logan was so upset at the beginning of Logic Vs. Passion, 2:28-2:41. To him he's already fixed his problem, he's fixed himself, he was the problem, how could Thomas run into this problem again!

Then we get to the crofters musical, where he just completely drops his walls down and sings and has fun with something he enjoys. Then of course, Virgil and Patton kinda come and unintentionally embarrass him. And he starts getting more feelings of inadequacy which build up to the whole problem of LNTAO.

Then in SvS almost his entire time on the witness stand was Janus subtly poking at him, and at 15:04, he talks about wanting to make sure Thomas is punctual and productive. He in fact calls it his passion project, something he is PASSIONATE ABOUT.

After two or three years, Logan is still trying to fix the problem. He's still trying to fix himself.

Now this link to control is mostly in what Logan is trying to get Thomas to do, be punctual, follow schedules, produce adequate content at a steady pace, and follow the same pattern every day, according to the chart in Logic Vs. Passion. This habit forming, tends to nearly eliminate variables from Thomas' life. Earning Logan more control. Which is clearly what he's wanting, as he feels that is the way to prevent problems from happening.

[thedramaclubs]

Zazz

Summery: shits going down after prom and if you’ve seen the musical/movie be prepared for a gay panic from Patton

Warning: does get a little heated with one of the ships, and of course homophobia in the beginning

Ships: Logicality, Prinxiety, demus/dukeceit

When singing

Janus-orange (tumblr doesn’t have yellow)

Patton-blue

Both- purple

A few days after prom and things are going crazy. On Monday after school the news went to James Madison high to interview the school and Mrs Greene about what happened. Mrs Greene was now being interviewed.

“I’ve been told to say something. The courts said that Patton would not be safe if we allows him to attend prom with the other students because the uncomfortable truth is there are some people in our community that are offended by his life choices. We thought this arrangement was the only course of action.”

Suddenly news reports ask so many questions

“Mrs Greene are you homophobic?” “Are you saying sexuality is a life choice?” Then she exclaimed “ This is uncomfortable for me! To be infront of a camera like this. To read horrible things about my town. And I am just a mother. I am not any kind of a spokes person and I love all the students at James Madison high as much as my own son.” She walks up to Logan who was watching his mom being interviewed. “We are in this situation because of a group of people, privilege people from New York!”

She sighed

“They are the villains. You should be writing about them not us.”

Back at Patton’s house he and Janus we’re watching the interview on his computer. Patton had been in his room for days hiding from it all. He wore his cat onesie that Logan got for him on their 1 year anniversary of being together. He wore it because he wanted to feel like Logan was giving him a hug and he wanted to feel like Logan was their with him.

“Ugh that women totally doesn’t make my skin crawl!”

“I can’t wrap my head around all this. This is a nightmare. I’ve never been so alone in my life.” Patton started to cry a little. Janus pulled him into a hug.

“Your not alone you have friends.”

“Yeah, well where are they?” At that moment, Remus, Thomas, Joan, and Roman came in.

“Hey, we brought Haagen dazs.”

“It’s fancy ice cream.” Thomas Said as he had the bag

“I know what Hagen dazs is hand it over.” Patton grabbed the bag out of Thomas’s hands and Remus sat on the bed next to Pat.

“Are you Okay?”

“I’m amazing, the whole world is talking, making it sound like I’m the one responsible for it but no one is talking the hate there’s just so much hate. There’s so much hate.........I’m gonna need more of this shit.” Patton got the ice cream open and started eating his cookies and cream. Remus then started talking.

“Listen I know you said you don’t want our help anymore but we can’t let them get away with this. That pta women who the hell does she think she is?! I want her to get run over by a bus!!!”

“She’s a monster that’s what!”

Remus inhaled to calm down “Joan what can we do?”

“I don’t know. She’s spun this whole thing herself to make her look like the victim she’s good if she didn’t shop at dress barn she could work in P.R.”

Roman was just standing in the corner but felt like he should say something and so he did.

“I know everybody’s angry but we have to face the facts. We made matters worse. So the best thing we can do is disinfect our things and go home.”

Everyone said at the same time “NO WE ARE NOT LEAVING!!”

“We are always not leaving!! Please I want to leave this horrible place”

“No we are staying here we gotta turn this thing around. We gotta take back the press!”

“But how darling?” Said Janus as he was still on the bed.

“Patton you gotta be the face of this story you gotta go on tv and show the real asshole is!”

“And that will give him a prom?”

“This isn’t about prom anymore. This is about right and wrong you know what you have to do this right.

“I don’t know what I know.” Patton continue eating the ice cream.

“We need a national audience....what about Jimmy Fallon?”

“I can’t just pop Jimmy Fallon out of my ass!!” Exclaimed Joan. “If we want an audience we gotta go big and to to go big we have to use that one call to Eddie Sharp!” Everyone was in agreement except for Roman “No I am not calling that basterd!!”

“Just ask for a favor!”

“If I ask him for something he will want something in return and what he will want is the hamptons house. He trying to get it for years. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY DISNEY AND BROADWAY CRUISES I HAD TO PAY FOR THAT HOUSE!!!!! I would rather pluck my eyes out and put them in a vacuum and call that even!”

“If that will work just pluck your eyes out then!! *sigh* Joan just get the boy on tv. I don’t care if it’s a cut on family guy just do your magic.”

“Aye aye.” Joan left to try and get Patton on TV

“This is great.” Patton then decide to say something

“No not great. I’m sorry but their is no way I’m getting in front of a camera and telling my story. I cannot do that just no. Just accept it we lost deal with it.” Patton went to a corner and stood with his arms cross. Then Thomas came up with and idea.

“Ya know there might be a better way to rid of this community by extension of nation of this cancer of intolerance!” Everyone was dead silent

Eventually Remus asked “Why are you still here? I thought you had a tour?”

“Indianapolis was canceled and so was everywhere else. But I’m thinking feature forth and seek out the younger people and rap in a non musical sense. And soon understanding could lead to, dare I say it......love.” Thomas left and now there was Roman, Remus, Janus and Patton.

Patton turned around to see their faces and Remus broke the silence again “Listen kitty cat, I know this is hard but if you don’t do something, they will.”

At that moment Janus got an idea. “Don’t worry he’s got stage fright. I’ll talk to the kid.” Roman had already walked out leaving Remus and Janus outside the door.

“Are you sure about this Jannie?” Janus put his hand on Remus’s check and kissed him.

“Of course darling.” Said Janus very seductively. Remus couldn’t help himself he had been touch starved so and picked up Janus and pinned him against the wall.

“Damn why are you so hot?!” Remus passionately kiss the smaller man as Janus put his hands on Remus’s face pulling him in closer. Sadly, it came to an end because their was a another short man waiting for Remus.

“REMUS CMON!!” Remus put his husband down and gave him one last kiss “See you tonight Jan.” Remus left leaving him and Patton alone.

“You two really love each other huh?”

“Yeah I love him so much. He may be an idiot sometimes but, he’s my idiot.” Patton laughed a little then got back on track.

“Now before you lecture me or....kick me to death with those crazy Anatlope legs.....or whatever it is your gonna do, I know I should do something. I just can’t.” Janus walked back to the bed.

“Look kid, not everyone gets a chance to step out of the chorus. You gotta do this for all the those people who used to be gypsies.”

“I’m too scared.” He hid in the cat hoodie and Janus got an idea.

“Let me tell you a story. 1975 and the original company of “Chicago” was in previews. Suddenly the worst outbreak in history hit the cast and their down to the third cover for Roxie Heart and he’s scared just like you.” Patton took the hood off of his head to listen to the rest of the story.

“So, fosse was a real ball buster puttin him through a pain an he’s petrified. Even worse he’s performing the routine like a robot. So the boss pulls him aside and says “hey kid, snap out of it. You got the steps, you got the notes, but where’s the Zazz baby.”And although he had never heard that word before he knew exactly what it meant and he crushed that performance. The audience screaming bloody murdur.”

“And that boy was you?” Janus gave him a blank stare

“Yes it was me how fucking old fo you think I am!? It was 1975. But the point is every fosse boy knows that story. All about finding your inner strength.”

When a challenge lies ahead and you are filled with dread and worry

Give it some zazz

If your courage dissapers what’ll get you fears to scurry

Give it some zazz

Zazz is style plus confidence, it may seem corny or kitsch

But when scared or on the fence you’ll find that zazz will soon make fear become your bitch

And if folks say you can’t win what’ll will stop them in a hurry

Janus layed on the bed and kicked his leg up high that gave Patton a gay panic

Give it some zazz

There’s no contest for a boy who has some razzmatazz

So call their bluff

And strut your stuff

Like no chick in this hick town has

Instead of giving up

Give it some zazz

“I just don’t think I can do it. The thought of getting in front of all those people look at my hands their shaking”

“If your hands are shaking....”

Just turn’m into jazz hands

“Doesn’t that feel better?”

“No”

“Try this. Close your eyes.” Patton stood up and closed his eyes

“Zazz doesn’t just come out, it comes from within. Now think about Mrs Greene.” Patton put his hand across his face.

“Think about that fake prom!” He took his other hand and did jazz hands.

“Now think of finally doing something about it!” Patton started doing moves and it filled him and Janus with joy.

“Oh I’m seeing it! I’m seeing your Zazz! Now follow me!”

Do like the brave and bossy do

And if they tear you apart

Ask what would Bob Fosse do?

He’d make the people have a step ball change of heart

Ball change!!!

And if folks say you can’t win what’ll stop them in a hurry

Give it some zazz!!

There’s no contest for a boys who has some razzmatazz

So call their bluff BAM!

And strut my stuff BAM!

Like no chick in this hick town has

Instead of giving up

Give it some zazz

Now that you’ve found your zazz it’s time to show it to the world. You think you know how?

YEAH!!

People to tag @artissi-jam @patt-off @frogsandcookies @icantthinkofacreativeurl @actingonimpulse @purplestarrystars

I’m back!!!!

[babysizedfics]

hihi im back with another ask i send a lot of these now huh. anyway!! what would they all dress up as for halloween/how do they celebrate halloween when vee and ro are little compared to when they are big? do nana janus and chaotic cousin remus also join in? im super excited 'cause its halloween now and also i remembered my second ask from last night so m gonna send that now! 🐝

bee anon i know its been literal weeks since you sent this but i have been thinking about it loads and rlly hope that its worth the wait!!

i think this might be my longest headcanon post yet!

Halloween headcanon for the family

the timeline of labd took place in summer of this year so this halloween is their first one as a little family! patton was eager to suggest to the others that they make it a family halloween party where both boys are little and they can have some more childish fun!

virgil is nervous about it, he really loves halloween but he is easily frightened by horror and jumpscares and its a lot worse when hes regressed. and even though he trusts his family a ton hes worried they'll accidentally put on a scary movie or have spooky decorations that will scare baby him, so he's worried he will ruin the party by being a crybaby

however patton and roman are both so so so excited about having a child friendly halloween party and logan has been researching family halloween activities that are toddler friendly and vee is also a bit excited despite his anxiety so they all agree to it !!

costumes:

originally they all wanted to have a family group costume theme!! but roman and vee's interests are so different when they're little

whatever roman suggested was either too scary or it was from a show that was too old for baby vee

and any of pattons suggestions that baby vee liked roman complained of them being too babyish or simple

so instead they decide each little will go as a matching costume with one of the CGs! so everyone gets to match with someone and the littles arent upset

Logan and Vee go as rilakkuma (big brown bear) and korilakkuma (littol white bear) respectively

their costumes are basically just onesies they got from online, just standard onesie but with bear tail and bear ears on the hood and the tummy patch!

As a surprise though roman sews vee a pair of matching mittens for his costume! theyre fluffy on the inside and theyre white and have pink toe beans sewed on!! so they're like paws! and roman made them detachable so vee can have them attached to the onesie but can also wear the mittens without it

SIDE NOTE: this concept post is about how vee loves the mittens so much he starts wearing them a lot of the time when he's lil!

Roman and Patton go as Kuzco and Pacha

roman makes both of their costumes from scratch!! even fake jewellery for kuzco!! he's REALLY proud of himself and so is everyone else!!

quick link to the posts for what their pumpkins look like and the shenanigans that ensued when they carved them!

During the set-up:

during the day patton and roman bake sugar cookies! and roman does a great job decorating them like pumpkins and black cats! theyre really cute baby friendly designs

meanwhile logan and baby vee decorate the house! logan sticks up paper pumpkin faces and bats while vee sits on the floor in a little play area rattling his giraffe rattle and logan is like talking to him "where should i put this pumpkin sweetheart?" and vee just babbles cluelessly and sucks the ear of the giraffe and logan is like "what a marvellous idea" and hangs the pumpkin exactly where he planned

also they make tissue ghosts!

basically vee's job is to scrunch up a tissue into a ball! so logan gives him a tissue and shows him how to scrunch it and vee does a littol scrunch and giggles and logan takes it (scrunches it a bit more into a ball) and covers it in another tissue and rubber band! then he asks the baby if this ghost should be happy or sad (vee ALWAYS says happy) and logan draws happy little face on it!

when they have enough logan hangs them from the ceiling fan!! and he turns the fan on slow and the ghosts float around slowly and he goes 'vee look at that!'

and baby vee on the carpet is staring at them and then he whines and holds his arms up to mama - he wants to be picked up

lo was concerned that baby found the ghosts scary but!! vee giggles and reaches up to the ghosts and he bats them! like a little kitten! he loves it because its like a baby mobile!!

During the actual party:

lots of fun! logan cut out pumpkin shapes out of orange craft paper earlier and the boys get to draw faces on them!! and then they get blu tacked up on the walls!

and they nibble their cookies of course! very nummy well done roman and patton

but while ro is busy drawing and while vee is busy suckling his cookie and cuddling papa lo sneaks off to set up the main event...

trick or treat scavenger hunt:

there are bags of candy and little party favours (like little badges and bubbles and stuff) hidden around the house!

patton suddenly pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket and gasps! then he announces that the boys got an invitation to go trick or treating around the house by some special guests! at this vee gets a bit nervous and buries his face in papa's shoulder but patton rocks him and roman is really excited!!

so patton hands the invitation to roman and its a riddle! roman has to figure out which room the riddle wants them to go to! roman is a very clever little boy, just ask his mom and dad, so he figures it out and leads them to the dining room! roman runs ahead and paatton carries baby vee on his hip

and in the dining room is logan - but he's not really supposed to be logan - he is still wearing his bear onesie but also now is wearing a big black blanket around his shoulders (its meant to be a cape) and has those really cheap uncomfortable plastic vampire fangs

'welcah to i cashel' he lisps

roman giggles because its very silly and he LOVES silly, especially mom being silly

but baby vee grips his papa tighter. he doesnt know why mama is talking weird or why his mouth looks different and pointy but it scares him and he starts whimpering

papa bounces him a little and whispers that its just mama being silly

logan hates to see ve scared of him so he tries to rectify it 'ish ohay bee ish okay wook ish mama!'

vee looks over because papa and his brother are giggling so it cant be that scary right?

but as logan tries to talk again the teeth fall straight out his mouth with a trail of drool and roman bursts out laughing and so does patton and so baby starts giggling too!! because its just mama!

anyway the game is to convince the vampire to let you have his candy. the vampire says he will only give them the treats if they can name all of the characters in peppa pig

and they do it!! vee immediately bounces and squeaks 'pepepepepa!' and then roman names mummy pig and daddy pig and george and then they get treats AND another riddle!

logan sprints out of the room to shove the next costume on and get to the next room

then roman takes them to the laundry room where the wolf man (logan with dog ears made of socks) will only give them bubbles and the next riddle if they both pet his head VERY softly!

and then they find a mummy in the kitchen and have to unwrap him! roman tears off the toilet paper from logans body and hands it to vee and vee scrunches it up like he did earlier and holds a little bit to his chest and decides its his now - the mummy gives them more candy and another riddle!

the hunt goes on until they find mama in the living room lying on the couch - and he's asleep! (he's not really)

theres a note on his chest that says that mama is under a spell!! and he can only be waken up by a kisses from all his family!! roman giggles and goes first and kisses logans cheek really loudly and sloppy and logan winces in his "sleep" at the wetnes on his cheek and roman thinks its funny

vee is really nervous that mama is under a spell :( so papa says he will show vee how to wake mama up. and patton leans down to kiss logan - logan's eyes open when he's just above him and leans up to meet him in a quick soft kiss on the lips

then its baby vee's turn and he wriggles in papa's arms so patton puts him down onto logan's lap on the couch and vee does his signature baby kiss - he leans forward, gently presses his forehead against his mamas and whispers 'mwah' behind his paci!

and then logan wakes up and says 'oh you saved me!!' and wraps a smiley baby vee in a very tight cuddle!

and when logan gets up he says he is SO grateful to his boys for saving him that he's gonna give them presents!!

For being so creative and clever by solving all the riddles and finding ways to trick the monsters into giving them treats, roman gets a rainbow etch a sketch!

and for being such a brave baby and for being so gentle with the monsters and with mama, little vee gets a squishmallow bat who will always protect him and give him cuddles!

the rest of the night is pretty much jsut roman being really excited and proud of how well he did in leadinf his family to victory and he draws all of the events that happened on his new etch a sketch!

and baby vee is just so relieved that mama is back that he doesnt leave mama's lap and snuggles with his new squishy friend al evening! he falls aslee pretty quickly because it was a busy day for just a little baby!!

the end :3

[thesandersinitiative]

Virgil stop fangirling over Patton

“Am I....?” Virgil repeats looking fainter than before. He tugs on the strings of his hoodie staring at Patton. “NO! I am NOT alright! That is-- That’s--!! Captain Morality! Don’t you know who he is?!”

Without waiting for you to actually answer Virgil turns to you, with a spark in his eerily purple eyes and starts talking.....

....and behind him Patton’s eyes go distant.

[TW: depression, PTSD, violence, Nazis]

***

To be completely honest, Patton Hart is used to tragedy. He's been bred on sad sob stories, one after the other. A father who did not stick around long enough to see him first open his eyes, grandparents who did not live to see his third birthday, a mother who loved him too much, too often, too desperately. He'd been blessed with a forgettable face, with a submissive aura, with a backpack of items to call his own that was never unpacked because they always moved in the end, anyway. He was there and then he was gone like a bank of fog, like the sun on a cloudy day.

Patton grew up with sadness clinging to his bones, kissing nightmares in the dark, and singing eulogies in the graveyards for reflections of himself.

The Stock Market Crash paves the way for the Depression that chases him and his mother through the country, nipping at their heels, sinking its claws into their backs, and tearing their throats with its teeth. It’s bad.

But its nothing new for Patton.

The War, though.

The War is new.

The War steals the cute boy at the drug store who smiles at Patton across the counter. The War makes each penny stretch less and less. The War plasters propaganda posters condemning the Nazi menace across telephone poles and mailboxes. 

(The War wasn’t America’s problem until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The War wasn’t America’s problem when he lived in Brooklyn for six scant months at fourteen and helped a Jewish boy clean out his cuts after a group of sixteen year olds pushed him down and sneered you know, those Germans have the right idea.) 

The War kills his Mom. 

Not, directly, no, but. But it places her in a factory assembling turbines for the planes. They have money in their pockets for the first time in years but the War hands her ration cards and says they have to keep on starving. The War gets her sick in the factory, and the entire time she just smiles, ruffles Patton’s hair, and keeps handing him half of her rations because he’s still a growing boy. 

Patton’s Mom dies when he’s seventeen; she’s sick and starving and dies with her head in her son’s lap as he strokes her hair and sobs. 

Patton Hart is seventeen when he volunteers for the draft. He’s a year too young, but they don’t look hard enough, don’t care hard enough. Patton’s never known what he’s wanted to do with his life—bouncing from tragedy to tragedy and just barely managing to stay afloat but, well. He never thought he’d do this.

The War has taken all he has left; Patton thinks it might as well take him too.

Some might have started calling it a tragedy then, because if there hadn't been a war, if the Depression hadn't hit, if Patton hadn't been left all alone, he might have grown up to be a store clerk, a factory worker, a journalist, a self respecting average person. He might have learned to smile for real and not just to placate people. He might have settled down somewhere with a pretty boy and become that dad he had always wanted to be. He might have been happy.

They might have called it tragic that that sort of life had been stolen from him.

(Patton thinks it’s tragic that he could never imagine having that life at all.)

The War is...its something else really. They send him to a training camp run by both Americans and the British and they work them all to bone. Push ups, daily runs, crawling through barbed wire, carrying twice his body weight in supplies and keeping march. They press them until they can’t stand and fill their heads with delusions of grandeur that will come when they beat those pesky Germans.

The boys that he shows up with change very fast.

Patton feels like he doesn't change at all.

It's a problem, they say. Because Patton is still smiling at them while marching, still making jokes when the rest of the platoon is struggling to keep their eyes open, still acting soft and kind and friendly when they are trying to go to war.

It's a problem, they say. So they send him to the front lines.

Patton just smiles at them and nods his head. What's another order? What's another threat? What more can this life take from him anyway?

Patton thinks it's silly that the generals there are in the business of making tragedies, and yet they can't seem to see that Patton is a tragedy personified. It's a blindsiding attack: he's the comedy with a bad ending no one sees coming.

He gets captured six weeks after he’s sent to the front lines; it’s just another bump in the story, another trip into tragedy, and another thing to smile through and laugh over even as bitterness burns like acid in the back of his throat. 

It’s funny he thinks, because he was the only man in his regiment to get captured. The only man in his regiment none of them would be sorry to see go. The only one that lives to see the sunrise after that day.

(Its a blood orange sunrise, that boils the sky and makes hazy lines in Patton’s vision.)

The soldiers that dig him out of the trenches, that dig him from the dirt and the rubble and the bodies, that dig him out of the grave he had been so content to lie in, force him to his feet and tell him to march. They don’t like him, don’t like the way he stumbles, don’t like the way he collapses.

And they certainly don’t like the way he smiles. With blood in his teeth and his freckles dancing and his eyes as cold and dead as the rest of the allied forces in the area.

It doesn’t matter much though. This is War, after all.

They take him to a POW camp and they stuff him into a crowded cell with two French soldiers who know scattered English, and an Italian who likely was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If Patton had cared, he might have thought about how different it was from what he had been told being captured would be like, about how secret the base seemed, how violent the gatekeepers were. He might have been scared.

But all he can think about is how cold it is. How dark it is. How unfriendly it is.

This is War.

And Patton wonders why no one here knows how to smile.

Its a stand still: the days are the same and they blur together like the lines of a newspaper in the rain. He sleeps a lot, probably too much, but there’s nothing else to do. He’s got his own little corner where he keeps his legs folded up so that the Italian can lie down and without touching anyone. He offers half his food to one of the French soldiers because he’s nearly eighteen but the poor kiddo looked barely older than sixteen. He smiles, smiles, smiles, until that too becomes an unconscious action. The guards that pace the block snarl at him and Patton smiles each and every time. 

He loses track of how many times they drag him out of the bars and beat him with their rifle butts. But that might just be him being bad at math. 

His cellmates probably think he’s insane. Maybe he is. Maybe that’s what the War got from him.

It isn’t until three weeks later that the Brit with the mustache is thrown in with them and things start..starting again. 

His name is something fancy, something posh, and Patton hears it, but doesn’t remember it at all. It seems silly that he could have forgotten how to speak English in three weeks, but it happens that he can’t figure out how to answer the Brit with anything more than a half shrug and a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes even on a good day.

And good days are rare. It’s not that the others are bad, because how can something be bad when he’s got food, and quietness, and a roof over his head? It's strange to think that before he joined the Army, before the War had started, before his mother died, there had been times when he hadn’t even had that. Surely if he was tragic before, he had to be something slightly better now?

Patton tries to give his food to the French boy, who always, always hesitates. The Brit watches him. 

“Why do you do that?” He asks.

And Patton shrugs.

The French boy says something, or maybe he doesn’t. There’s a hollowness in Patton’s skull that rings when he looks too hard so its better just to close his eyes and go back to sleep.

The Brit speaks French and Russian and German. Patton doesn’t really notice it at first, because he’s been used to the sounds of his cellmates whispering softly in the cold dark, but at one point he realizes that there’s an extra voice, speaking foreign hushed words in the darkness. He doesn’t know how long they had been talking before he realizes, and he hadn’t been asleep but he hadn’t been there either. It had been like his body was there and his mind had stepped from the room for a moment, or ten, or an hour.

When he glances over the Brit is listening intently to what the older of the French boys is saying, nodding along, maybe partially in disbelief. Patton doesn’t get exactly what they’re talking about until there’s motion in his direction and the Brit’s jaw drops. There’s a rough laugh that follows, and it grows like a thunderstorm, rumbling closer and closer.

And oh, they’re talking about him.

Patton smiles for them. Because even if he's the joke they’re telling, at least they’re laughing.

The Brit’s eyes widen, and he says something back to the French boys, something with too many front-rounded syllables, and then he turns back to Patton and scoots close.

“They were telling me that you smile all the time,” He says. “They call you Mr. Blueskies!”

“Blueskies?” The word chokes in Patton’s throat, rattling in his ribcage like a bird trying to break free. His own inhale scratches the inside of his throat, like nails tearing up his esophagus. It feels bad, and strange and foreign. He coughs.

“Yeah,” The Brit says, “Like clear skies. Bright and Happy. I didn’t think people like you existed in this hellhole.”

Patton doesn’t know what to say to that. So he just shrugs and smiles a bit more.

The Brit still smells like lavender soap, which was probably from a care package from home before he was caught and brought here. It reminds Patton of the flower shop he had to walk by to bring his mother lunch when she worked at the factory, before she died.

“Mr. Blueskies,” The Brit says somewhat still in disbelief, “What’s your real name, Smiles?”

Patton leaned against the wall ignoring the painful cramp in his legs because the Italian was still sleeping. “Hart,” He says, “Patton Hart.” 

“Unbelievable,” He says, “They should have been putting you on posters, not sticking you on the front lines.”

(And thats another tragedy for the list, isn’t it? Something so sweet and soft like Patton shouldn’t have ever been to War at all.)

“Patton “Blueskies” Hart,” the Brit hums. “Tell me something, kid, whats there left to smile for?”

And isn’t that the trillion dollar question? What is there left to smile for when his family is dead and he is halfway to meeting them again, when his legs are cramped, his cheeks are hollowed, his head rings, and his throat is dry, when he’s so far from anything that is familiar and has no chance of getting back? 

But Patton knows the answer, has known for a while. He can still feel the soft hand of the Jewish boy when he helped pick him off the ground in Brooklyn, can still hear the laughter from his mother before she got sick, can still smell the cookies that his platoon-mate got that in a care package that made the man cry.

War is a Tragedy.

It takes and it takes and it takes. 

What is left to smile for?

“Spite,” Patton says with the sweetest tone he’s ever managed.

And across the halls, in the cell parallel to them, laughter rings out. Patton blinks almost in surprise. He hadn’t realized that anyone else had been listening, and if he is being truly honest he forgot that anyone else existed outside their tiny blocked area.

“I like you,” The words are harsh and thickly accented, but the soldier’s voice is warm with laughter and it softens the hardness of his enunciation, “Revenge served best with smile.” 

“It’s not revenge,” Patton says automatically, because the word feels wrong. Because revenge is something you wait for, an expectation that sits deep in your bones, a vicious prize you endure for. Patton isn’t waiting for anything, not a reward nor not a reparation. He doesn’t smile because he thinks he might get revenge because he knows he won’t. Patton smiles, Patton smiles, Patton smiles, because—”It’s rebellion.”

The Soviet laughs again and again, “Even better,” He says and it sends a shiver down Patton’s spine.

The Soviet-Russian isn’t alone in his cell. He’s joined by a ruddy cheeked and auburn haired Irish boy, a quiet pale-skinned Soviet-Ukranian, and a blue-eyed North Brit. Patton doesn’t know if they introduce themselves because it doesn’t matter: he won’t remember their names anyway. 

They’ll all die, anyway. 

But Patton will smile all the way through it. 

Things start, Patton notices. 

Because the next time the guards pass through, he forgets to turn away and somehow his smile is still bright enough for them to pick it out of the blue grey shadows. Patton thinks that maybe the Allied forces had been gaining ground, had beat off the Nazi’s one time too many, had tipped the War back into their favor, because the Germans are especially angry.

Its not anything new. It can’t be when Patton smiles at the grasping hands of Death, and the enemy soldiers have always been so ready to deliver him to the brink. Its not anything new when he can’t force his smile to fall, and the but of the rifle slams between the bars of the cell and clocks him right between the eyes.

And his head flings back, cracking against the shoulder of the Brit and so hard he doesn’t even hear the snapping of his wireframe glasses. The halves fall into his lap, blurry and distant and almost as broken as he is.

And Patton laughs.

Maybe it is a little new. War is like that, he thinks. 

Its a repetition that repeats until it doesn’t and there’s no telling when that change will come: when it suddenly turns from him trying to inch through the haze of bullets towards the trenches across no mans land, to him trying to dig himself out from under the weight of another soldier from his platoon without screaming in frustration, because death was right there and it missed him again.

“Mr. Blueskies--” The Brit says as Patton gasps for air.

“Oi! Was that that smiley fellow?” Someone else yells from another cell, some other cell.

“Is he alright?” Another voice adds in.

“Bloody Germans!” 

Its a clamor. Patton hears it; its impossible not to hear with how close the cells are to each other, with how many of them are pressed together, with how each whisper reverberates off the stone around them and makes it ten times louder.

Something warm trickles down his face and Patton blinks hard as he tastes blood between his grinning lips. He thinks there’s some orders being tossed around but the full honesty is he can’t hear at all. All there is are yells about leaving him alone, about those where those Germans can stuff their guns, about how they can pick on prisoners their own size--

There’s nothing new, and yet the entire camp, the hall of their cells, Patton suddenly feels more alive than ever before. 

Their captors don’t know what to do suddenly. There’s several thwamps as something gets thrown at them, but Patton can’t see it at all.

The gunshots rattle all of them to their bones, a noise so loud in their small cells made of stone that turns the vibrations back on them. Patton’s hands cover his ears, his ringing ears, and he feels the Brit next to him stiffen. The echoes of the noise, steal all the fire from them, until they’re just cowering from the bars again, and selling lethal glares.

Patton blinks blurrily at the indistinct forms where their captors were, dully recognizing that orders are being spit out in rapid German. The cells ring with the foreign words, and then fizzle out as the soldiers move on.

And the silence returns, same as its always been.

Although something is different, Patton thinks, clutching the halves of his glasses that his mother had spent four months saving up to afford him, back before she had gotten sick. Something is different, he thinks, as the Brit softly presses a swatch of cloth he got who knows where to Patton’s forehead. 

Something is different, Patton knows.

Because the next time they get their portions of food and Patton tries to foist some of his off the French boy gives him a hard “No” complete with him reaching out and pushing Patton’s hand away. Patton eats a whole piece of bread, and he thinks it even had a taste. Its strange and weird and Patton doesn’t want to think about it so he sleeps instead.

He wakes up when the Italian reaches over and nudges him, and waddles around so that his long legs fold up and there’s space in the cell for the first time. The Italian motions for him to lie down, and Patton’s first instinct is to offer it French boys, to the Brit, to the Italian who was looking far too uncomfortable.

The Brit offers him a shoulder to his head on when he’s tired, talks when he’s not. The Brit asks him questions about home, about before the War, about what America is like because he’d always wanted to visit just to see if it really was as bad as he’s thought it was. Patton can’t see anything anymore, but its nice to hear the barking laughter that shows up sometimes.

(Patton makes up things sometimes, just to hear it, because its pretty and it makes Patton’s chest warm in a way that it hasn’t, doesn’t, won’t any other time.)

The Brit is warm and gruff. He smells like lavender and sounds like the rumbling of streetcars back home. He’s strong and steady and bold and brave.

“Hey, Blueskies--”

The War is a bad thing, Patton thinks, as he starts to notice things moving again. The War is a bad thing, Patton reminds himself, as his smile feels less forced than it has in years. The War is a bad thing, Patton whispers at night, as he stares at the sleeping face of a man who’s laugh made Patton’s heart jump straight into his throat.

The War is a bad thing.

But if it weren’t for the War they never would have met. 

And if it weren’t for the War the Brit never would have died. Not like this. 

People disappear from the cells. Taken by the guards, dragged out of their block in the middle of the night, and they never return. The Soviet, who’s been here the longest, almost a year, spins tales of his old, original cell mates, and the people who’d originally filled the cell that Patton was occupying. They’d all been dragged off in the night, one by one, he’d claimed, and the only reason the Soviet himself hadn’t gone taken with them was because he always squeezed himself tight into a corner during the guards rounds. 

“What about food?” The Brit had asked, half curious and half concerned, “How did you eat?”

“I didn’t,” The Soviet barked with laughter, “Going hungry is small price to pay for life. And now…” The Soviet reached into his tattered jacket, and pulled out a stale chunk of bread, “I am prepared.”

The Irish boy glances up from where he was playing some sort of hand game with the Ukranian, wide eyed and red cheeked, “You think they’ll come back to our block?”

“I no think,” The Soviet said with complete surety, tucking the bread back into his coat, “I know.” 

And he’s right, because two weeks later Patton’s woken from a half restless sleep by his head knocking hard against the wall as the shoulder he’d fallen asleep against was ripped out from underneath him. Patton’s vision is blurry, muddled by darkness and the sudden hit he took to his temple but he can see, suddenly, the open gate to their cell blocked off by one of their bulky captors as two others wrapped their hands tight on the arms of the struggling Brit. 

Desperate cuts through the drowsy fog in Patton’s mind, and he’s scrambling forward, knocking into the Italian who wakes with a sharp gasp, and accidentally kicking the leg of the French boy who squirms from sleep and proceeds to shake his older counterpart awake within in the second but Patton doesn’t notice. He’s attempting to stand, reach for the Brit, pull him back, but one of the guards shoves him away and Patton lands bruisingly hard on his backside just as the grated door is slammed shut and locked in front of him.

Patton lunges again, sticks his arm through the wire, ignores the burn, grabs onto the Brit’s shoulder, and gasps out his name, “...” 

The Brit swings his head up and over his shoulder, eyes alight in the dark. A guard brings his gun down on Patton’s elbow and he screams, loud enough to wake the rest of the block, certainly. He sees the Ukranian boy with one arm around the Irish boy’s stomach and the other covering his mouth as he presses them both against the back wall, sees the other Brit, the Northern one, pressed into the less shadowed corner, shaking and doesn’t even see a hint of the Russian, but knows he’s curled into himself and watching Patton too, waiting for him to give up, let go.

He doesn’t. His fingers dig deeper into the Brit’s shoulder, grasping onto the fabric desperately, even as the guard lands a second blow on his wrist, and his vision swims with bright purple spots.

Patton lets out a ragged breath, faintly hears the Italian quietly begging him to let go through the ringing in his ears, and tightens his grip because he’s selfish. The Brit is his friend. Makes him happy in a way Patton hasn’t known in years, with his kind words and gruff voice, and Patton can’t let him go, he can’t. Not, at least, without a fight. 

(The Brit deserves that much.)

“...Mr. Blueskies,” The Brit says, voice quiet, voice terrified, but still steady, “Let go.”

“No—” The guard swings his gun through the slots in the door and slams Patton’s nose with a loud crack. His vision dissolves into bright, spotted stars, and his face burns and he’s coughing on blood dripping down his throat and his ears ring, and his fingers are starting to loosen against his will and—

“LET GO BLUESKIES!”

“Let go! Let go!”

“Blueskies!”

—The clamor is back. Echoing in his ears and as violent as a thunderstorm as the rest of their block, wide awake now, scream and shout, and some of them, a few of them, are shouting swears and curses at the Germans for hurting Patton, for taking away the Brit, for everything, but the rest are yelling at him. To let go. 

His fingers are loosening against the fabric of the Brit’s jacket—but he can’t, he won’t. 

“Let go, Patton,” The Brit begs him, and Patton can feel his eyes burn, “And take care of them.”

The guard moves to hit a fourth time, on Patton’s fingers, on the Brit’s shoulder. But Patton unclenches his hand first. His fingers slip off. His arm hits the grated door and the guard kicks it for good measure, but Patton can’t even feel it. He just watches, through blurry, spotted vision, as they drag the Brit away. 

The Brit doesn’t come back. Never comes back. And something like anger starts to burn in Patton’s mind.

Patton is not a stranger to tragedy. He’s not a stranger to the sadness that wells up in him and then floods his senses, he’s not a stranger to that grief in his chest that tears apart his heart and lungs with bargains to a god that’s not interested in anything he has to offer. He’s not even a stranger to death that calmly reaps yet another soul without an inch of mercy. 

(They don’t get to see the body; Patton doesn’t know if that’s mercy, doesn’t know if after what they did to the Brit disposing him without Patton’s knowing was a favor, doesn’t know if where the grief ends and the fury begins.)

Patton is not a stranger to the tragedy that sings in his bones when he’s left in that too cold cell, but the anger that comes rushing through him is violent and bursting and that--

That is new.

And Patton embraces it. 

“Oh,” The Soviet says, when Patton looks up with that rage in his eyes. “Oh.” 

They come again a week later, and this time Patton is waiting.

He’s sitting closest to the door, eyes closed but alert, but the guards reach past him for the sleeping older French boy, who’d determinedly sandwiched his younger counterpart between himself and the Italian in a sham of protection hours ago. They reach for him, even though Patton is right there, and the guard has barely twisted his fingers into the thin fabric of the boy’s shirt before Patton lunges. 

He tackles the guard against the wall of the small cell, and surprise on his side gives him a momentary advantage before the other three are jolted from a restless sleep by the guard’s violent swears. 

Patton doesn’t know what he’s doing, why he’s doing it, beyond a reckless sort of anger and a desperate kind of despair, but it’s better than sitting here and doing nothing while the older French boy is taken. He knows the rest of the cell block is going to wake up and notice soon, urging him to give up again, but this time Patton is ready: ready to fight, ready to defend, ready to die. 

The second guard smacks the back of his head hard with a gun and he thinks it’s the third that pulls him off of the first, the first, who’s staring at Patton with a death glare and a broken nose, and Patton grins viciously back at him. A challenge.

(Patton’s vision swims with black. His head pounds, and there’s a dripping warmth down the back of his neck he thinks may be blood.)

“Take him,” The first guard says, in clear, accented English, intended to make Patton quiver with terror and beg for mercy but Patton’s grin only widens, tugs harder at his cheeks, because in one move the guard has accepted his challenge and lost. And Patton has won.

The two guards drag him out of the cell, and Patton flashes his battle-grin at his three remaining cellmates; a reassurance, a reminder. 

“Take care of them.”

And Patton does. In the only way he can manage. 

The War takes and takes and takes.

It takes the great things, the good things, the not so bad things-- it takes Patton and drags him down the cell block, with his well worn leather shoes scraping the floor with a cacophony of screams behind him. 

Its strange, because Patton thinks he can pick out the individual voices in the noise around him: the Soviet who threw himself from the shadows into the metal bars once he saw what Patton had forced the soldiers to do (take him, take him, take him), the French boy who started sobbing once he realized that he had been the intended target, the unknown voices from down the cell that he had come to recognize over the months. He’s pulled down the hall and he puts those voices to outraged faces for the first time.

His grin makes his cheeks ache, a feral looking sort of thing that awakens some sort of primordial beast in each prisoner he passes.

It’s his name they scream. The name that he forged in spite, the name that he earned, the name that was his and his alone.

The name the War didn’t, doesn’t, can’t take.

The soldiers drag him down the hall, out of the cell block and the metal door slams behind them, cutting off the riot of noise so effectively that Patton almost thinks he fell into some sort of alternate reality.

The noise was nothing compared to the silence.

The lab was far from pristine. It had the same old, grey rock walls and hard dirt floors. But it was filled with shelves, counters, and tables--all metal, all steel, and all shining under the artificial lights so brightly that Patton had to half-squint his eyes to keep from being blinded. 

It was meticulously organized. Neat and clean in a way Patton hadn’t seen in years and had never had the luxury of experiencing. Almost painfully so. The alcohol in the air stung at his nose and made his eyes water, but Patton blinked it away hard and fast less the guards think he was crying, less they think his anger and rage and determination had faded to fear and desperation. 

Because it hadn’t. 

Because Patton won, would win, would continue to win even as they stripped him of his jacket and strapped him to the table, because when he dies here--goosebumps prickling at his bare arms from the chill, heart pounding hard and fast, anger dancing in his blood--it’s a victory. 

Because it’s him. And not them. 

The guards leave him there for what feels like minutes, yet could be seconds, but is really hours. He gazes through the lone, bar window in the lab until day breaks over the horizon and his eyes burn with the first glimpse of the sun in months. 

It heats his face and warms something in his chest, but he doesn’t cry, doesn’t smile, and stops his stare. He relieves the ache in his neck and stares flatly at the ceiling, ignores the pain in his gut, in his head, and waits. 

For what? He doesn’t know.

(A another lie: he waits for, wants for, craves for the end. They call him Mr. Blueskies, they call him brave, but really he’s just as much a coward as they all are: he just dresses it up in dull smiles and habitual kindness as he hopes for relief.) 

(Any kind really, but at this point he thinks, knows, fears that the end is the only kind he’ll get.)

Patton waits until the sun stretches out of the window. Hunger starts to burn against the nausea in his gut. It must be past noon when the scientist comes in, decked in sterile white marred with red and checking things off on a clipboard, like he’s a doctor and Patton is a patient in for a fever, like he isn’t strapped to a table, waiting.

(Waiting to die.)

Patton’s stiff with tension as the scientist presses a stethoscope to his chest, mouthing numbers as he measure’s Patton’s rapid pulse against the watch on his wrist. His fists curl into white knuckles as his blood pressure is measured, and the scientist has the gall to chide him for it as he clicks his tongue at the results and takes them again and again until Patton’s sweaty palm is flat against the cool metal of the table. A thermometer is stuck under his tongue and Patton bites it so hard he’s almost disappointed when it doesn’t snap in half. 

His headache pounds. The scientist peels back his eyelids to check with a light, and pokes at the blood-crusted bump on the back of his head until Patton hisses. 

The scientist smirks at him as Patton scowls, says something that Patton forgets as soon as it’s slipped from the man’s lips. Something about “glory of HYDRA” and “dehydration.” He hangs an IV and sticks the needle in Patton's arm and leaves him. 

Four vials rehung by guards and the rest of daylight pass by before the scientist returns, pushing through the door as he snaps bloodied gloves off his hands and slings them on one of the clear counters. 

“Another failure,” He sighs to himself. He picks up a vial and examines it, twists it back and forth as the blue liquid catches the artificial light. He glances over at Patton through his glasses, head tilted to the side, “But...perhaps not a set back.”

The scientist swings around the table, settling just next to where Patton’s head is, holding the vial up so both of them can see it. Patton can feel the man’s breath on his skin, and he yanks on the restraints without getting anywhere.

“Do you know what this is?” The man asks so calmly, so logically, so friendly-- like Patton and him are old acquaintances about to catch up. His voice is so loud, his tone so-- so-- Patton hates it. Patton hates it so much.

There’s something about it that reaches down his spine, and picks apart Patton’s anger, his misery, his emotions that have been twisted and warped and neglected ever since that day his mother’s hand had gone limp. The scientist’s voice disarms the everything that Patton had been clinging to for the past hours, the months, the years, and with just a couple words Patton is just a kid again.

“This is the glory of HYDRA,” The scientist says, so proudly. “The glory of humanity.”

“What good is your glory?” Patton’s voice shakes, “All it does is kill people. It’s useless. It’s...stupid!”

“Oh…” The scientist trails, looking at him with something akin to pity, “You don’t understand.” He sighs, and then moves his free hand outside of what Patton can see--

Patton’s entire body seizes as the scientist over him suddenly starts pressing his fingers through Patton’s unruly curls. The man pets him, running those fingers through Patton’s oily hair, gently massaging his scalp, touching him.

Patton thinks he’ll throw up. Because-- Because this is different from them taking his blood, from them sticking needles in him, from them hitting him. This is-- its--

Patton yanks against the restraints, yanks his head away from the touch, but the Scientist just tuts at him and moves his hand further down the sides of Patton’s head, before cupping Patton’s jaw. The skin on skin contact-- it burns. Patton struggles against it, but the hand follows him wherever he goes.

“Your people never understand,” the man says, “Why don’t they understand? This is going to save the human race.” His thumb rubs the soft flesh under Patton’s chin, and Patton squeezes his eyes closed, squeezing back the tears and biting his touch when every muscle in his chest begs him to whimper.

This is okay, Patton thinks. Because it’s him and not the French boy, not the russian from the cell across from them, not anyone else. It’s okay, its okay, its okay.

This is War.

 The thumb rolls a circle over Patton’s pulse, and the scientist peers down at him with a bright smile, something so blinding that Patton can see nearly all of his teeth. “I’ve heard about you-- the smiler. You make my friends very uneasy.”

The pad of the thumb presses slightly, and the grin widens when he sees Patton’s heart rate fluttering. “The one before you-- he said that I should be the one on the table.” Patton’s breath freezes in his lungs. “He didn’t know what he was talking about.”

The scientist sets down the vial and uses the second hand to go back to curling through Patton’s hair. One hand on his pulse, on hand in his hair, and Patton feels every inch where he’s touching him, every bit where his skin feels like white hot embers, every point where Patton is burning alive on that table.

“I didn’t like him, personally.” The man says, smiles in spite of how Patton’s turning to ashes under his handling. “He fought too much, screamed too much. I don’t like it when they scream.” The face comes closer. “You aren’t going to be like him, are you?”

Patton’s body seizes, and before he can even think, even register what the hell he’s doing, the bonds are digging against his chest and upper arms as he leans as far forward as he dares and spits right in the scientist’s smug face. 

The scientist scrambles back cursing in a foreign tongue and Patton’s flighty enough to revel in the feeling of accomplishment, of winning-- even if he knows there’s really nothing left to win at all. 

Because this is War. 

And he’s just another face, another shadow, another soldier sent to die. He’s forgettable. And it's a tragedy, just like every other moment of Patton’s life.

“Whats left to smile for?” the Brit had asked him once.

And Patton’s still spiteful enough to grin as the hands come off his body, as the scientist who knows nothing and care nothing about humanity stumbles away from him, as the ceiling lights flicker, as that vial of blue liquid death is jammed into the IV line that's connected right into Patton’s body.

“This should teach you some respect,” The scientist sneers, and Patton watches as the blue drip, drip, drips down the tube, “Mr. Blueskies.” 

And Patton’s fury burns hot because that’s, that’s his name. The one he earned by passing the French boy bread and getting beat by the butts of the guard’s guns. It’s his name—it’s his name that got shouted down that hall by every other prisoner, a rallying cry, a war cry, a child’s plea.

Its his name and it doesn’t belong in the mouth of a Nazi.

Patton burns and burns and burns. And when blue liquid enters his veins, he burns even more.

He does not stop burning.---

***

“I think they get the idea, Kiddo!” Patton interjects quickly, brightly, and borderline coldly. Despite his smile, there’s a sudden air about him, a sudden dangerous aura as he shakes himself from the stillness he had adopted while Virgil was talking.

Virgil blinks, realizing that he had barely gotten more than a sentence out to the new recruits, “But its...you’re really him aren’t you? Captain Morality. Patton Hart? I grew up reading about you-- and now I’m older than you! Oh god, I think I’m gonna be sick.”

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