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a-small-batch-of-dragons · 10 months ago

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Language Barriers

same anon as like 5 minutes ago, I remembered the fluffy prompt! Could you write a Sanders Sides DLAMPR fic (before they get together) where all of the Sides have different love languages? And they’re all trying to flirt in their own way, but the others keep misinterpreting it? A lot of TSS fic features the Sides having different love languages (and I’d like to think they do, in canon), but I’ve yet to see a fic that specifically focuses on that fact and describes the differences between love languages. Feel free to ignore, and remember to take care of yourself! – anon

hey I love love love love LOVE your writing! If you’re open to prompts rn, I’ve just reread your story "Idiots, Idiots, Everywhere" and it’s awesome, thanks very much, BUT. Are you willing to write a Sanders Sides fic where it focuses more specifically on all the Sides having different love languages? Bonus points if it’s DLAMPR (but platonic PR, this is an incest-free household) and all the Sides are like “…but he’s like this with everyone”. No pressure at ALL, but it’d be cool to see how you approach that. – anon

Read on Ao3

Warnings: none

Pairings: dlampr

Word Count: 3431

Or, five times the Sides misunderstood each other's love languages, and one time Thomas got fed up with it and decided to just...explain it to them with the efficiency they have when they're trying to explain something to him. Which is to say: it takes them a second to get it. The Imagination helps.

Physical Touch

If you were to ask anyone, they would tell you that Patton loves giving people hugs.

It’s the bane of some of their existences, they’d try to claim, and the others might just shrug and say that’s Patton for you. He knows his kiddos love it, at least a little bit. But he won’t lie, he does love a good hug. There’s just something so magical about how, out of all the shapes humans could have possibly been, they’re just perfectly designed to hold one another. Isn’t that just perfect?

Logan would probably say something about evolution and adaptation to the needs of their environment, or something, but he’s not gonna rain on Patton’s parade. Humans are hug-shaped, so they’re gonna hug. Besides, he’s not complaining when he’s working downstairs in the winter and he’s gotten too absorbed in his work and then a Patton-shaped heating pad just comes along and hugs him.

Patton loves hugging all of the Sides. Logan because he’s always so surprised by it, in a good way! He gets this soft little look that is almost on the edge of a smile, like he wasn’t expecting it but it’s the best possible outcome he never could have predicted. Or when he’s trying to comfort Patton and he hugs with undeniable certainty.

Virgil is also fun to hug, because he’s such a pouty-face about it. He snuggles up as much as any of them but he has to put on his mopey show first, just in case anyone’s watching. Virgil also gives the mopey hugs too, but then he makes himself just a bit bigger so he can wrap all the way around Patton. Which is the best.

Speaking of wrapping all the way around, Janus has six arms and he uses every single one of them. They get into competitions sometimes—not serious! It’s all for fun!—about who can surprise-hug each other the worst. Or best. Janus is currently winning from the time he managed to make himself look like the chair in the living room with a blanket over it; Patton sat down and boo!

Remus isn’t allowed to do surprise hugs, not after he accidentally tackled Patton into his Kraken’s pond and they had to spend the rest of the afternoon trying to get out of the pond. But Remus’s hugs are the kind that squish his soul right back into his body and ugh, there’s nothing better than that after a long day. Besides, it’s not like expecting Remus’s hugs takes anything away, he’s still going to squeeze him so hard he might not be able to breathe for a few seconds, but that’s Remus!

And then with Roman—Roman hugs the way every single knight from a fairytale should hug. He just makes you feel safe and precious and like nothing in the world could hurt you. It’s why Patton always sits next to Roman during scary movie nights, after all, even if he gets teased about it a little. Roman doesn’t mind.

So yes, Patton does love hugging all of them. But it doesn’t have to be hugging! It can be holding hands, or just leaning against each other, just as long as he can feel them and tell himself yes, they’re okay, they’re right here, I love them.

Because he does. He loves them terribly. Even if they think he’s just a big fan of hugs.

***

2. Quality Time

Virgil has the reputation of being the cat of the Mindscape for good reason. Not because he hisses at things that don’t cooperate—the other Sides are not excluded from this—and not because he spits up hairballs—it was one time, Remus, and it was entirely your fault—but because he has a habit of just appearing in the same room and hanging out for a while.

…alright, it’s not a habit, he does it on purpose.

Companionable silence really is the best way to go about things. You’re both close enough to talk if you want to, but each of them is allowed to do their own thing and hey, there’s another person doing their own thing too. Which is why it’s his favorite way of hanging out with Logan, especially when he needs to make sure that something gets done. He’s always down to affectionately bully Logan into whatever he asks him to make sure he does.

He does that with Remus too, but it’s not exactly the same: Remus needs someone to make sure he doesn’t actually destroy anything, and he’s more than happy to oblige. Especially since he likes to get a bit of a heads-up before a rampaging beast goes barreling through the kitchen at some ungodly hour of the morning.

If he’s never beating the cat allegations, Janus sure as hell isn’t helping. There’s a big window in the Dark Sides’ half of the Mindscape that is perfect for lying in for, oh, a few hours on end. Remus has many—too many, if you ask Virgil—pictures of the two of them just basking in the sun, dozing like they haven’t got a care in the world.

Virgil’s actual favorite place to sleep is with his head in Patton’s lap. Especially after he’s just finished baking, when he’s all warm from the oven and he smells like sugar and spice…Virgil will sit on the counter or the floor and listen to Patton talk about whatever he wants and then while the oven bakes, he’ll fall asleep right in Patton’s lap. He even gets first dibs on whatever just got made.

Roman makes a game of it. He’s the Prince, every good Prince needs a rogue to work with. They trek all over the Imagination, having adventures, defeating monsters, it’s the perfect mix of Roman’s quests and Virgil’s need to be a creepy little shit in every dark corner he can find. Being with Roman even makes boring council meetings fun, because he gets to terrify the idiots that they’re just gonna fight later anyway and he gets to spend time with Roman.

He doesn’t care what he’s doing, not really, just as long as he can spend time with them. He just…wishes they would understand that sometimes.

***

3. Words of Affirmation

Logan is no stranger to impostor syndrome, but that doesn’t mean he has to allow it to plague those he cares for. Understanding something to be true on an intellectual level and feeling the validation that comes from hearing someone else voice it are two very different things. The other Sides are each remarkable in their own right. They deserve to hear it.

Patton is kind. He does not say that lightly: kind people who choose to be kind because they know how difficult it is are not individuals to be trifled with. Patton makes the conscious choice to try and be better every single day. He is earnest and sincere, sometimes painfully so, but he does not allow himself to be dissuaded by obstacles. How could Logan not want to express his admiration?

And Roman…oh, Roman is a wonder. There is so much that goes into his work that often goes unnoticed, or underappreciated, and it is a crime that Logan too often finds himself on the wrong side of that line. Roman is clever and funny and has a work ethic that, truly, rivals Logan’s own. For every slight he makes, however unintentional, he tries his best to make up for it by telling Roman in no uncertain terms how honored Logan is to be part of his creative process.

Remus is an entirely different story, no pun intended. Remus is unabashedly and unapologetically himself, and as such is a marvel to behold. He cares not for the sanitization or reduction of anything in his work, and so Logan does his best to follow suit. Remus is who he is, and it is beautiful.

He tells Janus he’s beautiful too. And not once is he lying. The first time he did it, Janus laughed in his face, at least until he realized Logan was telling the truth. He then didn’t see Janus for an entire week. It ended when a little snake plushie appeared outside of his door in the middle of the night with a tiny note that just said thank you. He tells Janus he’s beautiful every chance he gets now.

Virgil is his little alley cat. Perfectly fine to approach on his terms, but will let him know with no uncertainties when he’s getting a little too close. It doesn’t help that Virgil is quite fun to tease, even if all he’s doing is giving him compliments—true compliments, mind you—and watching in amusement as Virgil curls up into a ball with his hood pulled down over his ears as if that could hide how red they are. He’s not cruel about it, of course; he stops the moment Virgil appears genuinely uncomfortable and there are certain topics he doesn’t go near. But Virgil can’t always hide his little grin and so on it goes.

He’s quite happy to shower them with his words, he just…doesn’t know if they’d believe him if he said I love you.

***

4. Acts of Service

Words are difficult. There is so much ambiguity to be found in even the most basic of sentences, and when it comes to matters like this, Janus prefers to take as few chances as possible. Whoever coined the phrase ‘actions speak louder than words,’ Janus definitely owes a drink for how spot-on it is.

Whenever Patton needs a hand in the kitchen, he’s always the first to volunteer. He can do up to three things in the time it would take another Side to do just one, after all, and he’s had enough experience cooking for the troublemakers (Virgil and Remus) to know how to get around most of their pranks. And how to get them back.

Logan, bless him, has a tendency to overwork himself at the best of times. And in doing so, he gets these terrible knots and cramps in his neck and shoulders from hunching over his desk for hours on end. It might not be the most polite of things to practically blackmail his way into giving Logan a massage, but the poor dear always falls right to sleep so he mustn’t mind too much.

Remus and his delightful menagerie of creatures often need more than their fair share of attention. He had to pester Remus into getting him a raincoat and muck boots that could withstand the acidic slime, but weekend mornings found them strolling cheerfully through pens and cages and paddocks, tending to the bizarre flock. Anything to make the chore more of a fun activity and less of, well, a chore, when Remus really doesn’t suit stressed-out frowns as well as manic grins.

Virgil has a terrible habit of not asking for reassurance when he needs it. Janus regrets the part he played in making it that way. So, no matter how small and stupid Virgil may think it is, whenever he asks for help, Janus gives it. A tug on his cloak or a soft please will have him do anything from turn the light in the hallway on to checking the poor thing over for wounds after a brutal nightmare. It took long enough for Janus to re-earn that trust, he’s not going to lose it if he can damn well help it.

Out of everyone in the Mindscape, only Roman truly appreciates his love of theater. Sure, the others are game to help out here and there, but when it comes to the art of make-believe, Roman is the proud owner of Janus’s ‘yes-and’ partnership. The two of them make all sorts of stories together, from villains and heroes to morally grey adventurers, to simple fairytales and old plays. Roman needs someone else to help him play the roles and Janus is more than happy to play with him.

Perhaps one day, he might be able to reveal that everything he does for them, he does because it’s them, but for now, he’ll happily play the role they expect of him.

***

5. Gifts

Roman and Remus do not, in fact, fight over who gets to give the most presents to the other Sides.

Instead, they fight over whose idea they work on first.

For Logan, Remus’s self-writing pen narrowly won out over Roman’s proposal for a never-ending notebook, if only because said pen squirted ink into Roman’s mouth before he could finish his argument. They ended up giving both to Logan at the same time, but the pen was decidedly on top and did its own little celebratory wriggle when Logan used it for the first time.

Remus nearly challenged Roman to a formal duel when it came to designing a heat lamp for Janus that wouldn’t run the same risk of burning out the electricity in their section of the Mindscape. They managed to agree on everything up to the design on the lampshade. Roman said it should be a yellow snake, curled up and sleeping, and Remus wanted it to be a big leaf that Janus could lay under like he was actually outside. The compromise was eventually reached over many hours of almost bloodshed and now the sleeping snake under a leaf is a staple in the corner of Janus’s room.

Roman cleverly proposed Virgil’s weighted blanket while Remus was being crushed under said blanket, leaving not a lot of wiggle room until he had to agree. Of course, he promptly fell asleep and cuddled Roman into a pile of goo, so technically they made both the blanket and the plushie at around the same time. Virgil still brings the little skeleton to movie nights.

Patton gets their presents one after the other, because you need one to understand the other’s context. A rebreather designed to slip on over the person’s face just like any other face mask, to filter out particulates and allergens. Something that could be worn for up to two consecutive hours before it needed to be recharged.

The other present was a box full of kittens.

”Ro?”

“Yeah?”

Remus pushes his goggles to the top of his head and looks over the desk. “Do you think they’ll ever get it?”

Roman sighs, closing his notebook and leaning back to stretch. “I don’t know, Re. I love them, really, they just…”

”Don’t realize.”

“Yeah. It’s okay, though. We’ll get there eventually.”

“Of course we will. Hand me that wrench, would you?”

“The one that’s covered in guts, or the one that’s made out of foam?”

“The foam one. I need to whack this thing but I don’t wanna hit it too hard.”

“I’m not gonna ask any more questions.”

***

+1: I Love You

”Hey!” Patton rises up first, clapping his hands. “Oh. I’m the only one here.”

“Only by a moment,” Logan says as he joins him. “Is Thomas here?”

“No, I just got summoned by—well, I thought it was Thomas but he’s not here.”

“Whoa, hey!” Virgil appears on the staircase. “What’s going on? I was in the middle of watching someone.”

“Don’t you mean ‘something?’” Remus appears, covered in slime and cackling. “Ah. I see.”

“I’ve got it,” Roman says, rising up and spraying his brother with something that somehow manages to dissolve all the goo without staining or spraying anything else. “There. Now maybe you’ll think twice about surprising Uma when she’s feeding?”

“Oh, I’m gonna do this so many more times!”

”I felt the exasperation from my room,” Janus sighs, appearing, “what’s Remus done now?”

“Why did you assume it was Remus?” Janus just looks at Logan. “Fair enough.”

”Now that we’re all here, what is this about?” He looks around, frowning. “Where’s Thomas?”

“That’s weird, is he not the one who called for a meeting?”

“What’s that?” Virgil reaches out and picks up a piece of paper from the coffee table. “‘Each one of you needs a card, find the matches.’ What cards?”

“Here.” Logan picks up something that fell when Virgil picked up the paper. “There are only five of them, though, and six of us.”

“What do they say?”

“Let me see…one says ‘Physical Touch,’ one says ‘Acts of Service,’ one says…oh, I see.”

“I don’t,” Patton says, “can you share with the class?”

“Wait, wait, I think I know what this is, is one of them ‘Quality Company’ or something?”

“‘Quality Time,’ yes.”

Roman nods. “It’s the Five Love Languages.”

“Thomas doesn’t even speak Spanish!”

“No, no, Padre, not literal languages, it’s…it’s the ways you express your affection for someone. How you tell them you love them. There’s five: physical touch, acts of service, quality time…”

“‘Words of Affirmation,’” Logan continues, reading off the other cards, “and ‘Gifts.’”

Virgil hunches his shoulders. “So what, are we supposed to pick one?”

“I believe the intention of the exercise is to…select which one is our love language.”

Janus huffs. “Why? What does Thomas have to gain from doing something like this? And where is he?”

“Maybe he’s not the one who summoned us.”

“Well then who did?”

“Maybe if we do the thing we can find out.”

Janus sighs, peering over Logan’s shoulder and squinting. “I guess this one’s mine, then.”

“‘Acts of Service?’ Very well. I suppose I’ll take ‘Words of Affirmation.’”

“Can I have the touch one?”

“Certainly.”

“Twins get ‘Gifts,’ obviously,” Virgil mutters, “which means I get the…time one, or whatever.”

Logan hands out the last two cards and they stand there for a moment, waiting for something to happen.

Nothing does.

Patton looks back down at his card. “Wait, did you say these are how we tell people we love them?”

“That is a simple definition of this, why?”

“Because you guys do these with everyone!”

There’s a pause. Logan adjusts his glasses. “Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but…yes, I do indeed give you all words of affirmation, because, well…”

“Aww,” Virgil says, “do you love us, Logan?”

Logan coughs, blushes, and adjusts his tie. “I believe that is a logical conclusion, yes.”

“Aww!” Patton squeals. “I love you guys too!”

”So whoever set this up knew that we were all trying to tell each other that—“ Roman starts.

“—and needed to hammer it into our heads what was happening,” Remus finishes.

“Well,” Janus sniffs, even as a smile threatens the corners of his mouth, “how dramatic.”

Virgil tugs on the strings of his hoodie. “Yeah. How dramatic.”

There’s another pause.

Roman coughs. “Uh, this seems like a good a time as any, um…Remus and I put together a festival thing in the Imagination for everyone, if you want to…if you want to come and see it.”

“It has everyone’s favorite state fair stuff,” Remus sands, “and there’s supposed to be a northern-lights kind of thing after it gets dark.”

“Can we cuddle?”

“Of course.”

“Will there be food?”

“Your favorite, shadow-ling.”

“You two are so thoughtful,” Logan says softly, “I would love to come.”

“I can get the good blankets from the closet,” Janus offers, and everyone grins, “should we meet there in ten?”

“Oh, this is going to be so much fun!”

The Imagination is just happy they finally sorted it out. Now, to give the six of them a group date they’ll never forget…

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#dragonbabbles #sanders sides #fic #roman sanders #remus sanders #sympathetic remus #logan sanders #patton sanders #deceit sanders #janus sanders #sympathetic deceit #virgil sanders

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prince-rowan-of-the-forest · 18 days ago

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Guardian - Chapter 1/6

Janus is out helping Thomas when theres a mindscape mishap that results in the other sides turning into little kids. What he doesn't understand is how easily they come to him help.

Well, he supposes he should make the best of it while it lasts.

Or, five times Janus helps out the other sides and one time they extend the same to him.

----

| Ao3 | Next -> |

Warnings: n/a

Pairings: platonic DLAMPR

Notes:

Hiiii I've been working on this fic behind the scenes for a few months and it's now fully written and complete, so you don't have to worry about it being months between uploads (oops?)!

This is really just a cute, silly fic about Janus being parental to the other sides, I'll upload a chapter every week!

----

“Oh yes, totally, do keep overworking yourself Thomas, it’s so good for all of us,” Jamus said, throwing up his hands. He hadn’t meant to yell, really, and most certainly not at Thomas, who now looked incredibly shocked by his outburst, but his centre had been overworking himself for weeks now, staying up late, getting up early. Virgil had been high strung the whole time with the amount of phone calls and meetings and auditions Thomas had been doing - he’d barely gotten a break. Patton had been doing his best to keep everything together but Janus could’ve told you even without seeing Patton that he was barely holding it together himself.

Logan was bottling up his feelings still and Roman was… well.

It was Janus’ fault, though of course he would never admit it. The courtroom had gone just a little awry from his plans. Again - his fault - he had pushed Roman too far, he had needed Roman on his side and he had had him - and then he’d pushed too much and lost it. Now everyone was suffering - the exact opposite to what he had been trying to achieve. In fact, everyone being angry with each other and stressed out was the exact thing he had been trying so hard to avoid. And the wedding… well, no-one was doing okay after the wedding.

So he’d sent Remus in. Remus was good at that kind of thing - providing a necessary outlet for the group. They all needed to let off steam and Remus was good at getting people to do that, though in the end Thomas had just ended up even more stressed. Everything was going wrong and Janus was fairly certain it was all his fault - but it was also his job to fix it. So he had shown up by himself today in Thomas’ apartment to get him to finally sit down and take an actual, proper break.

Janus had cooked him breakfast, sat him down on the couch and put on Steven Universe, and told him to take a break.

“Just - deep breaths, focus on Steven Universe, and just - don’t worry, for a bit, it’ll do us all some good.” Janus sighed. Virgil would appreciate the lack of stress, Roman would appreciate the break - he was so overworked right now - and both Logan and Patton would appreciate not having to deal with the others too, “Give us all a break.”

Thomas sighed, looking at the TV for a long moment, before nodding, “Okay, fine, you win.”

“Wonderful,” Janus said, “Have a good day, Thomas.”

“You too… Janus.”

It was still strange hearing Thomas call him by his name. But instead of expressing that, Janus just nodded and sunk out.

The mindscape was surprisingly quiet when Janus returned from visiting Thomas. Patton wasn’t in the kitchen, Logan wasn’t at the table, neither Roman nor Virgil were on the couch and as always, Remus was nowhere to be seen. With his newfound access to the light sides mindscape and the fact that none of the others seemed to be around, Janus grabbed a book and curled up on their armchair - the one conveniently placed right in the perfect spot to catch a ray of sun - wrapped up in one of his full length cloaks like a blanket.

Opening his book to the bookmarked page he hummed as he began to read - a fantasy book with a who-dunnit murder plotline, it was very intriguing, though not his normal reading material. He thought Logan might like it, it had the perfect amount of fantasy worldbuilding to pick apart and work out and, of course, the mystery plotline was right up his alley. Maybe if they ever developed more of a friendship he could recommend it.

Just as he had settled in, something pulled on his cloak. Of course, he was a little startled, wondering what on earth it could be as he put down his book and looked down - just to come face to face with a small child who looked suspiciously like patton.

“...Patton?” He questioned as he slipped his bookmark back into his page. The child twisted his hands together and nodded. Janus hummed - He did look like Patton, with the same mousy brown curling hair, the round glasses that looked slightly too big on his tiny face and the same old cardigan tied around his shoulders - just smaller than normal.

“Why… are you small?” He asked - Patton tilted his head in confusion. Janus thought he couldn’t be any older than five.

“‘M always small?” He said, sounding just as confused as Janus, who did not know how he was supposed to deal with a child version of Patton who apparently didn’t know that he hadn’t been a child when they’d awkwardly danced around each other in the kitchen getting breakfast that morning.

“...Right,” He said, “Well… I definitely know what’s going on right now - did you want something?”

“Mhm,” Patton said, perking up as he seemed to be reminded of whatever he had come over here for, he tugged on Janus’ cloak again, “I want - I want to make cookies, for - for the others, cause they all deserve cookies ‘cause they’re awesome and sweet - but - but I can’t reach the counter so - so I wanna get you to help.”

“Why can’t one of them help?” Janus asked - unsure why Patton had come to him over Logan or even Virgil - though he understood why he hadn’t gone to either of the twins. Neither of them were allowed in the kitchen for good reason.

“‘Cause they’re busy,” Patton said as though that should be obvious, swaying a little. Janus wanted to snap that he was busy too - but Patton was apparently just a kid with no memory of being an adult - so he restrained himself, “‘sides, you’re the only one who can reach anyways.”

Well that was slightly worrying, considering the fact that last he had checked Janus had been the shortest of the group. He didn’t want to think of what that implied. He took a deep breath and set his book to the side.

“Alright, I would love to help,” He lied easily, standing up. Patton held out his hand and when Janus hesitated to take it he shook it insistently at him. Janus sighed, rolled his eyes, and took Patton’s hand so that the child could lead him to the kitchen. Once in there, Janus grabbed a stepstool he had hidden in a cupboard so he could reach the top shelves and put it next to the counter for Patton to stand on. He seemed excited enough by the yellow stool. As long as Janus would do this without him crying, he would consider it a success. At least Janus wasn’t a bad baker.

“Alright… what kind of cookies would you like to make?” he asked, looking through the cupboards and grabbing them a bowl and a whisk to use, and then a spatula as well. He looked back at Patton as he grabbed the butter and eggs from the fridge.

“Chocolate,” Patton said, grinning, Janus frowned.

“Chocolate? What kind of chocolate?”

“Uhhh… chocolate.” Patton said decisively, Janus couldn’t help but laugh.

“Chocolate chip?”

“Yup,”

“Milk chocolate? White chocolate?”

“All the chocolate!”

“Okay okay,” Janus laughed, “Triple choc chip cookies it is, then,” He placed the butter and eggs down on the counter before climbing up onto the counter so he could get to the cupboard containing the chocolate chips - kept on the top shelf to keep them away from everyone. They wouldn’t be kept from Janus and Patton today, though.

“Be a dear and grab the sugar, will you?” Janus said without thinking as he placed the chocolate chips on the side. It was a pretty stupid thing to ask when Patton was hardly as tall as the counter itself. Patton called an affirmative, though, and Janus wasn’t paying attention until he heard a sound of effort and turned to see Patton attempting to pull himself up onto the counter like Janus had, “Hey! Wait - no - don’t do that!” He said, making Patton freeze and turn to look worriedly at him.

“What?” he asked, frowning.

“Don’t - don’t climb on the counter,” He said, shaking his head, going over to him and reaching to grab the bags of sugar himself, “It’s dangerous.”

“But you were climbin’ on the counter,” Patton huffed, the accusation hung in the air for a second.

“Do as I say and not as I do. The only life I’m risking today is my own,” Janus says, ruffling Patton’s hair as he puts the sugar with the rest of the ingredients.

“Why can you do it and not me?” Patton said, pouting at him, “‘s not fair.”

“Would you like it if one of the others climbed on the counter and fell?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Patton rocked back and forth for a second, contemplating, before hesitantly shaking his head.

“...No, I wouldn’t,” He said quietly.

“Then you understand why we don’t want you to climb on the counter then, don’t you?” He said, trying to guide Patton towards the answer.

“But you were still on the counter,” he protested, “Don’t want you hurt either.”

“...I won’t climb on the counter anymore either,” He said - maybe he was lying, but Patton didn’t have to know that if it helped him keep him safe, “How about that?”

Patton frowned, but eventually nodded, accepting that. Janus resigned himself to borrowing Patton’s step stool for the rest of the ingredients.

—-

Patton was a clumsy child, Janus quickly learned.

Now, Janus definitely had a lot of experience with children - don’t let him fool you - he’s very good at this. But after the fourth ingredient spill, he was starting to get agitated.

“Would you like me to help you?” He asked as Patton spilled yet more flour over the counter trying to measure it out. Patton made a face at him and kept trying.

Just as with every other time so far, Patton refused his assistance and kept doing it himself, even if the kitchen was starting to look like cookie ingredients had exploded all over it.

Janus couldn’t see how this was all that fun for Patton, either, though he had a determined smile on his face. At this point Janus had needed to discreetly conjure an extra egg because Patton broke one more than they had spare, he just couldn’t understand why he wasn’t asking for help - or how he was still stubbornly smiling through the entire thing.

It took until spilling the entire pack of chocolate chips across the floor as he tried to open it for Patton’s smile to finally crack. He stood there on the stepstool with the empty packet in hand and Janus saw the tears welling up in his eyes only before they began to fall and suddenly Patton was wailing.

“Shit,” Janus mumbled to himself, quiet enough that Patton couldn’t hear, abandoning the cookie dough on the side and trying to wipe off his gloves so that he could at least attempt to comfort him, “Patton - hon - stay with me…” he said, crouching down to Patton’s level and trying to get his attention.

“Can I hug you, darling?” he offers, holding out his arms just in case Patton wanted something like that. He expected him to take it, of course, it’s not like Patton hated him or anything, but to his surprise Patton almost immediately tipped forward into his arms, leaving Janus to fumble a little to catch him and bundle him up safely in his arms - he had to use his other arms too, but unsurprisingly, Patton didn’t seem to mind amongst his tears.

The small side in his arms pressed into him, burrowing under Janus’ cloak a little where he could and continuing to sob into his chest. He was getting Janus’ clothes filthy with the way he was covered in spilled flour and egg and chocolate and batter - and although Janus cared quite a lot about his appearance he knew he could change once this was over. He could put up with it for a moment. For now he simply ran his gloved fingers through Patton’s hair.

“It’s alright, little one, take a deep breath, that’s it, you’re feeling a lot right now, aren’t you?” Janus crooned, shifting to sit down on the kitchen floor for his own comfort, leaning back against the cabinets, Patton nodded into his shoulder, no doubt smearing snot and tears and various cookie ingredients all over his tunic. Lovely.

“What’s upset you so?” He asked once Patton’s tears had calmed a little. He hiccupped a few times before wiping his nose with the back of his hand (disgusting) and making a horribly sad noise.

It took Patton a moment of sniffing and whimpering to answer, But eventually he spoke, voice small and shaky, “I couldn’t - couldn’t do it,” He says.

“Couldn’t do what?” Janus asked, rubbing circles on Patton’s back. That had always helped Virgil calm down from panic attacks, maybe it would work here too.

“The- the cookies - I couldn’t - couldn’t even do something nice for them - wanted - wanted to do it myself -” He choked as more tears welled up, Janus made a soft cooing sound, continuing to play with Patton’s hair.

“Sometimes,” He says softly, “The best thing you can do for others is ask for help.”

“Wh- what?” Little Patton asked, Janus smiled a little.

“Sometimes, asking for help lets people know you appreciate them,” he says, “It tells people you trust them enough to have them join in something that means a lot to you - it lets them know that you’re aware they would help you, should you ask.”

Patton’s eyes became wide and sparkly, it almost made Janus laugh, “So - so asking for help is like saying I appreciate them?”

“Yeah - something like that,” Janus nods, “You like to help everyone else, don’t you?”

“Yeah- yeah!” Patton said, nodding so quickly his glasses went askew, Janus righted them carefully, “I love helpin’! Makes me feel all fuzzy and happy!”

“Well that’s how we feel when we get to help you,” Janus smiled as Patton gasped softly, “Helping you makes the rest of us happy, too.”

“Really?”

“Really really,” He said. It was rare Janus himself was asked for help nowadays, but his job was to take care of the mindscape after all… who would he be if he didn’t want to help the others?”

“Woah…” Patton said softly, sounding a little awestruck.

“So… will you let me help you finish making these cookies for the others?” Janus said, gesturing above them where the mixture still sat.

“But… but it’s all ruined… I spilled the chocolate…” Patton said, getting all sad again. Well they couldn’t have that now could they?

“Ah, but that’s where we have to add a little bit of magic,” He grinned, pulling a new bag of chocolate chips from seemingly inside of his cloak (he had of course just summoned them, but he really was one for the dramatic twist. Patton gasped and giggled as he held out his hands for them.

“You ready?” Janus asked, “Up we go-”

A batch of cookies slightly smaller than it should have been (though still perfectly delicious) made it into the oven soon after, and the real smile hadn’t left Patton’s face the entire time.

Janus couldn’t help but feel like that had gone well despite the tears.

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| Next -> |

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Tags: @full-of-roman-angst-trash @your-local-random-dino @cutebisexualmess @glacierruler @roseianxiety @bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti @scalesfeathersnfur @oatmealdaydreams @littlerat2 @goldnskyart @virgeandhis-pocket-protector (if anyone wants to be added, let me know!)

#sanders sides #janus sanders #patton sanders #sanders sides fanfiction #tss fanfic #rowans writings

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spectromagic · 1 month ago

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A Lord Huron secret santa fic for @ancientnames! Warnings for drug use & overdose, alluding to an abusive relationship, mentions of death, poor formatting & taking creative liberty with LH lyrics and lore for this. I loved getting to explore Frankie Lou & Lady Moonbeam - I hope you enjoy reading this!

War has always loomed in over her head. When her family sent her away to America, it was to escape it. Finding a path in America had been a war of its own, one where she never felt talented enough to rise up above Whispering Pines with her music. It had thrusted her right into the arms of a man who became her beginning as well as her end, and Frankie knew after her first taste of Vide Noir that there was never any turning back. She had once foolishly thought that he could win all the little battles and she could still win the war, but she had learned quickly that a man with that sharp of a tongue just oozed charm and was likely to win everything he set his sights on conquering.

Even her.

He had won her favor so easily the night they met when he had spoken to her in Khmer. She had been so excited to earn his favor and get a job in his club. Now that same place that once held so much promise now felt like a cage. There was no escape. Every night she would perform, only to wind up being strung out on Vide Noir and traveling the cosmos for the next eight to ten hours. Francine Lu is lost among the stars. All that's left is Frankie Lou and all of her heartbreak at not being able to go back to the night they met so she could prevent herself from making one mistake after another.

Day in and day out, she wore her heart on her microphone, belting out soulful tunes that would lure in all kinds of people who could never lay claim to her. Even after Zozo had decided she was no longer of use to him personally, he never let her go. He had gotten her hooked on the drugs she had helped push to others, he built his empire on her back and now her sweat and tears kept her the gatekeeper of his attention. If pretty young things came in looking to sing, they went through her. If foolish teenagers from area gangs decided they'd get in over their heads and try to get in on the lucrative Vide Noir business? They were supposed to go through her at the club. She was willing to do whatever it took to keep her supply steady and her place secure.

She was a shadow of the girl she had once been, and the love she thought she had once been able to earn was no longer an option to her. Frankie had been placed in the same level of the mythological figures Z'Oiseau was obsessed with. She was his own personal Janus, one foot in her past even as she looks to the future she can never have. Though sometimes she felt more like a Cerberus guarding his underworld and keeping all the poor souls who were hooked on his particular brand of astral darkness from escaping back to the world of the living. Being regulated to a liminal deity in a madman's personal canon of mythology was miserable, but at least she felt she controlled the transition from the unknown to the familiar.

And maybe that was why she kept her bond with Tarbell so strong. He was the only one who could see through all that bullshit and call it as it really was. Frankie Lou stood a chance of making it out of the war on her humanity as long as she clung hold of people who made her feel alive, as long as she kept familiarity close to her heart. That could explain her current fascination with a young woman who had started frequenting the club. Not to drink, not to dabble in Vide Noir. Lady Moonbeam was a businesswoman of sorts who spoke in fortunes and had a smile that rivaled the brightness of every star in the sky. Frankie could still remember the night they met, and wished every single day they could go back to it so she could relive it over and over again.

Being used was something she was used to, and she assumed that was all Moonbeam's frequent appearance in the club was. There were worse things than being used to get information. But the initial attempts to get information about Zozo out of her led to genuine conversations. And eventually trust was earned, and Frankie learned about Moonbeam's connections to an area gang called the World Enders. They were her friends, the younger woman insisted, and Frankie didn't care one bit about the conflict of interest. It was nice to have someone to talk to who genuinely saw and heard her, and even better to have someone who inspired her to find herself again.

Lady Moonbeam's appearances started as sporadic, never so frequent that anyone would recognize her. But oh, of course Frankie did. Those visits became more and more common, to the point where all she had to do was glance up in the chorus of Love Like Ghosts and she'd see that beautiful, familiar face watching her from the same seat every time. That comforting familiarity eventually ended in an invitation to her dressing room. That first visit had been simple and sweet, two women full of secrets attempting to navigate a growing attraction that neither of them fully understood how to make sense of.

It was during one of her sets where she was crooning The Night We Met and her eyes met Moonbeam's across the room that Frankie realized she was in deep. This wasn't just an innocent flirtation. This was something more, a genuine connection that had led to an intense attraction. That night, the visit to her dressing room ended in their first kiss. And oh, that first kiss had quickly escalated to so much more. It had been so funny that night how a knock on the door had led to them both scrambling to get their clothes and hurrying to make themselves look presentable before the club manager could come in to escort Frankie back for her nightly hit to keep her compliant.

Frankie had been with other women before. She wasn't new to being attracted to a pretty face. Moonbeam on the other hand, was newly out and just dipping her toes into experiencing intimacy with the same sex. In some ways, she knew that it was dangerous to get involved with someone when she was bound to be their first love. Not that she would ever admit it out loud, not even to Moonbeam herself. That secret would always be Frankie's to keep near and dear to her own heart, though it must have been so ridiculously obvious.

Tonight's set had been intentionally short, just to give them more time together in her dressing room. It was Moonbeam who suggested slipping away unnoticed, and although Frankie knew that wouldn't be truly possible she pretended that it would be just fine. After all, why would Z'Oiseau care that she had found someone? The relationship he had once had with her was long since over. He had discarded her and left her trapped in his club, a songbird he would never truly set free. Maybe sneaking out to Moonbeam's car to drive out to the docks and hide away in the backseat felt like an act of defiance. Frankie knew she'd go back, she couldn't leave the Vide Noir behind. No matter how much she wished she had never met her dealer, she knew she wasn't strong enough to give up the drug he supplied her with. She would walk through hell and back before she gave up the feeling of obliterating time and space.

"I want a part of you that no one can claim," Moonbeam whispered in her ear as they laid together in the back seat. Frankie's eyes watched the fogged windows as she tried to laugh off that request.

"I'm afraid that's just not possible." Teasing felt cheap, and Frankie wanted to do right by this woman. She was so fearless, so confident. She admired her bravery and her light, and wanted to kindle it so it stayed as bright as it could for as long as possible. Eventually she'd do something to dampen Moonbeam's warmth, but she hoped it wouldn't be tonight.

"You don't have to act like that. Like I'm one of the men that wants to use you."

Frankie dryly chuckled, knowing she had been called out. "Oh sweetling, you want me to give you something to feel you're not wasting your time. You want something that's going to cut straight to your heart, when you haven't even told me your real name."

And she supposed she could do that. After all, she hadn't shared her real name either. She had come to care for Moonbeam, and she wanted to have happiness even though she knew it would be short lived. Everything on Earth was fleeting, and if the balancer had it their way, she'd be gone sooner than later as punishment for everything she had done to put Vide Noir out on the streets and into the hands of innocent people.

"I want you to have this," she murmured thoughtfully, reaching into the top of her dress to pull out the ever present pendant she wears on a gold chain. Z'Oiseau had given it to her so long ago, back when he first charmed her. That emerald star had once felt like a promise of prosperity. Now she recognized it as a collar, a tether that kept her chained to him as soon as she accepted it and marked herself as belonging to him.

"The one from your album cover? But you've never taken this off."

That perceptive comment made Frankie smile sadly, and she quickly removed the necklace to place it in Moonbeam's hands. When it's just held there palm up, Frankie closes her lover's fingers around it to signal that it's hers now.

"And that's the part of me that no one else can claim. All my hopes and dreams are in there. It's my heart, you know. And now it's in your hands. I'm giving you my heart. Now if anything happens and we can't see one another any longer, you'll always know you have it. Come what may, in the end, you promise me you'll keep that safe."

Honestly, she felt naked without that necklace on. Her emerald star was her guiding light, something that helped her feel less lost when she was traversing the stars on Vide Noir. Without it, she may never find her way back. But she knew that would be what was best not only for Moonbeam and her safety now that they were close, but everyone else too. Anyone that tried to get close to her wound up missing. Frankie wasn't stupid enough to pretend she didn't know they were black brained and lost to the world. Just because no one had said something directly to her face didn't mean that word hadn't already gotten back that she had run off with someone.

The second Z'Oiseau knew she was a willing participant and had an interest in Moonbeam, she'd go missing too. It was for the best that she give her that necklace and put some distance there. She thought that even though it went unspoken, Moonbeam knew it too. As good as this was, as close as they had become, it couldn't continue. Not only was it unsafe, they were both aware Vide Noir had its claws in Frankie and she didn't want it to let her go.

She thought of that night often in her final days that turned into her last weeks. In order to put up a barrier between her and Moonbeam she found some handsome young man to be her very public paramour. Moonbeam's visits became less frequent, and Frankie noted with satisfaction that their last visit was strictly business. They talked about the World Enders and her friendship with Alex Redmayne, about clients that visited her fortune telling popup. Frankie listened with a sense of peace and contentment, knowing that she left the physical manifestation of her heart and soul in good hands.

It was three weeks later that she turned up dead in the back seat of a parked car alongside her new boyfriend, the newspaper claiming a drug overdose brought on by a whirlwind romance the cause. Vide Noir was never once mentioned, which anyone who knew Frankie could say was bullshit. It wasn't just drugs, it was a forceful overdose on the most addictive substance the world had ever known. The trouble with being black brained was parts of you lingered out in space despite the body being incompatible with existing in reality. Without having that touchstone of her emerald star, she remained lost and constantly floating. Lost in a black void for all eternity. Her song was a satellite, reaching out for anyone that was out there and might listen to her tears.

A few months after her death, Moonbeam was listening to Alive From Whispering Pines after a particularly long night. Tubbs Tarbell's familiar voice twanged through the radio, and she felt her heart clutch in her chest as he brought up Frankie Lou. It sunk right down to her feet as the next caller sounded an awful lot like Frankie herself. It was only after the caller's words really sunk in that Moonbeam realized there was no one else it could be. She almost turned off the radio after that, but morbid curiosity kept her dialed in. About fifteen minutes later, Moonbeam was draped across her couch clutching that emerald star necklace in her hands.

"Oh Tubbs, where am I?”

The unmistakable voice of Frankie was marred by static, and all Moonbeam could do was hold the necklace tighter.

"Is there anybody out there?"

Tubbs tried to answer, but it was obvious that he was shaken by what he was hearing. Moonbeam refused to admit it to herself, but she was too. It was like Frankie's soul was still out there in a cosmic void, unable to be at rest because she didn't have her emerald star to guide her.

"I'm alone in this place. Is there anybody out there?"

A tear slipped down Moonbeam's cheek, and she was quick to wipe it away. As the broadcast ended early with pure static and something that sounded like haunting sobbing, she turned off her radio and set out into the night. It was late, but there was something that needed to be done. There weren't many nice areas down by the docks. But right by where they had parked her car only a month before was a small strip of grass. She crouched down on it and used her bare hands to dig up what she could. Deeper and deeper she dug, like she was making a grave. The emerald star was deposited down inside and buried, and Moonbeam felt like she had done what she could to give Frankie's soul peace.

A week or two later, she'd learn that Frankie's supposed favorite necklace was auctioned off after her death. It was some huge, decorative thing. Flashy and prominent as she wore it on stage almost every night. It had been purchased by a buyer who put it right into a safety deposit box. It left her wondering if she had ever truly known Frankie at all. Months later, when Moonbeam felt like she was ready to dig it up, she went back to uncover the Emerald Star. Thankfully, it hadn't been found by anyone else. In all the time she had it, she never had really examined it up close. She took it home to clean it up, and in the process she realized it wasn't just a pendant. It was a locket with an emerald on the outside.

Inside were two pictures. On the left side, an old tattered image of what must have been Frankie as a child with her parents. On the right, an image of the two of them taken in the dressing room. The picture of them is removed and examined up close, and Moonbeam noted the words penned on the back.

"Francine S. Lu's last love," she whispered, and laughed as she realized how cruel the Balancer could be. She didn't believe in things like fate, didn't believe in the afterlife. But it still felt like her first love had sent her a message from beyond.

The phone rang seconds later, and she set the pendant and pictures aside to go pick it up. Anyone calling this late had something important to say. It was Alex, asking her to keep an eye out for his younger brother Johnnie. No one had seen him in days. He wouldn't come out and say it, but it was obvious he was worried. She knew she needed to drop what she was doing and head out to help him. A final glance was spared at what remained of Francine Lu, and Moonbeam felt a sense of peace as she realized the fight for having a piece of Frankie that no one else could lay claim to was a war she had already won.

#lhsecretsanta2024

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clockworkreapers · 7 months ago

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Yo!! I've got a lil' question that you've probably answered before. I was wondering why Cy has 2 god tiers? Like is it just because he can, for shits n' giggles, or for a narrative reason? (I've been going over this in my head for weeks now dear god)

OH no there is an actual reason- make of the explanation what you will. To me it at least makes some sense, this will be long but I love to break it all down (its also a bit sad!) So... Cyrusk is odd. His personality, the way he interacts with people, the way he solves problems, the things that are key to who he is all point towards him being a Lord. The Lord of Mind is his godtier, thats the one at his core. However he is the Knight of Mind in like 99.99999999% something of the sessions that are played. The Knight is also still him but it prioritizes the protector parts over the controller parts both of which are part of what makes him him. He is both sides but one is not allowed to exist... unless under certain circumstances.

(handful of his dif iterations for sburb) The problem with being a Lord in a group sburb game though is that they are way overpowered, and he doesnt have a Muse to balance him out either. Sburb is-if nothing else-a world bending game that adapts and changes to its players but its also an enigma, its kinda alive in its own right. In a group sburb game the conditions are not set to have a Lordling in its session cuz they are supposed to play solo in dead sessions like the Cal's session. Now Cyrusk can play solo BUT theres a very specific way for him to even get to the point where he can. The sad part is it needs to be when everyone else in his session is dead and conditions are now set to enter into a dead session, one built for a Lordling. To do this he needs to find his denizen Janus. Thing about Janus is it has two faces and one is always asleep at least its always asleep when he can only be the Knight.

(art by cheshireArtist) The asleep face wakes when a Lordling has the availability to be in play and its the one that gives him the Lord's "Ultimate Choice". Either he can die here, be with everyone else and be at peace... OR he can live and take a shot at a new session and maybe see everyone again. Its not a scratch its not turning back time its entering into the session thats built for the Lord. Once Cyrusk enters a new session as a solo player its that dead session where he plays as a Lordling. If he goes through with it and wins he will become a fully realized Lord of Mind. And theres the thing... yeah he doesnt get a new universe but he gets something that can be even better~

But thats for another time. Just know a Lord of Mind Cyrusk is game breaking.

#LONG POST #sorry for stuffing up your feed #maybe it will get shortened by tumblr lol #but yeah cyrusk has a reason why he gets two godtiers #also hes a sad boy cuz the lord doesnt belong anywhere and he misses his matesprite #i miss my matesprite tails i miss him a lot #he did not deal with it well #and all other sessions with a sauron have their own cyrusk #he will never have what he lost #hes a mind player not a time player #ironic considering sauron is #oh how cruel am I- mmmm the angst #clock rambles #cyrusk belgor #also if cheshireArtist has a tumblr lemme tag uuuuuuuuu idk what ur tumblr is i just know your discord ahhhhhhhh

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lio-the-chaotic-nonbeanie-weenie · 5 months ago

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Who’s your favorite Sanders Sides character that isn’t Logan?

Okay so I keep seeing these favorite sanders sides polls all the time and Logan always wins. I wanna give the other sides a chance so here’s a poll without Logan.

#li talks #sanders sides #roman sanders #patton sanders #janus sanders #virgil sanders #remus sanders

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loganslowdown4 · 1 year ago

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Virgil: Why do you always let me win the race up the stairs? You’re faster than me.

Roman: I like seeing you smile when you win.

Virgil: *to Janus* He’s staring at my ass, isn’t he?

Janus: Yeah, he’s staring at your ass.

#no lies detected #thomas sanders #sanders sides #cw swearing #cw suggestive #roman sanders #sander sides #ts roman #incorrect sanders sides #virgil sanders #Janus sanders #prinxiety #ts prinxiety #romantic prinxiety

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virge-the-artist · 1 year ago

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REVIEWING ASIDES VIDEO CAUSE YEA!

• roman being joy bc he has to be the main character and he is really trying to fit this role

• patton being sadness

• thomas pointing to the phone and looking at seemingly no one

• janus being perfect, as always

• roman bring up how he's controlling

• his immediately shutting down the idea of scrolling again

• logan doing crosswords without a pencil in hand

• roman saying "lo-gan"

• janus saying "here it goes" implies that this has happened before

• everyone telling remus no

• the very common idea that an animal will get into your plumbing

• logan's face

• roman gripping his hat

• the sound effect

• "joyman" being a play off roman

• patton agreeing with remus on buzzkill roman

• roman holding his tongue after patton said that

• janus yawning

• remus

• the "yay" sound effect

• the deep "i can't do this"

• janus is casted perfectly

• virgil's pigtail hair

• the multiple "oh"s

• roman covering his mouth with a frown on it

• remus's laugh then saying he looks stupid

• janus is amazing

• the thank yous

• janus and remus being bribed

• they have played this in the past

• remus being best friends with virgil

• janus agreeing then bring up Maya Hawke

• roman immediately having a miscommunication error and yelling at janus

• janus just staring at him

• "hi bud" double wave

• all the heads shaking

• remus

• "simply because we both wear neckties. No for other reason."

• roman making logan angry just to prove a point

• roman saying they like virgil better

• the smiles

• thomas's jaw dropped

• patton avoided eye contact

• janus's look

• roman's noises

• logan's face, bring back up his crosswords

• remus saying what needs to be said

• virgil wanted to win in a fight

• everyone agreeing, expect remus

• the look

• "interrupting cow"

• roman singing for 3 hours and virgil threatening to kill him

• "buddy"

• janus face looking like a wine mom again

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fanartfromafan · 1 year ago

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The new episode only came out, like, 30 minutes ago, but I have so many thoughts and feelings.

Janus being Disgust feels so right and I'm glad he thinks so too. I adore how he called Logan sweetie and Remus buddy. His outfit suited him. WHERE ARE HIS GLOVES?!???! I'm happy he got his wine. He doesn't seem to care much about Roman's hostility.

Speaking of Logan, him being Anger makes me feel stuff. I know we all thought the same thing when we saw him. I like his tie. I feel like the colors could mean something, but I'm probably just reaching.

It makes me sad that Patton was Sadness, but it makes sense with him being in charge of the heart and emotions. They both also have matching colors. He looks adorable in those glasses.

Roman being Joy is interesting, though makes some sense. Joy is the leader of the group and I think Roman wants to be or thinks of himself as a leader. Patton agreeing with Remus when he called Roman "Kill-joyman" is... something to note. He seemed upset that his idea was derailed again. Understandable. He is clearly still very hostile with Janus. I don't think that's gonna stop for a while.

Remus is perfect in every way, I accept no feedback. I love his outfit! Has his mustache always been greeny? I love how honest he is. "Everyone wants to say 'yes'". I believe he also said "No" when Virgil said he would win in a fight against Other Anxiety.

Virgil looks so wrong in orange. I understand why he hated it. Sorry, Virgil, but Inside Out's anxiety is pretty accurate to how I see anxiety. You're still cooler, though.

#Sanders Sides #Thomas Sanders #Janus Sanders #Logan Sanders #Patton Sanders #Roman Sanders #Remus Sanders #Virgil Sanders #Sanders Asides #My Thoughts

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delightfully-deranged-dagur · 1 year ago

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Finished my Total Drama OC Cast!

Let's meet the cast!

Alex. The Attention Hog

Doesn't care about anything except having everyone's attention on him. I mean, why wouldn't you pay attention to him. He's ripped, he's clever, he's hot, he's got muscles, did I mention he's ripped?

Finn. The Workaholic

Money, money, money. That's what Finn dreams about. It's why he works 6 different jobs and sleeps 2 hours a week. (If he's lucky) He loves money. He wants a lot of it. But the only way he'll accept it is through hard work.

And what's harder then winning Total Drama?

Gabriel. The Pretentious Goth

He barely glanced at you and he's already unimpressed with you. You're just not up to Gabriel's standards. Too mainstream and normal. Have you ever even worn a corset?

Just because he thinks he's better then you doesn't mean he has to constantly remind you of it. And yet he does.

Darla. The Visionary

Darla doesn't create art. She IS art. She breathes, eats and drinks art!

What exactly does she consider art? Oh you know, the usual. Glueing her schools desks to the ceiling. Swapping out the football uniforms for ballgowns. And of course, shaping her hair into the shape of the moon.

Rachel. The Rodeo Star

This devious diva has it all. Brains, brawn and beauty. And she's planning to walk away with the million keeping that all intact.

She's not a bad person, really. Just competitive. If she wasn't competing, she'd rather treat her fellow contestants to one of her Rodeo shows and some home-baked pie.

Raheem. The Oblivious Heartthrob

Raheem doesn't seem to realize how attractive he is. In fact, he doesn't realize a lot of things. He's kind and pretty book smart. But he's just terrible at reading social cues.

He feels terrible whenever he offends someone or make them upset because he didn't read their emotions properly. He doesn't really know to fix this issue so he just puts on a smile and suppresses his turmoil.

Olive. The Doormat

Coming from a big family where she doesn't feel like she fits in, Olive tries her best to help people so she'll feel accepted.

Now if only there was a way to help people without dragging so much attention to herself.

Lulu. The Clown

Lulu just wants to put a smile on people's faces and have fun. She can get easily carried away when she's excited. But once she calms down you'll notice just how pragmatic this Clown is.

Just because she's silly doesn't mean she doesn't have common sense, she might just surprise you in ways you didn't expect.

Phoenix, aka Francis. The Menace

Phoenix identifies as a problem. An inconvenience. An absolute menace you're never quite sure is messing with you, or is joking around. He randomly SHOUTS random words when he speaks, either another way to annoy people or just a disorder.

He lost his arm in a fire he may or may not have definitely caused himself. But he survived which is how he got the name Pheonix.

Cherry. The Competitive Dancer

Cherry values teamwork more then anything. She tries her hardest to be a valuable teammate and keep everyone focused. Of course, they might listen to her more if she tried to spend more time with the team outside of challenges.

After a recent betrayal in her dance troupe where someone sold routines to rival troupes, Cherry doesn't trust new people easily. And clings to the ones she does trust.

Augustus. The Religious Do-Gooder

Augustus is a sweet kid. Always looking to do a good deed for someone. That's how he was raised in what is definitely not a cult.

Good deeds are very important to Auggie here. After all, once you do a good deed for someone, they have to do a good deed for you. They have to. Because if they don't, things get ugly...

Janus. The Hippie

Janus is like, Fer sure, the chillest guy around. He's all about that inner peace stuff. And outer peace. And of course, in-between peace. He spreads his message of peace by sharing crystals, flowers, and songs played on his guitar.

People say Janus is incapable of feeling any hate. He loves everybody. But he's a romantic at heart and is still looking for that special someone to love.

Marlo. The Prankster

Marlo loves pranking people. Fart cushions. Prank calls. Acid in the towns water supply. You know, the usual. Okay so Marlo may be lacking some, what do you call it? Morals! And yes he's uncapable of feeling empathy.

But. He's also got a criminal record. So point is. When you see Marlo, run the other way.

Flo. The Rebel

Flo isn't a big fan of authority or "The man" telling her what to do. She'd rather live her own life, free from anyone's expectations or rules.

Her favorite past time is rocking out with her band, Voltageous Chaos! She's lead singer and bassist. Her little sister Beast is on the drums, BFF Prof. Cavity on keyboard, sleepy gal Moot on Sax and incomprehensible Zips on Trumpet.

Still looking for a Guitarist though...

Parvati. The Mythology Buff

Parvati adores learning about Mythology. Especially the creatures. Fantastical beasts she can only fantasize about. Of course while learning Mythology she also learns a lot of history and cultures from around the world.

She has so many thoughts going through her head sometimes she loses focus on what she was doing. But after stumbling a bit she gets right back at it and gives it her all. For a nerd she's quite athletic.

Sasha. The Nepo-Baby

Wait, you guys don't have family members working high in the industry and getting you onto TV-shows? But there's so many people in the industry, surely you're related to some of them?

That's what Sasha thinks at the least. She doesn't really see how many privileges she has in life. Which thankfully means she never taunts less fortunate people with those privileges.

Her dream is to become a famous singer, and she has enough connections to make that dream a reality. Of course she herself works hard on her singing and encourages others to work on their dreams too. She's very sincere and optimistic.

Tony. The Short-Tempered Greaser

Tony has always been a bit, vertically challenged. Something bullies picked up on. Which then got picked up by his younger twin brothers, who did get blessed with the tall genes and at 14 tower over their older brother.

The constant bullying at school and at home, unable to tell his mom in fear of worrying her, and never quite properly dealing with the grief of losing his father, has left Tony with a lot of bubbled up anger. And it doesn't take much for him to snap.

Madileighn. The Annoying Influencer

Madi worked hard to gain a following. But her general cluelessness about the problematic brands she endorses, sharing videos about animals that look cute but are in distress, and accidentally joining a pyramid scheme makes her tiring to be around.

As she genuinely believes she's doing nothing wrong.

Well. That's it. My Total Drama Cast! I'm planning on writing a fanfic about them.

Taking place after the 2nd season of the Revival, where the show goes back to the abandoned film lot for a Take 2 of Total Drama Action.

18 contestants. 9 per team. Only 1 winner.

Stay tuned for more news.

#my art #total drama #total drama island #total drama action #total drama oc #total drama fan season #TD

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sanderssidesthehouse · 3 months ago

Note

Trick or Treat! Could you hit a bro up with one of the other categories of pokemon hcs you have?

I was confused for a second bc I mixed up 'hit up' with 'knock up' in my head but I was fully ready to figure out how that would work. Anyway...

SASI Pokemon TCG Headcanons!

Logan knows all the meta but he has a playstyle preference so he will play the very best deck possible in the style he wants. He likes to lock down the board and methodically take out the opposing pokemon one by one. He also has multiple decks to play against different opponents.

Roman based his one deck around whatever his current favorite pokemon is even if the cards are really bad. He’s going to brute force it. He either wins with his favorite or not at all. His favorite person to play against is Logan, but he usually only wins if Logan’s deck bricks.

Patton just collects the cards with the pokemon he thinks are cute. He got a starter deck so he could play with the others but he basically never wins. Not because he’s incapable of putting together a good deck and winning, or even winning with the one he has, he just knows the other feel good when they win. Except sometimes he’ll kick Janus’s ass for fun and Janus knows but he can’t say anything because everyone will just assume he’s lying. It’s killing him inside. One of these days he’ll prove it.

Virgil's decks consist mostly of spooky/edgy pokemon but if you call him out on it he’ll never play with you again. He played with Roman all of once before this became apparent. He almost always refuses to play with Logan because he knows he’ll lose, but when he does Logan actually provides really helpful tips for his deck and lets him try against different decks to find the strengths and weaknesses. He usually plays with Patton and while the others are waging wars over their matches they’re just hanging out and cracking jokes.

Janus’s preferred play style is fucking with the opponent’s board state and/or their ability to do anything. When he plays against Logan it’s a race to see who can set up their board the quickest which will determine who wins. His deck would actually be least effective against Roman’s, but Roman is so obsessed with getting his fav out he’s not playing it to its full capability.

Remus's deck is so chaotic but has the draw power to work. He has four kinds of energy in there. Why? Keep them guessing. He alters his deck between every game session for maximum confusion. He is the one person Logan can’t really prepare against except for trying to limit his draw power. Sometimes Remus wins because of this. He usually tries to get Roman to play with him, though, and uses weakness and resistance in his favor for that. He also plays with Janus who has trouble predicting what’s in his deck but does so with marginally better success than Logan. Sometimes he’ll try out wackier deck ideas in a game with Patton. Virgil lets him play if he agrees to only speak when strictly necessary (Sometimes he gets away with it if it’s objectively funny).

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #logan sanders #remus sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #janus sanders #inbox trick or treating #siding ask

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a-small-batch-of-dragons · 3 months ago

Text

The Shadow Falcon | Knives in Darkness

please i need more of the complicated world of shadow falcon 🫣- anon

I really liked The Shadow Falcon, but as someone who really loved the Remus chapters at the end of Little Prince, I was wondering if there's any chance of that here too Also, what is Janus' part of this, considering Logan seems to be the main caretaker this time around -🇵🇱

Read on Ao3 Part 1 Part 2

Warnings: implied/referenced torture, implied/referenced major character death

Pairings: intrulogical, anxcietmus

Word Count: 4739

"You need to let me talk to HQ."

"And why the fuck would we do that?"

Roman sighs, wincing as he sits up a little more in bed. Remus adjusts the tray over his lap as Logan puts a few more pillows up behind him. He shuffles through his hand and plays another card. "Because the longer it takes them to find me, the more likely it is that when they do, they're not going to believe me when I say it's not worth attacking the building I'm in to get me back."

Logan lets out a small noise that's probably meant to be something of a scoff. "Not to insult the abilities of your esteemed colleagues—"

"Cut the bullshit. You and I both know that if it actually came down to an open firefight, you're not winning. There's a reason you've been stockpiling in the eastern quarter—yeah, we know about that, and I'm telling you this now because you're the one who actually has the power to make this not go the worst way possible," Roman says sharply when Logan's gaze darkens, "so how about we all pretend that I'm not just a hostage and talk about this?"

He glances over and sees Remus's surprised expression and raises an eyebrow. Remus shakes his head. "Nothing, nothing, I just…what happened to the boy who was always so eager to do whatever the instructors wanted?"

"Someone killed my brother."

"…yeah, that'll do it," he mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Okay, but we're not—you reacted this way to finding out I'm still alive, how the fuck is everyone else going to react? How're they gonna believe you?"

"They will."

"They didn't last time," Logan says in a voice far too gentle to be anything other than devastating. Roman shifts with the bruises.

"Yeah, well, that was before I became the Agency's leading expert on hallucinogens and body doubles."

"…and how the fuck did you do that?" Roman doesn't even dignify that with a response, just turning and looking at Remus. "I'm a little scared of you right now."

"However impressive your credentials may be," Logan breaks in, "that doesn't exactly offer me any incentive to return you to their clutches, nor reveal anything about my own operations."

"Which is why I'm not asking you to do that. I'm asking you to let me contact HQ. You can monitor everything I say, you can even say it for me if you want to, but the longer they go without hearing from me, the harder this gets."

"And what would 'this' be?"

Roman stares at Logan for a long second before glancing at Remus. "The Agency's changed a lot more than either of you realize. We don't let our people go anymore. We don't just give up on them if they're presumed dead. We confirm it or we get them the fuck back."

"Also, since when have you started swearing more?"

"Since you put me on the good painkillers and I'm getting really tired of the bullshit."

"You mentioned." Logan looks both mildly amused and mildly irritated by how little Remus seems to care that he's mouthing off and making trouble—then again, that was always Remus's MO, he's probably thrilled that Roman's coming around to it, and doesn't that just tug on the heartstrings just a little more? "So your proposition is that if you communicate something along the lines of: 'alive, don't send out the cavalry,' this will buy you time to…what?"

"Well, if I send out something like: 'alive, relatively safe location, will move when recovered enough,' that buys you time to figure out what you want to do with me."

"I thought we were past treating you as though you were just a hostage."

"Just a hostage I may not be, but still your hostage? Yeah, very much so." Remus curses at him under his breath when he plays another card. "I'm not about to pretend I have more leverage than I do, which I don't. But I'm also not just going to let you think that nothing's going to happen if you keep me here without letting me tell them I'm alive."

"You seem awfully assured about the Agency's desire to keep you for someone who was horribly betrayed by them not ten years ago."

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you that it's different now before you believe me—"

"Are you gonna be the only one happy I'm alive," Remus interrupts, his voice far too small and scared for Roman's liking, "or not?"

Roman's mouth freezes halfway through whatever he was going to say next. He turns to look at Remus and yes, there it is—his shoulders are just a little too tense, his gaze focused a little too intently on the cards. He glances up at Roman and can't hold eye contact.

"Re," he mumbles, not caring a bit that he's still playing all of his emotions out clear as day for Logan fucking Hoskins, "if you think I was the only one ruined by your death, you're wrong."

Remus huffs in disbelief. "You're my brother."

"Yeah, which means I'm the one who—" don't get stuck there, don't get stuck there, don't get stuck there— "which means it affected me the most, but Re—oh my god, you don't know."

"Know what?"

Roman can't speak. He's can't say a fucking word because his hands are over his mouth and his eyes are wide and tears are streaming down his cheeks. He can't think about it. He can't talk about it. He can't—he can't—oh, God—

"Ro? Ro," Remus is saying, insistently now, the tray in his lap is gone, his hands are tugging at Roman's, trying to get them away from his face, "Roro, don't do that, don't—it's okay, just—just tell me what's going on—"

"Roman," Logan says, his voice gentle, too gentle, hands too kind as they try and smooth his hair back from his face, "you need to breathe. Take a breath, now, shh, don't try and speak just yet."

He can't. He's too busy reaching out for Remus, wrapping his hands too tightly in his hair and pulling him close, panting breaths shuddering into the crook of his neck as Remus flails awkwardly for somewhere to put his weight that won't fuck up Roman's ribs. Logan's hand is on his shoulder, the other probably somewhere on Remus but he doesn't care, can't care, not when he's pressing against Remus's pulse for everything he has and reminding himself that his brother is, after all, alive.

"Ro," Remus murmurs after god knows how long they spend like that, "Ro…what don't I know?

***

Psychological Findings and Progress Report #103826.89.2

Patient shows no sign of improvement. Patient is still insisting on feeding delusions involving conspiracies that [REDACTED] is still alive and that his body was a hoax created to test a new bioweapon. Patient shows high levels of stress and hysteria when challenged on this belief. Patient harmed three orderlies and threatened to 'burn this place to the ground before [he lets] something like this happen again!' Patient is being sent for more intensive treatment.

Addendum: patient is being quarantined for his own safety and the safety of other recruits. He has begun attempting to persuade others of the truth of his delusions. Further close monitoring will be required.

Addendum: patient has successfully convinced three other individuals. Patient has been restricted to solitary confinement.

Addendum: we need to do something now. He's getting out of control.

***

Post-Mission Injury Summary #12532985.43.8

Survivors underwent approximately ten weeks of physical and psychological torture. Initial review shows broken bones, bruises, lacerations consistent with training blades and real blades alike, and signs of severe medication withdrawal. One subject appears to have been waterboarded, another shows mild signs of hypoxia indicating suffocation.

Patient 161891435 is still in a medically-induced coma. It's unclear whether his body will continue trying to heal itself. At this time, we cannot draw any firm conclusions as to why, but one of the doctors thinks it might be due to the fact that we have no idea what truly happened to his brother.

***

Transcript from Interview #57

"Thank you for agreeing to this."

"Sure."

"Can you describe for me what you remember about the day you were taken?"

"Yeah. Uh, Princey—Roman was supposed to be coming back from training. He was half an hour late—I don't know if you know this about Roman, but he's not really the 'come back' late sort of person. We gave him the full hour to see if maybe he'd been called away to something else and just forgotten to message us—

"Could you clarify who 'us' is for the record?"

"Oh, yeah. Uh—me, I'm his training partner right now, Janus is our group instructor at the moment, and then Patton's overseeing our whole division. We were waiting for Roman to get back 'cause we had a, um, meeting thing we were going to do—"

"I'm going to remind you that this isn't a disciplinary hearing and it's important to be honest."

"Fine, yeah, we were gonna talk about the shitty stuff happening in the Agency, is that what you want to hear?"

"Is it true?"

"Considering what we just got tortured for, yeah, I think I can say it's fucking true and that we were fucking right. Actually, no, fuck that, Roman was fucking right and you can tell that to his face when he wakes up."

"There's been no change in Roman's condition, I regret to inform you."

"Oh, he's gonna wake up."

"Can I ask what makes you so sure?"

"'Cause we still don't know what actually happened to Remus, even now that the fucker who did this to us—all of us, might I add, you got fucked over by this too—is behind bars, and if you think Roman's gonna leave that job unfinished, you don't know him at all."

"You sound like you might admire him for that."

"If you're not a little scared of Roman right now? You're an idiot and you fucking should be. Someone took away his brother."

***

An Open Letter

To the people who don't know, my sincere apologies for the rude awakening you are about to receive. If there were a gentler way to do this, a more compassionate way to do this, even a slightly easier way to do this, I can promise you I would be taking it. But the very thing I am attempting to fight against would silence my words before you knew I had opened my mouth, and so I cannot afford to be gentle.

To the people who do know, know that your days at this Agency are numbered.

You enabled a power-hungry megalomaniac to manipulate and abuse a system designed to keep vulnerable people safe. You allowed him access to data that could destroy the world and limitless capabilities to affect it as he saw fit. You willingly turned a blind eye to those who were suffering and suppressed their voices when they tried to fix it. And now, when his crimes have been exposed and it's your own heads on the chopping block, you scramble to hold on to any semblance of power you thought you once had.

At midnight, the dossiers will be released. They will be made available to Level 0 clearance. There is nothing you can do to stop them and any action on your part to attempt to do so will be treated as treason of the highest order. You have until then to decide how you want your stories to end.

You will not force me out of this Agency. You will not silence me nor the others who have spoken up against the unfairness enabled by you and perpetuated by the system you helped to create. You will not preserve this horrific brutality and you will not get away with this again.

You know that I'm not alone. You know that there's no way you can win this. Your best option right now? Help us be better. You know it's possible because there's no other reason you would be so foolish as to try something like forcing us out. And because of that, we're willing to put our names on here, so if you try and come for us again? You'll find out why he wanted us dead so badly.

The clock is ticking. Your time is running out.

Signed,

Patton Everlark, Janus Russo, Virgil Dagenheart, Roman Prince

***

"Remus," Logan coaxes for the fifth hour in a row, "Remus, you need to sleep."

"He got tortured for me, Lolo," Remus responds in a hoarse croak, the same way he has over and over, his hands still white-knuckled around Roman's shirt and blankets, "he and the others—they almost killed them for me and I—I didn't—they don't—I—"

Logan crosses the room and sits down next to him, covering Remus's hands with his own. He doesn't attempt to make him let go. He rests his head on Remus's shoulder. Remus takes a shuddering breath and shrinks under him, so much so that Logan quickly shifts his arms to wrap around Remus's waist to keep him upright. He kisses his cheek.

"Talk to me, dear," he whispers, "please."

"Every time," he manages, "every time I think I know what happened, he tells me something else and I—I keep thinking about what might've happened if I'd just—"

He shakes his head suddenly.

"I know I can't think about it like that, but he—fuck, Lolo, he's—how did I ever think this would be easy?"

"I don't think you ever did," Logan says softly, "I think we both knew the moment you saw Roman again, it wouldn't be easy."

"Yeah, because I was trying to wrap my head around the fact that I'd have to kill my brother, not—not whatever this is." He leans against Logan's chest. "I don't know if I can do this anymore, Logan."

Logan hums, rocking them slightly back and forth. "So you believe him, then?"

"Why the fuck wouldn't I believe him?" He twists around to stare at him. "What incentive does he have to lie to me right now?"

"It splits our attention between finding out his supposed truth about the Agency with our goal to take it down. It splits your focus and emotionally compromises you. And it drives a wedge between you and me." He presses his hands gently against Remus's stomach. "And that's not saying what it means for the rest of our operation."

"Roman wouldn't do something like that," Remus says, but his voice is wavering, "he wouldn't."

"And you believe he would willingly rebel against everything he's ever known just on the off-chance that he was right? Is he that confident in himself?"

Remus looks back at Roman, asleep in the bed. His chest rises and falls steadily. His hands twitch.

"Believe me," Logan continues, his words tinged with something almost like remorse, "I want to believe him. If what Roman's saying about the Agency is true, then there's a greater chance that we could reach an agreement without an unnecessary amount of bloodshed. But, Remus, if we're wrong—"

"Are you jealous or something?"

Logan startles into silence. "What?"

"Are you jealous that I care this much about Roman? Is that what this is? Are you actively trying to undermine how much I care about my brother right now?"

A chuckle rumbles through his back. "Do I seem like the type to be threatened by such a thing?"

"I don't know, you're trying really hard to convince me not to listen to my brother right now and I'm not exactly sure what motive you have other than, oh, I don't know, you don't like that I'm paying this much attention to him."

"It's your brother, of course you're paying a lot of attention to him." Logan holds him a little closer. "And he knows that too."

There's a pause. The sudden quiet in the room makes the slight rasp in Roman's breathing all the more obvious. Remus slowly frees one of his hands and adjusts the blanket so it covers Roman's shoulder. Logan doesn't say anything. The heating in the room kicks on. Somewhere outside a car drives by.

"Stick to the plan, then?"

Logan nods. "If Roman is telling the truth, then things will be much easier."

Remus swallows heavily. "And if he isn't?"

"Then we'll be prepared."

"So are we gonna let him talk to HQ, then?"

"We will, yes, but it will be on our terms."

"We won't hurt him," Remus says suddenly, his voice small and quiet again in that way he hates, "we won't—we won't hurt him unless we have to, right?"

Logan shifts, letting his grip slide loose just enough to cradle Remus's chin. Remus's eyes are wide and watery, his hands beginning to tremble ever so slightly. Logan kisses his cheek gently, then his forehead, closing his eyes and letting them rest together.

"Not unless we have to," he agrees, "and I would never make you do it."

Remus's breath shudders out of him and he sags into Logan's hold. His grip loosens slightly on Roman's shirt as Logan tucks his head under his chin. As Remus begins to doze, his eyes trace the lines of Romans' sleeping face.

"The two of you do look remarkably similar when you sleep," he muses in a voice too quiet for Remus to properly make out, "but there will always be little differences here and there."

Such is the reality of growing up believing your brother would leave you for dead. Such is the price to pay for misunderstanding.

***

They meet in a warehouse. Not terribly original, not terribly secure, but necessary. Roman sits in a chair, mobile enough to make it there but not to stand and pace the way he desperately wants too. He feels every bit the hostage still, even though he knows that this meeting is on as equal footing as they could manage.

He still wishes Remus could've heard the disbelief in Virgil's voice. Wishes he could've heard the hope that he might be able to see him again. Even the hope that Roman might be wrong and that this horrible thing that happened might be a little less horrible because it would mean they didn't abandon one of their own too early.

But in a few minutes, Virgil's going to be here. He's going to be here and Remus is going to see that he was never forgotten, never abandoned, that they tore down and remade the world so that there would never be another like him, not that there ever could, because he's Remus and he was theirs and nothing could ever happen for the rest of time that would change that. Ever.

"You're anxious," comes Logan's soft voice—no, he's still not over that, not when it rasps unfamiliarly at his skin— "try and relax."

He turns his head to snap that he'll be as tense as he wants, thank you very much, only to see that Logan isn't talking to him, he's talking to Remus. Remus stops short like he's been caught with his hand in the cookie jar and only whirls around to pace in another direction. Logan rolls his eyes fondly and relaxes into the other chair, shooting Roman a look like they're about to bond over how stubborn Remus can be.

"What?"

"Oh, don't give me that, little hero, you have the same pinched expression on your face right now. Don't try and pretend you wouldn't be doing the same thing if you could pace right now."

"I'm not going to answer that question on the grounds that I don't want to."

"Mm, and would such a defense hold up in any meaningful court room?"

"Funny, I wasn't sure you knew what those were, since you're in the habit of getting yourself into the most kangaroo-laden courts you can find."

"It's less fun when they have actual kangaroos," Remus adds, because he's Remus and that's what he does, "trust me."

"You know what? I'm gonna take your word on that one."

He doesn't quite see the small flinch as Remus hears him say that, but something in his brain just clicks. The same one that had him look at that corpse—don't get stuck there, don't get stuck there, don't get stuck there—just a little bit closer.

"Re—"

"They're here," Logan says abruptly, looking down at his phone, "their car just pulled up."

Remus pivots abruptly, facing the entrance. The three of them wait in silence as the door slowly slides open and—

"Holy fucking shit."

Remus freezes. "Virgil? Is that—"

"Yeah, it's fucking me, you think I was gonna find out you were alive and not race down here to see you? Holy fucking shit, Remus, you're—you're—oh my fucking god—"

And then there's a hand wrapping around Virgil's shoulder and holding him still as Janus walks in behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Remus stand up a little taller and he can't help the small smile that crosses his face at the same instincts that come over him. Even now, some part of them is still the little kids standing at the edge of the training mats waiting for instructions.

"The course objectives for the round-off qualifiers," Janus says smoothly, like they're back on those mats again, "what are they?"

He sees a truly impressive range of emotions cross Remus's face, from surprise to fury to something he can't quite name—something else in his brain clicks—before settling on a wide grin. "Go fuck yourself, old man, or sit back and watch."

There's a pause. Then Janus sniffles and there's a very quiet oh, sweetie, and two people are dashing across the warehouse floor to wrap Remus up in their arms. Roman can't stop beaming at Remus's confused little face, nor at the way his knees go weak as Janus presses a fierce kiss to the side of his head. He always denied that he was capable of that, after all, but oh, now he's just a little pissed that Remus fucked up his ribs so bad because he wants to be in that hug too, dammit.

"I'm so fucking sorry, Remus," Virgil's babbling, "we didn't—we didn't believe Roman until it was too late and we—they got us, I couldn't—I tried—"

"You tried?"

"Of course we tried, sweetie," Janus murmurs when Virgil just chokes off in a sob, "we were—I don't think I could ever put into words how furious we were when we realized—when Roman convinced us that he was telling the truth—"

"Which was hard," Roman adds, not above it in this moment, not right now, not when his face hurts from grinning too much, and not when Janus is so distracted he doesn't even get scolded for it.

"—but you have to know, sweetie, we moved Heaven and earth to try and find you afterwards." His gaze slides to Logan for only a moment. "I should've known you'd be resourceful enough to make it."

"Of course you should," Remus says with enough false bravado that Roman almost believes him for a second, "I've always been better than you thought I was."

"Oh, sweetie, no—"

"You've always been his favorite," Virgil interrupts, "it's really fucking obvious."

"True."

"Wait, what?"

"I don't have favorites, you two."

"He says, you know, like a liar."

"Mhm."

"Wait," poor Remus says, and fuck Roman wants to hug his brother right now, "wait, I'm—I was—"

Janus softens—see? Favorite—and cups Remus's face properly in his hands, letting Virgil move over to Roman to check that he's alright—which is not the priority right now, but he does appreciate it. "Sweetie, if you don't know how much you were loved, then we've failed more miserably than I thought we ever did."

"He thought you abandoned him," Logan says softly when Remus can't speak, and Janus's head whips around to stare at him, "he thought you were willing to believe he was dead because it was easier."

"Bullshit," Virgil spits, "Remus, that's bullshit, right?"

But Roman's already been through this, and he can only grab for Virgil's hand when Remus suddenly stops being able to make eye contact. Janus looks like he's about to cry again—which is its own level of fucking weird as hell—and Virgil just rushes back over to wrap him up in a hug. The three of them start mumbling together and Logan's expression just softens further as he watches them interact.

Eventually, they step back, wiping away tears with varying levels of discreteness—or in Remus's case, refusing to wipe them at all. Janus attempts to gather himself and looks at Logan.

"I'm no fool. I know this meeting is conditional. State your terms."

"I won't be so brutish as to insist upon such haggling right now," Logan says, "perhaps you should take this as a token of good faith between us."

"Your last 'token of good faith' involved a hundred suitcases stuffed with half-bloated corpses showing up on the City's doorstep. Try again."

"Why the animosity?" He leans back in his chair. "Have I not earned myself any goodwill at all?"

There's a silent stare-down for a few seconds. Then Logan sighs.

"I suppose it was too much to hope that you would be reasonable right away." He stands, adjusting his suit jacket. "Remus, Roman, I believe our time here is up."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Virgil steps between them. "What the fuck do you mean, 'Roman?' Roman's not going anywhere with you!"

Logan just turns and looks at Roman. And Roman…

…is torn. Because he knows the smart thing would be to go back with Janus and Virgil. Logan is right, this isn't the time or place for this negotiation and if they all have time to rest and recover—mainly him—then the next time they actually meet, they might have a chance at actually getting somewhere. Plus, now he knows that Remus is alive and safe, then he might be able to rest at the end of all of this.

But walking away from his brother? Again? That might just finish the both of them off.

"Before you go," Virgil blurts out, "can—can Patton see you first?"

Remus's head whips around. "Patton's here?"

"Yeah, Patton's here, he—fuck, Remus, yeah, he's here. Can he just—before we do anything else? Can he?"

Remus just nods silently and Virgil steps back, muttering into his comm. He glances back at the door and the whole building waits silently.

Patton steps inside and three things happen in quick succession.

One: Patton bursts into tears and starts running forward.

Two: there's an almost imperceptible schink as something metallic slides into place.

Three: Roman lunges up out of his seat and tackles Logan's chair to the ground as he pulls out a gun.

His ribs scream in protest. He ignores it. The gunshot goes wide. Footsteps and shouts come from outside. Someone is yelling. He gets up and picks up the chair, throwing it at Logan. Janus and Virgil are already shouting. Patton's still running toward them. He looks up at Remus.

Shock. Surprise.

The thing he couldn't name before: guilt.

They make eye contact.

He's never been more grateful that Remus is his brother.

He hauls himself to his feet and starts running.

***

"Well," Logan sighs as he hears the four of them have gotten away, "that didn't go precisely as expected, but—"

"You lied to me."

Remus's back is one angry line. His hands are curled into fists.

"You lied to me."

"Remus—"

"You said we wouldn't hurt him unless we had to. You said this would just be a meeting. You lied."

Logan doesn't say anything. Remus just looks off in the direction Roman had run. Because Roman had taken one look at Remus and been able to tell that Remus might have known something, but he hadn't known and hadn't agreed with what just happened.

Roman hasn't abandoned him. He never had.

And neither had the others.

"…what have we done?"

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