#he was looking out for thomas he was manipulating roman for his own benefit

[let-roman-bite-someone]

Janus's characterization was at its peak in SvS pt 1. In this essay, I will...

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Melted Mask

awitchbravestheverge prompt: I don't know if you're still taking prompts but you are a master of hurt/comfort and would sell you my soul for some of that for Janus. Maybe where he's feeling insecure or like he's worn out his welcome post acceptance, or maybe a little touch starved, or both. Preferably with Virgil or Patton as the comforter, but if not thats ok. I just have a never-ending need for fic where people are soft and gentle with the snake boy, and I love everything you write with my whole heart

Thanks for the request, babe!

Read on Ao3

Pairings: DLAMPR, focus on anxceit and moceit, can be platonic or romantic you decide I don’t mind

Warnings: uhhh sympathetic deceit and remus

Word Count: 4804

 “How many masks of your own face are you currently wearing?”

 “At least four.”

Between the gloves, the cape, and the hat, there’s not an awful lot of Janus that is seen most of the time. Not that he particularly minds. There is a certain benefit that layers upon layers of clothing provides. One, they’re perfect for concealing his cane—the others always look so surprised when he summons it from nowhere. Two, he is Dark Side, thanks to Roman’s fantastic naming system. There is an aesthetic standard that must be met. What was he going to do, show up in some ratted old hoodie?

 Three, well—there is an awful lot to look at. If the others are focused on the clasps at his throat, the shock of the yellow gloves, the logo hidden under the black fabric, they’re not looking at him.

 If they were, they’d see his scales.

 He is the only side with a visible animal trait, after all. The scales cover the left side of his face, down beneath his collar. He doesn’t mind the stares—come on, it’s so easy to catch them off guard, how could he?—but sometimes he does wonder if they’ll ever get used to it.

  To him.

 The scales are a reminder. That he’s different. That he’s not like them. He’s not like the others, he doesn’t look like Thomas, at least not to the extent that they do. Thomas doesn’t have golden scales along the side of his face. Thomas doesn’t have a mouth that curves up along his cheek. Thomas doesn’t have a slit-eye pupil. No, no, Thomas is normal.

 How dreadful.

 Then, of course, there are the lies.

 ‘Deceit.’ Such a funny word. And so…polarizing.

 ‘Deceitful,’ ‘dishonest,’ ‘dastardly’—lot of ‘d’s, here, hmm?—all of the words that just mean he’s a liar. And lying must be bad, right? So it follows logically then, because we simply adore logic in this house, that he must be bad.

 He’s not to be trusted, he’s a liar. He’s not honest, he’s a liar. They have to double and triple-check everything he says because he’s a liar.

 They always conveniently seem to forget that you can always trust a dishonest person to be dishonest. It’s the truthful ones you have to watch out for.

 Janus knows he’s a liar. Frankly, he’s quite proud of it. He’s gotten very good at it too; twisting the words together just right in order to tug slightly at a heartstring there, block off just a little rationality there, get the job done. The others always get caught up in his words, too busy focusing on the minutia of it, the details, leaving him free to step around them and speak to Thomas.

 They see the gloves, they see the scales, they see the lies.

 They see the masks.

 Oh, sometimes he’ll put on a little bit more of a show if he needs to make a point, if the normal masks aren’t quite enough to get Thomas to listen. He’ll tie a hoodie around his shoulders, push a pair of glasses up his nose, knot a tie around his neck. Problem is…those ones are a little easier to see through. No matter how hard he tries, all of his disguises end up being a self-portrait.

 Which is how he ended up here.

 “You know the rules,” Patton says, his hands on his hips, “no impersonating others outside of filming!”

 Janus rolls his eyes and idly flicks a speck of dirt off one of his gloves. “Oh, please. You don’t want me to do it during filming either.”

 “No, I don’t, but we made a compromise, kiddo, now we both have to stick to it.”

 Janus raises an eyebrow. “Yes, I’m sure the others will be relieved to hear so.”

 “What have we said about impersonations?”

 He sighs. “The others may be idiots—“

 “Oi!”

 “—but idiots are also deserving of respect,” Janus finishes, glancing at Virgil draped over the back of the couch. “And I would never dream of being anything less than perfectly respectful.”

 Virgil snorts. “What do you even get out of it anyway?” He sits up a little straighter. “Wait, you haven’t been tricking Roman into telling you how to impersonate us better, have you?”

 “Now why would I do that?”

 “Janus!”

 “What? Like you don’t make a habit of going to the others for advice.”

 “There’s a difference between openly asking for it and tricking them into giving it to you.”

 Janus levels a stare at him. “I suppose there is, isn’t there?”

 “Hey!” Patton steps between them. “That’s enough.”

 “Oh, well—“ Janus makes a show of resettling his cape—“if you say so.”

 Patton sighs. “Janus, we are trying, okay? You heard Thomas, you’re…well, you’re more welcome now.”

 “And you’re doing a marvelous job of that.”

 Patton doesn’t quite deflate, but it’s close. “Well, maybe we could all try a little harder.” He gives Janus a pointed look.

 “Yes, I’m sure my efforts will be richly rewarded.”

 “Well, you could start by showing up as yourself more often.”

 “Myself?” Janus gasps theatrically, putting a gloved hand to his scales. “Who’s that?”

 “Dude,” Virgil sniggers—Virgil did always appreciate his sense of humor—“how many masks of your own face are you currently wearing”

 “At least four.”

 Patton lets him go with another verbal slap on the wrist and Virgil flips him off. Janus sinks out, striding down the hallway near his room. It’s quieter here. The walls hum a little less. He can think.

 He hadn’t gone to Roman to gets tips on his acting. He’d gone because Roman doesn’t want to talk to Janus.

 Janus, the liar. Janus, the manipulator. Janus, the Dark Side.

 Janus shuts the door of his room and instinctively slumps, the cape hanging off his shoulders. He knows Patton means well, and Virgil’s…Virgil, but sometimes it stings a little more than it should. Not that the others will ever see it.

 He’ll never forget the look on Thomas’s face when Logan said he was the side that acts with the one priority of self-preservation. Of how it instantly demonized the idea of protecting yourself. Of Thomas keeping himself safe.

 He looks at his hands, sees the gloves. They still don’t fit quite right, even after all these years. He can’t get the seams to run down the sides of the fingers, not curve around to the front or the back. It really shouldn’t be this difficult. Especially considering how much use he’s gotten out of them.

 Lying kept Thomas alive. It kept him safe. He helped keep Thomas safe. When Virgil couldn’t breathe, when Logan faltered, when Patton froze, Janus would quietly make his way over to Roman and whisper a suggestion. Just a suggestion. To lie. To keep Thomas safe. To get them out of here. And it saved them. So many times.

 Janus walks over to the mirror. It’s a fairly modest thing; about the size of a small sink, oval, large enough so he can see himself completely if he takes a few steps back. He ignores his own face and reaches for the golden latch on the side. He turns it.

 The cabinet swings open to reveal a dark velvet interior with several small podiums. Each has a thin mask laid atop it. They gleam in the low light of the room. Janus reaches out and carefully makes sure each is perfectly centered. As he does so, his gloves linger on the fine print beneath the podiums.

 Everyone has masks. Versions of themselves to present to the world when they need to. A mask that keeps you safe, a mask that keeps you alive, a mask that has the courage to speak when you don’t. The mask they wear around their homophobic relatives, the mask they wear when they need to make a phone call, the mask they wear when they need to pretend they’re something they’re not.

 Janus is very, very good at making masks.

 He never wears these. These are for Thomas. When Thomas needs help, Janus slips one of these out of the cabinet and sets it on the desk in front of the mirror. He looks at it, then at the mirror, and works. These masks are what helps Thomas.

 He shuts the cabinet with a decisive click, suddenly confronted with his own face.

Janus is so good at making masks that he doesn’t even need a mask to wear one.

 A mask because you’re the bad guy. A mask because you can never be trusted. A mask because when you try to be vulnerable they won’t listen. A mask because they don’t want you, they want the character that you embody to survive.

 He pities the others sometimes. They don’t have these masks and they hurt. They can’t distance themselves, pull away just a little more, embody a role so that when it’s over, when they’re safe again, they can take it off and breathe. But they don’t. So they just get hurt. Over and over and over.

 Janus’s lips involuntarily curl up into a snarl. The hand on the mirror closes into a fist.

 They’re not supposed to get hurt. That’s not how this is supposed to work.

 He’s not supposed to hurt them.

 Part of him argues that he has to. If he keeps working the way he’s been working he can get right to Thomas, who is who needs the most protection. If he tries to do it their way they risk Thomas getting hurt and Janus won’t have that.

 Part of him whispers that this is good for them. If he can make them a little tougher, help them get thicker skin, they’ll be safer. And then it won’t matter if they hate him. They’ll be safe. That’s all he cares about.

 The rest of him—

 …well, the rest of him is currently the reason he’s having trouble looking in the mirror right now.

 The problem with wearing so many masks is that it becomes harder and harder to figure what’s the mask and what’s not. And he’s gotten so good at making them that now…now he doesn’t have to think about it.

 A mask for when Logan asks to debate about philosophy. A mask for when Remus wants him to help him and Roman make something new. A mask for when Patton wants to bake. A mask for when Virgil comes to him for help.

 A mask for all of them. A mask for none of them.

 Janus doesn’t want to wear the masks all the time. He wants them to be warm, to care, to smile when he comes into the room, or even ask where he is. He wants to laugh as Patton smears batter all over his nose accidentally. He wants to listen to Logan ramble about some new advancement in quantum gravity. He wants Virgil to come plop down next to him while everyone else is in the living room. He wants Remus to stay with him while they watch the others get into ridiculous fights over board games. He wants Roman to not be afraid to come talk to him.

 He wants.

 Janus is selfish.

 But he isn’t stupid.

 He knows they don’t want him. He knows they don’t want him, even without the masks. Deep down, he knows they don’t need him either.

 But Thomas does.

 So here Janus will stay, in the dark, in the cold, wearing too many masks of his own face to keep count.

—————————————————————

The Mindscape is cold. It never quite feels solid. Drafts blow in and out of the walls, through the little gaps in the floor, from places that Janus can’t find, no matter how many times he looks for them. He bundles himself up in his cloak and his hat and does his best to hold still, sink in as much warmth as he can. He sneaks up behind the others, pressing himself up near them, purring in their ears, just to snatch their body heat. They always shove him away with flustered protests and blushy little faces. They’re so adorable.

 Plus, he knows that’s all he’s ever really going to get from them.

 But he’s cold, goddamnit. Why do they keep the air conditioning so high in this house? Snakes are cold-blooded. They get slow. Lethargic. Hypothermic, if it gets very bad.

 Janus can’t afford to be slow.

 So he wears his gloves, his cape, his hat. He stands opposite the window so he can get the most sunlight. He finds the patches of warmth where none of the others will find him and he can curl up for the warmth he needs...

 …and fine, maybe it’s a little more than just being cold.

 The others are…touchy. Patton throws his arm around just about everyone. Bumps his hip against theirs. Pats their shoulders, squeezes their hands, kisses their cheeks. Roman sweeps people into his arms, pulls them in for hugs, keeps an arm around their waists for as long as he’s allowed. Remus can and will just tackle whoever he wants. Logan holds himself a little further away, but even he’ll lay a comforting hand on someone’s arm. Janus will admit he was shocked when Virgil started exhibiting spider characteristics. That Side is a cat and you will not convince him otherwise. And everyone knows if a cat falls asleep on you, you’re not allowed to move until it wakes up.

 Not that Virgil has fallen asleep on him recently.

 Janus is not too proud to admit that at first, he didn’t want their touches. He had a job to do, he didn’t need to be distracted. But now…now he does.

 He sees the way they move around each other and it stings. The accidental brushes he gets from standing too close or when they aren’t thinking about it sear through layers and layers of clothing to burn into his skin. When he stays close to them—close, but not too close—his whole side begins to tingle, reaching for them, their warmth, for them. But now it’s too late. His mask is already firmly in place and they know Deceit hates being touched.

 That’s another reason for the layers. For the gloves.

 Janus knows that if they ever touch him directly, skin to skin, his mask will shatter. And that is too dangerous to risk. With his gloves, his cape, his hat, his masks, the only way that would happen is if one of them tried to touch his face.

 And that is certainly very likely indeed.

 The clothes give him a barrier. A last line of defense. No touch is better than unexpected touch.

 But that doesn’t stop him from being cold.

 He can tell it’s going to happen when he can’t quite close his fingers around the end of his staff in the middle of their conversation. His gloves don’t catch on the wood quite right and he has to fumble to grab it properly. He glances up. No one’s looking at him.

  Are they ever?

 He tucks his hands smoothly out of sight, frantically burrowing them into his cloak to see if they’ll warm up. He locks his knees. No good. His fingers start to hurt as he flexes them. They’re still not moving faster. It’s cold.

 He glances at the clock. Two minutes. He can last two minutes. Or so he thinks, until his jaw starts to clench. He clenches it harder, ignoring the protest from his neck, his shoulders, trying to make it stop. He takes a deep slow breath and tries to relax, to stop his muscles from tensing. It works, barely.

 One minute.

 His hands aren’t responding properly. He can barely move his fingers. He just needs to get out of here. If he gets out of here he can get warm. He has his electric blanket, he has everything he needs. He just needs to leave.

 Thirty seconds.

 The conversation draws to a close and Janus nods deeply, tossing one last barb over his shoulder as he sinks out, only to collapse in the hallway as soon as he does. A draft flows out right next to his shoulder, freezing fingers dancing up his arm, along the back of his neck, diving into his collar to snatch more of his warmth. He curses, heaves himself to his feet, and makes it to his room. It’s so cold.

 Something tugs in his chest. No, no—!

 “I suppose there must be a good reason for summoning me back,” Janus drawls, snapping his gloves right back into place as he appears in the living room.

 Patton and Virgil stare back at him. Patton fidgets with his hands. “W-well, we, uh, I had a question for you.”

 Damn. “Well.” Janus spreads his arms, trying to play off how slow he’s moving for dramatic effect. “I’m here. Ask away.”

 “I, uh, a few days ago you mentioned that you didn’t feel as welcome here.” Patton looks at him with such an expression of sincerity that it makes Janus’s tongue itch. “And I wanted to know what I could do to help.”

 “Aren’t you sweet?”

 Patton won’t be deterred, it seems. He stares at Janus, resolute as ever. It’s so cold in here he’s going to start slurring in a moment.

 “Janus?”

 “That is my name, yes.”

 “Are you…are you feeling alright?”

 Janus gestures to himself, movements growing slower by the second. “I’m right here, aren’t I?”

 Slow. Too slow.

 Patton frowns. He gives him a look. “You don’t seem like you normally are, are you sure?”

 “I am entirely in one piece.”

 “That doesn’t answer my question.”

 “Honey, if you’re looking for a straight answer, I’m afraid you’re looking in the wrong place.”

 Virgil moves. Right, Virgil was here too. Janus is slow. Too slow. He can’t move. He can’t get away. His mask forms a bored expression on his face, quirking an eyebrow. Virgil approaches him and holds out a hand. A cold part of Janus’s chest leaps.

 The lips of the mask part. “And what exactly do you intend to do with that?”

 “This,” Virgil mutters, and cups the side of Janus’s face.

 Everything stops.

 Distantly, he feels Virgil’s hand leave his face. Hears something about being too cold. Sees a blur of blue rush away. But all he can focus on is—

  Warm. Virgil touched you. Warm. Warm. So warm. Keep the mask on. Don’t let the mask slip. Warm. If the mask slips everything will be ruined. Warm. Don’t you remember how to take the mask off? Virgil. Patton. Warm.

 “Janus? Janus!”

 Janus blinks. Virgil is still standing in front of him. There’s a little wrinkle between his brows. The mask is frozen in place, iced into a neutral expression.

 “Hey,” Virgil says quietly, “you’re freezing, bud. You gotta get warm.”

 Janus can’t speak. The mask is so cold.

 “You remember what happens when you get too cold,” Virgil continues, taking a step closer. Janus can’t move. Virgil’s frown deepens and he tilts his head. “What’s going on, Janus, you don’t normally let it get this bad.”

  Yes, Virgil, we’re aware.

 “You could’ve asked, dude,” Virgil says, taking another step closer, a little exasperation mingling with the concern, “any of us.”

 The mask smirks. Barely. “Yes, because I’m sure everyone would be so willing to cuddle me so I could steal their body heat.”

 “You don’t know that.” The mask doesn’t move. Virgil glances over his shoulder. When he speaks next, his voice is lowered to a whisper.

 “You don’t have to keep that on right now, Jan,” he says quietly, “it’s okay. It’s just me. I know you. You can…you know. Emote and stuff.”

 Janus huffs a laugh. It’s weak. 

 “You ever wear a mask so long you forget how to take it off?”

 Vigil pauses. “Huh?”

 “Ever pretended to be something for so long you forget which is real and which isn’t?” Janus’s smile turns sad. “Made yourself believe it too?”

 Virgil’s eyes close for a second. When he opens them, the concern in his gaze takes the last of the warm breath from Janus’s lungs. “Does this have anything to do with…?” He waves in Janus’s direction.

 Janus nods, slowly, so slowly. “I can’t. Because I’ve been…I’ve been trained out of it. I built my masks to hide behind. And now I can’t take them off.”

 “And we haven’t been good about helping you do that, huh.” He sounds so tired. He’s been through so much…

 “I’m…”

 The mask won’t let him apologize.

  Like they would ever accept it.

 “No, no,” Virgil says, “don’t apologize. You aren’t to blame for what you’ve been put through.”

  Oh, Virgil…

 Virgil glances over his shoulder. Then he shakes his head. “Just…look, go.”

 “What?”

 “I know this isn’t the time to talk about stuff. You’re not in any sort of shape to do that and Patton will understand. Go get warm.” He gives Janus a pointed look. “You take care of yourself first, okay?”

 He tries. He goes back to his room and buries himself in blankets, in pillows, in more layers than he can stand. The pressure is good but it’s still so cold. The weight of the electric blanket is nothing compared to the warmth of Virgil’s hand. Everything in here smells sterile, clinical, detached. It’s all so cold.

  You take care of yourself.

 The last sentence rings through his head late at night. He wants. But everyone’s probably asleep by now, and god knows they need to sleep. Surely it’ll be alright if he just goes to the living room? That’s not too far, right?

 There’s a fire going in the fireplace—since when did they have a fireplace? And there’s someone sitting on the couch. Hmm. Maybe if…if he’s quiet, if he doesn’t make too much noise, he can slip in and soak up some of the warmth. 

 Virgil turns around.

 “Hey, Janus,” he murmurs, standing, and comes over to him. “Can’t sleep?”

 Janus shakes his head. It’s warm in here, but he’s still cold. Virgil can see that, apparently.

 “Here,” he says, handing him a cup of tea that appeared out of thin air, “drink. It’ll warm you up.”

 Janus takes it cautiously. Isn’t it Virgil’s? There’s no way Virgil would’ve know Janus was coming…right?

 “This is my third one, figure I should let you catch up first.”

 He gestures to the couch, an encouraging smile on his lips.

 “Sit. C’mon”

 Janus does, sinking into the plush couch and cradling the warm mug in his hands. The couch groans as Virgil sits next to him. He can feel Virgil just out of reach, just there…

 “I like watching the fire,” comes a low voice from next to him as he sips the tea. “Helps me think. Or stop thinking.”

 He keeps talking in that low voice and the warm tea flows through Janus, sapping the cold slowly away from his body.

 Distantly, he feels someone steering him down onto the couch, and heavy arms around him.

 “Or maybe you just need a cuddle. Go to sleep, Janus.”

—————————————————————

 “ — stop twitching, Remus! You’ll make a mistake!”

 “Stop tugging his arm all over the place and then you won’t.”

 “Will you two pipe the fuck down? You’re gonna wake him up.”

 “Says the loudmouth!”

 “Roman, stop it.”

 “Stop moving his arm!”

 What is…? He’s lying on something. It’s warm, really warm. It smells like…coffee, makeup, and…cinnamon? He shifts slightly, and oh he slept on his neck wrong. A low groan escapes his throat.

 His pillow stiffens. “Shit. He’s awake.”

 “Good going, Remus.”

 “You were the one yelling!”

 “Shut the fuck up, both of you.” The chest underneath him vibrates. “Shh, snake-face, go back to sleep. You’re alright. Go back to sleep.”

 Janus shifts again, trying to look around, but he’s held down by another strong arm. A hand cards itself through his hair—where’s his hat? “Shh, be still, buddy, you’re okay. Can’t we get you back to sleep?”

 “What…’s going on?” His tongue feels heavy, swelling up in his mouth.

 “I believe the chances of getting him back to sleep will increase if you tell him what you’re doing.”

 It’s…Logan? He appears, fuzzy but definitely there, over the back of the couch. Janus tries to turn to make it easier to see him but his right arm is pinned and he can’t move—

 “Easy, J, easy, shh, shh, you’re okay, you’re safe, just keep your arm nice and still, okay?” Virgil, it’s Virgil he’s lying on, runs his hand through his hair again. “I’m pretty sure Roman would pitch a fit.”

 “Hah.” Roman snorts from somewhere close to the ground. “If this got ruined, yours would be too.”

 “If you hadn’t insisted on going last,” Remus says, “this wouldn’t’ve been an issue.”

 And then he feels it. Something is drawn sharply across his right wrist.

 “Shh, shh, Janus, breathe, breathe, you’re okay, damnit, Princey, stop! You’re making him freak out!”

 It’s gone, the contact is gone. His arm is still hanging over the edge of the couch but it’s held there by Virgil’s arm and another hand.

 “Hey there, Snakey.” Remus appears over Virgil’s shoulder. “You’re okay. We’re just making sure you’re okay.”

 Roman snorts. “There’s something wrong with how you phrased that.”

 Then suddenly Patton appears out of nowhere and doesn’t surprise him at all. Luckily, or unluckily, Janus is far too exhausted and disoriented to react more than rucking up the fabric of Virgil’s hoodie a little. Patton looks at the couch.

 “There isn’t room, Pop-star,” Virgil says, lazily stretching so his bulk takes up all of it, moving slow enough so Janus isn’t jostled too much. Then Virgil yelps and their lower bodies are lifted and he can feel the couch sag under another body.

 “What the hell, Pat.”

 “Now there’s room.” Patton reaches up and ruffles Virgil’s hair.

 There are so many people and it’s warm but why are they all here? Did he miss something? Does he need to leave?

 “Looks good,” Patton says, interrupting his train of thought, “it’s coming along well.”

 Logan clears his throat. “Would someone like to inform Janus about what exactly ‘this’ is?”

 “Oh, right, sorry, Snakey,” Remus says, crouching back down, “let’s show you.”

 Virgil turns over slowly, lifting his arm and using the leverage to shift Janus onto his chest. “Jeez, Janus, you’re light. Patton, have we been feeding him enough?”

 “I suspect there’s been a lack of communication, kiddo.”

 “Now is not the time to yell at him, Patton,” Logan says quietly.

 “I’m not yelling! But yes, now is not the time.”

 Virgil coaxes his head to one side, and Roman lifts his arm by the back of his hand.

 Janus’s mouth drops open.

 There are little animals drawn on his right arm, from his wrist to his elbow. There’s a navy cat, simple and clean, near the vein. A light blue frog with little glasses. A purple and black spider. A green octopus with large black tentacles. And an unfinished red dragon right near his wrist.

 “If I could finish,” Roman asks softly.

 “Alright, calm down, here.” Remus lowers his arm and holds it steady. Roman puts the brush back to his arm and starts painting again. Virgil and Remus start arguing about something, probably, but he can’t focus on anything besides the soft bristles of the brush on his arm, the rumble of Virgil’s chest, and the warmth of the weight on his legs.

 Logan stands behind his head. “You don’t need to wear a mask here, Janus,” he says softly, “not unless you want to.”

 No one else hears him except for Patton. He gives Janus’s leg a squeeze.

 It’s warm. It’s so warm.

 He wants to watch as Roman paints the dragon but he’s tired but he doesn’t want to sleep yet…not just yet.

 Patton reaches towards his face. His finger lands on his forehead and drags gently down the bridge of his nose.

 What…?

 Oh.

 As he follows his touch, Janus’s eyes drift closed.

 It’s so warm.

 And a warm hand on his cheek wipes the last of the mask away.

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[serpentinesomebody]

Why Janus Planned The Entirety Of His Own Acceptance Arc From The Very Beginning

I think that Janus planned everything. From his reveal all the way to POF, he mapped it all out like a game of chess. And I think I finally know why, too.

So let’s start at his goals. He represents deceit, and has the goal of self-preservation. Additionally, however, he wants the one thing all sides want: for Thomas to listen to them.

Janus’ introduction is very different from Virgil’s. Thomas didn’t even know about him. And when things settle down, we get an idea as to what his first impression of Janus is: he’s scared of him, and skeptical, too. He doesn’t trust him. But this is exactly what Janus wanted. But why? Why present himself as a frightening and untrustworthy side? How could that possibly benefit him or Thomas?

Well, let’s look at what would have happened if just appeared and introduced himself as, well, himself. No disguises, no theatre scenario, none of that.

Well for one, Thomas probably wouldn’t be as afraid of him. What scared Thomas so much, I think, was that Janus was able to disguise himself for almost half an hour and he didn’t even know. And until Patton appeared at the end, he truly believed that he had no morality, that it was Janus the entire time. He gets the impression that this new side can manipulate him, and quite easily, too. So not only does he not trust this new side, but he’s scared of him, too.

But if Janus introduced himself upfront? Thomas still wouldn’t trust him, but there wouldn’t be much fear either. Thomas would likely just see him as a simple nuisance. He just doesn’t naturally invoke the same fear that Virgil does. Without the fear factor, he only has distrust.

But why would Thomas not trust him if he introduced himself upfront?

Well, he has multiple things going against him. His primary function is deceit. Not exactly helping his case. But let’s say they look past that. Well, he also has a ‘snake face,’ which really doesn’t make him come across as an honest, well-meaning person. Lastly, pretty much all the sides do not like him. Virgil makes his full-on hatred pretty obvious, and Logan certainty doesn’t seem to like him much either. Patton sees him as an antagonist, his opposite. Roman appreciates his charm, but still sees him as a creepy villain nonetheless. All the sides are against him, so how could he convince Thomas to trust him?

But if trying to intimidate Thomas into listening to him won’t work, and being honest won’t work, what will?

Deceiving him.

He knows that even if he’s honest, Thomas still will not trust him. So if Thomas isn’t going to trust him either way, he needs to find a way to manipulate the situation so that even if Thomas won’t listen to him at the moment, he still has control over the situation.

The first episode with Janus goes perfectly according to plan.

One thing that always struck me as odd was that this was the situation that Janus decided he needed to be involved in? Some texting drama?

But that’s exactly what Janus needed. He needed something small, something he could ensure he could manage. If he had made his first appearance in SVS, that would be way too much for Thomas to take in at once, and Thomas wouldn’t have any clue as to what Janus was like. Janus introduced himself over something minor, something insignificant that he wasn’t truly needed for, for the sole purpose of leaving an impression. He meant to reveal himself at the end.

Now let’s move on to SVS. This time, Janus drops the disguise much earlier. And it’s so, so obvious that this was intentional. Janus says things he knows Logan would never say. Hell, Janus doesn’t often use metaphors himself. He proposes hypothetical situations and uses similes, but when does he ever say anything like ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’?

So if he dropped the disguise so early, why even bother doing it in the first place? Simple: he just needed to buy himself a bit more time before Logan came. He needed to ensure that the courtroom scenario was already set up. Janus knew that Logan would be upset that he wasn’t included in a courtroom scenario and would possibly try to insert himself into one of the roles that Janus didn’t want him in.

This begs the question, though, why have Logan on the sidelines?

Because Janus knows that Logan is an intelligent and professional person, and would likely point out that the trial wasn’t exactly following legal code. So, Janus benches him.

As for Patton, well, it just makes the most sense that he would be in the position he was. Patton is the one that Janus is trying to oppose.

But what about Virgil? Why have Virgil as the jury? Why decide that the one person who hates him the most, who is the most biased against him, gets to decide who wins the case? Simple: Janus knows that Virgil will still let him win the case. But how does he have so much faith in that? Because he knows Virgil. They have history, and by now, Virgil’s actions are predictable to him. Virgil is a pessimist by nature, and blunt. He won’t lie to Thomas and say that he thinks he’s a good person just to spare Thomas’ feelings. Janus knows that despite what Virgil thinks of him, he will judge Thomas as guilty.

As for Roman? Janus may not know Roman as well as Virgil, but Roman is predictable. When it comes to morals, he will follow Patton, no matter what. He has to in order to keep up his image as the hero. So, Janus knows that Virgil will judge Thomas as guilty, and he knows that Roman will sentence Thomas to go to the wedding because he knows that Roman knows that that’s what Patton wants.

That was his entire goal for that episode: ensure that Thomas goes to the wedding.

And the reason he needs Thomas to go to the wedding is because it sets the stage for POF.

Janus knows that Thomas will be upset after the wedding, and he knows that Thomas’ mood will have an effect on Patton. His first goal in the episode, aside from bringing up a few facts, is to get Patton to snap. He needs Thomas to see that sometimes Patton doesn’t always know everything, that things are more complicated then that. And, more importantly, he needs to present himself as the hero this time.

As I said, Janus knows that Roman will side with Patton no matter what. So if Roman is by Patton’s side, then who’s there for Thomas?

He is.

Janus presents himself as the hero. This scene is such a crucial moment. He’s clearly trying to portray the image that he is on Thomas’ side.

But if that’s the case, then why does he dodge Patton’s attack and let Thomas get hit instead?

He feels like he has no other choice. Patton is still insisting that it’s dangerous for Thomas to take self-care too far. The only way Janus can get Patton to see that he’s hurting Thomas is...to let Patton literally, physically hurt Thomas. This, I think, is probably the most difficult thing Janus has ever had to do thus far. Thomas’ safety and happiness is his one goal, there is no one who he puts before Thomas, not even himself.

It’s the hardest thing Janus has had to do, but it works. Patton finally realizes, finally admits that he doesn’t know everything.

Janus is so close to getting accepted.

But there’s one problem left: Roman.

Roman doesn’t trust Janus. And here’s the thing: Janus needed Patton to accept him, yes, but Roman was also a crucial component. I don’t think Janus’ intention was to antagonize Roman, rather, I think he wanted Roman’s approval. Pushing Thomas’ hero down doesn’t help anyone, especially Thomas. He has Patton’s approval, now he needs Roman’s. He needs Roman, Thomas’ hero, to see him as one too. And that, that is where he made a horrible mistake.

He tried to get Roman to take a liking to him in the courtroom, not by much, of course, since he still wanted Roman to sentence Thomas to the wedding after all, but enough for Roman to not be completely against him.

But he screwed up. Roman realized that Janus’ praise in the courtroom wasn’t 100% honest, and now he full-on hates Janus.

The way Janus tries to fix this, I think, is by giving his name. Granted, I’m sure that he would have done it sometime during POF anyway, but he thinks that it’s enough to change Roman’s mind and it isn’t.

This, I think, is the real reason why Janus is so harsh when Roman makes fun of his name.

What he expects is going to happen, is that Roman is going to warm up to him a bit. Or at the least, that he’ll stop spiraling/panicking and take a minute to truly listen to Janus, perhaps allow him to explain himself.

But that’s not what happens. And Janus just snaps.

Because he was so close, so close to wrapping up his acceptance in a perfect, neat little bow and it is ruined.

Sure, he still had his relationship with Virgil and Logan to work on, but if Patton and Roman were on his side, Thomas would be too. And it would be three against two, meaning he’d likely get a permanent seat at the table. He could fix his relationship with Virgil and Logan later, but he needed a seat at the table. Yes, his plan is kinda rushed, but he wants to get to Thomas as fast as possible so he can help him with things like this in the future-things where there could be even more important things at stake. I’m sure he didn’t want to hurt anyone, but he felt like he had to go with this plan in order to help in the long-term.

But Roman laughs at his name and he is so frustrated, so tired, and he doesn’t know how else he can try to get Roman on his side and he snaps.

Afterwards, you can tell he regrets it. He knows he messed up.

And when Thomas says that Roman is still his hero, Roman turns to Janus in a silent question of ‘is he lying?’ But Janus interprets it as, ‘is he telling the truth?’ and so he nods. And when he sees that Roman is upset, he realizes that there was a miscommunication between them, but before he can do anything about it, Roman is already gone.

TLDR: All of Janus’ actions are planned to get him a seat at the table, except for when he snaps and calls Roman ‘the evil twin,’ and fucks up majorly.

[xxcr-ativityxx]

okay but you know how we always make janus be the bad guy in most disney aus? well, i was thinking of a princess and the frog au (as i am watching it while completing schoolwork) and heres my character choices and why.

Roman as Princess Charlotte

I chose roman to be charlotte because of the way these two characters act. roman is the "dreamy, fantasy guy" and while supportive of his friends, he is also majorly attached to the idea of romance. charlotte is the same way. she's deadset on finding her prince charming, but makes sure to put her best friend - tiana - above everything else.

Remus as Prince Naveen

i chose remus to be this self centered prince for that exact reason. while remus doesn't exactly show signs of self centered-ness, he does act out in ways that turn the attention on him. this is what naveen does in quite a bit of the movie. not only that, but remus has a musical talent and he'd likely fall victim to the manipulation of the shadow man if convinced he'd be rich with people that loved him.

Logan as Shadow Man / Dr Facilier

now i know what you're thinking - "mj! why would you make logan be the bad guy? wouldn't janus be the better choice?" well, i say to you that that is the point of this post. logan and shadow man have very few similarities, or none at all really. however logan would work as shadow man because dr facilier does act on logic through the movie. dark logic that is seen as manipulation, but logic nonetheless. logan would be great at studying the dark arts and using that for his own benefit.

Virgil as Tiana

another choice that most people likely wouldn't agree with. however, virgil isnt just anxiety or thomas' fight or flight instincts. anxiety can also act as motivation and adrenaline to acheieve something. afterall, roman wouldn't have created half of what he did without virgil being around. virgil is also a hard worker and thus would make a good example of how hard work can bring good things.

Janus as Mama Odie

bet you didn't see that coming! yep, janus would be mama odie. she does voodoo and magic, but for the benefit of others. we see that she tries to help naveen and tiana see what they truly need in the world (though they are dense about it). janus isn't just deceit. he's also self preservation. he has proven that a bit of selfishness is good for you. what better way for him to be self preservant than to be the most respected voodoo queen in the bayou?

Patton as Louis

again, seems to not make sense, right? however, it does. louis is a very great friend that just wants to help despite being a scary looking aligator. he offers to go with them and help them on their journey to becoming human, even if it is risky for him. patton is much like that; he would do whatever it takes to help his friends even if it meant risking his life.

Thomas as Ray

eh.. not exactly the brightest idea in the crayon box, but it does work. thomas is a very musical man, as well as family and friend oriented. he works better when he's working with people he cares about. that's how ray is as well.

Orange as Lawrence

oh? so you thought i wouldn't add 07734 to this list? well, you'd be wrong to assume that. orange would be lawrence because while they're both techincally "side characters", they are much more relevant to the story than we truly give them credit for. orange has made a major impact on the ts sides series to the point i will confidentally say he'd willingly work with logan to bring chaos into this world.

[imma-potatoo]

hello there fellow angst fan! may i request some angsty janus headcanons? additionally how the others react to his struggles? (u!sides are okay if you want to write them)

Angsty Janus with u!sides?

One of my favourites!

Under a cut because it can get pretty dark at times

Janus has a lot of problems eating

This one mainly stems from living on the dark side

The dark have of the mind is known for it's (excuse the language) shitty living conditions

The walls and floors are concrete, the fridge is full of half rotten food, the bedrooms are so small they can only fit a bed.

And despite Janus being the youngest of the sides, he constantly gave up his own miniscule meals for the other dark sides

To this day, he still has a hard time eating when he doesn't know that the others have

Touch starved to hell and back

The only time Janus ever got any hugs or physical affection, was when Virgil was a dark side and it was to help ground him during panic episodes

Which Virgil used for his own benefit, practically blackmailing Janus with affection to do what ever he wanted

Which leads me to...

Janus is at the bottom of the food chain in the dark sides

The dark side is... very different from the rest of the mind

It runs on a power structure, which is based on fear, control, and manipulation

Orange is at the very top of the food chain.

He makes all the decisions, and rules with fear and violence. I would add more here but we don't know who Orange actually is-

Virgil was second in command. He was aggressive and forced the other sides below him to comply with what he wanted. He would take what the sides would want more then anything and hold it above their heads, just in front of them, but out of reach, and he would continue to drag and pull that thing until the side snapped. For Remus, he constantly compared him to Roman, telling him at every chance that he was inadequate. For Janus, he would constantly bring up Thomas's opinions on lying, and how Thomas would hate him if he ever met him. He would also withhold physical affection. Blackmail runs rampant with the dark sides.

Remus is the third in the food chain. He rarely gets to make any decisions for himself or for the dark sides, but he doesn't overly mind too much. He finds making important decisions boring and uninteresting, so he tends to skip the important meetings. However. Remus is intrusive thoughts, he feeds off Virgil's power. And Remus, gets bored. And his idea of fun is deliberately breaking others arm to see how the blood would flow.. And Remus can't go for people higher on the food chain. You see the problem for Janus.

Janus is at the very bottom. He makes no decisions for the dark side and is actively discouraged to go to meetings. He was guilty tripped from the very second he was formed, and he honestly doesn't know any different. He believes that guilt tripping and manipulation is how the world works, and if you can't act first, then you'll going to be on the chopping block. However Janus has one card to play, the ability to repress sides.

Repressing a side limits their power and influence. And Janus refused to allow the other darks to influence Thomas in any way. Things always slipped through the cracks however

Virgil slipped through the cracks one time when Remus was bored

Remus manipulated Janus into letting him go

Janus actually hates his outfit. But Orange forces him to wear it because the dark sides have a dress code

Janus has agoraphobia (the fear of open spaces)

Janus actively hides his interests and favourite things

The light side isn't that much better then the dark side

There's less physical "persuasion", but the manipulation and guilt tripping is still minorly in effect. But mainly in judgement, there's a lot of effort to fit in and be like the other sides

Janus has a lot of texture issues with food, but is terrified to tell anyone about it

His panic response is to lie

He has tried to rip out his scales before

He thinks that if he ducked out, no one would ever come after him

After all, who could ever love a liar?

His phone's passcode is 50 characters long

He has an entire playlist dedicated to talking him down from ducking out or swallowing a handful of pills

He desperately needs a hug

He refused to tell his name to anyone before POF, and was actually really self conscious of it

He has a bit of an alcohol problem, but he would never admit it

He gets summoned often by the other sides blaming him for something he didn't do

He has a really hard time sorting through his lies

Honestly has no clue when was the last time he got a good sleep

The other sides are generally concerned

They see every flinch, every rushed lie, and every panic response

Remus and Virgil can feel the guilt eating them alive

They desperately want to fix things but have no idea how

Patton keeps trying to give Janus food, but the second he turns around, he's gone

Logan keeps trying to talk about coping mechanisms, but Janus always disappears

Remus and Virgil even looking at him, makes him run away

Remus and Virgil know that they fucked up. They fucked up so so badly. But they can't seem to fix it

The other sides are trying so hard to fix things, but no matter what they do, it doesn't work

It never works

Janus hasn't been able to trust people in such a long time

And he's crashing

[mimssides]

Words are hard and there are only so many Ways to misinterpret a Hug: Part 4

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___

The air was tense. Virgil sat on the back lean of the couch crossing his arms. Roman sat to his left on the couch looking down to his hands, while Logan stood to their right his look fixed on the hallway where Patton and Janus would come through. At least if Patton was to succeed and get Janus out of his room.

“Oh, don’t make such a face! It’s gonna be fine,” they heard Patton say and Virgil carefully watched the entrance.

“I cannot fathom how you still don’t believe that yourself,” they heard Janus answer and just then the two sides walked into their field of vision.

Janus halted. He looked directly at Virgil, who stared right back at him with a blank expression. Of course, he would be here as well. Of course. This was a meeting the Light Sides had called him for. And Virgil was one of them.

Quickly, Janus lifted his chin a little and tried to feign an untouched look, which only earned him a huff from the anxious side.

“Afraid I’d bite you, Dee? Or what was that expression about?” Virgil teased humourlessly.

Janus couldn’t use this snark right now. He was in no state to deal with it. But alas he had too and decided to be more careful this time. Not to say something he would regret.

“Just surprised by the welcome committee, dear Virgil. Nothing else.”

Virgil raised his eyebrows but didn’t reply and Janus finally followed Patton over to the couch. Warily he eyed Logan who remained standing and gave him a curious look. He had astoundingly blue eyes, Janus’s mind remarked brilliantly and Janus felt his human side flush. Great. That would not be a problem at all.

To his luck Patton cleared his throat and pulled the attention over to him, so he could get his mind off of Logan for a moment. Quietly, he watched as Patton put his arm on Roman’s back and then looked to the three left-brained sides with a weak smile, while Roman still looked down into his lap.

“So, uhm,” Patton began lastly looking to Logan before focusing back on Janus, “we thought that it might be a good idea to see where we’re standing right now. What are the things we will need to work on and mind while talking to the others? I’m not asking of anyone to apologize or forgive just yet or ever but I do believe we should be on the same page so we can continue working with one another. For Thomas’s sake at least. Would that be alright with everyone?”

Roman nodded and Logan agreed with an “Affirmative”. Virgil grumbled something like a yes and Janus found himself nodding and said: “Doesn’t work with me at all.”

Patton smiled a tiny bit more genuine and took a deep breath.

“So, I think, I should start, since I created a lot of this whole chaos. So, I have apologized to Roman for giving him a lot of mixed messages and making him feel abandoned and betrayed. I will work on it and I know you have your needs and wants and I will be more accepting and supportive of them in the future.”

Roman nodded again and Janus noted how his shoulders relaxed a little under Patton’s hand before Patton continued talking gently: “I have also apologized to Virgil for not listening more to his concerns and not taking him seriously enough. I also asked of him to maybe open up about what happened between him and you, Janus, so we work on that as well, but we can let you do that on your own if that’s what you want. And I also have apologized to Logan for making him feel like his points don’t have a place in our conversation if it’s not for the benefit of Thomas’s well-being. You’re always welcome to chime in, buddy and I am sorry I made you feel otherwise.”

“Me too,” it came weakly from Roman.

Janus watched intently as Roman looked up for a moment and locked eyes with Logan with honest guilt in his eyes. Good for the teacher, Janus bitterly thought. Then Roman looked back down to his lap and inhaled a bit of air. The others all waited knowing quite well that he was about to speak next.

“I’m sorry for being needlessly harsh and lashing out so much,” Roman said painfully truthful Janus realized. “I’ll try to get better. But I’m not ready to forgive yet but I can accept the apology so I hope that counts for something.”

“It does. It really does, Roman,” Patton reaffirmed and Janus got a glimpse of a little grin from the prince as he leaned a little more against Patton’s side.

“Thanks, padre. I’m-” Roman stopped and looked up to Janus – “I don’t know how I feel about you. I don’t know what I want right now or what I am supposed to believe and I feel like whatever you’re saying is to manipulate me after I tried to advocate for your point back in the courtroom. I’ll accept that you’re one of us, that Thomas wants you and that you have things to deliver to the table. I just don’t know how to trust you and I’m not sure if I want to trust you ever after everything. But I will admit that I should not hav-”

“It’s fine, Roman.”

Janus gulped. The laughing had stung. But it had never warranted the response Janus had given. Not in a million years. Not that Roman could know that. Not that the others could but Janus understood that he had shot a man with a canon who had been throwing stones.

Roman huffed and shrugged letting his argument drop for the moment. It was probably for the better.

A stretch of silence dragged itself along and Janus began to feel antsy. This was not his territory of choice and he had a hard time to navigate himself through this meeting. Almost ironically, it was Virgil who freed them all from the awkward silence.

“I respect the name reveal. I respect you looking out for Thomas. I AM on Roman’s side about trusting you, but I will talk with you if you promise to never pull such a fuckery again and disguise yourself as one of us to get your agenda across.”

Janus could have cried. Right there and then. Virgil talked directly with him, no name calling, no false accusations.

But he didn’t cry. He could not lose face right now.

But he had to answer.

“Thank you. I will refrain from disguising myself. And I apologize for the impersonating I did before and for the harsh, well, departure I forced you to take. It was not my best move,” Janus said quietly eyeing Logan as he said the last apology.

To his surprise Logan just raised his eyebrows, sat down next to him and put his hand on his thigh. Oh god. Logan’s hand. On Janus’s thigh. And he patted him for a second. Janus could just have melted on the spot.

“It was stupid indeed,” Logan said but Janus barely registered any of it. “And I am looking forward to work with you, if you can keep the lying to a minimum. I know that you cannot completely work without it but maybe we would be able to find a satisfactory compromise.”

“Do you count ‘white lies’ as lies as well? Because if so, I might have different bargaining grounds than you do,” Janus said weakly trying to hide his flush.

“I do consider ‘white lies’ as lies but they were not the thing I was most concerned about. It’s more that I have sometimes difficulties to make out when you speak in opposites or sarcasm in general. It makes it a lot harder for me to follow and complicates our communication considerably,” Logan explained slightly confused but apparently unaware of why Janus was so flustered.

Could sides melt? Janus felt like he would have melted by now if sides could do so. The innocence in his voice and the honesty in his words were endearing and there was still the hand on his thigh. This gosh darn hand. Since when did touching him feel like this? Since when did it feel so intense?

“Kiddo, I think you’re forgetting about personal space again.”

At once Logan’s hand was gone and there was a second of white noise in Janus’s ears. Oh, not being touched was a lot worse. Horrific. Miserable even.

“I apologize! It slips my mind when a lot of stressors are around,” Logan apologized.

Janus nodded and blinked a few times to refocus himself.

“Do - I mean – don’t bother. I am used to sides invading my personal space,” Janus deflected, repressing the sudden realisation that Remus hadn’t invaded his personal space in weeks.

Patton and Roman watched the two curiously. Both seemed a little distracted, Logan by the fact that he forgot his hard-earned manners and Janus by the sudden touch he somehow had been too shy to point out to Logan. It concerned Patton a little since both usually tried to be unreadable individuals and this display was quite unusual. Roman on the other hand thought that this could get quite interesting and put that information carefully beside the little pang of romantic jealousy and yearning he had sensed coming from their little emo, when Logan had touched Janus.

This could get quite interesting indeed.

___

@varthandi

@sickeningly-deceitful

@sammy-is-obsessed / @exhaustedfander

@unoriginalgayboyalex

@alexisrealgay

@softie-sushi

@wolfs-feder

@just-a-neoclassical-painting

@winter-jay-official

@a-ghostlight-for-roman

[izzyfandoms]

Right if you’re seeing this then I guess I finally managed to successfully put down all my thoughts on how I think the finale two-parter is gonna go! Yay!

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately lmao

(Edit: adding a Keep Reading cos this is LONG)

SO SVS2 ended pretty badly didn’t it. Yeah, Janus got accepted, but Roman is pretty clearly not doing great because of that - and quite understandably too

Janus treated him pretty badly in SVS1, manipulating him whilst simultaneously giving everyone the impression that going to the callback (following Thomas’s dreams, aka listening to Roman) was a bad thing. Now, did he do that deliberately? No, I don’t think so - I doubt Janus realised that his whole strategy in SVS1 just made everyone else more anti-callback, and I also doubt that he realised how much that hurt Roman

Just look at Janus’s behaviour in SVS2! He thoughtlessly admits that his flattery before was false (saying that he no longer needs to flatter him) - something that probably really hurt someone with such low self esteem like Roman. Like no wonder he lashed out, I’d be pretty upset too if I were in his shoes

And when Roman describes Janus’s behaviour in SVS1, Janus calls it a funny prank, likely not realising that that’s what Roman was referring to

(I’ve talked about this before, but watching Roman’s expressions when he reacts to Janus thoughtlessly saying these things is heartbreaking)

So, here we see that Janus treated Roman pretty badly in SVS1 - using him so he could get Thomas to do what he wanted - and then admitting to it in SVS2 like it was nothing

And I’m not saying this to be anti Janus, not at all, I love the guy! I’m just pointing it out to highlight one of - if not the - biggest flaw he has:

His selfishness and how self-centred he is

Now this probably comes pretty naturally to Janus, given his role, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need to improve. Black and white morality comes naturally to Patton, and he still needs to wok on and is currently working on that. Being aggressive comes naturally to Virgil, but we’ve already seen him work on that

I don’t think he noticed how much his behaviour hurt Roman, and you can see that in SVS2 as he doesn’t seem to understand (or often notice) just how upset he was, and he didn’t seem to realise that what he did was wrong. He talked so casually about these things, and not in a smug way, but like it meant nothing - because that’s what it meant to him, so he doesn’t notice how it affects Roman

Janus doesn’t just do this with Roman either, you can see him basically doing this with Logan too, just without such an obvious reaction

He actively excludes Logan from things all the time - he silenced him in CLBG, he replaced and then excluded him in SVS1, and then replaced him again in SVS2

Logan above all else just wants to be listened to - by Thomas and by the other sides - and Janus is too focused on getting Thomas to listen to him then he is on how his behaviour hurts others. He doesn’t seem to think about how Logan just wants to be listened to too

Now Im sure you’re wondering how this is all relevent to the season finale two parter, which I already said that this post is about

Basically, I think that this is what the season finale two parter will be about

I think that Roman is going to continue opposing Janus, and that he’s going to turn to Virgil to assist him in doing so - as Virgil likely will, as he gets along well with Roman now and does not get along with Janus

(A lot of people seem to think that Roman’s going to go full dark side because of all this, and that that’s what the finale will be about, but I completely disagree. Mostly because from what we’ve seen so far that seems literally impossible. Sides are sorted into ‘light sides’ and 'dark sides’ by Thomas alone, it’s not a choice - Roman can’t just become a dark side because he feels like it

Virgil is only a light side because Thomas accepted him - which is part of the reason why I dislike how some people villainise him for leaving the dark sides. He decided to duck out, he didn’t decide to be accepted or to become a 'light side’. Choosing to befriend the light sides and choosing to duck out isn’t something I’d consider a betrayal

If the sides themselves decided who is 'light’ and who is 'dark’ then Janus at the very least probably never would’ve been a dark side. It’s not a real classification, because it’s purely based on how Thomas views his different traits)

I think that Roman and Virgil are going to confront Janus (with Thomas and Patton likely also present) and try to convince Thomas that he shouldn’t have been accepted. They’ll bring up the behaviour in SVS - perhaps even bringing up how the outcome was Janus’s fault, something you’ll know I firmly believe if you’ve been following me since before SVS2 - and we’ll probably also find out more details about Janus and Virgil’s history

(Janus probably felt betrayed when Virgil turned light side, despite how (as I said) it wasn’t entirely his choice, nor was it a bad thing as it benefitted Thomas greatly. Janus probably had a more self-centred view than he should’ve, but Virgil was probably less than sympathetic to Janus’s perspective and lashed out. That’s just some general speculating though, I’m really not sure and I’m quite excited to find out more about their history)

Janus will finally actually realise how his behaviour hurts people - or I guess the other sides, as they’re not people. He’ll probably get defensive at first, but I think he’ll realise and try to improve by the end of the finale

Hopefully lol - if not then I guess we won’t have the happiest ending to season 2

But this is not the only thing I think will happen in the finale, oh no

Because we’re missing two very important characters here - two characters who have probably been the most impacted by Janus’s behaviour, more than anyone else

Remus and the orange dark side

(This is honestly the main reason why I disagree with the fandom’s popular view of the dark sides as a family similar to the light sides. Because Janus was the one actively hiding Remus up until DWIT, and still is the one actively hiding Orange. He seems to have a lot of control over it, too, as he was able to reveal himself and seemed to Choose to reveal Remus in DWIT when it suited him

Hiding the dark sides seems to have been less Thomas’s choice than the dark side/light side split - this is something the sides involved seem to have actual control over

That doesn’t seem like a family dynamic to me - one hiding the other two from Thomas, someone who is basically Everything to the sides - and if it was/is one it doesn’t seem like the healthiest

Again, I’m not trying to villainise Janus here either. This was his job - he did it because he thought it was best for Thomas - and it’s a lot more complicated than Janus just locking the two of them away out of cruelty. He isn’t the sole side to blame, though he was the actual action of hiding them. Remus (despite the fact that he seems to desire attention more than anything else, the one thing Janus deprived him of) doesn’t seem to hold much of a grudge - though most of this I believe is due to Remus as a character. He isn’t really the grudge-holding type, though I really doubt he likes Janus much

Virgil talking about how Remus “used to really unsettle” him, and Remus describing DWIT as “just like old times” seems to support this in my opinion. They don’t seem to have ever been close, so I doubt the dark sides as a whole were/are close

I believe the dark sides were split between Virgil and Janus (the two dark sides with control - Virgil being allowed out, and Janus being in control of hiding himself and the other two), and Remus and Orange (the two hidden))

Anyway I’m rambling a little lol

BASICALLY, I think that Roman and Virgil are going to confront Janus, and that nearer to the end of it (either when the tension is at its highest, or when the characters are starting to come to some kind of agreement) Remus and Orange are going to pop up and bring themselves into it

I think this partly because this is very relevent to them, but also because I firmly believe that Orange will be introduced by the end of the season so they can have a new intro with all the sides in season 3

I think that throughout these two part episodes Patton will probably be mostly on Janus’s side, and that Logan will probably be the most neutral party, though his side of things (being repeatedly excluded by Janus) will probably be brought up by either Roman or Virgil

Most likely Virgil

So overall this will be about Janus and his self-centredness and how it’s harmed the other sides, and Thomas finally properly confronting how perhaps suppressing multiple different traits of himself were a bad thing

Aaaand that’s about it! Sorry that this got really rambly lol, I just have a lot of thoughts and wanted to fit them in

I love Janus - he’s one of my favourites, probably The Favourite side rn honestly, and I adore overanalysing him

Please don’t start discourse in the reblogs/comments, though debates and sharing your own thoughts on the matter are always welcome! Pls don’t bring any unsymp sides stuff into this either, as that makes me pretty uncomfortable

[dr-gloom]

Some thoughts/analysis on the new episode, because the video itself and people's reactions were bugging me

Disclaimers: I don't hate Patton or Roman, I'm not calling Patton abusive or manipulative, as those terms insinuate knowing what you're doing and I don't think Patton does know how he's coming across

- First I wanna just point out, as a few others have, that Thomas is once again wearing black and white while discussing a grey-area issue. I love the attention to detail

- The recap only really highlights that Thomas admitted to wanting something that contradicted Patton's statement of why he's a good person (or more specifically "perfect", which, as nice and friendly and lovely as that sounds, is a toxic mindset and I like that Thomas touched on that at the end), which is an interesting point to cover honestly, especially since later Thomas challenges Patton to call him a good person

- "Now kiddo, if you're gonna dish out Fs, why don't we make them friendly hugs?" I understand Patton was trying to lighten the mood and joke a little and all that, but he's not letting Thomas just... Be angry/upset. He's trying to control how he feels and steer away from negative emotions, which I thought he learned not to do??

- I love that Patton heard what he was saying and stopped. Good on him. But what he replaced it with is called guilt tripping and that's not much better. "I'm surprised you would say something like that about your friends. I always thought that when it came to your pals, that sort of language would be... Ineffable?" It may sound gentle and sweet, but he's still saying "you can't talk about your friends like that" (and I get it, we all know that's not how Thomas really feels, but again he needs to be allowed to express himself). You can tell from Thomas's face while Patton's talking that the guilt tripping worked, at least for a moment.

- Anyone else notice a little Logan shining through in Thomas's words/actions the first portion of the video?

- "If our goals aligned with his what would that say?" Uhmmm gee lemme think Roman... Maybe that you care about Thomas's mental health and desires???

- I think it's very telling that during the rap Thomas cuts Patton off right before he's about to say something that, judging from the graphics, was going to make him sound heroic and said "I made this choice", while looking very... Upset.

- Okay so when Thomas was all "why didn't I just talk to them???" I felt hella vindicated but the second time I watched I finally heard Roman say "I mean I kinda brought that up before but it got shut down faster than an Antarctic icepop shop". Like... Fuck, they seriously do not appreciate or listen to Roman at all

- Patton brushing them off with "Eh well hindsight is 20/20" pissed me off so much. No empathy whatsoever. Jesus Christ.

- Roman's reaction when Thomas said no to the whole future vision thing made me laugh and no one is talking about it

- But yeah Thomas talking about using foresight has a total Logan Vibe

- Patton's reaction when Thomas says "I made a decision with a blindfold on" is... Interesting...

- Seriously that cat analogy was so specific.....

- One should never base their decisions on "well they've helped me before so I owe them" like. No. Patton, Roman, stop. He should have decided to go because he wanted to, not because he owed it to them or you made him feel like shit

- "Those baby-making Catholics" lmfaooooo

- "You, thinking about giving their wedding a pass all because of a callback that, really, might not work out". That bugged me too, because it can just as easily be argued he gave up his big break for a wedding he barely participated during. If we're being completely logical here (and borrowing from a later concept of how our time is better used), his time would have been better-spent at the callback since he wasn't even mentally present at the wedding

- "Maybe they understand, and maybe they still want you to go to the wedding but feel too guilty to say so. Or, maybe you end up going to the wedding, and they feel guilty seeing you there because they feel like they took a big opportunity away from you". First off, they did (or would have, had the conversation taken place and they insisted he come). Secondly I personally feel like he owed it to them (and yes, I'm aware how that sounds but I can't think of better phrasing) to talk about it with 100% honesty on both sides, because now he's angry that he went to their wedding and they have no idea. Sure, the vid ends with them coming over to catch up, but if it hadn't? That's the kind of shit that festers very easily. I feel like he'd have been more satisfied if he had still decided to go after talking with them. I think Thomas realizes this too when he responds to Roman's question with a very sure, very adamant "No."

- "This was our chance to be there for them when it counted". I know this is me reading into things but it felt like he was saying anything else he may have done for them doesn't matter or isn't good enough

- "Why does their complexion matter" LMFAOOOOOO omg roman

- "... We can all agree that you're a good fellow-" "Can we? All agree on that?" Like fuck, Thomas still isn't sure what Patton thinks of him? That cuts deep. And... Patton still hasn't apologized. He conceeded that he's "been a bit much", which is far from the same thing

- pfffft what the fuck was Roman trying to do???

- "Well that's a relief... I think". Meaning Thomas still isn't fucking sure where Patton stands. I have to admit his dialogue did sound a bit circuitous

- he almost said GameStop lmfao

- why is he fixating so much on frogger

- "At least 16 graphics!" I died laughing

- "By the liquid lipstick of William Shakespeare" wut the fue? Lmao

- "just like you don't have to get him a hotdog" "I feel like you kinda do... Maybe". I know Janus says it later on but he was right when he said peppering in a few "I don't know"s and "maybe"s does not a conversationally-conscious person make. Like, he didn't even add the maybe until Roman reacted negatively to what he was saying

- I'm surprised Logan said it'd be wrong for Thomas to keep his money to himself tbh

- Roman mouthing "behoove". Like, c'mon dude, stop being such a dick to Logan when he's just trying to help

- Logan's so done he's not even trying to hide it. Like you can see the annoyance clear on his little pixelated face

- Also did anyone notice that Logan kept getting cut off so the next time he "spoke" he made them read it aloud so they'd actually fucking listen

- "Yeah! As long as that's not the main reason you're doing it!" Honestly though, most people do good things for their own benefit; tax benefits, That Good Feeling, compliments from others etc. It doesn't diminish the effect of the good act, so who cares?????

- "You shouldn't do a good thing just because it makes you feel good... I-I think." He's trying so hard but he's just not understanding how this works is he. Also it's interesting that he preaches holding to your values and not nitpicking situations yet he's literally doing it right now because last time he just... Needed to counter Janus and couldn't admit he'd had a fair point

- "Deceit said you'd be doing the right thing for a selfish reason if you did it for your own emotional gain". You can tell by his tone he's trying to make Thomas see Deceit as wrong and bad but like literally two seconds later he audibly confirms he feels the same way

"Definitely! Maybe... I think so... What do you think?" Tbh I'm proud of him for asking someone else's opinion, esp cause he's screwing this up so horrendously

- man if Roman being scared to share his opinion after Patton visibly disagrees isn't a huge red flag idk what is

- the world of the video game is called AU I'm screaming

- I'll always be salty that Roman once again shoved a "dark side" into the villain roll without asking

- I don't agree with Patton automatically assuming that just because the hero wants a reward, it means he doesn't care about the people he saves getting it. People can have multiple motives and wanting recognition isn't bad or evil or selfish

- I'm so fucking glad Thomas snapped and asked "am I not allowed to feel good if I do something good" because that's basically what Patton's saying and no one was addressing it. And Patton saying that can't be a valid motive is honestly fucked up

- during the trolley problem the options toggle the most between morality, anxiety, and denial. Idk, it's just interesting

- it's also interesting that Patton views moving the trolley as worse than letting it stay, meaning he thinks small active murder is worse than larger, passive murder. Not bad or good or anything, just interesting

- I hate hate hate that Patton silences Logan when he's the one who asked him to say something, especially since he follows that with "oh you can't really learn good morality from a book hahahaha". Like dude just acknowledge that you don't agree but there are other valid points of view, my god

- also you can tell from the color that Janus totally put that skip button in, meaning Logan really, really wanted to continue but Janus could see it wasn't going to get them where they needed to go

- "stu-ooper dooper unique mustache" lmfaooooo

- Thomas keeps coming back with something along the lines of "I need the answer to X so I can meet your expectations". He even says "I don't understand what I need to change so I can meet your standard". Last time I did a post like this, back when SvS came out, I said Patton has too much sway/control over Thomas, and he still does. Thomas doesn't try nearly as hard to "meet the standards" of his other sides, but in this instance he's desperate to know how he can appease Patton. I don't think that's necessarily a good thing, given that it's likely because he wants Patton to say without hesitation that he's a good person

- Roman thinks he's the problem I wanna cry

- "And I'm an awful driver" I laughed so hard

- "I only mean well when I say that that is the stupidest thing you have ever said" I can't stop laughing XD

- "You're just blowing smoke" seriously someone help me

- Roman's reaction when Thomas says he feels guilty just killed me. They all just acknowledged that Roman is his motivator and Thomas comes out and says his motives make him feel guilty? Ouch

- "Doing nothing is even worse!" Patton honey I'm begging you to please stop talking omg this is going so poorly

- "doing nothing is worse than doing a good thing for the wrong reasons" first off, who's to say what a wrong reason is, and secondly, that's an interesting take from the man who refused to move the trolley 👀

- oooof Thomas's relief when Logan cuts in though

- "Huuuuuhhhh I do need help" fuck, I wanna cry, poor Thomas

- "Logan, like you said this isn't your area of expertise" ITS NOT YOURS EITHER ROMAN OMG

- "Every point you've made in today's discussion has contradicted that sentiment" YES LOGAN JANUS SLAY. Also anyone else notice Patton looking to the others for validation because I Sure Did

- oh man though I thought Logan was finally getting the chance to lay into Patton and take him down a peg and it turned out to be Janus

- "Oh, is it not? Please, correct me if I'm wrong." yeah paTTON CORRECT HIM IF HES WRONG (notice how he doesn't even have an argument to that, all he can say is "you're wrong!")

- honestly the way he goes from 0 to 60 should've tipped us off that that was Janus

- I wanna know if Patton turned into a muscular frog irl

- idk Patton feels like a villain when he's all "Thomas you choose!"

- "What have you done with Logan?!" "Nothing at all and I resent the question" weeeeeelp there goes loceit

- even Janus admits Patton is misleading unintentionally can we all calm down now

- I find it interesting that Thomas willingly stays behind Janus

- "Sure if he's in that kind of situation then of course he should focus on himself. But does he deserve it? I don't know." *Record scratch* excuse me wHAT?????? And like, you can't ignore the obvious symbolism behind that attack missing Janus and hitting Thomas. Thomas is knocked out and Patton just ... Keeps talking? Jesus fucking christ

- and Roman so adamantly attacking Janus has a very pre-AA vibe to it

- "Not that any of you care, but I am unharmed, and I don't want to talk about it." Thomas looks like the only one genuinely concerned when he says this and that hurts

- Janus looks so happy that Logan's backing him I wanna cry my baby aaaaaaa

- SOMEONE FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE CHOICE ROMAN MADE AAAAAAA THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU can we stop acting like Janus is evil now please

- "Well when is it enough?!" ".... Trees?" I'm STILL LAUGHING SOMEONE HELP ME

- I'm so fucking happy Thomas doesn't agree with Roman about trusting Janus

- Roman laughing and saying Janus's name is stupid and Janus's jab about him and Remus just... Gutted me y'all. Thems some hurt boys. And he looks to Thomas and Patton and they just... Can't side with him, cause they know that was hella fucking rude of Roman.

- I genuinely believe that Janus's nod meant Thomas was telling the truth. Based on his facial expression (which was slight but idk I notice more stuff than most people apparently???) He was trying to reassure Roman. And Roman just... Took it the completely wrong way, because he still thinks all Janus does is lie. When Roman says "wow, I can't believe this" you can actually see Janus's smile disappearing, because he realizes Roman took the nod the wrong way

- aaaaand then he immediately goes into attacking Janus. *Sigh*

- "Everything's gonna be okay, kiddo. We love you." "*Scoff* Right." I truly believe the next video is gonna be about Roman, because there's no way in hell they could ignore the obvious hurt and self-deprecation coming off of Roman

- "Janus? Is there a limit to how many times a person can say sorry before you have to admit that they're just bad for you?" Patton was talking about himself. Whether Janus was trying too hard to be witty and missed that or what, his reply hurt Patton, and you can see that Janus realizes his mistake with Patton's reaction. We have to remember that this isn't a side who's used to how the others communicate, though. He doesn't spend time with them outside of the few videos he's shown up in because of how they treat him. It's gonna take him time to get the little things like this and until then there's gonna be a lot of hurt feelings and (hopefully) apologies

- Janus immediately backtracks once he realizes what the real question was and says "... it depends... How many things have they had to apologize for? How frequently do they have to apologize for things? How terrible were the things that they did? One of the biggest factors in my very humble opinion is whether or not they seem to be making an honest effort to do better" this is Janus trying to tell Patton "you aren't bad for Thomas. I see how hard you're trying. It's okay"

- you can totally see Janus realizing why Patton fights him so hard while Patton is explaining how hard shit's gotten as Thomas grows up

- "Janus?" "I'll take care of him" y'all I need the tissues

- Janus trying to lighten the mood with the whole push-someone-down-the-stairs thing just... Made me die laughing. Y'all know he's hella good at April fool's pranks okay? Okay

- "You're not stuck with an evil snake boy, you're just stuck with a snake boy" HES SUCH A DORK I LOVE HIM

- I reacted the exact same way to Thomas saying Janus was right omg

Again, I'm not saying I hate any of the characters, this is just a stream-of-consciousness analysis-and-commentary-type post on the new episode

[its-pronounced-quoassoint]

Power Rangers AU-Chapter 8

Pairings: romantic Logicality, Prinxiety, Demus, Remile

This Chapter features: Logan centric, trans!Logan

This Chapter Warnings: talks of past violence, brief mention of PTSD, description of scraped hands, mention of past ‘possession’, talks of manipulation, some cursing, sympathetic Deceit and Remus

Credit for this AU goes to @when-day-met-the-knight (specifically this post).

If you would like to be added to the taglist for this fic please let me know in reply!

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Chapter 8-Renette

Logan still thought they should have brought Patton to a medical proffessional. Thomas had practice with typical medical proceedures from his own time as a Ranger, but Patton's collapse should have been treated more carefully. However, he also knew that taking him to see a real doctor could potentially reveal his and their identities. Logan complied with Thomas's instructions and allowed Patton to be taken back to Thomas's home. The team was frantic. Remus and Dee weren't speaking to anyone but each other and it was starting to get on Logan's and Roman's nerves. Yes, they may be good friends, or friends-with-benefits, or whatever they were, but they had to confide in the others. The risk they had taken of talking to Virgilius like that was too great to not at least ask Thomas about. Then when their plan-well it didn't fail, to be honest Logan didn't know what had happened-but the two's plan didn't have the outcome they wanted and now they were shutting everyone else out.

Finally they reached Thomas's house. Emile discreetly hurried them in through the back. Remus set Patton down on the couch carefully and the rest of the Rangers, plus Emile sat around the table. They all deactivted thier Ranger armor and looked around. Emile came over to Logan and sat down next to him, pulling up a first aid kit and silently asking for Logan's cooperation. Logan hadn't even realized how badly his hands hurt. He looked at his palms to see them scrapped and raw, bleeding slightly in a few areas. When had that happened? He asked himself.

Logan allowed Emile to begin the disinfecting. It didn't hurt as badly as he had anticipated.

"I'm sorry." Thomas croaked out. "There's been quite a few attacks since Roman and Remus became Rangers, but I didn't expect she'd-she'd do . . . that so soon."

"Thomas it's okay." Roman gave a weak smile. "Really, you couldn't have known."

"Yeah, but I could have given you a warning."

"Even with such a warning, we likely wouldn't have known the extent of her ability, and I'm assuming that was barely scratching the surface of what she can do." Logan winced a little as Emile pressed the cotton harder into his palm.

"What even was that?" Dee asked. Oh so he hasn't totally forgotten us? Logan rolled his eyes to himself.

"Joan and Talyn called it possession-"

"Any ghost can do that in less than one lesson." Logan heard Roman whisper. That must be some Broadway reference I have yet to learn, he thought.

"The Dragon witch, sometimes she would possess the Generals that attacked us. When we came too close to actually stopping them. She'd take over their body and that black cloud would leave us almost defenseless." Thomas continued.

"Did she ever do, ya know, that?" Roman grunted, likely referencing the Dragon Witch's verbal maltreatment towards them.

"Only a couple times. She never really took possession of her generals, and when she did she was never that mad. She acted impressed, almost proud. It was so unnerving. Like she wanted her generals to fail against us. We didn't know why." Thomas sagged back into his chair. "She's never really said any of those things before."

"So we should expect her to do it again?" Roman asked incredulously.

"If you keep trying to make Virgilius turn to our side, I'd say so." Thomas sighed.

Logan, Roman, and Thomas turned to Reus and Dee, they held somewhat guilty expressions, but weren't backing down.

"What the hell you two?" Roman finally broke the silence. "Why didn't you tell us you were going to do that?"

"You didn't seem too keen on the idea when I asked you the first time, Roman!" Remus crossed his arms and huffed.

"What?" Logan looked to Roman. "When did you talk to Roman-"

"Saturday. Dee read up to the second to last chapter at that point and we came up with the plan." Reus stated.

"Remus talked to Roman about it later that day but apparently he said Virgilius wasn't gonna be convinced and we were just wasting time." Dee growled. "Figured if that's what Roman thought you two would be even less inclined to do it."

"But you did it anyway! And look at what happened!" Roman gestured to Patton on the couch.

"How could we have known that was gonna happen!" Dee refuted. "We just figured if we talked to him long enough he might see our side. We could help him!"

"And if he didn't then we'd know not to hold back." Remus lowered himself further in his chair.

"Not hold back?!" Roman stood. "What so when we fight him you're just holding back!"

"Roman you don't get it. That's not him." Dee's voice simmered.

"You don't know him!" Roman harshly put it.

"Patton and the two of us are the only ones that have gotten this close to him. He just gives off this feeling it's-"

"Unnatural." Patton's soft voice said from the couch. "Pink Ranger deactivate."

The Rangers and Emile rushed over to him frantically. Logan felt the weight on his chest that he hadn't realized was there, get lifted off of him. Patton smiled a little, but his eyes showed a  protectiveness Logan was familiar with.

"Patton what-" Roman started.

"Dee and Remus are right. Virgilius, he's-well-I don't know what he is, but being so close to him, it just felt wrong. Unnatural. It doesn't feel right. He's just like what Dee said; a pawn in her game. She's using him and if he hasn't seen it already then he's going to real soon." Patton explained.

"Patton-"

"I think he needs our help." Patton looked to Logan, desperately trying to get him to understand.

"I think he's been using Downright as a message. I mean why else would he attack after each chapter is posted, he wanted us to read it for a reason." Dee said quiety. "Then the last chapter was posted and it was all about Richie and Eddie leaving Derry, it was such a strange choice, but after talking to Dee we realized there were two ways you could look at it. We didn't really know for sure if he wanted to leave the Dragon Witch or not, but asking him what he thought was the perfect way to really figure it out."

"If he thought what the writer did made snese, then we could be even more sure that he's coming to our side." Remus finished. "Then his explination, it just made everything click! He wants to leave just like Richie and Eddie left Derry! I mean come on it just makes so much sense."

"We were getting through to him! Thomas said she only possessed the Generals when they were about to lose, we didn't even start fighting!" Dee went on. "We were making sense to him and it scared her."

"Before she possessed him, he seemed so tired." Patton said. "His emotions were just so strong I could feel it! He was so tired of the fighting! I'm not making this up. I know what I felt."

"How?" Roman asked. "Pat you're so sure this was how he felt, but you don't know him."

"I could feel what he was feeling!" Patton tried.

"Patton has always been better at sensing people's emotions, and knowing how to help them in times of distress." Logan nodded

"Megan calls it my sixth sense. It's not a super power but I'm almost never wrong. I know what I felt, it-it came from him." Patton stated firmly.

"If you're so sure that's how he feels, then what do we do about it?" Thomas asked. "Knowing the Dragon Witch, she's just going to make him hate us more now that she knows you two tried to help him. He's not going to be as easy to sway."

It was quiet. Logan looked to Patton and sat next to him, allowing Patton to intertwine his pinky with Logan's. Patton moved to fully hold his hand, but Logan felt the sting of his scrapes and pulled away. Patton looked at Logan curiously, to which he showed Patton his palms.

"I hate her." Patton whispered for just Logan to hear. "You know I don't say that lightly, but it's how I feel. She shouldn't have said those things to you. I didn't like her before, but when she sa-said that, gosh it made me snap."

"Patton-"

There was a knock at the door, interrupting Logan. Everyone was still.

"I'll get it." Emile said calmly.

"Wait Emile!" Patton whisper-yelled after him.

Emile only waved off Patton's concern and strode to the door.

"Renette!" He exclaimed giddily, jumping into the person's arms.

"Hey Sugar." The person responded.

Emile was set down and he dragged the person into the room for everyone to see. A tall, built woman follwed him. Her dark skin and even darker hair complimented the rose gold color of her suit, and her boxbraids were up in a bun. Her overall look was proffessional and Logan admired it greatly.

"Renette." Thomas sighed, relieved.

"Sorry you had to wait so long Thomas. Every time I planned on arriving something got in the way. Luckily, I was here for this one, so less work on my part had to be done. I came over here as quickly as I could." She stated.

Logan then recognized her, she was a pedestrian that he had helped in the square.

"Sorry, but, who are you?" Dee asked.

"Right, oh this is long overdue." She adressed the rest of the room. "My name is Renette Rademeyer-"

"That's awesome." Remus remarked.

"Thanks I picked it myself." Renette chuckled. "And I'm going to be working with you all on behalf of the federal government."

"You work with the FBI?" Roman asked.

"With your part of the FBI." She clarified. "I'll be handling a lot of things for you boys like foreign affairs, and other aid you can provide, I'm a go between, and a form of mentor. Thomas has been doing good, but you boys need to get some real training in."

"Foreign affairs?" Logan asked.

"You've been doing a great job fighting Virgilius and whatnot, but that's not the only thing you can help with. Other places around the world need you."

"Like the Avengers. They didn't just defeat aliens, they stopped terrorists and stuff." Patton said.

"We have to fight terrorists?" Roman asked.

"Oh, no no. Fighting terrorists is far too complicated to send you boys in." Renette stopped him. "Mainly outreach. Helping people in other countries get food, supplies, help during natural disasters, that sort of thing."

They nodded.

"And of course there are other things that I have to speak with you all about. This may take a while, so please get comfy." Renette waited.

Roman the sat next to Logan, then Dee, then Remus. Thomas sat in a chair, and Emile on the ground, looking up to Renette happily.

"To start, there's the matter of none of you except Thomas have summoned your Zords yet, so we'll be working on that." She began. "And because of this, we aren't going to be asking for any outreach, but know that once you can consistantly summon them, your participation in world helping efforts will be madatory."

Logan and the others felt a twinge of guilt at that. The zords were a vital part of the Power Rangers and to deafeat the Dragon Witch they would definitely, need them. Thomas said it had taken a long time for any of the last Power Rangers to summon them, but that didn't make it any easier.

"Then there's the matter of publicity. Currently as I'd hope you know, mattel is coming out with a new line of Power Rangers action figures and other companies plan to make products in your images. Then there's movies, music, and other forms of entertainment about you. Since, technically the Power Rangers have been copyrighted, you will all be compensated. However, you will not be actually receiving any compensation until after you've become a legal adult and college fees are paid."

"I've been wondering about college." Logan piped up. "I don't plan to stay in Florida for college and if the Dragon Witch is still attacking-"

"I guess I should get into that now." Renette sighed. "While there's no demand for you all to go to college here, I would hope by the time you leave you'll be able to summon your Zords and arrive to the sight of the attack quickly. If not, other arrangements will have to be made. Whichever college you attend shouldn't be a problem."

"So um, what was that about money?" Remus asked.

"And movies?" Roman piped up.

"Yeah that too, but mostly the money."

"Well, the compensation you all will be receiving for items being made about you, will go into a fund for each of you to attend a college that you are accepted into. When the time comes to go to college, that money will be paying for all of it, and if it doesn't cover wherever you would like to go the government will handle the rest." Renette explained. "Also any explaination to your parents will be provided, so don't worry about that. Any questions so far?

"No? Good. Next we have to talk about any invites you as Rangers may receive. Movie screenings, parades, celebrity parties, lunches, news station interviews, possibly even public addresses." Renette went on. "You'll obviosly have to go as a Ranger so your identity isn't revealed. You will be briefed later about how to speak to the public, but really it'll depend on the situation."

"Are we gonna be invited to see Broadway shows?" Roman asked expectantly.

"I would assume so. Thomas, I believe you and Emile saw Hamilton in Chicago upon invitation, correct?"

"And Dear Evan Hansen in New York." Emile nodded.

"So yeah, I would expect that." Renette shrugged and smiled at Roman's happier expression. "As for celebrity parties, well, you're not encouraged to go to all of them obviously. If you are able to attend a party that you've been invited to, you have to run it by me first and get my approval. There will of course be consequences if these rules aren't followed. When it comes to the news, like with public addresses, we'll brief you on what to say beforehand."

There was a beeping from inside her suit jacket that Logan recognized as the same text tone he set for his own phone. Renette pulled her phone out and scrolled up, likely unlocking it. Logan noticed the case looked much like his own, but rather than black, hers was yellow and clear.

"My son needs me." Renette grunted as she looked at the screen. "I-I'm sorry boys this was supposed to be a longer talk, but I've got to leave. One more thing though! On friday, I need all of you here after school. We'll be taking you to meet with your therapists."

"Therapists?" Dee asked.

"Of course, you think we expect kids to fight aliens every week and not have some kind of PTSD? You're all mandatorily meeting with seperate therapists. You can figure out schedules with them when you all meet." Renette stooped down to give Emile a hug, pulling the boy up into the air and squeezing before setting him back down. "And so you know Sugar, Remy says 'hello', but in that caffeine pumped voice he gets."

"Aww!" Emile folded his fingers. "How's he doing?"

"Better. Renae and Roland are being way over protective of him, just so you know."

"Well, tell him I said hi and that the cappuccino machine in Mr. Richard's room doesn't work anymore." Emile replied. "It was good to see you Renette."

"Always a pleasure Sugar." She smiled and left for the door. "You too Thomas. We'll talk again soon boys!"

With that she was out the door.

"Who's Remy?" Patton asked, there was a tone to his voice that suggested he was subtly trying to say something else, but Logan didn't know what.

"Renette's son." Emile said happily.

"That was so weird." Dee remarked. "I mean she just walked in here, said she was our FBI agent and left."

"Why didn't you tell us we were gonna have to see therapists?" Roman asked Thomas.

"Well, they were still trying to find some for you all, and frankly it wasn't the right time."

"It feels like no one's talking in this team anymore." Roman pouted.

"Renette tends to just show up and leave a lot Dee, you get used to it." Emile shrugged.

Behind him Thomas mouthed 'No you dont'.

"I liked her." Logan decided to say, not quite intending for anyone to hear.

"Agreed." Patton said back, softly though so only Logan would get the response.

Logan smiled at Patton and looked back down. His own phone suddenly alerted him of a text message.

Nora Montgomery:

Mama's home.

We told her you were in bed already. Come in through the back, Lauren's ready to let you in whenever.

"Shit!" Logan stood suddenly. "I have to go!"

"What why?" Patton followed, standing as well.

"Lo, what's going on?"

"Roman, my mom's home." Logan breathed out.

"Shit." Roman agreed.

Taglist:

@tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors @maddarc @pheonix-inside-reblogs @thisismysanderssidesblog @almost-all-my-ships-are-gay @mostpeopleannoyme @the-smol-est @i-sexually-identify-as-a-mistake @nadja-chamack16@too-bi-too-function @rainbowbowtie @mistypelt1234 @tricksterangel25 @authorized-trash @echocw @stripestar128128 @coffee-mugz @slitherynchicken

[greenninjagal-blog]

currently vibing in a two-week lockdown, can you share some of your favorite fics? i need some new things to read, and I've got too much time on my hands-

Aw man, same! The rest of my actual Spring Semester got turned online… Let’s see…..Fic recs for the pseudo End of the World (Courtesy of AO3, arranged by most prominent ship!) Keep in mind that my descriptions are shorter and written mostly for comedic effect than the actual fics, so if something looks interesting Click it! Get more info about it! Don’t just take my word! I tried my best to get a lot of variety of fics and topics and tropes, as well as authors that might not be as well known! Uhhh here are the links to lists I’ve already made for various other reasons check out my Fic Rec Masterlist!

I also am including various of my fav authors masterlists for funsies!

jungle321jungle’s || Max-isTired’s || TrashficParlour’s || Lefaystrent’s || Mine!

Completed Fics

A Deal in which Virgil tries to summon a familiar and gets a Circle King instead. And he’s really pretty. (Anxceit)

Love Like You in which Virgil decides to give up looking for a romantic partner and considers adopting instead. He finds more than he’s looking for with a set of twins and the man who watches over them (Anxceit)

A Dragon’s Tail in which Logan is cursed to be a Dragon by his best friends stepmother, Virgil is struggling to learn a power he can’t control, Patton who’d rather marry a servant than the Prince, and Roman has no clue what is going on but the Prince he’s supposed to be saving can probably kick his ass. (Logicality, Prinxiety)

A Game of Vice in which Remus kidnaps Roman and turns it into a game of who can come save him from his lonely tower. (Logicality, Prinxeity) 

double down with the paradigms in which Logan tries to explain away his own OCD while dealing with the emotions he has for a certain Pre-Vet. Excellent depiction of OCD, made me cry, 300/10 would read again. (Logicality, Prinxiety)

It Takes Two to Tango in which Roman begs his brother, Logan, to let him go back in time to meet a famous dancer. Falling in Love was not part of the plan. (Prinxiety, Logicality)

A favorite star in the heavens in which everyone has at least one soulmate. They’re luckily enough to have three each. (LAMP) 

Forgotten Forests and Magnified Myths in which Logan finds out very suddenly that he has the passive ability to talk to dragons. (DAMP, Remilie)

Sense5 in which five people in different countries are suddenly psychically linked together and uh…yeah fun times. (DLAMP)

Stray Hearts Are Subject To Change in which black cat hybrid Virgil plans to die very heroically in an alley and Roman completely messes up that plan by being a decent human being. (Prinxiety, Logicality)

Hidden In Shadows in which Virgil is the boogieman every adult warned you about but he doesn’t actually enjoy being scary. Good thing the three Sanders kids aren’t scared of anything. (Not so good for their very confused Dad who isn’t sure what to do about their new imaginary friend)

Paved with Good Intentions in which the dark sides agree to send Virgil to the light sides as a way to get Thomas to listen to them more. Now if Virgil can just get along with the Light sides enough to actually start making some progress…

Absent Gods and Silent Tyranny or: How Logan Learned to Stop Over Thinking and Love Everyone in which Logan is a morally grey scientist who just works for supervillains because they pay well. He doesn’t expect someone like Virgil to change that.

Series

Clouds and Moss AU in which the sides are gods and its very gay and very good. (Intrulogical, Roceit)

Colors in which Logan is an excellent Dad, Virgil is an amazing son, and the world is very colorful. (Logicality)

Labeled in which Logan is a famous superhero, Patton is a doctor, and they adopt the would-be super villain and everything is soft and lovely and I cry at the purity. (Logicality, Remilie)

Fbi!au in which the sides work for the fbi and I diligently reread these series of oneshots for a daily dose of serotonin!  (Logince, Moxiety)

Growing Old is More Fun with You in which Patton is a PTA dad and so is Deceit and they have a “rivalry��. (Mociet)

Gilded Cage in which Roman is forced to dance for the fairy queen whenever she wants it. (Prinxiety)

Renegades! in which the sides live in a dystopia and fight the government while being completely in love with each other. (Prinxiety, Logiciality) 

Love and Other Fairytales in which a couple decides to keep their changling and their actual son, a child is cursed gifted a voice that makes people do whatever he says, a boy makes a rotten deal for the sake of his friend, and centuries before any of this, a fae prince is tricked into an endless sleep by his brother. 

The Vampire Hunting Vampire in which Virgil was turned into a monster and LPR slowly convince him he’s not as bad as he thinks he is. Through cuddles. (LAMP, DLAMP)

Wasteland, Baby! in which there are things in the woods and Patton gets,,, intimate with them. On purpose! (LAMP)

Destined in which Damian has successfully ignored his Soulmates for five years and he planned on doing it for much longer but on his twentieth birthday fate intervenes with a second soultrait that forces him to come face to face with all of them. (DLAMP)

Old Gods in which Gods sometimes walk the earth and Remus is pleased to hear that people are still making offerings to him– wait that is not a goat. And other fun stories!

Sit back and watch the world go by in which Virgil is a human abducted by alien smugglers, befriends Patton, breaks out, and everyone fears humans as space orcs, almost as much as Virgil is afraid of them. 

Teaming the Pieces Together in which Thomas is a pokemon trainer and eevees just…click with him.

Tales from the Dark Sides in which the author provides a lovely hub of works where Virgil is abused by OC dark sides and DLMPR are there to help patch him up.

Uncle Emile and the Super Nephews in which Emile gets custody of his six nephews and tries to bond with them. They in turn try very hard not to tell him they have superpowers.

Cuffed Universe in which Remus is a cop chasing after a hacker, Logan breaks the laws and Virgil would just like tO KEEP ONE JOB WITHOUT ONE OR BOTH OF THE OTHERS DRAGGING HIM INTO THEIR SHIT. (Analomus)

Ongoing Fics

The Origin in which space travel via Thomas Sanders’s ship SS Revelation gets more complicated when the Planets themselves turn out to be entities who aren’t all on board with humanity spreading to the rest of the solar system. (Remile) 

Delicato in which Logan and Patton are music professors with very different conceptions of music, and Virgil and Roman are students in both their classes who just want them to kiss already. (Logicality, Prinxiety)

Coming out of The Shadows in which a small mutant child Virgil is treated as subhuman because of his uncontrolled ability to manipulate shadows up until a scientist buys him. (Royality)

Falling Stars At My Command in which Roman wishes on a star and Patton reaps the benefits while Logan unfortunately gets dragged along for the ride. (Royality) 

Sugar in which Patton has three sons and no free time to bother with a relationship while he’s trying to manage bills. At least until Roman walks into his life. Sugar Daddy anyone? (Royality) 

A Man, a Snake, and a Rat in which Logan, Deceit, and Remus become college roomates (Intruloceit) 

a.s.h.es, ashes (We all fall down) in which after Logan almost dies during one of his recuse missions, him and his partner start to dig into the superhero agency they’re employed by and stumble into something far bigger than they expected. (Logicality, Prinxiety, LAMP? LAMP)

Keep him safe in which Detective Logan falls for the owner of his new favorite bakery while his partner Roman falls for the gang member they’re chasing. Ft: emotions, a pet rat, dealing with delusions 101, trauma, and family so gooey it literally makes me melt whenever it updates. I love this fic so much. (Advertises as Logicality and Prinxiety but theres so much LAMP I can’t not put it down here)

Multitudes in which Virgil works at a coffeeshop, pines over the customers that come in, and wonders why they all tip him so well. (LAMP)

Songbird in which the only thing keeping Virgil’s parents alive is his voice: the moment the (new) King gets tired of listening to him its off with all their heads. And Virgil’s okay with that, he is…. Until three visiting nobles leaving him wishing for his freedom for the first time since he was ten. (LAMP)

Shatter in which Logan gets fed up with not being listened to, and takes some poor advice from Rage, which ends with the entire Mindscape being turned upside down and inside out. Now its up to Deceit fix it all. (aka the author decided it was about high time Deceit got some love and appreciation and I’m out here living for it.) (DAMP)

Incredible Cosmic Power in which Virgil awakens some genies by accident and they refuse to let him go back to living a relatively normal peaceful life. (DLAMP)

Plea for my New Self in which Vampire Virgil decides he wants to start over again, and goes back to college to work on coding. There he proceeds to do reckless good with his absurd amount of wealth and a “fuck it” attitude. Actually one of my favorite things ever okay. I love this one so much. (DLAMP)

Your Wish Is My Command in which Thomas accidentally rubs six lamps and becomes the glorified babysitter to six jinn who definitely don’t trust him. But its fineeee. (DLAMP)

6 Dads in which Deceit, Emile, Remus, Roman, Thomas, and Remy make a relationship work and their children aren’t sure how but go along with it anyway.

Rebel Rebel in which Thomas, a well respected man, visits the Imagination, for some pleasure business as a one time thing. Except that he keeps coming back. Maybe maybe falls in love with one, two, thr– all of the men who work there. 

A New Kind of Experiment  in which Virgil runs away from home, and ends up kidnapped by merman, and somehow he doesn’t mind that much.

Becoming His Own Hero in which everyone has to juggle their superhero lives with their regular lives and sometimes…its just hard.

don’t wanna be a tragedy in which brothers Roman and Remus get a house and subsequently find out its totally, completely, 100% haunted.

Don’t You, Forget About Me in which the author recreates Breakfast club and does it spectacularly.

Heart’s Heroes in which Patton may be a villain but that does not mean he wants to see the child heroes of the city dead.

Mortals and Fae in which Deceit barely escapes the wrath of his town when they all turn against him. Dying, he stumbles into a fairy circle hoping that with his name the fae make his death short and sweet. Big Shock for him when he wakes up with a Fairy Prince swearing to protect him.

Sanders Family in which Thomas adopts six kids and has no regrets about it.

How Not to Go About an Important Inspection in which after a devastating betrayal the crew of the USS Bifrost is docked for repairs and the crew just wants to go back to being a normal family but Command is insisting on an inspection to ensure nothing so…drastic occurs again.

Symbiotic in which certain Vampires have a vemon that leaves with victims craving getting their blood drunken. Deceit, one of these Victims, continues to burn bridges because that’s easier than admitting he might need help dealing with this. 

[onthevirgeofdestruction]

Plea for My New Self

Sanders sides Vampire College AU - it’s gay - it’s full of fun fluffy tropes - a bit o’ hurt/comfort - mostly fluff

Words: 5,346 Warnings:  Arguing, Violence, Referenced Gore (in a movie), food, blood Characters: Virgil, Roman, Patton, Logan, Thomas, Remy, Joan, Talyn Ships: Prinxiety, Anxceit, Roceit, Analogical, Remile, Joan&Talyn Universe: Plea for my New Self Rating: T Genre: Vampire Nonsense 

Chapter 30: A Noise Severe

Chapter 1 for New Readers - ffn mirror

   Virgil sighed with relief as the film came on, pressing his back into the base of the couch as he relaxed. He had been looking forward to some pleasant murder since Thomas first mentioned it. Virgil hummed a deep, satisfied noise as Logan shifted to get more comfortable in his lap. Virgil wrapped his arms around Logan and enjoyed his company. Logan continued to mess with his bracelet but leaned into Virgil happily. Logan didn’t normally do public displays of affection, but Virgil wasn’t complaining.

   Emile and Patton split half of Virgil’s head each, and he didn’t understand what was happening back there. There was lots of tugging at angles that made little sense for their braiding bonanza. He was happy as long as they were vibing and that Emile wasn’t pestering him. The others in his clan felt content. Roman was extremely satisfied in the hot tub. He was one with the bubbles. Deceit may have been cuddling Pat, Virgil wasn’t able to turn his head to check with the bubbly duo doing something strange to his hair. Virgil nuzzled into Logan’s neck while the intro to the film played out.

   “Do you like horror films, or are you just here for scientific curiosity?” Virgil muttered into Logan’s neck, taking in the aroma that smelled particularly enticing after growing more hair for his shoulder demons’ amusement. He was perfectly aware he was torturing himself, and he did not give a single fuck. One benefit of being as old as sin is good self-control, even if he was batty.

   “For both,” Logan smiled and whispered back. “Horror films are fascinating. I enjoy critically examining the themes and the psychological tricks and tactics meant to instill fear in people who aren’t in any real danger,” He explained cordially, flipping a bead on his bracelet.

   “That is another cool thing about horror films,” Joan mused, not taking their eyes off the screen.

   “I just like the screams and blood,” Talyn smirked, looking extremely amused. Virgil thought Logan might have had a reaction to the obvious bloodlust, but he seemed just as happy as before as he reclined in Virgil’s lap.

   “There’s one less mental voice in here than there should be,” Deceit announced suddenly behind Virgil. There was a pause in which everyone in the room stared at Deceit.

   “What?” Thomas asked, looking incredibly baffled out the corner of Virgil’s vision.

   “I can’t hear one of you. Joan, I think? What’s your gift?” Deceit inquired curiously, shifting on the couch behind Virgil.

   “Oh, you have a telepathy type gift?” Thomas looked intrigued and leaned in Deceit’s direction.

   “Not exactly, I know people’s genuine feelings. Near Virgil, I passively hear thoughts. It’s a bit of a nightmare even if it is useful, so I’m always curious about gifts that prevent mine,” Deceit explained, affectionately nudging Virgil’s shoulder when he was mentioned.

   “Oh, that does sound annoying. I’ve got negation. It’s a boring one. I cancel out gifts and near Remy, I can also negate physical blows. It’s killer for fights, but other than covering Remy’s territory we’re barely in any conflicts,” Joan replied passively, watching the screen.

   “I know, it sucks,” Talyn whined emphatically. The sheer blood lust from them was surprising, but Virgil could relate.

“Roman probably has the coolest gift for both general use and battle,” Remy mused, splashing at the water. Virgil’s eyes shot to Remy in pure confusion. Roman’s look mirrored Virgil’s bafflement and breathless intrigue.

   “What?” Virgil and Roman both faltered at the same time, staring at Remy.

   “It’s better to tell you now, before you set a bed on fire… you’ve got pyromancy,” Remy said blithely, flicking some water in Roman’s direction.

   “Wait, what the fuck? How do you know?” Roman demanded, splashing his hand down in the hot tub.

   “Mine’s premonition. It’s also annoying. I lose track of which reality I’m in sometimes,” Remy explained. Wow, no wonder Remy was an already batty for an Alpha with a Brood. Virgil heard Deceit hum in agreement behind him.

   “Please, if I had future manipulation I’d use it constantly,” Deceit said flippantly, and the couch shook slightly from a dramatic motion.

   “Can we get back to the part where I have freaking fire powers?” Roman demanded loudly, sounding shocked and splashing both hands on top of the water surface.

   “I can’t believe you’re not interested in how you set a bed on fire,” Remy laughed boisterously, lazily splashing Roman in return.

   “He’s an idiot, I’m sure it has something to do with that,” Virgil joined Remy’s laughter, much to Roman’s disdain.

   “Oh, it might still happen,” Remy said smugly, winking at Roman.

   “Try to use it!” Patton cheered excitedly from behind Virgil, yanking hard on his hair.

   “Do not use fire in chemically treated pool water,” Logan insisted hastily, pointing at Roman.

   “Yeah, also not indoors,” Virgil chuckled and shook his head affectionately, stroking Logan’s arm.

   “Hey, shut up, the horror part is finally starting,” Talyn hissed in protest to their nonsense. Roman made a variety of upset sounds, but gave up for now and settled on being extraordinarily elated, bobbing in the hot tub.

   “Oh, awesome,” Virgil looked back to the TV in anticipation.

   ‘Pat, how do you use your gift!’ Roman mentally shouted, splashing more water as he begged Patton for answers.

   ‘Ro, no yelling,’ Virgil huffed and shot a glare to Roman. Patton paused with braiding. ‘He’s got premonition powers, we don’t know if you have them now,’ He rolled his eyes at Roman who glowered back for a second, but he was apparently too excited to stay mad.

   ‘Maybe I get it this evening! Come on, feed on me,’ Roman goaded Virgil on, and as wonderful as that sounded right now he had higher priorities.

   ‘I’m watching a movie, I need to see somebody’s freakin’ throat get ripped out before I go mad,’ Virgil thought to them desperately. The smell inside the suite was intense.

   ‘This is a ghost film, Virge, I doubt there’s throat-ripping,’ Roman thought irately.

   ‘Don’t I have enough thoughts to deal with in my head right now without these extras?’ Deceit made a dissatisfied noise behind him and bopped Virgil on the head with his cane, probably because he couldn’t reach Roman in the hot tub to do it to him. Virgil sighed inaudibly, and Logan leaned back to look at Deceit in confusion.

   ‘I want to know!’ Roman shot mentally, the water sloshing around him as he vibrated angrily.

   “Babes, quit harassing your alpha or he’s going to attack me,” Remy groaned, splashing water at Roman forcefully, a small amount of excess water landing on the tile around the hot tub.

   “Sorry,” Virgil huffed and blew a little loose hair out of his face, grinding his teeth. Roman sighed and sunk into the hot tub bitterly. Logan shifted to angle more towards the movie in interest but didn’t stop playing with his bracelet.

   “Emmy, get me something from the minibar,” Remy grunted sourly, beckoning at Emile. Emile hopped up from the couch, dropping a handful of tresses over Virgil’s shoulder. He walked over to the black mini-fridge with a clear door, considering the options before grabbing a few nips of vodka. Emile went to the hot tub and dropped them in Remy’s outstretched hands. Virgil could feel Roman’s frustration, and Patton made a concerned noise. Deceit sighed again, sounding excessively disgruntled.

   “Logan, love, can I go handle this?” Virgil whispered into Logan’s ear and stroked his arm in consolation. Logan nodded and shifted off of Virgil’s lap, climbing up to sit next to Deceit on the couch. Virgil felt his hair was half-braided in certain parts, and it felt odd when his hair swayed as he got up off the floor. He went over to the hot tub and twisted his hair into what was possibly the most lopsided bun in existence. After stripping to his boxer briefs, he stepped in next to Roman.

   “Cute tats, Virge,” Remy smirked, looking Virgil over as he settled into the hot bubbling water. It felt a little wrong. It surprised him how relaxed Remy seemed in here.

   “Thanks,” Virgil nodded and sat behind Roman. ‘Ready?’ He confirmed with Roman mentally, pulling him into his arms on the hot tub bench.

   ‘What, right now? Here?’ Roman looked appalled at the very concept of Virgil doing what Roman urged him to do a literal moment ago.

   ‘You’re throwing a clan-wide hissy fit and demanded I come over,’ Virgil stared intensely at Roman.

   ‘There are people here,’ Roman motioned to the room just barely above the water, looking embarrassed.

   ‘You’re seriously shy now?’ Virgil glowered at him irately.

   ‘It- I just don’t think it’s appropriate around others,’ Roman thought nervously, looking around the suite with concern.

   ‘Do you want to venom, or not? I’m tired, I’m thirsty, my body wants to punch the guy next to us, and I’m missing a horror movie,’ Virgil loosened up on Roman and leaned back in the hot tub, giving Roman his space to decide.

   ‘It’s, well, it feels…’ Roman turned beet red and sunk partially underwater.

   ‘I will stick his fangs in your neck myself!’ Deceit shot them both a glare and motioned threateningly with his cane.

   ‘Your coconspirator is not a fan of all these extra thoughts,’ Virgil looked critically at Roman. Roman sighed and reached around to hold Virgil, shifting into his lap. He exposed his neck and tapped on Virgil’s shoulder. Virgil bit down into Roman’s skin and the rush of fiery blood hit his dry throat like a holy blessing. Finally, some good fucking food.

   ‘You are incorrigible,’ Deceit thought. Virgil didn’t quite care at the moment. Roman tasted too fucking amazing. He was thirsty from the hair growth and smelling Logan’s neck wasn’t exactly making it better. Virgil got in a few good long drinks before Deceit tapped his cane on the floor. He took that as a sign that he tapped out Roman and sealed the wound. Virgil leaned back in the hot tub with Roman still in his lap, laying against him in a daze. Virgil turned back to the film, feeling very satisfied and rejuvenated by the fresh blood.

   They all watched in what was probably very blessed semi-silence for Deceit since he finally relaxed back into the couch and went back to watching the flick. He pressed partially against Patton with a pleased expression. Logan was watching the movie with a vested interest, leaning forward on his legs. The tension in the film was building, and the attack was imminent at this point. Virgil waited with bated breath for some violent action.

   When the ghost made its move, Patton and Emile shrieked from the couch, clinging on to each other for dear life. Deceit cackled in delight. Thomas shook his head and chuckled, and Remy looked extremely amused. Talyn watched with unparalleled interest, and Joan leaned back and smiled. Roman didn’t have much of a reaction, probably because he was facing away from the film and blissed out. Virgil’s instincts near Remy were still on edge, but he felt a little more in control with blood and some lovely brutal murder.

   Virgil was certain Roman fell asleep while they were watching, which didn’t seem like the best idea in a hot tub. The movie is back to them dealing with the terror over actual terrors, so Virgil hopefully had a minute before there was any more gore. Virgil carried Roman out of the hot tub and dripped his way to the bathroom to towel off the water.

   There was a giant standing shower with a bench he propped Roman up against to dry him with a towel. The food should be here soon, so having to wake up Roman to eat conflicted Virgil. Obviously he needed the nutrients since Virgil just fed, but Roman also kept staying up too late and needed the rest. That was probably why he got sleepy when he lost a bit of blood. Virgil shouldn’t have fallen for their pestering and made Roman fall asleep in the middle of a movie party with other vampires Virgil didn’t fully trust.

   Virgil sighed and opted to let him nap for the time being. The guy slept like a rock to be capable of sleeping through this, but Virgil tried to be light and gentle nonetheless. He dried Roman off carefully and picked one of the empty rooms to lay him on a bed. He tucked in Roman, leaving him laying on a towel so his swim trunks wouldn’t soak the sheets. Roman was still feeling warm from the hot tub, But Virgil laid a towel over him, anyway.

   He went back into the living room and slid his clothes back on to rejoin the movie, though he left his leather jacket on the back of the couch. Patton, Emile, and Logan were now all under blankets on the couch. He had no idea where ever they ran off to find them since Virgil wasn’t gone that long. One of the closets they found earlier could have been a linen closet? Logan would have known, probably, considering he ran around checking everything when they first got here.

   Virgil moved to sit back on the floor in front of Patton, but they caught his shoulder. Virgil looked to Patton, and they shook their head and pointed to the spot next to them and looked scared. Virgil chuckled and sat down, letting Patton burrow under his arm, holding on tight to Virgil’s torso. Deceit leaned against Virgil affectionately on the other side. Logan seemed happy with his space, for now. He watched the movie tensely while his hands gripped his knees.

   Room service arrived a short while later, and Emile looked ecstatic to have an excuse to look away from the film. Patton also finally left the couch to eat the dinner they intended to at least thirty minutes ago. They both looked like they were watching with wide eyes from across the table as they ate, though. Virgil got up from his seat and went into the bedroom to grab Roman.

   Roman was sitting up on the bed looking dazed when Virgil came into the room. He rubbed his face and seemed lost, furrowing his eyebrows, and didn’t notice Virgil enter. Virgil frowned in concern as Roman spaced out.

   “Shit, are you okay Roman? Did I take too much?” Virgil stressed, hastily moving to Roman’s side next to the bed.

   “Oh, Virge. No, I’m just-” Roman yawned widely and covered his mouth. “-still kinda feelin’ it other than being tired,” He ran his hand through his hair and blinked a few times.

   “Well, the food’s here if you want to change and come eat,” Virgil offered his support. Roman took it, and Roman was oddly warm to the touch. “I think you were in that hot tub too long, you’re still pretty warm,” Virgil muttered.

   “I feel dandy, I’m just a little out of it,” Roman said cheerily. “Get out of here so I can change,” Roman pointed to the door lazily and Virgil helped him off the bed before leaving back to the couch.

   Virgil returned to his spot in between Logan and Deceit. Deceit cuddled up to him immediately. It looked as if Virgil had made it back just in time because murder: part two was gearing up. The swelling of the background music and the close zoom of the camera attracted Virgil’s interest right away. Virgil heard Roman come out and sit at the table with the others, and it relieved him Roman was finally eating. Plus, there was blood everywhere on the screen. Roman quietly uttered a disgusted noise, but there was a splash from Remy leaning forward excitedly and the other vampires all tensing for the kill.

   There was a collective sigh as the remains of the foolish homeowner collapsed on the ground. Deceit nodded slightly, maybe to someone’s thoughts. Virgil leaned into the couch happily and Deceit played with the hair at the base of his neck, also relaxing again. They watched out the rest of the film quietly. Patton and Emile must have been too tense to return to the couch because they never moved, but eventually, Roman came back and laid in Deceit’s lap.

   When the movie was over, Roman got up to flip through the other movie disks with a curious hum. He still looked very satisfied, but less out of it while he examined the cases.

   “Alright, what are you feeling next? Castle of Terror or Mystery of the Marquis?” Roman said, holding the two movie cases up to see.

   “What are the descriptions?” Deceit asked lazily, nestled under Virgil’s arm. Roman flipped over the case to read it.

   “Castle of Terror has the phrase ‘murder frenzied’ on it,” Roman supplied, grimacing slightly.

   “Sold!” Virgil and Remy both called out at the same time.

   “Aw, but Mystery of the Marquis is supposed to have neck ripping,” Talyn whined, opposing their selection with some extraordinarily pertinent information.

   “That one!” Deceit blurted out eagerly.

   “Yass, bitch!” Remy cheered, also changing his mind.

   “We can watch all three, we have the room all night and none of you sleep,” Roman chuckled and shook the cases at them.

   “Logan would go to bed earliest, hand him the cases and let him pick the next one,” Virgil suggested, pointing to Logan.

   “I will stay up tonight. It would be hard to sleep. There is an unsettling intermittent crawling sensation up my spine,” Logan supplied, shaking his head.

   “Sorry, Logan,” Virgil frowned. Perhaps he should offer to take Logan back to the dorm again.

   “I would have stayed awake even if there wasn’t some kind of strange prey instinct occurring,” Logan shrugged dismissively. Roman passed off the cases to Logan to make his choice, anyway.

   “Ugh, I relate. The feeling on my neck is getting a little weird,” Patton agreed, rubbing their neck with a perturbed expression.

   “I think the Mystery of the Marquis would be a superb choice,” Logan decided, holding up the case. Roman nodded and took both disks back and loaded up the movie. Remy got up and climbed out of the hot tub to go dry off, walking across the room confidently.

   “Emmy, babe, feed Joan before the next movie,” Remy waved as he disappeared into the bathroom doorway. Emile stood from the table and dropped himself into Joan’s lap with a bright grin.

   “Come here often?” Emile laughed playfully. Joan groaned loudly and pulled on his arm swiftly to feed on him. Emile’s smile softened, and he relaxed against the chair. Roman came back over to the couch after he loaded the disk into the player and returned to cuddling Deceit. Deceit leaned into Virgil and angled Virgil’s head facing down to steal a kiss. Virgil smiled happily into it and Deceit pet Roman’s hair in his lap. Patton got up from the table and climbed up the back of the couch to sit behind Virgil on the top of the couch. They started playing with his hair again after freeing it from the lumpy bun.

   “Did you want to finish the hairstyle?” Their determination amused Virgil, shifting to let Patton slide their feet into a more comfortable position before leaning back again.

   “Yes! It will look amazing,” Patton said fervently.

   Remy came back out a moment later, tossing a towel on the splashes on the floor. He pulled his clothes back on right after and dragged his foot around the towel to sop up the water and chucked it in the bathroom’s direction. Remy walked over to Joan’s recliner and lifted Emile right out of Joan’s lap. Remy sauntered to the couch, holding on to the out-of-it Emile, and deposited himself on the couch.

   “Bring the suffering, girl, let’s get some throat-ripping action!” Remy commanded, pointing excitedly to the TV. Roman sat up enough to reach the remote and settled back against Deceit’s chest. He lazily lifted his arm and pressed play on the next movie before nestling his face and closing his eyes. Logan pulled back up the blanket and leaned back, looking interested in the new movie. Patton kept braiding as the movie started up, and Virgil sighed happily as he stroked Roman’s hair slightly with the arm around Deceit.

   This movie was much less eventful in that most of the people in the room were watching it so intensely that the vampires barely moved and the humans mostly shifted nervously. Patton got distracted again from their braiding, but Virgil’s hair felt mostly put together when they stopped and held on tight to Virgil’s head while they leaned forward. The movie had less suspense than the first movie and more brutality, which was incredibly gratifying. It wasn’t so much a mystery as much as it was historians and a greedy person getting slaughtered violently by a vampire. This one might have been by a vampire, it had so much blood and throat-ripping.

   Patton buried their face in Virgil’s hair after things got intense every time, and they slid down the couch and hid behind Virgil more than halfway through the movie. They made little squeaks of terror and flinched every time there was a loud noise. Logan threw a blanket over Patton and they didn’t come back out. Virgil held up his arm and Patton slid into it instantly and grasped it tight, laying on Virgil now and hiding behind the blanket. It was very cute.

   Other than noises of disgust, Roman seemed to put up with the movie alright. Logan had that expression he sometimes got while taking notes, and Virgil did not understand how to parse that information. If it meant anything, Virgil had no inkling as to what. But Logan was too invested in whatever way he was and didn’t make any tiny noises. Emile was also hiding under a blanket at this point, but he was still watching, his eyes barely peeked out from his safety blanket.

   The various vampires, on the other hand, often let out various levels of satisfied hisses and didn’t move much. Remy had a deeply contented grin, Joan and Talyn looked absolutely stoked, and Thomas was rigid, but he still had an invested expression. Remy and Virgil had shot each other a few glares and glances and met eyes, but they held their own despite the growing urge again.

   Virgil tried to focus on the movie that was extremely tailored to his murder instincts, but he felt his muscles stiffening. They appeared to have it under control, though, and Remy could just tell them if they needed to change something to avoid an event. Though Virgil wasn’t sure if Remy cared if they started attacking each other. He was unpredictable. Constantly changing things in seemingly strange ways to alter the future probably gave that impression rather than the reality of it.

   Virgil was still tense when the film was finally over. Roman got up with a hop from Deceit’s lap, and Deceit looked concerned about Virgil’s hard expression while Roman messed with the movie disks.

   “Are you doing alright, love?” Deceit asked quietly.

   “I’m fine,” Virgil hissed and gripped Deceit’s shoulder, a little too rough for an affectionate side hug. Deceit didn’t seem fazed, at least.

   “Clearly,” Deceit drawled sardonically and rolled his eyes, shoving at Virgil irately.

   “Hey, um, is the neck tingling supposed to get worse? Because it feels weird. It feels weird, right?” Patton asked softly, no longer shaken from the film and popping their head out from under the blanket. They hadn’t watched the last half, so it must have been recovery time from their panic.

   “Oh, yeah, it’s giving me shivers,” Roman nodded in agreement as he put the next disk in the player.

   “Hot tub might help,” Virgil grunted, barely moving his lips to talk. He stared stoically ahead. The smell in the suite was overwhelming him.

   “Oh!” Patton perked up excitedly. “Will you join me, Lo-Lo?” They asked, dropping their blanket shield completely.

   “That sounds delightful,” Logan nodded and dropped his blanket, then got up from the couch. He offered his hand to Patton and Virgil cautiously released them, trying to keep himself under control. He took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself, but that was a bad idea. The smell made Virgil grip at his leg and tear a new hole in his pants with his nails. No more air for him.

   “Virgil,” Deceit chided with a hard voice. But Virgil was done with breathing, so he didn’t respond. He shot a look to Deceit in response and shrugged. “That’s ridiculous, just go fight again,” He insisted pointedly, shoving at Virgil again.

   “I agree. Remington and Virgil need to take it back outside,” Emile replied airily, still a little dazed. “You did get cut off earlier,” He pointed out, lolling his head back.

   “I want to fight Deceit!” Talyn suddenly proclaimed and stood from the recliner, rolling their shoulders.

“Alright,” Deceit shrugged, letting go of Virgil. Deceit slid his suit jacket off and started rolling up his shirt sleeves. “But no tearing at the suit,” He added curtly. Virgil exhaled and looked around nervously. He didn’t want a repeat of earlier today.

   “Is… is everyone okay with me punching his face in and/or my face getting punched in?” Virgil’s tone was acrid with the strain, but he meant it with concern. He was looking specifically at Logan and Patton standing in front of him.

   “Kick some ass!” Roman cheered on the couch next to him. “I’m watching,” He beamed, heading to the patio door.

   “I suppose, though I am not fond of the idea of your face being punched in,” Patton crossed their arms and looked displeased but resigned.

   “I’ll punch where his liver would be if he was human, then,” Remy said brightly, getting up and dropping Emile on the couch. Emile giggled as he bounced on the chair from the height Remy dropped him. He cleared his throat and fixed his hair promptly when he saw people staring at him.

   “Do you have to?” Patton whined, looking sad and pouting out their lower lip pleadingly.

   “That feeling on your neck is going to get worse. Just have a nice time in the hot tub and try to remember they’re very hard to hurt and heal quickly,” Emile offered consolingly. Patton nodded, still upset, but headed off into one of the bedrooms in the suite. Logan went to the bedroom next to it but paused in the doorway.

   “You will be safe?” Logan asked Virgil, his eyebrows furrowed with concern. Virgil was positive if he opened his mouth he would hiss, and he looked to Deceit to answer for him. He didn’t want to be rude or scare anyone.

   “He will be fine,” Deceit reassured him, stretching out his arms. “No gifts and try not to think about your next move or we’ll both be bored,” Deceit said dryly. Talyn bounced in one spot with delight, looking intense.

   “You want to just brawl, babes?” Remy suggested airily, a lazy grin on his face spreading to show his fangs.

   “Remington, love, please don’t cause property damage. It’s not fair, anyway, it would be unmatched even if Thomas sits out,” Emile chided him, pointing at him with a disapproving expression.

   “Aw, but look at him,” Remington pouted. Thomas’s foot was tapping up a storm, and he crossed his arms as he sat on the couch with a scowl.

   “I’ll be better once you two shitheads go punch each other,” Thomas hissed, glowering at them. Patton gasped loudly from the room they were in. Virgil didn’t quite expect that language from Thomas, either, but was kind of impressed Patton could hear it behind a closed door. He wondered if they had good hearing before getting venom.

   “Let’s take it outside before things escalate any worse,” Deceit pulled Virgil off the couch and started shoving him towards the door to the patio. He was happy to be pushed out of the way because he felt roughly ten seconds from going for Remy’s throat if he moved on his own.

   As soon as the fresh air hit Virgil’s nose he breathed with relief, taking a deep breath of clear air. Virgil rolled his shoulders and neck to stretch out a bit, glad to be able to think again.

   “It really was fucking bad in there. We should open the windows,” Joan huffed, coming out next behind Virgil. “We should probably scatter after the third movie or Remy and Virgil might go for the neck,” Joan said, eyeballing Virgil’s exceedingly stiff stance as Talyn came outside with Deceit.

   “Sounds nice,” Virgil grunted darkly. “Get the fuck out here,” Virgil called to Remy. Remy shot out the door and tried to tackle Virgil, but he wasn’t having it this time and braced against the tackle just to have the angle to punch him hard as Remy rammed into him. They grappled for a moment and they threw Deceit into Virgil. Deceit pushed off of Virgil instantly and went after Talyn again. Roman cheered as Virgil successfully lifted Remy and threw him behind himself. Remy launched off of something to tackle Virgil from behind that sent Virgil rolling.

   Roman jeered as Virgil and Remy tumbled around, Talyn getting launched into them at one point, but Virgil’s sole focus on kicking ass without fangs or claws that he longed to use. Remy hissed as Virgil kicked Remy off of him. Joan went flying past for a moment, which confused Virgil, but attacking Remy again was his priority. He felt a powerful blow on Deceit, though, and tossed Remy immediately, launching off to protect Deceit on instinct, landing in front of him and taking a hit from Talyn, who froze as soon as they made contact.

   Remy came and tackled Virgil out of the way and they were back at grappling for dominance across the rooftop and over the edge onto which earned a scream from Emile. But Virgil flipped to the building side and managed to throw Remy back up before things got too dicey. Virgil ran up the wall to join him before they attracted any attention.

   “Be careful, you fucking idiots!” He heard Joan call as Virgil landed and went for Remy again.

   Virgil felt the urge to rip out Remy’s throat fade and he could have more fun with it instead of fighting himself with every hit. Remy smirked and landed a hard hit into Virgil’s side, so he must have been feeling similarly. They tossed punches, kicks, and each other for another few minutes. Roman cheered on Virgil excitedly, and Thomas applauded Remy in turn. Virgil spun rapidly to slam Remy to the patio by the arm, and Remy barely managed to change gravity polarity in time to avoid ruining the stonework.

   “Boo! Kick his ass!” Thomas jeered and Remy used his legs to flip Virgil swiftly onto the ground and they tumbled across the tiles. There was an opening for Remy’s throat he nearly took and had to bounce back for a moment.

   “What the-” Roman shouted as Virgil bit his own arm, careful not to penetrate his skin, before going back in to attack Remy and landing a punch right in his smug face.

   “Having fun?” Remy snarled and swept at Virgil’s legs and kicked him while he was down. Virgil twisted and grabbed Remy’s leg, causing them to grapple for dominance across the patio once more. “Come on babe, just one bite,” Remy hissed and Virgil had to punch him in the face to stop Remy from angling his head to attack.

   “I’m not a fucking venom junkie,” Virgil snarled, shoving him away with enough force to send him skidding a few feet. Remy dove to bite and Virgil struggled to push him off, opting to roll to dodge instead. Remy went in for another bite, and then there was a bright flash of light out of the corner of Virgil’s eye.

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[non-binary-nightmare]

Pills: Before the Chaos [Chapter 6]

Chpt 1 Chpt 2 Chpt 3  Chpt 4 Chpt 5  Chpt 7 Chpt 8

Warnings: Unsympathetic!Patton; strong language; manipulation; arguing; let me know if more is needed

THIS SERIES IS DISCONTINUED

---

“Kiddo listen.. I-"

"You what?! Didn't mean it?! Oh bullshit! He's my brother! How could you say something like that about him?!" Roman yelled.

Patton walked up to Roman and grabbed hold of his shoulders. "You don't have to defend him, Roman. You can finally be yourself without him having to get in the way! No more of that gross and wrong stuff. Just you!" Patton said, a small smile on his face. Tears fell down Roman's face. "But.. I don't understand. He's not a bad guy.."

"But he is, Roman! Just look at what he did here!" Patton said pointing to the walls of the living room. "You'll understand eventually. Now, clean up your tears and be a good kid and pick up your brother's mess." Patton said, patting Roman's head and head up the stairs. “Oh and Roman?” Patton said, turning back to face Roman. “Never. Use that language again in my house.” He said, continuing to walk up the stairs.

Roman nodded and got to cleaning up.

----

“Logan listen, I only agreed to leave so I didn’t have to deal with that bastard messing with Remus and I! And with Anxiety, I fought for him so he didn’t have to deal with Patton at all! So please, don’t come here, on his behalf and start making accusations with no real proof. Logan, whatever he’s doing I can stop it. Just tell me what he’s doing.”

“He isn’t- he isn’t doing anything. He just asked that I talk to you again” Logan said, adjusting his glasses. “And my apologies that I didn’t believe you the first time.”

“Oh can it with the apologies. Tell Patton that if he wants some answers then he can come get them himself. He needs to stop being such a coward.” Janus said, motioning Logan to leave. “But Janus-”

“But nothing. If you are only coming here for the benefit of Patton, then don’t come here at all.” Logan sighed and left, heading back to the lightscape before he was stopped in the hallway. Him and Virgil had run into each other.

“Hello Anxiety.” Virgil just looked at Logan. “Umm.. Are you settling in alright?” Virgil nodded. “That’s good. Janus and Remus? Are they being nice?” Once again, Virgil nodded. “Great. Well, let me know if you need anything.” Logan said, leaving.

---

“So? Anything?” Patton asked. “No, Patton. He refused to give any information on the whereabouts of Remus.”

“Well why not!?”

“He said, quote ‘Tell Patton that if he wants some answers then he can come get them himself. He needs to stop being such a coward.’ and then told me I had to leave.” Logan said and Patton stood up from his bed. “Coward!? He thinks I’m a coward!! How could he say such a thing about me!? What have I done to him!?”

“You- you kicked him- you kicked him out..” Logan said. “That was for Thomas! Besides, I’ll show him who's a coward soon enough.”

“Uh Patton? May I ask why you split Romulus into two?”

“Thomas’ creativity doesn’t need to be clouded by all of that bad stuff that Remus puts in. Now don’t ask about it again. Okay hun?” Patton said, giving Logan a kiss on the cheek. “Now, I need a nap before I start dinner.” He said, climbing into bed.

----

Roman finished cleaning everything and decided he was gonna go find Remus himself. And, he thought, the obvious place to start would be Remus’ room.

Showing up at Remus’ door, he heard laughing and knocked. When the door swung open, he was met with Virgil’s widening eyes. Virgil slammed the door shut when he saw Roman. Roman stared at the door with confusion.

“It’s Roman.” Virgil said in a half whisper. Remus rolled his eyes and stood in front of Virgil, opening the door. “Do you want something?” He asked. “Well I just had to clean up your mess in the living room! An apology and a thank you should start!” Roman said, arms crossed. Remus just chuckled. “What, did ol’daddio put you up to this?” Remus said, putting a hand on his hip. “You two are both- ugh!” Roman said, leaving.

“And don’t come back!” Remus said, closing the door. “He’s not very nice..” Virgil said. “Sure he is! Just.. I dunno.. Confused? Now! Let’s get back to finding ways to mess with Thomas!” Remus said.

---

The day continued, Patton made some new rules, making sure they know that there will be consequences if broken. Janus made sure to make sure Remus knew what he did was wrong and got a small warning.

Overtime, everything seemed to go on ‘normally.’

Virgil and Remus got along well, Roman got used to having his own ideas, without Remus interfering, and Janus managed to figure out how to deal with two rebellious teens.

Getting yelled at and belittled by Patton definitely motivated that.

As Thomas got older, everyone's roles began to fit into place and everyone knew what their ‘job’ was. Remus, Virgil, and Roman got ‘older’ as they became more significant in Thomas’ life.

There are a few moments that are quite important to this story. But everything else has little to no significance in this story. So, let us continue with the important things.

---

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[virgilantejustice]

Imagine if you will, the 'dark sides' finally confront the main four about their mistreatment, rising up while they're sorting out a more petty dilemma. So, it's the main four, and all of The Others as well as Thomas.

Imagine Deceit going on a whole shpeel about how Patton is the one who separated the sides on what he thought was good and bad, how he's been manipulating Thomas, how all of his recent larger dilemmas have been to do with right and wrong, or morality. Imagine him desperately trying to explain that there is no 'good and bad', and that they're all part of Thomas and doing what they think is right for him.

Imagine Logan siding with Deceit immediately. Imagine Roman and Virgil being outraged at the whole situation, Roman furious at the idea of his own black and white/hero and villain mindset being challanged, and Virgil enraged at his former tormentors trying to weasel their ways into the home that he's finally found. Imagine Patton just standing there, looking scared at first, the mask slowly giving way to his anger, causing Roman and Virgil to consider the other side.

Imagine Remus being quiet for once in his life, stunned into silence by seeing Deceit in tears. Imagine Logan comforting him as he becomes the only one left arguing their side.

Imagine Patton finally snapping, saying that what he did was for Thomas's benefit and threatening Logan by saying that he'll push him down with the other 'Dark Sides'. Imagine Logan not being afraid of him.

Imagine them all rounding on him, and Patton backing into a corner, trying to sink out but Roman grabs him. Imagine him cowering under all of their spitting and shouting.

Imagine Roman finally not managing to grab him in time because he got distracted as Thomas begins to sob.

Imagine Patton sinking out to the dark sides's commons and just, wondering around, alone, crying, after deciding that Thomas was better off without such a skewed moral compass.

[recipe-for-thomathy]

More than just Deceit

Warning: SPOILERS FROM THE NEW SANDERS SIDES.

Deceit is scared of society...

He KNEW what would happen if Thomas came out as gay in the early stages of his life (especially in a time when his community wasn't so accepted yet).

So he got him to lie about his sexuality for years.

Because he wanted to PROTECT him from society.

Deceit, like Virgil, only aims to protect Thomas.

Deceit, like Roman, wants what's best for Thomas.

He had a point through out the whole video. That Thomas, sometimes, has to be selfish. It obviously isn't ideal for him, given that he's emotionally driven and he has a very strong sense of empathy with everyone, but by prioritizing others before himself, he's losing opportunities that would benefit him greatly.

Thomas doesn't want to be a bad person.

He tries so hard not to be.

But sometimes, when your own future and happiness are on the line, you have to be selfish, even just for a day.

Heck, even Patton admitted that he wasn't sure of what was right or wrong in that situation. As Morality, he wants Thomas to be a good person, because Thomas himself wants to be. But should he sacrifice his own happiness for the happiness of others all the time?

I think the lesson Deceit was trying to tell them was that: it's okay to be selfish when the time calls for it. No one can be a good person all the time. You have to remember that, in this world, in this society, you have to take all the opportunities you can get, because if you don't, you'll be taken advantage of, looked down upon, seen as a person who can be manipulated easily because they're more focused on helping others, and have let their guard down from helping themselves.

So that's what I understood from the new video. I could be wrong. We all have different views so if you don't quite agree with me it's totally fine. Just wanted to convey my own thoughts and share it with you guys :)

[i-will-physically-fight-you]

Deceit? Collapsing or falling asleep and looking younger

 Title: Rules of Encounter 

Summary: There is many things to keep in mind when encountering Deceit. One of them is how adorable he looks asleep.

Words: 448

Warnings: Morally Grey/Sympathetic!Deceit, angst

When one treads upon Deceit, they must always be careful. Thereare many things to be mindful of while in his presence. For though he is not alwaysbenevolent, it does not mean he is the entity of all things vile and cruel. Hehas an agenda of his own, like the others, when it comes to Thomas’ well-being.Unlike the others, he is a lot less blatant about it.

He is secretive, he does not attempt to compromise or collaboratewith the others. Deceit manipulates the situation to his advantage. As Thomas’ self-preservation,he cares about only Thomas and his image. Likewise, this is reflected in hisinteractions with the others. He is self-oriented.

If doing or saying good things for others benefits him, thenhe will partake in it. That is another thing to worry about. He will ask forfavors of you later from those nice things.

Do not be quick to make assumptions about is and isn’t a liein Deceit’s speech. You cannot always reverse what he says to find the truth. Likeall liars, he is capable of speaking the truth. The best lies are the onesbased on truth, after all. No one truly believes you if you say you have a pet pinkelephant.

Deceit sometimes does lie blatantly. Whether this is a legit attempt to cover the truth or to be contrary, it is uncertain.He appears to enjoy riling up Logan, who is sometimes slow to the take.

The most important thing to keep in mind is to never disturbhim should you come across him deep in slumber. It appears the snake scales aremore than just aesthetic. As the side shares many correlations with snakes.

Deceit seeks out heat sources.

“I’m not cold.” He says, cuddling up to Roman.

It is not uncommon to find him curled up in the sunny spotsof the mindscape, asleep. His hat askew as he uses his cape as a makeshiftpillow. His forked tongue sticks out as he snoozes softly. It sounds remarkablysimilar to that of a snake’s hiss.

The most dangerous thing about finding Deceit in this state,is his adorability factor. The cold, snarky persona built up by Deceit isnonexistent in sleep. It sheds away, revealing a Side looking much younger inits’ place. There is something about how his bangs fall into his face, or perhapsthe freckles intermingled with the scales.

But it is none of that. In sleep, he cannot hide behind hisnumerous masks. He is relaxed and unguarded. It is perhaps a glimpse into histrue self. Something he does not trust the others enough to share consciously. He never trusts them.

Then again, who Deceit truly is a mystery to even himself.

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[emblem-333]

In Retrospect, Henry Clay and the Elections of 1824 and 1832

The American “Antebellum Era” is seldom spoken about. Sandwich between the revolutionary and civil war periods, the antebellum age is defined by various titans of the time. 1824 was when the first generation of America’s Goliath’s began to exit stage right into retirement. In the formative years of the republic the position of Secretary of State was seen by many as a stepping stone to the presidency. After all, future presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and even the aforementioned James Monroe held the prestigious position before elevating to the Executive Mansion. Whomever Monroe selected to be his Secretary of State likely would succeed him in the presidency.

Henry Clay desperately wanted to be that man. So much so, he tried to dictate his own faith by crowning himself John Quincy Adams’ Secretary of State after making him president in after the hotly contested election of 1824 went to the House of Representatives, where he was House Speaker.

In any other previous election Clay would have been President. In 1824 Clay was young, vibrant, still riding off the fumes of his war hawking for conflict with Great Britain twelve-years earlier. Ironically, it was his nemesis Andrew Jackson ultra-successful campaign in New Orleans which shifted not only the tides of the war, but saved Clay’s career. By 1815 the British had enjoyed smashing success against the Americans after recently vanquishing the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, the red coats no longer needed to fight off the pesky Americans with one hand tied behind their back.

Four months and thirteen days after Bonaparte’s abdication, in 1814 the British burnt America’s capital to the ground. Though the Americans outnumbered the British by more than three-thousand men, the U.S militia groups proved not on the same level as the expertly skilled British fighting force already experienced from fighting Napoleon and his various allies. The White House burned, as well as many other public buildings, followed by the brief occupation of the District of Columbia. If it weren’t for Mother Nature and her conjuring up sudden, heavy thunderstorms and throwing in a tornado for good measure, forcing the British back to their ships, the capital likely suffers the fate similar to Carthage at the hands of the Romans - except no salting of the Earth in the literal sense.

If such events occurred, it is safe to assume the war’s main proponent, Henry Clay, his political career would go up in smoke. Instead, the Battle of New Orleans gave the United States the leverage it needed for its diplomats to carve out a favorable peace, basically resulting in the status quo ante bellum. The British dream of reconquering their lost colonies extinguished and the United States would never again face a on-land invasion. The War of 1812 didn’t benefit anyone besides Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay. The two people who’d continuously duke it out for supremacy in the world of politics.

It is initially believed before the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of the 1960s only white men could enjoy the privilege to vote. This is definitely true, but it is far too narrow of a description. You also must be rich and own land none of which easy to come by. This is how you get leaders who are not necessarily rockers of the boat into the White House under the perceived guise of anointment. Andrew Jackson represented the downtrodden poor and he saw himself as their champion.

1824 is the precursor to the election we just witnessed in 2016. A frustrated, vitriolic base in America feeling ignored find their man to pin all their hopes and identity on no matter what the facts are. Bypassing accomplished, skillful politicians along the way in favor of continuing the practice of scapegoating various minority groups.

Now, Henry Clay and those in his flock accomplished more than the establishment guards today could only dream. You can say many things about Clay, you cannot say he merely sat around and voted on bills that renamed post offices. Known as “The Great Compromiser” Clay saved the nation numerous times in 1820, 1833 and 1850 that did prolong the American Civil War and continue the practice of slavery. If you are to hold that last paragraph against Henry Clay I will not call you out on it. But at the various times it seemed war between the regions was unavoidable, the north and south were on even plains, the north becoming more industrial and advanced as time marched forward setting the stage for a war where the north held substantial advantages.

But the outcome of the American Civil War wasn’t a forgone conclusion. At many points the Confederates could have secured their independence. Clay successfully kept a ambivalent south obviously itching to succeed, from doing just that in times they likely would have won.

By 1824, Henry Clay started a war, ended one and saved the nation. At forty-seven Clay ran as one of the four Democratic-Republicans in the swan song election during the “Era of Good Feelings.” After the collapse of the Federalists, the Democratic-Republicans were the only viable political party in the U.S. The Federalists lived on in the Northeast, particularly New England in representative John Quincy Adams. A great man. An honorable, distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts whose unjustly forgotten in history. What did the Federalists in wholly was the Hartford convention in December of 1814, when the War of 1812 looked its most bleak for America. The convention called for removing the three-fifths compromise, which gave slave states disproportionate power in Congress and controversially flirted with New England seceding. When Jackson essentially won the war, the Federalists came off as unpatriotic to those outside of New England. This damned the already fledgling Federalists into their coffins.

Adams, son of second President John Adams, embodied the fictitious views we hold of the founding fathers today. Adams wasn’t a slave owner, fought against its expansion and later became a fervent abolitionist. Hamstrung by a congress becoming ever more friendly to his foe Jackson and lacking the skills someone like Henry Clay has, Adams’ presidency goes down rightfully as a failure and as merely a buffer between eras. Sort of like how no one can name the quarterback of the Miami Dolphins before Dan Mario and after Bob Griese. You’d be hard pressed to find people who know who David Woodley and Don Stock are. And you’d be equally taxed finding someone who gives two damns about John Quincy Adams.

Clay retired from his role as House Speaker, his term officially ending when the new congress is scheduled to have sworn in. His last act as House Speaker in 1825 is manipulating the House to bend to his whim and elevate Adams to the presidency after neither candidate in the 1824 election achieved the majority in the electoral college. Despite Jackson running away in both the electoral college (99) and popular vote (41.4%), it was Adams who’d be sworn in on March 4th, 1825. If Henry Clay won just three more electoral votes, enough to secure third-place from William H. Crawford of Georgia, “The Western Star” possibly is able to work his magic to select himself over both Adams and Jackson.

Arguably, the most damning political miscalculation during Clay’s first chapter in politics is not the “Corrupt Bargain,” but the naked ambition it failed to mask. If Clay simply not accepted Adams’ invitation to become Secretary of State, perhaps he’d become President feasibly in the near future.

So what-if Clay had become President in 1824? For starters, he’s more aggressive in pursuing his legislative goals than Adams. Like Barack Obama long after him, Adams fell under the delusion his political enemies were acting under good faith and not out of naked partisanship.

Clay dreamt of an American economy independent from the British through protective tariffs on foreign goods imported to the states. Part of this principal resides in Clay’s famed “American System.” It’s core tenets are:

• It’s main tenants are the establishment of a protective tariff, a 20%–25% tax on imported good.

• The establishment of a national bank would promote a single currency.

• The improvement of the country's infrastructure, especially transportation systems.

Much of this cannot be accomplished in four-years - especially with the Jacksonians wrestling more and more power away from people like Henry Clay. In two-years the newly formed Democrats takeover the House, Senate and the Executive Mansion by 1829.

Like Adams, a Clay presidency only is viewed in a better light by historians who admire their apparent foresight and compassion regarding the plights of native Americans and enslaved blacks, comparably when held up against expansionist slave owners like John C. Calhoun who referred to the institution of slavery as a “positive good.” While Clay acted as an unabashed war hawk in Congress in 1812, twelve-years have passed since then and he’s matured somewhat. Both Clay and Adams believed the Union was big enough as it was and foresaw the only way for the complete emancipation of slaves is through warfare.

Historian H.W Brands, author of the fantastic “Heir to the Founders” described the complex Clay as a slave-owning emancipator. As a slave owner himself southerners were more receptive to Clay’s rhetoric than Adams. Clay believed slavery to be evil, not just for the enslaved, but the slave owner and thought if given the chance the horrible institution would die the way it did in the north. The north did not have a fit of morality when they eventually abandoned slavery. Economically it became untenable. Such fate awaited the south.

The one flaw with this is logic is having to believe all the south wanted was to be left alone. In reality, the faction labeled “Slave Power” fought mightily to drag the north to not only accepting their wrong, but for them to join them in calling it right. When the Fugitive Slave laws passed and was signed by President Millard Fillmore, effectively making every norther complicate in the slave trade having to notify authorities if they suspected a black man to be an escaped slave, the Republic was firmly in the bloody grasp of the pro-slavey faction.

However, Henry Clay did not want to see the expansion of slavery and he didn’t want to see the expansion of the union, less they continue to open Pandora’s box again and again.

That all being said, imagine losing someone like Clay in the heated moments following Jackson’s elections. Numerous times before the Confederates firer on Fort Sumter, the Union nearly split itself in half. If Clay decided, after suffering defeat at the hands of Jackson in 1828, to retire can Daniel Webster, John Quincy Adams or anyone else hold a candle to how he handled the calamitous situation? Hardly. A Henry Clay presidency in 1825 likely leads to civil war between the regions and likely the loss of half a union.

Fast forward eight-years later, Jackson and his acolytes have firm control of the government. Jackson is running for re-election and during this time the following issues dominate the campaign:

• The expiring charter of the 2nd National Bank

• The Indian Removal Act

• The ongoing Nullification Crisis

The Democratic-Republicans splintered off, Jackson carrying the banner for the Democrats and Henry Clay running under the label “National Republican” made up remnants of the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans loyal to Adams and Clay.

Jackson despised the national bank because he believed it was directly funding Clay’s campaign. The American people perceived banks to be solely for the elite. Believing the national bank to be corrupt, Jackson set out to destroy it and by securing re-election the destruction of the bank was all but assured. The blame of the subsequent Panic of 1837 befell Jackson’s successor, Martin Van Buren, few realized it was his predecessor who laid the groundwork for the economic collapse.

Coming into the contest Clay had little chance of unseating the incumbent Jackson. Riding a wave of popularity, “Old Hickory” was viewed as one of the common folk while Clay a part of the political elite (because he was). Only way for Clay to pull victory from the jaws of defeat is if one of the following happens.

1. Andrew Jackson dies

2. Economic strife becomes prevalent sooner

3. Clay campaigns on his part in ending Nullification crisis and not stressing the importance of banking to an electorate which was at best apathetic on the matter.

Now the Nullification crisis was still ongoing during the election. South Carolinian John C. Calhoun renounced his role as vice-president to Jackson in favor of being elected senator to better oppose Jackson’s tariff bill. Ironically, Calhoun began his career as an ally to Henry Clay. South Carolinian politicians blamed the economic downtown of the 1820’s primarily on the tariff of 1812 which promoted American manufacturing heavily at the cost its European competition.

While Jackson and Calhoun nearly came to blows, Clay carved out a compromise which lifted the protectionist tariff until 1842.

If there ever was a time to fear monger about possible succession prior to the civil war, it was during the 1832 campaign.

So what if Henry Clay pulls off the monumental upset and unseats King Andrew I?

Well, for one, we see the president play a crucial legislative role in putting out the fires caused by Calhoun and Jackson. Back in the early 19th century, the presidency didn’t hold the powers it holds today. It mostly acted as a rubber stamp for congress, using their veto powers sparingly. Even the vicious King Andrew only used his executive powers to veto a bill he didn’t like twelve times in his eight-years in office. Times were different and the country was still finding itself.

Another plus for Clay and the nation is his election wipes away the travesty committed by the U.S government known as the “Trail of Tears” a series of forced relocations of Native American tribes west to make room for white settlers. The Supreme Court, headed up by Chief Justice John Marshall, said the Indian Removal Act was unconstitutional and the government had no right to do it. To put it bluntly, Jackson could have given less of a shit and relocated the native Americans anyway. Over 4,000 natives died on the trail.

The United States also averts the Panic of 1837 thanks in large part to Clay’s American System and the re-charter of the second national bank. Quite possibly, America missed out on one of their best presidents in Clay by not electing him in 1832 and saving themselves the worst of Jackson’s reign.

Course, the Democrats might’ve still held control of the House until 1840. The National Republicans/Whigs slowly ate away at their deficit culminating in them sweeping the House, Senate and Presidency with William Henry Harrison as their leader. How much Clay could have reasonably expected to accomplish is up for debate. What isn’t up for debate is the fact I believe Jackson did more harm to this country than good and like Trump, his greatest feat is his swindling of the American electorate to believe he emphasized and understood their plights. While Jackson can claim to have the best intentions, his disregard for the complexities of governance lead to much disruption and chaos.

The mystic of Andrew Jackson was just far too much to overcome for any mere mortal. It too five-years, the retirement of Jackson and an economic collapse that would not be rivaled until the Great Depression to shake the people out of Jackson’s trance.