#in all seriousness do you guys know romulus and remus

[the-lonelyshepherd]

LOTTIE HELPING SHAUNA DELIVER HER BABY AND BEING OBSESSED W HER BABY AS A DOG ASKDSJKCNDJCNDJK

those eyes could never do any wrong tbh

[365days365movies]

Horror October IV: The Wolf Man (1941) - Recap: Part Two

By the way, I love actual wolves, just to be clear.

In that first part, I was talking about man’s historical perception of wolves, so I put them in a necessarily negative light. But, uh, wolves fuggin’ rule, guys. Don’t know if you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting a wolf, but I have. And I love them a lot. Now, would I want to meet one in the wild with all of its friends? Um...no. I enjoy living. But they’re extremely important for the environment, and they’re still in desperate need of conservation and of a better rap.

The reputation that wolves have been assigned in folklore is overwhelmingly negative, and that damaged their real-world numbers as well. While they were competitors for some of the same resources that we gathered in droves, and while they did attack humans relatively frequently in Europe, that wasn’t enough cause for what happened to them.

Frequent hunting and habitat destruction led to the extirpation of the gray wolf in most of Central Europe, and essentially all of Western Europe. The North American populations suffered a similar fate, with their populations suffering from the expansion of agriculture, and with the depletion of prey species like the American bison. Eventually, we’d almost completely extirpated them from the contiguous United States, with hold out populations in national parks and smaller refuges. 

But since the 1970s, conservation efforts worldwide have allowed populations to be on the rebound. They’re being reintroduced in the United States, their populations are spreading back into central Europe, and conservation centers and captive breeding programs in zoos have allowed a robust population that can be (and has been) used to supplement the genetics of wild populations of the species. Plus, even the wolf’s reputation culturally has made a turnaround!

For a while, wolves in media have had some positive representation. Even the Romans had Romulus and Remus, while Rudyard Kipling brought in a pack of Indian wolves (Canis lupus pallipes) to raise Mowgli. The social nature of the wolves has long been associated with our societies, so a kinship has popped up over the centuries. 

Reinterpretation has even changed some of the negative depictions of wolves into, at the very least, neutral depictions. One of my favorite orchestral compositions is Peter and the Wolf, by Sergei Prokofiev. Does that make me a basic classical bitch? Yeah, it doesn, but do I care? No, I don’t because it fucking SLAPS. Anyway, in the (EXCELLENT) 2006 stop motion animated film set to the  composition, the wolf is painted in a purely neutral light. How does it end? WATCH IT. Seriously, watch this excellent short film RIGHT HERE. It’s stellar.

And that positive reinterpretation isn’t limited to wolves, surprisingly. Werewolves have also been getting a positive rap in recent films! Far be it from me to praise the Twilight franchise, but...I mean, yeah, werewolves are in it, and they aren’t bloodthirsty monsters. I mean, yeah, Jacob literally falls in love WITH A FUCKING BABY, and that’s goddamn disgusting, but whatever. But if I’m gonna praise positive representation of werewolves, well, fuck Twilight, frankly.

Wolfwalkers, based on the actual legend of the Werewolves of Ossory, is genuinely one of my favorite movies from 2020. I only watched it this year for the first time, but I’m 100% watching it again. It’s gorgeous, it’s touching, it’s a Cartoon Saloon movie, and it’s a look at a real and classical version of the werewolf. If you haven’t seen this movie, you absolutely need to watch it. And if you HAVE seen it, and want to know my full thoughts, check out my recap and review on it (Part One | Part Two | Review)!

Anyway, enough about that. Just wanted to inject a little positivity into talking about wolves (and werewolves). I genuinely love wolves, and I refuse to be a part of promoting negative stereotypes about them or any other animals. Except grey squirrels. They’re absolute DICKS.

YEAH YOU FUCKIN’ MOOCH STOPEATINGMYBIRDSEED

...Check out Part One if you want to!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap: Part Two

So, Larry’s a werewolf now. He immediately kills a gravedigger, like you do, and howls to let people know they’re fucked. The police realize that it’s a wolf that’s killed them, and Larry wakes up the next morning not understanding what’s happened. He asks his seven-years-older father what this whole werewolf thing is about, despite the fact that Maleva JUST TOLD HIM that shit.

Larry’s clearly a little freaked about a few things, and he doesn’t hide it well. They go to church, where Jenny’s mom and the local gossip mill spread rumors about the wolf, and about Larry. However, he’s unable to enter the church fully, and leaves prematurely. Colonel Montford, with a print from the wolf, decides to send the print to Scotland Yard, proving once and for all that this town composed of 99% AMERICAN PEOPLE is SOMEHOW IN THE UK. Guys...come ON.

The cops decide to set traps, as Larry insists that it’s a WEREwolf they’re hunting. The doctor thinks he’s nuts, and nobody pays attention. And sure enough, he gets caught in a bear trap. He’s found by Maleva, who says a prayer over him that dispels the werewolf curse temporarily. He’s freed from the trap, and he escapes through the wood, telling the nearby cops that he’s also hunting for the wolf.

Larry’s now certain that he’s a werewolf, but instead of taking the fuck off FOREVER, he immediately goes to Gwen to tell her that she’s leaving forever. He sees a pentagram on her hand, meaning that she will be his next victim, just as Bela saw it on Jenny’s hand. He takes off, then runs to his father, who obviously believes none of this shit. He believes that Maleva’s filled his head with nonsense, and is driving him mad. However, in order to prevent his son from going to the cops, he ties him to a chair, for his own good, and so he can see that nothing will happen.

Sir John heads out to join in the hunt, where he is met by Maleva. He tries to tell her off, only to hurry back to the stand when he hears gunshots, worried that the werewolf is in fact his poor son. And indeed, Larry’s escaped the hunters, now in the form of a werewolf. Unfortunately, Gwen’s ALSO in the woods looking for him, and Larry quickly finds her.

The Wolf Man attacks Gwen, but Sir John catches up, beating him to death with Larry’s silver cane. And as the werewolf dies, Maleva catches up and says the prayer that dulls the curse, causing him to turn back into human Larry. Gwen lives in the end, and Larry lies dead at Sir John’s hands. And with that...you guessed it.

These sudden endings, man. See you in the Review!

[emy-loves-you]

Sanders Sides AU-gust Day 12: Crime

Roman is the son of wealthy mafia boss Romulus Prince. He's currently living across the country to pursue art. Roman hasn't told his boyfriend Janus about his family. After almost getting shot in his own apartment, the two learn that they've both kept some serious secrets from each other.

Roman POV, Roceit with Creativitwins

Day 11 | Masterlist | Day 13

“Hey, Janus. What time are you getting off today?”

“I should be home within the next twenty or so minutes. I hope our date is still on the table.”

“Yep, luckily they didn’t send me any work to take home. I’ve got some wine in the fridge and we could order some Thai later?”

“That sounds lovely. I’ll see you soon, dearest.”

“See you then.” Roman sighed as he pocketed his phone. Tonight was the night he’d tell Janus.

Tell Janus what, exactly? Well, that his name isn’t actually Roman Royale. Roman was actually Roman Prince, son of Romulus Prince. While that wouldn’t mean much to a New York civilian like Janus, it meant a lot to others. Mainly because Romulus Prince is a very powerful mafia boss. Roman had grown up with his father and twin brother in California. Once it became clear that Remus (Roman’s brother) would be the one inheriting the family business, Roman had expressed his desire to have a career in art. Romulus had relented after years of persuasion. So here Roman was, thousands of miles away from home, studying art at a local college with Janus, his boyfriend of four years. Roman trusted Janus with his life by this point, and he felt like it was only right to tell him of his heritage.

But Roman was nervous. This wasn’t something you could just casually bring up in a conversation. Would Janus break up with him? Or call the police on him? The options were endless. The last thing Roman wanted to do was lose Janus.

Maybe I could just never tell him. I technically never have to rejoin the family business. We could just live out our lives in peaceful ignorance forever. Roman thought as he unlocked the door to his and Janus’ shared apartment.

Only to feel a gun pressed against the back of his head.

“Drop the bag and get in the house. Now!” Roman felt numb as he followed the order, vaguely realizing that he’d also dropped his phone along with this satchel. His movements felt robotic as he made his way into the house, hearing the man shut the door behind them. The man pressed them into the living room, with Roman’s back still facing him. “Now, where is it?”

“Where’s what?” Roman ignored how flat his tone was. This wasn’t the first time he’d been held at gunpoint, but it was the first time that he didn’t have a definitive chance at escaping.

The man grunted. “The eye! Where. Is. The. Eye?”

Roman was confused. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” There’s nothing in this apartment that even vaguely resembles an eye, and Janus had never mentioned an eye before. What the hell was this guy talking about?

Roman felt the pressure of the gun on the back of his head disappear, but he knew it was still pointed at him. “You Princes think you’re real funny, don’tcha?” Roman tensed at the name, and the man laughed. “What, did you think this was some kind of petty robbery? I know who you are, Roman Prince. And I know you have the eye’s location. So. Where. Is. The. Eye?”

BAM!

Roman heard the man drop to the ground. He slowly turned around to see Janus standing there, pistol in hand. His face was slightly pinched, but his focus wasn’t on the body. It was on Roman. “What the hell?”

Roman tried to console Janus. “I know this looks bad, but I swear I was gonna explain eventually. I don’t even know how they found me.” Roman rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I didn’t want you to find out like this…”

Janus continued to stare at him for a moment before speaking. “You’re Roman Prince?” He sounded like he just guzzled a gallon of the sourest drink to ever exist.

Roman sighed. “Yeah…” Then his head snapped up. “Wait, you know who Roman Prince is?!”

Janus sighed, holstering his weapon. “You’re not the only one that’s been keeping secrets.” He gave the body a once-over before walking towards his bedroom. “Pack your essentials, we need to leave immediately.”

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

Fifteen minutes later, the two of them were sitting in the back of someone else’s car. Janus had apparently called in for someone to give them a lift. Roman sighed. “Okay, so you’ve heard my secret, now it’s time to hear yours. How do you know about the Princes?”

Janus stared down at his gloves, refusing to meet Roman’s gaze but still keeping him in his peripheral. “I’m sure you’ve heard of The Sides?”

Roman nodded. The Sides were an infamous gang around here. They were small, having four known members that weren’t common lackeys, but powerful. It was rumored that the current governor was only elected because the other candidate disagreed with Deceit, the gang’s leader. The Princes didn’t have a lot of information on The Sides (they were on opposite ends of the country) but they had a neutral alliance from Romulus’ brief visits to New York.

Janus sighed. “Then the name Deceit should ring a few bells.”

Roman stared in shock. “Seriously?!” Janus nodded, and Roman laughed. “So the leader of The Sides and the heir of The Princes have been dating for four years and neither of us had any idea.”

Janus smiled. “It would seem that way.” There was a brief moment of silence. “I assume you understand why I kept this a secret.”

Roman nodded. “Yeah, and you know why I did too.” It was too dangerous to bring civilians into their lives. They both had enough targets on their backs already. “So, what happens now? Are we still…”

“Dating?” Roman nodded. “I hope so. I was intending on telling you at a later date. Now that I know that you have experience with this,” he gestured around vaguely. “Potentially continuing our relationship will be much easier.”

Roman leaned over and pressed his lips to Janus’. The kiss was short and sweet, but it still gave him butterflies the same way it did every time. When they pulled apart, Roman sighed. “Thank God. I thought you would wanna break up with me.”

Janus tilted his head. “Why?”

Roman snorted. “Because I’ve haven’t been associated with my family for over five years, and yet someone still found me. Speaking of which, I need to make some calls.” He turned to his phone, frowning at the new crack from where he’d dropped it. He dialed a number that he hadn’t used in years, yet still knew from memory.

“Welcome to Tea’s Tease, the best place for gossip and blow jobs! How may I-”

“Cut it out, Remington.” The person’s tone shifted immediately, going from high pitched and customer-service-y to terrified.

“Sorry, Remus! Thought it was a spam caller-”

“Wrong twin, dumbass.” Roman growled out, already starting to lose his patience.

“Roman? OMG, it’s been, like, forever! What’s going on, babes? Get any smokin’ hot man meat?”

“We’ll talk later, Remy. I need to talk to Dad right now.” The line went silent. “Hello?”

“Oh, sweet baby. You don’t know, do you?”

Roman sighed. “I obviously don’t, now what’s going on?”

“Ro… Boss died two weeks ago. He was found shot in his own office” Roman barely stopped himself from gasping. They all knew how serious this line of work was, but Romulus had always seemed… invincible. Roman ignored the sadness welling up in his chest. He’d mourn later.

“Okay, where’s Remus then?” Remus should be the new boss now. It would be a pain trying to get information out of him, but Roman could make it work.

“He’s been off the grid for over a month.” That shouldn’t have surprised Roman. Remus was always slipping off the grid for weeks at a time. Only Romulus knew where Remus would run off to. But that, combined with Romulus’ death? That wasn’t good. Roman had thought it was Remus that killed Romulus, but now it couldn’t be. Even if Romulus had done something to anger Remus, it would take a lot to warrant death. And Remus would have done something much messier than a bullet. And why hadn’t Remus come back to run the family? He’d been ecstatic to learn that he was being chosen over Roman. So why continue hiding? Unless…

“Remy, who’s the boss right now?”

“I’ll give you two hints: his name starts with a J and you hate his guts.” Jacob Smith. The bastard probably killed Romulus.

“Remy, why didn’t anyone contact me? My address was in the vault.” Romulus had a small vault in his office that held Roman’s address along with several other important members.

“The vault was empty when we checked it.” So either Romulus destroyed the information, or Jacob took it to prevent anyone from contacting him. That’s how they found me.

“Remy, Jacob can’t know that you talked to me.”

Remy snorted. “Of course. You know everyone here hates Jacob’s guts.”

“Okay, one last question before I hang up. Has anyone been talking about an ‘eye’ of some sort?”

“Hmm… Nope, not that I can think of. But I’ll check the rumor mill later.”

“Okay. If you hear anything about an eye or Remus’ location, call me immediately. I’ll check in later.”

“Alrighty, Ro! I’ll get you to spill your tea later. Bye!”

Roman sighed, dropping the phone in the seat next to him. He started talking to himself. “Let me get this straight-”

Janus snorted. Roman had forgotten he was there “Good luck with that.”

Roman continued. “My Dad’s dead. Remus is missing. Knowing them, along with what that guy back at the apartment was saying, Dad probably knew about the ‘eye,’ whatever it is. He probably told Remus about it too, which is why he hasn’t come out of hiding. Jacob Smith is now head of the family, people are after me, and my boyfriend’s Deceit.” He sighed. “So all I have to do is figure out what this ‘eye’ is, find Remus, avenge my father’s death, and kill Jacob. Sounds simple enough.” He looked over to Janus hopefully. “You’ll help a boyfriend out, won’t you?”

Janus thought for a moment before sighing. “You’re so lucky I love you.” He smiled as Janus continued. “New York has gotten pretty boring lately. I might even bring the other Sides with me for assistance. We can make a vacation out of it.”

[corescorner]

Deadicated Chapter One.

A dark comedy zombie apocalypse Sanders Sides fic.

AO3

Word count: 2100

The outbreak started in the middle of winter. It was an icy day outside, too much so that Remus almost breaks his neck multiple times while running to his apartment. But run he had to; zombies littered the streets.

Getting into his apartment foyer and unlocking the door into the main hall to get to the elevator was an ordeal.

The ice might have sucked for him to run on, but it at least didn’t make things easy for the zombies either.

He paces in the elevator as it ascends to the top floor where he lives with his brother and his brothers boyfriend/his best friend.

The elevator door opens and Remus steps out slowly looking both ways before rushing to his door, then stops.

What if they’re zombies? He’s going to have to kill his brother and best friend!

He slowly turns the handle and peeks inside, the television is playing some Disney movie, Roman and Damien are seemingly asleep on the couch.

Remus slowly and silently creeps into the room and then hurriedly goes into hisroom to get his morning star (he got it at a ren fair a couple years ago to everyone’s dismay, but who’s gonna be laughing now when he beats zombie ass with it huh?)

He sneaks back into the living room, morning star at the ready. He whistles loudly to get the two (hopefully not zombies) to wake up.

Both jump awake, Roman falling to the floor with a squawk.

“What the hell Re?!” Roman shouts rubbing his nose in pain.

Dee is staring at him, wary and amused.

“I think your brother has finally snapped.”

Roman looks at his boyfriend “what are you talking-“ he looks at Remus “-abOUT REMUS WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

“Oh good” Remus sighs and lowers his weapon “you’re not zombies.”

The boyfriends look at each other with twin looks of confusion then to Remus in concern.

Roman gets up slowly, walking towards Remus like he’s a startled animal, they don’t have time for this they need to make plans and think about the freakin zombie apocalypse!

“Remus, are you alright?” Roman slowly asks, Remus rolls his eyes.

“Uh, yea but we won’t be soon” he gestures to the window.

“What do you mean by that?” Dee asks.

“Zombies! Why do you think I have my morning star? I was making sure you’re not zombies!” He throws his hands up in the air, taking the morning star with the motion and making the other two flinch away.

“Okay, okay just be carful with that thing!” Roman shouts.

Dee gets up and moves to the window, Roman puts his hands on his hips.

“You’re seriously not going to entertain the idea of this zombie thing are you?” He directs at his boyfriend.

Dee just stares wide eyed at the scene before him.

It’s a ridiculous notion, that zombies would actually exist, and yet here Damien is staring out of his fourth floor apartment at a small cluster of what has to be zombies (cause what else would they be?)slip on the icy road outside.

Roman and Remus are arguing in the background.

“Seriously, put that thing away before you hurt someone!”

“Um! I’m gonna be hurting zombies!”

“Zombies do not exist!”

“Look outside dipshit!”

“I’m not going to be fooled into one of you’re tricks.”

“Roman” Dee whispers, neither brother hears.

“Uuugh! I’m not fucking with you this time!”

“Okay sure, you just want me to believe that zombies are roaming the streets right now?”

“Yes! Cause it’s true!”

“Roman!” Dee says louder and both brothers look towards him. His face must convey the horror he feels cause Roman falls silent, his own face contorts to something Remus can’t put an emotion to.

Roman slowly walks to the window to stare out at the chaos. He shakes his head wildly, backing up and bumping into Remus, he jumps in fright and whirls on his twin with a manic look in his eyes.

He’s speechless, what is there to say about this situation?

Dee comes up to him slowly and wraps Roman in a hug.

“Don’t wanna say I told ya so, buuuuut like” Remus shrugs and motions to the window again.

“No, no no, this is a bad dream. This can not be happening, zombies aren’t a thing!”

Dee hums a soothing tone in Roman’s ear, Roman doesn’t take kindly to it.

He breaks himself out of the embrace, starts to pace and then turns to the other two, he feels like he’s about to explode! How are they so calm about this? Their world just changed! There are zombies for fucks sake!

“Why are you not freaking out with me?!” Roman yells.

Remus scowls, Dee just sighs.

“Roman, Starlight, Darling-” Dee starts as he walks towards a shaking Roman “-there’s nothing to do about it, yes it’s more than not ideal, but it’s a thing that has now happened and we need to deal with it as such.”

Roman scoffs “Yes, Okay sure! But can we not have a little freak out moment here! Everything has just changed and I don’t know if we can survive something like this!”

Remus has had enough of this, he goes to his room and rummages through his closet, he pulls out his large camping backpack and gets to work on making a getaway bag.

He moves around the apartment to gather up supplies, when he passes the living room to get to the kitchen he sees Roman shaking in Dee’s arms, he stops and rustles his bag.

“I suggest you two do the same thing, we have enough to survive here for a little while longer and we can go on runs to the store down the street if we absolutely need to but we should all have a getaway bag just in case.”

Dee nods while rubbing Roman’s back, the actor isn’t crying but he is shaking violently.

Roman stares at Remus like he’s seeing him for the first time.

“Re, how can you be so nonchalant about this?”

Remus sighs, moving towards his brother and hugging him.

“Look, Ro. Do you remember when we were kids and we were playing that silly game and you insisted you wanted to be the prince and since you were older you got to have the title?”

Roman nods, so Remus continues.

“Well, I said if I can’t be the prince I’ll just be your knight instead? Even though I so totally could have just as well stayed as duke?”

Roman nods again.

“That’s what I’m doing here, I’m stepping down a rank to be the knight until you can get your shit together.”

Roman lets out a small laugh “yea, okay. I’ll be back as the prince soon enough... just let me process a little longer?”

Remus nods “yea sure, we’ll rule again once you feel up for it Broman.”

“It’s a good thing we’re on the top floor” Dee points out.

The brothers look at him.

“What? I’m just saying, the poor shmucks on the bottom floor must be having a really bad time right about now.”

Remus laughs at that and Roman just scrunches his face a bit.

“Should we check the floor?” Roman asks in a whisper.

Remus hums “mmm, probably, we might get some supplies from looting” he says offhandedly then perks up a little bit, in a more joyful tone he says: “looting! I’ve always wanted to loot things in an apocalypse scenario!”

Dee chuckles “silver linings I suppose.”

~

As Dee gets together his bag, Roman following his lead, he jerks up like he just remembered something.

“I have to call our father!” Roman yells.

Remus, from the other room groans.

They haven’t spoken to Romulus in years, he doesn’t see why this should be any different, it’s not like they can get to him from where he’s probably all the way at the other end of the earth doing who knows what.

“No point Ro, he’s probably on some secluded island right now!” Remus yells.

Roman sighs, he supposes Remus is right. It’s not like he’d do the same for them. He hasn’t really been there for them much.

Dee picks up his own phone with a sick look on his face.

“Oh god, I hope Thomas is okay” he says lowly dialling his brothers number.

It rings once. Twice. Three times. Come on Thomas! Four times, the line picks up before Dee can hurl his phone across the room.

“Heya short stuff! Thomas is in the shower what can I do ya for?”

Dee sighs in relief.

“Remy, you and my brother need to not go outside, but scope out your place, please just trust me when I tell you the next thing I know it’s going to sound crazy but you need to trust me okay?” He rushes out.

“Sure thing Dee, what’s wrong?”

“Well, there’s no easy way to say this... the zombie apocalypse has come” he waits a beat for a response, but none comes. “Rem? Are you there?”

“Listen, that is like, super not cool to spring on a guy.”

“Remy, please you have to believe me” He pleas with his brother in law.

He hears noise on the other side, a sliding door opening he realizes.

“Remington! I swear to god if you become a zombie and kill my brother I’m going to find a way to bring you back and kill you myself!”

Remy laughs a little bit “chill babe, there’s a fence around the house.”

He hears Thomas’ voice faintly “who you calling babe on myphone?”

“Just your little bro” Remy answers and he hears Thomas fake gasp in shock.

“You’re cheating on me with my brother! Well, I’m sure Roman would gladly take me instead after both of us gets our hearts broken.”

Dee sighs, as much as he enjoys these moments and who knows when they’ll get more like this he needs them to take this seriously right now.

“Remy! Zombie! Apocalypse! Happening right now!” He shouts.

“Oh, right. Sure. Thomas your brother says a zombie apocalypse is happening.”

Good, Thomas will believe him.

He hears scuffling then the phone jostles and Thomas is on the line.

“Dee, are you sure?” He asks

“Yes” he hisses “of course I am, I’m watching them fumble around on the ice as we speak!”

When they were younger, they had a zombie movie marathon, both of them got unabashedly terrified of the prospect of it actually happening so they made a secret pact with each other, if one ever actually happens they have to tell the other and they’d believe them no matter what. It was a silly promise between children but both of them took it seriously, even in adulthood.

“Damien you have to come to Florida. I have a bunker we can stay there for however long we need, bring Roman and his brother too!”

Dee laughs out loud “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh. But you have a bunker? Since when?”

“We have a bunker?” He hears Remy exclaim in the background.

“Uh, yea my paranoia got the best of me there, but! It’s a good thing it did cause I can sustain at least ten people for about five years in that thing!”

“I’ll talk to the twins” he says, Thomas let’s out a sigh of relief.

“Okay, I don’t know how long we’ll be able to stay in touch for. Please be carful Damien, I cant loose you.”

“Nor I you” Dee says back, both brothers hang up at the same time.

Thomas starts to gather up all that he can to bring it to the shed out back, which houses the bunkers secret entryway.

Remy follows his instructions without complaint, he kinda enjoys when Thomas gets all authoritative anyway.

When Dee turns around after his call, he sees Roman and Remus staring at him.

“We’re going to Florida” he simply says.

“I’m guessing Thomas is okay then?” Roman asks.

“Yes, and crazy as it may be he has a pretty well stocked bunker.”

“Sweet.” Remus comments.

“It’s not going to be easy to get to Florida” Roman says.

“No, but I’m sure we can do it” Dee says, semi lying. He does think it will be hard to do and he’s not sure that they’re going to be able to do it unscathed, but they have to try and they need their spirits up, so Dee will lie as much as he can to make them not loose hope. Cause really, all they have right now is hope.

[heidi-in-high-school]

Sanders Sides Characters - An Essay

I know I said that this account was going to be used primarily for school-related posts, a blog to keep track of my success during the school year. That’s all well and good, but a few days ago came a very monumental episode of the web-series Sanders Sides by Thomas Sanders and Joan S. I was so moved by the episode that I ended up ranting to my friend for so long that it ended up into a 14-paragraph essay. This essay doesn’t speak about the plot (as to not spoil anything major for my friend; it still spoiled stuff, though), but it does speak about the characters and their importance to the story. So I implore you to now realize my obsession with this series through this essay (you can also use this to explain the basics of the Sides to anyone willing to watch the series).

•••

Thomas and the Sides

Thomas is the "Host" of all of the Sides. When combined, all of the Sides would create Thomas. He represents the idea of personality to the story.

On the subject of the sides, there's Logan, Roman, Patton, Virgil, Remus, Deceit, and potentially others. Each Side has a purpose and powers that affect Thomas (and sometimes other Sides) directly. All Sides have the power to shape-shift and summon themselves and others into scenarios.

Along with this, there are two categories of Sides, Light and Dark. 

The Light Sides

The Light Sides contain the three original Sides, Logan, Roman, and Patton and possibly others. Their power is weak compared to the others, and they are susceptible to any tricks that they pull on each other and/or the Dark Sides pull on them. They are considered to be the “good guys” in the series, but that is up for suspicion. 

Logan wears a black collared shirt with a blue striped tie, along with a pair of black glasses. He represents Thomas' logic and intelligence, along with his rational thinking. Logan has the power to pass on his rational thinking unto others, even if his presence isn't felt by Thomas or the others directly.

Roman is Thomas' hopes, dreams, GOOD creativity, and passion. He wears a regal costume; a white jumper with a red sash and small yellow frills around his arms. Roman has the power to give Thomas convincing ideas quickly without having to explain them at all and the power to conjure things, specifically puppies. Roman is pictured to be very confident and joyous at first, but after a few episodes, we start to see his insecurities shine through, along with some bouts of depression, even.

Patton has a light blue collared shirt with a grey cat hoodie wrapped around his shoulders. He wears the same glasses as Logan as well. Patton represents Thomas' heart - his emotions, his inner values, and his morality. His power is more of a hindrance than anything, as it's a way for others to ignore bad emotions and enhance their other, happier emotions. This was shown in "Moving On 1&2" when they all ventured into Patton's room to ignore the sadness of a recent breakup that Thomas had. That did NOT end well.

The Dark Sides

Now we enter the realm of the Dark Sides. This category contains Virgil, “Deceit,” Remus, and possibly others. These Sides have more power than the aforementioned Sides and use it to wreak havoc.

Confirmed in the newest episode, Virgil was a former Dark Side that turned into a Light Side (main character) after his story arc (Accepting Anxiety 1&2). He is known most for his gravelly voice and his smeared, black eye-shadow, which are both important to remember in the future episodes, as both get more intense per episode. His costume is a "homemade" stitched hoodie (a la "Nightmare Before Christmas") with a ripped, purple shirt under it. Virgil's power is to bring light to insecurities that any of the other Sides have (Roman fears for his reputation and is insecure about how others perceive him, Logan wants to be taken seriously, and Patton doesn't like his surge of emotions). It's obvious when this is happening because the other Sides (and eventually Thomas) generate eye-shadow under their eyes as Virgil's voice becomes multiplied and more demonic. In actuality, Virgil doesn't like his power and these instances usually happen on accident. He would do anything to get rid of it and seem "normal" in the Light Sides' eyes.

Then comes Remus. He is the twin brother of Roman that Roman pushed away for a long while. Their sibling rivalry was canonically based on the Roman myth, "Romulus and Remus," where Romulus kills Remus and finds Rome (hence Remus' question at the beginning of the [newest] video: "Have you ever imagined killing your brother?"). Remus represents Thomas' unfiltered and BAD imagination, along with his impulse thinking and irrationality. He wears the negatives/complements of Roman (green and black) to show that as well. He has the power to muffle sounds and tune out the outside world so he can speak to Thomas directly. He also produces hallucinations for Thomas and the others to see that are used to get them all wrapped around his finger.

And finally, Deceit. “Deceit,” despite what he claims, is not his real name, and there is no current information about his name yet. He wasn't shown explicitly in the [newest video], but he was the first Side to be represented as a Dark Side, the leader, if I am not mistaken. He represents Thomas' deception and will for self preservation, which was violently displayed in "Selfishness vs. Selflessness," the episode prior to the [newest one]. Deceit has the power to lie very convincingly and manipulate others into doing what he wants. Because of his lying persona, he is a metaphysical hybrid between a snake and a human, with one side of his face being covered in scales with a large cut in the middle (there is no meaning behind the cut yet) and his personal left eye is a yellow snake eye. He mentions often that he is the "snake to trick Thomas into sinning," as he is comparable to the snake in the Tree of Knowledge that fools Adam and Eve into eating the Forbidden Fruit in the Book of Genesis in the Bible.

Deceit wears a black cape around his shoulders with a deep purple, almost black, vest underneath, along with his signature bowler hat ... and yellow gloves. Though being a snake/human hybrid, he can (kind of) be compared to the Greek Hydra, which is a Greek/Roman monster that has multiple heads that multiply every time one is decapitated. Instead of having multiple heads, however, Deceit has 6 arms that seem Slenderman-esque that represent every Side.

“Potentially Others”

It has been teased by the cast and crew that the Sides listed above are not alone, as humans have multiple different aspects of their personality and how each asset can fluctuate between Sides. For example, Logan is shown as rational and pristine, whereas Virgil is shown to be thinking rationally from time to time, without the power to express that physically or verbally.

Each Light Side is also paired off to a Dark Side -- it has been confirmed that Remus and Roman are paired off because they are twins and that Deceit and Patton are paired off because Patton represents truth and Deceit represents dishonesty.

[bilgisticallykosher]

Reminder that I’m totally down to give specific warnings or descriptions or help people navigate through the video if anyone needs.

Warnings (aside from the obvious): Long post, lots of caps lock, long rambling with a large degree of incoherence. I titled this “me screaming at the new video” in docs. I was real accurate.  It took me over 2 hours to watch this thing because I kept pausing to not shut up. This is 5 pages in docs.

Okay, JUST looking at the cover, I-  are those tentacles? IS this a new side? Octoside? I can already hear all the names were going to give him. Oliver, Octavio, October wait no that’s already a Sanders shorts. Okay, intrusive thoughts, that's… Roman’s already a supplier of those. Fandom agrees, “Don’t think about your naked Aunt Patty.” So, maybe Depression? Anger? Or, is it Roman still, after all? Because I see the word Creativity there. Or tentaclereativity. So it’s still Roman, but I’m convinced that his opposite is Virgil, although I’m also sure that they implied Pride in the Halloween episode. Something about “proud of it” and then they said “let’s table that discussion for another time.”

Ugh, Roman’s been doing so wonderful on his own. He’s just been owning up to insecurities, and it’s been great. This is going to be highly related to him. Although, Patton looks like the one trying to block him out? Roman’s concerned, Logan’s miffed, Virgil is angry, and oh my god is that a MOUSTACHE OKAY I’M WATCHING. 

Content warning, oh my gosh, they were not kidding. Does that seriously say death and blood and gore? I’m just getting more hype. I mean, intrusive thoughts, I’m sure nothing will permanently, physically happen to them.  (Goodbye Fresh.) 

Dark circles under Thomas’s eyes, implication of sleep deprivation, or something with Virgil?

“The human connection will make me feel more like a person,” I came here to have a good time and honestly I’m feeling so attacked right now. Credits! Great job everyone! I know everyone worked real hard on this. 

Okay, Thomas in his robe, very reminiscent of Excepting Anxiety. Blasé attitude, too. Hmm, trouble sleeping (tires), overstating ‘everything going wrong,’ definitely seems like Virgil’s territory. 

Woah there he is. He’s, he’s really angry? And Patton’s voice is strained. What is happening, does Patton know……whatever, or WHOever? Yeah, he’s shifty eyed. He knows. Virgil definitely knows, and it’s not him. Oh man oh man. Oh, confirmed, they’re in on trying to avoid the conversation. GREAT TEAM WORK, PAT! Doing great, buddy. 

Roman’s rhymes are amazing. Definitely misery, though. Alright, so Thomas is having thoughts that make Virgil act up, and either he’s telling Patton, or Patton knows because of emotions. 

Roman’s so much better at summoning than Logan. And Logan knows?! Ooh, sore spot for them here. Patton oh noooo. That’s easy for you to say? 

I love the idea that, 1, Logan Falsehood’d as a reaction and an example on purpose, and 2, that he’s got a limit of one per day. 

ALRIGHT! I’ve got it. They don’t want Roman to know because he’s going to, intentionally or not, expand on whatever the thoughts are. He’s Creativity and dreams, it’s what he does and he’s not going to be able to help it, intrusive thoughts, this IS Roman-centric! Poor boy. (Kraken, sushi. Those tentacles mean something. Also the tentacle represents the C, I understand the title image now.) Yeah, they don’t want him inadvertently going into daydream mode. 

I have never seen this movie. These are freaking top-notch jokes, though. WOAH, THOMAS. Not good. Really not good. I’m still hype. Oh, is that the sort of death mention that

Television: [has hands]

Me: [strangled squeaking noise] 

Okay, I’m having, okay. Okay. Okay. I’m fine. I just. I need. Okay. I’m fine. Need a moment. Freaking out, in, a good way? I just. Really unexpected, even though I saw the hands. Oh my gosh. Can the others see him????? Because they’re looking at Roman they should see him. I didn’t know I could make that noise, but apparently I can. And I can hold it. And make it slowly go higher pitched. Okay. Okay. I’m fine now. Maybe. Okay. Hypening.

OH THEY CAN okay, oh dissonant voice. What sort of overdramatic staff is this dork NO ROMAN. 

THE DUKE?! WHAT!!! Getting heavy Warfstache vibes, btw, and why does he have a grey streak? Virgil and Logan are unconcerned about Roman, so I guess he’s fine. 

Is this a song? What is his outfit, omg. His mustache is fabulous. His eyes are kinda ringed.  in purple? 

What is happening, oh my god. Oh here’s the religious commentary, I guess. This is fine, I’m okay with this. But he’s playing Adam AND Eve himself. Dramatic dork confirmed. Oooh, you lack imagination. He IS Roman’s opposite, dang. I was so sure it was Virgil. Also YES green’s my favorite color! 

Hahaaaa! Tiny little aunt Patty naked post-it! Patton’s so distressed, Virgil ANGERY. A to Z is incredible. I missed some lyrics there; I’ll catch it when I watch it with captions the next five times. I mean, uh, no, I’d never… ten times. Nice blood spatter! What is he doing to them! What’s with the size thing? Is that a thing he can do? Or creative (heh) liberty due to song? 

SNAKE how’d I not guess that from Adam and Chava SNAKE IT’S SNAKE!

I don’t get the hand image. What is that? So far kind of the same sort of vibe from Deceit and Duke- oooh, both Ds. The whole, own up to who you are, stop lying to yourself. 

“You’ve got a fiend in me!” “Squeak!”

Oh, oh no, he’s really not quite like Deceit. He’s saying that these things make Thomas evil. Definitely not a Deceit thing to do. 

EDITING PRAISE! YOU GUYS. You guys are incredible, you did such a good job. 

“I’m your Creativity!” Officially calling those things fart trumpets. 

Oh, is he actually Creativity? Okay I’ll roll with it. Oh my gosh it’s only ten minutes into it and I can’t shut up. Virgil is so uncomfortable. 

Never bring [Jeffery Dahmer] up again got a GREAT face from Duke. Oh man. Is that true about him trying to repress those thoughts?

WHITE BEAR that episode of Black Mirror might make more sense now. 

Impressive hair blowing from Virgil, that’s the hair blowing equivalent of what Dr. Horrible did with his fingers in Brand New Day. 

Patton called Roman handsome, and I knew that second most handsome prince bit in the last episode was something he’d say, not just him trying to be all lawyer-y! (Ooh, foreboding music…)

Honestly, Logan was, if anything, even more chill about lying in CLBG, and Deceit in general (his scales are quite smooth). By comparison, he’s going off on the Duke. OOH, I KNEW THAT ABOUT THE WORD DORK! 

Ohhh my gosh the costumes are opposites! I, almost realized that, about color theory, and then forgot about the sash. And those shoulder pads are massive, Duke! Did you steal Roman’s puppet chin to make those? 

Joan! Haha, I love it, definitely something they would do. Interesting, you can hear an overlay of Joan’s voice, and Duke’s voice. Why can’t the Duke do it as well as anyone else? What did Virgil realize during the twin explanation? Hey, Cayin and Hevel, more Genesis. 

Did he mention friends and family? Oh my gosh, self-immolation is terrible, I looked it up. Like, uh, suicide for a public purpose, or to make a point? 

Laugh! Dork laugh! There’s the implication of them knowing each other. 

Oh, okay, okay. So, Virgil’s anxious, because in and of itself, whatever it was that he was thinking/obsessing over was bad. His anxiety is, well, cognitive distortions. That’s why everyone’s all bothered. Yeah, point to Logan on that oh my god, what is that camera angle, I love it.

Duke is JP confirmed. Ripped off nipples. JP from Wade’s (lordminion777) circle of friends, salty boys. That’s still their official name, right? Anyway, he’s JP.

Oh, I saw dripping off of that hand. That sequence is getting longer every time. 

Who are those, I don’t recognize them? “I’m about to smash the Hulk” you guys I think I love the Duke a little bit a lot. 

Patton, no, that’s- Patton! “That’s what repression is?” Ooh, tense Virgil moment with Logan. Yet, also touching? 

“Well THAT can’t be where the bar is.” !!!

Weird Duke blink during religion talk. It’s so funny looking at this though a Jewish perspective. It’s similar, but just a little off. And we don’t do the 7 deadly sins thing. 

Figuratively! 

Wait it’s coming from Virgil?! Uh, uh, anxious about being a bad person, subconsciously projecting it onto Thomas?

Patton too?! Oh, wait, yeah, this comes back to repression that makes sense. Oh my gosh, Logan. ! Can the Duke do the Deceit silence thing oh no, no he can’t. Close. Teeth are an improvement I think. 

Hey isn’t there an incorrect quote about Virgil drinking shampoo? 

Remus?! Oh my gosh are you KIDDING me? A new side, PLUS his name? Oh, oh that’s so clever, Roman. Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus. So clever! And definitely butt trumpets, from earlier, because AVPM’s Lupin had butt trumpets. 

Oh, direct shot and reaction at Virgil not hiding anything. And okay, I’ve changed my mind like 10 times, but I think I get it now. Haha, Logan! It was like a pop quiz! And Thomas cursed!

The scream darkened the room, that was awesome. But nobody cared. Ah, secretly a Patton and Virgil arc! 

Oh my god, Patton had a look of realization when Virgil was listing off things, is he going to tell him to not skip the callback?!

[Sad poopy noises.] Logan’s on fire today! Yes! 

Oh, he’s gone? Ha, nope! Oh it got worse, haha!

Patton, control, it’s happening! Oh, wait no. 

Virgil really used to fear him? And, oh, what were those exchanged looks during “just like old times”? Logan and Patton, and maybe Roman figured it out? Does Virgil know that? 

Roman! 

Nerdy Wolverine. Ahh, cool! Dukey problem! Oooh return of “I don’t like him.”

What, brother?! So that’s an actual thing now? But okay, alright, I guess Logan’s thing from before. NOPE EVERYTHING’S FINE NEVER COMING BACK. Romaaaaan.

Dark sides? “Others.” Oh, Thomas for sure doesn’t know. Oh dear. OH MUSIC it’s swelling oh my gosh, he’s going to tell, he’s going to tell.  Gasp! He told, and oh, so sad, and oh no he’s just sinking out?! My poor baby little precious oh I immediately see why Patton had a problem with coddling him.

Oh, oh Thomas is so confuddled. There’s going to be so many angst fics. I will read them all. 

Alright, actually a hilarious ad.  Way to incorporate intrusive thoughts into it! END CARD holy- REMUS! Oh the deodorant. And again. Nice knife, he’s going to- yep, deodorant. Oh he’s done, but he’ll have another- yep. What the heck is it, actually? 

THERE’S A SNAKE IN MY BUTT! PFF that’s going to be some fics also. Officially: I love Remus. 

Final thoughts; I’m in love, I was so wrong about “they wouldn’t throw a new side or plot relevance at us with all these warnings,” everyone freaking outdid themselves, this must have happened so soon after Selfishness vs. Selflessness, I love him, I really dug a lot of that humor, my taste in music is way worse than anything Remus threw at us (ask me about that), WHAT WERE THE THOUGHTS with the dripping hand bit, S v. S part 2 is definitely the next one, and I freaking love this video. 

[miguel-manbemel]

Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 22: Honest Training

New entry of the fanfic inspired on Sanders Sides created by Thomas Sanders, Joan S. and the Foster Dawg team. I’m seriously considering changing the title of the fic. When I originally chose it, I really didn’t know what to title it, but now, as I publish in this blog more things other than the fic, maybe I should keep the title “Aspects & Fanfics” for the blog and get a new one specifically for the fic. Who knows, I haven’t made up my mind yet.

It’s mindblowing how the story has been evolving. When I created the first entry, I used it to portray my own Sanders Sides theories in the form of a fic. Then, as the story went on for 21 episodes, it slowly evolved into a story of adventure and fantasy. The evolution started because I didn’t see myself prepared enough to tackle the serious issues that the original series tackles. As Roman would say, fantasy worlds are my jam, and so I took my story over the fantasy territory. One thing that I’ve always been worried about, though, is if the episodes are too long. The longest one was 15820 words long, and the average length is of around 9000 words. Is that too much? Should I make the episodes shorter? I really don’t know. I’ve got the handicap of not being a native speaker of English, which means that sometimes I may write long texts that may have been shorter if I knew the right words.I apologize for that if it’s happened. This episode in particular is shorter than on average, around 4700 words. Not that I had this concern in mind, it just came out that way.

Okay, I leave you with the episode now. As usual, you can find the previous entries from this blog right here. I have updated all the previous entries to feature a short synopsis of the plot of the episode so that you can see what the story is about, somehow. This is the first time the synopsis will be featured on release. As usual, thank you to anyone reading, and until next time.

SYNOPSIS: After getting the Dark Master’s knowledge, Logan is ready to start teaching Thomas how to use his Light Master powers, and they all go to the Mind Palace to train him. Thomas must learn how to use his powers to separate Honesty from Deceit before it’s too late and he gets fully absorbed by Deceit and ceases to exist as a result.

WARNINGS: There’s a scene of prinxiety. Remus will make an appearance in the end card. He appears eating disgusting stuff and there are mentions to cockroaches.

EPISODE INDEX

[Thomas enters his apartment, his hair has a wet look]

THOMAS: Well, the photo shoot is finally made. Linda has been especially stubborn today. Excuse me while I take a shower. I need to take off the five gallons of hair gel I needed to make her stay on track. No, don’t gasp, today has been one of her good days. You don’t wanna see a pic of me in one of Linda’s bad days… [beat, looking at the camera] No, seriously, you don’t wanna see it… [beat, then a little anxious] Okay, I know you wanna see, but I don’t want you to see it, okay? Stop it!

[intro sequence]

[Thomas is wearing different, comfier clothes]

THOMAS: What is up, everybody? Nothing like a good shower to refresh and renew myself. Tonight I’ve got a plane to catch, so I packed yesterday, to be ready for this afternoon of training with Logan. I know it’s a rushed schedule, but Honesty can’t wait much longer. I must learn a way to save him before it’s too late. And I know what you’re gonna say, showers don’t give you extra energy. And you’re right, I’m tired, but nevertheless I’m ready to start. For Honesty, I must gather every bit of energy I’ve got left and be ready.

LOGAN: [rising up] I’m glad that you’re ready, Thomas, cause we’ve got work to do.

DECEIT: [rising up] I’m ready too, if you need me.

LOGAN: Yes, Deceit, we’re gonna need you and Honesty.

[Honesty appears]

HONESTY: Well, here I am, ready when you are.

ROMAN: [rising up] Can we watch the training session, Logan?

PATTON: [rising up with a cute glance at Logan] Pleeeease?

LOGAN: You don’t need to manipulate me with you’re adorableness tricks, Patton, you know they don’t work on me.

[Deceit smirks sarcastically]

LOGAN: [noticing Deceit’s sarcastic smirk, he clears his throat nervously] Besides… anyone is welcome to watch, as long as you don’t mess around.

VIRGIL: [rising up] I’ll take care of that, Logan. I’ll make sure you can train undisturbed.

ROMAN: And what are you planning to do to take care of that, Virge?

VIRGIL: I’ve got my methods.

ROMAN: Like what?

VIRGIL: Oh, you want some examples?

ROMAN: Yep.

VIRGIL: Okay… [to Patton] Dad, did you know I didn’t eat at all the whole day?

PATTON: What!? Not even breakfast!? Son, you must be starving! You should take more care of yourself! Thank God your pop is here to fix this issue. I’ll go make some quick sandwiches for ya! [sinks down] Back in a minute.

VIRGIL: And I’ll do that every time Patton gets too close to be a nuisance.

ROMAN: Well, that certainly works for Patton, but what about me?

VIRGIL: [smirks] Do you really wanna know?

ROMAN: Show me.

VIRGIL: If you happen to become a nuisance for the training, I just gotta do this…

[grabs Roman and kisses him]

ROMAN: [blushing with a smile] Okay, I’m convinced. Or maybe not… Can you give me another example for confirmation…?

THOMAS: Guys, if you don’t mind, we’ve got business to attend to here.

VIRGIL: You’re right, sorry.

PATTON: [rising up with a pile of sandwiches] I’m back! Here you are, Virge. All for you. Eat them all… [scolding voice] Right now!

VIRGIL: [looking at the pile of sandwiches, wondering how he’ll be able to eat them all] Okay, dad…

LOGAN: Okay, Virgil’s methods are a little [pulling out a vocab card] out of left field, but they seem to work, so you can come to the training.

PATTON: [rising his fist, happy] Yay!

THOMAS: Um… “come”? Are we going somewhere, Logan?

LOGAN: Yes, Thomas. I’ve created a training space in the Mind Palace so that we have more room for training. I wouldn’t want you to break your furniture by accident…

THOMAS: [concerned] Oh, okay…

LOGAN: Okay, if you’re ready, follow me, Thomas. You too, guys.

THOMAS: Okay.

[Everyone sinks down. Then they appear on what looks like a basketball court]

THOMAS: Why a basketball court?

LOGAN: It’s an open space as good as any. I would have chosen a soccer field because it’s bigger and outdoors, but I’m against stepping on grass, even if it’s specially intended for that. You know, save the forest and all… And anyway, any outdoors stuff in the Mind Palace is just an illusion, because everything’s inside you, so…

THOMAS: Okay, your class, your rules.

LOGAN: Okay, Thomas. Let’s begin. The first I want you to do is concentrate in yourself.

THOMAS: What do you mean?

LOGAN: Remember, long ago, when we were trying to rescue Deceit, when I told you you had to become one with his room? It’s something similar.

THOMAS: Like meditation?

LOGAN: Kind of, but this time, instead of becoming one with any room, you must become one with yourself.

THOMAS: I’m sorry, Logan, but I’m completely lost.

LOGAN: You’re right, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have jumped right into practice without getting the theory first. So…

[suddenly Thomas is sitting on a chair and there’s a huge whiteboard next to Logan with a complicated scheme drawn on it]

LOGAN: Okay, if you look carefully at this scheme and memorize all of it, you will learn the basics to start your training.

VIRGIL: Basics? You mean that all of that… is just the basics?

LOGAN: Of course it is. Becoming an expert would require a few dozens of these whiteboards, and that’s just an approximation.

VIRGIL: [biting his thumbnail] I… I think I’m getting heightened…

THOMAS: [anxious] Logan, are you serious? I’ve got a plane to catch tonight, and I have to leave home in less than five hours to get to the airport on time. I don’t have the time to study all of that. Isn’t there a way for you to give me a simpler explanation?

LOGAN: Okay, I concede that you may be right about our time constraint. So, I’ll give you a simpler explanation. Incomplete and not ideal, but sufficient enough.

THOMAS: Thank you.

LOGAN: We call you the Light Master, but that’s a little imprecise. Because you are much more than the Light Master. You are the whole Mind Palace itself and everything and everyone that lives inside. Are you following me?

THOMAS: Kind of…

LOGAN: We are all the Sanders Sides, and then there’s the Dark Master. While inside of you, we’re still each our own entity, tied to you, but with our own consciousness. But the Light Master and you have the same consciousness, your consciousness. Still with me?

THOMAS: Not sure…

LOGAN: Basically, the Light Master is within you. Like anyone of us, he’s his own entity, but unlike us, he only manifests through you.

THOMAS: Okay, this is where I start getting lost.

LOGAN: Summoning us is easy, you just call us and, if we’re not in autopilot, we hear you and we come. Got it?

THOMAS: Got it.

LOGAN: For the Light Master, however, it’s not that easy. If you want to summon his powers, you must learn to separate your human self from your Master self, learn to differentiate each and learn to control your Master self. It’s in a way as if you were two entities at the same time, your human self is awake and under your normal control, while your Master self lies dormant within you. You managed to wake him up by chance when you forced Romulus to split up, but you didn’t know how to control him, so you turned Roman into a Dark Side by accident. Got me?

THOMAS: So… the Light Master is different from me? Like a Side inside of me that can’t get out?

LOGAN: Kind of, but not exactly. The Light Master is an inseparable part of you, but it’s not all of you. It’s only a part of you that lies dormant and you need to learn how to wake it up. Understand?

THOMAS: I think so. And how do I wake that part of me up?

LOGAN: As I told you, you must follow the same method you did with Deceit’s room, but this time you must concentrate into yourself, trying to distinguish that Master part of you, identify it and make it surface.

THOMAS: And when it’s out? What will happen?

LOGAN: If you consciously wake it up, you should be able to control it. The first time it could be difficult, but with practice, you would be able to do it more naturally and easily.

THOMAS: Okay, so I start concentrating?

LOGAN: Yes. Are you ready for the first try?

THOMAS: I don’t know, but that doesn’t matter. We don’t have much time, so I must try, ready or not.

LOGAN: Okay, first of all, don’t be afraid, Thomas. Remember that this is a part of you and you can do this, okay?

THOMAS: Okay. Let’s go.

LOGAN: Okay, close your eyes, then.

[Thomas closes his eyes]

LOGAN: Try to empty your mind of each and any thoughts that could distract you. Whatever it is, it can wait. Now you must focus in yourself. Nothing exists, but yourself.

THOMAS: Okay…

LOGAN: When you reach that level of concentration, start focusing into yourself. Identify your day-to-day self, the normal Thomas Sanders that lives a normal life in the normal town of Gainesville, Florida. Then check everything inside you. You’ll be able to tell the difference between that part of you, and the other special part, a part that you hadn’t noticed before, but that you’ll be able to sense now. That’s the part where you must focus now. Can you sense it?

THOMAS: I think so… It’s weird…

LOGAN: Put the normal Thomas Sanders out of your focus, and concentrate solely on that part. You’ll see how it starts growing inside you. You may feel an overwhelming sensation, but don’t let it control you. It’s you who are in control, now and always. Don’t forget that. The Light Master self is at your service and not the opposite.

[A white aura starts glowing around Thomas’ body]

ROMAN: [in a low voice to Virgil and Patton] I’ve seen that kind of aura before. It’s the same aura that appeared around me when the Dark Master transformed me into a Light Side. I think Thomas is doing it.

[suddenly the aura disappears and Thomas shows a face of struggling, then he opens his eyes, with a slightly agitated breathing]

THOMAS: I lost it…

ROMAN: Wow, so close…

LOGAN: It’s okay, Thomas. No one asked you to do it on the first try.

THOMAS: It’s just that I felt as if that… thing, I don’t know how to call it, was starting to take me over, and I felt overwhelmed, as if I was drowning, I don’t know how to explain it, it was weird and unpleasant.

LOGAN: Yes, I thought it was that, that’s why I told you. You must keep in mind that you are always in charge. You may feel that sensation because you’re putting that part of yourself on the first line and your normal self steps back as a result, something you’re not accustomed to. But you can do this. Just as you have control over us, you also have control over your Light Master self. You just need to learn how to control it, and it won’t feel so unpleasant when you manage to do that. Are you ready for another try?

THOMAS: I don’t know…

PATTON: Come on kiddo, you can do this! We’re rooting for you!

[the rest of the Sides cheer too]

THOMAS: Thanks, guys… Okay, let’s try again.

[Thomas closes his eyes and starts concentrating again. In a shorter time than earlier, the aura manifests again]

ROMAN: Wow, it’s going really fast now…

[the aura starts growing and growing. Thomas shows an unpleasant face for some time, but after that he changes it for a determined face, then the aura is absorbed by Thomas’ body, and he opens his eyes. They’re now of a silver gray color]

THOMAS: I think I did it.

LOGAN: Well done, Thomas. How do you feel?

THOMAS: It’s a strange sensation. I feel like I could do so much more than before, as if all the limitations that hindered me had suddenly disappeared.

LOGAN: That’s because we’re in the Mind Palace, where in this state you can shape anything and anyone at your own will. But be careful, Thomas. Don’t get drunk with this power. You must only use it when the time is right.

THOMAS: Yes, I know, Logan. Okay, now what?

LOGAN: Now, we start training on how to split Deceit and Honesty back to how they were before.

THOMAS: I think I know what to do, somehow…

LOGAN: Yes, now that your Light Master self is awaken, you know what to do, but still, you need to practice before doing it for real. You don’t want to cause an accident during the split that wounds Deceit or Honesty, or something worse.

THOMAS: No, certainly not, but how do I practice?

[Logan makes the whiteboard disappear, and in its place, he invokes a manikin]

LOGAN: Deceit, could you come here and put your hand on the manikin, please?

DECEIT: Oh… okay.

[Deceit puts his hand on the manikin. Logan does the same. After some seconds, there’s a yellow flash and the manikin is dressed with a copy of Deceit’s outfit]

LOGAN: Thank you, Deceit. Okay, Thomas, this manikin has been infused with Deceit and Honesty’s essence, mixed as it is now. I want you to split this manikin in two parts. Not to cut it in half literally, but to create two manikins out of this one, separating Deceit’s and Honesty’s individual essences in each of the two new manikins, using only your Light Side powers. Do you think you can do it?

THOMAS: Okay, I’ll try.

[Thomas concentrates and the white aura reappears around him. Then he points at the manikin, and the aura flies to it. The manikin starts shaking, and a yellow glow surrounds it. Then Thomas starts struggling]

THOMAS: It’s… difficult. The two energies are too similar, I can barely distinguish them.

LOGAN: Concentrate harder, Thomas. You can do this.

[Thomas keeps concentrating, then the manikin blows up in a cloud of smoke. The aura disappears and Thomas starts panting. Patton and Virgil run to check on him. When the smoke vanishes, there are two manikins indeed, but they’re broken in pieces all over the ground]

DECEIT: Um… I suddenly don’t want to get out of here right now…

THOMAS: I’m sorry, guys, I failed… Gosh, what a mess of a Light Master I’m turning out to be…

LOGAN: Thomas, stop it. If you don’t start believing in yourself right at this moment, you’ll never make it. This takes a lot of strength, both of mind and of heart, but it also needs a good amount of faith. Faith in yourself and faith that you can do it.

THOMAS: Can I, though? I seriously doubt that I can.

LOGAN: Of course you can, Thomas. We have tried only once. This is only a matter of practice, concentration and faith. I believe in you, Thomas. You can do this, so start believing in yourself too. If not for you, for Honesty, and also for Roman and Virgil. We all depend on you. Gather all the strength that you have left and try again. And then again, and again. Because one thing is certain, you’re gonna do this. As my name is Logan Sanders, I’m not gonna let this be my first failure in teaching. Got it?

ROMAN: I do believe in you too, Thomas. If there’s one person in this world that can help me, that’s you. I would trust you with my life if need be, and I couldn’t be in better hands.

THOMAS: Roman…

VIRGIL: Roman speaks for all of us, Thomas.

PATTON: That’s right, kiddo.

HONESTY: Yes, this has only been a blooper in a rehearsal. When you get on stage and do it for real, you’ll get a standing ovation over your successful performance. You’ll see.

LOGAN: Stage? What stage? We’re doing this in a basketball court…

THOMAS: Guys, you’re gonna make me all emotional… Okay, I’ll try again.

[meanwhile, Logan has invoked away the pieces and invoked a new manikin and Deceit has already infused it with his essence again]

LOGAN: We’re ready here, Thomas. Now do your best.

[Virgil and Roman go back to their seats]

THOMAS: I’ll try.

LOGAN: Don’t try to do your best, Thomas, just do it. Put all your soul into this and all your guts, and do it.

THOMAS: Okay, I’ll do it.

[Thomas concentrates again. The aura appears again and Thomas projects it onto the manikin. The manikin starts shaking again and the yellow glow appears again surrounding it. Thomas starts struggling again]

DECEIT: You can do this…

HONESTY: Have faith.

PATTON: We’re rooting for you.

ROMAN: You’re capable of this and more.

VIRGIL: So much more…

LOGAN: So do it…

[The glow turns into a light so bright that the Sides have to turn back. After a few seconds, the light disappears and there are two manikins. One of them is dressed with Deceit clothes and the other with Honesty’s clothes]

LOGAN: Well done, Thomas.

THOMAS: I did it?

LOGAN: Of course you did it, like I knew you would.

[Thomas smiles and the Sides cheer]

LOGAN: Okay, enough cheering. The time has come. Are you ready, guys?

THOMAS: Wait, so soon? I thought this was a training session. I only managed to do it once.

LOGAN: There’s no time to waste, Thomas. Once you’ve managed to do it for the first time, you can manage to do it as many times as you want.

THOMAS: But what if…?

HONESTY: Logan is right. I don’t have much time left in this world. If I can’t be saved, I’d rather go with a blast, rather than disappear slowly and angstily. Besides, that’s not gonna happen, because you’re gonna do it, just like you did it before.

[Honesty disappears]

HONESTY: [speaking through Deceit’s body] Now go ahead and set me free, one way or another.

THOMAS: Don’t say that, Honesty.

HONESTY: Sorry, I’m Honesty. I’m allowed to express the way I feel without limitations. But don’t listen to me. I know you can do it.

LOGAN: [invoking the manikins away] Okay, Deceit, stand here, and don’t move a muscle.

DECEIT: [sighs] Here we go…

[Deceit goes where the manikins used to stand, he goes totally still and, after giving a quick anxious glance to the other Sides and Thomas, he closes his eyes]

LOGAN: Okay, Thomas, ready?

THOMAS: Ready.

LOGAN: Go.

[Thomas concentrates and the aura reappears. He projects the aura onto Deceit]

DECEIT: I’m feeling weird…

LOGAN: Don’t move…

[A yellow glow surrounds Deceit. This time, Thomas barely struggles, as if it was being easier than the other two times. Then the glow goes more intense, until Deceit is no longer seen. After a few moments, there’s a huge flash that, again, forces the other Sides to look back. After a while, the flash disappears. Deceit is there, but there’s no sign of Honesty]

DECEIT: I’m… I’m alive? But where is Honesty? I don’t feel him anymore. What has happened?

THOMAS: [scared] Oh, my gosh, don’t tell me that…

[a glow then appears next to Deceit. It is a yellow glow. It flickers to orange a couple of times while growing, but eventually stays yellow. After that, the glow disappears and Honesty appears there with his eyes closed]

DECEIT: Honesty? Are you okay?

[Honesty opens his eyes and looks around]

HONESTY: I… I think so… Did it work?

[Honesty slowly reaches a hand towards Deceit. He does the same. When the hands get close to touch, they both hesitate, but after a couple of seconds, they join their hands]

DECEIT: [happy] I can feel you!

HONESTY: [also happy] Me too. We both have a physical form again!

[Honesty and Deceit join in a hug and they both start crying. The other Sides join them. Thomas is there, with tears rolling down his cheeks]

LOGAN: Well done, Thomas. Now you have earned yourself the right to be called the Light Master.

HONESTY: Thomas, you saved me… Thank you… [runs to Thomas and hugs him] Thank you, thank you, thank you…

DECEIT: I always believed you could do it.

ROMAN: [smirks] Of course you did, who are we to judge anyway?

THOMAS: I’m so happy for you, guys. You wouldn’t get an idea.

DECEIT: It’s weird though. I think we’re separate in a different way than before. Because I still have all of Honesty’s memories, and weirdly enough, I can feel his thoughts right now, as if he was still inside of me.

HONESTY: Yeah, it happens the same with me. It’s like if I could read your mind right now.

DECEIT: It seems we’re still partly connected in a way. And I like it.

HONESTY: Me too.

LOGAN: Okay, now Thomas, it’s time for you to go back to the real world. You’ve got a plane to catch, remember? And you only have two hours left to get to the airport.

THOMAS: Oh, my goodness! I must go right now! [to the camera] Sorry for the abrupt goodbye, but until next time, take it easy, guys, gals and non binary pals! Peace out!

[end card]

[Remus is in his room, making what looks like pancakes. Roman appears]

ROMAN: Hi, Remus.

REMUS: Roman? What are you doing here?

ROMAN: What? Can’t I pay a visit to my brother from time to time?

REMUS: Well, you’re your own Side. Want some pancakes?

ROMAN: Maybe… What’s in them?

REMUS: Flour, eggs, butter, some baking powder, and, my secret ingredient to give them taste, just a few little crispity-crunchy fluffy cockroaches.

ROMAN: [disgusted] Uh… I think I’ll pass, thank you.

REMUS: As you wish, but they’re delicious with whipped shaving cream. And now, what is it? I don’t believe you’ve come here just to see me. What do you want?

ROMAN: I really don’t want anything from you. Except…

REMUS: [pulling out a purse] Okay, how much is it gonna be? But I warn you, I still haven’t got the check this month, so don’t overdo it.

ROMAN: It’s not that. Besides, why would I want money for? This is the Mind Palace. There’s no need to pay for things here.

REMUS: [putting the pancakes on a plate, he grabs a fork] Tell that to my landlord. Do you have any idea how much that castle’s rent costs?

ROMAN: I’m trying to be serious, Remus.

[Roman and Remus sit down at the table. Remus invokes a bottle of shaving cream and puts a bunch over the pancakes]

REMUS: Well, you should know me by now. I can’t be serious and I’m gonna say the first thing that comes through my head all the time. Now, go on, I’m listening, kind of.

ROMAN: The truth is… lately…

[Roman hesitates]

REMUS: Spit it out already!

ROMAN: …I feel lonely.

[Remus looks at Roman with a face of surprise. Obviously he didn’t expect to hear that from Roman and it caught him off guard]

REMUS: How… how is that so? You’ve got a husband and lots of friends. You’ve got a whole world of your own creation, even a family you created for yourself. How can anyone feel lonely with all of that?

ROMAN: You’re right, I’ve got a world I made myself. And I do have a lot of friends and a husband who loves me. But since I turned into a Dark Side, I can only see the other Sides for a couple of hours each day, and they can only spend brief minutes in my room, all for their own security. The rest of the day, I’m forced to stay alone in my room or wander around Sandersia. I could go visit my brother Roland and Ira in the castle, and I did see them a couple of times, but he’s a busy ruler. I don’t wanna be a burden to him and I keep my policy of not meddling in Sandersian life. So, I chose to stay alone, if that makes any sense.

REMUS: You overvalue things making sense. [eating his pancakes with whipped shaving cream, speaking while munching with his mouth open, bits of the pancakes fall everywhere] I don’t look for anything making sense, and look at me, I didn’t turn out so bad, did I?

[Remus swallows his food, then burps loudly with his mouth wide open. The smell of the shaving cream’s perfume reaches Roman’s nose and he smells it]

ROMAN: [beat, trying to keep a neutral face] Well… it could have been worse.

REMUS: [giggles] Yeah, you’re right. So, you feel lonely. What does that have to do with me?

ROMAN: Well, you’re my brother after all, and at this moment… you’re the only family I have left who will not be endangered by my presence.

REMUS: And so, you only come to me when everybody else is out of your reach. That’s not very complimentary. Not that I look for compliments, but still…

ROMAN: I know, and I’m sorry. There are lots of things I’ve done wrong with you. I’ll understand if you ask me to leave.

REMUS: I never said that. But it’s true that you’ve done lots of things wrong with me. And this is all quite funny if you see it through my perspective. What you’re going through is not even a thousandth part of what I’ve been going through all these years alone in the island. I could have tried to do like you and make myself some companions, but the first years I wasn’t strong enough to summon anything or anyone bigger than a coconut. Remember the size of the black cauldron, it wasn’t big enough to cook one serving of blood pudding. And by the time I got strength to summon bigger things, I had already got accustomed to my loneliness. I didn’t need anyone in my life anymore. [looking at Roman right in the eye with a reproachful look] Well… almost anyone. I needed you, my big brother, in my life, and you weren’t there for me.

ROMAN: [guilty] Yeah… You’re totally right, and you said it yourself the last time. This is a karmic punishment. I’m sorry I couldn’t be the brother you needed. And I know I don’t have a right to ask you for your company when I denied my company to you for so many years. To be honest, I took a lot of time to come here, because… I feared how you would react. I don’t mean that I thought you would go on a rampage again, but… I thought that you were going to reject me and throw me away from your room, and you would have had all the right to do so.

REMUS: I would never throw you away, Roman. Especially now.

ROMAN: What do you mean?

REMUS: Now that you’re going through this, you can understand what I went through better than anyone else, and I think that makes our bond closer than ever. Besides, how could I get you to compensate me for all these years if I threw you away? My needs haven’t changed a bit. I still need my big brother in my life. So you better give me the company you denied from me in the past, Roman. I’ll use my mace to make you stay with me if I have to.

ROMAN: [emotional] I will… Thank you, brother.

REMUS: Is it weird that I enjoy you calling me like that? I’m genuinely asking, because I don’t understand this weird heartwarming stuff.

[Roman makes a gesture to go hug Remus, but he stops]

REMUS: What’s wrong?

ROMAN: Could you… clean your sash a little bit? You’re all covered with pancakes and shaving cream…

REMUS: Oh, come on, Roman, just get carried away for once in your life!

[Remus hugs Roman, who shrugs and hugs Remus back]

ROMAN: Okay…

[maybe-i-like-the-misery]

My thoughts from the new video!

Please keep in mind that I don't do this at all a lot, so it's gonna be a bit messy, probably

[Peter Pan voice] here we go!

Okay this thumbnail plus the warnings do not invite good times at all

"Even my thoughts are starting to go wrong" WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

Virgil's eyeshadow is darker?? Does that mean something??

Welcome to Confusion Time With Pip, where I am always confused

"Singing to myself, cause I'm not uncomfortable at all" MOOD

"So sushi -- I mean sue me" "Don't act like that was an accident" sjsjsjjdkdf I love them

"The purp man" excuse me what

Patton is me in any family gathering ever

"Am I delirious or is this the funniest video I've ever made" no u right, u right

Oh shit what is this

I can't tell if there's something wrong with my headphones or if some Shit is going down

CDHHXKFVD WHAT THE FUCK. ROMAN. ROMAN LOOK BEHIND YOU.

He's grEEN

COLOUR THEORY COLOUR THEORY COLOUR THEORY

Okay seriously how is nobody seeing this

Oh damn Virgil's voice did the Thing™

Did he just fucking. Did this guy just do what I think he did

I just,,, can't get over the moustache oh my god--

Does The Duke's outfit remind anybody else of the Pride!Roman headcanons or is it just me

OoOoOOHhHHhhH spooky music

I love his voice???

The Disney Villian Mashup was a warm-up oh my god

This is gonna sound weird but the bit with Deceit made me think of that scene in Matilda before she goes to school???

Where did Thomas get the Woody costume

I need a gif of The Duke saying Jeffrey Dahmer like that

Oh god why did he look at Virgil like that I'm scared

So if his view on imagination changes, then will Roman become all-encompassing? Will they fuse? I have so many questions, oof

Roman has an evil twin omg

Patton and Logan are so great I love them

Okay it's official I already love this guy

Like... he's an asshole.... but I love him

I love when Logan tries to calm the others down, he's the best

Excuse me Duke but what the fuck

Virgil is so serious about this romcom?? It's amazing

Patton should know all about what repression is tho shouldn't he

Logan is brilliant

Logan and Virgil arguing is not something I thought I would see today

Okay but is The Duke standing on Roman or next to Roman that's very important

"THAT 👏 IS 👏 WHY 👏 I 👏 SAY 👏 IT" hi I love him

We went from Logan saying copulate a total of two times to this, look how far we've come

"Despite his best efforts, Virgil could never stop being the bad guy" okay that's it I take it back I hate this guy

"Am I cool" yes, yes you are

He eats -- oh my god

Wow that was the fastest we've ever heard any of their names, what

Romulus and Remus, I get it! Took me a while but I get it!!

Logan just....... put his teeth back in...... I'm gonna go lie down

Roman's scream seems so tame now wtf

Wait the callback hasn't even happened yet??

Logan is so soft oh my goodness

This video needed literally one line to make my logicality heart go into overdrive, Thomas is too powerful

"It was just like old times!" EXCUSE ME WHAT

Virgil's smile aaaw that's so cute

Thomas is me

Wow that post about how Roman is always the first to apologise was right on the mark huh

Logan!!!!! Getting!!!!!! Appreciated!!!!!!!!!! I love this song

Aw Roman no

Anybody else notice that Virgil is the only one who never calls them the "Dark Sides"? It's always "The Others," "Deceit's friends," etc

SHXGHFBDNCBFJFBGKNFMFKG

HOLY SHIT

VIRGIL GET BACK HERE

Well at least now there's a reason as to why????? I'm screaming

[kappasigmalife]

Eternal Purgatory: Chp 3 first impressions aren’t always key

Eternal Purgatory: Chp 3  first impressions aren’t always key

 As chris opens the door to what he believes his is his room, he catches a glimpse of two girls making out on a bed. Shocked chris looks at the door only to see that its Paul’s room and his is next door labeled as 2. Paul goes up and tells him to knock before opening anything only for chris to stare dead in his eyes.

“Really, I wasn’t even told what my room was, but yes I must say I probably should of knocked before seeing what I can only assume is a paranormal three-way with your friends over here.” Paul looks at chris and tells him to go get some rest before someone or something sets him off. Chris likes to reiterate that after the shit he saw there isn’t anything that can tick him off again. Paul takes his phone out and sends chris a pic telling him to enjoy the view. As Chris opens the pic message his eyes begin bleeding dropping the phone and nearly vomiting asking what shit Paul always plans for.

“PAUL, YOU SICK FUCK, WHAT IS THAT?”

Paul responds that he prepared for just the occasion in case Chris was gonna be dick to him.

“that picture, is robbys ass, have fun with that image, in the mean time, I got two girls to please.” Paul closes his door leaving chris to question everything that just transpired and then looks at his phone again, this time a close up of a blonde hairy ass, making chris look away and run to the kitchen. He starts tearing it apart muttering to himself.

“come one, where is it, where is it, god knows I really need it.” Reefer walks in and asks Chris what he’s doing tearing apart the cabinets. Chris explains that paul sent him some pics and he trying to find the bleach to wash his eyes out with. Reefer just looks and contemplates the images in his head.

“trust me Chris, nothing will ever get that image out, to this day I still see them in my eyes.”

Chris looks away and finds a bottle of rum which he partakes in about 5 heavy shots before going to his room to sleep. All the while he cant seem to get any shut eye cause of Paul’s incessant snoring, while looking at his phone getting more pics of Robby’s ass. The following morning he wakes up to find Helen making coffee ready for the first day of their classes, as it turns out they will be taking western civilization with professor Thucydides and Chris remarks how it might as well be a poetry class.

“the freaking guy always overdid it on the context of history, it sounds like a terrible movie rather than historical events transpiring, he talks about feelings and imagery, whereas the only thing that matters is who they are, what they do, and why their important, I mean can we please just…. Oh my god im too fucking tired for this.”

Helen looks at him curious why he should have some coffee before Robby comes in taking some fro himself.

“Listen Chris, it’ll be okay, you got your brains and you rock in history and literature classes, I bet by the end of the semester every student will my begging to get help from you.” Robby interjects saying that Chris can’t be that smart if he died in a freezer, cracking jokes at his expense.

“What’s the matter, a little frostbite hurt your feelings, lighten up Chrisper, it’s just purgatory, we know full well that your death was from stupidity.” Paul appears out of Robby’s phone grabbing the coffee in his hands and cracking back at him

“Yeah see robby, that’s where your wrong, cause you died watching a marathon of one piece from beginning to end, all 700 episodes and without sleep.” Chris just stares at robby

“So you died cause you were a weaboo and had no life, good to hear, now I’m grabbing coffee then heading to campus, don’t want to be late.” Chris heads out the door walking to campus as Paul sends more pictures of Robby’s ass to him, this time chris admires them knowing that each angle is different almost like they were posed. Although the admiration is nice, chris once again bumps into a chubby goth kid Chris embarrassed apologizes and looks and sees it’s the same person from orientation.

“Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to do that again.” The boy just glares at him looking at the spilled coffee all over him.

“Thanks again for ruining my clothes, guess im doing to class looking like a slob.” Chris looks at the massive stain of coffee and scratches his head, then pulls out a black zip up fleece he got from his room in case it got too chilly in the morning.

“it might be snug but itll be better than the stained wear you got on, go ahead and keep it I got others at home, im late for class.”

The boy looks at the sweatshirt and puts it on commenting its labeled a XL, even though Chris looks no more than a large. He gets to campus and sits in the back of the classroom seeing Chris sitting next to Helen and sees the teacher approach him.

Professor Thucydides asks chris to help some of the students in the class considering his talkent in life for history and note taking, although chris agrees he looks back as the boy ducks in his books as the teacher calls his name.

“BRENDAN, you again forget that this is western civilization, not eastern drama, get the right textbook.” Brendan looks around embarrassed by everyone laughs with students making comments around him

“way to call out the new kid, like he didn’t fit in already.” “no wonder he sits in the back, trying not to be noticed by the crowds.” “I heard he was a transfer from a different country, whats he doing up here.” As Brendan  tries making an attempt to give a reason for not having the right book (he actually forgot to buy it), chris raises his hand and tries explaining.

“professor that was my fault actually, as I was walking I failed to put my phone down while walking and bumped into Brendan on the way to class, I spilled my coffee all over his book and it got ruined, I will ensure he gets a replacement from my own pocket.”

Thucydides apologies to Brendan and tells Chris to be careful around the campus as many will not watch where they go. The class begins the tale of the discovery of rome made by the brothers Remus and Romulus which chris finds more fascinating than everyone. helen nudging him calling him out as a history nerd.

“seriously its just history you read about this all the time, whats the difference between this and now.”

chris responds with a glimmer in his eyes and a smile on his face.

“hey I’m passionate about mythology and lore, its my favorite thing about  class.” Brendan looks at the board and rolls his eyes knowing full well that the textbook  is totally wrong.

“oh right yes Romulus was the eldest and remus was the little brother, they conqurored rome cause of a wolf mother breastfeeding them, what a load of shit.”

Thucydides looks at Brendan and asks if he said something was wrong.

Brendan looks at him and tells him the history is wrong and that none of that stuff was accurate to the true history that happened.

“There’s no way that all happened its makes no sense at all and I should know im…. Im adept at knowing this stuff.”

He covers his mouth and hears Chris from the back.

“what were you there or something, these are mythical werewolves controlling the elements, the only way to know for sure would either be to have been there or you were blood related,  which I highly doubt considering the amount of humans in the world.”

Brendan slumps in his chair and looks at the tag on the fleece chris gave him.

“oh his names chris, like the patron saint of travelers, I gottaa ay, you’re a nerd, but you have a hell of a smile.” The student next to him looks at him in a state of shock.

Brendan responds to his look.

“uh what’s your deal?”

“dude, you’ve been talking to yourself the entire time class has been going on, we heard everything you just said.” Brendan shuts his mouth and rushes out the classroom with chris looking back as he looks at a roster of students he going be tutoring during the semester.

“Oh he’s going to be a peach isn’t he.”

As chris starts walking out a young man comes up asking if he wants to join him for a coffee at the blue moon café down the road from campus. Chris obliges and looks at his watch, he rushes out to find Brendan to give him notice of his tutoring. Brendan looks at himself in the mirror and notices his eyes turning.

“shit no no no, I thought the drops worked, fucking pharmacy always has to screw me.”

He hears chris calling his name coming into the restroom and ducts into a stall as chris walks in looking for him.

“hey dude, I know you probably had Gregory hall food for breakfast, but I wanted to let you know im gonna be tutoring you, so don’t get so worked up okay, I’ll help with your preparedness.” “Yeah sure, just let me dump in peace.” Chris rolls his eyes and walks out.

That evening chris is preparing for his coffee dressing cleanly but knowing its just something small. Paul remarks hes getting worked up over nothing and that he should be chill like he is. Chris remarks that Paul is far from chill this morning.

“those 180 ass shots of Robby beg to differ, talk about vindictive.” Paul just looks at him and retorts that there could have been worse stuff.

“Trust me I could of done so much worse, you got off easy.” Chris shrugs it off and goes to the blue moon café to meet the young man a little muscular with a blonde goatee. Chris sits down and orders a hazelnut coffee done light with plenty of creamer, while the young man has a simple iced coffee with milk. The two sit down and talk with the young man looking at this phone.

“so I hear you’re a new kid but got tons of talent in class work, that impressive.” Chris smiles thanking him for the compliment trying to change the subject.

“Yeah always was a good student but I don’t normally like talking about class on a date, so where are you from.” The boy dodges the question immediately saying that Chris could be a big help to the class if he shared notes. Chris looks at him with his eye brow raised stating that he thinks people should copy their own notes rather than be explicit and copy everything else just to pass.

“if people want my help they can sign up for tutoring, if anything else its going to help raise the grade standard and I get paid more.” The young boy opens his mouth saying.

“look ill make it worth your while, im sure you haven’t had any in a long time, so help me with homework and ill give you some payment another way.” Chris gets upset and responds with a standard scowl

“you mean your offering sex, for grades, uh yeah no thanks I thought you wanted me for me, not my grades.” The boy responds

“well I wouldn’t go for you anyway, your plain and country is a terrible look in general, I need meat on bones firm and tight, glistening hair and well you don’t got that, but I need grades so what do you think.” Chris stands up taking his coffee.

“so your looking for prince charming in a world of mediocrity, good luck with that, and also I got more value in myself not to whore out for grades, you want that, talk to Gilgamesh, later.” chris goes home and straight to the kitchen getting a drink all the while paul coming in asking what happened. When he explains paul jokes about already knowing and rolls a joint for the two to share on the front porch.

Brendan looks out his window contemplating why Chris defended him twice that day and sniffs his fleece as his eyes change colors.

“mmmm, he smells like hazelnut.”

[headfulloffantasies]

Angel with a Shotgun

Chapter 21: Negotiations

Ao3 Guess what guys, I’m finally caught up to my Ao3 account. Seriously, if you want to read this fic you should follow the link. It’s much easier to post there and so I make more regular updates.

“Where would he go?” Sam asked for the millionth time.

Bobby scrubbed a hand over his beard. Dean wasn’t answering his phone. He dialled again anyways. It went straight to voicemail. The battery was probably dead.

Sam paced the motel room. Bobby was dizzy just watching him. The shag carpet was going to be worn to threads before Dean got back.

“Maybe he went for coffee,” Bobby suggested for the hundredth time.

“Without saying anything? Not even a note?” Sam turned another circuit of the cramped room.

Bobby watched him. A gulf as wide as Hell had opened between them. It was about time he tried bridging the gap.

“How are you doing, really?” Bobby asked.

Sam shrugged, his shoulders staying hunched around his ears. “I dunno. I feel… sore. Achy, like all my joints are loose. But I’ll make it.”

“I know you will,” Bobby said. “You’re my son, you’re tougher than nails.”

A horn honked. Bobby frowned as a monster engine roared. Sam ran to the window. He whooped suddenly and burst out the door as the sound of the engine growled louder. Bobby followed slower, inwardly cursing the stupidity of teenage boys.

Dean roared into the parking lot in the Impala. The huge, nasty grill shone, and the black paint practically sparkled as the engine growled. It was a beautiful machine.

The car skidded to a halt on the asphalt. Dean leaned out the driver’s window. “Ain’t she something?”

Sam smoothed his hands over the chrome detail on the passenger’s side. “Not bad.”

“Not bad? My Baby would crush any foreign sportscar.”

“Yeah, sure, Dean,” Sam piled his tall self into the car. “Just drive.”

Dean honked the horn and waved at Bobby. He waved back, supressing the smile fighting to break through.

***

The Impala growled down the highway. Dean pressed her to her limits, flooring the gas. Trees and fields rushed by in a blur. Sam rolled down his window to shout into the wind. Dean grinned. His heart swelled. This was all he needed; just two lanes of asphalt and a motor. Finally, he turned the car around and headed back towards town.

“What happened to your wings?” Sam burst the bubble of silence enveloping them.

Dean shifted in his seat. “Cas has been teaching me to focus my energy. I figured out how to hide them myself.” He glanced at Sam, “Now I don’t need Cas if I want to go out in public.”

“What do we do now?” Sam asked quietly. He twisted his hands in his lap.

“We keep doing what we always do. Fight monsters. Stay away from angels.”

“I thought Zachariah had a plan for you?”

“Yeah,” Dean sighed. “Well, he can shove it. I don’t want to sit on a cloud and play a harp all day.”

“Isn’t Heaven where we belong, though?” Sam asked. “I mean you do anyways. Me-,”

“You’re still an angel.” Dean interrupted. “At heart, or whatever. We’ll fix you.”

“Yeah, sure,” Sam groused. “I’m hungry,” he suddenly changed the subject. “Are humans always this hungry?”

“Burgers?” Dean suggested.

“Yeah. And pie.”

“Now we’re talking,” Dean pressed down on the gas.

The little diner was bustling. Sam and Dean ordered and sat in a booth by the window. Sam ate like a man starved. Worry gripped Dean’s gut. He’d never really thought much about food beyond how much he enjoyed the taste. Angels, even fledglings, didn’t need much sustenance.

Dean finished his burger and shoved back his chair. “I need to stretch my wings.”

“Very funny,” Sam said over his second milkshake.

Dean smirked and sauntered to the restroom. He pushed through the door and froze. He wasn’t in a crusty diner washroom. A dark cement walled room greeted him with junk filled shelves on all sides. Dean turned to run back the way he came. The door had vanished.

“Hello, Dean.”

Zachariah stood in the center of the room, his hands in his pockets.

Dean’s heartrate kicked up a few notches.

“Zach,” Dean answered warily. “I’ve got a cellphone, you know. You could just call me.”

Zachariah smirked, “I need a minute of your time, Dean.”

“Where are we?” Dean studied the eclectic collection of tools and machinery on the dusty shelves.

“Some basement in Delaware, I believe.”

“Delaware?” Dean sputtered. “I’m supposed to be in Wyoming.”

“No, Dean, you are supposed to be in Heaven,” Zachariah snapped.

Dean shook his head. “Man, I’m not the guy you want to run an army.”

“Oh, you’ll join us, Dean,” Zachariah said. “But this visit is to discuss Sam.”

“Sam?” Dean’s stomach dropped.

“You weren’t supposed to rescue him.” Zachariah said. His calmness sent a chill down Dean’s spine. “You’ve ruined everything.”

Dean’s head spun. “You told me you had a plan to save him.”

“Heavens, no. We have a plan. That plan includes your brother becoming a hellspawn. And you commanding Heaven.”

“I don’t understand.”

“How could you? You’ve been raised by mud monkeys.”

“Watch your mouth,” Dean snarled.

“You and Sam are supposed to be the greatest adversaries ever.”

Dean felt like someone was dropping bricks on his head. He couldn’t process all this new information. “What?”

“Heaven verses Hell, starring two brothers slaughtering each other on the battlefield.” Zachariah spread his arms wide. “Come on, haven’t you been paying attention? Cain and Abel, Pharaoh and Moses, Romulus and Remus, Claudius and Hamlet Senior. It goes on and on, written into the fabric of humanity. Precursors to the End.”

“I won’t kill Sam,” Dean said firmly.

Zachariah met him with determination. “You will if it’s the only way to stop him destroying the world.”

“No,” Dean shook his head. “He won’t.”

“Let me spell it out for you,” Zachariah spit. He raised his hands and intoned. “As it is written, The King of Hell will burn the world in fire. And only the Righteous One will be able to stop the bloodshed. They will meet as brothers, and one shall slay the other. Then Heaven shall reign on earth for a thousand years.”

“You’re talking about the Apocalypse,” Dean gasped.

“What did you expect?” Zachariah asked, adjusting his suit. “We were hunting the ends of the earth for some lost fledglings? Who cares about a couple of abandoned puppies? No, you and your brother have been destined since birth for these roles. There is no one else who can do it.”

“It being the End Times.” 

Zachariah shrugged. “Call it what you will. The big showdown. The last stand. It’s all the same. And it all ends the same; with you defeating your brother and Heaven triumphing over Hell once and for all.”

“I don’t think so.”

Zachariah took a threatening step forward, “Come again?”

Dean lifted his chin, “I ain’t leading any angel army, and Sam sure as Hell isn’t on board with the demons.”

“Eh. Semantics.” Zachariah brushed Dean’s words away like lint off his suit. “Whether you like it or not, the end will happen. And it will happen as it is written.”

“Well then strap in, ‘cause we’re throwing out the book.”

Zachariah was in his face with angelic speed. “Listen here, you little maggot. You’re either going to say yes, or I’m going to tear you a cosmic new one.”

Dean’s heart stopped. He clenched his jaw and smirked. “Eat me.”

Zachariah took a sobering breath. “Fine. Let’s see how you feel if we add a little sweetener to the pot.” He snapped his fingers. Sam appeared suddenly behind Zachariah’s shoulder.

“Sam!”

“Dean? What’s going on-?”

“Hush,” Zachariah lifted a finger to his lips. Sam buckled, a gasp spilling from his mouth.

“Leave him alone!” Dean shouted. Sam crumpled into a ball on the floor, clutching his chest.

“Now. Where were we?” Dean had to tear his eyes from Sam to focus on what Zachariah was saying. “Oh yes. Either you agree to my offer, or we see how fragile Sam is as a human.”

Sam made a sound that gutted Dean to the core.

“Bastard,” Dean spat.

Zachariah hummed and snapped his fingers again. Blood splattered the floor under Sam.

The fire of Dean’s anger drowned in icy fear. The smug douchebag would kill Sam, Dean had no doubts about that. “Stop.

Zachariah cupped a hand around his ear, “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you. Was that a yes?”

“No,” Sam’s weak cry shattered Dean’s resolve. “Dean, don’t do it.”

“Fix him first,” Dean demanded.

Zachariah sucked at his teeth, considering. Every moment he deliberated was shards of ice in Dean’s stomach. “You say yes, then I put your pathetic excuse for a brother back together.”

“Please-,” Dean started.

“Oh, you don’t like it? How about this?” Zachariah lifted his hand to snap his fingers.

“Wait!” Dean lunged forward. “Stop it, damn you. I’ll do it.”

Zachariah lowered his hand with a smirk. “Now was that so hard? Everybody’s happy.”

“Except you,” Sam croaked. Dean and Zachariah moved as one to look at Sam. The puddle of blood under Sam was now smeared into a complicated configuration. Zachariah’s eyes widened in horror. Sam slammed his hand down on the angel banishing sigil. Dean threw his arms up to shield his eyes from the blinding light as Zachariah disintegrated.

Dean scraped his knees on the floor in his haste to get to Sam.

Sam coughed, shoving himself up to sitting. Blood dribbled down his chin. The same fear that had gripped him in Hell latched onto Dean at the sight of blood on Sam’s face.

“Are you good?” Dean’s hands fluttered over Sam, searching for more hurts.

“I’m fine,” Sam wiped the blood on his sleeve, smudging a horrible red streak across his face. “He’ll be back. We have to go.”

<<<Previous    Next>>>

[miguel-manbemel]

Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 18: Incomplete

Here comes a new entry of the fanfic blog inspired on Sanders Sides by Thomas Sanders, Joan S. and the Foster Dawg team. In case there are new readers, this fic is a forked AU, that is, it follows the series canon up to Selfishness v Selflessness, and goes on its own after that. This particular entry was inspired on Thomas’ photoshoot as a royal king from last month. This story came out from it. As usual, you can read previous entries from the fic right here. And without further ado, I leave you with the story. Until next time.

SYNOPSIS: Since the Sides returned from the island, Roman hasn’t been the same. Despite knowing that it’s not good for him, he longs for the days when Remus and him were a single Side and feels incomplete. Remus tempts him into fulfilling this fusion, and the two brothers join into a new, cold hearted entity called Romulus, that takes over Sandersia and changes into a miserable place. Roman comes back for a few seconds to tell the Sides that they must find something in the island that could help them revert the fusion, before it’s too late and both Roman and Remus disappear for good.

WARNINGS: This is an angsty story in many moments. It makes reference to alcohol addiction, although it’s done as a metaphor of something happening in the episode. There’s also a lot of prinxiety and also a lot of unrequited anxceit, with hints of toxic behavior in that relation. There’s a dash of platonic father-son-like moxiety in the end too.

EPISODE INDEX

[Thomas is in front of his laptop]

THOMAS: Hi, everyone. I’m here, trying to write something. But today, I’m completely dried out… The only things that come to my mind are all sort of shenanigans related to Aunt Patty… and I think I should give her a rest, you know? The fact that most of it would demonetize my channel for good does not have anything to do with it, of course… [realizing what he’s just said, angry] Deceit, shut up!

[intro sequence]

THOMAS: What is up, everybody? Okay, I’ve left the laptop, because when the muse is not with you, there’s no use in forcing it to work for you. In this case, my muse is Roman. I’m sure he’s distracted with Virgil or something. You know? Maybe I should call him to see what he’s up to, or rather what he’s not up to. Roman!

[there’s no answer]

THOMAS: Uh-oh… This doesn’t look good. Roman, come here please!

[still no answer]

THOMAS: Okay, one more try. Third time lucky, they say… Roman! Come here right now!

[Roman rises up. His eyes are sore red]

ROMAN: Hi, Thomas. I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you calling.

THOMAS: Well, I’ve been yelling for a long time, you know? [noticing his eyes] Wait a minute… your eyes… Have you been crying, Roman?

ROMAN: [nervously] What? No, I haven’t. It’s just that my eyes have been itchy today, that’s all. A couple of drops from my collyrium and I’ll be good as gravy.

THOMAS: [beat] Give it up, Roman. You’re not Deceit, you’re not good at consciously lying.

VIRGIL: [rising up] I tried to tell him the same, but he wouldn’t listen.

ROMAN: Guys, I’m totally fine! Seriously!

DECEIT: [rising up] No, you’re not, and you can’t hide it.

THOMAS: What’s wrong with you, Roman? We want to help you if we can, you know it.

ROMAN: [sighs] I know, but this time… there’s nothing you can do to help me.

LOGAN: [rising up] Why don’t you try us?

PATTON: [rising up] Yes, kiddo. You’ll never know if you don’t open up to us.

ROMAN: Please, guys, do not insist… I can’t tell you any of this. I don’t want you to…

VIRGIL: What?

ROMAN: [with a low voice] …hate me.

THOMAS: Princey, we would never hate you! What are you talking about?

ROMAN: Yes you would, because… because… it’s something unforgivable.

VIRGIL: What do you mean?

DECEIT: Why wouldn’t we forgive you?

ROMAN: Please stop…

PATTON: Have you done something wrong we don’t know about?

THOMAS: Is there anything from you I should be worried about?

ROMAN: [anxious] Please stop!

LOGAN: Guys, guys, everyone settle down, please. You’re not helping Roman!

[Roman shows an agitated breathing]

VIRGIL: You’re right, Logan. I’m sorry, Roman. We have no right to push you into saying anything you don’t wanna say… It’s just that… I don’t like that you have secrets with us, especially if they’re hurting you. Because I wanna help you and I can’t if you don’t open to us. And that frustrates me. I love you and it hurts me to see you suffering.

ROMAN: And I love you too, Virgil. That’s why I don’t want you to know it… I… I don’t wanna lose you.

VIRGIL: Why would you lose me? Don’t you see that if now you leave me like this in the dark you’re gonna hurt me even more? [glances at Patton, who smiles proudly at Virgil] We are a married couple. There should be no secrets between us. If we face it together, we’ll be stronger! Please, level up with us!

ROMAN: [sighs] You’re right… I love you and there should be no secrets between us. I’ll tell you.

THOMAS: If you want to talk about this you two alone, we’ll understand, guys.

ROMAN: No, it’s okay. I’ll tell all of you. I have the feeling you would have found out sooner on later, and I prefer that you learn it from me. I just hope that when I’m done talking you can still look at me the same way…

VIRGIL: Just let it go, Roman. I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think it is.

ROMAN: You see, it all started when we had our fight with Remus.

VIRGIL: I knew it was related to Remus.

ROMAN: You know how we used to be one single being until I expelled him from me, so that I could be Thomas’ bright creativity and he wouldn’t reject me. Remember what happened at the end of the battle, when Remus hugged me?

VIRGIL: I remember a brown light coming from both of you.

THOMAS: And I do remember seeing a new Side into the light for a second, one that had a navy-blue prince outfit with a brown sash and a golden crown on his head. The vision only lasted for a second but I could never forget it.

ROMAN: So you really saw me… the real me. I thought we didn’t complete the fusion, but we did it after all, if only for a second…

THOMAS: So that guy was a fusion of Remus and you?

ROMAN: Yes, it was Creativity as you knew it in your childhood. When you were little, you saw me as I am now, with red as my color, because a child is innocent and doesn’t have that kind of thoughts… When you grew up, as your mind expanded and you started having other kinds of creative thoughts… I transformed. The white in my suit became navy blue and my red sash turned brown. At first I was curious about the change, then I started hating it, because your new thoughts made you feel so uncomfortable and distressed. I looked at my brown sash and I saw it as a rotten, rusted version of my old sash… I was so embarrassed I didn’t want to get out. I didn’t want you to see me like that and I wanted to turn back to how I was before. You know the rest. I expelled that part of me, I got back to white and red, and the result was Remus’ birth with his green sash. You know, red and green mixed together make brown. Then I sent him to the island so that he wouldn’t disturb you anymore, even if that didn’t work after all.

THOMAS: Yes, we already knew the last part.

ROMAN: There’s one thing you still don’t know. One thing I’m so ashamed to admit… Since I did that… I have always felt…

[Roman makes a pause, everyone looks at him with expectation]

VIRGIL: What?

ROMAN: …incomplete.

VIRGIL: Incomplete?

ROMAN: Like I knew a part of me was missing, as if I had an emptiness inside of me, an emptiness that nothing in this world could ever fill. I have always felt it but in the end I eventually got accustomed to it and learned to live happily with it. When I joined with Remus, if only of a second… the emptiness was gone. I felt complete again. I felt such an endless joy and fulfillment… then new horrible thoughts danced through my head and I remembered why I had split from him. I felt so much shame for feeling like that. And I rejected him again. I tried to just move on, to keep on with my life as I had been living it these last years… but I can’t. I feel like an alcoholic that has been sober for years, then they drink one cup one day and fall down back into their addiction, deeper and worse than before… It’s the same kind of feeling, and I don’t know how to move on from it.

THOMAS: So that’s why Remus blamed me for his misery… I guess he was right.

ROMAN: What?

THOMAS: This is all my fault, Roman. If I hadn’t felt such distress over my new thoughts when I was growing up, you wouldn’t have felt pushed to get rid of them. I’m so sorry, Roman.

ROMAN: No, this is not your fault, Thomas. If anything, it’s my own fault, because if I had known how to control these thoughts, it wouldn’t have been necessary to do the split at all. You are the first priority for all of us, Thomas. We all want to take care of you. It’s our sworn duty as Sides, and I was just doing my duty.

THOMAS: But you shouldn’t have to do such sacrifices for me, Roman. I never asked for that and I don’t want that. I don’t want any of you to be unhappy because of me, because that makes me unhappy too.

VIRGIL: And Roman, just to make it clear, I don’t hate you, at all.

ROMAN: No?

VIRGIL: No! In any case, I love you even more. When I think of all you must have been through all on your own… And you did it all for Thomas. I’m so proud of you for that.

[Virgil approaches Roman and kisses him, then hugs him]

ROMAN: I was so lucky to find you, Virgil, and I love you so, so much…

VIRGIL: I love you too… but please, promise me that you won’t hold any more secrets of this nature from me. I’m your husband, I vowed to be with you in good times and bad, remember? That is my duty, but it’s also my wish and my right. Don’t ever push me aside of whatever distresses you again, promised?

ROMAN: Promised.

THOMAS: I wish I knew how to help you on this one. But I don’t know what to do.

ROMAN: There’s nothing any of you can do right now. This is something that I must face on my own. I must recover the strength to give up to that part of me and it will take time and effort. There’s only one thing you can help me with.

THOMAS: Whatever you need, we’ll be there, Roman.

ROMAN: Please, don’t ever stop rooting for me. When my own strength weakens, I count on yours to keep me on track.

VIRGIL: [going back to his spot] Roman, how could you ever have doubted that? We will always be rooting for you, no matter what.

REMUS: [suddenly appearing next to Roman with his usual grin] Isn’t this nice?

[Roman steps back, horrified, the other Sides yelp, scared]

THOMAS: Remus! What are you doing here!?

REMUS: Spying the conversation, of course. And it was both emotional and funny at the same time. So now you are addicted to me? How flattering…

ROMAN: [horrified] Stay away from me, don’t touch me!

REMUS: And what are you gonna do to stop me, brother? Why are you even resisting me? It would just be so easy… [he opens his arms wide] One step further, one hug, and we would be together again, as we were meant to be. You know you want it, as much as I do. Come on, don’t resist and get carried away…

[Roman looks at Remus with an expression of horror as he speaks, but at the same time he shows a face of longing, of wanting to do as Remus says, and there’s an inner fight inside of him, as shown by his brief gestures of struggle. Then he starts slowly opening his arms]

VIRGIL: Roman… no! Don’t do that!

THOMAS: Roman, fight!

REMUS: [angry, rising his arm towards the other Sides and Thomas] Shut the f… [bleep] up, everyone!

[as if pushed by a sudden wind blow, all the Sides and Thomas fall back. Then Remus looks at Roman, again with his arms open]

REMUS: Come back to me, Roman. Let’s be a family again, just you and me, forever. Just as you want. Just as I want…

[suddenly, Roman can’t hold on anymore and opens his arms quickly]

VIRGIL: [horrified] Roman, noo!

[Roman hugs Remus with all his might, almost squeezing him, and Remus hugs him back. Then, there’s a brown light that covers them both and blinds the others. The light lasts for about ten seconds. Then it disappears and the Side Thomas saw the previous time is in the place of Roman and Remus. He has his eyes closed and a little smile of pleasure]

THOMAS: Ro… Roman?

SIDE: [cold but at the same time theatrical voice, he opens his eyes] Yes… I remember… that used to be my name when I was little… but not anymore.

THOMAS: Then who are you?

SIDE: If I’m the result of plain Roman and Remus’ union… Romulus would be a fitting name, don’t you think? To keep the Romanic vibe going.

VIRGIL: Where is Roman?

ROMULUS: I am Roman. No, I am more than Roman. I’m better than anything that outdated prince has ever been in his miserable life.

VIRGIL: You’re not Roman!

ROMULUS: Okay, whatever, as if I cared about anything you, Mrs. Pouts, would say…

THOMAS: Why you have to be so rude?

ROMULUS: [singing, mocking Thomas] Don’t you know I’m human too… [speaking] Because I’m not gonna let any of you get away with the way you treated Roman! You pretended to be his friends, to be by his side, but you never truly cared about him!

PATTON: That’s not true!

ROMULUS: Yes, it is! Every time he spoke, you treated him as if he had said something dumb, you belittled his world of fantasies in favor of your “rationality business”… You were even actively discouraging him to join back into me despite knowing he wanted that more than anything else! You were ready to make Roman’s life miserable! And just for what? So that “little” Thomas could always make his PG slash PG-13 doodles all his life? Well, now I’m back here, Thomas. Your childlike stories are over! It’s time that you become a proper mature author once and for all, and I’m gonna take care of that! The happily ever after is over for you! Grow up, for f… [bleep] ‘s sake! [to Virgil] …and as for you, Emo Nuisance, well, I’ve got so many new things to write, and the first one is gonna be the papers for the nullifying of our marriage.

VIRGIL: Wait, what?

ROMULUS: It’s clear that when Roman vowed to marry you, he was out of his mind, and that’s the first thing in my list of things to fix in this Mind Palace. Hasta la vista, mes amis! And don’t you dare coming to my room tonight, Virgil! I’ll send you your stuff later! Bye!

[Romulus sinks down]

VIRGIL: [too stunned to react] Jeez…

THOMAS: Are you okay, Virgil?

VIRGIL: [in complete shock, stuttering] Yes… yes, I think so. [pretending that he’s not concerned, but his voice trembles a little bit] I’m not worried, that wasn’t Roman speaking. He’s under the influence of Remus, that’s all. Once he gets back to be himself again, it will all be back to normal…

DECEIT: But what if he… never comes back to normal? What if Romulus never splits and Roman never comes back?

VIRGIL: [suddenly bursting in anger, yelling, black tears suddenly start falling down his cheeks] Shut up, you snake!

DECEIT: [shocked] … What?

VIRGIL: [yelling] I knew I couldn’t trust you! You were just waiting all this time for this to happen, right? I’m sure you are full of joy of seeing my marriage fall apart so that you could get your chance of putting your filthy gloves on me, right? [yelling hysterical] Well, that’s never gonna happen, are you listening!? I’d rather be alone than with a f… [bleep] liar like you!

[Deceit shows a face of deep hurt. Patton approaches Virgil and slaps him in the face]

PATTON: [firm, scolding voice] Calm down, Virgil! You are hysterical! Shut up before you say any more nonsense!

[Virgil puts his hand on his cheek, realizes what he has just said and shows a face of horror]

VIRGIL: I’m sorry, Deceit… I didn’t mean that… I… I lost my mind for a second and let my stupid paranoid self come out again… But that’s no excuse for how cruel I’ve been to you. I’m so sorry. Please, I beg you to forgive me, Deceit…

DECEIT: [faking a smile, but fighting tears at the same time] It’s… it’s okay… Nothing you could say could affect me in the slightest… I’m fine… [tears start falling down his cheeks] No, I’m not…

[Deceit sinks down while bursting into tears]

VIRGIL: Deceit, don’t go! [looking at the empty space with a sad face] I’m sorry…

PATTON: Give him a minute, kiddo… I’m sure he’ll eventually see you didn’t mean it. And I’m sorry I slapped you.

VIRGIL: I hope you’re right… And don’t apologize, I did deserve it.

PATTON: No, son, violence should always be the last of the last resources, if ever a resource at all.

THOMAS: Now, what are we going to do?

LOGAN: We need to get back to Romulus, and find a way to revert the union.

THOMAS: Yes, but how?

PATTON: Well, the only thing we can do right now is talking to him. We can’t force him into doing the split, [Logan shows a face of thinking to himself] so we must find a way to give him a reason to do the split himself.

THOMAS: That’s easier said than done. I mean, if he’s rejected Virgil so easily, what other reason could we use to convince him?

VIRGIL: I still can’t believe it… How could he say these things to me?

LOGAN: Perhaps he’s having a rush now.

VIRGIL: A rush?

LOGAN: Well, he’s been deprived of his full form for so many years, that now he’s, like, euphoric, like… I’m gonna use the same addiction metaphor that he used, figuratively high, you know what I mean? He’s not fully conscious of what he’s doing right now. But every rush is always followed by a comedown, and when it arrives, that’s when we’ll have our chance of getting to him, because it’s then when he may be back to his senses and regret everything’s he’s said now.

VIRGIL: [going back to his place] Do you think that comedown will arrive, though?

LOGAN: I cannot be certain, of course, but I think it will come, sooner or later. There’s no way he can stay in that attitude forever. He may be fused with Remus and influenced by him, but remember this. Most of Thomas’ creativity is the one managed by Roman, so Romulus is mostly Roman. He’ll find a way to dominate his dark side, I’m sure. I mean, if he had the strength to consciously expel a part of himself out of him, which is something I had never heard happening on any Side before, and he did it when we were 10 years old, I’m certain he has the strength to do it again as an adult.

VIRGIL: I hope you’re right, Logan.

PATTON: And in the meantime, what should we do?

LOGAN: Perhaps we should go check out what he’s up to right now. We should go to Roman’s room.

[Romulus suddenly rises up, he shows a concerned face]

THOMAS: Ro… Romulus? You’re back?

ROMAN: I’m not Romulus! I’m Roman!

VIRGIL: Roman?

ROMAN: When we fused, a new entity took control of both Remus and I… it’s taken me a lot of struggle to regain control of myself, and I don’t know how long I shall be able to keep it… I gotta be quick… Virgil.

VIRGIL: Yes?

ROMAN: Don’t listen to a word that Romulus says… No matter what, I love you. I would never split up from you, you know it, right?

VIRGIL: [smiling with a dash of relief] I know…

ROMAN: But you must help me… I don’t wanna stay like this… I’m losing myself…

THOMAS: And what can we do?

ROMAN: You must… [starts struggling again] …go back to the island… There’s something in Remus’ throne room that… could be of help… Please, I… I count on you… I’ll leave the door to Sandersia open. I’ll go now. Romulus is not conscious at this moment… that I’m doing this and I must go where he was when I took control so that he doesn’t suspect… Please… hurry…

[Roman sinks down]

VIRGIL: We gotta help him!

THOMAS: Then we know what we must do. We must return to the island…

VIRGIL: Yes… but I need to talk to Deceit first. We need him and any help we can get.

THOMAS: Do you think it’s a good idea that you go see him after what’s happened?

VIRGIL: I know, but I’ve got to do this.

THOMAS: Okay, but I’ll go with you. Just in case.

VIRGIL: Okay, if you want to… But, please, let me do all the talking, okay?

THOMAS: Okay.

VIRGIL: Let’s go, then.

THOMAS: [to the others] Guys, you go ahead and get into Sandersia, and try to find the Prince Guy and Ira. We’re gonna need any help we can get. But be careful.

LOGAN: Got it, Thomas.

PATTON: You can count on us, kiddo.

[Thomas and Virgil sink down. Then they appear in Deceit’s room. He’s there, still crying]

VIRGIL: Deceit?

DECEIT: [angry crying] What are you two doing in my room? I want to be alone!

VIRGIL: I know… but we need you. Roman needs us.

DECEIT: Oh, so as long as you need me, my gloves aren’t filthy anymore, right? As long as Roman needs me, I’m not a snake?

VIRGIL: Deceit… I’m sorry. Tell me what can I do to fix my actions. Ask me for anything and I’ll do it, but please, forgive me.

DECEIT: So that I can help you with Roman?

VIRGIL: So that I don’t lose our friendship. That’s important for me too.

DECEIT: It didn’t look so important out there. You’ve really hurt me this time. Your words have hurt more than any of the whippings the Dark Master inflicted on me, and they really hurt…

VIRGIL: Deceit, I…

DECEIT: Please, let me finish. Do you know what has been more hurtful? That you knew my feelings for you were still alive, and you used them to attack me. You took that advantage, knowing they were my weakest spot, consciously knowing that nothing would hurt me more than using my unrequited love against me.

VIRGIL: I wish I could turn back time. But I can’t. The only thing I can do is apologizing. I was out of my mind when I told you these things, I didn’t mean them.

DECEIT: Oh, yes, yes, you did, each and every word. Maybe you would have never said them under normal circumstances, but when you got scared and distressed, the true nature of your thoughts came out unfiltered and you vomited it all on me. Can you even deny that what you said is true? Even if now you wouldn’t say it, you really think it. Admit it!

VIRGIL: Deceit… It’s okay. I admit it. I have thought about that once or twice. But can you really blame me?

DECEIT: What?

VIRGIL: I know that you’re still in love with me. I have worried about that ever since I knew. And of course I believe what I said. You may not act on it, but can you deny me that you’ve never thought about it? Can you even deny that, if my marriage with Roman was over, you would take your chance to get me? Can you deny that if Roman suddenly moved out of the picture you would be happier than ever? I know you’re the master of lies, but I bet not even you could lie on this one. Could you?

[Deceit stays silent for a couple of seconds]

DECEIT: You’re right. I can’t. You know I could never stop loving you. And I have been secretly jealous of Roman ever since your story began. That’s what’s hurt me most when you said it. It didn’t hurt because it was a wounding remark. It hurt me because it was a total call out. I knew every word you said was true and facing the truth like that… it hurts. Because I suddenly saw what a son of a b… [bleep] I still am, despite no longer being a Dark Side. And I hate myself for that, because at the same time… I just want you to be happy. It’s just that it hurts that it cannot be me who’s making you happy.

VIRGIL: Believe me, Dee, it hurts me that me being happy is at the expense of you being unhappy. I do love you too, I consider you my best friend. You had always been there for me in the old days and now in the new ones. And of course I know you want me to be happy. I mean, what else could move you to renounce to your love for me than seeking out for my happiness? And that’s why I beg you. Help me save Roman. I know it sounds cliche, but without him, I’ll be miserable for the rest of my life. Don’t leave me when I need you most.

DECEIT: [sighs] How could I refuse when you ask me like that. All right, all right, I’ll try to help you save that prince… What a soft scaled guy I’m turning out to be…

THOMAS: Okay, if that’s settled, we gotta go. The others will be waiting at this point.

VIRGIL: Yes, let’s go, there’s no time to waste.

DECEIT: After you, gentlemen…

THOMAS: … what?

DECEIT: What? Can’t I be polite too?

THOMAS: It’s not that, it’s just that… by the way, where is Honesty?

HONESTY: [from inside Deceit] I’m here, Thomas. I just didn’t wanna disturb Deceit, he seemed to need some alone time.

DECEIT: Thank you. But let’s not waste more time. Off to Sandersia.

[Thomas, Virgil and Deceit sink down, then they rise up in Roman’s room, they open the door and enter Sandersia. What they see there horrifies them]

THOMAS: Oh… my goodness… gracious…

VIRGIL: What’s happened here?

[There’s a view of Sandersia. Now it looks like a dark and ominous place. The sky is dark and stormy, the once green valley is now brown and dried, and the trees are dead]

THOMAS: I… I didn’t expect this… This is worse than we thought. We must hurry. But where are the others?

[the Royal Carriage arrives. It is dirty and with the windows cracked, but still working. Inside, Logan, Patton, the Prince Guy and Ira are there]

PRINCE GUY: Hello, guys. Glad to see you again.

IRA: Logan and Patton have brought us up to date. Hurry up and jump in, we don’t have much time.

PRINCE GUY: Since that Romulus usurped the throne… everything’s going to waste here as you can see. Let’s go.

[The guys jump in the carriage and it goes to the shore, then they jump into the ship and sail away. In a few minutes, they arrive to the island. It looks the same as it did the last time]

PRINCE GUY: I don’t like the idea of returning to this place… too many bad memories.

IRA: It’s okay, your majesty. This time, we’re all together.

[The gang goes through the castle back door, which leads them straight to the throne room]

THOMAS: Okay, we’re here. Roman said there was something in the throne room that could be of help. What could it be?

LOGAN: Let’s spread out and search the place.

VIRGIL: Yes, that sounds like a good idea.

[Thomas and the others starts looking around the throne room, examining everything, until…]

PATTON: [screaming] Yeaargh!

THOMAS: [startled] What!?

PATTON: [whining] There’s a spider!

THOMAS: [jumping on the throne, also whining] What!? Keep it away from me!

PRINCE GUY: Don’t worry, Patton, I shall save you!

[The Prince Guy approaches the place where Patton saw the spider, looks at it for a moment, then frowns at Patton]

PRINCE GUY: Umm… Patton… this is just a speck of dust.

PATTON: Is it? [Patton examines it] Oh… it really is… I’m so sorry, kiddos…

THOMAS: [frowning at Patton] My goodness, Patton… next time, could you just clean your glasses before putting me into a heart attack…?

[Thomas makes a gesture of jumping off the throne, but before he does, the throne seat collapses under his feet. He’s on the verge of falling but Ira catches him on time]

IRA: Gotcha!

THOMAS: Ooof! Thank you, Ira, I almost broke my neck!

IRA: You’re welcome… [looking at the hole on the throne seat] Wait… look, there’s something shiny in the hole you made on the throne.

THOMAS: You’re right… What is it? [reaches his hand into the hole and picks up a golden, shiny thing] It looks like… a medallion. A golden medallion. It has a ruby and an emerald on it. It’s so pretty…

IRA: Could it be this what Roman asked us to retrieve?

THOMAS: Who knows? Ruby and emerald are red and green, Roman’s and Remus’ colors. I don’t know how this could be of any help, but it’s the only thing we’ve got. You guys haven’t found anything else, right?

LOGAN: No, the rest of the room is empty.

THOMAS: Then I guess this is it. We should now go back and face Romulus. If this can be of any help, we can only find out when we’re in front of him.

PRINCE GUY: Let’s go, then. Every minute, Sandersia gets more and more corrupted. I’m afraid if we wait too long it could be irreversible.

VIRGIL: I hope it’s not too late, for Sandersia and for Roman.

THOMAS: Here, Virgil, it will be better if you have this. I think it will be safer in your hands.

[Thomas gives the medallion to Virgil. He puts it in one of his pockets]

VIRGIL: Okay, Thomas. I’ll keep it safe.

THOMAS: Now, let’s go, there’s no time to waste.

[the guys get out of the castle and back into the ship, and they sail back to Sandersia, but this time, they head to the main dock, right in front of the Royal Castle. When they arrive there, Thomas can’t hold a horrified gasp. The castle, once bright and white, now looks dark and rotten. A permanent stormy cloud surrounds the castle, and the land around it looks as dry and dead as the rest of Sandersia]

THOMAS: This is worse than anything I could have ever imagined…

PATTON: My goodness… I don’t even know what to say… this is all wrong in so many ways I can’t even count them.

LOGAN: It looks like Romulus wasn’t bluffing when he said he planned to end your happy-ever-after imagination, Thomas. This is the result of him trying to lure your imagination into the path to dark creativity. If he goes on like this, soon you won’t be able to create any more light hearted stories ever again.

THOMAS: Well, I’m going to fix that if I have anything to say about it.

LOGAN: Thomas… I’ve been thinking about something for some time now…

THOMAS: What is it?

LOGAN: Whether you like to be called like that or not… you’re the Light Master.

THOMAS: So?

LOGAN: You have power over us. If you wanted, you could force us to obey your will, and that includes Romulus too. Perhaps you could force him to split up, even if against his will.

THOMAS: Would that be harmful for Roman?

LOGAN: I… I don’t know for certain…

THOMAS: What does your intuition tell you, Logan?

LOGAN: Well…

THOMAS: Well?

LOGAN: Something tells me that it wouldn’t be good for any of them, neither for Roman nor for Remus. Perhaps a forced splitting could be a traumatic experience for both of them, with unexpected results.

THOMAS: Then, that’s out of the question, Logan. You know I would never endanger anyone of you.

LOGAN: I know… but I had to tell you so that you had all your options available, Thomas. There could be a moment when that would be your only available resource to put an end to this situation.

THOMAS: I know, but I’m not putting Roman into that if I can avoid it. He sent us to find that medallion. I’m sure it will be of help. Now, let’s go. Romulus is waiting.

PRINCE GUY: Yes, let’s go.

THOMAS: Um… Prince Guy, it would be better if you and Ira waited for us here.

PRINCE GUY: What? But I wanna help too!

THOMAS: I know, but you are too vulnerable. Romulus would only have to move a finger and you would poof out as if you had never existed. I wouldn’t forgive myself if he did that, and it would crush Roman when he came back to his senses and realized he killed his own brother. Please, listen to me.

IRA: He’s right, your majesty. I used to be a Side too. And their matters are too much beyond our control right now. We must let them do the job. I trust them with all my heart, and so should you.

PRINCE GUY: Okay… if you say so…

THOMAS: I promise you’ll have news from us as soon as we can. We’ll bring your brother back and put an end to this mess, you’ll see.

PRINCE GUY: Okay, Thomas. I trust this in your hands. Bring my brother back, please.

THOMAS: I promise.

IRA: I’ll take care of him, as always, Thomas.

THOMAS: I know you will, Ira.

[Thomas, Logan, Patton, Virgil and Deceit get out of the ship and approach the castle walls. Strangely enough, there are no guards anywhere and the doors are open]

VIRGIL: I don’t like this, it is too easy…

LOGAN: I would love for this to be Roman’s doing, trying to help us… but you’re right, it’s unnerving. It’s like the calm before the storm.

DECEIT: We’ll have to watch our backs.

[Thomas and the Sides enter the castle, and find no opposition until they get to the throne room. There, Romulus is waiting for them]

ROMULUS: Oh… look who’s here… If it isn’t my former husband and friends paying me a visit.

THOMAS: What have you done, Romulus? What have you done of Sandersia? You’ve destroyed everything!

ROMULUS: Do you think so? I think it looks pretty neat right now.

THOMAS: Your mind must be completely twisted if you think that’s neat!

ROMULUS: My mind? Thomas, if there’s anything twisted, it’s you. I am your Creativity, in the state I was originally intended to be. If that says something about someone, it’s you. I’m the way you wanted me to be!

THOMAS: That’s not true! I would have never wanted anything like that!

ROMULUS: Oh, of course you did, Tommy Salami! This is who I am, and this is who you want me to be! Maybe you were scared of me as a child, but now you’re an adult, and you know you want me.

THOMAS: You’re lying!

ROMULUS: If you search your feelings, you’ll know I’m not. Moreover, you are the one who’s been lying to yourself all this time. With a little help of your snake, of course.

DECEIT: What?

ROMULUS: It was you who tried to convince him into thinking I was twisted. Probably because you were jealous of me, of course. You couldn’t stand having in your way someone greater than you, and you tried to lure me away! You almost succeeded and created that… how did Ira call him? …that operetta prince you named Roman. Someone you could manipulate more easily into your own scheming. Remember how gullible he was under your suggestions?

DECEIT: You’re a completely sick paranoiac.

ROMULUS: That’s what you would want me to believe, right? Too bad for you I’m not that gullible anymore. Now I know how I want this world to be, and I’m gonna mold it my way this time. And it’s gonna be great, because I, at last, am great!

VIRGIL: You’re not even half as good as Roman, and you’ll never be! Roman may have been pompous, proud, and a little annoying at times, but he was also chivalrous, loyal and generous, and should any of us need him, he would have put himself into all kind of dangers just to be by our side. He loved us and we loved him, but you could never understand love, could you?

ROMULUS: I do understand love. But what you are describing is not love. It is dependence, submission and frustration. And I’m not willing to fall into any of those ever again!

VIRGIL: Please, Roman, I know you’re still in there, somewhere. I know that you agree with me. Please, try to fight the fusion and get free of Romulus’ control. Come back to us! Come back to me!

[Romulus starts laughing evilly]

ROMULUS: My God, you sound so pathetic… How could Roman even put his eyes on a creature as pitiful as you are…

VIRGIL: [pulling out the medallion] Roman, you asked us to retrieve this. If this can be of any help, please fight and tell us what we should do!

[Romulus shows a face of shock upon seeing the medallion]

ROMULUS: Where… where did you get that from?

THOMAS: So you know it?

ROMULUS: [suddenly switching to Remus’ voice] Know it? I hate it! It was a reminder of all my years of suffering!

THOMAS: …Remus? Is that you?

REMUS: Yes, it’s me!

LOGAN: Whatever this medallion is, it’s destabilizing the fusion.

THOMAS: What is this medallion?

REMUS: Roman gave it to me… the day he left me on the island. I never understood why, but the more I looked at it, the more I hated Roman for putting me in my misery.

ROMAN: [also speaking through Romulus] It was a parting gift.

VIRGIL: [his face lightens up] Roman!

REMUS: A parting gift?

ROMAN: A symbol of our bond.

REMUS: Bond? Please, don’t be so cynical! What bond? You hated me! Just as much as I hate you now!

ROMAN: That’s not true! I…

PATTON: [mumbling] Keep going, Roman…

ROMAN: … I loved you. No matter how much I tried to hide it or how much I avoided the word… you are my brother. You are part of me! How could I not love you?

REMUS: That’s bulls… [bleep] ! If you loved me, you wouldn’t have left me like that, all alone in that island! You’re only saying that now because you want to part from me again! Anyone could see it!

ROMAN: It was a mistake, and now I can see clearly that. Yes, I want to split right now, because this fusion is not right, but that doesn’t mean I want to lose contact with you again. We could try to start from scratch in our relation. I could try to act as your brother, if you let me.

[there’s a moment of doubt. Then, suddenly, both Roman and Remus voices sound at the same time as if they were struggling, and then Romulus voice is back]

ROMULUS: [angry] You two are doing nothing! Did you really think that I would let you destroy me and do nothing about it? No way! I’m Romulus, and you two will obey my will just like anybody else!

THOMAS: Let them go, Romulus! Right now!

ROMULUS: I can see what’s the trouble here! That stupid Roman is too attached to someone in Sandersia, and his memory of him helps Roman fight me. But I’m about to solve that right now!

[Romulus points at a window nearby. After a few moments, someone crosses the window, crashing loudly through the stained glass. After a second of confusion, everyone sees it’s the Prince Guy]

PRINCE GUY: What’s happened? I was on the ship, then suddenly I started floating away!

ROMULUS: [to Thomas] Did you seriously think that keeping him away from me would keep him out of my reach, Thomas? This is Sandersia, my domain, and I control anything from this point to the farthest place! Nothing can escape from me while it is in Sandersia! [to the Prince Guy] Hello, Prince Guy! You are the only obstacle avoiding Roman’s total submission to me. But I’m going to fix that now! Say goodbye, fake prince!

THOMAS: [scared] What? No! Don’t you dare!

[Romulus starts laughing evilly, then the Prince Guy starts becoming translucent]

PRINCE GUY: Help me!

LOGAN: He’s disappearing!

THOMAS: Stop!

PATTON: I can’t look!

THOMAS: [in a desperate yell] I said STOOOOOOOP!!!!

[The Prince Guy suddenly goes back to normal. A struggling voice is coming from Romulus. He’s in pain]

ROMULUS: What… is happening?

[Thomas is pointing at Romulus, he has a face of fury and anger, never seen before on him, a face that terrifies the others]

ROMULUS: Stop… it hurts! Aw! Stop!

[Thomas doesn’t say a word. Instead, he starts screaming in berserk fury. Romulus throws a quick yelp, and his body suddenly explodes in a brown cloud of smoke that covers everything. After a few moments of confusion, the smoke vanishes, and in the place were Romulus stood, there are Roman and Remus, both lying on the floor unconscious]

VIRGIL: [horrified] Roman! What have you done, Thomas!?

[suddenly coming to his senses, he realizes what he has done]

THOMAS: Oh, no… What have I done? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…

[Virgil runs to check on Roman]

VIRGIL: Are you okay, Roman? Please, don’t die!

LOGAN: Don’t worry, Virgil, he must be alive. Otherwise, all of Sandersia would have collapsed already.

THOMAS: I didn’t want to do this… I don’t know what’s happened to me…

PRINCE GUY: I owe you my life, though, Thomas. Thank you for saving me. And maybe you saved Roman too and all of Sandersia.

THOMAS: Yes, but at what cost?

[Roman starts showing signs of life]

ROMAN: Aw… Everything hurts…

VIRGIL: [happy] You’re alive! Thank goodness you’re alive!

[Virgil hugs Roman]

PATTON: Welcome back, kiddo.

ROMAN: I’m… I’m sorry, guys. This has been my fault. I shouldn’t have fallen to temptation so easily… Aw… I feel so bad, though… It’s such a strange feeling in my whole being…

[Remus starts waking up too]

LOGAN: Look out, guys. Remus is waking up too.

REMUS: Do not fear… In the state I am now, I couldn’t even kill a fly… Not even to use them as sprinkles for my deodorant.

PATTON: Gross…

ROMAN: [getting up, with Virgil holding him] Are you okay, Remus?

REMUS: What does it matter to you, anyway?

ROMAN: Of course it matters to me. I told you, I want to rekindle our relationship. You are my brother…

REMUS: So… you weren’t lying earlier?

ROMAN: I wasn’t lying.

REMUS: [getting up, suddenly angry] And you think after all these years, you deserve a chance to rekindle our relationship? It’s too late for that, Roman! The hate I feel over you won’t disappear just because you tell me a few cute, corny words!

ROMAN: There’s nothing else I can do, if you just wanted to listen…

REMUS: I don’t want to listen! I’m gonna retreat now, because I’m not ready for a fight right now, but I’ll be back! And it won’t be a friendly encounter! Mark my words!

[Remus jumps through the broken window and disappears]

ROMAN: As you wish, brother…

[Ira bursts through the door, scared]

IRA: Is the Prince Guy all right!? Is he here!? He was suddenly flying towards the castle and I couldn’t do anything…

PRINCE GUY: Relax, Ira. I’m fine.

IRA: [taking a deep breath of relief] Thank goodness, your majesty. I was really scared for your safety!

PRINCE GUY: Thank you so much, my dear friend.

PATTON: Are you feeling good enough to walk, Roman? Do you need some time to rest?

ROMAN: I think I can walk… but first, I have something to fix.

[Roman rises both hands. The window fixes itself, and light and color returns to the throne room. Voices start being heard in the next room]

ROMAN: There. I think Sandersia should be back to normal now.

PRINCE GUY: Thank you so much, brother.

ROMAN: But seriously, though, what is this strange feeling I’m feeling? I had never felt something like this before.

VIRGIL: [still by his side, off-screen] It’s probably the stress of the situation and residual effects from the fusion. I’m sure you’ll feel better soon, you’ll see.

ROMAN: I hope so… And I’m so sorry for making you go through all of this, my love. I would never hurt you, you know it, right? [looks at Virgil and shows a face of shock] Wait a second… what is your hair?

[there’s a shot of Virgil. His hair is now combed to the back, just like Roman’s]

VIRGIL: What? What’s wrong with my hair? [showing a theatrical voice] Isn’t it good enough? An emo has to slay!

LOGAN: Oh, no! Virgil, stay away from Roman, now!

[now Virgil’s wearing a purple sash over his hoodie, his eyeshadow has disappeared]

VIRGIL: [singing like Roman and doing the princely pose] I want adventure in the great dark, somewhere! I want it more than I can tell!

[The Prince Guy grabs Virgil and separates him from Roman]

VIRGIL: [same theatrical voice] There’s nothing you can do to separate me from my true love!

ROMAN: [scared] What is going on?

[after a few seconds, the sash disappears and Virgil’s eyeshadow returns]

VIRGIL: Wait, what? What’s happened?

[a couple of seconds later, his hair turns back to normal, with the bangs over the forehead]

ROMAN: I… I don’t understand…

LOGAN: Sadly, I have seen and felt these symptoms before… only that the last time, they went in the opposite direction. Roman, did you say that you were feeling weird?

ROMAN: …yes, a strange awful feeling I had never felt before…

LOGAN: It can only be that, then. Roman… I’m so sorry, but… you were corrupting Virgil.

ROMAN: What? But that… that would mean that…

LOGAN: You have turned into a Dark Side.

VIRGIL: Wait, what? But that’s impossible! How could he suddenly become a Dark Side?

LOGAN: I don’t know if it’s for Roman’s union with Remus or for their abrupt separation, but the symptoms are clear. As Virgil is a Light Side, you were corrupting him now, Roman, and a lot faster than other times the corruption has happened, perhaps for the amount of energy you had to use to restore Sandersia back to normal. You must stay away from Virgil for the time being.

ROMAN: This can’t be… This has to be a nightmare! How could I be a Dark Side!? I’m one of Thomas’ main Sides! I cannot be repressed!

LOGAN: And yet, we have seen several cases already of Dark Sides turning into Light Sides. So, the possibility of a Light Side turning into a Dark Side was already something we should have expected to be possible.

ROMAN: What are we going to do? How can we fix this?

LOGAN: I don’t know, Roman. But as for now, you must stay away from us, and I’m sorry.

VIRGIL: No, no way! You are nuts if you think I’m gonna leave my husband behind just like that!

ROMAN: Virgil, you have no choice. If what Logan said is true… you can’t stay close to me, or I would destroy you.

VIRGIL: But I can’t just leave you!

ROMAN: Do you remember what you told me the first time I tried to kiss you, when you still were a Dark Side? Do you remember how you felt back then? That’s exactly how I’m feeling right now. You should know better than anybody else that this is the right thing to do.

VIRGIL: [with a face and voice of pain] I know, but… I don’t wanna lose you now… And what will become of you?

ROMAN: Don’t worry, my love. I’ll be okay. Besides, there’s no way this could be permanent or irreversible. If you changed from Dark to Light, then I can do it too. We’ll find a way to be reunited someday, you’ll see. Now go back to the living room.

PRINCE GUY: Don’t worry, guys. I promise to take care of him while you think of something.

VIRGIL: Please, do.

[Thomas and the others start walking to the door]

ROMAN: Goodbye, my love. Until we meet again. Because I assure you, even if I have to move heaven and earth to find a way, we’ll be together again, somehow.

VIRGIL: I know. Until we meet again, Roman, I love you…

[Virgil walks some steps. Then suddenly turns back, runs and gives a long kiss to Roman, then runs to the door in tears. Patton runs behind him]

ROMAN: [also in tears] I love you too, Virgil.

THOMAS: [looking at the camera] We need to think about something to fix this somehow, so if you excuse us, and until next time, take it easy, guys, gals and non binary pals. Peace out.

[end card]

[Patton is hugging Virgil in front of the royal carriage, Virgil’s crying]

PATTON: I’m so sorry, kiddo. I’m so sorry…

VIRGIL: What are we going to do, dad? It was hard enough when I was a Dark Side and he was a Light Side, but I had made up my mind back then. Now that I have experienced being with him for real and I had got used to the idea I’d be with him for the rest of my life, suddenly I lose him again. It’s not fair!

PATTON: Please, think positively, son. You still don’t know if this is going to be forever. Maybe we can fix this somehow.

VIRGIL: But how? How are we going to fix this? When my change, or Deceit’s change, happened, it was fortuitous. We can’t just control how we become Light or Dark like we change clothes or makeup.

PATTON: I know, but despair isn’t going to help you get to a solution, so don’t despair, please. In the meantime, we are here for you, remember? We love you and we won’t let you down on this one.

VIRGIL: I know, dad, and I love you too.

PATTON: Now, let’s go home. When we have rested from all of this and recovered our strength, we’ll be able to think more straight, even though we’re gay.

[Patton cleans some black tears from Virgil’s cheek and gives him a fatherly kiss on the cheek. Then the others come out through the castle door]

THOMAS: Are we good, now?

PATTON: Yes, I think so, for the time being at least. Virgil, I want you to sleep in my room tonight.

VIRGIL: No, I don’t wanna be a burden for you, dad…

PATTON: If you don’t want, then I’ll go sleep in your room, but I’m not leaving you alone tonight, mister. I’ll make you a nice, comforting chicken soup that will help you feel better.

VIRGIL: Okay, dad, if you insist.

DECEIT: I still wonder how that could happen, though. How could Roman transform like this?

LOGAN: Who knows?

THOMAS: I fear this could be my fault. Perhaps I shouldn’t have forced the separation like that. I should have listened to Logan’s intuition.

LOGAN: It’s in part my fault too, I shouldn’t have suggested you to do that in the first place. However, you were not being yourself. What happened to you?

THOMAS: I still don’t know. I saw that the Prince Guy was being deleted in front of my eyes, and I literally lost my mind and acted out of instinct.

VIRGIL: Thomas, I don’t blame you for anything. You were doing just what you thought was the best, and if you hadn’t done that, now the Prince Guy would be dead and Roman would still be trapped inside of Romulus, maybe forever.

THOMAS: I wish there had been another way… Okay, let’s go home now. We’ll fix this somehow, I promise.

[the gang jumps in the carriage and it goes away until it gets lost in the distance]