#janus's fan-character was WILD back then too

[jaratedeguadalupe]

remeber before janus's name reveal everyone was speculating what it was and trying to figure it out while i was desperately clutching to the name damien it hostage swearing up and down that it would be that one

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Expectation

Your Sanders Sides fics have meant so much to me. I really love the h/c AND ALSO the goofy little ones like the being stuck in a (not) broken elevator. I saw a prompt which was that that Strictest Interpretations of the canon sides meet the fanon versions of themselves, which honestly could go either way (angsty self-reflection or they all have a snowball fight in the imagination). I would honestly love to see your take on it! Thank you for considering and I hope you have a good day/night/whatever time it is where you are :D – anon

Read on Ao3

Pairings: none

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1331

We all know that the canon and fanon differ; from the wild AUs to the canon-compliant, there are variations. What happens when some of these versions come face to face?

 

"Oh, so you're what the fans think I am!" Patton tilts his head to the side. "Your glasses are different!"

The other version of him giggles and fiddles with the glasses. They're almost cartoonishly big, round frames that make him look even more like an anime character. "Yep! I think it's to differentiate us from Logan—you know, 'cause he's more the serious, square-glasses type and we're the fun-loving dad Side."

"That makes sense!"

"This is so interesting!" The other him claps his hands excitedly. "There are so many things I want to talk about with you!"

"Really? Like what?"

"Well, how much we love our kiddos, to start with!"

"That's an excellent thing to talk about, 'cause you know, you don't wanna smother them—"

"—but they're so cute, they might as well be bagels looking for that Crofters jam in the morning!"

"Oh! Good one!"

"Thanks!"

The two of them laugh as Patton waves him over to the couch. "I gotta say, it's so nice to talk to someone who's obviously on the same page as I am. It's been—whoo! It's been a little stressful recently, but this? This is nice."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear it's been stressful, kiddo! Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Aw!" Patton holds a hand to his chest. "Aren't you just the nicest?"

"Hey, right back atcha, pal!"

2.

Logan squints at the person in front of him, who bears up to his scrutiny remarkably well. They have a very similar disposition to him, except of course for the difference in glasses shape and the, well, the quite badly concealed amusement at his situation.

"To separate us from Patton," the duplicate explains wryly, adjusting the frames.

"I see." He crosses his arms. "Are there any other meaningful differences I should be aware of?"

"Unknown at this point."

"Are you aware of what the purpose of this—" he waves his hand— "exercise is?"

"The Doylist explanation is something along the lines of improving Thomas's metacognition, if I had to guess. It can be a useful course of action for any creative to see how their audience is reacting to their material and how it differs from their intended results."

"I see. And the Watsonian?"

"Perhaps something along the lines of a self-reflection day."

Logan sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, looking up in surprise when the duplicate chuckles. "What?"

"Self-reflection doesn't have to be scary," he says in a far gentler voice than Logan expected.

"I know that!" The duplicate gives him a knowing look, which is still too soft to be all together familiar, and it makes him hunch his shoulders. "What?"

"You don't have to lie to me, Logan. I'm hardly going to tell anyone else what happens here if you don't want me to."

"…you won't?"

"No. You have my word. Now," and he gestures to the desk nearby, "what is it you would like to talk about?"

Logan glances at him, at the desk, and slowly moves towards it. Perhaps…perhaps he shouldn't waste such an opportunity.

3.

"Oh, this is marvelous," Janus groans, stretching across the pillows underneath the heat lamp the Other him has in the corner of his room—something he wasn't going to be investigating the moment this was over.

The Other him chuckles. "Tell me about it. I wasn't surprised when you said you didn't have one."

Janus muffles a snort at the memory of the affronted expression the Other him had made when he'd seemed confused as to why they couldn't go lounge under his heat lamp for this conversation. "Well, unlike our beloved fans, Thomas hasn't spent the time creating all of our rooms for them to see, so it makes sense they've taken certain liberties with them."

"I see."

He frowns at the slight melancholy he can hear in his own voice—not a bizarre experience at all—and turns his head to see his own face staring off into the distance. He nudges him. "There's certainly a reason for you making us look so upset right now."

Other him gives himself a shake. "Sorry. I was…lost in thought."

"I can see that."

"I was thinking about our introduction," Other him says, far too soft and sweet for this moment, which sends a prickle down Janus's spine, "and how it…well."

"'Well,' what?"

Other him turns, the snake side of his face glistening in the light of the heat lamp in a way that doesn't make some of the scales look suspiciously wet. "How it could've gone better."

Janus scoffs, closing his eyes and luxuriating under the heat. "Speak for yourself, then. I'm not sure how the fans think everything went, but it's all worked out pretty well in the end, hasn't it?"

A pause, just a moment too long. "You don't regret anything, then?"

"What would there be to regret?"

"Perhaps how some of our dear friends were treated? How hurt Thomas became by the end of everything?"

"Do the fans really believe I'm this sappy?" He shakes his head. "They're all bigger fools than I imagined."

Another pause, long enough for him to drift into a sort of daze under the pleasant light of the heat lamp, but not long enough for him not to notice the way Other him shifts subtly away from him.

It doesn't sting, not even a little bit.

4.

Virgil stares at his clone. The clone stares back.

"This is weird."

"Yep."

"I don't like you."

"That's fine."

"Wanna sit in the same room on our phones and not acknowledge each other at all?'

"Works for me."

5.

"Kinky." Remus squirms in the arms of the giant Kraken—a little cliche, sure, but cliches are cliche for a reason and this beast is incredible— "are you going to hold me prisoner now? Take over my role as the One True Remus?"

"No." The fanon him sits down on the Kraken's head with an—ugh, serious expression. "We're gonna talk about how we treat our brother."

"Oh, for the love of Lucifer, I only beat him over the head once in canon! Why're you so upset?"

"Because you've not been sticking up for him? At all? When you know how easy it is for him to get hurt!"

"That's Roman's job in most of those stories anyway, he's there to get all huffy and bruised, like any Ego—" the arm squeezes him tightly— "ooh, harder!"

"That shit won't deter me and you know it."

He pouts. "It was worth a shot. Works a treat with the troublesome teacher."

"Logan would be far more receptive to an actual contract than just innuendo, but we can talk about that next. But let's start with the fact that you're still too insecure about your place in the canon to do anything other than harass everyone else."

"What? No, I'm not!"

"I might not be Janny but it's not a good idea to lie to me."

"Ooh, why not?" To which he promptly gets dunked under water and cleaned off. "Hey! Stop that!"

"Are you ready to listen to me now?"

+1.

Roman stares at the fan's idea of him. He stares back, before a slow and sad smile comes to his face and he opens his arms.

He barrels forward and collapses, sobbing into his arms.

"Shh, shh," he hears distantly, "it's alright. You're safe now. It's okay. I'm right here."

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[dennydraws]

16. Is there a relationship between characters in another setting that particularly inspired you? What is it about this portrayal that you enjoy?

Hmm!! -think thonk- I look back at my ... very few video game ships that I've enjoyed and made fan art of and they are like less than 5 xD;; (I don't count all the farming sims OCs cause the farmer is meant to be blank OC/self insert/whatever you want!) It may seem wild coming from me but I seldom enjoyed romance in my RPGs. In fact, I usually adored the side characters hinting some kind of romance and not so much the supposedly official main couple of the game. I think because those held the alure of "what if?" while whatever "official" couple happened in the game was kinda too plain/predictable/lacking intensity. Wild Arms 1/Alter Code F - Zed and Aura Little me was mindblown that the comic relief bad guy character would fall for a blind girl and I think this inspired my love for - Bad Guy/Edgy Guy x Cinnamon Roll dynamic. No surprise I'm sucker for redemption arcs through character growth and not the - I'm gonna redeem myself by dying. We don't talk about that trope. It can go burn in fire.

Wild Arms 3 - Virginia and Janus I'm starting to show my age digging these oldies xD While they never become a thing in the game, I fell in love with the enemy to lovers trope. Or rather rivals to lovers? Justice/Duty one x Rebel/Outwal is another fave of mine. I love when characters push their buttons and grow into loving it. I feel like I enjoy this dynamic because it can provoke balance in both characters - disrupt the rigit one and plant some morals into the rebel one. ...and I struggle to recall other ships in games/shows that I enjoyed which sparked my love for certain tropes ... xD;; I think these are the first ones I encountered which sticked with me. In general, I feel inspired from characters who are opposites but their differences develop one another. The more intense the characters are the better. It's like being given very strong pigmented colors and I watch what they become when mixed!

[thecrowslullaby]

001 and Loceit 😁😁 --🌶🌶🌶

when I started shipping it if I did:

When I was 7 pages into the murder mystery comic. I was a fool who thought this:

was gonna stay a joke. Hooooo, boi was I wrong. Because I spent my 2 week vacation giving them a sad™ backstory, and realised I actualy really like their dynamic and now I can never go back, the brainrot is too strong.

my thoughts:

No thoughts at this point, only a stack of doodles and comic pages with fluff so indulgent it's too emberassing to share and a playlist of songs I want to make loceit animatics too.

Ok one thought: I find it absolutly hillarious that I took the two most stoic and academically smart characters in the shows and made their braincells allergic to each other.

What makes me happy about them:

The overlapping of interrests. The fact that these two could grow with each other. Logan catching Janus lies, but rolling with them anyway. Janus playing up Logan's confidence.

What makes me sad about them:

With all the angst in the fandom I feel like they keep playing against each other. This can literally be said about any other relationship too, tbh.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me:

Love confession that avolve into: lets f*ck in a matter of seconds/minutes? (i mean, i generally avoid smut, but I also adore ace Logan and/or Janus headcannons)

things I look for in fanfic:

I mean, I like that trope in general, but especially for loceit.

+them convincing ach other to take a break.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

I'm a huge fan of both loceit and intruality, but tbh, I'm fine with any combination of intrulomoceit (pairings/poly ships, uou name it I'll take it). Both moceit and logicality is cute and wholesome, while both demus and intrulogical is wild or ride and fun. Like, obviously I'd chose loceit and intruality over any other ship combo but I'm ok with the others ^^'.

My happily ever after for them:

Having some relaxing quiet time. I just want them to be soft together, not necesarry romantically, but I want them to be able to work on projects together and getting to discuss book, phylosophy, sharing gossip, sipping mom juice together. Relaxing.

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Both, both is good. Janus placing himself between Logan and whatever project he had once again worked too long on to force him to take a break, or Loggan wrapping his arms around Janus while they both work or read has my heart. So does the concept of tiny Janus trying desperatly to wrap himself around Logan's back, or in-canon-verse, using all of his six arms to do so.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

Just, leaning against each other while going about their day. Little hugs through out the day ;-;, both reading a book, sharing a blanket.

[naminethewriter]

This Once And Never Again

My last entry for Dukeceit Week 2021 if finally done! I’m so happy I finished it 🥰 Thanks to @dukeceitweek for organizing this and thank you to everyone who read along, commented, reblogged and left tags, you are all amazing! 😍😍😍 Now I hope you enjoy this last story as well! 💛💚

Here on Ao3

Characters: Janus, Remus

Relationship: romantic Dukeceit

Rating: T

Words: 1,287

Summary: Why had he agreed to do this again? He should’ve just said no, it was a stupid plan anyway.

Janus fingers danced on the wheel nervously. The black gloves felt wrong on his hands. As did his hair stuffed under the also black beanie on his head. In general, he did not feel very comfortable in his current outfit. Or this car. A rental. Also black. Borrowed under a fake name and he had no intention of returning it to the dealer he had gotten it from. The sound of cars passing by in front of the small driveway he was parked in and the tap, tap, tap of his fingers on the wheel were the only noise. The radio was turned off, as were the lights and the engine. Appearing to be empty unless you took a closer look.

Janus checked his watch. Shouldn’t be long now. The make-up on his face was itchy. It felt uncomfortable and wrong, just like the clothes. Why had he agreed to do this again? He should’ve just said no, it was a stupid plan anyway. His eyes wandered back to his wrist. Not even a minute had passed. If Remus wasn’t here in the next 15 minutes, Janus was free to leave. But for now, he waited.

 Time seemed to move so slowly. Janus was usually calm even in stressful situations but this had his anxiety going wild. It really was a stupid plan. And an entirely unnecessary one to boot. It was only a few months, they’ve gone through worse! Literally! Remus had been gone for a year once. Granted they hadn’t been together then but still. Janus was nothing if not patient. His partner was anything but.

 A sound, from up above. Janus glanced out of the slightly open window but he couldn’t see anything unless he left the car. After all, the buildings to the sides of the small driveway were at least five floors high. Another sound. Another look at the watch. The timing matched. Clattering, then a thump as something landed in front of the car. Or rather: someone.

 Remus’ agility was still somewhat baffling to Janus. He had checked the walls beforehand, how Remus got down from one of the roofs without getting hurt was beyond him. His boyfriend stood up straight, dusted himself off before grinning at Janus who rolled his eyes in response. Remus looks have gotten even wilder over the last few months. His hair longer, not only on his head but on his face. The moustache was now part of a beard. Janus was not a fan. With a few quick steps, Remus was at the window.

 “Hey, danger noodle~” he singsonged while wiggling his eyebrows. Janus fixed him with an unimpressed stare.

 “Get in the back, I want out of these clothes as soon as possible.”

 “You haven’t seen me in four months and that’s the love I get?”

 “Yes, because you dragged me into your stupid plan, now go!” Janus hissed and closed the window. Remus pouted at him for a few more seconds, before he moved behind the car, opened the trunk and slipped inside. Once Janus was certain that he had closed the lid properly, he started the car and calmly drove onto the street, the sound of sirens in the background.

   The drive was thankfully quick and without incident. The couple police cars that crossed their way didn’t seem to find a reason to stop and check them. So after around 20 minutes, Janus pulled into a garage on the other edge of the small city. Once he exited the car, he checked that the shutter had closed properly behind him before he turned on the light and opened the trunk.

 “I really don’t know how you can act so stupid and still get so damn lucky,” Janus scolded his boyfriend, who grinned at him before climbing out.

 “I wish I knew, Jan-Jan! Then I could go and thank whoever made me so lucky that I have you in my life.” Remus delivered that awful, cheesy line with so much confidence, Janus almost forgot to be annoyed with him. Almost. Remus had moved closer, his face only inches from Janus’ own until he was pushed away, a black gloved hand on his cheek.

 “Shut up, you corny rat. I need to get out of this outfit.” Janus moved away, grabbing the bag that had been left by a door that led out of the garage and further into the building. He turned back around for a moment, hand already on the doorknob. “And you dear, need a shave.” Remus giggled and quickly followed his partner out of the room, turning off the light when he left. The rental remained, in a now empty garage, keys left in the ignition.

   It took Janus another 15 minutes to get out of the offending clothes, let down her hair and braid it, pick an outfit she liked from the few options she had packed, get the make-up covering her vitiligo off and decide to change the charm on her bracelet to indicate female pronouns. She felt so much better with a hat more her style, a loose blouse and knee-long skirt, slender shoes and her trusted yellow gloves. Once she was satisfied, she went to check on Remus.

 Her boyfriend was already dressed and shaven when she came in and frowned at himself in the mirror. And Janus had to agree, he almost looked worse than before. Without a hair left on his lower face and dressed in the trademark red shirt and white skinny jeans of his brother, Remus looked pretty bizarre. The only remaining difference between him and Roman was the wild hair. Remus’ eyes met Janus in the mirror.

 “I look gross.” Janus nodded.

 “But it was your plan, so no complaining.”

 “What’s the fun of it if I can’t?” Remus whined. His girlfriend sighed.

 “Just let me cut your hair so we can get out of here?”

 “Kisses first?”

 “Fine,” Janus sighed but she couldn’t deny how good it felt to feel Remus’ lips on her own again. Apparently he had also had the time to brush his teeth, a nice surprise. They simply stood there for a minute, locking lips but once Remus tried to get his tongue involved, Janus pulled back.

 “That’s enough. We have a long drive, let me finish your look.” Remus pouted but obliged, sitting down on a stool while Janus got out the scissors and electric razor. Janus worked in silence for a bit before commenting: “Roman is going to be so mad at you once he comes back from his trip.”

 “When’s that going to be?”

 “They planned to stay for five days, so three more.”

 “And he got Daddy, Nerdy Wolverine and Spiderling to come along?”

 “Yes and I don’t know how he managed that. I also don’t know how you convinced him that he should go on a ‘no technology camping trip’. And with perfect timing for your little stunt as well.” Remus grinned.

 “I don’t kiss and tell, Jannie, you know that.” Janus scoffed.

 “The less I know, the better, probably. But I brought Roman’s phone, wallet and perfume, so you should have no trouble convincing anyone that you’re him if we’re stopped.”

 “My, my, J-anus. Stealing my brother’s clothes and papers? You are so naughty~” Janus paused to hit him on the head lightly.

 “Just to be clear: this is the first and last time I help you break out of jail. When you get arrested next time, you’re on your own. And who in their right mind plans to break out in broad daylight?”

 “I got away with it, didn’t I?” Remus grinned.

 “We’re not home yet, don’t jinx it.”

 “Yeah, yeah. Love you, Jan.”

 “Love you, too, you idiot.”

[lovelivingmydreams]

A might have been part 4

Alright! Final part for now! @kingcreativityau au part 4. Please enjoy! More might come later!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Acting and singing became a wonderful additional coping tool for Thomas all throughout his school career and even after College. Which was when Thomas tried to get a grip on his personality for the first time and actually connected with them. Everyone was very excited and nervous. But Patton gladly took charge. They didn’t tell Thomas their names, Deceit said he wasn’t ready for them to be more than caricatures yet, so they stuck with their titles. Deceit and Remus stayed behind for the same reason. “Okay, so my morality, logic and my creativity… Is there… I mean…” Thomas bit his lip nervously. There was one part of his personality he’d been treating like a person in his head for years. Had he actually known about his sides on some level since middle school?

“You called?” Virgil popped up with a teasing smirk, making Thomas jump in surprise.

“Kiddo! There you are! Thomas this is your Anxiety,” Patton grinned brightly. “What’s up?” Virgil asked with a two fingered salute. “Oh… Hi?” Thomas smiled tentatively. “Now Thomas, remember, he’s a bit of a Debby downer sometimes but he has good intentions,” Roman assured him making Virgil roll his eyes. Thomas nodded. “Yeah you’re right,” he nodded. Then he smiled carefully at Virgil who gave him a shy smile back, which was somehow reassuring to Thomas. The young man relaxed, easing the pressure Virgil had been struggling with all day. “Well… Um it was nice meeting you all. I’ll… See you guys around?” “We’re always with you kiddo,” Patton assured Thomas. “We are aspects of your personality after all,” Logan pointed out. “And we shall always strive to help you to be the best you can be!” Roman declared. “Or, you know, keep you alive at least,” Virgil shrugged. After that Thomas would occasionally converse with them directly when he was struggling with something. Then Vine came along, Patton's brilliant suggestion actually, and they became characters. Even Virgil got skits both as anxiety and as the villain/best friend to Roman’s prince. The fans insisting he and Roman were lovers got a laugh out of all of them. And then they appeared as themselves on youtube and Thomas started to have group discussions with them. Virgil was reluctant at first and only made a brief cameo during the first two episodes. But the fans demanded more so he got his own episode and somehow the fanders lost their minds. Jan, Remus, Roman and Virgil had a good laugh when Logan learned he and Patton were paired up almost as often as Virgil and Roman were. Patton just thought it was cute. Roman was delighted with all the attention of course. Virgil though, couldn’t help but wonder if he was really helping or making everything harder. His and Roman’s best friends/mortal enemies banter carried over from the vines, and he knew that none of the jabs and insults were sincere or meant to be hurtful, but some hit too close to home regardless of their intent. And Logan sometimes made good points to shut him down. And even Patton tried putting him on the sidelines. And maybe that was where he belonged. They all had their own room now. Remus and Janus’ being near the willow, Roman, Patton and Logan at the front of the mind and Virgil was in the middle. And maybe he shouldn’t be. Maybe he shouldn’t even be here to begin with. He should just leave. Before he did something he couldn’t take back that hurt the others. This had lasted too long already. He shouldn’t be pushing his luck. So he ducked out. Or he tried. Apparently he was needed. And everyone made that very clear. And things were good for a while after that… until Janus showed up.

“What was that?” Virgil demanded after he had made sure the others were doing alright after the whole theater ordeal. And it was Roman’s condition he wanted to talk about. “Virgin! How ya doing!? You’re so busy lately we haven’t gone monster hunting in forever!” Remus grinned as he popped up from seemingly nowhere. Virgil allowed himself a moment to smile at Remus. He couldn’t help that his best friend was being a dramatic jerk. And he had a point. It’d been too long since Virgil had taken the time to hang out with Remus. He could make excuses all day, but fact remained he’d been neglecting him. An issue he could still make right.

“You're right. How about we go nightmare hunting later? You, me and Roman. Like old times?” Virgil suggested.

Remus grinned widely at that. “Promise?”

Virgil nodded. “You go tell Roman to get ready. I'll be there in a sec,” he assured him. And so he was left alone with the yellow clad side.

“Well?” he demanded.

“Thomas is simply at a point in his journey where it was time he got to know me. Your little dilemma just presented a good opportunity to introduce myself. Nothing more,” Janus explained patiently.

“I don't give a damn about you talking to Thomas! It's how you went about it!” Virgil demanded. Then he took a deep breath to reign in his temper. “Listen, I get that it’s been frustrating for you and Remus to hide away like this, but just… remember that we’re your friends okay? That’s all,” Virgil pleaded. “I get where you were coming from today. I really do. But Joan is Thomas’ best friend. And trust between friends is so important. It just wasn’t the right call today,” he explained more calmly. He missed the haunted expression that flashed over Janus’ face. The master of deception had his face back under control in a second. Even if he didn’t have a grip on the stinging in his heart or behind his eyes yet. “Of course Virgil. I’ll keep that in mind,” he promised. And he felt slightly moved when Virgil just took his word for it and bid him goodbye to go see Remus and Roman. The fanders going wild over Deceit with theories and cosplays and art and all the ships was a topic of happy conversation amongst the sides and it was decided to just let bygones be bygones. Dee had his introduction and next time he was needed he’d help Thomas see him in a less black and white way. Jan made a cameo at Halloween where he reminisced on the Halloween pranks the ‘dark sides’ used to play on everyone when they were kids in vague terms that got the fans theorizing on Remus’ identity like crazy. And then… The callback. “How could you?” Virgil demanded when he found Janus after being shut out of Roman’s room with little more than the explanation that he was busy. Patton insisted he was fine, which he was not and Logan insisted that he was ‘not in need of any assistance at the moment’. So Virgil was left with only one thing to do and that was confronting the cause of all this.

“It’s not my fault Roman insisted on pleasing Patton rather than fulfilling his purpose,” Deceit argued bitterly. “Roman was doing his job perfectly fine. If you hadn’t meddled we might’ve actually gotten to something… I mean what were you thinking when benching Logan? And bullying Thomas in the stands like that… Did you even care that you hurt Princey? Did you notice we were all miserable when you were having your one man party? Or did you just choose not to see?” Janus was taken aback by Virgil’s passion. He'd only wanted Thomas to… he'd done that so everyone would be happy. It just hadn't ended how he thought it would. Roman wasn't supposed to be selfless. He was the ego for heaven's sake! King would’ve never…

Oh no… that was his mistake wasn't it? He'd predicted Roman's actions based off of Him. He didn’t know the lighter creativity as well as he knew his brother. They'd been pleasant acquaintances, casual friends even. But they never got as close as Roman as with any of the others.

Janus' scales itched as if to remind him of their part in this. And yet Janus had selfishly insisted on keeping them as a guard against the others. If he hadn't, maybe he could've seen more of this noble side to Roman. Seen him grow from the self-centered, attention seeking, dramatic into… well still all of that but with a true desire to improve. To be better than his worst impulses for his friends.

He'd almost forgotten he wasn't alone. But Virgil was not done. “So congrats Janus. Thomas knows he’s a liar. And everyone in the mindscape feels miserable. But hey, at least you were right. That’s all that matters right?” Virgil bit and when the serpentine side still failed to answer it somehow made him even angrier than if he had tried to defend himself. At least then it would show Virgil was wrong in his thinking somewhere. He needed Jan to say he was magnifying , or jumping to conclusions or whatever. Just something. “You better hope I manage to clean up some of the mess you made,” he warned. “I can’t believe I ever believed you cared about us. About anyone but yourself,” he scoffed as he turned around and left. That finally made Janus snap out of his frozen stare. He started to follow, ready to grab Virgil's hand and explain himself. “Virgil wait…” “Save it Jan! An apology from you means nothing!” Virgil was just mad. He probably would’ve been willing to at least listen once he’d calmed down… But those words… Janus felt as if he was punched in the gut. And the way he chose to deal with this was… Well… “Kiddo? Where is Roman?” Patton wondered as he saw Virgil head to the dreamscape, followed by a litter of shadow kittens. Sadly that last bit wasn’t a startling sight anymore. Everyone was having so much stress and thoughts, Virgil could not keep up. Ignoring them, Logan said, wasn’t going to be less draining than facing them directly in the long run. And Virgil knew he was right. But with the aftershock of Janus’ brilliant performance still echoing through the Thomassphere, Virgil didn’t have the time to acknowledge them, let alone face them. He had to help Patton out so he wouldn’t overwork himself in trying to cheer everyone up. Make sure Logan felt helpful and listened to. Most importantly he had to show Roman that he was there for him, no matter what.

Roman couldn’t even stand the color yellow at the moment. Even his interactions with Remus had gotten strained. That was another thing. Since Roman couldn’t bring it up to spend time with his brother due to his closeness with the snake, Virgil had also had to assure him that he was still important to them. It was just a weird situation right now.

In the past, Virgil would have dragged them both to the imagination to talk things out, but in this instance Roman wasn’t angry with Remus. It was just that none of them could really deal with his antics right now and that meant that hanging out with him would very soon lead to Janus being called to them and… Right. Virgil was exhausted and surrounded by physical manifestations of everyone’s stress and worries 24/7. Good job Jan. “I had him rest up, I’m going to take the night shift today. He’s been working too hard lately,” Virgil explained, thinking back to the grateful smile Roman had given him as he went to bed. It made him feel slightly better he‘d done that right. It had even made a kitten or two disappear. Patton glanced down at the dozen kittens that were left. “So have you,” he pointed out. Virgil chuckled lamely. “Guess we all need a break,” he sighed. “Break what? Your skull?” Virgil nearly jumped out of his skin and Patton wasn’t any better. “Remus? Dude what are you…?” “Just coming to hang out with my good ol’ buddy! But if we are going to crack skulls, can I go first?” Virgil, in a panic, shoved Remus against a wall and clamped his hand over his mouth. “Shush! If you talk like that in here Thomas’ll hear you!” he reminded his chaotic friend. Then the blood drained from is face and he jumped back with a look of disgust. “You licked me!” he exclaimed as he looked at his hand. Instead of saliva there was some sort of slime or mucus dripping from his palm. Gross. He grabbed a towel to white it off. Normally he'd laugh it off, because what did he expect to happen? But now he couldn't handle another thing going wrong.

“Well you surprised me Virgie! I didn’t know you liked it that way. But I’m going to have to decline. Romie would kill me if I took his man,” he teased Virgil rolled his eyes. Remus loved the ships and liked bringing them up whenever possible. “But about that skull breaking…” Suddenly Patton and Virgil recoiled at the images Remus’ train of thought had wrought. Patrick, Thomas imagined he’d… No. “Thomas don’t! What the heck dude!” he exclaimed as he held his head trying not to add to the litter. He was getting close to a break down, he could just feel it. This was all too much.

“You can’t be thinking like that Kiddo!” Patton agreed. It was a long restless night. The only good thing that came out of it was Logan managing to take a huge weight off of Virgil’s chest and in doing so allowing Thomas to breathe a little easier as well.

“You sure you’re okay?” Virgil asked once again as he finished taking care of Roman’s head once he got him back to his room. “I told you I’m fine Virgil. Thank you. For looking after me now and trying to protect me earlier. It is much appreciated,” he smiled tiredly. “Of course…” Virgil shrugged. Picking up a shadow puppy and petting it. Letting the guilt be for a bit. “I just wish-”

“None of that!” Roman insisted with a wave of his hand. “You have been working yourself ragged trying to protect us all. Remus showing up just was too much for all of us.” “I’m sorry about that,” Remus offered sheepishly making both men jump. “Dude!” Virgil hissed as he recovered from his surprise. “Remus! Would it kill you to use a door?” Roman asked as he clutched at his racing heart. Remus' sheepish look was so unexpected that both of them forgot about their annoyance instantly.

“Rem, you good dude?” Virgil wondered.

“Did I hurt you for realsies?” Remus asked his brother carefully. Roman had always been able to handle rough housing just fine. But during the discussion it had occurred to Remus that his brother might not be at full strength right now.

Roman gave Remus a reassuring smile. “Don't worry Remus. This,” he gestured to the bandaging on his head, “is just Virgil being overly thorough. I'll be back to dragon slaying in no time,” he promised. Virgil gave Roman a glare and a shove for that.

“Hey! I am injured! Have some compassion!” Roman whined.

“Either you're fine or you need to be handled with care. Can't have it both ways Princey,” Virgil  pointed out with a teasing smirk.

Roman pouted at that, making his audience laugh which was the point. He was delighted to see the puppy and a few kittens disappearing. He loathed seeing them in such numbers around his friend.

“I did have a lot of fun today though!” Remus grinned.

Virgil let out a sigh and smiled. He didn’t, but if the twins were okay, then that was all that mattered.

“Well, now that Thomas knows I suppose you'll be out and about more in the future,” Roman told him, making his brother grin from ear to ear.

They relaxed and talked for a while, no one mentioning Janus or his part in today's events. Even Remus knew not go bring that up. Or perhaps he was too distracted by a million other things to do so.

“Well, nice catching up! But I’ll let you lovebirds have your privacy,” Remus announced as he got up from the bed.

“Where are you going?” Roman asked.

Remus snickered. “My room. Did I scramble your brain Roro?”

Roman ignored the charming visual, tugging at his sash and frowning.

“You don't have to go back there… Just because Deceit said that's where you are supposed to be… he lies… he does whatever it takes…” He clenched his hands into fists around the sash. He was trying so hard to keep composure that the hand on his shoulder made him jump. He looked up. Virgil was smiling at him, not reassuring, but understanding. He gave him a squeeze and turned to Remus.

“If you want we can move you next to my room. You don't have to of course,” he told Remus.

The resident gremlin grinned back at the two of them. “Aw, that’s disgustingly sweet of you V. But I’ll stick with double d in the back. I don't want to catch the sap bug you all suffer from up here.” He made a gagging sound and turned to leave.

“If you change your mind, we'll be here okay,” Virgil reminded him.

Remus gave them a dismissive wave and left.

“Shouldn't we stop him? Who knows what that snake'll have him do next?” Roman worried ready to chase after his brother.

“I’d love to, but that’s not how Remus works,” Virgil sighed.

Roman hated that he was right. He just hoped his brother wouldn't get burned the way he was.

The tension in the mindscape calmed down, somewhat. But then… the wedding came.

Long before they even got there, Virgil was exhausted. Roman could see that and the event did not give his hooded friend a chance to rest. So Before Thomas got home, Roman took a page out of Virgil’s book and forced the anxious side to sleep. He brought him to Remus in the back of the mind.

“Keep him safe until I come to collect him alright?”

Remus nodded knowing that ‘safe' actually meant away from Deceit.

Or as he was now known publicly, Janus.

Remus was shaking. He'd heard every word. He thought Janus was his friend. He'd sworn that he wasn't bad… but then of course… what made him trust the word of the master of lies?

He wanted to scream, to hit something, to… then he looked up and saw Roman staring at him. A wild look in his eyes.

“Just Listen!” Patton's voice came from the distance.

“Guys?” a groggy voice from behind Remus. Virgil… “What are you doing?”

Remus and Roman were still staring. Having a silent conversation with just their eyes. They'd promised, but this was different. Virgil would be happier with his old friend back rather than two bad copies he had to split his time between right?

It was like their thoughts were synching up. They could see every bit of hurt they had caused Thomas, Virgil and the others by being apart. Together they might be able to fix everything. They reached out their hands.

“Wait! Please don't!” Virgil pleaded. The twins cast their one true friend one last grateful look and then they were gone.

King grinned victoriously as he as once again one. He was different, he could already tell, but that didn't have to be a bad thing.

His eye landed on Morality and he grinned cruelly. The blast of his rebirth had brought Morality to his knees before him, as he should be.

“There you go,” he praised as he held his sword out, daring morality to try something.

“Bow before the king,” he commanded.

He took a moment to commend Morality for his clever ruse. Even bowed to him, relishing in how each word and gesture made Morality shrink and tremble. And he hadn't even begun to play yet.

Suddenly there was a soft gasp behind him. He looked back and spotted fear. Oh good. In all the commotion he'd almost forgotten he was here. He stared up at him in wide eyed disbelief. It was a lot to take in he supposed. Him being back with this brand new look. He should probably greet him properly. “Ah, Fear,” he smiled, showing he remembered him. There was no need for him to worry that he would have to start from scratch with him yet again. He knew everything.

They were going to have so much fun together!

“How are you doing my old friend?”

[snowdice]

Folds in Paper (Chapter 6: You Try to Cut Her Wires)[Folds in Time Universe]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Janus/Patton, Remus & Roman, eventual Logan/Virgil (maybe more)

Characters:

Main: Janus, Patton, Remus

Appear: Remy, Emile, Virgil, Logan, Roman

Summary: Janus, a disillusioned senior agent working for the Time Preservation Initiative, struggles to find meaning in a world where time travel could change everything about your life’s history in less than a moment. When time distortions start popping up, threatening the timeline and the fabric of reality as he knows it, it becomes a race against the clock to fix the damage before everything unravels. And the problem with time travel… you never how long you have before the clock strikes 12 and your time is up.

With a partner who has more mysteries in his past than Janus had anticipated and an enigmatic free agent time traveler mucking about time always with a clever pun or a time appropriate pet name on his lips, Janus will need to figure out what went wrong with time, and more importantly, how to fix it.

Chapter Summary:  

You try to cut her wires but you're way too late.

-from the song “Time Bomb” by Iration

Notes: Time travel AU, mystery, enemies to lovers, alcohol

This is a fic I’ve been writing on study breaks that you have probably all already seen at this point. I’ve slightly edited it for wording and grammar, but not for content from my previous posts. Feel free to send in asks to direct it because I’m not 100% sure where this is going and you can help decide if you feel so inclined! You can see the process I went through to build this at this link.

I also have a playlist on youtube (because Spotify didn’t have one of the songs I wanted).

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

“Really, Khalid,” Janus said, storming into his boss’s office before even sitting down at his desk that morning. “A yellow?” It had been about a week since the 1920s incident, and his incident report had finally been cleared. Sure, it wasn’t a red or a black and he wasn’t facing any reprimand, but it should have been a green.

She looked up at him, clearly unconcerned. “There was an incident,” she said. “You handled it well, but there was one. Therefore, yellow.”

“It wasn’t a time period incident! It was a rouge time traveler.”

“Janus, you helped me make these rules,” she said impatiently.

“Which is why I know this is bullshit,” he snapped.

She rolled her eyes. “If it was anyone else, you would agree with me. While you didn’t go against protocol and had no time related incidents, the fact of the matter is, you were still distracted by this ‘rouge time traveler,’ didn’t complete your mission, and were arrested.”

“He was good,” Janus said. “You can’t fault me for that. He also could be dangerous and you’re busy handing out yellows instead of working to track him down.”

She raised an eyebrow. “We are working on tracking him down,” she said. “We have done an analysis on the mask and found fibers dating to the 2010s and some DNA. Though it isn’t exactly a high priority.”

“We have no idea who he is or what he’s planning to do. Why is that not a high priority?”

“At the moment?” she asked. “Because we have reports of a time bomb being activated.”

“What?” Janus asked straightening up. “When?”

“New Years Eve going into the year 3,000 in Brazil,” she said. “Which you’d know about if you’d bothered to check your integration port this morning before storming into my office.”

“It’s my mission?” Janus asked.

“The incident investigation is over and your active again despite the dreaded yellow,” she said, clearly making fun of him a bit. “So, yes, and it’s a high priority mission, so it is our mission. I’m leading it.”

“Who all is going?” he asked.

“Other than the two of us, Remus, Lena, and Fred,” she told him. “We leave in three hours, so, you might want to run off to Rhi before Fred gets to her and ties her up for an hour on details.”

Janus nodded and got to his feet. He turned back at the door. “I still don’t deserve the yellow,” he hissed.

She waved him off. “I’ll see you in a few hours, Picani.”

He ground his teeth a bit about the dismissal of his worries, but his resentment was slightly soothed by the fact that she’d assigned him to go on such a high priority mission and with only other senior agents.

He took the advice and grabbed Remus from the office, noting Lena hadn’t been able to wrangle Fred yet as she was still at her desk, and they both headed off to see Rhi.

A few hours later, they were all in decontamination together, decked out in truly god-awful costumes. The turn of the third millennia had been a wild event, and the best way to fit in was to look like you’d grabbed something from every century in recorded human history, dyed it in neon paint, and rolled around in a vat of glitter.

Remus had opted to stick his head in a vat of thick glow in the dark green paint that costuming had offered them. It was so caked on that Janus couldn’t even recognize him on sight, and it wasn’t even going to be slightly disruptive to their covertness.  In fact, costuming had frowned when Janus had insisted he not get his hair dyed and instead wore a bowler hat. They had required him to have flowers made out of glitter on it.

There were five people waiting for them when they landed 6 hours before the turn of the millennia. Three were touchdown agents, including Remy, and two were on location tech support. Usually it would be overkill to have that many people there just for support even with five agents in the field, but today the TPI needed to be cautious because they were planning on instituting a time lock.

Time bombs were dangerous things that would ripple through time if not contained. They were nests of anywhere between 10 and 50 bombs that were set off by one core explosion. This core explosion would punch through space-time and spew the multitude of bombs across different places and times. Beyond just causing huge explosions where they landed, they would also pose a danger to any time travelers that accidently traveled through them and they could cause disruptions in the timelines around the source and where each one ended up. Once they went off in their source time, there was very little one could do to stop the damage. Thus, the time lock. The time lock would make sure that even if it did end up going off (killing everyone in its reach), the damage wouldn’t extend outside of the city and, more importantly, the year it was planted.

Janus had only been in two time locks before, and he was one of the most senior agents in the TPI, outranked only by the founder: Lia Khalid. Time locks were designed to keep all time linear in a certain fixed time and geographical area as well as prevent any time travel in and out. Once it was engaged, all forms of time travel would not work for the duration, bar the pin device. Khalid was already switching out her regular timepiece with the slightly bigger one that was designed to support the time lock.

There was a failsafe back at the TPI that could be engaged in an emergency, which was why tech support was here, but other than that, the only thing that could break the time lock was that timepiece, and said timepiece would break the moment the time lock ended, making it impossible to return to the inside of the timelock.

 As soon as it was on Khalid’s wrist, she looked up at them all. “Our information says the time bomb was planted in the costume of one of the ‘Millennium Birds’ who are the organizers of the different events,” she said. Janus had seen a photo of the identical costumes in the mission details. They were all robe like garments with giant fans of feathers coming from the neck that coalesced in a peak a foot above their head to hold a fake bird egg. At least they’d be easy to find. “There are 25 of them throughout the city. We need to find each of them. So we don’t double count, you’ll need to subtly,” her eyes touched on Remus, “scan each one you find for the bomb and tag them with a tracker if it’s not on them. You can view the already tagged ones, as well as the rest of us on your timepiece even once the time lock is engaged. When you find the bomb, call it in.”

They all nodded, and Khalid looked over at one of the techies. She nodded at her and then the techie flipped a couple of switches. “Three, two, one,” the techie said. There was a slight shift in the air that most people would disregard, but Janus, as a seasoned time traveler, could feel the change even before his wrist buzzed. He glanced at his timepiece to see it had a big red ‘X’ across its display. He tapped it and was still able to bring up the map of the city with 10 green dots on it all clustered together in their current location.

After that, he tested the scanner on his timepiece that he would use to search for the bomb, just to make sure the time lock hadn’t messed anything up with his equipment. He glanced up to see everyone else was doing the same.

“Keep in contact,” Khalid said before everyone split up. Janus and Remus started by going North while Fredrick and Darlene were to go South. Khalid was a floater who would tag any Birds she saw but was mostly there for backup and orders.

Janus and Remus stepped into the chaos of New Years Eve before the turn of the third millennia. The streets were already swamped with people and it would only be getting worse the later it got.

“Where should we start?” Remus asked.

“Let’s go all the way North to the games area,” Janus said. “We can work our way back here.”

“Okay!” Remus said. “I wonder if they have those fun little genetically modified goldfish as prizes. I’ve always wanted to eat one and see if I end up getting whatever design was on the fish on my body.”

Janus gave him a disgusted look.

“What?! People eat fish all the time!”

Janus shook his head. “We’re not playing the games anyway. We have work to do. Important work.”

“Boo,” Remus replied. Janus chose to ignore him.

A few minutes later, he spotted one of the Millenia Birds letting people into the gaming area.

They walked over towards the entrance. Janus got in range first and moved to subtly scan the Millenia Bird, Remus doing the same the next moment. After a second, Janus’s timepiece buzzed and lit up red, meaning the bomb was within range. “Well, that was easy,” he said. “It was on the first one we found.”

“Uh…” Remus said. “Jan.” When Janus looked, he was holding up his wrist to show his green lit time piece.

“What?” Janus asked. He quickly moved to rescan the Millenia Bird, and his timepiece came up green as well. Which, meant the bomb was not in range, even though the Millenia Bird had not moved. “But…” He and Remus’s eyes met, and they quickly both started turning in a circle to look at the crowd around him. No one looked like they’d just stolen a time bomb off the Millennial Bird, but then Janus’s eyes caught on a man.

He blended in perfectly to his surroundings. He was wearing the disgusting garb of the times, a large light blue piece that bubbled near his hips, and he had most of his skin covered in rainbow neon paints. Yet, something about him, the curl of his hair or the way he moved, drew Janus’s eyes to him. He recognized the man immediately even in a completely different dressing style. Yet, what cinched it was the moment Janus’s eyes met his, and they seemed to sparkle slightly in the afternoon sun. The next moment, the person Janus knew as Pat, turned to disappear into the crowd.

Want to read more? Click below!

AO3 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

[onthevirgeofdestruction]

A Whole Castle

Words: 1,512 Warnings: Arguing Characters: Logan, Roman, Virgil, Janus, Patton Universe: Whole Castle Genre: Family Fluff Additional Tags: Logan Sanders is Extra about Safety

an ask about Pat’s developmental issues set my writing demon off

   “It’s dangerous, Roman, why did you order this?” Logan sighed and rubbed his face, lightly kicking the giant box on the patio in front of them.

   “The occupational therapist recommended we try to get him more physical to help out with his development, and he doesn’t enjoy walking or biking,” Roman said a little sheepishly, looking away and rubbing his arm nervously.

   “You are clearly hiding something,” Logan narrowed his eyes at Roman and took his hand.

   “So, Virgil might have convinced me. He said he refused to stop throwing Patton on his bed and I don’t want them to break the frame. I know Patton is small, but… well, Virgil was very convincing, he had plenty of reasons and you should have seen his face,” Roman admitted, thinking of Virgil affectionately.

   “He’s been… throwing Patton?” Logan’s eyes narrowed at Roman. “And you didn’t stop him?” Logan said accusatorily.

   “Whoops,” Roman bit his lip nervously. “You weren’t supposed to know about that,” Roman said quietly and wrung his fingers.

   “Roman,” Logan said evenly, looking frustrated and tapping his foot on the concrete patio.

   “You should hear his cute little scream when Virgil throws him! It’s adorable and the occupational therapist says it’s healthy and Patton is okay,” Roman said defensively. “It’ll be much safer with the trampoline!” Roman added hopefully.

   “How! He could fall off and break his arm, he’s still very small,” Logan shot, motioning to the giant box and glowering at it.

   “It’s got a net and safety features, Logan, I’m not an idiot. I’ve seen Patton skid into the wall on the bed,” Roman rolled his eyes.

   “Roman!” Logan shot louder. Roman frowned at Logan, who swallowed and looked sadly to Roman. “I’m sorry for yelling. I hope the children didn’t hear,” Logan exhaled in frustration. “Please tell me he wasn’t hurt,” Logan took off his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt while he fumed.

   “He was fine, he didn’t even cry. Not even a bump,” Roman sighed, stroking Logan’s hand with his thumb. “I didn’t want you to worry, so I didn’t mention it. I don’t like discouraging Virgil from spending time with Patton and they both enjoy it,” Roman explained quietly.

   “All right. The netting is thick and safe?” Logan asked tiredly.

   “According to the reviews it is. We couldn’t afford one of the high-end ones, they’re absolutely ridiculously priced,” Roman huffed in frustration. “But most of the reviews are high. There’s even a video of someone taking a knife to the net and it not tearing easily,” Roman added, feeling a little relieved.

   “All right. I suppose I can accept that. But we’re returning it if Patton gets even close to hurting himself,” Logan held up his finger and pointed menacingly at Roman.

   “Fine,” Roman rolled his eyes and huffed. “Getting some minor battle damage as a kid is good for you, too, you know. A skid knee isn’t the end of the world,” Roman flipped out his free hand. Logan sighed forcefully again, sliding his glasses back on his face.

   “I feel like they’ve both had enough damage for a lifetime and do not want to cause any further pain,” Logan said quietly. “I wouldn’t prefer they even got a paper cut under our watch,” Logan squeezed Roman’s hand and let go. “And I will not be a part of building that potential death trap,” Logan pointed to the giant box.

   “That’s fine, darling. I understand,” Roman leaned forward and kissed Logan on the cheek. Logan smiled slightly and went inside. Roman stared at the giant box for a moment, trying to figure out how to get this monstrosity to the backyard. Roman grunted as he began sliding the box across the concrete path to the driveway to go around to the fence gate.

   “You got the trampoline!” Virgil ran up from behind Roman and helped him propel it forward. Angling it was a group effort with a symphony with annoyed grunts and huffs as they fought the giant box through the grass into the backyard.

   “This will be… an event,” Roman exhaled and wiped his forehead when they finally got the box close the patio to unbox the components.

   “Uh, yeah. Let me ask Janus and see if he wants to come over and help,” Virgil huffed a tired breath and fanned himself with his hoodie as he pulled out his phone. Virgil texted Janus while Roman went inside for the toolbox and a box cutter, though he had to go all the way around since the back door wasn’t unlocked.

   Roman came back outside and sliced open the box, Virgil helping him slide out the pieces and position them so that they could possibly build this thing. Virgil started flipping through the building guide while Roman stared in confusion at the pieces that were coming out. The professional building cost extra, and Roman bemoaned not having the money for it as he surveyed this massive pain in the ass.

   Janus came over to help, and they attracted a wild Patton who watched with interest from the shade of the house’s awning. Logan came out with a hex tool that they needed that wasn’t in the tool kit and ended up staying to oversee the process, fussing over minor details. Logan was the most adept at understanding the manual, though, and the amount of bickering and bafflement dropped nearly to zero with Logan directing Roman, Virgil, and Janus as they took on different tasks.

   Despite Virgil and Janus’s whining they wanted to jump on as soon as it was complete, Logan insisted on checking on the safety and the tightness of the components and even the stability of the ladder first. Virgil and Janus busied themselves with amusing an impatient and fussy Patton by playing tag in the yard, instead. Roman was not so happy about being ‘home base’ and getting accidentally tousled while kids ran around him, but Patton’s excited and devious giggle and Janus’s relieved sigh were more than enough to make him tolerate it.

   “It’s all clear. But do continue to be careful, regardless,” Logan warned as he unzipped the entrance. Virgil swept up Patton with a maniacal cackle and ran up to the trampoline. “Virgil!” Logan objected as Virgil climbed up a step and literally threw Patton inside the net.

   “Yeet the child to calibrate his GPS!” Virgil cried out and Patton screeched with laughter as he bounced on the trampoline and safely bounded against the net and back down on the trampoline.

   “Virgil!” Logan narrowed his eyes at Virgil, but Virgil just cackled at him. Roman put his arm on Logan’s shoulder and smiled.

   “Patton’s fine, see?” Roman pointed to Patton already joyfully rebounding on the trampoline, screaming with delight when he got launched up high by Janus’s determined jump when he first entered the trampoline. Logan sighed and zipped up the entrance, observing them carefully.

   “I don’t know about all three of them being in there,” Logan grumbled.

   “Virgil is helping Patton stay upright, see?” Roman motioned to Virgil helping Patton who was wobbling on the uneven surface. “They’re being safe and giving each other room. Do you want to help me make some lemonade? I always overdo it with the sugar,” Roman kissed Logan on the cheek. Logan sighed and watched them for a moment longer.

   “Boys?” Logan called out, and all three stopped and looked to Logan. “Be careful, please,” He pleaded.

   “We’ll be fine, dad,” Virgil rolled his eyes and jumped, launching Patton off the trampoline with a squeaky scream.

   “I suppose I should start dinner. Janus, are you opposed to pork tenderloin?” Logan asked loudly over Virgil’s maniacal laugh as he scooped up Patton and jumped in tandem with Janus to jump higher.

   “No,” Janus called, pushing off the trampoline hard with Virgil. Patton beamed with delight and Logan winced with the height they were gaining together. Virgil was holding on to Patton tight and Patton was gripping Virgil’s hoodie, so it didn’t appear as Virgil would drop him. Roman squeezed Logan’s shoulder.

   “They’ll be okay, darling. A bump here or there is all right, and they’re watching out for each other. You can stay out here and keep an eye on them if it’ll help you feel better,” Roman said consolingly. Logan watched them with furrowed eyebrows for a bit longer, crossing his arms. Virgil laughed and clambered through the net, quickly re-zipping it behind him. He basically tackle-hugged Roman and Logan together.

   “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Virgil’s words ran into each other and he beamed up at them before backing up quickly. He coughed awkwardly and rubbed his arm for a moment, then climbed back up and rejoined Patton and Janus on the trampoline. Virgil took Patton’s hands and jumped together with him. Logan’s face softened, and he sighed contentedly. Roman leaned in to hug Logan from the side and rested his head on Logan’s shoulder while they both watched the kids jumping with renewed vigor, the encroaching evening air filled with crickets and ecstatic laughter.

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[sometimes-love-is-enough]

do you have any spicy hot takes you wanna drop 👀👀?? i will drop one as well, i think that everyone got carried away with the whole sympathetic and unsympathetic stuff -💫

okay so i read the first sentence and i was like ‘fuck yes time to talk about the sympathetic/unsympathetic thing’ and then i read the rest of it and yeah okay so we’re on the same page here. i have a feeling this is going to get extensive so if you don’t want to hear me complaining about stuff that you may or may not like don’t go reading under the cut. Also it's not going to be very coherent

disclaimer: i am not trying to police the fandom or trying to tell anyone that they can’t write stuff. i do my best to stay in my lane and read/consume content that i want to. these are just. feelings i have.

so on the one hand i sort of understand where the whole concept sprung from. it’s hard to write interesting longform stories without a villain of some sort, it’s not as if there’s all that many characters in the first place, and sometimes using the Dragon Witch doesn’t quite cut it. and honestly if you take away the whole ‘they’re all part of the same person’ thing it would’ve been pretty easy to assume that Deceit was the bad guy when he first showed up. he went the whole ‘ominous smirking, evil laughter’ route because he’s a dramatic little bastard, and some people were like 'my son, I love him' and others went 'evil man! Evil! He's planning bad things' and on a purely mechanical level having tags that distinguish people who think a character is good vs people who think a character is evil is a good thing, it helps you distinguish content you want to look at from the content that you don't!

HOWEVER. I think the idea of characters being 'sympathetic' or 'unsympathetic' in the way that this fandom uses those terms is innately flawed. It's black-and-white thinking and it veers close to the whole puritan thing that tumblr is so fond of. And in most cases 'unsympathetic' is just an excuse to write characters as toxic, abusive, and just downright cruel without having to explain yourself. Which is. Hm. And also just lazy writing.

This bit might be tmi but: Patton actually used to be my favorite Sanders Sides character. But back when i initially got into the fandom, I hadn't quite worked out how to filter the content I looked through yet, and I just kept seeing this... constant stream of stuff involving him being abusive to the others in a way that was hm how shall i say this. Uncomfortably familiar. especially with a lot of religious guilt themes. It's not anyone's fault, precisely, but it did tinge a lot of my fandom experience, and it maaaay be why i'm not great at writing him. Doesn't matter. The point is... There wasn't a point. I'm just still bitter about that and wanted to mention it. Maybe i'm angrier about this than i thought i was. Let's not talk about that. Let's move on with this discussion.

You'll notice that i used Janus as an example up there at the top. I can't be sure (and actually it grimly fascinates me so if anybody who's been around here longer than I have has any info on this send it over, I'd love to know) but I think that Deceit's appearance in CLBG may have marked the beginning of this whole unsympathetic/sympathetic split in the fandom. It seems a safe enough bet, anyway, especially since the earliest example I can find of any fic being tagged 'unsympathetic' in the AO3 archive is from 4th February 2018, literally the day after CLBG went up. (damn, guys, moving fast). 

The first occurrences of the 'sympathetic' tag crop up about a month later. Tumblr is impossible to search so I don't know if there was any discussion about terms, or if it was just a kind of snowball effect with people seeing the tags and tagging their own fics as appropriate (and this is a fascinating phenomena in itself!) but either way - i have absolutely no idea what happened to make people go from 'we're divided on whether this character who presents himself a villain is actually doing bad and detrimental things to the other sides/thomas/the world as a whole/innocent puppies' to 'hang on what if the other sides were kicking puppies also?'

So now this has turned from a rant about terminology into me being genuinely curious about this whole thing. I will put the rant on pause while I go scour AO3 to see when the first occurrences of the tags popped up. Please hold.

Okay. I'm going to ignore the unsympathetic tags for anyone who's not a side because i don't hate myself nearly that much (but uh for the record. There is a part of this fandom that thinks the LITERAL CONCEPT OF SLEEP IS EVIL and i'm not sure if i should be impressed or horrified. What? What???)

All of these numbers are up-to-date as of 17/06/2020, which is when I'm posting this. I'm probably not going to update that, so keep that in mind if you're reading this in the future.

In order of chronological appearance:

Unsympathetic Janus ('Deceit' at the time, of course) - first appears 12 March 2018, 191 works Unsympathetic Roman - first appears 10 February 2019, 102 works Unsympathetic Logan - first appears 24 June 2019, 59 works Unsympathetic Patton - first appears 2 July 2019, 228 works Unsympathetic Remus - first appears 17 July, 2019, 121 works Unsympathetic Virgil - first appears 31 July 2019, 71 works

...I genuinely don't know what I expected.

The fandom was much slower to spark with Unsympathetic Remus content after he first showed up, which is kind of interesting. Unless they just didn't bother to tag it? Like, I'm working with the assumption that everyone's tagging all of their content, which might not always be the case

I thought there'd be so much more Janus and Remus-tagged fics than there actually are.

It does not surprise me that Patton has the most in this category. It makes me sad but it doesn't surprise me. Why are you guys so intent on making him evil

And on the opposite side of the sympathy spectrum (similarly chronological):

Sympathetic Janus - first appears 7 March 2018, 1920 works Sympathetic Remus - first appears 2 July 2019, 965 works Sympathetic Patton - first appears 31 July 2019, 71 works Sympathetic Virgil - first appears 1 August 2019, 69 works (nice) Sympathetic Logan - first appears 8 August 2019, 41 works Sympathetic Roman - first appears 20 August, 56 works

It's actually wild that 'Sympathetic [Janus]' seems to have appeared several days between Unsympathetic Jan made any appearance.

There were several Remus fics that were backtagged to before DWIT was released. I ignored them because it was throwing this off a bit. there may be other problems to this effect in any of the other stats, but i’m too lazy to go back and check those all one-by-one

Sympathetic tags in general seem to be used as, hm, there's a word here i can't quite think of. Basically, 'Sympathetic' seems to be the default setting for characters like Virgil, Patton, Roman, Logan (the 'Light Sides', although i take issue with that terms as well. This isn't the time for that, though. Statistics!!) which 'Unsympathetic' used to be the default for Janus and Remus. That's become slightly more elastic of late, though. Basically if you're using the Sympathetic tag for anyone who's not a 'Dark Side' you're usually doing it to make a point of something. e.g. if you have other sides who aren't usually unsympathetic as such and you're trying to clarify that yes, these specific ones are Okay. Or if you're just being thorough. Anyway that's why LAMP seem to have less works tagged as Symp than the other two.

All the sympathetic tags for non-Janus characters seem to have sprung up in quick succession over a short period of months! I have no idea what this means but it's strange and cool to look at

If you're wondering about the discrepancy between this information and my earlier note that the first appearance of 'unsympathetic' as an AO3 tag was the day after CLBG came out - that fic in question had a general 'unsympathetic dark sides' tag, no specific tags mentioned.

Okay statistics segue over. The only point of that apart from scientific curiosity was to try to puzzle out where the fuck this all stemmed from. I still have no answers.

I need you all to understand that 'Sympathetic' no longer looks like a real word to me.

So. Remember how i mentioned how this fandom managed to make unsympathetic!Remy/Sleep a thing? Yeah. That baffles me. I haven't seen unsympathetic Dr Picani anywhere yet but I know it's only a matter of time and that lowkey horrifies me. But that's not really the most baffling thing because, uh

Well. earlier this week I accidentally stumbled into a corner of tumblr that's dedicated to unsympathetic character Thomas content. If you're a fan of that, i'd advise you to click away from this post now because i'm about to get very angry about that and i don't want to make you upset. Thank you.

What the fuck. literally all of the posts in this corner of tumblr are about c!thomas abusing the sides and being a terrible person??? ??????? ????? WHAT? can we just take a step back and. WHY? WHY are you doing this? Are we watching the same show? from a psychological standpoint, that's self-abuse and self-harm and i suppose it might be interesting if you explored it as such but APPARENTLY NO. apparently that's not what this is about. This is just about writing about someone being abusive to other people for the sake of it. there were so many posts about him 'abusing the sides by telling them they're not real people' and. OKAY so a) he wouldn't do that b) THEY AREN'T. THEY LITERALLY AREN'T REAL PEOPLE WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT

[deep breath]

so actually i think that kind of leads me back to the point of this whole thing.  I had a point, what? It surprises me too, don't worry. The point is (roughly) that writing characters as 'unsympathetic' isn't something that i have an objection to at all. Everybody has the capacity to be cruel! Nobody's perfect!! But with the sympathetic/un labels it seems to enforce this strict dichotomy of good vs bad. Either Logan is an abusive monster OR he's a perfect angel. Guys. That's not how it works. And it's not INTERESTING if you do that sort of thing because then you've got people being unnecessarily cruel and evil for the sake of it. They turn into 2-dimensional caricatures that only exist to be bad people. 

People make mistakes! I write about characters making mistakes all the time! Janus and Remus pulling the whole trolley problem thing in Pick A Side definitely wasn't a great thing for them to do, but I didn't tag them as unsympathetic at the time and i have no plan to do so because i don't want to write them as two-dimensional caricatures who are only capable of one of two settings on the morality meter.  (same goes for the next chapter, whenever that comes up but... let’s talk about that when i post it, maybe)That's boring. If you're going to take characters and make them into antagonists just because you can't think of anyone else to fit the role, and you're doing it by stripping away everything that makes them Them, then you might as well just stuff a paper bag with straw and cast a scarecrow as the villain instead because buddy. You're making a strawman. That's what you're doing. You can't have Patton without kindness and well-meaningness, just as you can't have Patton without the mistakes caused by those two things. Same goes for the other sides and their flaws and strengths.

And then there's the other thing that's definitely more specific to this fandom, which I think was best summarized with something i said in the comments section of Pick A Side with len at like ten minutes past midnight that one time:

(...) and not necessarily related to anything you said, but - this fandom is kind of unique in that... there's no actual bad guys or villains. (at least that's how i perceive it.) The Real Villain Is Your Poor Mental Health. people are always like 'unsympathetic deceit' or 'unsympathetic patton' and point to different points in the videos as evidence, ('i give you permission to think those thoughts' patton's being controlling - that's abuse) but like. it's all the same guy. he's giving himself permission. he's doing it to himself. imagine if we tagged other fandom characters with like 'Unsympathetic Harry Potter' when he was being mean or critical to himself. wild.

 So yeah. In conclusion: obviously people should write what they like. If they see characters one way and they want to write about them being two-dimensional monsters that's fine. I kind of wish you'd put more thought into it and make it at least interesting if you're going to do that sort of thing, but you do you i guess.

That being said. If I see any more unsympathetic!Patton content I will start crying. i want to love Goofy Dad Man the same way i used to 

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Perfectly Fine

Prompt: Hi! I would love to read something from you featuring asexual Remus! - anon

it is project onto fictional characters hour my dudes

Read on Ao3

Warnings: discussions of the reality of being a sex-repulsed ace in a very allo world, nothing explicit

Pairings: none you heathens

Word Count: 1358

It takes them longer to figure it out than it should have and honestly, that’s on them.

But Remus is Remus, and that's perfectly fine.

It takes them longer to figure it out than it should have and honestly, that’s on them.

So it’s no secret that Remus’s particular sense of humor is equally as derived from what he finds funny and what makes the others the most uncomfortable. Logan did an analysis of it once and the results were 49%-51%. Which one is which varies but the quantities are incredibly consistent.

The trick is figuring out that the balance applies to Remus too.

And sure, the idea of Remus being uncomfortable is…difficult to remember sometimes, given that, you know, he’s Remus, but it’s there! It’s worth remembering! He’s a Side too! But considering his metric for ‘uncomfortable’ is wildly different from everyone else’s, it’s easy for them to overlook it. Maybe he gets some excitement out of grossing himself out too, maybe there’s a sick thrill in seeing just how close he can get himself to vomiting, honestly, who knows. Remus is Remus and that’s perfectly fine.

So here’s the big one that, again, took them way too long to figure out.

Remus is asexual. Not just asexual, sex-repulsed asexual.

Let’s reiterate: Remus is Remus and that’s perfectly fine.

It just…took them by surprise, is all.

“Wait,” Logan says, adjusting his glasses, “you’re asexual?”

“Those are the words I used,” Remus says, his head hanging off the couch.

“I—I heard you, I am…simply surprised,” Logan settles on, closing his notebook and setting it aside. “I would not have guessed that Thomas’s Sides would have different sexualities or romantic orientations.”

“What does it matter, Pocket Protector?”

“It doesn’t, it’s interesting to me.”

“Does that mean that all of us could potentially have different sexualities?” Patton’s head pokes above the counter as he digs for the good muffin tray—not the one Janus swiped three hours ago, of course not—in the cabinets. “Or no?”

Logan shrugs. “I imagine it would be possible, though I find it likely that at least some of us share Thomas’s.”

“My ears are burning,” Roman announces, plopping onto the couch next to his brother, “what incredibly gay thing are we talking about now?”

“Yeesh, Princey,” Virgil mutters, recovering from flinching horribly into the chair, “don’t do that, you scared the hell outta me.”

“Sorry, Virgil.” Roman taps Remus’s leg, hanging up over the back of the couch next to his head. “Why’re you upside-down?”

“Why’re you right-side up?”

“Remus…prompted a discussion on sexualities,” Logan says carefully, sparing a glance at Remus, “and we were debating the question of if we, as Thomas’s Sides, all have different sexualities.”

Remus kicks Roman in the head. “Told them I’m ace.”

“Oh, that makes more sense.”

“Really, and here I thought Remus beginning a complex introspective conversation was the height of character accuracy.”

“Payback,” Virgil sniggers as Roman startles horribly as Janus appears from behind the couch. “All jokes aside, I’m with L, I, uh, didn’t expect Remus to be ace.”

“Why not?”

Janus scoffs. “Couldn’t be the number of sex jokes you make on a daily basis, not at all.”

Remus shrugs.

“I think it’s just surprising considering how comfortable you are making the jokes, kiddo.”

“The fuck makes you think I’m comfortable with them?”

“Lang—what?” Patton’s head pops up again.

“A wild Patton appears!”

“Has Thomas…ever been interested in Pokémon?”

“What do you mean, comfortable?” Patton tilts his head, focused entirely on Remus and not the others making Pokémon jokes. “Are—are you not comfortable?”

“Remus isn’t exactly known for his ‘comfortable’ sense of humor, Padre,” Roman says, leaning back on the couch to make eye contact around Remus’s legs.

“But—but that—hold on.” Patton stands up—“ah! More Wild Patton!”—and puts his hands on the counter. “Remus, why would you make jokes that make you uncomfortable?”

Remus eyes him from upside-down. “Why does anyone do anything?”

“Sheer, absolute boredom, yeah, yeah, we get it,” Virgil sighs, “but it’s a good question, Remus.”

Remus just shrugs, only for it to dislodge him from his precarious position and slide toward the floor. Roman watches him collapse into a graceless heap and rolls his eyes, lying down on the couch.

“Hey! You stole my spot!”

“You’re the one who moved. Hey—!” Roman squawks in surprise as Remus throws himself on top of him. “You’re squishing me!”

“Too bad for you.”

“Remus,” Janus says softly, “are you…does sex make you uncomfortable?”

“Like maggots are crawling through my bones!”

The living room is quiet for a moment, enough to make Remus push himself up and stare around at them.

“What?”

“Sex isn’t something shameful, Remus,” Patton says patiently—and wow, isn’t that a surprise— “I promise.”

Remus rolls his eyes. “I know that, it just makes me want to rip all of my skin off and start over.”

“Why?”

“It’s bad enough I have to live in this meat sack,” he grouses, flopping back down and eliciting a soft ‘oof’ from Roman, “don’t need to be consciously reminded of it.”

“...‘meat sack?’”

“Oh, sorry, Lolo, ‘flexible container of mostly water.’”

“That’s not—well, yes, I suppose that is more accurate,” Logan says as he adjusts his tie, “but why would you choose to refer to your body as a meat sack?”

Remus shrugs. “’S not like I’d choose to be in this fucking thing. Evolution fucked up when it made us this way, at least we aren’t fucking horses. Oh, hey—“

“No,” Roman interrupts, “no jokes about that.”

“Spoilsport.”

“Remus?”

“What do you want, Snake-Face?”

“Are you…uncomfortable with your body?”

“Every day! It’s awful! I wish I didn’t have one!” At Janus’s muffled noise of heartbreak, Remus cranes his neck to look up at him. “Oh, relax, I’m fine, discomfort is part of my existence.”

“But it shouldn’t have to be.”

Remus huffs a sigh when he realizes that everyone else is looking at him with a similar amount of concern. Well, except Roman, but Roman gets it so that makes sense.

“I may or may not be being slightly dramatic, I am fine.”

“Can confirm,” Roman hums lazily, “comes with the Creativity gig.”

“Look, I just don’t like that it’s—it’s—“ Remus’s gaze lands on Patton— “look, Cookie Monster over there is allergic to cats, right?”

Logan frowns, glancing back and forth between them. “Yes, what does—“

“He’s not gonna die from it and he can still be around them, he’s just hyperaware of when there are cats and he can’t spend a lot of time around them without being really uncomfortable, right?”

Logan blinks in surprise. “Yes, I understand what you’re saying. Very clever analogy.”

“I am Creativity, you nitwit.”

He rolls his eyes fondly. “Of course.”

“So,” Virgil says cautiously, waving a hand at him, “you’re…good?”

“Yep. Goody-goody gumdrops, that’s me.”

“As long as you never say that again, fine.”

Roman gives him a hug. “I’m proud of you, Re, coming out is hard. Especially when you have to give people a vocabulary lesson when you do it.”

“Thanks, Ro-Bro.” Remus’s grin widens. “Does that mean I get to pick the movie for tonight?”

“What? No! It’s my pick! Hey! Hey!” Roman squeals as Remus starts to poke his belly. “Don’t! Dohohon’t!”

“Let me pick!”

“No!”

“Boys,” Janus sighs, reaching out and using his six arms to separate the twins, “that’s enough. Roman, what movie are we watching?”

“Pacific Rim.”

“Hey, wait, that’s what I was gonna pick!”

“See? There you go.”

Logan perks up immediately. “Does this mean we finally get to watch a movie with no romantic subplot?”

“And batshit physics.”

“We can overlook the batshit physics.”

“Whoa, L, what happened to you?”

“I…may have a greater appreciation for the cinematic depictions of the machinery.”

Patton just rolls his eyes and gets back to searching for the muffin pan. No movie night is complete without fresh baked goods. Ah, there it is, although he could’ve sworn he looked there a few moments ago…

Anyway, they end the conversation in the same place it started.

Remus is Remus, and that’s perfectly fine.

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[lovelivingmydreams]

Paper Flowers: Assumptions

People make snap judgements all the time. About fictional characters as well as the people in their lives. It gets dangerous however when you assume your perception is the truth.

“Hello all you Fanders out there!” the voice over of DarkStarlight sounds through your speaker as the screen shows the title card of their series Fanders illustrated. The concept is simple enough. They talk about things from Thomas’ content or the fan community they liked while showing speeddraws based on it. It’s really fun to see.

“So a while ago I made this drawing based on the names we picked for the Prince’s nemesis.”

The image changes to a drawing of two versions of the character standing back to back. The dark, mischievious Marcus against a dark red background, and the awkward blushy Kevin against a lighter blue, the collors mixing to purple in the center.

“And the comments have been wild!” A blank canvas is shown as they start sketching.

“There were several theories about how these two boys could be one and the same.

The theory I want to draw today is a cute one. So CatPrincess suggested Marcus is an act Kevin puts up to help the prince. Kevin, according to her, is a staff member of the palace. And when the Prince got old enough to start looking for a princess, he needed an excuse, since he’s gay or just not really interested in romance. He never really was invested in any princesses in the vines after all. He’s had the most chemistry with males. Prince is gay confirmed.”

You chuckle. And shake your head. This fandom is wild. You just hope the characters can make a transition to youtube. It seems like Vine’s time is really coming to an end.

“Anyway, so whether the prince knows it or not CatPrincesss didn’t say, but Kevin ends up disguising himself as a villain so Prince can say he’s busy defending the realm and that he can’t pursue any Princesses until the villain is defeated. I really like the idea of Prince and Kevin having little inside jokes and grinning at each other secretly while Kevin tends to the family during dinner as they hear the king and queen complain about the villain. So. What do you think?”

And just like that the drawing is done. It’s Prince and a formally dressed Kevin glancing at each other with subtle smirks while behind them their silhouettes are crossing swords.

You like and share the video before checking in on tumblr, you still have some time to kill before dinner.

 “I don’t see why we even bother still making vines every day. We’re finished, it’s over,” Virgil muttered as he paced the floor of the common area. He really hated being the barer of bad news, but no one was coming to terms with this simple fact.

“We have sworn to entertain the fanders, and it is not over until the fat lady sings,” Roman explained calmly from his spot, draped over the couch, pretending to be more interested in his notes for the ultimate storytime tour.

The announcement had taken the internet by storm and even Virgil was excited, though he never showed that to the others. He couldn’t leave his room for five days because he couldn’t stop ‘sparkling’ as Roman had come to call his excited look. Just in his head though, he was fairly sure Virgil wouldn’t appreciate it.

“What are we going to do after!?” Virgil insisted.

“We could look for a real job?” Logan suggested though he wasn’t very hopeful.

Virgil was nodding to himself, that was an option he supposed.

“We could make more scripted youtube video’s? People have been commenting they wished they could see more of our characters than six second skits?” Patton suggested.

“Brilliant idea Padre!” Roman exclaimed as he sat up and started skribling.

“We could make a series about the dad and teacher! Liam, Fiona and Gavin might like participating… Oh, and we could make marvelous stories about the prince… Idea!!!!”

He jumped up and made a gesture towards all of them. “We could make a series about us!” he declared proudly. “The fanders want to know more about Thomas, what better way to talk about that than by showing them who we are!?”

Patton was clapping excitedly while Logan and Virgil seemed apprehensive.

“Oh, that sounds so fun!!!” the fatherly side cheered.

“I don’t know,” Virgil objected. “It feels too exposed.”

“Indeed, we are a very personal part of Thomas. We should not be shown to the world so carelessly,” Logan agreed, mostly opposed to being displayed as a source of entertainment for others.

“We don’t have to go all in right away. Thomas can start with acting like our vine counterparts and see how the fanders react and if they like the idea we slowly but surely let our real selves shine through. Little steps,” Roman suggested.

Logan cocked his head. “That was, a very well thought out solution…” he admitted. It was odd. When had this started? Roman usually just spat out ideas and took any criticism as a personal offence. When did he start taking feedback into consideration?

Roman gasped and brought a hand to his heart in offence. “Don’t sound so surprised!” he huffed.

“I don’t know…” Virgil said slowly. The fanders liked his character… But that guy wasn’t literal anxiety.

Roman sighed dramatically. “Tell you what. I draft up some ideas. And after the tour we can revisit the subject. Vine won’t disappear overnight,” he reasoned.

Logan and Patton nodded in agreement. “Fine,” Virgil relented before pulling his hoodie over his head and stalking off.

Patton frowned. “He’s never happy is he?” he muttered sadly. Roman bit back his reaction. Patton was both wrong and right. This part of Virgil couldn’t be happy. But Roman knew of other parts that could be the happiest out of all of them. Happier than even Patton could ever hope being.

“Well who’s fault is that?” A voice drawled from the door opening. Roman automatically drew his sword while Patton and Logan reflexively moved to stand a little more behind him.

“Such a warm reception, I’m so touched,” Deceit said, hand on his heart, a sarcastic sting to his voice and a roll of his eyes.

"Well," Roman huffed as he put away his sword. "Maybe if you didn't apparate in dark corners for no good reason we wouldn't assume an attack was imminent. You are lucky you just missed anxiety, he might not have been able yo hold himself back." Realy what was that snake thinking?

"Thanks for the concern Roman, but other than you three, I know how to handle him."

Roman once more bit his tongue. Keeping his promise not to reveal their bond has never been so hard. This particular side was much more likely to catch him evading and omitting.

He rolled his eyes dramatically and crossed his arms in front of him. "Is there anything you needed Deceit?" Patton asked as he stepped forward laying a soothing hand on Roman's arm.

"Just checking in. And I must say I am not impressed. Morality I had hoped you'd put in a little more effort to make Anxiety comfortable up here. At this rate I might have to take him back with me." Roman could feel Patton cringe at that. That's it. Virgil's friend or not, Roman would not let him upset his family.

“Oh drop it scaleface. Empty threats will only go so far,” he said with a hand on his hip and a roll of his eye.

“Who says they’re empty?” Deceit drawled, studying his nails. “The whole reason Anxiety came up here was to reduce his stress, but if you all just keep making him unhappy, what is the point?” Deceit wondered calmly, though Roman could see there was a vague annoyed pull at his eyes. He clearly did not like being questioned.

“If he really was as unhappy as you imply, then why hasn’t he gone back to you and Remus who supposedly know how to ‘handle him’ so much better?” There was a mild flinch in Deceit’s posture, making Roman wondered if he accidently hit a nerve somehow.

“Just say what you came here for, Deceit. We all have other things to do.” Because deceit was rarely straightforward. Virgil hadn’t told him much about living down there, but that much he’d learned.

Janus just huffed and left.

“Charming as always!” Roman huffed as he combed his fingers through his hair.. He let out a sigh and dropped his hand before looking down at Patton.

“Are you alright Padre?” he wondered.

“I… Yes actually. Thank you Roman…” Roman wanted to bid the two bespectacled sides a good day and start writing on the new series and finish of his ideas for the tour, but the he noticed Patton was biting his lip nervously and so he waited.

“Do you really think… he’s not going to take Anxiety back is he?”

Roman smiled warmly down at Patton before turning to Logan. “Logan, could Thomas ‘forget about anxiety’ at this point?” he asked.

Logan cocked his head confused. “No, denying Anxiety is a part of Thomas, the way Thomas refused to acknowledge his presence in the past, is not possible. Deceit does not have the power to force such a change. Only if the three of us were to agree to it, could something like that be accomplished. And I do not intent to participate in such endeavor,” Logan stated. Patton relaxed at that.

“And I suppose I have gotten used to our war of wits. I shan’t permit him to leave until I reign victorious! Speaking of victory! I’m off writing a script so brilliant the fanders will demand more!”

And with that he finally did make his exit.

He returned to his room and immediately started on his projects. He was not sure what Deceit was trying to accomplish, but it would not deter him from his mission.

In the commons Logan has left as well and Patton his tidying up. Trying not to let Deceit’s words get to him… Who’s fault was it? His? Roman’s? Was there another thing he was missing?

At the border of the conscious mind Janus was beyond annoyed. It didn’t really matter. The idea of failure was planted, and if he knew the lights at all it’s that they would try harder to make Virgil feel comfortable, if only to prove him wrong. Virgil would not like that Janus had gotten involved, but he was worried. How couldn’t he be? Over the past few month’s Virgil had been acting off. Sure he was being more sociable, but after every interaction he was so rained he more or less disappeared. That was the only explanation Janus had for the times he’d visited to make sure he was alright and find the room empty. He hadn’t brought it up with Virgil, since doing so would most likely end up being more about him entering Virgil’s room without permission rather than an actual explanation.

And it didn’t really matter. Janus knew one thing with unwavering certainty.

If the lights didn’t get their act together, they might lose him.

Next: momceit