#oh yeah also janus has acne and good for him!

[ladyinsertnamehere]

For @intrulogicalweek2021 !

Day 1: AU

What if Logan and Remus were guardian angels of two blossoming lovers (Pat and Jan respectively)?

Not really enemies-to-lovers intrulogical, more of a begrudging-associates-to-friends-to-lovers, while moceit seem to hit it off right away?

[ravenhilarious]

sometimes I fear that Logan is becoming the Hermione of this fandom

elaboration under the cut. this will discuss the Harry Potter fandom, the sanders sides fandom, and some comparisons of my personal issues within them. there are some mentions of violence, abuse, bigotry, and death, and it is very long.

that’s what they said

disclaimer: I love Harry Potter even if jk is a bigot, I love Hermione, I love sanders sides which fortunately is not created by a bigot, I love Logan, so there’s no intended negativity about any of these

now, back to the point. I repeat: I fear that Logan is becoming the Hermione of this fandom

which should be a good thing, because I love Logan and I love Hermione. being “the Hermione” shouldn’t be seen as something negative, but the reason I'm referring to it as that is:

there was a time where Fanon Hermione basically became, for a lack of a better term, a Mary Sue (I know this term can have problematic and misogynistic elements but I couldn’t find a better way to describe it)

lots of it was based on the movie adaption’s version of her. lots of her flaws were either stripped away or justified – she became more fearless and confident, her condescending attitude towards mainly Harry and (especially) Ron was exaggerated, and, again, seemed more justified here. and of course, it didn’t help that she was played by the gorgeous Emma Watson. 

then came the fandom portrayal of her. while her movie counterpart was definitely more “perfectilized” (is that a word? now it is) than her book counterpart, she still had elements of being a teenager, and, well, a human. but on the internet, there were so many claims of her being the sole reason that Harry was alive, and that she was way out of Ron’s league, and lots of other stuff. if you’re in any way familiar with the Harry Potter fandom around... well, anywhere before like 2016, really, you probably know what I'm talking about. she was basically this “perfect does everything right keeps saying everyone the best at everything” kind of character. that was kinda annoying, both to people who didn’t care that much for Hermione as a character in the first place, and for the people who enjoyed her (more flawed and realistic) book counterpart

and don’t even get me started on the dr4m10ne shippers who claimed that “she deserves better than Ron (or Harry, or Neville, [heteronormativity was still a big thing back then] or really anyone who treated her with respect) and dr4c0 would be so much better for her!” 

and oof, the “Hermione joins the dark side” au’s where her actions were still justified by the narratives (why would a muggleborn join the people that discriminate against her lol)

during the last few years, she’s gotten some backlash because of this. more potter heads started realizing her flaws, or stopped justifying them. the shocking realization that the fan favorite was not perfect made a large part of the fandom go in the opposite direction. which I understand.

now, I am still able to enjoy the (canon) character Hermione Granger, despite the sue-ification she went through (maybe it’s the autism that helps me not to get so affected by public opinion, idk), but not everyone is that lucky. so many potter heads had gotten a very good character ruined for them, which is sad.

I don’t want the same thing to happen to Logan Sanders. 

Now, he wasn’t always one of the faves – in an early episode, he literally gets told that he’s the least popular character in the series (which does get played off as a joke, but I assume – I wasn’t in the fandom back then, so please correct me if I'm wrong – that for many fanders back then, that was very much the case) and I wouldn’t say he’s a “fan favorite” the same way that Hermione used to be. 

however, he has by now gained quite a large fanbase here on Tumblr. which is great! I, myself, really enjoy Logan, and most of his fans are really cool.

but there are some stans who, in my opinion, have started to give him The Hermione Treatment. who claim that he is the one constantly helping Thomas. who feel the need to bash some of the other sides in order to prove that Logan is the best. the main complaint being that “they ignore/silence him too much”. and yes, they definitely don’t listen to him nearly as much as they could and should. I agree with that.

what I don’t agree with is when fanders start wishing for him to “snap” at the others. I'm putting “snap” in quotation marks, because what they usually mean is just him straight up verbally abusing them, sometimes being physically violent toward them. all because they... didn’t pay enough attention to him? 

it gives me the same vibes as when Hermione’s acts of violence (I'm talking about, like, the bird attack toward Ron or the acne scars she forced on Marietta Edgecombe [another thing that got removed in the movie adaption], not the “fighting death eaters” parts) were considered “girl power” or something by the internet. 

now, I'm not saying that Logan in canon is super aggressive and violent, but he definitely has his moments – and that’s fine. a character does not have to be nice 24/7. but the fandom seems to, idk, romanticize (for lack of a better word) these moments, his outbursts of anger and violence, both the canon and Fanon ones. 

furthermore, there seems to be a double standard, in that lots of the things he’s praised for or that gets ignored about him, are the exact same things that would (or do) get criticized when other sides do it.

Patton gets flack for being controlling and guilt-tripping the others, which, yes, that is true, but Logan can also be controlling (Growing Up, Why Do We Get Out Of Bed In The Morning, arguably in Moving On too) and guilt-tripping (”not that any of you care, but I am unharmed” in Putting Others First)

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that fanders have started seeing the less perfect aspects of morality. Even cinnamon rolls can do not so nice things at times.

Roman is considered to be too proud and condescending, and yeah, he is, he is literally Thomas’ ego. But Logan? “I know I'm smarter than everyone else”? nuff said.

Virgil gets criticized for being too aggressive, and boy is that true, but again, you can not bash one character for a trait that you praise (or even wish more of) in another character.

now, I know that there are fanders who also give Virgil a free pass for violence etc. (he was the ultimate Fan Favorite for a very long time), but they seem to be fewer today than they used to be – which is great! it’s just sad that instead of disappearing completely, this character treatment has now moved towards Logan.

(funnily enough, these certain Logan Stans tend to be less critical of Janus’ and Remus’ flaws too, which I will cover later on)

no, I do not want Logan to be flawless, just like I don’t want Hermione to be. I just wish this double standard wasn’t so common in the fandom.

unlike with Hermione, however, the narrative (and the writers) doesn’t seem to favor him over the others – the sides get a relatively equal treatment in that way. but the biggest problem with Hermione was not the writing, or even the movie adaption (though that definitely played a factor too), but rather the fandom. the fandom was the one who claimed Hermione to be some perfect goddess, talented in every way, too good for this world, etc. And I really don’t want this to happen with Logan!

another parallel I'll bring up is the “going dark” thing, more specifically, “going dark because the light is not good enough for me”. I mentioned dr4m10ne earlier, and Hermione joining the death eaters because Harry and Ron and the rest of the “good guys” weren’t good enough. not smart or talented enough. didn’t appreciate her enough. because Ron would at times make fun of her nerdiness, because they sometimes bickered. 

but for some reason, these dr4m10ne shippers and dark!Hermione Stans would gloss over the fact that Dr4c0 made fun of her heritage and that the death eaters literally fought for genocide of people like her (which, imo, is a bit more serious than “haha ur a nerd”)

similarly, it’s become common to head canon Logan “becoming a dark side”. now, I am in no way trying to imply that “the dark sides” are in any way similar to death eaters, or that Janus and Remus are anything like Dr4c0.

but there seems to be, yet again, a double standard. Patton, Roman, and Virgil ignore or silence or under appreciate Logan? oh yes, they definitely do. 

but so do Janus and Remus. I see so many au’s of Logan joining the “dark sides” because they are more likely to listen to and appreciate him, which, if we go by canon... is not true? Janus literally excluded Logan from the courtroom, and Remus has repeatedly threatened and physically harmed Logan because he didn’t like what he was saying. but people gloss over that because ????? 

I don’t really have a conclusion or anything, I just wanted to get this out

[sparrow-flies-south]

Ten Things [2]

Fandom: Sanders Sides Pairings: Anxceit, Royality Intrulogical Summary: Ten Things I Hate About You AU When Roman Prince learns that Patton Foster isn’t allowed to date until his older brother, Virgil, is, Roman is crushed. Roman’s twin brother Remus, however, comes up with a plan: find someone who is willing to date Virgil. And who better to ask than Janus Verona, who according to rumours is willing to do anything for the right price? Taglist (ask to be added!): @someone-idk-is-here

Notes: Been awhile, so have an extra long chapter to make up for it! I want to switch to updating every Saturday now this is my main project.  I've switched to using Janus instead of Dee, so I edited the first chapter and summary to reflect that. There's no other differences to the first chapter. Also *pokes tags* there's intrulogical in this now.

AO3 Link - Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six

Roman cleared his throat and looked over the ragtag group of students he’d gathered before him.

Luc Edwards, Scott Brown, Tyler Ellis, Pete Campbell and Alex Swift. Three of Virgil’s friends, and two boys Roman knew sat next to Virgil in class. He and Remus had spent all of Monday spying, making notes of who Virgil spoke to, who he sat by, who he ate lunch with. After much debating, and a fair dose of stalking on social media, the two had come up with a shortlist.

That morning, he and Remus had both ended up late to their first class because they’d been delivering notes to each of the five, telling them to meet in one of the maths classrooms that Roman knew would be empty at this time.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering why I brought you here today,” Roman began.

“Who are you?” Alex Swift, a gangly boy with greasy hair and acne covering his face asked.

“That not important,” Roman dismissed. “What is important is that one of you is going to take Virgil Foster out on a date.”

“Who?” asked Tyler Ellis, who Roman knew ate lunch with Virgil every day.

“That weird emo kid,” Scott Brown answered.

“Why do you want one us to date Virgil?” Alex asked.

“As a part of a scheme to allow me to date his brother,” Roman replied. “But that’s not important.”

“Question,” said Luc Edwards, who, unlike the others, was perched on a table. “What’s in it for us?”

“Uh, the joy of Virgil’s company?”

Luc snorted. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same guy?”

Okay, Roman was beginning to hate everyone in the room. Weren’t they supposed to be Virgil’s friends?

“Quite sure,” he said through gritted teeth.

Luc shook his head. “He’s a freak. He never even speaks.”

“I heard him speak once,” Pete said timidly. “He asked how often the school tested the fire alarms.”

“Probably planning on burning the place down,” Scott muttered.

Roman stared at him. He knew that outsiders judged his friendships for the friendly insults he handed out like candy, but even he had limits, and talking about someone like that behind their back broke all of them. He was beginning to get the urge to defend Virgil’s honour.

“Do any of you actually like him?” Roman asked.

“He doesn’t speak,” Luc repeated. “We let him hang around with us because he doesn’t have anywhere else to go. Honestly, it’s kinda pathetic.”

Roman looked from person to person. None of them met their eyes.

Luc sighed. “Look, good luck with your search, but honestly? Don’t get your hope up.”

With that, Luc jumped down from the table and left the room. Roman looked at the four remaining boys, but his hope was dying. Luc had seemed to be the unofficial leader of Virgil’s group, commanding their attention. He’d been Roman’s favourite, though Remus had disagreed.

The other boys exchanged glances. For a moment, no one spoke.

“Sorry,” Pete said at last, “But he’s not my type.”

“He’s a loser.”

“Forget it.”

“I still don’t know who that is.”

One boy one, the boys left the classroom, until Roman was alone. He groaned, and thudded his head against the wall. So much for that idea. So much for Virgil’s shitty friends.

He sighed, and then went to find Remus.

 ***

“Maybe it’s for the best,” Logan said.

The two of them were sat at their favourite table in the library, hidden away among the stacks. In front of them was their homework, which Patton was currently face down on, bemoaning his current romantic status.

It had been the fifth time they’d had that conversation since Friday. Logan had kept track.

“Maybe,” Patton mumbled into the desk, which was an improvement on the last four conversations, when he hadn’t been willing to listen.

“It will give you more time to study,” Logan pointed out.

Patton lifted his head and pulled a face. “Okay, I get it.” He sat up fully and sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I hate French.”

“Just be glad you didn’t take Spanish,” Logan said, drily.

Mischief suddenly danced in Patton’s eyes. “Oh? Why’s that, Lo?”

“Because-“ Logan stopped himself. “No. You are not going to distract me like that.”

“Like what?” asked a new voice, and Remus Prince slid into the third seat at the table.

Patton and Logan exchanged glances, and then looked back at Remus, who looked as if sitting with them was the most normal thing in the world, even though they’d never had a conversation together.

They knew who Remus was, of course, even outside of Patton’s crush on his brother. Everyone knew who Remus was. It had taken him less than a year at Padua High to reach a level of infamy most students could only aspire to. Patton still shuddered every time he saw a duck.

Remus looked between them. “Are you guys having a stroke?”

“No,” Logan said. “We’re merely… surprised you chose to sit with us.”

Remus shrugged. “Gotta keep an eye on who my brother’s dating,” he said, and grinned at Patton like a shark.

Patton swallowed. “Roman and I aren’t dating.”

“Right,” Remus said, and then muttered something that sounded like ‘yet’. “So,” he added cheerfully. “What are we talking about?”

“Spanish,” Patton said sweetly.

Logan glared at him. “No, we’re-.”

“Ugh,” Remus threw his head back. “Spanish is the worst. Mrs Richards has no idea what she’s talking about.”

“Yes,” Logan agreed. “And her pronunciation-,”

“It’s awful!” Remus finished. “Like, has she ever seen a native speaker?”

Logan nodded, and then narrowed his eyes. “How would you know? Don’t you sleep through most Spanish classes?”

“Yeah, but it creeps into my dreams and gives me nightmares.”

“No, I mean- how do you how bad she is if you don’t pay attention to what she’s teaching.”

Remus looked at him like he was stupid. It was not a look Logan got very often. “I… speak Spanish?”

“You do?” Logan asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Remus said. “I grew up speaking it. You guys didn’t know that?”

“We don’t exactly know you,” Patton pointed out. “And you are taking it as a class.”

“Yeah, because it’s an easy A.”

“Of course,” Logan muttered.

Patton gasped and clapped his hands together, making the other two jump. He glanced around guiltily at the noise, but there was no one nearby to get annoyed.

“Remus, you speak Spanish!” Patton exclaimed.

“That’s… what we were just talking about?” Remus said.

Patton turned to Logan. “Remus can tutor you!”

“What?” Logan and Remus asked at the same time.

“Well, you’re always talking about how you wish you had someone to practise with! Here’s your chance.”

Logan and Remus looked at each other uncertainly.

“I don’t think Remus wants to do that,” Logan said.

“You don’t know what I want,” Remus protested.

Logan narrowed his eyes. Remus gave his biggest shit-eating grin.

“I wouldn’t want to presume-,”

“It’s not presuming if you just ask me.”

“I don’t have the money for a tutor.”

“I’ll do it out of the goodness of my heart!”

Logan and Remus stared at each other. Remus’s smile took on a slightly sinister nature.

“Unless,” Remus said, “There’s some reason you don’t want me to tutor you.”

It was a challenge and a game all wrapped into one. Remus was watching Logan carefully, waiting to see what he’d do, if he’d admit to not liking Remus or come up with an excuse.

Logan had never backed down from a challenge. Not when he was eleven, and his teacher had given him advanced work and not bothered to explain it because ‘other people need my time more’, which Logan had taken home and researched until he understood. Not when he was fourteen, and his teacher had asked if he’d like to teach the class instead, and Logan had snapped back ‘I’d probably do a better job than you’. Not when he was fifteen and the history teacher had dismissed his comments with ‘you don’t know more than the textbook’, so Logan had compiled a ten page list of sources that showed the textbook was wrong.

He certainly wasn’t going to back down when Remus Prince was staring at him with those infuriating brown eyes.

So he changed the game.

“In that case,” Logan said, forcing his face into a smile, “I accept your offer.”

Remus gaped at Logan, and Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Unless there’s some reason you don’t want to tutor me?”

Remus burst into laughter. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

Patton, whose eyes had darted back and forth between them like a spectator at a tennis match, now smiled as if everything was fine. Remus suspected that Patton hadn’t understood what was happening. Logan knew better.

“What the hell are you doing in the library?” someone called, and the trio turned around.

Roman stood there with his arms crossed, looking exasperated at Remus. It was a common look on Roman’s face.

Remus raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, am I not allowed to be a good student?”

“Not when it means I have to search the entire school looking for you!”

Patton cleared his throat. “Is… everything okay?”

Roman jerked when he noticed Patton sitting there. “Ah, Patton! Yes, everything’s fine, I just need to borrow my brother here.”

“Smooth,” Remus commented.

Roman’s only response was to grab Remus by the arm and pull him out of the chair.

“Ow! Hey! Okay, okay, I’m going. See you later, Nerdy Wolverine!”

The librarian glared at Roman dragged Remus past her desk. Roman gave an apologetic look. Remus grinned and blew a kiss.

“You’re not very subtle,” Remus pointed out when they were standing in the corridor outside.

“Shut up,” Roman snapped.

“Ooh, grumpy! So how did the meeting go?”

Remus began walking through the halls and Roman did too.

“How do you think?”

“I think Operation: Get Virgil Foster Laid has hit a wall.”

Roman rubbed a hand over his face. “We are not calling it that.”

“But fear not!” Remus continued. “I have a solution.”

Roman narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What solution?”

“I’m so glad you asked! See, there was one big flaw with your plan-,”

“It was your plan!”

“-And that’s that you lacked incentive! No one’s going to do things for the goodness of their hearts!”

“So what do you suggest?” Roman asked.

“Use money! What else are you going to do with it- use it to pay for dates?”

“Okay,” Roman said. “Let me get this straight-,”

“Hah!”

“-You want me to pay someone to date Virgil Foster.”

“Not just anyone! It’s all about finding the right person.”

They had reached the cafeteria now. Remus pulled open the door with a flourish.

“Fortunately, I know exactly who that person is.”

Roman followed Remus’s gesture to a table near the back of the cafeteria, where a boy was sat wearing a black leather jacket over a yellow shirt. A hat hid most of his face, but Roman could just about make out a large burn scar from underneath his left eye to his jaw.

He sat alone, attention on the book in front of him. The crowd at the tables near him seemed electrified. Everyone was aware of his presence, but no one dared look over.

Roman shook his head. “Isn’t that Janus Verona?”

When Roman and Remus had first joined the story, Janus had become an urban legend in his absence. The boy with the strange name and scar on his face, which should have made him the perfect target for bullies, but instead he became something else. Everyone had a friend who’s sibling or cousin had messed with him, or who he just hadn’t liked, and had their lives ruined for it.

If you wanted dirt on someone, he probably already had it. If you wanted a fake ID, or alcohol, or tickets to a sold out concert, he could get it for you. He’d do anything you asked, if you had the money.

He hadn’t shown up what should have been his senior year because he was in prison for murder. Because he’d quit school and joined the mob. He was in prison, but it was extortion, not murder. The murder part was true, but he’d fled the country because of it.

Roman had wondered whether he’d even existed in the first place.

And then Janus had come back, and started his senior year one year late.

Janus had become ten times more powerful through not being there, and the school had its resident bogeyman back. Roman had seen him a handful of times in the halls, and had always kept his head down and stayed away.

Whatever the rumour were, Janus Verona was clearly trouble.

“It’s perfect,” Remus said, cutting off Roman’s thoughts. “We pay him, he takes Virgil out, you and Patton get to be together and I don’t have to listen to your whining.”

“It’s Janus Verona,” Roman hissed, because clearly Remus was not getting how insane that was.

“I know,” Remus said, starry eyed. “Isn’t he great?”

Roman did manage to resist the urge to scream, but it was a near thing.

“Look,” Remus said. “We tried it your way. It went down like the Hindenburg.”

“That doesn’t mean we should resort to hiring a criminal!”

“Got any better ideas? I’m all ears.”

Roman opened his mouth, then shut it again. He glared at Remus.

“Great!” Remus said, and dragged Roman over to Janus’s table.

Janus did not look up from his book as the two of them approached. They stood at in front of the table. Janus still didn’t look up. Roman glanced at Remus, who shrugged. He cleared his throat.

“Roman and Remus Prince,” Janus said, his eyes still on the book. “Why ever would two model citizens like you come to someone like me?”

Remus took this as an invitation to pull out a chair and throw himself into it. “I just want to say, I’m a big fan of your work.”

That was enough to get Janus to look up from his book. He had the same confused and mildly horrified look most people got upon meeting Remus. “…Thank you?”

Roman sat down. “Ignore my brother, he’s morally deficient.” Remus kicked him under the table. “We want to hire you.”

Janus hummed. “I charge extra if you want it to look like an accident.”

“What?” Roman exclaimed. “No! We don’t- are you offering to kill someone!?”

Janus met his eyes and raised an eyebrow for a moment, the most terrifying one of Roman’s life. Then he threw his head back with loud, cackling peals of laughter. Remus beamed.

“Oh,” Roman said, laughing nervously. “You were joking. You- you are joking, right?”

“Certainly,” Janus said. “You wouldn’t be able to afford my fee.”

“This is the greatest day of my life,” Remus whispered.

“So.” Janus leaned back in his chair, “What can I do for you? Don’t bother getting all embarrassed, I promise, I’ve heard it all before.”

Roman glanced at Remus, who nodded. “We’d like to hire you to date Virgil Foster,” he said.

“Okay,” Janus said after a moment’s silence. “I haven’t heard it all before. You do realise I’m not an escort, don’t you?”

“I don’t want you to have sex with him,” Roman cried, then ducked his head, blushing, when he realised everyone had probably heard that. “I just- look, I want to date Patton Foster, okay?”

“Whatever you’re about to tell me, I assure you I don’t care,” Janus drawled.

“So I asked Patton out, and he was like, ‘I’ll have to ask my dad’, but then his dad was like ‘not unless Virgil dates’, which apparently is impossible. So Remus and I came up with an idea-,”

“I came up with it,” Remus interrupted.

“So Remus came up with, and I improved upon, an idea: we find someone to date Virgil.”

“And how did that go?” Janus asked, looking mildly interested despite himself.

“Terrible,” Remus chimed in. “So we figured we’d ask you.”

Janus tilted his head, considering. “Alright,” he said at last.

“Seriously?”

Janus smiled, and spread his gloved handswide. “Who am I to get in the way of true love?”

“Well, great.” Roman was suddenly transported to a reality where Remus’s plans worked. It was not a pleasant experience. “Uh, so how’s ten dollars sound?”

Janus gasped, and placed a hand on his heart. “Roman. Are you suggested that I take a fine young man like Virgil on a date that’s worth ten dollars?”

Roman gritted his teeth. “Well, what do you want?”

“Well, let’s see,” Janus mused. “Say we go to the cinema. The tickets cost, what, fifteen dollars? And then, of course, I’ll be buying him popcorn. And then there’s the price of gas…”

“How much?”

Janus smiled. “Let’s say $75.”

Roman balked. “No way.”

Janus shrugged. “All right then. Plenty of fish in the sea, after all.”

He turned his attention back to his book, though Roman got the sense he was still watching them.

“Roman,” Remus hissed.

Roman glared. “I can’t afford seventy five dollars a date.”

“It only needs to be a couple of times,” Remus pointed out.

Roman groaned. “Fine,” he spat, and Janus looked up from his book and smiled. “But I don’t pay you until after the date.”

“Half up front, half after,” Janus said. “Otherwise there’s no deal.”

Roman considered. He didn’t seem to have much of a choice. “I’ll pay the first half once Virgil agrees to it.”

Janus nodded. “Deal.” He reached out a hand, and Roman shook it. “A pleasure doing business with you, Mr Prince. Now, if you excuse me, it appears I have a boy to seduce.”

Janus pushed away from the table, picked up his book – Kant, something he’d read before but which gave him the opportunity to watch the cafeteria without anyone noticing - and swept out of the room.

People scurried out of his way as he walked through the hallways, but their whispers and dirty looks trailed after him. He was not well liked in this school, and he knew it – had known for a long time that he would never be liked, and so he had become something else.

Janus Verona did not need to be liked to be powerful.

He arrived at his destination- a corridor that contained only a set of toilets, a supply closet, and a side door that led to a set of steps down to the parking lot, hidden behind rows of cars. For years, it had made the best spot for smoking without getting caught.

Virgil Foster did not smoke, but he did hang around with people who did.

Janus leaned against the wall of the corridor and opened his book again, pretending to read but really watching Virgil through the window in the door. He was sat on the top step with his head phones on, but he was watching the other boys, even though presumably he couldn’t hear the conversation. At the bottom of the steps Luc Edwards stood, waving his eyes as he spoke. The other boys alternated between listening to him and paying him no attention.

The group was a scattering of losers and outcasts, the kind that banded together not through any shared friendship, or even through liking each other. They were there because there was safety in numbers and nowhere else to go.

In another life, Janus might have been one of them, keeping his head turned away so no one saw his scar.

In this life, the bell rang, and the group outside got up, and started heading to class. Most of them barely glanced at Janus as they passed, safe in being too low in the hierarchy to be bothered. Luc Edwards shoulder checked him as he walked past.  

Janus narrowed his eyes at Luc, but before he could do anything, Virgil came inside, his head down, hood pulled up. Janus pushed off the wall, and fell into step with him. Virgil glanced over at the movement in the corner of his eye, then did a double take when he realised who was next to him.

“What?” Virgil asked gruffly, pushing one headphone away from his ear.

“Janus Verona,” he introduced, holding out one hand. Virgil looked at it suspiciously, but didn’t say anything.

“We have English together,” Janus explained. “Why not walk together?”

Virgil shook his head. “Why are you talking to me?”

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t?” Janus asked.

“I can think of a few,” Virgil snapped, and sped up.

Truly, it was shocking that Roman and Remus had been so unsuccessful.

Virgil was already in his seat by the time Janus entered the classroom. He didn’t look up as Janus sat down, didn’t even glance in his direction, which meant he was putting in the effort to seem as uninviting as possible.

The teacher- Mr Williams- began his lesson as the last stragglers had taken their seats, introducing the Shakespeare module they were about to begin and handing out copies of The Taming of The Shrew. Janus payed attention only enough to know what was happening. Nothing interesting would be in this lesson, and he wanted a chance to review what he already knew about Virgil.

He’d never had much to do with Virgil, before. Virgil had been in the year below, and even if their paths had crossed, Janus had never had much reason to pay attention to the emo boy at the back of the class.

He knew that Virgil had a younger brother, Patton, and that their parents were divorced. He knew that, if Luc Edwards was anything to go by, he had terrible taste in friends.

He was also, Janus noticed when he snuck glances at Virgil, not bad looking.

“Before we get started,” Mr Williams said, “Why doesn’t everyone share their thoughts on Shakespeare’s works?”

Janus rolled his eyes at the pointless attempt to make the lesson interactive.

Mr Williams made a show of scanning the class. “Virgil Foster,” he said, announcing both names as if there was another Virgil in the school, let alone the class. “What are your thoughts?”

And that was one other thing Janus knew about Virgil: Mr Williams hated him.

Janus didn’t know whether Mr Williams had convinced himself that he was helping to bring a shy boy out of his shell, or if he admitted that he just wanted to torment someone and went for the weakest option. Janus hoped it was the latter, because it would take a lot of denial to believe that calling on him every lesson was a good thing. Either Virgil would stammer out an answer, face pale and voice shaky, or he would say nothing, and Mr Williams would tell him to pay more attention and threaten him with detention.

It made Janus’s fists clench, that a man would go through such efforts to feel like he had power over someone he already had power over.

Still, it gave Janus a chance to look at Virgil, shoulders hunched and head down.

“He’s fine,” Virgil muttered.

“Fine?” Mr Williams echoed. “William Shakespeare, the greatest poet in the English language, is fine.” A smattering of giggles, not because Mr Williams was right, but because there was someone for the class to laugh at. Virgil’s shoulders tightened. “I’m sure you can come up with something better than that.”

Virgil said nothing.

Mr Williams sighed dramatically. “We don’t have all day,” he said. “Really, you must have some original thoughts in that head.”

Virgil lifted his head, glaring fire at the teacher. “I think people should stop putting him on a pedestal,” he said. His voice was shaking but the foundation was steel. “I think there are a lot of aspects of his works that people don’t talk about.”

“Care to give an example?” Mr Williams asked.

Virgil tapped the book in front of him. “Guy abuses his wife for the whole play and he’s supposed to be the hero?”

Mr Williams hummed. “Thank you for your feedback, Virgil. I’m sure Shakespeare would be devastated to know you don’t approve of the play he wrote in the sixteenth century.”

Laughter from the class. Virgil flushed and ducked his head, shoulders tense, fists clenched.

It was obvious Virgil hated Mr Williams, but he had never done anything about it before. Somehow, the boy in the back of the class had managed to surprise Janus Verona.

Virgil stayed with his head down until the bell rang, when he was the first to dash out of the classroom, stuffing his books back into his bag as he went. Janus didn’t bother trying to catch up.

He sent a text to Roman as he walked through the halls, asking for more information on Virgil. The first response came back almost instantly, asking how Janus had his number. He ignored it, and pulled up Google while he waited for Roman to get back with something useful. Excitement rushed through him as he typed, the kind that always came in these early stages of a plan.

Virgil was more than he seemed, which meant that this was going to be interesting.

[intrulogicalweek]

🤓🐙 This is delightful! Those expressions!! 🐙🤓

For @intrulogicalweek2021 !

Day 1: AU

What if Logan and Remus were guardian angels of two blossoming lovers (Pat and Jan respectively)?

Not really enemies-to-lovers intrulogical, more of a begrudging-associates-to-friends-to-lovers, while moceit seem to hit it off right away?