#omg no swearing?

[wolfprincesszola]

The Fate of the Marked Six Chapter 10

merry holidays everyone <3. as always, reblogs and likes are appreciated! ——————– Summary: Virgil moves into a new town and meets Roman, a ghost that he promises to help in finding the unfinished business needed to pass over. However, Roman's past seemed to be deeply muddled with trouble, an uncurable disease that has started to affect a classmate, and a certain tight-lipped valedictorian. Friendships are made and Virgil finds himself thrown into a situation far more complicated and twisted than he signed up. Hopefully, with the help of his new five friends, he can find a way to bring peace to the town once and for all.

Trigger Warning: None

Content Warnings: Talks about Death and the Theology of Death

<Masterlist>

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Chapter 10

“Please?”

Virgil turned towards Roman, sighing, “Why? Why do you want to so desperately go into my school and accompany me around? My family already thinks you’re enough to deal with. I already think you’re enough to deal with. Do you really think I’ll be able to entertain you while we’re both at school?”

“I’m so bored here!”

“I’m not restricting you to be here!” Virgil rolled his eyes, swatting Roman out of his face as the ghost went to block his view from his homework. “You can go out and explore the city!” “But I’ve already done that, and you told me that there’s a ghost that’s bound to find me. I’m way too scared to have that.”

“There’s more of a chance of the ghost finding you at school! The person being leeched off is there.” Virgil pointed out.

“Okay, but I want to see what goes on in your school. I’m so bored at your house, and I don’t feel like trying to investigate any more when it’s clear there’s no other ghosts in the city.”

“Shouldn’t you help me find out the reason why?” Virgil raised an eyebrow.

“Now, I could…but I could also hang out with you and we could figure it out together afterwards.”

“Uh huh…” Virgil drawled out, “What if my teacher is a medium?”

“Oh come on, I won’t tell you any answers. If they can see me, I’ll sit perfectly still, and I promise I won’t help you on the test until they’re not looking.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, “I’m not letting you help me cheat on a test! How would your brother react if he found out you were helping someone else cheat?”

“Hey, I never cheated on mine! That’s gotta count for something.”

Virgil paused, “You…remember that you never cheated on your tests? I asked you a couple of weeks ago to account for anything you remember about your school, and you mentioned nothing of the sorts.”

Roman blinked before going back to being annoying, “See? Being at your school could maybe help me recover some of my memories.”

“You’re impossible, Ro.” Virgil rolled his eyes snorting.

“Please, you love me.” He teased, “Come on, sunshine. I promise to be good.”

Virgil felt his heart flutter at the nickname. Roman had stopped using them after Virgil told him to not flirt with him, but he guessed that he was going back to using them because they had become such good friends.

“What did I say about nicknames?”

“Sorry.” Roman muttered, “Please?”

Virgil stared at his unfinished homework, “Fine. Help me finish the math homework before I finish doing my eyeshadow, and I’ll let you come along.”

“Yes!” Roman pumped his fist in the air, floating over to the seat as Virgil went to go grab his makeup brush to dab up the look under his eyes.

It wasn’t even a minute later when Roman yelled that he was done. Virgil raised an eyebrow, in the middle of doing his makeup��when he checked on his homework. “There’s no way you know that.”

“Well…I guess past me must’ve been pretty smart, huh?” Roman smirked. “Can I go now?”

“Fine. Pack your imaginary stuff.” Virgil rolled his eyes as he stared at Roman’s clothes, “Do you actually have clothes?”

“Actually, a neat thing I found out about the afterlife.” Roman grinned, “I don’t need to be hygienic, but if I want to change clothes, I just have to think of it and then I change. Like this.”

He spun and he changed from his regular outfit of a white shirt with a red and gold jacket and some brown jeans into a uniform often worn by Disney princes with a red sash across.

"Playing on the Disney prince much?"

"Oh, that would be so wonderful if I could be one!" Roman groaned with a disappointment that he wasn't one. "I mean I look amazing with this attire, don't I?"

Virgil didn't want to admit that Roman was right, so he just shrugged, glad that Roman saved Virgil's heart by changing back to his normal attire soon after. "Not really. But if you can change, then why do you always wear the same outfit?”

Roman scoffed, “No, I don’t. I just enjoy this color. I change the hoodie to a slightly different shade of red every day.”

“Uh huh.” Virgil snorted as he went to finish his makeup.

He came out to Roman wearing his iconic red jacket, but had black ripped jeans, and fingerless gloves on. Not only that, it was clear he had eyeliner on, enough to make his eyes pop and create more narrow eyes.

Virgil’s jaw dropped, unable to stop gaping at him.

“This is the closest you’re getting to an outfit change.” Roman remarked, fixing his gloves. "I thought I'd play up to what you look like, emo."

“Uh huh.” Virgil nodded, hoping his face wasn’t flushing. He didn’t know why he was feeling like this. Maybe it was because for the first time, he noticed how conventionally attractive Roman was. Maybe it was because Roman, his first friend in this new town, was starting to seem like his soulmate by how well they worked together and clicked immediately unlike many of his other ghost friends and other love interests. Either way, he didn’t like it and he hoped the feeling wouldn’t continue. “Let’s go, Count Woe-laf.”

"Hey, hey, that's my nickname." Roman scoffed, “I’ll see you at the gates of the school.”

“Didn't you say you needed to see places before you teleported to it? Wouldn't that apply for the school?"

“Well, considering that you’ve mentioned that I’m probably an alumni from the high school, I doubt it, and also, I’ve explored the entirety of this city. If I get lost, I’ll just teleport to you because I can do that. I can teleport to people and not places, as long as I know their faces.”

“Fancy.” Virgil remarked, “Alright, well, I’ll see you there. Try to avoid Remus, and if you can’t, please for the love of God, don’t touch him. Ghosts can interact with each other, but they shouldn’t touch each other without consent. If they do, who knows what the ghost will do to you?”

“I promise.” Roman gave a loopy grin before he teleported away. Virgil rolled his eyes, getting ready to drive to school.

-+=~=+-

Virgil found Roman waiting for him at the flagpole, and Virgil snorted, grabbing his phone out to pretend like he was calling something. “That’s not suspicious at all. You look like you were waiting for me.”

“I was because I’m a gentleman.” Roman grinned as he stopped leaning against the pole and followed Virgil inside, not caring about whether or not he went through others.

“Uh huh….try not to pass through people.” Virgil snorted, “It’s very rude, and you never know if one of them might be Remus.”

“Right.” Roman blinked, deciding to go through Virgil instead.

“There he is!” They heard a really loud voice.

Virgil turned to see Patton grinning at him.

“Ah, Patton.” Virgil smiled, “How are you doing?”

“No, how’s my favorite best friend doing?”

“Don’t call me that, Pat. We both know your best friend is Logan." Virgil rolled his eyes, “What's up?"

“Did you ever get in contact with your ghost friend? I want to talk to him!"

“What deal?” Roman asked.

“Right.” Virgil nodded before he gave a glance to the side. “Ro, he said he’d tell me information to help you with your unfinished business…in return, he wanted to just rant to you about something that apparently he doesn’t have the confidence to tell me or anyone else.”

“He’s here?” Patton asked before he started spinning around, trying to find where Roman was, “Where is he? That’s so cool. Tell him I said hi-”

Roman gave a small wave, “Right…so where does he want that to happen? Might as well get it over with.”

“Oh come on, at least sound enthusiastic to hear it.” Virgil scolded Roman before turning to Patton, “Alright, I know a quiet place. You just can’t be that loud.”

“Thank you.” Patton gave a small smile.

Virgil didn’t know what was really said in the supply closet he found for them, but all he knew was that when Roman came out of the room, he was excitedly grinning.

“What did you tell him?” Virgil asked, almost horrified, “He’s smiling from ear to ear.”

“I can’t tell you, mi cielo.” Roman hummed, “Man’s oath.”

“You literally looked so deflated in not wanting to be his friend before you walked into the supply closet.” Virgil accused.

“Listen, I made him swear. He even dropped a book to tell me that he wouldn’t say anything to anyone.” Patton gave a look, “You’re not getting a word out of him.”

“He’s right.” Roman shrugged, “I don’t care if he was your supposed good friend, he’s my best friend now.”

“Betrayed.” Virgil gaped, “How dare you steal my ghost friend from me, Patton.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll always be my bestie.” Patton grinned, linking his arm around Virgil, “I feel much better. Let’s get to class.”

“I hate this so much.” Virgil grumbled, crossing his arms.

“Patton’s my favorite of your friends now.” Roman grinned.

-+=~=+-

Virgil noticed that when Logan passed by them, Patton tensed up, but he brushed it off as Patton being weird like normal. That was until Patton started fumbling around Logan that Virgil started to realize what was going on.

“You have a crush for Logan!” Virgil accused when they were in math together. He had gotten so close to Patton that it didn't feel weird to talk to Patton normally. For once though, Virgil was glad that Roman wasn't a part of the conversation because Roman tended to be more on the romantic side and would try his best to help in this escapade. The ghost had mentioned he was bored of the class a few minutes ago, as he knew the material already, and mentioned that he wanted to explore the other math classes.

“What?” Patton dropped his notebook, “No I don’t.”

“Uh huh…explain the hearts you keep drawing then with the whole LS + PM thing. Logan Sanders + Patton Morris. You’re not slick.” Virgil smugly pointed out. “Why did you find the need to hide it?”

Patton sighed, deciding it wasn’t worth keeping in, “Because it’s weird between us. We’re different from other relationships. I annoy him, and he hates it, but still copes with it. Then, I had a dream about him and me being in a relationship, and everything changed my view. Suddenly, Logan's not so bad, and I actually see him as someone that deserves a break from me annoying him. Suddenly, he’s beautiful when he’s laughing, even if it’s forced. Suddenly, I want to be around him every moment, and I hate that, so I start avoiding him because of that. I get flustered when I think about him or talk about him, and I’ve never felt like this for someone before. I’ve had crushes before, but not like this. Not to the point where he is the only thing plaguing my mind day and night. Not to the point where I’m imagining scenarios so realistic that I want to believe is real, but I know he would never tell me that he wants to be the person that makes me feel like I truly belong somewhere in this world because the truth is the universe is cruel, and they don’t care about my feelings for Logan. They don’t care that I feel alone, and they know that Logan won’t be the person to help fix it because in reality, everything in my life is changing right now and Logan was the only thing in my life that was constant, so I feel like I clung onto him like a baby clings onto its pacifier even after they don’t need it anymore. I don’t think I really like Logan because I don’t think I could handle being in a relationship with him, but also…I wouldn’t mind if he kissed me?”

“Jeez.” Virgil scoffed, blinking, “That’s a lot to process.”

“Complicated, right?”

Virgil jumped, turning to see Roman smirked as he laid on the desk. When did he get back?

“Get off the desks.” Virgil hissed at Roman as he pretended to go back to working on his worksheet.

“Sorry. Sounds like he finally told you. Said you were the closest thing to a best friend he had other than Logan, so I tried to tell him to tell you, but unfortunately, it’s kinda hard for a normal human and ghost to communicate together.” Roman snorted, “How’s math going?”

“Horribly. Can you help me with the answers?” Virgil hissed.

Roman sighed, going to stand behind Virgil, grabbing the pencil with him. Virgil felt his heart beating as he realized how close Roman was to him. Even though he had been this close to him when he was annoying him, it was never like this.

“Just follow the movement of the pencil.” Roman whispered into Virgil’s ear, as Roman did the work, making sure to keep it neat and for some reason, despite Virgil not being able to hear anything louder than the heartbeat pounding in his own chest, he was able to make it through and understand all the math problems Roman had done for him.

“No fair, you have a smart ghost to help you.” Patton pouted, looking at his work.

“By the way, Vir, I need you to come with me.” Roman grinned as he let go of the pencil, floating to be in front of Virgil.

“Why?”

“I think I found my unfinished business. You said that it would feel like a tug. Well…this is all what the person feels.”

“Right now?”

“Preferably yes because I know where he is, but I’m sure I’ll see him passing by in the hallways. I’ll just point him out later if you can’t get out.”

Virgil raised his hand, “Can I go to the bathroom?”

“Can you hold it? There are just 3 minutes left of class.”

Virgil sighed, staring at Roman, “Keep an eye on him. You can teleport yourself to me, but go stay with him until I see you.”

Roman nodded, disappearing off to who-knew-where, and Patton raised an eyebrow, “What about you?”

“Hm?“

“There’s gotta be something you’re struggling with.”

“Yeah, trying to get you to leave me alone.” Virgil joked, flicking Patton’s forehead.

-+=~=+-

It was lunch when he next saw Roman. He was following behind who he thought was Logan, and Virgil blinked, not sure if he was seeing correctly.

Logan walked up to the table with Patton, Remus, and Janus.

“Hey, Sanders.” Patton grinned at Logan, “What’s up?”

“Not here for you, Morris.” Logan remarked before he pointed to Virgil, “Heard I’m needed from you.”

Virgil remembered that he had yet to give Logan a rosary, and decided to give it now. “Right…I need you to put this on, and whatever you do, I need you to not take it off.” Virgil warned, holding out a rosary necklace.

“What is it?” Logan asked, grabbing it. “And I doubt it’s practical in the shower, or in bed.”

“Ah, in the shower you can leave it just somewhere in arm’s reach.” Virgil sighed, “You have to wear it to bed though. Especially in bed. It’s a rosary.”

“I’m not religious.”

“You don’t have to be. Just please, wear it.”

“Hey, Vir, this is the guy I’m talking about! Apparently, he has the same last name as me. Isn’t that cool?” Roman grinned, waving a hand in front of Logan’s face. “His life’s way more interesting than yours…but he’s a lot more boring.”

Virgil blinked before turning to Logan, “Please?”

Logan grabbed the rosary and put it on, and not a moment too late, because as soon as Logan put it on, Remus clutched his heart, wincing in pain.

He saw a glimpse of red eyes flash right next to Logan and knew it was a close call.

“Re!” Janus shrieked as he went to check on Remus.

All Logan did was stand there, staring, “Right, was that it…or?”

“Ah, there’s more, but I doubt this is a good place to talk.” Virgil began.

“I know a quiet place.” Logan shrugged, motioning for Virgil to follow him.

“Hopefully more spaced than a supply closet?” Patton remarked, earning a jab on the side from Virgil.

“Come on, Remus, this concerns you too.” Virgil motioned to the boy.

“Ooo, field trip!” Remus clapped as he went to join the two boys.

“Don’t kill each other.” Logan monotonously remarked to Janus and Patton.

“Thanks.” Sarcasm dripped out of Janus' mouth.

With that, the three (plus Roman) soon followed after.

The three walked into the room with the Watari examiner that no one was allowed to touch.

“Alright, this is a quiet area. Go.” Logan crossed his arms.

“Are we allowed to be here?”

“Yeah.” Logan shrugged.

“This is so cool!” Roman grinned, dancing around the room and exploring the area. “Do you think the machine can see my aura?”

“Most definitely. Stay away from it.” Virgil replied underneath his breath.

Remus took the lead, explaining to Logan everything they talked about before.

“That’s what the rosary is for.” Logan sighed, as he went to turn on the Watari examiner. “Hop on, Remus. I need to show Virgil something.”

“Sick!” Remus grinned. "Is it my-"

"No, it is not your private parts." Logan interrupted Remus as he took off his glasses as a way to try and shield his eyes. When it was clear Remus made no effort to strip, Logan sighed a breath of relief and put his glasses back on.

Virgil watched as Roman bounded over to see what Logan was staring at.

“Hey, Logan?” Virgil asked.

“Hm?”

“Why don’t you ever talk about your brother? I saw his work at the art gallery you mentioned I should look at.”

Logan froze, and it was clear that out of all the questions Logan thought Virgil would ask, that wasn’t one of them. It was enough for Roman to turn around gaping, asking Virgil a bunch of questions about why Virgil didn’t tell him, and how Virgil knew, and how Logan might’ve been his unfinished business.

Logan stiffened, looking at the machine, “He was a great artist, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah. His videos were very heartwarming.”

“I stopped talking about him when my parents stopped wanting him to be remembered.” Logan muttered, “They wanted to pretend he never existed, and I was never one to disobey my parents’ wishes.”

“Even if it conflicted with yours? I mean, it’s clear you care about him. Otherwise, who else would’ve donated all the book nooks you did with him? Who else would’ve gotten his work into an art gallery? Who else would’ve gotten a statue memorialized after him to prevent drunk driving?”

Logan rolled his eyes, “Patton really is a blabber mouth. Remus, go ahead and hop on the machine.”

“He didn’t tell me.” Virgil remarked. “I can just see the love you had for him.”

Well, technically Patton did, but Virgil could stretch the truth.

Roman seemed surprised by the statement too, staring at Logan to hear his response.

“Yeah, well love doesn’t do us any good in this cruel universe.” Logan forced a tense breath out before changing the subject, “Look at his aura right now.”

Virgil gaped at the black aura. “It’s swallowing him whole.”

“You’re saying that the black aura is the ghost sucking the life force out of him?” Logan asked.

“Yeah.” Virgil nodded.

“Right, now reach out your hand.” Logan commanded Virgil.

Virgil did just that and Remus grabbed on. Before he could say anything, he felt power surge through his veins, almost making him fall down from the power of his magic. Virgil watched as the black aura disappeared, and it instead transferred to make his magic strong. The ghost aura disappeared from Remus entirely, and Roman’s aura became more powerful too.

Remus glanced at Roman, about to open his mouth to tell Logan about Roman peering over him, but stopped when Virgil tugged his arm to make Remus look at him. Virgil shook his head and Remus let it go, waiting for Logan to speak.

“Is it gone?” Logan asked.

“Is what gone?”

“The ghost aura. I assume you can see it?”

“Yeah, I can. It’s gone.” Virgil murmured, staring at Remus, “How are you feeling?”

“Energized. Better.”

Logan pointed to the aura that was now glowing blue, “That’s his actual magic, hiding behind what I now know is not his cancer, but instead…a ghost.”

“It seems like it’s kinda blowing your mind.”

“It’s just the idea of not knowing what happens to the ghost, and also…what the hell the other cases of this same cancer were.” Logan pursed his lips, “It’s the only cancer that comes from magic.”

“And it’s not cancer.” Remus reminded him.

“Uh huh.” Logan trailed off, staring at the monitor.

Roman went to grab the monitor and Virgil bit his tongue, not wanting to expose Roman for being in the room with them.

Luckily, Roman only shifted it to the side, just outside of the two’s viewpoints, and enough for him and Logan to see fully without stepping back from the monitor.

“You’ve been looking at it from the wrong angle. Look outside the fielsog, and instead look at the entire body. The Watari examiner can look at the body as a whole, and show what’s happening to the ghost, because I don’t see any other ghosts around here.” Roman spoke, almost as if he was expecting Logan to know he was speaking.

Virgil blinked, repeating what Roman said.

“That’s what I just said!” Roman turned to look at Virgil before Logan turned towards Virgil, walking right through him. He blinked, jumping out of his zone, “Oh, right…I forgot, I’m a ghost.”

“You’re so right!” Logan replied as he turned to change the examiner. “Don’t freak out, Porter.”

The machine started to spin around Remus, just close enough that it didn’t hit Virgil in the arm, as Remus was still holding onto him.

Then, Logan looked at the monitor.

“Hey, uh, Logan, I would like to know what’s going on.” Remus spoke as Logan stared at the machine examinations.

“Apologies.” Logan pointed the monitor towards the two, showing every part of his body was filled with blue aura. “The ghost isn’t in your body. I think what’s happening is that you’re expelling them out of feeding on your magic by literally sending out so much power that it takes over and gives it to the other person. The other person is able to filter out the ghost feeding magic because they aren’t the one being leeched onto. Since Virgil has a rosary on, it keeps the ghost from even entering his system, which it could do without the rosary.”

“Okay, so what does that mean?”

“The ghost isn’t using you as a host.” Logan pulled out a whiteboard from behind some area, starting to draw. “Let’s say the ghost is the beehive of all the magic. You walk past the beehive once and accidentally knock it over. The ghost sends a servant after you to sting you, and let’s say that sting also turns you into Beeman, sort of like Spiderman when he gets bitten by a spider and-”

“Off-topic, Microsoft Nerd.” Roman leaned against the whiteboard and Logan cut himself off, staring.

“What’s wrong, Logan?” Virgil asked, wondering why Logan was staring to where Roman was.

“I thought I heard something.” Logan shrugged it off, “Anyway, I know my metaphor does not truly hold as practical logic and it would've been better to correlate the ghost to a queen bee. The main point is that y ou now are ‘infected’ with the host, and so the host can do things to your body like a parasite.”

“Kinda a perv, if you think about it.” Remus snorted.

“Shut up and listen.” Both Logan and Roman snapped at the same time.

“Once a Sanders, always a Sanders.” Virgil smiled, muttering under his breath as he found it entertaining.

“So even when the host is at the beehive, it can check up on you at any time and control your magic, even when it’s not near you. In other words, you’re screwed.” Logan placed the whiteboard marker back down, “Unless you can do something.”

“What is that something?”

“Get an insider into the hive. Right now, the ghost can’t hear us because Virgil’s using his magic to expel the ghost from the hive. Right now, Remus is safe and we are safe too, unless the ghost comes knocking on the front door to come talk to us personally. What you need is a ghost to help get into the hive and pretend to be a servant.”

“That’s extremely dangerous.” Virgil remarked. “If this ghost is as powerful as its aura is, a ghost would never last as a spy in there.”

“I know.”

“And you still want us to do that?”

“Right now, Remus isn’t dying, but as soon as he lets go of your arm, the ghost will continue eating at his soul. Anything we do to the ghost, we do to him. They’re interconnected at this part. We need to find how the ghost even connected with Remus in the first place, and why because it could’ve gone for anybody else. We find the entrance to the sting, we find the entrance to the beehive, and we can take the ghost down. However, that means we need a helpful volunteer.”

“Like who?”

“I know a few people.” Logan replied as he walked over to open the door of the lab, to see Janus and Patton leaning against it, arguing, “Why don’t we start with them as tributes?”

“Hey! Not Janus!” Remus replied defensively, “You mess with him, and you mess with me.”

“Yada yada yada.” Logan mocked as he closed the door, “You two touch anything and I will set you guys on fire, got it?”

“Got it.” Patton swallowed as he looked at the monitor, “Hey, that’s neato. What’s that about?”

“Something.” Virgil remarked.

“We don’t need a ghost to go into the beehive because it’s probably something existent in real life. It has to be in order for this operation to even go down. We can take a few volunteers to go find the ghost. We just need….a ghost to find the entrance, and to take the bait.”

“I’ll do it.” Roman shrugged.

“No way. I’m not risking a friend’s life.” Virgil scoffed, “Any of my ghost friends-”

“We have no choice. You said yourself that usually cities are bustling with ghosts. You haven’t found a single one here. You need to find at least one and take the bait.”

“I’ll do it.” Roman repeated again.

“No, I can’t put someone in danger like that.” Virgil shook his head.

“Then you’re keeping Remus in danger. The ghost is already dead. There’s nothing you can do to harm them.” Logan adjusted his glasses as he began to argue with Virgil.

“You just said it was a beehive. What if the ghost I choose gets trapped in the beehive?”

“It’s a risk we have to take.”

“Do we really though?”

“You’re going to let Remus die?” Logan crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.

“What? What are you two talking about? We're not letting Remus die!" Janus scoffed, jumping into the conversation.

"I think it'd be fun to see what would happen!" Remus grinned at his best friend, who just shushed him.

“I’m not saying we should let Remus die. I’m saying we should find another way to do this infiltration thing, because I don’t want to risk any more lives than possible.” Virgil groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“This isn’t risking anyone’s life!” Logan huffed.

“I’ll do it!” Roman yelled. Virgil still ignored him.

“It’s risking a ghost’s life. He deserves to-”

“He doesn’t deserve anything, he’s a ghost!”

“You don’t get to say that.” Virgil scoffed, “You don’t know this ghost. You haven’t become his friend. How would it feel if he was someone you knew that died?”

“Low, but even if he was someone I knew, he lived a life already. He knows what it’s like to experience it. Remus hasn’t finished his life yet.”

Patton placed a hand on Logan’s shoulder, “Be a little more compassionate, will you, Lo? What if the ghost was your brother?”

Virgil watched as Logan tensed up and decided to play on that, "What if he was your brother, huh? Would you be saying the same thing?”

“According to my parents, my brother doesn’t even deserve to be talked about.” Logan replied coldly, pushing Patton’s hand off his shoulder.

“I’m not talking about your parents. I’m talking about you. What if the ghost was your brother? Would you be saying something differently?”

“I made a promise to my brother when he was alive that I would help the living. Remus is living. My brother is dead, and that is all he’ll ever be. To me and my family.” Logan’s voice shook, the first time Virgil ever heard Logan’s voice sound slightly emotional.

Virgil nodded, numbly, understanding where Logan stood. To him, it was more important that Remus got better than to wait a little longer and find something that would keep both Remus and Roman safe.

“I see.” That was all he said before he rushed out of the room.

-+=~=+-

It was raining when school was finished. After Logan and Virgil had fought, the five living students had separated, deciding to let the two cool off, but suggesting that they make up soon. It was clear Logan wasn’t going to do it by the way that he seemed distant the entire rest of the day. However, Virgil was still glad that even through all of it, Logan kept his rosary on.

Roman decided to follow Virgil the rest of the day, always trying to suggest to Virgil to run into Logan and talk about what happened. Virgil didn’t understand why Roman was so willing to throw himself at Logan to make it up to him, and why Roman was so willing to risk his life.

Virgil felt the rain and sighed, deciding to call his parents to pick him up instead of walking back home. He had forgotten an umbrella. Roman offered to try and teleport an umbrella from his house and that was what left Virgil all alone at school. Virgil doubt Roman could teleport an item with him, but still was allowing Roman to try if it meant Virgil could get out of the cold faster.

“Here.”

Virgil turned to see Logan offering his umbrella. “What?”

“I’m driving home today. I don’t need it. Besides…rain’s my favorite season.” Logan muttered.

Virgil sighed, staring at the rain clouds, “No, it’s okay. I asked my parents to pick me up.”

Logan nodded numbly, as he sat by the steps, just far enough away from Virgil that it was clear he was still in an iffy situation with Virgil, but not far enough that it was weird.

“I should’ve realized sooner that he was your brother.” Virgil sighed, breaking the silence.

“Who?”

“Roman. You hold him to a high regard, and I should’ve realized that all the places you recommended had him featured. You still want to share his story.”

“You couldn’t have known.” Logan shrugged.

“But I should’ve. You have his quirk of moving your hands when you talk.” Virgil remarked. “I wasn’t lying, you know. He’s your brother.”

“Yeah, I thought so.” Logan inhaled sharply, “I thought I heard him.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Remus’s ability to strengthen magic can be really strong sometimes.” Logan muttered, “I missed his voice.”

“Yeah?”

“He sounds different. Happier.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yeah…it just means that the brother I knew died long before the car accident.” Logan murmured, “I’m glad that you’ve brought him the peace he needs. I hope that he finds his unfinished business and is able to move on.”

He stood up, offering Virgil his umbrella one last time. Virgil took it as a sign of peace, and reconciliation.

Logan started to walk away in the rain, not caring that he was getting soaked.

“Have you ever wondered if you were his unfinished business?” Virgil yelled as Logan got to the bottom of the staircase that led to the school gates.

Logan turned around, and Virgil saw the tears that were streaming down Logan’s face. Logan was smiling for the first time, but it was unnatural. The happiness didn’t fully reach his tear-stained face, “If I was, the universe would’ve given me the power to see ghosts instead of the curse to see his death in the future and be unable to prevent it. They chose you for a reason, Virgil.”

“But-”

“It doesn’t matter how many times I wished for my brother to come back. It doesn’t matter how many times my parents and relatives all tried to wish for him to come back. It means that all it takes is for someone not related by blood to find him. It means that all of our grievances were for nothing because he was right under our noses. You don't get to say that it was the universe's calling to bring you here to me. Because if it was truly the universe's calling, and if the universe truly cared about me, you wouldn't have to be the one to tell me my brother has unfinished business. You don't get to say that it isn't my fault when I have slaved away at trying to be what he was and fill the hole in my parents' heart. You don't get to tell me that the universe isn't trying to play a prank on me when I can't even mention my brother's name without tearing up still. The universe hates me, and it's clear that whatever my brother's unfinished business is, it isn't with me because otherwise...the universe wouldn't be so cruel. You have no idea how much it hurts to know that the world chose to give your brother to a stranger rather than his bloodline.” Logan choked back a sob.

“I’m sorry.” Virgil whispered, not knowing what else to say.

“It’s not your fault.”

“I know.”

“Promise me that he’ll be okay for me?”

“You don’t want to tell him that yourself?”

“I don’t think I could face him if I tell him that I’ve been grieving for him for 4 years. Again, love doesn’t fare too well in a universe this cruel.”

Virgil watched as Logan walked away, clearly trying to pretend that he wasn’t crying, and that it was just the rain.

Virgil couldn’t imagine having to go through that pain, especially alone, as it seemed like Logan's parents depended on him to be Roman. He couldn’t imagine having to pretend to be the image of a dead brother that he looked up to. It gave his a little perspective to the way Logan was now. It made sense why Logan was so cold to others.

“Hey, I couldn’t get it.” Roman popped right next to Virgil, almost scaring the wits out of him.

His smile soon faded upon seeing Virgil staring off into the distance.

“Are you okay?” He asked worryingly.

“Yeah, I’m okay, why?” Virgil asked.

“Because you’re crying.”

Virgil went to feel his face, and he realized that silent tears were streaming down his face. He just laughed, “Oh…I guess I am.”

Virgil had sworn to Roman that he would help him find his unfinished business, but now he couldn’t help but wonder whether or not he would hurt Logan if he were to help Roman.

He was in the same dilemma Logan was in. Should he help the dead he had learned to care for or the living who hadn’t truly begun to live yet? ——————– this chapter is PACKED with drama: patton gaining a crush on our precious logan plus logan angst to the MAX? i like this chapter a lot especially the scene at the end where virge and lo make up (platonic analogical >>>)

If you enjoyed this, please consider reblogging! Reblogging helps me a lot and are very appreciated. Check out my masterlist for more, feel free to request any writings, and stick around if you want to see the rest of what I have in store for this! :)

[nartothelar]

the official pokemon blog posting submas TWICE, a new black and white tcg set announced, the new tins for the set LITERALLY having emmet and ingo’s entire team, the triangle motifs????

something big is COMING, I can feel it…

[milkamel]

shadowvanilla shadowvnailksfddjk- 💞💞 I really wanted to draw something with color again soo here's this little art <3

[casualcatastrophesincorporated]

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[kiwimintlime]

something about reducing Skye's final moments, her saying "you won't" to Viktor saying he'd miss talking with her, to jokes about her knowing Viktor was gay just doesn't sit right with me. in this act, Viktor is essentially killing her for the second time. whether you believe that it was actually her or a merely a representation of his humanity, it was, in its own way, very violent. Viktor had known her for years, since they were children, then worked with her (although not closely) at the academy, and then spent months with her in his head at the commune. he was led into the Undercity by her, fostered that community with her, and helped heal Vander's mind at her side. Skye Young in many ways represented the good that Viktor sought to do, him getting rid of her like that is a tragedy. treat it like it is!

[r3ita-g4zette]

His hands slid around your waist, hips swaying for a moment as he relished in the tender moment. The smooth jazz made the romantic moment even more serene. He admired you, his gaze locked onto yours though the way your gaze kept averting only earned a soft chuckle from him.

“It’s just us, darling… there’s no need to be shy.” he stated, his hand sliding to yours as he intertwined your fingers and held your hand up. “You look stunning tonight.” he whispered, his gaze full of a longing, a tenderness. You couldn’t help but sigh and lean your head forward, pressing it against his chest.

 “What did I do to deserve a man like you?” You murmured, closing your eyes for a moment before feeling his hands pull away from yours and cup your head, “You deserve nothing less than love, and I promise to give you all that I have.” he whispered against your head, pressing a light but loving kiss to it.

-- toshinori, mirio (mha); chris, leon, ethan (re); nanami, suguru (jjk); bruce, clark (dc); matt (ddba) ...if matt could see

[erabu-san]

He enjoys being called brother, but...

[This art has platonic intention. Please do not tag as ship thank you!]

A continue of this art I guess 🫣

[nightfall-kachiniko]

Headcanon that you tease Keigo by acting like a fan, like you’ll walk in the door and be like

You: “OH MY GOD IS THAT #2 WINGED HERO HAWKS?!?! ”

Keigo: “Oh my gosh not this again.”

You: “I LOVE YOU SO MUCH HAWKS IM YOUR BIGGEST FAN HAVE MY BABIES YOUR SO HOT!!”

And u do it so randomly too he loves it, since he gets a ton of hugs and kisses ofc 🫶

[vegan-kaktus]

EA's leaves are kind of dull, and I personally think TNW's are too bright, so here's my spin on a leaf default + a new mod :-D

Leaf variety mod

There are 4 different leaf textures in the game files but only one is used. I talked with @shastakiss some years(?) ago and she mentioned an unfinished mod Neder started working on to make the leaf use different textures. Unfortunately, Neder couldn't get it to work. Shasta kindly sent me said mod and I handed it over to @lamare-sims last year who of course managed to fix it (thank you so much once again, you're a legend!!)

Note #1: worth mentioning, this mod will only affect leaves that spawn after you've installed the mod! the same goes for my mesh fix included in the default below. Note #2: if you already have this mod in you dl-folder, delete that file and use the one from this download if you're planning on using my default (otherwise my uv-map and texture edit will not work).

Defaults

Replaces all 4 leaf-textures with new, more colorful and less blocky textures. I also edited the "effect"-textures of single leaves (the ones falling from the trees). This default can be used without the mod mentioned above, but then only the "original" texture will be used - see second image.

The leaves that spawns under the tree (the one sims can't rake), it was impossible to make it look good with any of the four textures, so I re-mapped it and gave it it's own texture (256x256px). There's also an optional default for the rake included, I edited a tiny error in the mesh and gave it a texture makeover. I made a separate LOD90-default for the leafpile (meaning: the mesh in neighborhood view) and instead of replacing the textures I repo'd them, meaning that the LOD90 default works with any leaf texture default you might use (it will only be showing one texture in neighborhood view).

Texture sizes are all the same as EA's:

Leaves: 512x512px x4 (my default +1: 256x256px)

Rake: 128x256px

Leaf effects: 32x32px x3

Edited leaf-related cc

I edited Sophie-David's leaf pile pet bed (the mesh) and repo'd it to leafpile_txtr, meaning the mesh will now pick up my default (or any other default you might have for leafpile_txtr, and if none - EA's original texture). The mesh now needs seasons + pets, since it's repo'd. Their recolors are not included, so be sure to download them from the link above if you want them and replace their mesh with mine!

I also edited Shakeshaft's leaf cover mesh (warning T$R) , I repo'd it to one of the leaf textures and made recolors - also repo'd - to the rest of the textures. This mesh and recs now need seasons, this also means that the mesh and recolors* can be used without my default.

*with the exception of rc4, which is repo'd to my custom leaf texture, found in my leaf default.

Recommended mod

I recommend simler90's Gardening Rake Leaf Pile Mod or jfade's leaf pile fix (I have no idea what the difference between those two mods are, they edit the same thing so choose one of them).

Nothing in this download is dependent on each other* so feel free to pick and choose what you want :-) remember you can only have one default for the leaves, meaning that if you have any other default (1, 2, 3, 4) or Shakeshaft's/Sophie-David's original meshes, make sure you remove them before installing my files. Everything has been compressed to reduce file size, as usual. Do let me know if I messed up anywhere!

*with the exception of rc4, see above.

DOWNLOAD: SFS | MTS

Credits: Neder, @lamare-sims (many many thanks!!), @shastakiss, Sophie-David, Shakeshaft and lasty EA.

[starscream-is-my-wife]

Bfs of the most influential brothers come to a horrifying discovery

[astraeajackson]

someone please tell me who allowed jude duarte to be this fucking hot

guys i'm straight i swear but tell me why women are so much hotter than men...

[universe-friday]

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. 　　　.   　　˚　　 do i dare disturb the universe? 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　　　.　　.　　 　✦

[faunify]

pov my mains and current fav skins except its all from memory

[sugarontherush]

YAY MY FAVORITE POLYCULE happy holidays and I'm gonna throw myself off a cliff now

[livingxxdeadxxb0y]

If your gonna shit talk a ship DONT TAG IT😭🙏 I don't wanna see your bitchy rant while I'm trying to find fanfics like don't pmo💀

[diz-eaze]

Imagine: modern yandere Scaramouche but instead of being a Nepo baby he's a broke baby and you're the rich one.

broke boy Scara banging his head against the wall when his old phone finally gives up on him. He's experiencing very heavy internet withdrawal cause he haven't checked your Instagram for 2 hours now.

Broke boy Scara trying to give you give you gifts but you either already own it or you have an even better version of the gift (He's going to cry himself to sleep tonight because you must think he's a cheep scape)

broke boy Scara wanting to go out to lunch with you but the restaurants you pick are always out of his budget so you have to pay for his meals (even though he insist he's okay with just watching you eat like the little freak he is)

broke boy Scara crying and pulling his hair off his scalp because he's forced to drop out of college cause he failed all his classes (he was too busy stalking you) and now he can't be with you anymore.

broke boy Scara feeling elated when you agreed to let him stay with you until he can get himself back on his feet and enroll again (he's never gonna leave you)

; this is a stroke of genius omfggggg,,,, broke boy scara,,,, BROKE BOY SCARA !!!!!! his 5GB worth of load data runs out one day while he's stalking your account, and his will to live dims out just like that 😭😭 thinking of this concept with a preppy, kind rich girl teehee

; yandere, not proofread i wrote this in one go, female (y/n), popular girl x loserboy trope omg,,, referred to as scara narratively but called kunikuzushi in dialogue like once.

i think the reason why broke boy scara came to be is because he ran away from his home to escape his emotionally neglectful mother (albeit she's in the process of grieving her twin sister, but it doesn't justify her actions) and sister as soon as he turned 18. he swiped his legal documents, ransacked any cash lying around, applied for a scholarship to a state university, and booked it. in this au, he never really encountered or met nahida at all.

he lives in a cramped one-bedroom apartment near the state university that accepted his scholarship application to save money. after all, the cash he took won't last him forever. having a lackluster resume is hard, he has no prior job experience so he can't apply for any decent paying ones at the moment. for now, scara settles on taking a part-time job as a convenience store cashier located on the same street as his apartment building.

before his first semester even begins, scara lives a monotonous life. he wakes up, eats a simple breakfast, advance studies to maintain his scholarship, goes to his part-time job, goes home, hangs out in his tiny balcony, and goes to sleep. he can't afford a laptop right now so he can't really game. all he has to pass time is his four-year-old phone. money is tight, but the elation of having freedom for the first time outweighs his worries.

the life he has right now isn't much, but it's undoubtedly his.

prior to meeting (y/n), broke boy scara had an idgaf mentality regarding his financial situation. it could be worse! he could have been on the streets homeless but he isn't - and that makes him grateful enough. sure, he doesn't have wi-fi, but that's not something weekly load can't fix. and maybe he doesn't have full, hearty meals every single day - but isn't that the average experience of a college student? gucci bags, caviar, diamond-encrusted earrings, etc., are luxuries for a reason! he doesn't need any of that nor is he tempted to.

predictably, his tune changes after your first meeting with him.

scara had to pick up his jaw from the floor because the whiplash of social difference he experienced after he took one step inside his university campus was jarring. of course, what did he expect? it's a state university, after all! there was no way that the place wouldn't be crawling with nepo babies and children of the country's politicians, all with dirty money paying for the full price of the hefty tuition fees.

you're one of them.

standing tall and proud with perfectly done hair, sunglasses protecting your delicate eyes from the harsh sunlight that comes with dreadful morning classes. dainty hands that have never known labour are decorated with rings topped with stones that he can't even identify. pierced ears adorned with bangle hoops made from gold, all while dressed in chanel and Burberry from top to bottom and finished off with jimmy choo heels. you are pretty, unfairly so.

you're surrounded by two other girls that are dressed in similar splendor, all smiles and giggles as you walk toward your first class.

money... talks.

to his surprise, scaramouche meets you again, as it turns out you share the same first period as him. he eyes the open seat next to you, debating if he should bite the bullet. his hesitation must be glaringly obvious as your eyes flit up to meet his. he flinches.

your nose scrunches up as you giggle, your bracelet-laden hand pats the seat as if to entice him. "come sit, i don't bite!"

he cautiously moves around your designer bag resting on the lecture room's floor, and even narrowly avoids stepping onto a gucci shopping bag just behind - it would be a great misfortune if he got himself into debt on the first day of his college semester like those kdramas he watched.

scaramouche sits up straight and keeps his hands to himself while waiting for the professor to arrive. silence wafts though the air, though he can't help but sneak glances at what exactly you were writing down on your ipad - he's reluctant to make conversation, still wary if you'd be offended at the prospect of a brokie like him (disregarding the fact that you were the one who invited him to sit).

and you seem content to be left to your own devices, so... he lets it be.

it isn't until the end of the lecture did you actually talk to him. amidst him picking up his slingbag to go to his next class, halfway through the room, a distinct voice calls out,

"hey, indigo-head!"

scaramouche freezes, his foot stilling in mid-air as he slowly turns around, unsure if he was the indigo-head you were referring to. he dumbly points to himself, and you nod enthusiastically, even giving him a big thumbs up for good measure.

he tries his best to still his accelerating beating heart.

"what's up?" he asks once you're near him, trying to play it cool.

"just wanted to say hi and introduce myself! my name's (y/n)," you reach out to dramatically shake his hands in exaggerated motions, and he hopes you don't feel the sweat that has built up in his palms.

"oh, guess you can call me... kunikuzushi. but just shorten it to kuni if you want," he shrugs, looking anywhere but you.

"got it, got it!" you let go of his hands, and the loss of your touch stings for some reason. "sorry to hold you up on your next class, see you around!"

"yeah, sure." scara cooly nods, watching you walk ahead of him until your figure is swallowed by the sea of students bustling around.

he doesn't want to admit it, but you leave disappointment in your wake. he was hoping for something more - like an offer of friendship, not an obligatory introduction of names. but perhaps that was his wishful thinking speaking - it's unrealistic to hope that would happen, you seemed to be surrounded with more than enough friends anyway.

you, with your perfectly done nails and easy confidence - evident of how you never had to experience insecurity or worry growing up, because you yourself are the person most people wanted to be.

right, right... why would you want to be friends with someone like him? realistically speaking, you're probably no different from those whiny, spoiled brats with shallow personalities. what a joke.

hah, maybe he really should lay off the kdramas.

a box of chocolate sits atop of his self-chosen desk the next time enters the class he shares with you. it screams wealth from the packaging alone, accompanied by a european-sounding brand name, and is that real gold?

"it's for you," your voice cuts through his inner monologue, and scaramouche looks up with indigo eyes wide in disbelief.

"what?"

you blink once, "i said, it's for you?"

"no, i heard you right the first time", scaramouche can't help but roll his eyes, "i meant - what for?"

"oh! it's nothing much, just a peace offering. i mean, you're my desk neighbour now, right? i don't know what you like but my dad got those chocolates from his trip back in belgium! heard it was custom-made by a renowned chocolatier or something." you smile, eyes urging him to try it.

scaramouche blinks, hesitant. "i hate sweets."

you gawk in disappointment before going back to being easy-going. "it's okay! you can just give it to your siblings or throw it away! as for my peace offering... hmm."

you snap your fingers and ask him, "what do you like?"

he frowns, "what?"

"let's go shopping after your classes ends, i'll take you wherever you want!" you excitedly explain, decorated soft hands grabbing his callous ones. "my treat!"

scaramouche stutters then, pink dusting his ears, "y-...you don't need to all this, are you insane?"

but doing all of this for him... he struggles to fight back the smile threatening to break through his face.

you shake your head vehemently, still holding onto his hands, "it's no matter for me, so don't worry! i use my dad's credit card, after all!"

reality crashes down on him... right, this is probably nothing for rich kids like you. spare change, even. going around, doing acts of kindness using daddy's card... you'd probably do this 'peace offering' regardless if he weren't seated next to you - that this is just how you are as a person. you're not doing this because of him specifically.

and that thought stings. it eats him up more than he'd like to admit.

still, he agrees. he tells you he likes to play video games in his spare time (a lie, he doesn't have the means to do so).

you gift him a ps5 in turn.

and the wealth and social discrepancy between the two of you makes it even more apparent to him. he goes to his bed that night with thoughts of 'what-if's.

by the time the second semester of university hits, scaramouche's routine have greatly been altered - all thanks to your eventual friendship with him, of course.

nowadays, he obsesses with fervor. he barely even touches the ps5 you gave him. he barely touches the things you gift him in general.

he views them as something sacred. to be touched by him is sin.

the first thing he does after waking up is opening his phone to look at your instagram account, with your wealth there's no doubt that you've probably added a new story pertaining to an impulsive purchase or impromptu getaway. next up is twitter, checking to see if your following and followers are the same or decreased/increased.

every day he worries that you might be hiding a secret boyfriend from him. someone who is able to stand with you on a podium - someone who matches you not only in terms of wealth but in extrovert nature as well. scaramouche thinks he'd die the day he finds out you've fallen for someone that isn't him.

he eats breakfast soon after, the taste bland and lacking flavor. not because of the ingredients he used but because he's not eating with you. scaramouche finds that life with you not around is boring and dull. once he's done eating, he puts the dishes in the sink to wash.

he showers, dresses up, and exits his small apartment. it's only when he's a street away from the campus does his blood start buzzing in excitement. it's only then does scaramouche start to feel alive.

sometimes, if he's lucky, scaramouche will encounter you walking in the open fields and he'll speed up his pace just so you both can enter the lecture room together. you, with long acrylic nails that probably costed more than his monthly rent, would playfully pinch him in greeting. he has to push down the shiver of delight that crawls up his spine every time.

the bad days happen when he wakes up late, indigo hues heavy with eyebags, and movements tinged with fatigue. it's rare, but sometimes he wakes up late because he was busy thinking about you the night before. and when he's late, there's a good chance that the lecture room is already packed and his self-assigned seat next to you is already taken by someone else.

he hates it when it happens.

lunch break is a gamble for him, sometimes you're spending it with your other wealthy friends so he's left eating alone in the campus cafeteria. sometimes, you plead and beg with him to let you treat him to some high-end restaurant that's 30 minutes away from campus. in the beginning, he strongly refused out of a sense of embarrassment. but now, his raw need to constantly be around you is stronger than any shame he can possibly feel.

during your lunch breaks spent with him, scaramouche can't help but hope that the people around you two thinks that you're a couple. it happened once, during him accompanying you on a shopping trip and the words still rolls around in his mind.

boyfriend.

he wishes.

after lunch, he drives the both of you back to campus (you used to have a designated driver, but scaramouche soon offered to drive instead) using your car. you go on your separate ways, different classes and all. with you gone, the world loses its color once more.

he releases a sigh at that.

after classes, scaramouche walks several blocks to his part-time job. it's night by the time he returns to his apartment, body utterly tired. still, he pulls out his phone to check on your accounts once more.

he smiles when he sees himself in your story post.

scaramouches eats his measly dinner, eyes raving at the gifts from you that he accumulated while he chews. he still ponders on how he can pay you back on your generosity. what can you give to someone who has everything?

he settles into his twin-sized bed. he wonder then, how can he seize control of your life that's so above his? what leverage can he pull for him to be yours?

scaramouche closes his eyes, letting the sleep take hold of his mind.

for now, he'll gladly play along as your university friend.