#ts gift exchange

[menace-sama]

Dear @anxiouslyfred

Here's a little gift from me to you. The creative twins in a younger times where they could play around and worry less about the world.

May the year ahead remain kind to you as you move ahead. Happy holidays <3

@sanderssidesgiftxchange

[loganslowdown4]

So I had a bit of a break down because

APPARENTLY I’M FEATURED FANDER?!?

Hey that’s me! And my X handle hah

(Face reveal IG? lol)

Anyway, I made a reaction video of the episode and my reaction to the featured fander reveal is … well it’s a bit of a shock

Love ya @thatsthat24 💙

[mistydragonflyart]

This is my gift for @selfdestructivecat for @sanderssidesgiftxchange !!

I had a blast drawing the two and coloring the whole piece especially the background. I really hope you like it and that you have a wonderful holiday season!

[sanderssidesgiftxchange]

Interest Check!

Interest check for the 2024 Sanders Sides Gift Exchange!

Interest check will be open till August 26th 11:59 pm EST!

[edupunkn00b]

The Game is Afoot!

Photo by Ashni via Unsplash. Edited by edupunkn00b.

Rated: G - WC: 1036 - CW: None

Three weeks after Christmas and Logan is still working on his puzzle from Virgil. Is it any wonder why?

"The game is afoot!"

“But I thought you said Virgil’s game is a puzzle, Logie!” 

“Patton! It’s a—” The Moral Side’s head tilted far to the left, brow knit together in deep confusion. Breathing slowly through his mouth as he pinched the bridge of his nose, he nearly missed the quiver at the corner of Patton's mouth. He groaned. “Okay, okay, you got me.”

“So can I play, too?” Patton bounced on the balls of his feet, Watson scarf already tied in a neat knot around his neck.

Logan groaned again. “No, not this time, Patton.”

“Yeah, Popstar, I get to play Watson and Moriarty for this one.”

“Don’t worry, Daddy,” Remus purred from his spot behind the television. “You can help me air fry fish fingers.”

“Um, do fish have fingers?” Patton asked, his perplexed expression genuine this time.

“Doctor Who reference?” Logan asked, eyes darting up from the frayed newspaper in his hands. Christmas had been over two weeks ago and he was still working through the mystery puzzle Virgil had created for him.

The Anxious Side chuckled. “Focus, L…”

“I dunno!” the Creative Side laughed, either not hearing the other two Sides or simply ignoring them, and grabbed Patton’s hand, his new—well, formerly new air fryer tucked under one arm. The thing reeked of a mixture of pickle brine and peat, and its once pristine white plastic casing was charred and cracked on the sides. A neon green mold had begun to grow around the control panel, nearly obscuring a flashing ERR-80085. “Let’s go find out!”

Before Patton could say another word, the two had sunk out to the Imagination.

“And then there were four—err, well,” Logan cleared his throat and returned his attention to the newspaper. 

“Yes,” Janus purred from the corner of the couch. “Don’t mind us, we don’t want to play your silly little scavenger hunt—”

“It’s not just a scavenger hunt, Jay! Ugh, why do you—” Virgil cut himself off and adjusted the ties on his hoodie. “Nope, not gonna engage. Not worth it.”

“That’s right, Tall, Dark, and Stormy,” Roman agreed from the staircase. He leapt over the side of the banister with a flourish, the new gold—was that real gold?—trim clinking gently with the impact. “I shall keep the living room safe from any of Janus’ dastardly plans.”

“Oh, no, you caught me drinking wine,” Janus slurred.

“Off you go,” Roman said to Virgil and Logan, pretending not to hear Janus’ mocking. Virgil and Logan exchanged a look. Selective hearing seemed to be a tool in each of the brother’s kits. “I’ve got everything under control here.”

“If you’re sure, Princey,” Virgil began, gaze trained on Janus’ oh-so-innocent expression.

“Wait, Virgil!” Logan grabbed his arm in a remarkable imitation of Remus dragging Patton to the Imagination. He held the newspaper to Virgil’s face. “Does this symbol represent the meter outside?”

Worry shifted into a wicked grin. “Only one way to find out, Detective Holmes.”

“Ha! I knew it!” Logan grinned and ran toward the door, Virgil at his heels.

They flung open the door together and stood on the sunny first step, just as Thomas’ neighbor walked by, well, more like was led by her noisy dog.

“Oh! Good morning, uh, Thomas?” she called as she jogged past, barely managing to slow the pace of her five pound monster of a chihuahua, Craig the Dragon. 

“Good morning, Betty!” Logan called quickly, stepping to obscure her view of Virgil’s face. “You’ve met my brother Jake, have you not?”

“Yes, yes, of course…” she agreed, voice fading. She was already three doors down. “Nice to see you, Jake!” Betty called one more time before Craig spotted a lizard in another yard and dashed after it.

“That was close,” Virgil muttered, peering around Logan’s shoulder to watch Betty stamp her foot and shout, Leave it!

“Indeed,” Logan agreed, scanning the newspaper. “Is this the only outdoor clue?”

Virgil nodded, eyes fixed on the race between the lizard and the chihuaha. “Yeah.” The chihuaha won.

“Well, then…” Logan adjusted his deerstalker. “Shall we?”

Another neighbor ran out to help pry the lizard from Craig’s maw and Logan and Virgil used the distraction to swing around to the other side of Thomas’ house. Logan began counting the meters. The final meter in the row showed was lettered LUC.

“Is that meant to be ‘look?’” Logan asked, eyebrow raised.

“What do you want? I was outside and in a rush,” Virgil shrugged, keeping watch around the corner. “L, hurry up, she’s on her way back and I look nothing like Jake.”

Nodding brusquely, Logan examined every inch of the glass casing. Finally, he found a series of tiny scratches. Running his fingers over the markings, he grinned. “Morse code? T-h-e—space—n-e-x-t—space—g-l—Wait—” He rubbed his fingertip over another section. “Ha! You thought you could catch me with pre-1874 Morse code!”

He fell quiet, studying the scratches. “C’mon, L, we gotta get back inside now.”

“Ha!” Logan crowed, triumphantly. He grabbed Virgil’s hand and dashed around the back of the building. “Let’s go through the patio. ‘The next clue is in the kitchen.’”

Virgil was the first to smell smoke. The pair exchanged one last quick look and raced to the door.

Before either could reach it, the patio door slid open with a crash and Patton stumbled out. “They’re moving! The chicken fingers are moving!” he screeched, smacking at his own shoulders. Embers sparked in his hair and on the sleeves of his catigan. A wall of acrid smoke soon followed and they all stepped back.

“Come back, Daddy!” Remus called, his voice and the tromp of boots growing louder. The Creative Side emerged from he smoke, arms full of wriggling—and burnt—breaded somethings. “I think I got ‘em all this time!”

“Remus!” Roman shouted from inside. “They got in my crown!”

“Oops. Almost all of ‘em,” Remus winked and ran back inside. "Keep your pants on, Ro Bro! Believe me—you don't want those little stinkers getting in there!"

The trio shared a moment of confused silence before Janus sauntered out, an uncorked bottle in one hand and a tray of four glasses in the other. “Wine, anyone?”

[darsynia]

Swiftiepride Exchange Gift!

Hello @blankspacemafia! I wanted to say off the bat that it was a delight making this for you, and after spending time watching your lovely posts on Taylor's performance outfits, I could not resist doing this... I made an oversized doily decoration doohickey based on both the Eras tour costumes combined with outfits she wore over the years at the Grammies and in music videos!

So, this medallion is 23 inches across, it's washable, and has variable texture (the center is petals!)! The colors are more vibrant in person.

Under the cut we have an array of 14 outfits over the Eras tour that match the color changes of your medallion, with selections from Taylor's career! Colors are center-out (and oh my GOSH the pic where her dress is teal and her shoes are bright pink matches so well I was screaming) Images taken from various sites such as Popsugar, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and others, all credit to the photographers!

We start with the Eras tour, detour to the 2015 Grammies, 2014's Dick Clark award for Excellence, an Eras tour dress, a glimpse of a blue dress from Out of the Woods' music video, Eras tour again, the 1989 tour, 2008 Fearless tour and rounding it out, another dark teal dress for 2018's performance of Delicate!

I had hoped to add another aspect to this, to braid you a golden thread and send it along with a needle, so you could weave designs into this (with fray defender on the ends, so you could do it multiple times!) but I tried it and nothing looked good, and I didn't want to send you something frustrating! So I hope you like this, it's a reflection of, hopefully, your enjoyment of her fashion sense, a celebration of her years of work culminating in the Eras tour, and my handiwork!

There was a SNAFU (there were like 10 oh my gosh) with mailing this, a misunderstanding that means it'll take longer to get to you, but I'll get you a tracking number soon! Thanks for trusting me with sending you something I made! I battled some crazy stuff this May and it prevented me from being able to send you as many asks as I wanted, but what I was able to connect with you over was lovely! I hope you enjoy your gift! Happy Pride!! Tagging @swiftiepride so you can see the pictures!

[naminethewriter]

You're Not Alone

Epilogue: Friends and Family

Masterpost | First | Previous | Ao3

We have reached the end! I hope you all enjoyed, especially @edupunkn00b who this story was written for 🥰 Please check out their writing, it's some of the best stories I've ever read 💙💛💚

Summary: Logan, Janus and Remus are celebrating their first Christmas as a married couple but a snow storm strands both Janus and Remus elsewhere, leaving Logan home alone. Knowing that the situation will trigger their husband, Janus and Remus need to find a way home.

Content Warnings: Reference to abusive parent/childhood

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan slept better that night than he had in a while. Despite his protest, he ended up sandwiched between his husbands. In his opinion, Remus should have slept in the middle since he had been the one absent for a week, but he and Janus insisted that Logan needed to be “caged in comfort”, whatever that was supposed to mean.

He woke up the next morning alone in bed with Janus. Remus side was already cold, and he could hear movement downstairs. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence; Remus was the one of them who had the easiest time getting up in the mornings. Still, Logan couldn’t go back to sleep now and detached himself from his remaining husband who mumbled in his sleep but let him go.

Logan quietly left the room and chanced a look out of the nearest window. It had stopped snowing at some point, but it was still piled up high out there. The sun was starting to shine through the neighborhood though, so hopefully some of it would melt away soon. With no street in sight, he couldn’t tell if they had been cleared yet, so instead of continuing to stare out of the window, Logan went downstairs to find his wandering husband.

He found Remus in the entryway, pulling on his coat.

“Where are you going?” he asked, shocked to hear how whiny he sounded. Remus liked to tease him about being needy in the mornings and he could again see the spark of amusement form in his husband’s eyes.

“Aww, don’t worry, my dear star, I’ll be back before you know it!” Remus giggled, pulling Logan into a hug that he halfheartedly resisted. “But I promised to collect Roman from the airport so that he doesn’t have to rent a car, it would be crazy expensive apparently.”

“Did they clear the streets?”

“Yeah, came through about 40 minutes ago! I think the snow must’ve stopped around the time we went to bed.”

Logan hummed and abandoned his pride in favor of burying himself deeper in Remus’ arms.

“You must’ve really missed me, huh?” Remus chuckled fondly.

“’Course I did.”

“I love morning-you,” Remus sighed. “Well, I love every part of you of course but morning-you is the most adorable one.”

Logan whined at the teasing; Remus’ warmth made him drowsy again which led to him being not as embarrassed by his needier side as usual. His husband recognized the signs immediately however, and reluctantly pulled away, since he really needed to leave or Roman would kill him.

“Sorry, starlight, but I really need to head out.”

“I know,” Logan murmured, shaking himself awake again. “I’ll make sure to have something to eat for both you and Roman when you get back.”

“Thanks, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it just as much as I do.” And with a quick kiss to Logan’s forehead, Remus was out of the door. Logan watched through a window as his car pulled out of their driveway and down the street that was indeed (mostly) cleared of snow. With a hum, he made his way to the kitchen to get the coffee machine started.

~~~

Janus joined Logan on the couch half an hour later and they both settled down to read a book and drink some coffee while waiting for the twins to get back. It was just the kind of calm morning Logan loved, even if he had preferred Remus being there as well.

When the twins did get back, Roman’s first words to Logan were, “You have married two madmen.”

Logan just responded, “I am aware.”

Afterwards all four of them had a small breakfast together since they needed to head off to brunch with their friends soon.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t have opened the door,” Roman commented while they waited for Remus to put his luggage away before they left. “If someone came pounding on my door in the middle of a snowstorm, I wouldn’t let them in, no matter who they sounded like! That’s some boogeyman behavior. I don’t want to get cursed, thank you.”

“I’m shocked, Roman,” Janus smirked, “I thought a Disney fanatic like you would know better considering kicking out the needy during a storm is how the Beast got cursed.”

Roman was quiet after that and for a moment Logan worried that his husband had send their brother-in-law into an existential crisis but as soon as Remus joined them and announced that he was ready to leave, Roman returned to his usual self and started bickering with his twin.

~~~

The drive to the café was filled with chatter of the twins about their trip. Their retellings were confusing at best since they both contradicted each other on almost everything form the flight being pleasant to the highlight of their excursions in Germany. It was entertaining for Logan and Janus to listen to at the least and soon they arrived at their destination.

“Shouldn’t your car be parked here?” Logan asked Janus with furrowed brows as Remus drove past the café to reach the nearest parking lot. “You said you left in on the street by the entrance.”

“I did, but I also left the keys with Remy so he could drive it away if it was in the way. I had no idea if I was anywhere near the curb.” And indeed, they found Janus’ car in the lot, safe and sound. Unlike the street, the sidewalk hadn’t been completely cleared yet, so the walk back to the café’s entrance was a bit precarious but thankfully none of them slipped.

As soon as they stepped into the shop, ignoring the sign that proclaimed the business as closed, all eyes fell on them. It seemed they were the last to arrive, which wasn’t surprising, considering that Remy and Emile lived in the building and Patton and Virgil were both quite punctual – Patton because it’s just polite and Virgil because of his anxiety.

“Great, the insane people have arrived,” Remy teased, earning himself an elbow in the side from Emile.

“Be nice, Rem,” he chided and turned towards them with a warm smile. “So glad you could make it!”

Just as he finished speaking, Patton barreled into Janus, babbling about how he worried he had been and that he should have never let him leave in the first place. While Janus was busy calming down his cousin, Virgil walked over to greet them, bumping shoulders with Roman, hugging Logan and lightly punching Remus in the arm for making him worry.

“Well then!” Remy called over to them, clapping once to get their attention. “Since all of us are here now and I’m starving, let’s get to munching and spilling the tea!”

Everyone agreed and moved to grab a plate and ravish the buffet. Logan hesitated for a moment, watching his friends – no – his family gather together and chat with laughter ringing through the room quickly and couldn’t help but wonder what his ten-year-old self would have said if he knew this was the life he was heading towards. Would it have been easier to deal with the torment of his mother? Would he have even been able to believe it? Even to him now, married to the two most wonderful people he ever met, it seemed so surreal. Like a dream.

But it wasn’t a dream. He knew it wasn’t.

This was reality.

His reality.

These were his friends, his brother-in-law, his husbands. His.

And he couldn’t think of anything that would be more perfect than this.

[glacierruler]

@teal-ninja2846 here's your gift for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange I hope you like it!

And a big thank you to @sandersarefamily for being my beta reader.

The Cabin in the Woods

CWs: gore, spiders,

wordcount: 4743

Summary: Virgil, Remus, and Janus live in a run down cabin in the woods. While gathering wood for the fireplace, they decide to split up, and Remus is attacked and hurt. Roman finds him, and brings him to the light sides residence. That's when Roman demands answers from the other two dark sides, and Virgil tells him about the cabin.

It was cozy and warm. He really didn’t want to leave. Especially not back to that rickety old house, the shadows were cold. He was lucky if the stove worked, and if the house didn’t lose more pieces throughout the day, but the beds were the worst. They had springs shoving out, in every which way, the mattresses looked like they were put together with nothing but rags, and there was no way to clean them without breaking the bed more. But they aren’t as bad as the moldy floor. None of his spider friends liked it there anyway. Neither did Remus, which would’ve been slightly surprising to someone who didn’t know Remus as well as he did. So yeah, Virgil really really didn’t want to go to that house. The house all the way out in the imagination, especially not after Roman got him the best hot chocolate. That would just dampen his mood more. And he really didn’t need that. Although, he was dampening his mood just thinking about it. Shaking his head to clear his mind, Virgil looked up at the sounds of footsteps. Patton had just come into the room. “Hey kiddo, just wanted to check in. Also it’s getting pretty dark out, do you want to stay the night in the guest room?” 

“Sure, just let me tell the others that I’ll be here.” With some hard concentration, Virgil links up to the neurons in Thomas’s brain, and goes down one specific path that’s sure to reach Janus. It takes a minute for the link to open, but as soon as it does he hears a voice in his head.

‘What on earth could you want this time? Before you ask, I’m not patching up the hole in your room, you can do it yourself, if you find the boards for it. The ones in the living room are for the fireplace, so that this Imagination winter chill doesn’t freeze us to death.’ 

‘Janus, I’m just here to tell you I’m staying the night in the mind palace again.’

‘Oh, alright, just make sure that you’re here tomorrow, we’re foraging for more wood again. And I need you to make sure that the giant spiders don’t eat us, like they tried last time you weren't here.’

‘Alright. I’ll be there, bye Janus.’

‘Bye Virgil.’

“So I’ve got to leave early tomorrow, for something that I promised the others I’d help with, but yeah, thanks for letting me sleep here tonight.” 

“Of course kiddo, just be careful on your way back. I don’t want you getting hurt in the imagination, those injuries take twice as long to heal from.”

“Alright Patton, I’ll be safe.” With that, Virgil yawns, tired and full from the hot coco in his system. Patton nods, heading up the stairs to go to bed. Virgil had only started getting up when Roman came down the stairs. 

“You going to bed already, stormy weather? I thought you’d stay up all night scrolling through that one website you like.” Roman stated, clearly taunting Virgil.

“Well unlike you, Romano, some of us have important things to do in the morning.” Immediately regretting what he said, Virgil started to backtrack, having only meant to go along with the teasing, and not actually hurting Roman. Clearly not having succeeded by the look on Roman’s face. “Ah, sorry, that wasn’t what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean, emo?” Understandably upset, there was a bite to his voice.

“Fu-uuudge,” Virgil quickly corrects himself, as he glances at Patton who’s still in the room, before starting to awkwardly ramble again. “I should’ve thought out my words before saying them, but what I meant to say was that I’ve got things to do that I need to be even more awake for, not that you don’t have things you need to be awake for, just-”

“Just stop. It’s… whatever at this point.” Roman sighs, as he turns around and slowly walks back up to his room. Not getting whatever it is he came down to get at this point. Virgil looks down at his fingers, and starts picking at his fingernails. 

“ I should’ve just said something about him and his need for beauty sleep,” Virgil grumbles to himself, upset that he’d said something so hurtful to someone he cared about. He looks up as he hears Patton sigh.

“Well kiddo, yeah, you shouldn’t have said what you did, but you didn’t mean it. And you tried to apologize, so it would probably be best if you just gave him time. And maybe a gift.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. I think I’m just going to head to bed now if that’s alright,” Virgil states, getting up carefully -to make sure he doesn’t spill the small bit of hot cocoa in his mug- and starting to head to the kitchen.

“Alright kiddo, I should head to bed soon too, don’t want to accidentally sleep through breakfast again!” With that Patton headed up the stairs and to his room. Leaving Virgil alone with his thoughts in the kitchen. Berating himself even more, Virgil heads up to the guest room.

As he gets comfortable, he thinks about the day that just happened. Overall it was good, he didn’t get hurt in the imagination surprisingly, he got to the ‘light sides’ house safely. Why do they call themselves the light sides? It’s not because they’re good and the ‘dark sides’ are bad, because all three of the ‘dark sides’ are proof that it’s not that. Maybe because of the darker aesthetic of them? That makes sense, but is it correct? Maybe, Virgil would have to ask them to be sure. But that would never happen, too much stress is put into it. While quieting his thoughts, he was lulled into a deep sleep. From the warmth of the bedroom, to the quietness going throughout. That, while usually would spur his anxious thoughts, with the hot chocolate from earlier, it just aided him in getting to sleep.

The next morning he woke up to Janus tugging at the neuron that connects to him. ‘GET UP!!! Do you know how annoying it is to wake you up in the mornings? You were supposed to be here an hour ago! We’re losing time to get logs, at this point we won’t have enough timber to get through the winter!’

‘A. I thought I was supposed to be the anxious one. B. We’ll have enough wood to keep a fire going through the winter. C. I’ll be there in a few minutes. You know, we could just ask to stay in the mind palace. It would make everything way easier. None of them would have to know.’

‘No. Too many questions. Just get over here, and Virgil, how many times do I have to tell you? The less they know the better.’

‘Got it. I will see you when I get there.’

‘Good.’

Virgil got up and stretched, immediately feeling pain. He had forgotten to unbind his spider legs, that he was hiding from the others. They were purple with black specks all over them and smooth and currently very very sore. He’d just have to unbind them while he was out looking for logs in the imagination. And he should probably get going soon. It’s a good thing he slept in his clothes.

As Virgil rushed towards the area of the woods that would have the most logs, he tripped. Over what looked like Remus’s limp body. “Remus! REMUS!” He shakes Remus, worried that his friend is dead, somehow. 

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Remus starts cackling. “I got you good, didn’t I?!”

“Oh shut up! That wasn’t funny!” Virgil all but screams at him, tears brimming in his eyes. He gets up and storms off, only to double over in pain. He’d forgotten to unbind his legs. After taking off his shirt, he takes off the piece of cloth that’s currently squishing his legs.

“That’s not good for you, you know. We don’t want them to squeeze hard enough that they go pop again. That took forever to heal.”

“You know what’s also not good for me? FRIENDS WHO PRETEND TO DIE ON ME FOR KICKS!!!”

That shut Remus up for a second. “You’re right, I’m sorry.” His voice sounded small. Meaning that he meant it.

Virgil breathes in and out for a minute. “Look, whatever, just don’t do it again. And tell me where J is and you’re forgiven.” 

“He’s about three miles east of here.”

“Good.” With that, Virgil picks Remus up off the snowy floor, by his green tentacles, and drags him along. After a few hours, they found Janus gathering wood, and joined him.

“Took you long enough. Now let’s get to work.” Janus stated, clearly annoyed that it took them so long to get there.

“Are you sure you’re going to be strong enough to pick up with that many layers on?” Virgil said, clearly taking a jab at Janus. He got a log thrown at him for that. “Ow, okay okay!” With that they got to gathering enough wood for fire throughout the winter.

“It’s gonna snow soon.” Remus stated, as he had a good sense of the weather in the imagination.

“How soon?” Janus asked, eyes darkening.

“Within the next few days, maybe as soon as tomorrow, but today should be okay.” 

“Well, we need to gather all the firewood we need today. After that, we can gather wood, but if it’s soggy, we’ll need to dry it over the fire. Also no hoarding any wood, if your room is too cold, sleep in the living room. We can work on the floor in there tomorrow.” Both Virgil and Remus nod in agreement. Remembering the last time they didn’t have a fire throughout the winter. It wasn’t pretty.

“Let’s split up, we can gather more wood that way.” Virgil said, a little nervous about leaving his friends alone, but they can take care of themselves.

“Sounds like a plan, whoever has the most mangled limbs and logs wins!” Remus shouted, running off.

“You’d better come back in one piece! We don’t have the medical supplies to patch you up again!” Janus shouted after him. With that they all split up. While Virgil and Janus were mostly safe while collecting firewood, Remus wasn’t.

Remus and all of his octopus limbs had gone into the worst part of the imagination. The part of the imagination that he and Roman fought together in to keep at bay. But they also both went in it alone to prove themselves to the others. Well, they had just defeated the giant flubergrouch the other day. A flubergrouch is a mix of fears and creativity, making a strong blobby creature that takes a different shape each time. Anyways, they had just defeated the giant flubergrouch, so it should be safe, right? What could there possibly be to worry about? Well he was collecting wood when it attacked. A snapperbladdle got him, snapperbladdle’s being these kitten-like creatures, who like to eat your organs. While it won’t kill a side, it sure can do some damage. Remus turned around as he heard a noise, not quite realizing the danger he was in. As he saw the snapperbladdle, he turned and tried to block it with the wood he had in his hands, using his tentacles to find something on the floor to fight back with. But it was too late, it tore open Remus’s stomach and started pulling his guts out. The creative side was writhing in pain, screaming out for anyone to come save him. 

The snapperbladdle was feasting on the organs inside of Remus, as Remus kept writhing and screaming for help. As he was screaming, he started to lose his voice, and his consciousness. Remus blacked out because of the pain he was in.Thankfully there was someone who heard him, Roman. Roman who was also adventuring the most dangerous part of the imagination by himself. Slaying foes for fun.

Roman found him within ten minutes. Roman quickly cut the creature’s head off, picked Remus up, and ran back to the mind palace. “Come on, come on, come on, how could you go there alone, that was so reckless, what if this really messed you up. There’s a reason we’re only supposed to go in there together!” As he bursts inside the door he uses the neurons that connect to Virgil and Janus. ‘Come to the mind palace now, I need explanations!’ With that he cut the connection, and got inside the mind palace. “PATTON, I NEED YOU NOW!!!”

Rushing down the stairs, and almost tripping over himself, Patton shouted back, “What do you need kiddo!”

“Medical supplies!” Roman all but screamed. Patton raced over to the kitchen, grabbing the first aid kit that held more than just the first aid, and back to Roman.

“Oh no, kiddo, what happened to him?” Patton was applying first aid, and got the morphine and stitches out. “We’re going to need Logan to inject the bag of morphine into his arm, so give me a minute.”

“No need Patton, I started walking over here when Roman shouted your name. Now I understand you need assistance with the morphine, correct?”

“YES! Less talking, more injecting the meds so my brother doesn’t die!”

Logan walks over to where Remus is lying. “Your brother won’t die, it’s impossible for the sides to die in the imagination. I believe we can only die when our host dies.” As he says this, Virgil and Janus walk through the door, bundles of wood in their arms. They hadn’t had a chance to stop at their house before they got the message from Roman.

“What’s going on, what’s happening,” Virgil asks, starting to panic. It was his fault wasn’t it, he had suggested to split the group up. Sure nothing usually happens, but he should’ve known that Remus couldn’t stay out of trouble. What if he dies? Thankfully Roman grabs both of them and brings them to another room.

“Okay, I have a few questions that need answers now.” Roman growls out, clearly not in the best mood after finding his brother almost eaten to death. “1. Why was he in the most dangerous part of the imagination,” Roman gestures towards Remus, “2. What do you need all that wood for? 3. Why do you have spider legs and eyes Virgil?”

“Well Roman, I can answer all 3 of those questions for you,” Janus drawls out. “1. We don’t know what your brother was doing in the most dangerous part of the imagination. 2. None of your business. And 3. None. Of. Your. Business.” Emphasizing the last bit.

“No, I don’t want an answer from you, snake, I want an answer from Virgil.” Roman spits out the word snake like venom.

Before anything else could happen, Janus violently tugged on the neuron connecting to Virgil, giving Virgil a headache. ‘Don’t you dare tell him anything.’

‘Why not? They’re going to find out sooner or later, you didn’t take up my offer to ask to live with them. I’m sick of needing to gather firewood every winter to keep warm, and what’s the worst that can happen.’

‘I swear to Zeus, if you do that, I will-’

‘You will what? There’s nothing you can do to me, and I am so sick and tired of living in that pathetic excuse for a shack.’ Without another thought, Virgil closes the neuron link that he and Janus were communicating with, before turning to Roman. “Alright, so here are the answers to those questions you asked. 1. Like Janus said, we don’t know what he was doing there. We all split up to gather logs. 2. We need logs because we live in the worst shed in the imagination possible, and we need fire to keep us warm through the winter. 3. I was kind of just made with spider parts, so I don’t really know.” Roman huffed at the info, not completely focused on listening. He turns and goes back to his brother, Remus being the most important person in the room right now. It takes a few minutes, but Remus does wake up.

“How de grugglysplid did I geh here? Coulda sworn I wah lun munch for a snapperbladdle jus a few mints ago.” Remus exclaims, slurring his words a bit from just waking up, the snapperbladdle attack, and the lightheadedness he felt from being on morphine.

“Yeah, you were, until I saved you. WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU DOING ALONE IN THERE!!!” Roman screamed at him, worry and anger clear in his voice. As he said that he reached to shake his brother, thankfully being stopped by Logan.

“Needs woohs.” Remus managed to mumble before passing out again.

“Ah, he should be waking up again in five to ten hours, he did have quite an ordeal. But why would he need wood? Can’t he just summon some?” Logan stated, very much confused as to what was happening. 

“The only wood he can summon is toxic to the lungs if you burn it, and we needed firewood.” Virgil clarified, feeling as though he’s about to be questioned again. 

“It’s because you live in that sorry excuse for a house, isn’t it?” Roman said, remembering what Virgil said earlier. “Why didn’t you just ask to live with us? You know we would be fine with it, right? I mean, we let you stay over all the time.”

“Uh-”

Before Virgil can answer Patton cuts him off, “KIDDO WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME YOU HAD HORRIBLE LIVING CONDITIONS!!!! How did we not know?! You come over here all the time, we should’ve suspected something was up!”

“It’s fine Patton, we didn’t really want you to know.” Virgil tries to calm him down, feeling bad for admitting anything to Roman.

“No, it’s not fine. You guys should have a grand place to live, somewhere amazing and wonderful, somewhere that feels like the comfort of a palace. Somewhere that feels like floating on clouds, like a paradise. Not some drab little hut in the middle of a forest. I know, you can live here!” Roman exclaims, getting excited at the idea of his last statement. Imagining all of them living together, in the same house. It would be great, so many more people for movie night. Sure, he had problems with 2 out of 3 of them on a good day, but he could put that aside for movie nights.

“Ooh, that’s a great idea kiddo!”

“Despite the many factual inaccuracies in Roman’s statement, you three living with us sounds like an overall excellent proposal,” Logan states, concerned for the three ‘dark’ sides in the living room. “Especially if your current residence is as uninhabitable as Roman is making it seem.”

“No, we’d prefer to have our own place. Separate from you, in order to avoid any major disagreements,” Janus respectfully declines, not wanting to be dependent on the other sides.

“We can’t let you go back to where you were living before, especially not if it’s as dreadful as it seems? Wait, we never really got a description of the place, could you please tell us. If it’s not that bad, and just a few holes here and there, I suppose that in the summertime I’d feel fine with you kiddos patching it up, and living there. But I don’t want you all to freeze to death this winter because of a broken hut!”

“Patton, they wouldn’t freeze to death, however you do have a point. It would be irresponsible to let you continue to try and patch up your home, especially during the winter time and without another place to inhabit while you’re doing so,” Logan expands upon Patton’s point, his eyes showing concern.

Virgil opens his mouth to say something, but is cut off again. This time by Janus. “While that is a nice sentiment and all, we are doing just fine on our own. And not to worry, it’s not that bad.”

“Riiiight, because moldy floors are safe to walk on, and are generally encouraged,” Virgil sarcastically says, having only said that to get on Janus’s nerves. Purposefully not paying attention to the shocked looks on the faces of the other sides in the room. “Anyways, Janus is right, we can deal with this ourselves, we don’t need any help. It’s annoying, sure, but we can deal.”

“Kiddo, that doesn’t sound safe.”

“I agree with Patton, it sounds horrendous. Why would you want to live there and not with us, in our grand palace of a home.” Roman says, absolutely baffled as to why someone would prefer to live in a moldy hut, rather than an elegant castle.

“Moldy floors could cause a multitude of health problems. It’s not safe for you to go back there. While this place isn’t a palace, like Roman seems to think it is, it is an overall secure place for you to live.” 

“No, we want our own space, plus it’s not unsalvageable.” Janus was quick to argue, not wanting to give up the small shack that he’s come to call home. Virgil on the other hand was debating on living with the light sides, after all he is over all the time anyways. In the end, he agreed with Janus. 

“The snake’s right, we need our own space, away from you guys. Not that you guys aren’t great, but if it’s our own space, we can do what we normally do without stepping on any toes.” As Virgil finishes saying that, Remus’s eyes open, and he’s finally awake. 

“Well snigliprop, what happened?” His words are surprisingly clear for someone who just woke up from immense pain and currently being injected with morphine. Everyone’s a little bit stunned to see him up so soon. 

“BROTHER!!!!!” Roman screams, tackling him. Having been absolutely worried for him. 

“If you’re going to kill me, at least make it gory!” 

“You mean like the snapperbladdle tried to do?”

“Yes, at least my guts would be going everywhere!” As both brothers go back and forth, everyone else breathes a sigh of relief. None of them believed Remus could die, or any of the sides for that matter, but it still scared them.

“Ah, there is something of importance that we should discuss with you too Remus. Why is it that you all want to live in a practically uninhabitable hut?” Logan asks, not entirely sure what else to say in the moment. And this was a matter of importance, so the question is fine.

“Oh, that’s easy peasy lemon queasy, Lolo! There’s just something charming about sleeping on moss! Also we want space to scream our hearts out, literally!” Remus smiles his chaotic grin, the other sides seeing a face full of fangs. 

“Then I propose a solution to this problem, we assist with the renovations of your place, and while doing so we have a campout in the woods!” Roman practically screamed, excited at the idea. No one wanted to shoot the idea down with the stars in Roman’s eyes. He was just glowing at the idea.

“Sure Princey, sounds like a great idea.”

“I suppossse, I shall agree with thisss idea, if it gets you off our backsss.” Janus was slightly elongating some of the s sounds, for dramatic effect.

“Oooh, we can all get tetanus!” Patton grimaced at Remus’s words, but nodded nonetheless.

“Sounds like a great idea kiddo! What do you think, Logan?”

And with the way all the sides were looking at him, how could Logan say no. “That sounds like a,” he takes out his flashcards, “superb idea. Making sure that the others have a suitable place to live is important.” With that, they all packed enough things to last a month, with Virgil, Remus, and Janus insisting they should bring more items, and started to trek through the imagination to the cabin.

When they got there, Roman, Patton, and Logan saw the state of the outside of the cabin, and immediately felt guilty. How could they let their comrades live in such a state? The windows were broken, some of them poorly boarded up. The roof looked like it was about to collapse, the door was barely connected to the house, almost all the hinges on it broken. The light sides decided that they wanted to look inside, and regretted it almost immediately. There was mold on the floor, with some of it climbing up to the ceiling, and the appliances were just horrible. The fireplace wasn't safe to use, the couches were pretty much just springs.

"How could anyone live like this?" Roman uttered out, perturbed at what he was seeing.

“Miserably.” Janus stated, having expected this reaction from the light sides. With that, they all walked back outside the house and started setting up the tents. They’d start the actual work on the cabin tomorrow, when everyone was rested up. Especially Roman, since he would be summoning everything he could to help fix this, and that would take up most of his energy with the amount of work that needed to be done.

The next morning, everything started up. Roman started conjuring the stuff they needed to clean the floors and walls, as that was the first thing they had agreed to work on. After that they worked on patching up the appliances, and then the walls and roof of the house itself. Throughout this they had little tidbits of conversations and encounters.

“Hey Patton, why aren’t you freaking out about my spider parts, I thought you were scared of them?” Virgil asked while he and Patton were dealing with the mold in his room, getting it all up.

“I may be scared of spiders kiddo, but I’m not scared of you. Plus you don’t look like a spider at all!” Virgil gave him a look, raising up his handy mold be gone thingy that Roman had given them, “well okay, maybe a little. The truth is kiddo, when you came in looking all spidery, we were more worried about Remus, so for some reason, it seemed a lot less unnerving than it usually would’ve been.” Virgil nodded, the explanation made sense. And to tell the truth, he was relieved that Patton didn’t freak out about it. They both went back to scraping up the mold after that.

A few days later Remus, Logan, and Janus were attacked by what used to be resting gloevorfolish while they were cleaning the kitchen area. Gloevorfolish are small, light grey, fish-like things with tiny legs. They somewhat resemble piranhas, and they like to bite ankles. After a while of getting their ankles bitten and fighting these things, they finally asked Roman for a fire extinguisher, as Remus had said that it was practically the only thing that got rid of them. Janus started hysterically laughing when it was over with, Remus joined in, and Logan couldn’t help but to crack a relieved smile.

Roman throughout this whole time had been summoning random things that the sides needed in order to get everything done. He had insisted he do some of the cleaning and repairing, but all of them had insisted that he use his energy to summon things. Especially when they got to the stage where they needed some of the bigger stuff. Like beds, drawers, dressers, doors, an oven, and more. And he was so exhausted when he had finished summoning stuff that he had no choice but to take a nap in the tent. However, every once in a while he snuck into the house to clean the mold, or repair the walls. It worked for a few minutes before he was told to go back and rest. However that wasn’t the only thing Roman did, he also went in to tell them to take breaks, as all of them had a habit of getting lost in the work and overexerting themselves. And he did convince them to let him help put the final pieces in place.

As they all put the final pieces in place, they got off the roof of the cabin and cheered, hugging each other and laughing. “The first thing we should do is watch a movie in here!” Roman exclaimed, ecstatic and exhausted. Everyone agreed, what better way to celebrate than a movie night. Proud of all their hard work, they gathered in the dark sides’ living room, and watched Mulan.

[mimssides]

Ballroom Dancing Is Not For Everyone

The royal ball is not a fun place for Remus Sparrowheart of the White Valley. But he doesn't get to choose where he gets to be. He never will. Yet maybe, the company he has in his brother will make all of it more bearable. And maybe he will find some new companions at this not-not-so-fun-ball after all.

Link to the story on AO3 | Masterpost | Taglist

___

Spinning, spinning, spinning.

The dresses spun in circles. The nice dress shoes drew circles. The room was a circle.

The music looped. The dancers looped. Remus’ mind looped.

No straight lines, no edges, no corners. No place where Remus could go and hide. And even if he had been able to hide, he would not have been allowed to. He had to follow protocol, had to be a good representative of White Valley, and play nice and fair and stay put and idle.

He gripped the hem of his white gloves. He never liked the white. It got dirty so fast and he got scolded so often when he ended up with just a little speck of dirt on it. For Roman it was less of a problem, he liked the white and didn’t mind not playing in the dirt so much but he as well would have preferred to wear a more colourful attire than the white suits with the silver accents.

“Do not complain. Silver and white are tasteful and decent without being too obnoxious. We might be royalty but we mustn’t become self-absorbed. Stay humble.”

Remus had woken up screaming that night as he woke up from a nightmare where he had slammed a knife into his mother’s and popped the eyeball out of the socket as if it had been a meatball. He had been lucky that Roman had been in his room already and helped him calm down. No one else learnt of it and so neither twin got into trouble for sleeping in the same room that night.

With a yank, Remus pulled his right glove off. He pushed it into the too-small pocket of his jacket and turned to the side so that nobody could see his full pocket. If they didn’t see him messing with the stupid dress code nobody could snitch on him and get Roman and him into trouble for “misrepresenting the White Valley”. Not that Remus understood why the two youngest teen princes and not the actual prince regent were held responsible to represent the whole Valley. It wasn’t like Roman or he would ever get the crown, and neither did they want it. Well, Remus didn’t want it.

Roman was another story. Remus looked for him and saw him standing next to some other young men on the other side of the room. He was smiling politely and laughing mildly when it was expected of him. The perfect son his mother could have asked for. Sometimes even better than Rasmus but that was usually only said when their mother attempted to make her oldest listen to her. Yes, Roman too was just another kid she weaponized to get her will.

A peckish feeling led to Remus leaving his spot at the far eastern side of the ballroom. As quickly as he could he passed by the other guest, praying that none of them looked too closely at him or just ignored him when they did. Not all of them did though. Lady Whiteleaf from Poppy Fields made eye contact and spoke directly to him. Painfully he was pulled into an empty conversation of chitchat where he was questioned about how travel was, where they were staying and how hot the weather was for this time of year.

It took her ten minutes to lose interest in him and she excused herself daintily smiling to get to her next acquaintance. Usually, Remus wouldn’t have cared about that but right now, as he felt this deep sense of disconnection from his surroundings, her dismissal hurt. Everything was starting to hurt and suddenly, now that he stood in front of the sweets and pies, he wasn’t so sure anymore if he could eat something. Maybe he shouldn’t try. Maybe he should just hide somewhere.

He looked around, scanning for all exits just to realize that all his escape routes were blocked by all the royal partygoers. Of course, how stupid was Remus to forget that hiding was never an option?

Somebody spoke to him. It took a moment until Remus realized that he was blocking the way to the buffet and he quickly grabbed a treat and stood aside so the next person could take whatever they liked. He looked back at the man who had told him to move after stepping away. His mother would have said that it’s impolite to rush people and he would have gotten scolded if he had been the one to tell some guy to move away like that. But well, that lucky bastard wasn’t unfortunate enough to be his mother’s son. Thus, that four-eyed idiot in blue could be as rude as he liked.

Maybe he should get to Roman and complain to him about that idiot. Maybe that would help with the spinning. Measured he took a small bite from the piece of lemon pie (of course he had gotten the one type of cake that he neither liked nor hated but felt completely indifferent about) and looked to where he had seen his brother at last. He didn’t stand there anymore, not that it surprised him, Roman was mingling with many so there was a good chance that he was with a different group now. Carefully he scanned the ballroom, a big round cylinder with a glass dome as a roof. That’s why there were no corners to hide in, Remus remembered and grew a little more nervous.

The nervousness increased with every moment when he didn’t spot Roman yet. Slowly he began to walk along the wall, eyes flying over each inch he hadn’t seen before, yet there was no Roman.

Remus’ heart beat fast. The people around him talked fast. His hands shook fast.

His steps to the hall were slow. The lingering looks from the royals left him too slow. The way his hands trembled in his pockets made him feel slow.

He didn’t know when he walked up a staircase, this castle was too big for him, the halls too wide, the space far too open, but now he was standing in front of a window which decidedly wasn’t 1st story level anymore. He could see into a wide open garden, hedges neatly trimmed and aligned in perfect precision. His stomach turned.

He ran now. His feet made a clicking sound on the marble floors because his soles were too hard and too flat for running around. He ran still. He ran and ran until he spotted a door which seemed to blend into the wall, a door for servants, for brooms and dirty scraps maybe. He opened it and went inside, no looking back. It was dark and nobody said a thing so it was fine. It was safe. He was safe. He fell to his knees, his chest hurt, his head hurt. Breathing was hard. Stab your mother with a dull gardening shovel. Claw her eyes out with your fingers. Drink the eye juic-

“What’s the fucking matter with the stupid eyes lately?!” Remus whimpered and pulled himself out of the thought by pulling his hair.

Helplessly he pushed his face against his thighs and let his fingers scratch his scalp. He didn’t think about how it would mess up his hairdo or how it could hurt him or how his mother would be angry with him for doing so. He just needed the thoughts to stop.

A warm hand was settled on his own. A soft thumb run over the back of his hand, easing it to let go of his head and hair.

“Well done, Emu. You do well.”

Rapidly Remus blinked. Immediately the voice shooed him, told him to slow done and Remus listened. He listened and was good and well and only sat up to look at his brother when his hands weren’t cramped anymore, and his thoughts didn’t hurt so miserably anymore.

“You found me.”

Roman laughed shakily and leaned his forehead against Remus’. Then Roman closed his eyes and took a watery breath. His hands settled on Remus’ shoulder and suddenly Remus understood. He laid his arms around Roman and pulled him close.

“The room started spinning for you too?” Remus asked.

Roman winced. Of course, he did. He hated it after all when he couldn’t do things the way their mother expected him to. When he was a little too similar to Remus for her liking. When he was too unpredictable to be the manipulatable puppet she wanted him to be.

Remus sighed and readjusted their positions, so he ended up sitting next to his foolish brother and could hug him from the side. It had always been easier for Remus to relax around Roman, while Roman only was able to let out or give in to his emotions around Remus. Not that Remus minded that he was emotional or messy around him, but he could see that Roman avoided him for that very reason and he wished it wasn’t that way.

Yet now, none of that mattered. Now, they sat on the floor of a supply closet, as Remus now realized and just tried to get their composure back. They would have to return to the baller sooner than later otherwise their mother would hear of this and that wouldn’t end well for anybody.

So it was time to just breathe and calm down, Remus decided and took a deep breath.

The door opening rapidly and two other people storming in didn’t help to calm either twin down though. Neither when the smaller one audibly hyperventilated and the other one frantically slapped the wall to find a light switch. Neither when the other one hit the light switch and revealed that Janus Myrrth, first son to the Myrrth’s and heir of the Golden Garden estates, and Virgil Myrrth, second son of the Myrrth’s of the Golden Garden estates, were the ones who had chosen their little chamber as their escape place.

“You truly are unbelievable-” Janus hissed but abruptly stopped.

So did Virgil’s hyperventilating as he and his older brother looked down at the twins huddled against a shelf filled with jars of berry jams. Remus' body felt like static and his eyes ran over the matching black suits, Janus’ decorated with gold patterns and a warm yellow ascot and Virgil’s with silver trimmings and a simple purple tie. It looked rather nice, his mind helpfully added, and he slowly let his arms drop from his brother.

Roman next to him was stiff as a board, looking directly at Janus’ birthmarks covering the left side of his face. The heir noticed and Remus immediately rammed his elbow into Roman’s ribs to keep him from staring. His twin yelped but finally unfroze and lowered his face in shame before he perked up again.

“I apologize,” he said formally and got up from the floor. “I was rude. It seems we’ve occupied a spot you are in need of. Please, let us forget about this and-”

Roman didn’t get to finish as Virgil started to hyperventilate again, with much more force than before. That did the trick and Roman sprung into action. Without much thinking, he sprang to the younger prince and guided him, without ever touching him, to a barrel which was standing close but not too close to the shelf they were all huddled around. With gentle but certain words he told him to sit, to breathe, to not fret.

Remus raised from the floor, his hands falling leisurely in his pockets and watching his brother being in his element. With a grin, he glanced to Janus who eyed the spectacle with a cold glare and only after a moment realized that he was being watched.

“And what of you, Sparrowheart?” the older teen snarled.

Remus chuckled and garnered a death stare of Roman for it. But here Remus didn’t care what people could possibly think of him being loud and not perfectly polite and palatable.

“I am not the one who got angry at his hyperventilating brother, J-anus. And to speak of it, we were here first. Go and find your own closet to be an asshole in,” Remus said cheerfully.

The undignified stare Janus shot Remus could have murdered but the glare he felt shooting through his back from Roman was torture. Maybe he did go a little too far?

“Pff,” a tiny voice began to wheeze and all turned their attention to Virgil.

The youngest prince was laughing into his hand. His shoulders shaking with amusement, only getting stronger when Janus told him to get a grip.

“He called you J-J-anus” Virgil giggled and pressed his hands against his hurting stomach.

Perplexed both twins looked from him to Janus, who visibly blushed at his younger brother’s words and tried to say something only for Virgil to interrupt him again.

“I never heard anybody say that to your face! That’s hilarious!”

“You are such an uncultured child”, Janus chided.

His voice didn’t carry any actual sharpness though. Part of his initial anger seemed to have simmered away and given way to relief. Maybe he wasn’t quite as much of an asshole as Remus had initially thought. Maybe he had just been so high-strung because he was worried for his younger brother.

Before anything else could be done with that realization once more the door to the supply closet got opened. Four pairs of eyes me the sights of two princes dressed in shades of blue.

“That’s the idiot who told me to move my ass at the banquet!” Remus blurted and pointed his finger at the taller one in blue.

Now that he got a better look at him he realized, that he probably too was along their age, maybe a little older and spotted the Whiteleaf crest on his left breast pocket. He blinked.

“Fuck. That was stupid,” he cursed and glared at his shoes.

He heard the familiar voice of Logan Whiteleaf, heir and the first son of the Whiteleaf’s and of the Poppy Fields, scoff at that just as a second not familiar voice perked up.

“What did you do this time, Lo! It’s not nice to tell people to go away!”

Promptly Remus looked up. The smaller teen, he was for sure a year or two younger than Remus, had turned around and stared at Logan with an impressively disappointed pout. Logan looked back with an impressively annoyed eyebrow raise.

“I didn’t do anything scolding-worthy. I simply told this adolescent to step aside so I could get to the buffet,” Logan retorted.

The tween shook his head and went on: “How long did he stand here? Did you say it kindly or were you being too harsh again? You know what mama says about keeping your voice in check.”

At that Logan simply rolled his eyes and sidestepped him to look at the rest of the people inside. His eyes flickered from Remus to Janus in recognition before they fell on Virgil and Roman. And as he looked at them his face fell. Immediately Remus' attention locked onto his twin. He cursed and pressed past Logan to get to Roman’s shaking side.

“Oh no! Did we scare Vee’s new friend D:”

“How on earth did you make that sound with your mouth?”

“Virgil is not friends with one of the stupid Sparrow twins!”

“Janus! Don’t be mean to them either >:[”

“Are we truly glossing over the fact that Patton just…”

Remus didn’t listen to their voices in the background. He just tried to slowly, so slowly, inch closer to Roman. His hands were barely allowed to move, so slowly did he raise them into Roman’s field of vision. Which was quite a feat since Roman had basically rolled into a ball and his face was hidden against his arms.

“Ro, it’s okay,” Remus tried to coax him weakly. “I’m gonna take the blame. I mean I was being stupid not you, so it’s only fair and she can’t always make you responsible for my actions.”

Roman shook more.

“Right?” Remus added with a shiver.

Roman didn’t say a thing. Of course, their mother would make Roman responsible for Remus’ missteps. One more reason why Roman should hate him. Maybe he hated him already but was too nice to say a thing.

A gentle pull on his sleeve got Remus’ attention. Virgil had crouched down beside him and was staring at Roman as well. His lips shivered but he looked much calmer than before. He met Remus’ look and quietly pointed his chin towards Roman and asked almost voicelessly: “Is he scared of being scolded?”

Remus didn’t even think before he already nodded. The other boy's face turned into a surprisingly sad frown, and he leaned towards Roman and patted his shoulder.

“’s okay,” Virgil whispered, “that you’re scared. But you don’t need to worry anymore. Logan and J-anus over there won’t snitch on you or your brother.”

With a flinch and heavy panting Roman lifted his head just a little to look at Virgil’s face.

“Why w-wouldn’t they?” he asked with great doubt.

A tiny smile stole its way on Virgil’s lips, almost a cute one in Remus’ opinion, and he said: “Because they’re both soft idiots and have to be nice to people their younger brothers’ like.”

“You like us?” Remus and Roman said surprised in unison.

Virgil snickered, again rather cutely in Remus’ opinion, and from behind the three of them a light blue whirlwind stormed towards them. With a yelp, Remus and Virgil toppled against Roman as the tween crashed against them in a very enthusiastic hug.

“Yeah! People who help my friend Virgil are my friends too!” the boy in light blue said with a wide smile.

This close up Remus’ brain finally registered that he was just getting hugged and offered friendship by Patton Whiteleaf, the third and youngest son of the Whiteleaf’s of the Poppy Fields.

Baffled Roman looked at him and Remus snickered a little hysterically before they both looked at Virgil who snorted and teased them that they took Patton’s declaration of friendship even worse than he had at first. Roman made a hurt sound whereas Remus jolted forward and lifted Patton off the floor with a happy yelp. Logan and Janus just shot each other a tired look as the four younger teens broke into chaotic chatter.

Well maybe, in the years to come, they might think a little differently about the wild first encounter they had that with the Sparrowheart twins. They certainly wouldn’t admit it though.

At least not out loud.

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

If I had a nickel every time I didn't get a secret Santa gift from a secret Santa I participated in, I would have seven nickels. Which isn't a lot but surely it isn't a coincidence that it happened seven fucking times??

Like seriously someone let me know which deity I pissed off so I can apologize??

[i-will-sing-no-requiem]

It's me! Hi! I'm your (CS gift exchange) Santa, it's me! 🥰🥰

I'm not sure if the tags on your gifts worked so let me know if you didn't get notifs for them!!

Hope you're having a merry Christmas!!

Hi!

Yeah the tags worked, I just haven't had the chance to really look at them since I haven't been online much today.

I'm super excited to see what you wrote though! (I read what they're about) and I'll look at them tomorrow (it's really late where I live)

I hope you had a great Christmas!!💖

[sirtotallynotatimetraveler]

Welcome To Confection Castle! (AU)

What in the World is Confection Castle? :

Confection Castle (formerly known as Candy/Candied Castle) is a role-swap AU of Pizza Tower, akin to the more well-known PT swap AU, Sugary Spire. Unlike Sugary Spire, Confection Castle only swaps the roles of the characters and not their personalities, with a few alterations. With the unchanged personalities of each character, this instead changes the mechanics, environment, and even story of Pizza Tower, with each character handling their swapped roles more differently than Sugary Spire's interpretation.

(This AU's concept was largely inspired by TS!Underswap. A reimagining and fangame of the Undertale AU, Underswap, which uses the same concept)

The Story:

Teddy is faced with the consequences of his own actions after pulling one too many pranks against a castle that was bought out by a huge confection company, Candyboy Corporations. A company that steals the competition against smaller sweets business owners. Teddy's given a warning by the corporation CEO's assistant, Granny Candydimples, that the CEO will destroy his and many other confectionary's shops, forcing them to all work for his company. Thanks to the warning, Teddy and his confectionary allies team up to take down the Confection Castle and its evil schemes.

The Characters (may or not feature some slightly outdated art):

Teddy Taffy (Theodore Taffy) - Noise in the Role of Peppino: A smug, witty, mostly down to earth, prankster who formerly premiered on the big screen before leaving it all to continue his family's legacy: making mouthwatering candy and sweets. He owns a quaint candy shop in a vaguely European town near a looming Confection Castle. He's obsessed with sugar and when he consumes a good amount of it, can become hyperactive and manic.

Suzy (Suzette) - Noisette in the Role of Gustavo: A kind-hearted, rule-following, and dorky dessert baker who owns a bakery/patisserie next to Teddy's candy shop. She's close friends with Teddy and secretly has a crush on him, which may or may not be obvious to everyone except Ted. Like Ted, her business was challenged by Candyboy Corporations, forcing her to rally against the castle with Teddy,

The Ingredipets - Role of the Toppins: Little creatures resembling confectionary ingredients that were kidnapped and enslaved by Candyboy Corp. to make the companies candy. Teddy and his allies will save each of them to defeat their competitor. Ingredipets may be different depending on the character being played.

Captain Crackle (Peppino Ravioli) - Peppino in the Role of The Noise: Captain Crackle is a well-known cereal brand pirate captain mascot for the cereal of the same name. He's played by a worn-out has-been TV and opera celebrity Peppino Ravoli who does the bidding of Candyboy Corporations to make a living. He takes on three jobs: Captain Crackle, a Candyboy Corp. gift shop worker, and the Castle's TV News Anchor. He just wants to quit everything and live a peaceful life making pizza, his real dream.

Mr. Gus (Gustavo) - Gustavo in the Role of Noisette: Mr. Gus is Captain Crackle's pirate sidekick who serves as the comic relief character, always getting the short end of the stick and being kicked/thrown around the place for comedic effect. His actor, Gustavo, has a similar story to Peppino's, working for the castle, trying to sustain a living. He owns a secret soda tavern hidden from where his boss can find it.

Mr. Lollygagger - Pizzahead in the Role of Mr. Stick: Teddy's accountant who both does and doesn't take his job seriously. He pulls many gags toward his patrons to get them to comply with his offers and tries to pose as a nice, patient, and understanding accountant who needs money in exchange for a good offer. Ted's annoyed by him, A LOT.

Sapphire - Snick in the Role of Brick: An adventurous, rule-breaking, and cocky rock candy Porcupine who loves to skate on his hoverboard at the speed of sound. He becomes friends with Suzy after pestering her rule-following morals and later helps her and Teddy's journey.

Murray Muffinman - Pepperman in the Role of Gerome: An experimental artistic genius restrained to the role of maintaining the paint job of the castle. When he's on break he goes to his supply room to unleash his creativity through all sorts of mediums. He can be found all over the castle. He will reward his own art if he is helped to find his supply room.

Gumther Gumdrop - Vigilante in the Role of The Priest: Gumther is a farmer who grows sweet-tasting fruits that grant magical healing abilities. He sells his fruits in fruit stands all over the castle but it comes with a price.

Butler Scotch - Gerome in the Role of Pepperman: Scotch is the butler of the Royal Candy Family, who were the original owners of the castle before signing an agreement with Candyboy Corp. Scotch is the first boss Teddy has to fight due to one of the Royal Candy's prince (originally intended to fight Ted) left Scotch to stand on guard as he goes out for lunch.

The Pope - The Priest in the Role of The Vigilante: The leader of the Caramelist religious group and overseer of the Basilicaramel Church. After Teddy destroys the church during one of the levels, The Pope seeks to cleanse Ted of his sins by fighting against him.

Granny Candydimples - Granny Pizza in the Role of Pizzaface: The oldest member of the Royal Candy Family who was demoted and forced to the role of the CEO's assistant. She's kind-hearted and honest with no ill intent unlike her boss, going out of her way to disobey him sometimes.

Uncle Candiesworth - Pizzaface in the Role of Granny Pizza: The Uncle of the Royal Candy Family. He's one of the few family members who rebels against Candyboy Corporations and agrees to help Teddy and his friends destroy the castle. He's grumpy, bossy, and insults people constantly, but he has a good heart.

The Teddy Doll - Role of Fake Peppino: A cursed doll resembling Teddy. It's been presumed to have been cursed with dark magic, cast on by a cult. It is unknown what the purpose of this doll was for. All we know is that you won't see it in the same place it was left at the second you turn your back towards it.

Cookie Blair - Role of Mort the Chicken: Oh boy! It's Cookie Blair from the hit 90's 3D point-and-click PC abandonware game Cookie's Bustle! Watch as she and Teddy travel across Cookie City as Ted tries to hide Cookie from the police trying to remove her entire existence for good. (To whom it may concern (looking at you), I am not profiting off this project, therefore not profiting off Cookie's Bustle. Please don't copyright strike me or this project.)

Nezukira - Brick in the Role of Snick: Nezukira is the world-famous thunder rat character from the equally famous elemental critter collecting and fighting video game "Sackicritt". Nezukira is heavily merchandised with its adorable appearance; from plushes, socks, gummies, and cigars. Besides Nezukira, there are several other Sackicritts to obtain, with "Net Handlers" who accompany them.

Jen Beam - Role of John Pillar: Jen is the older sister of Butler Scotch. She is the caretaker/ruler of all the levels in the castle, making sure that everything is in order and won't crumble to the floor. She guards the door to each "dimensional control room" that deactivates the levels in the castle. She will only let people pass if she is given gourmet candy with the finest ingredients.

Candyboy - Role of Pizzaboy: Candyboy was the prime mascot and face of Candyboy Corporations. He's a happy-go-lucky, fun-loving, eccentric kid with all the childhood innocence packed into one. He loves candy and is very marketable. Despite Candyboy's innocent presence being long gone, he is still the face of the company.

The Candyman - Role of Pizzahead: The Candyman is the man behind the whole corporation, mostly know as the CEO. Not many have had the chance to meet The Candyman in person, but he's been said to be demanding, ruthless, and manipulative to get what he wants. He will do everything to gain the title of being the best confectionary business. If it exists, he wants it in his company.

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

And that's it for character introductions! I am planning on adding characters that will be entirely original in this AU like new friends that will accompany Ted, new bosses, and other characters that will build the world for this AU. Other stuff such as levels, music, and game mechanic ideas are in the works too. Lots of stuff is planned for this AU project!

If you want to make fan art for Confection Castle, go ahead! I love fan art! Just make sure to tag me if you post it. Other fan stuff like music is cool too!

Thanks for reading y'all.

(Also, I am not planning on making this an actual game as I have no experience with coding or stuff that is needed to actually make a game. But if anyone with experience with game design wants to make it happen...hit me up haha.)

[akaiuchiha]

So

I know I need to candle run every day for some time in order to get more candles and be safe with events and the spirits (at the moment I have 231 because I am waiting for some TS)

And I'd like to level up the spirit's trees from the different areas but it's so EXPANSIVE?

I May have candles but it's a PAIN to get hearts because I don't have many active friends (officially, I light up 5 candles every day) so it takes some time to get hearts and my god, 30 hearts for a cape is way too much.

I think at this point I'll just make a deal with my sister to exchange a gift every day so we can have hearts.

I am also desesperate for more clothes (and I bought the season pass because it was really worth it considering the price and the fact that it gives me access to the entirety of 6 trees) and I want more cosmetics in general but hu... that's too much and I want to save candles in case one if the TS I am waiting for arrive.

[sanders-sides-events]

Sanders Sides events 2023 masterpost

Hello and welcome to the Sanders Sides events blog!! Posts relating to all events in the fandom will be reblogged here, including events about Thomas Sanders' content that isn't related to Sanders Sides (e.g. Roleslaying, Cartoon Therapy).

If you're running an event and want your posts to be reblogged here, simply send an ask or tag this blog!

Blog navigation

All posts will be tagged with the tag of the event they relate to.

Schedules are tagged as #schedules!

Asks are tagged as #asks!

Events in 2023:

Note: Schedules for fandom events are linked under the cut. This is just the masterpost for this blog.

Event weeks

Logince Week @loginceweek2023

22nd January - 28th January | Prompts

Roceit week @roceit2023

6th April - 13th April | Prompts

Sanders Sides A-spec Week @sanders-sides-a-spec-week

24th May - 30th May | Prompts

Analoroceit Week (hosted by @loganisanobody)

28th May - 3rd June | Prompts

Ace Sides Week @acesidesweek

5th June - 11th June | Prompts

Dukexiety Week @dukexietyweek

18th June - 25th June | Prompts

Loceit Week @loceitweek

26th June- 2nd July | Prompts

Anaroceit week @anaroceitweek

10th July - 16th July | Prompts

Roleslaying Week @roleslayingweek2023

24th July - 30th July | Prompts

Royality Week @royalityweek

31st July - 6th August | Prompts

Aro Sides Week @aro-sides-week

20th August - 26th August | Prompts

Trans Sides Week @transsidesweek

11th September - 17th September | Prompts

Prinxiety Week @prinxietyweek

2nd October - 8th October | Prompts

Intruality Week @intrualityweek

22nd October - 28th October | Prompts

Intrulogical Week @intrulogicalweek

29th October - 4th November | Prompts

Anxceit Week @tss-anxceit-week

12th November - 19th November | Prompts

Roleslaying trans week @rswr-trans-week2023

20th November - 26th November | Prompts

Autistic Sides Week @autisticsidesweek

4th December - 10th December | Prompts

Big bangs & exchanges

Storytime - Sanders Sides Big Bang @tss-storytime

February - August | Schedule

Sanders Sides Big Bang @sandersidesbigbang

May - September

Sanders Sides Spring Cleaning Event @tsspromptmonth

February - April | Schedule

Halloween Horror Fest @halloweenhorrorfest

18+ event | April - November

Tss October Ghostwriters @tss-october-ghostwriters

August - October | Schedule

Sanders Sides Holiday Gift Exchange @sanderssidesgiftxchange

September - December | Schedule

Thomas Sanders Reverse Bang @xts-reverse-bangx

June 2023 - July 2024 | Schedule

Other events/projects

Thomas Birthday Bash Book | Submission deadline 24th March

(Events will be added to this list as they're added to the blog. If I've missed an event, or got any dates wrong, please let me know!)

Cancelled events

@intruality-week (the new intruality week blog is @intrualityweek )

@anxceit-week-23 (the new anxceit week blog is @tss-anxceit-week

Events from previous years

Here are events that have been run in the fandom, in case anyone wants to look back at them or check for updates. Some of these might return in 2023, so keep an eye out!

@analogicalweek

@anxceitweek21

@anxceit-week-2022

@dukeceitweek

@intrualityweek2021

@lamp-appreciation-week

@moceit-appreciation-week

@moxiety-week

@pintrovertsweek2022

@prinxiety-week-2022

@roceitweek

@sandersidesbigbang

@sanderssidesgiftxchange

@sanders-spring

@ts-storytime Event moved to @/tss-storytime

Schedules

Here are some useful schedules made by other fanders!!

The 2023 events list and 2022 events list created by @transfemlogan

Logan's master schedule created by @edupunkn00b

Events blogs

If you want more updates on events in the fandom, check out @tsseventhub They also have an Instagram!

[edupunkn00b]

Mise Out of Place

Edited photo. Original by Icons8 Team via Unsplash.

mise en place (ˌmē-ˌzäⁿ-ˈpläs) noun Borrowed from French. A culinary process in which ingredients are prepared and organized (as in a restaurant kitchen) before cooking Also : the set of ingredients prepared using this process

Written for @starlocked01 for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange. I hope you enjoy this mix of crack and fluff with some elements unexpectedly made canon by last week's video.

Many thanks to the developmental beta reader, "Some Guy," who provided invaluable assistance and cheerleading with this story. Fluff is hard, y'all.

WC: 2k (okay, almost 2K) - Rated: T for a bit of swearing - CW: fluff, crack, and a hint of Remus-y imagery - [ AO3 ] -

“And… we’re live!”

“Thanks, Freddie,” Roman muttered, just out of earshot of the lavaliere mics pinned to Patton's and Remus' aprons.

“Maybe after his glow up,” Janus murmured, equally quietly.

Patton grinned at the camera, the edge of Janus’ hat fuzzy and barely visible past the glare of the ring light. “Hey there, Kiddos—”

“I’m Remus!” Said Side jumped into the frame, one long arm draped over Patton’s shoulders. Instead of looking at the camera, he stared expectantly at Patton, his grin far, far too wide.

Patton nodded, his own smile still plastered on. “And I’m your Happy Pappy Patton!”

Remus leaned closer and they said in unison, “And welcome to Messers en Place!”

Janus’ hat bobbed on the other side of the camera and Patton’s smile brightened. They’d practiced and practiced—and practiced—their video intro, each time failing to be in sync. Even Patton had begun to fear they’d have to rewrite it. But this time, when it mattered, really mattered, they did it!

“And what are we making today, Pattycake?” Remus prompted him when he failed to say his next line.

“Oh, right! To-daay…” He drew out his words as he looked around the ingredients oh-so-carefully spread out over the countertop. Mise en place, Roman had called it. Logan had tried to hide his surprise behind a little fumble with his glasses, but Patton hadn’t missed the way Logan’s eyes had widened.

“Ahem, well, yes, Roman is correct,” he'd finally managed. Remus bounced on his toes next to Patton, picking up each tiny bowl and sniffing at its contents.

“Careful there, Ro Bro,” he'd cackled. “Nerdy Wolverine’s gonna bust a nut with you knowing things.”

“I am not—”

“Hey, Pattycake, what’s this one?” Winking, Remus pulled him back into the present moment and shoved a bowl of brown spices into his hands.

“Oh, um…” Patton sniffed carefully. “It’s cumin, Remus.”

“Well, if you insist…” he began, reaching for his belt.

“Remus!” Roman cried, bonking his brother's head with the boom mic.

“Muse, not now, boy,” Janus murmured from the other side of the room.

Virgil groaned from his perch at the top of the refrigerator, silently tapping the sides of the fire extinguisher in his lap. “Are we sure having these two do a cooking show was a good idea for the stream?”

“Of course it is!” Remus and Roman said together. 

And it really was a good idea. The twins had blurted out the concept together during a brainstorming session and even Logan had agreed this would be first in their livestream series. He'd even suggested the name.

So here they were, the two of them, about to cook. Together.

They could do this. Patton could do this.

Remus’ smile had grown too wide again, eyebrows arched high.

Right, the cumin.

“We’re making spaghetti and meatballs,” Patton remembered his line and smiled at the camera.

“Balls,” Remus muttered under his breath, shoulders dancing.

Patton gasped and sneezed into the little bowl, spraying cumin up into the air and all over his face.

“Oh, I gotcha, Daddy—”

“Remus!” Roman lowered the boom mic with an offended huff only he could manage to sound princely. 

“Aw, Kiddo!” His catigan sleeves were safely tucked beneath his apron, but he brushed them clean anyway. Remus whipped out a concerningly clean handkerchief from under his sash and dabbed at Patton’s face. 

“It’s sweet,” Patton smiled at Roman just off camera.

“I don’t get paid enough for this,” Roman muttered.

“You don’t get paid at all, Princey!”

“Need I remind you all we’re still live?” Logan hissed from the hallway.

“It’s fine, Logan, dear,” Janus murmured, tapping the laptop just out of frame. Comments scrolled up the screen faster than they'd ever been. “The viewers are eating it up.”

Logan frowned at the screen for a long moment before shrugging. “He’s right. Okay, carry on."

Face now clean, Patton nodded and carried a big stock pot to the sink. “Right, first step is to start the water. Remus, will you—”

“One step ahead of you, Daddy!” Patton barely made out his words over the rush of the faucet.

And the crash just behind him.

Patton swung around, water sloshing out of the pot and onto the floor. “Remus!”

Remus had shoved all the measured ingredients to the far edge of the counter. Spices and oil spilled over the plate of ground meat and the long loaf of italian bread was broken in half. A wedge of parmesan had impaled the softening butter and the head of garlic had rolled onto the floor. At the center of the counter was a giant neon green air fryer into which Remus had jammed the entire—sealed—box of linguini and a jar of sauce. "Oh, and Merry Christmas, by the way. Thought you could use one of these babies!" he said, slapping the top of the device. "Hm… I wonder if I could fit one of those in here, too…"

“Wait, Remus, no—” Patton dropped the stock pot and reached out as Remus cranked the air fryer up to 500°F and slammed the start button. 

“Well, it was nice having a kitchen,” Virgil muttered and pulled the pin from the extinguisher, nozzle aimed directly at the air fryer.

“No, it’s fine,” Patton said, voice cracking even as he grinned up at Virgil.  “Don’t worry, Kiddo, everything will be—”

The air fryer beeped and the scent of burning paper filled his nose. He rushed toward the counter, hands outstretched to unplug the fryer, but his heel skidded on the wet floor and he slammed into Remus’ back instead.

“Hey, if you wanted to dance, Pattycake…” Remus spun around, catching him before he fell. “You could’ve just said so!”

“Remus!” Patton cried, clinging to his tunic as thick black smoke and the flicker of orange flames erupted out of the appliance. “Fire!”

With the grace of a cat and accompanied by a woosh of extinguisher foam, Virgil jumped down and doused the air fryer, the counter and most of Patton and Remus with the fire retardant. 

A spark caught on the edge of Virgil’s hoodie sleeve and the mic squealed as Roman dropped the boom and rushed over to smother it.

“Princey, I’m fine! Let’s get the rest of this—”

“Shit!” Roman swore as he slipped on the spreading puddle of water and extinguisher foam in the center of the room. Virgil grabbed him by his sash, pulling him to his feet.

“Gotcha, your Highnessness.”

Off camera, Logan slid closer to Janus. “Are we still filming?”

“Mm-hm. Wine?” he asked, offering a large goblet he’d procured from… somewhere.

Eyebrow raised, Logan accepted the glass and took a slow sip. “Out of everything in the kitchen, this is what you chose to save?”

“Why, yes, of course," he murmured before finishing his own glass and refilling it.

“Acceptable.”

~

Long after the livestream ended and the kitchen was—mostly—put back into order, the Sides called it a night and, one-by-one sauntered off to bed.

All the Sides but Remus, at least. Well, and Patton.

Remus had waited until everyone else's room had grown quiet and the lights spilling out from under each Side’s door had clicked off. A flickery bluish glow remained under Virgil’s door, but he typically wouldn’t actually fall asleep for another few hours anyway.

Patton’s door, though… Patton’s door had remained closed tight, without even the usual fairy lights brightening the edges of the door frame. And without the happy little sounds of his bedtime playlist.

Patton hadn’t gone to bed.

Taking more care than usual, Remus slipped off his boots and crept downstairs, skipping the creaky third and fifth steps. The living room, kitchen, and hall were dark, the patio door closed and locked with the blinds drawn tight. The clock on the microwave cast long, faint shadows over the kitchen floor and Remus spotted a bit of movement followed by a tiny sound.

He held his breath and waited. There it was again, a soft sniffle.

Dropping to the floor, Remus peered under the kitchen table. Patton sat hunched in the far corner, sweater-clad arms hugging his knees to his chest.

“Oh, hi, Kiddo,” he mumbled, wiping his cheeks against his forearms. “Can’t sleep?” he asked as though Remus was the one hiding alone in the dark.

“Was gonna ask you the same thing, Pattycake.”

“Oh…” Patton didn’t explain what the fuck he was doing down there, cardigan pulled over his potassium bicarbonate and cumin—ha!—stained apron. He just sort of looked down at his hands and pulled his legs up closer to him. Almost like he was making room.

Remus clambered under the table next to him, not quite touching but close enough to smell the smoke in Patton’s hair and clothes. Remus' own clothes smelled like his experiment upstairs and he inhaled the plasticy, acrid scent of burnt dyes and the forever chemicals from the extinguisher. It was even better than the fires for making s’mores at Thomas’ summer camp as a kid.

Remus wiggled his toes, watching Patton from the corner of his eye. He’d tucked his face close to his knees but his cheeks glimmered with new, silent tears. Remus breathed in again. The kitchen would reek of smoke for a long time after this.

“C-A-M—”

“Maybe later?” Patton sniffled. “I’m just not in the mood to sing right now, Kiddo.”

“You sure about that?” Remus scooted a little closer and bumped their shoulders together. “It’ll help if you just sing along…” He waited, watching Patton tap his foot, toes squelching in his still-sopping shoes. 

“C-A-M-P…” he began again, slower this time.

“F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song,” Patton sang softly.

“C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song…” Remus repeated.

A little smile cracked across the other Side’s face, softer and more real than it had been all day. “The C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song.” Patton took a breath like he was about to jump into the next verse but he frowned, nose scrunched. “It still smells like burnt air fryer in here, huh?”

“Yeah,” Remus agreed, nodding his head with a grin. “We made our mark.”

“Yeah,” Patton said, curling over his knees again.

“Aw, Daddy-o,” Remus bumped his shoulder. “Is that why you’re hiding under here? ‘Cause of the fire?”

“Well, yeah,” Patton frowned, staring back at him. “I really wanted to make a great video. I wanted to… you know… make Thomas proud.”

“Fuck, Pattycake, we did! Have you seen the comments?”

Patton just shook his head so Remus sank them both down into his room where he’d left his laptop open to the video page. Views and comments continued to pour in, hours after the stream had ended. “Look!” he demanded, pushing Patton down into a mostly clean chair.

The Moral Side read quietly, eyes growing wider with each scroll. “They… they liked us?”

“Yeah they did!” Remus slapped his back. “So, whaddya say we make Elf Spaghetti next time? We can even add some Crofters to please the nerd.” Patton’s stomach grumbled and Remus’ grin grew. “You know… we never did eat dinner, Pattycake. How about we give it a trial run tonight?”

“Race you to the kitchen!” Patton laughed and sank down through the floor.

“Hey, that’s cheating!”

[volkswagonblues]

2, 3 and 7?

2. Do you have any easter eggs in your fic?

Oh my god, definitely the bit where Daniel eats a woman in a Halloween costume from Despicable Me. Get it? because she's a minion? ahaha?

There's also tons from the original Devils Minion chapter of QOTD. I've also flipped through The Vampire Armand but gave up because Anne Rice's writing melts my brain lmao.

I'll just point out this bit of chap 4 of LLTR. I basically scrapbooked this entire exchange out of fragments from the original Devil's Minion short story.

(Anne Rice's QOTD)

“You are my teacher,” Armand told him. “You will tell me everything about this century. I am learning secrets already that have eluded me since the beginning. You’ll sleep when the sun rises, if you wish, but the nights are mine.” (p.143 in my ebook)

...vs (LLTR fic Chap 4)

“I’ll show you what your limits are. You can survive much more now, but no vampire is invulnerable. I’ll show you all the gifts that vampires are capable of. My memory is faded, but it’s not gone. I’ll tell you all the secrets I know. There are some buried so deep that even Lestat does not know them. I’ll teach you the lore. We’ll go to the Villa of Mysteries and I will fling the doors open wide for you. I will show you how beautiful and powerful you can become. My fledgling. My beloved Daniel.” “Yes,” Daniel breathes. “You’ll sleep when the sun rises because you must, but the in-between hours we'll spend on your education. The night is yours, but your dawns and dusks will be mine.” Armand stops. He looks a little shy. “As mine will be yours, if you’ll have me.” It’s a grand speech for a man snuggled under a cotton-poly IKEA duvet.

So to break it down:

In QOTD, Daniel visits Pompeii and the Villa of Mysteries and the vampire Armand shows up to lead him in. That's also where canon Daniel and Armand become lovers for the first time.

In QOTD, Armand tells Daniel he's Armand's teacher for the 20th century. In LLTR, the human Armand offers to be Daniel's teacher for vampire lore.

In LLTR, Armand's speech is a remix of what the vampire Armand says to Daniel because I wanted the human fic version of Armand to have a different kind of relationship with Daniel. He's a little shy, a little desperately in love. Daniel doesn't belong to him...they belong to each other...

3. What's something you've researched for your fic?

The daily life of a 16th century painter's apprentice in Venice...oh god...I think Amadeo is such a fun person to write

I also did some research for (lol) the drive between Billy Bishop airport and Niagara Falls and some more Ontario geography, but I also just went "fuck it" and ignored some stuff for fic reasons.

Full admission: I'm pretty sure Daniel will NOT have stopped at an intersection driving out of the airport because you pretty much turn right onto the highway ramp for Queen Elizabeth Way. However the image of Daniel rolling down his window to show his vampire fangs at another driver was too funny for me to take out. Let's pretend there's construction going on in Toronto. Not a stretch of the imagination.

7. What character do you enjoy writing most? Why?

LLTR is essentially a two-man theatre play. Since I really only have 2 characters can I say both of them? Armand because he's so mercurial: in any given moment he can do anything, say anything. I don't even know what he's going to do most of the time until I've written in.

Daniel because he's a tremendously flexible voice to inhabit. I love the show and the writers for giving us this older Daniel <3. Often I'm running against the limits of a character's voice--like, would he really say that? would he really know that? But AMC show Daniel's incredible. He's highbrow, he's lowbrow, he can identify a Rembrandt on sight, he knows what 8chan is and only pretends not to know Gen Z slang. In the fic it's like, he knows politics and history and TS Eliot poems and Madonna lyrics and what's Hindi-Urdu and his conversations with Armand can effortlessly jump between a lot of levels. Writing Daniel is like driving a zippy sport car, if that's not too weird a thing to say.