#tw sympathetic deceit

[whqreforstevengrant]

just some mommies for the HS AU

[i-will-physically-fight-you]

[ID: a reply from tumblr user pathos-logical saying “Oh my god remember “tw deceit” ....” /End ID]

Dark ages, I tell you. Not to mention that whole mess eventually spawned the “sympathetic vs. unsympathetic” tags

Just sitting here thinking we've gone a long way since 2018 when Janus was first introduced. Y'all who werent there don't understand, Janus enjoyers were out there on the front lines fighting for our lives, I would've never been in this fandom if I wasn't driven to write the nuanced character study fic that he deserved

[yourchemicallyimbalancedromance]

Blurred Lines

Prompt: Deceit has disguised himself as Patton multiple times off camera as well but it's gotten to the point where Patton's started to forget his identity and not believe he is himself

(credit to @bug-infested-demon for this prompt which you can find here<3)

Ship: platonic moxiety

CW/TW: derealization, a quite literal identity crisis, mention of past panic attacks in detail

Summary: a few weeks after “Can LYING Be Good??” Patton starts to have an identity crisis after Janus disguises himself as him again.

———————————————————————

Patton was swimming. No, not literally. In his thoughts, in his head.

He had laid in an unmade bed with unkempt hair wearing the same black and white snoopy shirt and black shorts for two days straight, stuck inside of his mind while the others attempted desperately to care for Thomas.

He stared at the ceiling, watching the ceiling fan spin around and around and around, the cool breeze brushing against his face every so often.

He listened as the others argued in the commons. Janus had disguised himself as him again for the fourth time that week.

“Shut up!, you…you…” Roman blanked on an insulting nickname.

“Oh Roman, no need for the name calling today, can’t we all just have a polite discussion?” Janus said, voice as smooth and soft as a rock in a creek.

“Your chance for a polite discussion was thrown out the window when you decided to contribute by lying, again.” Virgil quipped, his voice becoming as sharp as a knife at the end of his sentence.

“Now now, Virg. No need to get snarky. I can practically see the malice on your tongue.” Janus replied, voice still soft, though sarcasm reeked off of it.

Virgil’s voice dipped an octave, sensing a disturbance in the environment. “Don’t call me that. You don’t get to call me that.” He spat firmly.

Janus just chuckled, loving how easy it was to get to the anxious side standing next to him.

“Janus, you have to know by now that—“ Logan began.

Patton didn’t hear the rest, he didn’t want to. He grabbed the pillow next to him and folded it over his ears, muffling out the sound.

That was until they started getting louder. No, not the others, his thoughts.

I’m not real. Am I real? Am I me? Do I exist?

The thoughts swirled around in his head, boiling up for weeks like an awful stew.

He sat up, staring in the mirror bolted onto his door. Photos of him and the others were carefully slid into the open space between glass and wooden outline, holding them in place so he could see them every time he’d get ready. He ignored them, looking into the mirror. He was so lost in thought it was almost as if he was staring past himself.

There were slight bags under his eyes, indicating he hadn’t slept for more than an hour at a time in the last 48 hours. He looked as white as a ghost, considering he hadn’t left his room or gone outside for any other reason than to use the bathroom.

In conclusion, he looked like a total wreck, and he couldn’t find it in himself to care enough to do something about it.

He raised a hand up to his face, touching it lightly.

…What if Thomas has no Morality?

Virgil appeared next to him, arms folded across his chest. Instead of his usual demeanor of dark edginess, he looked oddly..sympathetic, more worried than anything, really.

Patton didn’t bother looking at him, just gazed in the mirror, internally panicking. He was shaking a little.

Virgil couldn’t stand seeing Patton like this, all broken and with no one to defend him against himself.

“Pat..?” The name came out as a whisper. He cleared his throat, tried again. “Patton?”

Patton still didn’t make eye contact, but tears welled in his eyes. If he didn’t exist, then neither did Virgil, or any of the others.

Virgil sat on the bed next to the Moral side, looking at him intently. “Hey, what’s going on?”

Patton tried to speak, he wanted to. He hopelessly wanted to tell someone the thoughts in his head, but all that came out was a whimper with tears falling down his face.

Virgil gently turned Pattons head to face him. “Deep breaths, ‘Kay?” he said, compassionately.

Patton nodded, breathing in, then out. in, then out, until finally he had a grip on his emotions. Not that it mattered if he did or not, he wasn’t real.

“Don’t leave. I know you aren’t real but, please. I need this, you don’t understand how much this family means to me.” Patton begged, voice wobbly.

Virgil’s face scrunched in confusion and concern. “Not re— Patton, what are you talking about?” he held the side close to him, making sure his breathing stayed even.

“None of this is real,” he squeezed out, throat tight from holding back tears, “I don’t even think I’m me. And if I’m not me, than that means Janus is, and if Janus is me then that means that Thomas had no morality in the first place and I’m probably something Roman just conjured up in the imagination and—“

“Patton, oh my god, no, no.“ he held him tighter, “you’re real. This is all real, okay?” He said frantically, cutting off the others spiral.

“You are not something that was just made up, Pat. Do you feel the carpet under your feet? That’s real. It’s okay, I promise.”

Patton nodded, “you’re sure…? Because Janus—“

Virgil shook his head, “I couldn’t care less about Janus right now. We’ll definitely be talking later, but I’m more focused on you, and yes I am extremely sure.”

He wanted to laugh at the word he used, ‘talking’, as if it wouldn’t be a full on screaming match.

Patton sniffled, “thank you.”

“Any time, bud” he responded, “and hey, Thomas does have a sense of Morality, or else you wouldn’t be here.”

Patton nodded, gripping on to the Anxious side a little, as if he was still unsure of what he was saying.

“I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry.” Was all he could think to say.

and apparently it worked, Patton eased up his hold a bit, noticing how neither of them had magically faded into thin air. He laughed at himself for thinking something so unrealistic.

“…I’ve been there, you know.” Virgil quietly admitted, to which Patton raised a brow in question.

“Thinking about the whole not being real thing. It was the cause of a lot of my…outbursts, to put it lightly.”

Patton understood what he was trying to get at, the massive panic attacks he used to have. He would find him in the bathroom curled up in the shower in the middle of the night, sobbing. He didn’t like to think about it.

“I know, I’m sorry.” He said timidly, almost as if not to disturb the sadness of the memory and their conversation, a tiredness in his voice.

“Hey, it’s okay. I just want you to know that I get it.” Virgil rushed out, not trying to upset Patton further.

“Do you want me to go so you can sleep? Not to sound rude or anything, but it looks like you need it.” He asked, eyeing the bags under Pattons eyes and the exhausted look on his face, like he could barely keep his eyes open.

Patton said nothing, having gone limp in the others arms. He was as tired as Virgil thought.

He blew air out of his nose in amusement. “I’ll be here, don’t worry.” he whispered to the sleeping person in front of him. “I’ve got you.”

[the-duke-of-deodorant]

Can we talk about trans-fem lesbian Janus 

[campbellsoupgansey]

That's it, that's the series

[dailysandersidesaudoodles]

Daily #132 : (wip) We grew up so very close...

[angelpringle]

To make up for me skipping out on day 10 and 11 of fluffuary I made yall a loginceit mood board!

(p.s. I reblogged an ask game if yall want to send me asks)

[mycatshuman]

Show Yourself

(Part 2)

Pairings: Remus, slight Princiety, hinted Logicality

Warnings: Remus and Deceit, if I missed any please let me know.

Thank you @icequeenoriginal for reading through this for me.

Masterlist | Into The Unknown (Part 1)

------

Virgil sat on his bed, his mind reeling from the events of the past week. Between him ducking out, the others coming to his room, being accepted, having to rescue them, and telling them his name, he was mentally exhausted. But he was feeling better. And he realized that him ducking out would not work for Thomas. And no matter what anyone may say, he cared for his host and his well being. And if him ducking out caused Thomas to be careless than he couldn't do that. 

Despite the other main sides finally accepting him, he was still uneasy. People couldn't accept people on a dime, and he knew that. He wasn't stupid. But they were working on it and that's all he could ask really. He wasn't entirely innocent either. He did snark back and put up a tough wall. And he was going to work on not being so mean. 

The voice still bothered him. Especially when he ducked out. It was so loud and hurt his ears so much that even if the other main sides didn't come for him, Jake and Remus would have forced him to go back for the sake of his eardrums. It had since lessened. Which Virgil was eternally grateful for, although, it still called out to him. But soon, that would change. 

-------

They had just finished filming the Accepting Anxiety videos. Logan and Roman had suggested that accepting anxiety was an important topic to cover in Thomas's scripted series Sanders Sides. Virgil kind of liked the series. Sure it did nearly mirror some real-life occurrences but he was comfortable knowing the series would mostly follow a different storyline from their actual lines.

So Virgil was happy. He had been accepted and the other sides allowed Jake and Remus to visit him sometimes. They even invited them to join in on family nights. So all in all, Virgil was pretty happy with how his life was going. Until he woke up that morning. He looked in the mirror, did a double-take, and then screamed. 

The door to his room burst open and a tired-looking Roman tumbled in with his sword shouting, "Where's the danger?" 

Virgil startled. He took a few minutes to compose himself before he yelled, "LOOK AT MY FUCKING HAIR!!" 

Roman paused and blinked as he took in the anxious sides' hair. His face blushed a deep red as he went through a serious case of gay panic. Virgil, meanwhile, was in a similar boat as he took in Roman's newly purpled bedhead. Oh fuck, he's hot! 

"Oh-uh.." Roman struggled to pull a sentence together. "Thomas..I think he got his hair dyed.." 

Virgil blinked. Once. Twice. And then he groaned and hit his head against his dresser. Roman yelped and dropped his sword before rushing forward to stop the emo side from hurting himself. 

"What are you doing?!?" He screeched. 

Virgil mumbled incoherently into the wood as he let his headrest. "I'm trying to knock myself out so I don't risk negative judgment." 

Roman frowned. "Virgil, surely you know we wouldn't judge you." Virgil shrugged. Roman bit his lip before pulling Virgil upright. "Come on, let me look." Virgil stood up reluctantly. Roman had to refrain from sighing dreamily. The plum-colored locks fell over Virgil's eyes and stood out beautifully against his skin. "Virgil...you..you look beautiful." Virgil flushed bright red as Roman took a couple of seconds to realize what he just said. His eyes blew wide as he tried to cover up his feelings. "I mean, your hair, your hair! Looks very nice! And beautiful. I mean you both look beautiful! I um, it's really nice?" 

Virgil giggled lightly as he hid his smile behind his hand and Roman fell deeper in love. "Okay, I think I got it." He grabbed his clothes out of his dresser moving to the bathroom to take a shower before stopping and looking back at Roman. "Ro?"

Roman paused in picking up his sword. "Yes, Virgil?" 

"Your hair looks nice too," Virgil told him shyly before turning and going into the bathroom. 

Roman nearly squealed. His crush had told him he looked good! He danced around a little before freezing. "Wait…." His eyes blew wide and he raced into his room only to let out a wail at the purple mop atop his head. 

-----

The sides all sat in the family room. Roman had wanted to discuss something he had been thinking of that he wanted them all to try out. "Okay, so I've been thinking, maybe our wardrobes need an upgrade!" 

Virgil, Logan, and Jake shared a blank face as Remus and Patton let out equal shouts of excitement. "Why do we need an upgrade in our wardrobes?" Jake asked. 

"Why to freshen up our looks! You two will probably be a part of videos soon and we need to make sure our outfits all live up to this new season we are going into!" 

Logan frowned. "If it would improve views than I suppose I can agree. But what are the requirements of these upgrades?" 

"More pigment! And a symbol or crest that will represent us as a side!" 

Virgil bit his lip. "And we have to make our own updates and stuff?" He asked anxiously. 

"Yeah!" Roman nodded enthusiastically. "That way it is something you'd actually wear and something that you can be comfortable in." 

Virgil frowned. "I think you're forgetting something, Princey." 

Roman frowned. "What's that?" 

"Not all of us can create cool stuff." 

"Kiddo," Patton began. "You don't have to participate if you don't want to but I really think you can do it. It doesn't have to be a big change and you can take inspiration from anywhere. Just give it a try, who knows what you'll come up with." 

Virgil frowned and opened his mouth to argue only for his brother to interrupt. "Virgil, just give it a shot, okay? I think it would be nice to put some color into your wardrobe. It might help you have something to focus on instead of the same black and greys all the time." 

Virgil sighed and grumbled. "Fine...I'll try. But I can't promise anything." 

-------

Virgil stood in his room, different fabrics are strewn about everywhere and ran a hand through his hair. Nothing was working. He couldn't get anything to work. He tried adding different colors of red. And while they looked nice, they didn't feel...right. Virgil was getting tired and he was on his way to a mental break down if he didn't find the right thing soon. He had been working nonstop for days and he couldn't help but give up hope. 

He grabbed a handful of fabric and yeeted it across the room at full force. In the blue light, the red fabric glowed a brief purple as it fell and Virgil froze. "Every inch of me is trembling," he sang softly as he slowly moved over to the pile of fabric. "But not from the cold." He kneeled down and carefully picked up the red fabric and held it against the blue light. "Something is familiar." He whispered. The fabric turned a slight purple color as he inspected it. The light giving it a different shade. "Like a dream I can reach but not quite hold. I can sense you there." Virgil turned around and glanced around his room at the discarded piles of fabric laying all over the place from his previous failed attempts at updating his normal outfit. "Like a friend I've always known." He glanced at his hoodie and ideas began to spark. "I'm arriving. And it feels like I am home." 

Virgil conjured a plain black zip-up hoodie. "I have always been a fortress, cold secrets deep inside." He carefully laid out the jacket on his bed. "You have secrets, too. But you don't have to hide." 

Virgil conjured a small square of purple fabric and laid it on the jacket to test it. "Show Yourself. I'm dying to meet you." He frowned. The purple was nice but it was missing something. "Show Yourself, it's your turn," he sang softly as he glanced around his room. His eyes landed on his Sally and Jack posters. "Are you the one I've been looking for all of my life?" His eyes sparkled as he turned back to the square of plum fabric and focused on conjuring some white string. "Show Yourself, I'm ready to learn. Ah-ah, ah-ah."

Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah. 

Virgil's head snapped up as he heard the siren voice again. The loudest it had been in a while. A bright smile spread across his face and he turned back to his project. "I have never felt so certain." Virgil conjured more of the purple fabric. "All my life I've been torn." He moved around his room as he sang and grabbed needles and thread and a pair of scissors. "But I'm here for a reason. Could it be the reason I was born?" Virgil yanked a sketchbook out from his dresser drawer and a few pencils as he began sketching out the design shimmering vividly in his mind. "I have always been so different. Normal rules did not apply." Soon Virgil had a fairly well-composed design laid out, his eyes sparkled with joy. "Is this the day? Are you the way? I finally find out why?" 

Virgil picked up the scissors and began cutting out the shapes out of the fabric. "Show Yourself! I'm no longer trembling." As he worked his shadow magic helped hold things for him and kept them from getting lost and protected him from picking his finger on the needle. "Here I am. I've come so far!" All of the fabric was sewn onto the jacket and Virgil set out sewing the white string around the patches somewhat hazardously, really pulling the idea of "stitches together." "You are the answer I've waited for all of my life! Oh, show yourself!" Virgil pulled the hoodie on and frowned slightly. "Let me see who you are."

Virgil moved over to his mirror. "Come to me now," he called as he inspected his hoodie in the mirror. "Open your door. Don't make me wait." The shadows watched him as he frowned at his reflection. "One moment more. Oh, come to me now. Open your door. Don't make me wait one moment more." 

Then, as if out of thin air, small patch materialized in front of Virgil, free floating. Where the north wind meets the sea. A voice said, sounding suspiciously like a mixture of Logan's, Thomas's, Patton's, Remus's, Jake's and Roman's sang. 

(Ah-ah, ah-ah) The voice that have been calling him since the beginning called out. 

There's a river,

(Ah-ah, ah-ah)

Full of memory.

(Memory, memory)

The other voices faded away as the voice sounding mostly like Roman's sang out. Come, my darling, homeward bound.

Virgil felt like crying as he reached forward and gently took the patch out of the air and holding it to his chest. "I am found!!!" 

"Show Yourself!" Virgil belted out as the shadows rushed forward and zipped around him. "Step into the power." The shadows melded to the purple patches all over Virgil's jacket, creating a plaid pattern. "Grow yourself! Into something new!" Virgil looked into the mirror with wide eyes as finally, the jacket began to come completely together. 

The voices of Virgil's family all called out once again. You are the one you've been waiting for-

"All of my life!" 

(All of your life.)

"Oh, show yourself!" 

The voices all melded together as the patch attached itself to Virgil's jacket. "Ah-ah, ah-ah. Ah-ah, ah-ah. Ah-ah, ah-ah" The shadows woven together around Virgil as they spun in a tornado-like wind. "Ah-ah, ah-ah. Ah-ah, ah-ah. Ah-ah, ah-ah." The shadows burst away and Virgil was left standing in front of his mirror. 

--------

Virgil was slightly nervous. No one had seen each other’s outfits yet. Roman claiming it would be better to catch the genuine reactions of each of them to the others’ new looks. Of course that meant Jake and Remus's looks wouldn't be revealed until later. Knowing those two they probably hadn't even started yet and were using the extra time to slowly plan things out. Today they were filming the Hogwarts houses video and at the end before they ducked out they would change into their new and improved attire. Virgil just hoped everyone liked his. While it felt right, and perfect, he couldn't help but be nervous. 

"'Say, Thomas, these emblems and your hair are giving me an idea!'" Roman exclaimed excitedly. 

"Roman, make it work!'" Thomas answered, excited to finally see the new designs.

“I say we go for a bit of a change too!'" Roman took off the Gryffindor robe he was wearing, an excited grin on his face. 

"Oo! How?'" Patton asked as he fought to take off the Hufflepuff robe, his arms getting stuck in the sleeves and disturbing the blinds behind him. 

"If you say mind place again, we haven't even been back to the one you created-" Logan started ranting but was cut off when Roman turned around with a flourish. "'Oh, nice.'" 

Roman wore a white jacket with gold embellishes laying across his chest, on his shoulders, and wrapped around his tall collar. Along with that, he wore a red sash that laid diagonally over his torso. With some gold wrapping around the cuffs and a new emblem on the top of his arms, he looked more like a Disney prince than ever. "'Oh! New emblem thingy!'" Patton exclaimed excitedly. 

"'Aww. Prince 2. Oh My Goodness.'"

"'Your shoulders were so boring to look at before!'" 

Virgil's eyes widened as he leaned back and looked Roman up and down. There was no denying Princey looked good. Like really good. Virgil thanked all that is emo that his blush was hidden beneath his pale foundation.

"'Yeah it's just a bit of a change but I thought it would be nice,'" Roman explained as he smiled joyfully. He almost couldn't contain his squeal at noticing Virgil's reaction. 

"'Well, I suppose I could also participate, but I'm not going to go as ornate or elaborate. I would just look silly,'" Logan explained as he prepared to change. 

"'I set the bar too high for you, that's okay.'"

Logan turned around as he fixed his new tie. This one held more blue hues going down at an angle. His polo shirt was now a shade darker and featured a cartoon brain with glasses on the breast. He cleared his throat. "'There. Nice simple logo change, clear and to the point.'" 

"'Hey Logan!'" Patton exclaimed happily. He excitedly pointed to his new baby blue polo shirt where a cartoon heart with glasses identical to the ones on Logan's logo sat on his chest. Even the cardigan seemed to have changed to a darker, warmer grey. "Matching logos!" 

Logan nearly shut down from an overload of Gay but he was able to contain it and keep up with the character he portrayed onscreen. "'That's..very nice Patton.'" 

"'Mine is a heart with glasses.'" 

"'Stealing my logo, no big deal.'" 

"'What's going on with your cardigan?'" Roman asked as he eyed the fabric tied around the moral sides shoulders. 

"'Is that your cat onesie?'" Logan asked. 

"'Maybe…'" Patton answered as he pulled the hood up with a smile. 

"Ugh," Logan sighed. "That will not suffice.'"

Patton groaned, but was silently happy he was able to almost get Logan to break character. "'Ughhhh. You never let me do anything fun.'"

"'You'll figure it out buddy. Maybe something different for next time,'" Roman added. 

"'Virgil! Your turn!'" Patton exclaimed as he tied his old hoodie around his shoulders. 

"'Oh my gosh, do I have to?'" Virgil asked, following the script. They had set it up so up until each side revealed their new look they had scripted lines and while the reluctance was scripted, it was also slightly real. "'I mean like so many changes. I just told you my name.'" 

"No! No!'" Roman exclaimed, desperate to keep Virgil comfortable and not force him to do anything. “You don't have to. I just thought-'"

"'I-actually, ugh.'" Virgil started cutting Roman off. "I actually have this idea, but like, it's a little out there. So, um."

"Go ahead,'" Thomas started. "I mean if you don't like it you can always change back.'" 

Virgil let out a sigh. "'Well...alright, but, um. Before I do, I should probably confess that uh." Virgil switched his outfit to his new one, the purple plaid patched zip up hoodie with zippers on the sleeve and white stitching throughout. "I actually really dig the purple.'" 

"Woah!!!!" Patton exclaimed excitedly as he took in everything. 

"That design!" Logan commented in awe. 

Romans eyes widened as he took in the others outfit. From the hoodie to the ripped purple shirt to the ripped skinny jeans. Holy fuck the Emo Nightmare just got hotter!

"'Get on his level,'" Thomas commented, impressed with Virgil's new look. 

Patton started coughing. "You good, Patton?'" Roman asked worriedly. 

"I got overexcited,'" Patton explained. 

"'Well, I will say this much, that is..a jacket,'" Logan spoke up. 

"'That is..magnificent,'" Roman commented as Virgil hunched his shoulders a bit before letting the tension flow from his body and allowed himself to smile an adorable little half-smile. Roman's heart raced at the smile and he found it hard to not just leap forward and pull Virgil into a passionate kiss. "'How you've managed to become even angstier.'"

"Oh, okay," Virgil said, his smile gone before it could see a minute. 

"No!'" Roman exclaimed, quickly trying to fix the situation. "'If that's what you want to rock then you rock it sir! Who needs your own Hogwarts house when you have your own hog wild style.'" Roman paused, "'Ah, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore.'" 

"'Yeah..it is pretty hog wild,'" Virgil commented, slightly confused and amused. Roman may have been a little unprepared but Virgil official counted it as rendering the creative side speechless. And that was a win in his book. 

--------

That night, when Virgil went to bed, it was the first time in a long time, he didn't have to fight against an ever-present siren voice. And if he and Roman happened to share a kiss in the few minutes before dinner, that was nobody's business but their own. And if they held hands under the table during dinner, then that was also their own little secret. 

-----

Taglist: @spxced-oxt @superwholocked-for-life @mirror2thespirit @aroundofapplesauce @lyditist @little-euro-girl @unicornofdarknessstuff @maryann-draws

[rhysreece]

Hide and Seek

7͍̻̝/̹̼̠̫7̣̻͓̠̦

̬̗̼̹̠̱̟H̤e͍͇'̝̦̗̞̫͕s ̭͓̩͍̭h̦͉͖e̱͈͎̮̝̱͎r̩͕̝̺̬e̦̹̗̣̱͈.

A̫̠̝̗̖r͈͍͖͈̠e͍̺ ̙͎̼y̻̥̞̞͕o̙u ̦rḙ͉͖̙͇̬̲a̪͎͈̹̯͓d̞̥͍̹̝y?͎͈̣̣̪͈

Patton has the distinct feeling that something is wrong. He hears no crying. No begging. With all his kiddos under punishment, it’s far too quiet. He puts down his newspaper (its not news, it’s just pictures of dogs), sets his coffee next to it, and starts looking around.

He sticks a head into Logan’s room, it’ empty, and a tip, he’d have to clean that later. He looks round Roman’s room, tidy as ever, but empty. All as it’s supposed to be. And then he decides to go check on Lo-Lo and Virgie.

The noise he makes when he sees that they’re gone, a shriek that makes your hairs stand on end and your blood freeze. It echoes through the mindscape, waking the pile of escapees. Almost immediately, the air takes on a heavier, foreboding feel. Patton is on the hunt.

He stalks back to the kitchen, covered in blood and dog hair, carrying a bloodied, blue bandana he ties around his wrist, and grabs a knife from the drawer. If the kiddos want a fight, then he is more than happy to oblige. Who doesn’t love a game of hide and seek?

As he walks through the halls, malintent and purpose in every step, he scans each room he passes for signs of life. A blood spatter here, a smudge on the wall there, all lead him to the forest, dark and ominous in the artificial night. That doesn’t stop him, though, and he ploughs on forward, silent through thick trees swallowing up what little light the stars provide, and acting as the perfect cover for him.

The sound of footsteps thudding away draws his attention, and his head turns to face it, more than a normal human could, a full 180 to track the noise. In that topsy-turvy state, he follows the noises, nigh-on growling, shifting his grip on the knife.

A deep, primal growl bubbles up from goodness knows where, and he spots them. A blur of white screaming and crying, a blur of blue helping him. His first targets, apparently, his dashing prince and his clever darling boy.

He draws closer, loud enough to draw their attention, the goes still, letting them look around in confusion. Then, he lunges, talons of a beast, sharp as the reaper’s scythe tearing at their chests. He gets a good hit on Logan, but misses Roman, giving him time to get them both away, even if the smell of blood lingers.

“Boy, that isolation really was a swell idea! The look in his eyes, so good! I just wanna pluck them out!”

He mimes along, a smile splitting his face clean in two, revealing rows of inhuman teeth, quickly covered up as another duo walks past. Virgil is holding Janus’s arm, guiding him through trees as quickly as they could go. Unfortunately, it wasn’t fast enough.

With the knife and the claws and the teeth, its no wonder Virgil collapses, chest and face torn apart, and Janus is knocked into a tree, slumped unconscious in its lower branches. Filthy snake.

His final prey should be Remus, all by his lonesome. He is of course chasing the wildlife with his peepee out, and Patton just won’t have it. Someone needs to teach him a lesson in behaving, and none of the others are nice enough to do it.

He grabs Remus by the wrists, and pins them to a nearby tree, knife already impaled into his stomach. With one swipe, his hands fall to the floor, and it doesn’t take much effort to pluck out his eyes, the nasty green things, like a sickness. He looks so much prettier!

From behind him, he hears the others, regrouping and sneaking behind him. That simply won’t do. He tuts, opens his mouth, and screams. That same unearthly wail echoes through the trees, setting off a murder of crows above them.

Somewhat funny, in a sick way.

The others fall to the ground, and the prophecy comes to be as Roman had predicted, which isn’t always good.

I’ll spare you the graphic details, but when they’d done, Logan’s body is impaled onto a nearby tree branch, the width of an arm, limbs discarded about the clearing.

Roman’s body is decapitated, eyes gouged out, hands cut off, and shirt stained his signature red.

Remus’ corpse lays in little bitesize pieces across the floor, already rotting.

Virgil was the first to die, so his corpse is just propped up against Logan’s tree, decaying.

Janus’ body is dangling from a puppy-pattern rope tied to the tallest branch of a tree, neck lolling at an angle.

Patton looks down at the mess on his shirt, and heads back home, to start on dinner. They’ll be back by next week, tops, and he can’t wait for the next big holiday to have this kind of fun again.

He pulls out a worn notebook, and flicks to the latest page, under the heading ‘Halloween 2020 Plans and Notes’ and adds to his notes that separating them didn’t work. Oh well. There’s always next time. For him, at least. For them?

Not so much.

Happy Halloween, kiddos!

[starryvioletnight]

Stray Snake

Summary: Patton finds a snake lost and alone and of course he has to take care of it! How could he not? (Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit, some angst) Enjoy~

The best part of turning into a snake and slithering around is you feel incredible. You feel amazing, and very happy. You're just a snake, slithering, hissing. Not a care in the world.

The worst part of turning into a snake in the mind palace is, until he turns himself back to normal, Deceit can no longer influence the mind palace world. But to be honest, it never really is an issue.

So Deceit slithered along merrily, enjoying his freedom as a snake. While normally he stayed out of the Light Sides' half of things, his curiousity as to why Virgil spent so much time there ate at him. He slithered on over, just to check things out.

The first thing he noticed was just how bright it was. Not just light, but colors too. And the common space showcased all the Sides' different interests. There was a very comprehensive bookcase, subjects and topics varying drastically but all having a core focus of science and facts.

There were musical Playbills, showcased, disayed right along side of pictures of Thomas from his own acting escapades.

There were pictures of all the sides at varying ages corresponding to Thomas' ages. Five, twelve, twenty, etc. There was even a young picture of the freshly made Creativity, before he split to become Roman and Remus.

Deceit remembered being young, causing mayhem and mischief with that Creativity. It was back when Thomas was a child, back when he didn't realize how much his lies had consequences. Back when Creativity wasn't so polarized. Now the two halves of his old friend were equally unbearable to be around for extended periods of time.

And lastly, there was a spot in the common area that looked like it had once been shared by the three light sides, but had been cleared off, painted purple. There were pictures of Virgil with Patton, looking... almost happy. Being loved, being appreciated. The corner was soft and dark, with an outlet nearby for charging devices. There was also a small hook for his headphones. How considerate.

Deceit had seen enough. His stomach was twisting with something like envy or jealousy, or a bit of both. What a cozy little abode. No wonder Virgil had taken to this place. Deceit turned to slither back to the dark hole he'd come from, when he saw Patton.

Patton gasped as he saw the little black snake, about the size of a ball python. "Why look at you! Where did you come from?"

Deceit just, stared. Unsure of what to do. Not wanting to change back and try to come up with a decent lie as to why he was there.

"Well you're probably getting cold, huh little guy. Well come here to your happy pappy Patton! I'll keep you all warm."

Before Deceit could stop him, Patton was scooping up the snake and gentle wrapping him around his neck. "There you go little guy! I'll set you up a tank later." He grinned.

Deceit just flicked his tongue, unsure what to do as he tighted the coil slightly. Not enough to hurt, just to be secure.

Patton carried him around, baking cookies and doing whatever else. He occasionally would compliment his new snake friend, unprompted, just giving him encouragement and kindness. And Deceit... actually liked it.

Soon Patton had a forty gallon tank set up, with a heating pad, water bowl to soak in, the works for keeping a pet snake. Deceit was placed in, and gravitated to a fake tree, climbing up and wrapping around the fake branches.

The other Sides filtered into the common room.

"Great goodness! What a wonderful snake!" Roman exclaimed. "Beautiful and brave! Much like myself."

Logan smiled at the snake. "A sophisticated pet. It truly ties the space together."

"Don'tcha mean sophissssticated!" Patton grinned.

And Logan's smile was gone as he rolled his eyes, grabbed a book and plopped on the couch.

And finally Virgil, who saw the snake and recognized him immediately. He said nothing and sat in one of his bean bag chairs.

Virgil waited until the other sides left before he opened the tank and took out the snake. He carried it, not so delicately, to the entrance to the Dark Sides' space. "I don't know what your plan is, but get out of here."

Deceit finally shifted back, and rolled his eyes. "Oh come now Virgil. I don't always have such bad intentions." His smirk was sly.

Virgil saw something in his eyes. Something distant. "Why did you come over here then?" He questioned.

"It wasn't because I missed you, if that's what you're insuating." Deceit hissed out. A lie, of course. As was his next statement. "I don't see the appeal of this place, not a bit."

"So you won't be back?" Virgil pushed, arms crossed. He was acting tough, but Deceit could see the anxiousness trembling through him. Being friends for several years, you tend to learn these things.

But Deceit, while he could definitely strong arm the embodiment of anxiety, doesn't. Instead he nods. "Of course. What reason do I have to return?" And he stepped back into his own domain.

Deceit looked around the grimy, unlit, almost damp area that the Dark Sides inhabited. A place that didn't feel like home. He made a face as he heard Remus in the other room, making obscene noises. He sighed and got a rag, cleaning off a space on the wall, revealing the yellow color it had once been before the filth built up.

He placed an old photo, of the young Dark Sides. Virgil in his old, black jacket. Remus in his simple black, regal outfit with a green stash, and Deceit, wearing a yellow button up with a sinister black coat, of course wearing his bowler hat. A small family.

And he smiled, genuinely, for the first time in a long time.

[edeyess]

Sanders Sides Headcanons!

this list is ship free, everything is platonic! if you want a ship headcanon list, tell me!

- Patton and Virgil used to listen to music together. Virgil refuses to share earbuds, because it’s unsanitary, so Patton would use speakers. They would meet several times a week to share artists and albums they found, which led to Patton making Virgil listen to Boys Will be Bugs (which led to Virgil listening to Cavetown during panic attacks) and Virgil showing Human Petting Zoo to Patton (which he listened to during down days). Logan gets really annoyed, because the speakers they use are too loud, and he can hear it across Thomas’s psyche.

-Roman and Patton like to bake together, specifically cakes. Patton enjoys finding new and weird recipes, like surprise cakes. Roman enjoys decorating cakes, and since Logan and Virgil hate how normal fondant tastes, Roman uses Rosanna Pansino’s marshmallow fondant recipe. Since Patton’s birthday is coming up, Roman is trying to make a giant, gorgeous cake. He could just summon one from the mind palace, but it’s different when he makes it. He’s not good at baking, but he’s making it work!

-Logan is on the autism spectrum, and when he has a meltdown, Virgil grabs Logan’s weighted blanket and rubik’s cube. Sometimes when Virgil has a panic attack, he can’t bring himself to get to his room, and he can’t communicate what he needs. When that happens, Logan gives Virgil his weighted blanket. Logan isn’t very good at empathizing with people, but he can sort-of understand how Virgil can feel.

-Roman says ‘RIP to ______ but I’m different’ unironically.

-Remus and Roman used to watch ASDF movie together, when it was still going viral. Roman loved all the nonsense absurdist jokes, and Remus loved the dark, bloody humor.

-Logan tried to learn D&D, but he eventually found it too roleplay based, and he couldn’t really get into it. While Roman first wrote it off as some weird nerd game, when he looked into it he really loved it. He started a campaign with the other sides, and Virgil really loves to play. Patton works really hard to play right, but he still has trouble learning all the rules. Patton plays a Tabaxi, of course.

-Logan and Roman have movie nights. Despite popular belief, Logan enjpys movies, they just have to be semi-realistic. Logan loved Wall-E, surprisingly, and he also adored Goodfellas and the Untouchables. Roman loves to spring movie nights onto Logan, almost always without warning. Logan always leaves his work to go spend time with Roman. Sometimes the other sides join them, but they usually just do it by themselves.

-Logan often stays up late, and sometimes he falls asleep at his computer or inside his library. Patton always comes to check on Logan at night, and when he falls asleep at his desk, Patton picks him up bridal style and tucks him into his bed. Logan likes to act like he finds it embarrassing, but he appreciates it when Patton takes care of him.

-When Roman started feeling more insecure, he started talking to Virgil about how to cope. They started to bond more, and they would sort of do a group therapy thing.

-One time Virgil made a Judge Judy joke to Deceit, who didn’t have a great idea of what Judge Judy was. He went back to his room, and started watching Judge Judy. He was immediately hooked, and spent 2 days in his room just watching. Remus would break in sometimes and watch with him, to Deceit’s dismay. He liked the show though, and still watches it occasionally.

-If Logan were a Youtuber, he would make videos like Wisecrack, about books, film, and other Youtubers.

-Patton has a podcast about his life stories, and he gives out advice to listeners, sort of like MBMBAM and GMM.

[mostlikelytokillyouwithaspoon]

Loceit with Hypnotist!Deceit

Deceit is really in love with Logan, but the lack of visible emotions from him and the thought that nobody could ever love him make Deceit think his love will never be reciprocated

So he hypnotises Logan to make him think he loves him. It immediately works perfectly. Logan is entirely under the charm, does whatever Deceit wants, is like Fully In Love™️.

It’s great, but Deceit starts to feel bad about it, it’s only fake love, it’s not what he wants, and that’s not the Logan that he fell in love with. He break the charm and duck out.

But Logan was in love, that’s why the charm worked that much. At first he doesn’t understand what happened, everybody talk like he and Deceit were together, but he has no memory of the weeks he passed under the charm.

When he finally understand, he search Deceit everywhere in the mind space. The others already did so, but when they understood Deceit’s trick, they stopped. They had hard time accepting he and Logan could be together, and now they realize it was just a lie.

Anyway, Logan find Deceit deep down in the subconscious. He first thinks he might still be under the charm, but with time and diplomacy, Logan finally convince him.

It will take a long time before Logan gets to totally trust Deceit, and even more for the Light Sides to accept him, but they finally get to be happy together

[transromansanders]

The Beginning (Brotherly Distaste AU)

A/N: Here's the chronological first part of the story. It kind of goes with The Things That Brought Us Here.

Word Count: 782

Warnings: injury of a child, lots of crying, I think that's it but let me know if I need to add anything.

---------

Virgil was small. That was the first thing about him that Logan noticed. He knew the child was about to be three, but he was so… little, and skinny, all bony and pale and tiny. The baby whose crib the toddler sat next to was even smaller.

They had just returned from the hospital. After whatever accident had left the baby all bandaged up like that, they had taken the baby, Dee, Logan remembered, to the hospital and brought Virgil here, to the group home. Virgil hadn't stopped crying and wailing until they took him to the hospital too, to see Dee. Logan assumed they were brothers, but he wasn't sure.

Roman clung to Logan's leg, and Logan put his hand on his little brother's head.

The first time Roman had tried to befriend Virgil, the toddler had growled and hissed at him and tried to hit him. Logan knew that Roman just felt protective over the tiny kid and the injured baby. That was just the way Roman was, even at a tender eight years old.

Just then, Mx. Vee walked by, and Logan reached out to stop them. Mx. Vee was the sweetest, honestly, the lovely individual who was both their social worker, and Virgil and Dee's. “What can i do for you, Logan?” they asked kindly.

Logan glanced back to where Virgil sat, clutching that tattered cat plushie to his chest. “Can I ask about them?” he inquired hesitantly. Roman looked up at Vee hopefully.

Vee hummed, reaching up to pull back their short brown hair and pin it. “They're cousins. Dee's parents took Virgil in when his passed away in a car accident. They… were not the nicest to Virgil. Then there was the fire. Honestly, with Dee's injuries, it may be hard to find someone to foster or adopt him… They'll probably be separated.”

Logan frowned. It hit a little too close for him. He and Roman had been too near to being separated too many times, and he'd seen how Virgil reacted when separated from Dee for even a short amount of time.

Next to him, Roman pulled away and stomped his foot. “No!”

Logan and Mx. Vee both looked at him, surprised. He was often loud and obstinate, but it almost seemed like he was about to throw a tantrum, which he hadn't done in a while.

Tears were welling up in Roman's eyes. “You can't separate them! You can't!”

Logan quickly knelt down, holding Roman at arms’ length to wipe away his tears. Mx. Vee knelt down next to them, smiling sadly.

“If it were up to me, we wouldn't separate them. But it's not up to me…” they said ruefully.

Logan pulled Roman to his chest as Roman started to positively wail. “Well… Well… I won't go anywhere without both of them!” Logan said, squaring his jaw and rubbing his little brother's back gently.

Mx. Vee sighed and ran a hand through their hair. “Roman, please stop crying… I can give you a few months… I think I can stall the separation until your birthday, and we'll try to find someone to foster or adopt all four of you.”

Roman stopped screaming, his sobs slowing and turning into sniffles.

--------

A month passed. Then two. Then three. Dee was healing. Virgil was now completely attached to Logan and Roman, as was Dee. Roman turned nine. The separation was happening. Someone was going to come meet Virgil soon, and maybe adopt him.

It was on the day after Roman's birthday that Patton came, looking for one or two children to foster. He met Logan and Roman. He loved them , even though they refused to talk to him.

Then he asked Vee why.

Vee gave a sigh. "...There are two younger boys who are going to be separated, and Logan and Roman are pretty torn up about it. They want to stay with them."

Patton set his jaw. "All four of them, then. They'll come home with me. I have room. The playroom can be a bedroom instead, and the guest room can be one of their rooms."

Vee brightened. "I'll get all the paperwork and tell them!"

---------

Roman and Logan could hardly believe it. Virgil didn't seem to understand. But when Dee was handed off to Patton, Virgil didn't throw a fit, like he usually would. Instead, he reached up and made grabby hands, so Patton picked him up, too. Then Roman hugged Patton around the waist, with tears in his eyes. Only Logan hung back, distrust on his face and uncertainty in his eyes.

---------

"My own room?!" Roman cried. Patton laughed and nodded.

Logan couldn't help smiling a little. Maybe this would be okay.

Brotherly Distaste Taglist: @5am-the-foxing-hour @i-will-physically-fight-you @satanblessi @yourhappypappypatton @wildhorsewolf @kiwisandsprinkles @aroundofapplesauce @fiive-second-cookies

General Taglist: @februaryfun @msu82 @roman-sing-despacito @obby-warrior @veiledabnigate @thegaypasta @urielthealienboio @quoth-the-sparrow @woorenergy @sippinyotearsliketea @gamerfreddie

[princessbeetle]

I was thinking, what if all the 'dark' bois had Virgil's jacket...

Day 19, no prompts, just some edgy babies

[dirtycreekwater]

ok not to add to discourse i fuckin hate but can i just say something? im like 99% sure abusive/villain Deceit fans don’t fully believe that canon Deceit is actually Like That. like i mostly see people take elements of his character and twist him into something darker. for fun. like they know Deceit can’t be evil bc he’s apart of Thomas and while Thomas isn’t perfect he definitely has no cruel intentions

idk this is why im a neutral Deceit fan. i think canon Deceit can and will be pretty fucked up as the story progresses and he has some kind of dark past with Virgil but at the same time he’s a silly slimey boi that’s apart of Thomas and Thomas is amazing and i love all of the sides to death. also i just like writing and reading a bunch of different versions of Dee. he can be anything we want him to be/perceive him as in our fiction

so like idk you can absolutely discuss his character. you can analyze his intentions. you can love him, hate him, feel neutral. can we just leave it at that and stop both the direct and “subtle” call outs? pls i just want everyone to have fun and get along

[dailysandersidesaudoodles]

IT’S UP Y’ALL, TASTE THE FEELS

If you have any questions about the context, just ask ahead! But to summarize everything briefly, it’s about how Deceit starts truly regretting whatever has gone wrong in the past between him and Virgil, causing the anxious side to leave the “dark realm“.

They used to be good friends, after all. (my headcanon!!!)