#sympathetic roman

[let-roman-bite-someone]

Janus's characterization was at its peak in SvS pt 1. In this essay, I will...

#he was an asshole he was a drama queen he was a sympathetic antagonist #he was looking out for thomas he was manipulating roman for his own benefit #he was flirting with every other side present #he was talking about the dangers of following societal norms while simultaneously playing the role of a theatrical villain #he was the moment he was the main character #he OWNED that entire episode even after he gets “defeated” #sanders sides #thomas sanders #janus sanders #janus tss #janus ts #sanders sides janus #ts janus #tss janus #sasi #tss #thomas sanders sides

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

How Romantic

what if a side did get forgotten? they got pushed to the side enough (maybe by the others being in a relationship, maybe by other conflicts) and the mindscape started to remove the "unnecessary" influence – doteddestroyer

Read on Ao3

Warnings: fading/ducking out, but he's fine

Pairings: none, so gen

Word Count: 4777

Romanticism emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental. When Roman is forgotten as a part of Creativity, well, what use does the Imagination have for a prince when it can simply put the Romantic into its work in other ways? Remus has a few things to say about that.

It shouldn’t be all that surprising, really, to think that if a Mind forgets something, it will no longer manifest. Or rather, to not think of it. Or, one could imagine the consequences of not imagining something.

Listen, Roman’s already mostly out the door, he doesn’t have enough cognitive function left to think his way in and out of all the contradictions that arise from the things he says.

The basic principle is this: if a thing is no longer relevant in the Mindscape, which is a consequence of people not thinking about it, then it ceases to exist. The Mindscape doesn’t put the energy into making it a thing. Think of it like a video game. The game only renders the part of the role that the player is currently in, there’s no use for it to render the secret dungeon buried in the third level of the side quest that hardly anyone knows about. It’s more efficient if it doesn’t and in the incredibly slim chance that the player does end up there, then the game can render it and it’ll be fine and it’ll de-load as soon as they leave to go back to the main game.

Got it?

Great.

So, that’s where Roman is right now. In his room, waiting to be de-loaded. He has his Prince costume on, because that’s the version of him that’s going to fade last, his room is all made up in his signature red: red curtains, red comforter, red pillowcases, red notebook laid on his desk. He’s even got his sword out for a final sharpening—no, that’s not a dirty joke, he’s not that Creativity, he’s literally just taking care of the katana—as he waits for the telltale shudder of the Mindscape forgetting something.

He hums absentmindedly to himself as the whetstone sings against the blade. Really, it’s surprising it’s taking this long. Well, not really. Forgetting things is a slow process, it’s not like you can snap your fingers and poof, something’s gone. At the very least, it has to be long enough that something else has taken its place in your mind, and then when you look, you can’t even tell that something was ever missing from it.

Remus has that handled. And Roman will fight anyone who says that’s just because he’s intrusive thoughts, or whatever, no, Remus is memorable all on his own, thank you very much. He’s far cleverer than they all give him credit. And Roman wishes he was half as quick as Remus.

Again, not an innuendo. That’s not his thing, remember?

And Remus isn’t bound by the same creative limits he is! He can run wild—literally, if they let him—and come up with the most incredible things that open up all sorts of new possibilities for what they could do, what they can talk about, what sorts of things they could explore. Isn’t that so much better than just regurgitating the same story idea, over and over and over, doesn’t that get exhausting? How can you imagine something new when all you’re able to do is ricochet around the same blank boring box?

His hand shudders a little as it moves back up the blade. He never liked creative blocks.

And how nice would it be to have a Creativity that wasn’t bound to the fragility of the Ego? How much better, how much easier would it be if you didn’t have to worry about getting bruised and hurt every single time you got feedback on something you made? Making things is hard, you know, it’s vulnerable and terrifying and mortifying especially when you’re showing the end product to someone—and even if you aren’t! Even if it sits on a shelf in your room or a folder on your computer and it never, ever sees the light of day, that’s still scary! You’ve made something, it exists now because of you, and now someone could look at it and see you through it and—and—

Well. You get the idea.

Roman sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. He puts the katana away and places the whetstone back in its little box. As he goes to pick it up, it falls through his hands and hits the floor with a low thud.

Ah. So it is starting after all.

He leaves the box on the floor and goes back to the bed. He lies down, not sinking very much at all into his red covers. He folds his hands on his chest and stares up at the ceiling.

It makes sense, after all, that the parts of him the others don’t know about—or have already forgotten about—are going first. The whetstone. They know he has a sword. They probably don’t know how he takes care of it. His bed is red, and he’s the color red, so it’s still here. His room, his prince costume, his desk, all things he needs to be Creativity, or at least half of Creativity, so it will probably go last too.

He lets his head loll to the side, staring at his red notebook. bits of grey begin to enter his vision, the red notebook standing out like a sore thumb. He wonders if any of the things written on its pages would still be there if he looked.

He did love that notebook. It was his friend when no one else would be his friend. It was there for him when it wasn’t okay for him to have someone there for him, when he’d messed up too much to deserve comfort from anyone else, he would go to the notebook. Mainly because the notebook didn’t have a choice.

He’s written a small thing the other day about that, actually. He wonders if it’s still there. If he closes his eyes, maybe he can remember it.

Why don’t you talk to me?; you’re unkind to me; why don’t you talk to me?; I tried and you turned it into a lecture; why don’t you talk to me?; you make fun of me when I try to express how I’m feeling; why don’t you talk to me?; I tried to ask you for help and you turned it into a game of who could mock me the most until I ran away; why don’t you talk to me?; because you were still laughing when I ran away crying; why don’t you talk to me?; because you made me feel guilty for needing help; why don’t you talk to me?; because you made me feel ashamed for wanting support and comfort; why don’t you talk to me?; I don’t want to be in trouble; why don’t you talk to me?; I want to be hurt and upset and have that be okay because I got hurt by something; why don’t you talk to me?; the loneliest time in the world is right before you tell someone else what you did wrong because you know they won’t want to comfort you anymore; why don’t you talk to me?; it’s cold here; why don’t you talk to me?; I just want to be alone now; why don’t you talk to me?; I learned my lesson already; why don’t you talk to me?; what would I have to say?; why don’t you talk to me?; tell me the right words to use so you’ll actually care about me; why don’t you talk to me?; I don’t want to; why don’t you talk to me?; I don’t trust you anymore; why don’t you talk to me?; why would I talk to you?

Ah, that’s it.

His melodrama will probably be the last thing to go too.

He sighs, rubbing his cheek half-heartedly against the pillow in search of some meager comfort. He hasn’t been forgotten enough that the pain that lingers in his chest and hands has gone away, though he’s not sure how. He doesn’t think anyone knows about that—except maybe Remus.

Oh, Remus.

Roman’s chest burns and he gasps, sudden tears coming to the corners of his eyes. He doesn’t want to leave his brother, not after everything they’ve been through, not after all the work they’ve done to get back to the place they’re at now, after all this time, not when they’re finally brothers again. He sniffles, going to wipe his nose and his hands just start to ache. He curls up on the bed, around his pained hands, weeping for himself, for his brother, for Creativity.

Enough of his mind remains to put the pieces together and realize oh, of course. In forgetting everything else, I have been left with the things that I am at my core.

Pain in his chest and hands and an undying love for his brother.

A more complete Creativity might’ve called it Romantic.

***

Thomas sighs. To say that most of these meetings go well would be a lie, but this meeting is not going well.

“Look, all I’m saying is that—“

“Well, that’s your problem right there, you’ve been doing an awful lot of ‘saying’ and not a lot of ‘listening.’”

“Your sass, as delightful as it is, kiddo, is not helpful right now.”

“Oh, really? And here I thought it was the most pivotal thing at the moment.”

“No, it’s not, because it’s taking valuable time from—“

“Sarcasm, Patton. That was sarcasm.”

“And see! That’s another thing—“

“Oh, for the love of Archimedes…”

Yeah. not going well. Thomas pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to figure out what this conversation started with and how exactly they ended up here.

Right, okay.

He’d gotten a text from a friend about a thing they wanted to go do. The problem was, the thing cost money to do and the friend hadn’t said anything about paying for Thomas to come. His finances weren’t awful but it wasn’t like he had the amount of money to just…spare. Logan had suggested they ask and confirm who would be paying the entrance fee, Virgil had worried that it was rude to ask something like that, Janus had proposed a number of ways they could ‘surreptitiously’ ask about it, and Patton had worried about going at all if they were going to be guilt-tripped into it or if the friend had just assumed Thomas would be fine paying for it.

It had…developed from there.

“Look,” Logan says, “there is a very simple way to ask whether or not Thomas is to pay for his own entrance fee. We simply text or call them back and ask.”

“But what if they freak out about it? That’s a weird thing to ask!”

“How is it a weird thing to ask?”

“They might think we’re trying to freeload, or that we’re going to ask them to pay us back, or what if they think that we’re broke?”

“Hey!” Patton puts his hands on his hips. “You are not broken, kiddo, and I won’t stand for you saying that you are!”

“…not what I meant, but thanks, I guess.”

Janus rolls his eyes. “Well, if we’re this stressed out about a simple invitation to something we want to go to anyway, perhaps we should reconsider whether we want to be friends with them at all.”

“Now that’s a bit of an overreaction.”

“Sarcastic! I was being sarcastic!’

Yeah. That’s about where they are now. Out of sheer desperation, if nothing else, he glances over at Remus. Remus’s arms are hanging over the TV, swinging his hands as he grins at the chaos unfolding. He catches Thomas’s gaze and tilts his head in a silent question. Thomas gestures weakly around and Remus shrugs.

“I voted we just go without paying, but apparently that’s illegal or something.”

“Yeah, buddy, that’s…we’re not gonna do that.”

Remus shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

“Alright, look,” Thomas says, raising his voice enough to speak over the current argument about—you know what, he’s not even gonna ask— “this isn’t going anywhere. If we’re going to figure out what we are actually going to do, we need to think about this differently.”

“It’s a simple issue, Thomas.”

“And yet, we’ve been talking for close to an hour and we’ve made zero progress.” Thomas rubs his forehead. “Look, where’s Roman?”

There’s a pause.

“Roman?” Patton frowns. "Why would we need Roman?”

“Well, you know, he’s…also Creativty? Maybe he can help us think of something we’re not thinking of?”

“Remus is also Creativity,” Logan says, indicating Remus who gives a cheery little wave. “His suggestions have been…well, we’ve ruled them out.”

“That’s because you guys are no fun.”

“Yeah, but Roman is a different Creativity. Doesn’t it make sense that what he’d come up with would be different.”

Logan adjusts his glasses. “I suppose so.”

“Why didn’t he show up today, does anyone know?”

“Perhaps he is working on another video idea.”

“Maybe he got lost in the Imagination? Happens to me all the time.”

“Maybe he slept in. God knows he harps on about his ‘beauty sleep’ enough.”

“Janus? Remus? What about you two?”

“Why would I bother to keep track of anything Roman does?” Thomas narrows his eyes at him and Janus sighs, rolling his eyes. “No, I don’t know where he is or why he didn’t bother to show up, nor do I much care.”

“Janus!”

“What?”

Patton puts his hands on his hips. “Don’t be so dismissive, how would you like it if someone said that about you?”

”I don’t know, Virgil, how would I like it?”

“Hey, leave me out of this, I don’t have anything to do with whatever the heck this is.”

Thomas just barely suppresses a deep sigh and looks over at Remus. Remus, however, is not relishing in the argument breaking out between the three of them. Instead, he’s staring off into the corner, frowning hard.

“Remus? You okay, buddy?”

“Why can’t I remember the last time I saw Roman?”

Thomas frowns. That manages to get the attention of the others—somehow—and a hush falls over the room as they all think about it.

“Well, it can’t have been that long ago,” Patton says, “we saw him for movie night on the, um…when we watched the…”

”No, it was more recent than that,” Logan says, “he had come down to breakfast to make us those muffins.”

“Right, right, that’s right. When, uh, when was that?”

“Well, it was…”

Logan trails off into silence. Remus looks around at all of them. “Think about it: when was the last time any of us actually saw Roman? Can any of us actually remember?”

Thomas watches with muted horror as all of them slowly shake their heads.

“Fuck.”

“Language, kiddo,” Patton scolds, “anyway, I’m sure this is just a big misunderstanding.”

“That’s right,” Logan says, “after all, it’s hardly the first time Roman has been absent.”

“Yeah, but he normally tells someone where he’s going,” Virgil mutters, “especially if it’s gonna be for a while.”

“Okay, the last time I definitely saw Ro was three weeks ago when we fed Ollie.”

“He helped me put up new cat posters in my room. I think it was…it was before we did that full moon thing, so that was a month ago?”

“He—jeez, I think I passed him in the hallway at, like, stupid o’clock around a week ago, but I was…pretty out of it.”

“We had a brief meeting about the upcoming script last week. That’s the last time I remember seeing him for certain.”

“Don’t look at me,” Thomas protests when all eyes turn in his direction, “I don’t see him outside of these meetings and the last time we had one of those was like, two months ago.”

“Janny? What about you?”

Janus sighs, idly examining one of the seams on the tip of his finger. “I think you’re all being overdramatic.”

“Roman is missing, Janus,” Logan says with a bit of bite to his words, “I don’t think ‘overdramatic’ is an accurate description.”

“Yeah, especially since none of us can remember the last time we saw him.”

“Oh, please,” he sighs, “it’s Roman. Do you really think something so horrible could happen to him that he’d disappear and he wouldn’t tell anyone about it?”

A beat.

“…shit.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Roman.”

”Alright,” Virgil says, getting up, “Thomas, don’t respond yet. They’ll think you’re working or something. Remus, go check the Imagination.”

“On it!”

“Logan, go see if he’s in the library, J, check the Dark Side’s living room.” The two of them nod and sink out. “Pat?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re gonna go to his room and see if he’s in there.”

“Okay.” Patton glances at Thomas. “Can you…can you feel anything?”

Thomas frowns, putting a hand on his chest. He moves it to the other side.

“Are you checking for your pulse or something?”

“No, normally when I think about Roman, like I’m gonna summon him or something, there’s this, like, warmth? It’s like something in my chest that just—it’s hard to explain.” He moves his hand back. “But I can’t…I can’t feel it right now.”

“Oh, that’s probably not good.”

”We should go.”

“Hey, if it ever feels like you can summon him again? Do it, then get the rest of us back.”

Thomas nods, watching as Virgil grabs Patton and they sink out. He sits slowly on the couch, staring into the middle distance as he keeps moving his hand around his chest. It’s strange; he normally doesn’t even have to put a hand to himself to feel where Roman is. He wasn’t lying before, it really is like this warmth that just lives in his chest, like a second heart almost, one that doesn’t really beat so much as just exist there. Like it’s reminding him that he’s, you know, a human with feelings and wants and desires and that’s okay.

Oh, Roman, buddy, where are you?

***

Remus steps into the Imagination and his knees almost buckle immediately.

Bluish-black storm clouds gather and bruise a dark grey sky overlooking a massive craggy cliff rising impossibly high. Vividly green grass and terribly purple flowers bloom deep inside the crevices of the rocks lining the path in front of him, the smell of fresh rain hanging so heavy that it seems it would fall any moment. In the distance he can see evergreens, smell them even though they must be miles away, and another mountain rising behind them with thin, wispy clouds stretching red fingers over its peak. The ground is warm under him, as though he were standing over an active volcano, but he can see and hear and smell the river that flows by just to the side of him, and the breeze that comes from it is cool and damp. His fingers twitch. So does his nose. He takes a deep, deep breath and takes a step forward.

With every step he takes, the more an uncertain feeling takes root at the base of his stomach. it’s too sweet to be panic, too frenzied to be melancholy, and too lonely to be wonder. He keeps walking. The Imagination is always impossibly vivid, impossibly beautiful, but something about this feels…different.

His chest feels tight.

As he moves past a larger collection of boulders, he rounds the corner as he spots a tree. A massive tree, one where the branches curl outwards and upwards like color diffusing into clear water. Some part of Remus—a part that sounds a lot like Logan, if he’s being honest—mutters how a tree like this couldn’t exist, not in these mountains, not with its roots in these rocks. And yet, here it grows all the same. He moves toward it, the tightness in his chest growing with every step.

At the base of the tree lies the hilt of a katana.

“R-Ro?” Remus collapses in front of the tree, shaking hands touching the trunk. The bark flakes away under his fingers and the smallest glimmers of gold shine up. “Roro…oh, Ro, what happened?”

“Remus? Remus!”

“Whoa, what the hell is this place?”

Remus can’t tear his eyes away from the tree long enough to see them but he can hear the others rush up behind him. He just paws weakly at the trunk and Logan’s muffled gasp is all he needs to hear before he starts sobbing.

“Oh, no,” Logan mumbles, “Roman’s…something’s happened to Roman. He’s—Remus, has he Faded? Or is this something else?”

“He’s been Forgotten,” Remus sobs, “the—the Imagination put him back where—where he wasn’t Roman anymore and he’s—he’s—“

Another sob leaves his throat.

“I want my brother back!”

“But we remember him,” Patton says, “we—we do, he’s Roman, we want him back, why—why is he here still?”

“I don’t think he knows we’re here,” Virgil says, glancing around, “I think he’s—I think he’s here sort of, but not in the Roman we know.”

“So what do we do? How do we get him back?”

Remus is still touching the tree. The clouds overhead start to rumble with distant thunder. He presses himself up against it, hugging it tightly.

“Come back, Ro-bro,” he mumbles into the bark, “came back, I want you to come back.”

“Logan? What do we do?”

“There has to be a reason he’s manifesting like this, doesn’t there?” Logan turns around, looking at the mountains, the sky, the river, the rocks, the tree. “Nature, the natural world, he’s become a tree so some kind of growth? Reincarnation? Transcendence?”

“Maybe it has more to do with Roman?” Janus’s against the bark near Remus’s head. “Creativity? Ego? Romance?”

“Romance…Romance…Romance, of course, Roman’s Romance!”

“What about this seems particularly romantic to you?”

“That’s it, it’s not romantic, it’s Romantic. The Romantic movement, the whole—oh, Roman,” Logan says softly, resting his hands on the trunk too, “I’m sorry that you didn’t feel like you could talk to us.”

“How in the hell are you getting all of that from Roman being a tree?”

”The Romantic period was in reaction to the balance and calm of the Classical. Heightened emotion, the irrational, the subjective, all of these became key themes. It was far more important to preserve the spirit and individuality of the artist rather than any sort of adherence to strict rules or traditional procedures.” Logan’s hand runs over the bark. “As well as a focus on the inner struggles of the exceptional figure.”

“And Princey’s the exceptional figure?”

”In a manner of speaking.” Logan presses his other hand to the tree too. “Roman? Are you here?”

A breeze ruffles through the leaves.

“Was that him?” Patton rushes forward and touches the tree. “Roman? Roman, kiddo, are you there?”

Another low boom of distant thunder and it starts to rain.

“Quick, everyone touch the tree.” Everyone puts their hands on it. ‘Roman? Roman, can you feel that? We’re all here, we’re all right here.”

The thunder grows louder. They wait there with bated breath as the tree rustles in the breeze, until Janus, who hadn’t clutched down with the rest of them, hears a crackle from up in the clouds.

“Get back!”

They all fling themselves away just as lightning strikes the tree, the very top of it catching fire as the trunk splits down the middle. Jagged bits of wood just into the open air like fractured ribs. And there, in the center of the splitting trunk—

—is Roman.

“Ro!” Remus howls and dives forward, wrenching his brother’s body out of the tree and dragging him to lie on the flat stone. “Ro, wake up, wake up, you have to be okay, you have to be!”

“…Re?”

Remus sobs again, throwing his arms around Roman who looks up at them with quiet confusion.

“What’s going on?”

“You left,” Janus spits, “you vanished and we didn’t know where you were so we had to come look for you.”

“J,” Virgil says lowly, before crouching down, “you went missing, Roman. We couldn’t find you. Why, uh, why were you in a tree?”

Roman frowns. “I don’t know. I…I was in my room, and you were forgetting me—“

“What do you mean, we were forgetting you?”

Roman blinks. “You were forgetting me. You were going to Remus. Remus is the Creativity that’s helping more. You weren’t thinking about me.”

“That’s not true,” Patton mumbles, horrified, even as Roman gestures around with a wordless if it wasn’t, we wouldn’t be here, “we…we love you, Roman.”

Roman just shrugs. “Maybe.”

“What do you mean, ‘maybe?’” Janus splutters. “That’s not a thing you get to say maybe about, Roman.”

Roman doesn’t even flinch, just turns slightly so he can rest his head against Remus’s.

“You don’t even have anything to say for yourself?”

“Janus,” Logan says sharply, “that’s enough.”

”Roman disappears, he turns into a tree, he says we’re forgetting him and that we don’t love him, and we’re just supposed to accept it?” Janus throws his hands up. “How are you three so calm about this?”

“I’m not calm, but I’m not going to make this about me right now!”

“Janus,” Roman says softly and they instantly fall quiet, “you’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t know how I became a tree. I didn’t mean to imply you guys had forgotten me entirely. I shouldn’t have said you don’t love me.”

Janus’s eyebrows raise in surprise. He huffs a little awkwardly and folds his arms. “Well. Good.”

”Are…we done now?”

“What? No, Princey, we’re not done, we—“ Virgil runs a hand through his hair— “you turned into a tree. After you vanished. How the hell are we—what do we do now?”

Roman shrugs.

Remus, who has been lying on top of Roman for this whole thing, feels one of the hands under him begin to meld with the stone. He draws back, alarmed, only for Roman’s fingers to come free and lace with his. He squints at Roman’s face, noticing the barely-there tremble of his lip, and whips around to face the other three.

“You three. Fingers. Ears. Song. Now.”

‘What?”

“Do it!”

It takes them a second but they begrudgingly put their fingers in their ears and start mumbling things to avoid listening. Remus glares at them for a moment longer before turning back to Roman.

‘Hey,” he whispers, “what’s wrong?”

Roman’s lip trembles again. “They’re still here,” he whispers back, “I just—I just want to hurt.”

‘What do you mean?”

“They’ll be mad at me for whatever’s going on, they’ll—I don’t want them to explain or tell me how what I’m doing is bad, or anything like that. I don’t want their—I don’t want their comfort,” Roman whispers, his voice getting thick, “I just want to be hurt by myself and have that be okay.”

“Of course that’s okay, Ro.”

“Because they did forget me. It’s not your fault or anything but they did and it hurts, Re—“

“I know, I know, shh, shh, hey, hey,” he says, “let’s do this: we need to go tell good old Thomathy that we found you, so let’s you and me go do that and then we can have our own cat pile wherever you want, okay? Just you and me. The others can you suck a tree branch.”

“Won’t they be mad?”

“Tell you what: you go to Thomas right now, I’ll deal with them, and then I’ll come after.”

“…I’m sorry I left again, Re.”

“Pshh. Water under the Kraken.”

***

Thomas shoots up from the couch as Roman rises up in his normal place.

“Roman! You’re okay!” He yes the scratches as bruises from the tree. ‘Well, mostly.”

Roman rubs the back of his head. “Yeah. I’m…sorry.”

“Whoa, hey, it’s okay, buddy. As long as you’re okay.”

Roman blinks. “Wait, really?”

‘Yeah, bud. You, uh…it looks like you’ve been through some stuff.”

“…that’s one way to put it.”

“Do you, uh talk about it?”

“Not really.”

‘Okay.”

“Wait, you’re sure?”

‘Yeah. It’s your business. I, uh, I’ll be here if you do want to?”

“Thanks, Thomas.”

“Of course, buddy. You’re great.” Thomas scratches the back of his head too. ‘I know we, uh, haven’t always been the best at saying stuff out loud to each other, that’s normally what the others do, but…you know I’d never replace you for anything, right?”

Roman smiles. He really, truly smiles. And for just a moment, the entire Mindscape fades away, leaving just the two of them standing in this one little room. A man and his Ego, smiling at each other.

The setting sun peeks in through the blinds and the room glows with a rich, bright red.

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#dragonbabbles #sanders sides #fic #roman angst #roman sanders #roman sanders angst #logan sanders #remus sanders #sympathetic remus #virgil sanders #patton sanders #janus sanders #deceit sanders #sympathetic deceit

[thoodleoo]

Genuine question: why are u obsessed w cicero?

hunc habeo morbum

#really though i find it impossible not to be fascinated with him #whether you like him or not (and i understand both angles; he is a ridiculously complicated person #at times repugnant and at times sympathetic) #you have to admit: he isnt boring #the picture he paints of himself and the world around him- the extent to which it is both fabricated for our eye #and perfectly authentic- it's intriguing #yknow that video about sneasler in pokemon legends arceus? #about how she would go to the ends of the world for sneasler but would also love to slap the shit out of her? #thats how i feel about roman orator and statesman marcus tullius cicero #cicero

[prodigal-explorer]

my dearest little prince (i)

(roman sanders hurt/comfort, cw for extreme self deprecation and janus dropping truth. features sympathetic janus!)

“My dearest little prince…what’s happened to you?”

Roman’s hollow eyes, darkened from sleep deprivation, were squeezed shut, tears spilling out the sides and down his cheeks. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Nobody was supposed to know. Not even Janus’ tender, lulling voice could pull him out of this panic.

“Baby, come here. Please. Let me help you. Let me hold you.”

Janus’ words were practically hypnotic to the tired, desperate young prince. Roman was so tired of being used, so tired of being an object. All he wanted was to be loved, just like everyone else, but it seemed that no matter what he did, no matter what positions he bent himself into, he could never change himself enough. He was still too Roman. Maybe his actions weren’t the problem, after all. Maybe Roman himself was to blame. Everything about him, after all, was wrong, no matter what he did and how he did it. Roman could feel his mind turn to fuzz, Janus’ words and form growing farther and farther away as he enveloped himself in a meager attempt at self-protection. After all, Roman had long learned that he couldn’t trust anybody else to protect him from anything.

This had to be a trap. It just had to be.

“When was the last time you ate?” Janus whispered, putting a hand on Roman’s shoulder. The prince flinched back, but Janus persisted, too anxious to be sensitive. “Baby, please. I’m worried about you. You’ve always been so fragile. And lately, it feels like you’ve just been floating away.”

“Yeah?” Roman whispered, his voice seething with hurt. “I wonder why.”

Janus blinked, and tilted his head, his brow furrowed. “What do you mean, darling?” he asked gently.

“Maybe I should float away,” Roman mumbled thickly as his tears started to suffocate him. “You all would like it so much better if I was gone. You play tricks on me to make me shut up or look stupid, you use me for your own agendas without even caring about mine, and then you betray me when all I ever wanted to do was help my friends! I wanted to be a prince, I wanted to be honorable and chivalrous, but- but what’s the point if it always ends with me alone? I’m the least favorite side, Janus. The least favorite. The least amount of fans like me, and the most amount of fans hate me.”

“That’s-…that’s not fair, Roman,” Janus whispered, but Roman interjected before Janus could continue.

“Maybe it is fair,” he snapped, “Someone has to be. Maybe it should be me. After all, I am the evil twin. No matter what I say or do, no matter how hard I try, people only care about the bad stuff I did, and none of the good stuff I’m doing. What’s the point of trying anymore? What’s the point of anything?”

Roman tried to keep ranting, but a whimper cut him off, and as he realized the weight of everything he was saying, he started to sob. He felt like he was being crushed under the weight of the situation. Never in his entire life had the little prince felt so helpless.

Janus took the opportunity to talk. He tried to hide his anger, not towards Roman, but towards everyone and everything that caused Roman to believe such terrible things were actually true. Himself included.

“My precious little one,” Janus murmured, carefully pulling Roman’s limp and trembling limbs into a hug. “You are not evil. Evil people don’t worry about whether or not they’re evil. Evil people don’t cry as you do now. You are so, so good, my darling. And I’m sorry that nobody has told you that. I’m sorry that you’ve felt so alone for so long. You try harder than anybody I know. You are so ready to learn and change that sometimes I worry that you’ll lose yourself one day and never find it again.”

“Would that really be such a bad thing?” Roman muttered to Janus’ chest.

“Of course it would!” Janus scolded gently, starting to rhythmically pet Roman’s curly hair and support his delicate form. “Roman, you are so special. You’re so…beautiful. I’ve never met anybody else who sees the world the way you do, with such wonder. With such color. You sing when no audience is around to applaud you. You speak to things that can’t speak back. You care so much about everything. You care more than anybody I’ve ever met.”

There was silence and stillness in the room for a very long time, not a sound except for occasional sniffling from Roman. And then, the creative side fully launched himself into Janus’ arms, letting his sorrow carry him as he melted into Janus’ secure, but gentle hold, sobbing into his shoulder and letting Janus support his weight, trusting him to keep him upright.

“My baby…my sweet baby,” Janus whispered, “You’ve been hurting for a long time, haven’t you?”

Roman couldn’t speak. He couldn’t act, he couldn’t ask for more than this. For so long, he had been trying to act more mature, so he could be taken more seriously. But it felt so good to just cry, and be a child again, even if just for a moment. Janus seemed to innately know that Roman needed this. Maybe Janus cared more than Roman thought.

#sanders sides #thomas sanders #tss #roman sanders #sanders sides fandom #janus sanders #sympathetic janus #roman tss #tss janus #janus tss #tss roman #roceit #platonic roceit #hurt/comfort #sanders sides roman #sanders sides janus #roman sanders angst #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides fic #sanders sides fanfic

[aredlemon]

A Part. Ao3

Summary:

Sure, it was only obvious that the breakup would hurt Patton. But did no one think about love itself?

Or

The others forget Roman is literally love but his bro comforts him

Notes:

First fic! Pardon me if it isn’t up to par but I wanted to get something for you out. (Also some shit happens in my real life, oh and procrastination)

Cw: oblivious/ignorant sides, slight Patton bashing, descriptions of someone looking sick, Remus comforting his bro, Roman has self deprecating thoughts.

Pairings: none!

~~~

It had been only about a week since the breakup. Not that it mattered, the others were still furious. Rightly so. It was all his fault!

The window was open, a slight drift moving the curtains. The sun was setting, casting the room in a low, orange light. The floor was littered with tissues, an overflowing trash can not too far from them.

Roman lay on the bed staring up. His prince costume had long been discarded. His skin was pale, rosy cheeks stained with tears only accentuating that. His hair was disheveled, it looked to be less saturated than before.

“Why must you ruin everything…”

A chocked sob escaped Roman. His voice was barely above a whisper, throat aching after what must have been hours of crying. He let out a shaky breath before continuing his soliloquy.

“If only you had just…Done you *job*…”

Roman turned to his nightstand. There lay a letter. A love letter. Funny wasn’t it? How the one to call Thomas all those names was the same person who called him ‘love’. It didn’t matter anymore. Roman had failed at his sole purpose. Keeping Thomas happy.

———

Remus paced around his room. Not out of anxiety or worry. Janus had prohibited him from entering the living room after he brought in a second dead body. It wasn’t his fault the first one needed a friend!

“Wonder how he’s holding up…” he thought out loud.

Remus seemed to have been the only one to notice Roman’s sudden absence. He was his brother after all, plus Roman was his favourite person to annoy! The others seemed to be too preoccupied with Patton…That bastard. ‘Oh look at me so sad! I am feelings!’ Well, Roman was passion, love for fucks’s sake! It made Remus feel weird…He didn’t like Roman…but they were still brothers.

“That’s it” and with that, Remus quickly vanished from his room.

———

It was deafeningly silent. A tear made its way down Roman’s cheek. He didn’t even bother wiping it away this time, much too tired to move. He looked sick. White hairs had started appearing on his head, all colour having been drained from his eyes. There was no point in trying.

‘At least I won’t burden them anymore’, ‘It’s better like this’, ‘I deserve this’, thoughts like these were floating in Roman’s brain. His eyes slowly closed.

“I’m so fucking sorry Thomas.”

———

Few moments passed before Remus rose up. Morning star in hand, ready to cause trouble.

“Oh Ro-Bro~ Are yo-“ Remus was cut short.

The sight of his brother made his stomach churn, something not many things were able to achieve. No, that wasn’t his brother. His brother was lively, loud, happy…this…

A loud thud was heard as the morning star fell from his hands. Rushing to his brother he sighed in relief when the faint heartbeat and slight coldness of Roman’s breath against his hand alerted Remus he was still alive. He withdrew and placed a hand on Roman’s shoulder, shaking him lightly.

“Ro-Bro, get up.” Remus’ worries came back, since Roman didn’t seem to wake.

“Come on now,” he growled, “get up you fucker!” He shook him more violently, worry slipping into his voice despite his efforts to remain calm.

Why was he even so worried? Roman was still alive after all, and he probably would wake up…oh for the love of fuck! Remus allowed tears to spill from his eyes, voice coming out in a sob as he begged Ro to wake up.

———

Roman’s eyes slowly fluttered open. It must have been morning, perhaps early mid day? Whatever, it’s not like he really cared. His eyes took a bit to adjust to the light invading the room through the curtains. He felt light, almost as if he were floating. Was this a dream?

“Hmmmgg…Ro?” A voice startled him.

Turning his head ever so slightly he was met with Remus’ gaze staring down at him. It seemed as though he had just woken up, still rubbing his eyes. Dark circles framing them, still damp from tears cheeks accompanying them. He looked so…exhausted? Roman had never seen Remus like that, let alone crying. Roman looked at him, trying to ask what was wrong but his voice betrayed him. What came out was a slight whine, barely audible.

“Oh you fucker.” Remus dipped down and hugged him.

Resting his head in the space besides Roman’s head he wrapped his hands around the prince. He felt so relieved. Roman was ok. He quickly pulled back after a groan from his twin’s lips reminded him that he was crushing him. Sitting besides him, he helped Roman sit up on the bed, making sure not to move him too quickly.

Roman felt dizzy, as if his brain was melting in his head.

“What ‘re you doin’ here…?” He slurred out.

Remus stammered, bewildered. Was he really being serious? “You’re kidding right? Roman, you haven’t come out of your room in a week, I come in and find you barely alive, and you ask me why I am here!?”

He didn’t intend on sounding angry, let alone upset, but it happened to come out that way. But was he at fault? Roman was acting like such an idiot.

Roman jolted back a bit. He looked scared. Upset. Worst of all he looked sorry. Ready to break and start apologising, saying sorry for making Remus worry, sorry for being a burden, sorry for being a failure.

Tears spilled from his eyes. They had gained back some of their colour, same with his skin and hair, but he still looked sickly. He tried to speak, but all he could muster up was a faint “s-sorry”.

No, Remus must have misheard right? He all but lunged forward and embraced Roman.

“No. Stop. Just…it’s ok, I’m here” he said as Roman started to sob into his shoulder.

“Sorry for *hic* making you…w-worry” Roman’s words came out barely audible.

“Don’t be. You did nothing wrong, hear me? Nothing.”

Remus patted his twin’s back, humming softly to soothe him. Oh dear….He didn’t like seeing his brother like this. He missed the brave, annoying, over the top Roman. As he made a mental note to give the others a piece of his mind Roman spoke up, finally having calmed down a bit.

“You’re…not mad?”

‘Might as well have driven a dagger straight through my heart’ Remus thought. “No I’m not. Just…I’m sorry, I should have noticed sooner.”

Before Roman could protest Remus continued.

“Just, listen, you’re not a failure, a screw up, whatever. Thomas will find someone new. Shit happens ok? Just cause it’s a part of your job to be love doesn’t mean anything. That’s only a part of you. A part of the amazing Roman.” Remus chuckled. “The, very sadly, lesser of the twins~”

Roman chuckled and pushed Remus off of him.

“Fucker” he said while smiling. ‘Well, what did I expect?’ Roman thought. Remus was his brother after all, and as much as he wanted he couldn’t stay mad.

Plus, the teasing was a part of him, right?

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed! Again this is my first one so sorry for the bad writing. Also for the fact that it’s short, wanted to get it out this week.

-ARedLemon :)

#sanders sides #fanfic #ao3 #roman sanders #angst #roman angst #roman sanders angst #remus sanders #sympathetic remus #unsympathetic sides #unsympathetic patton #(had to add it) #my fic #my writing #first fic #ao3 link #ao3 fanfic

[fandoms-bandoms-andmentalissues]

Alone? Not Anymore

Logan is belittled, ignored, and discarded by the light sides, but until Janus and Remus help him find a new side of himself he didn’t think there was anything he could do about it. They help him make a very difficult choice suddenly very easy.

#thomas sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #ts logan #ts sides #janus sanders #ts roman #ts remus #logan sanders #patton sanders #ts patton #virgil sanders #ts virgil #the orange side #Logan is the orange side #unsympathetic patton #unsympathetic Roman #sympathetic remus #sympathetic deceit #intruloceit #referenced past Virgil x Janus x Remus #Remus x Janus x Logan

[tss-whumper]

had a small idea. kinda just a one-line prompt but hey. names could always be changed hence the brackets lol

"hey, hey, (roman)." (remus) says quietly, "it's okay. you're safe. well, as safe as you can be with him around."

omg i LOVEE this! let me see what kinds of scenario i can come up with for ya!

pierrot

(cw -> whumper!patton, implied physical abuse, mention of kinks)

"Hey, hey, Roman," Remus says quietly, "It's okay. You're safe. well, as safe as you can be with him around."

Roman smiles and nods rapidly, doing anything he can to make it clear to Remus how okay he is. He has to be okay, he has to be carefree and unafraid. Patton is standing right there. If he finds out that Roman told anybody about the things that happen when the cameras stop rolling, the chatty prince might just need to be silenced.

But of course, Remus doesn't know that. Remus doesn't know anything about the bursts of purple and yellow peppered across his skin underneath his bright white prince costume. Remus doesn't know that Roman's mouth tastes metallic because of how hard he has to bite his tongue so nobody can hear him screaming. Patton is Morality. The good guy. Nobody can know that he has to tan the hide of the pathetic little prince who can't follow simple rules.

All Roman dared to tell Remus about was the horrible things Patton said to him during punishments. And even that was already proving to be too much for the outspoken side to sit on.

As the video starts being recorded and Thomas appears, Remus reaches for Roman's hand so his brother has something steady to keep himself grounded. When Roman doesn't take it, Remus puts a hand on Roman's shoulder instead, causing Roman to tense up and stare at the floor, his entire body tight and still.

It isn't that Remus' touch isn't comforting. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Remus' warm hand, calloused and dry, feels familiar, and Roman almost feels protected. Loved. But really, he can't let himself go and fall into the feeling because every time he dares to look up, he gets trapped in Patton's icy blue eyes as they stare right at him, unblinking, as the father figure grins widely.

"Oh, you're a naughty one, aren't you?" Patton mumbles, so quietly that not even Roman can hear it. "That's okay. It's my job to help people atone for their wrongdoings. That's what Morality's for. I'll ensure your loose lips don't cause anyone anymore trouble, my darling prince. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to lead you down the right path..."

---

When the episode is over, nobody feels great about it. The problem doesn't really get solved. No questions really get answered. Patton is seething behind his smile.

"Roman, sweetheart, can you help me out in my room?" he asks in a sing-song voice.

Roman's breathing grows ragged. Remus stands in front of him.

"What, so you can berate him again?" he challenges, "Call him a brat, a worthless little Pierrot? He told me everything, Patton. If degradation's your kink, I won't shame you for it, but don't use my brother to beat off to it. You know how sensitive he is."

"Roman is no prince," Patton whispers, a manic smile growing on his face as his eyes glint with the knowledge of a secret. "He is a Pierrot. He's a sad little clown, with nothing better to do than to spread lies about me. It really is crazy what jealousy can do to a person."

"I'm not jealous of you!" Roman protests quickly, rushing to Patton and getting in his face, begging for some of his attention. "I swear, I'm not. I'm happy that you're the favorite side now, I'm happy that you're getting the praise you deserve! I didn't really tell Remus everything, he just thinks I did. Everything's safe with me, everything! I promise! I am a prince, I am honorable and noble. I promise."

His voice grows more shaky and desperate with each sentence until words that should have been grand declarations turn into desperate pleas.

"Come on, Pierrot," Patton says sweetly, gently holding Roman's long, slender hand and guiding him away from Remus. "Let's go to my room. Talk things out...maybe over some cookies."

Remus' skin becomes hot with anger, and he reaches out for his brother, but the two sink down before Remus even has the chance to extend his arm all the way. They're gone. And now, nobody is going to get in the way of Roman's punishment.

#whump writing #roman sanders #sanders sides #tss #sanders sides fic #sanders sides fanfic #sanders sides fanfiction #whump prompt #whump community #whump fic #remus sanders #patton sanders #tss roman #tss remus #tss patton #ts roman #ts remus #ts patton #unsympathetic patton #sympathetic remus #creativetwins #creativity twins #implied abuse #implied physical abuse #mention of kinks #whumpee roman #whumper patton #caretaker remus #tss whumper requests

[whqreforstevengrant]

Sander Sides Highschool AU

i’m gonna link the post with all the info here, so just come back to this later in the day of August 29th. I just wanted to put this massive glowup in my art out there.

yes this is a redraw of my original AU.

#sander sides #virgil sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #patton sanders #thomas sanders #emile picani #sleep sanders #analogical #roceit #intruality #highschool au #tw remus #tw deciet #sympathetic deceit #sympathetic remus #my art

[loveakii]

STOP FUCKING LOOKING AT HIM. DON’T LOOK

#the ​patriarchy: man on man crime #THEYRE JUDGING HIM SO HARD I CAN FEEL IT #i feel like lukas is sympathetic bc of his own dad’s death but is still like ‘shame on him for showing that in front off all these ppl’ #the shots of the crowd make me wanna bleach my eyes bc only caroline is looking at him without disappointment #FAWK #i have to go read ooc romelukas fics now to cope #roman roy #lukas matsson #jeryd mencken #succession #church and state #succession 4x9 #mine #YEAH UM HEY I WAS JUST THINKING DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU ASKED ME WHEN MY DAD WAS GONNA DIE??

[michelangelo-error]

Patton Sanders Sides' Head-canons

~

Patton loves whenever the other sides play with his hair! When Virgil is ever feeling a little antsy he would let him make small messy braids🥰

Add on to the first- After he would leave the braids in, wanting to cherish the master piece a bit longer

When patton puts an object down he tends to give it a gentle pat

One of Patton's love languages is touch, one day the other sides started noticing the small touches he does. Poke on a cheek, shoulder nudges, and fixing a wild hair strand

Whenever, Roman or Remus needed to practice their makeup skills they knew they could rely on Patton to be such a good sport. Even if it ended with some horrific creations especially from Remus😭 (But anything for those Kiddos)

During Janus' more stressed filled nights, Patton would drag him to the living (Luring him in with his favorite wine, making Hot chocolate for himself) then throwing on a Disney film.

#patton sanders #sanders sides #sanders sides headcanon #sympathetic dark sides #sympathetic deceit #sympathetic remus #roman sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

Faeries In The Forest

Virgil promises Roman a day where they'll do whatever he wants, even if that means spending the day hiking in the forest.

When the pair stray from the path and find themselves lost, Virgil worries that it might be the end- that is until they meet a seemingly friendly fae who promises to lead them back to the path free of charge...

----

| AO3 | Second Part |

Warnings: Panic attacks, minor references to manipulation and enslavement but nothing actually happens.

Pairings: pre-established Prinxity, implied anaroceit (as a note nothing is actually said straight up, but these are the intended ships)

Word Count: 6971

Notes: I really want to write more of this so expect a part two at... some point I'm not very good at writing fast... considering I've written like four fics in this fandom now I'm wondering if I should start a masterlist... Anyways enjoy!

They were everywhere. That’s what Virgil had always been told, they lurked in the trees and in the water, they waited on street corners and outside stores. They walked dirt paths and cobbled streets, everywhere you look they could be waiting.

Be careful, they said, to not give your name to strangers no matter how trustworthy they may seem, no matter what they offer you in return. Names hold power. Don't eat their food or step into their circles either, because it's all an elaborate trap.

There were many things to remember about the fae, all of which Virgil had had drilled into his head from the moment he was born, from his parents, his teachers, the shopkeeper, even the barista in the coffee shop had gone on a tangent when he was fourteen, while he was making his coffee.

Of course, there was a reason for these stories, rumours and such, people going missing, Hell, a girl in his sixth grade class- Marie- had disappeared one day, and since then he had listened a little more carefully when the adults told their stories. He had grown up in a small town in the middle of nowhere right on the border of a thick forest from which people rarely came back, and often they came back changed.

To say the least, Virgil had been overjoyed to leave that town behind, having moved to the city to attend university. He shared an apartment with another student who he’d met right at the beginning of the semester- not exactly the scenario he had been hoping for, but he’d realised pretty fast that he didn’t have the money for rent, so having Roman move in with him was the only choice he had really.

Speaking of Roman, Virgil had been wary of him for a long while after they’d moved in together. Roman had been confused when Virgil refused to give Roman his name, and didn’t understand the charms Virgil had up around the house. Even now that he was away from his hometown, Virgil wasn’t about to be lulled into a false security just because it was a city. Eventually, though a lot of persistence from Roman, Virgil had opened up to him, told him his name, and luckily nothing had come of it. 

In a place like this, a busy city where you could see a hundred people in just one day, a regular person might forget about the possibility of the fair folk. There was no forest on your doorstep, just a park and trees planted on the pavement at equal intervals. If you asked, most people around here would say that there was no way that fae existed, people would say that they were just a scary bedtime story to keep children in line, or even if they were superstitious, they might say that they were safe here, further away from nature. But Virgil knew better. Fae were everywhere.

—-

“Hey Virge!” Roman yelled, running down the hallway towards him, waving a paper around dramatically, “I got it!”

“Princey,” Virgil nodded his head with a huff, turning and starting to walk and trusting Roman to catch up and start walking at his side, “You did?”

“Yes!” Roman cried, “Oh I’m so excited! I got the part I wanted!”

“Well done, can we go home now?” Virgil asked with a huff, he had been waiting out in the hall of the theatre- he’d promised to wait to support his friend- and he was starting to get paranoid. He didn’t like being out in public for so long, he couldn’t help it- and he was almost out of spoons for the day. 

“Oh come on hot topic! We should celebrate!” Roman grinned, though his smile fell when he saw Virgil’s face. 

“I’m sorry Princey,” Virgil said as they left the theatre, heading towards the bus stop, “I think I'm all out of spoons, but uh- I have a free day tomorrow… I know you do too, we could- I mean- eugh words,”

“Take your time,” Roman said as they sat down to wait for their bus, he took a moment to glare at the timetable, "We certainly have time to spare," 

“Just- Whatever you want to do, we’ll do it tomorrow, ok?” Virgil promised, “And hey, it’s your birthday next week, consider this a celebration for that too, so um, I’ll go along with whatever you want to do tomorrow,”

“For the whole day?” Roman asked, looking hopeful, Virgil understood at least a little, he usually didn’t like being out of the house longer than required for his lectures or his job, so of course Roman was interested, “Even… if it involves the forest?”

Virgil considered backing out then and there, but he'd promised, and he knew that Roman had wanted to go hiking in the woods an hour from town for years, though he'd never wanted to go alone. Virgil hated lthe idea of going into the forest, but… maybe it wouldn't be so bad with Roman, and they'd take precautions, it… should be ok.

"It's alright if not," Roman said, though he sounded slightly disheartened, "I know you hate the idea of going off on a forest adventure - I can choose something else-"

"No," Virgil interrupted, "No we- I said whatever you want, so the forest it is,"

"Yay!" Roman said, happily clapping his hands, "I'll make sure everything is perfect for you ok? We'll bring a picnic and- oh you make me a list of everything we can bring that'll help you feel safer and we'll bring that too- oh and-* 

"Princey," Virgil patted Roman on the arm, gently pulling him from his ramble, "We can get everything together once we get back home,"

"Right, right! You're right," Roman nodded, though he was obviously trying to contain his excitement- Virgil could see it in the way his leg bounced and his fingers tapped out a rhythm on his thigh. He hoped he was making the right decision.

As they were waiting for the bus in comfortable silence, a stranger wearing a hat that shadowed their eyes joined them on the bus stop, immediately Virgil felt the wave of suspicion that always came from being near strangers. He tried not to look creepy as he glanced at the guy every now and then, turning one of his protection charms over and over in his pocket as they waited.

"There's the bus!" Roman announced way too loudly, making Virgil jump before he stood up. Sure enough their bus could be seen from down the road. 

The stranger didn't get on the bus after them, and Virgil tried to push them out of his mind as he and Roman spent the evening preparing for their trip tomorrow. 

—-

"Here we are!" Roman grinned as the forest finally came into view, they'd already been walking for half an hour since the last spot where the taxi was willing to drop them off, Virgil brought a hand to fiddle with the pendant around his neck as they approached the tree line.

"We're finally here! I'm so excited, aren't you excited V?" Roman said, with the level of energy that Virgil could only compare to one of those puppies that never stops going. 

"Woah, you're going to tire yourself out before we even reach the trees," Virgil huffed, walking with his hands out of his hoodie pockets for once, though he had a fidget cube in hand, one Roman had handed to him as they left this morning.

"Oh shove it Robert Downer Jr," Roman rolled his eyes, but did slow down a little.

"... alright," Virgil said with a deep breath, "Here we go, as long as we stick to the path… everything should be fine." 

..

They managed to stick to the path for all of twenty six minutes before- upon hearing the sound of a stream nearby, Roman had immediately veered off the path with a call to Virgil that he was going to find it and of course Virgil had gone after him. For some odd reason, he'd rather be lost and screwed over with Roman than alone on the path in the woods. 

When they'd turned back from the river to find the path again, it was as if they were in a completely different part of the woods, no path to be found. 

"I told you!" Virgil said pacing as he tried to stave off the impending panic attack the only way he knew how, by being angry, "I told you not to leave the path and what do you do! You leave the goddamn path! Now look at where that got us-" 

"V, I-" Roman started, only to be cut off by Virgil's rambling. 

"And now we're lost somewhere and I don't know how to get out and we're in the woods and- and- anything could happen and I can't believe I agreed to this! I should've said no! I knew this would go wrong I knew-" 

"V- I need you to breathe," Roman instructed, trying to keep his voice soft, he had taken hold of Virgil's wrists without his notice, "Just take a deep breath,"

Virgil did as instructed, before Roman led him over to their bags and handed him a biscuit. Virgil nibbled it gratefully.

"We still have the map and the compass," Roman said, "I've already checked my phone and there's no signal, but the compass will work, and hey, at least we have each other, right?" 

"Yeah- yeah you're right," Virgil said, taking a deep breath, "Sorry for snapping at you," 

"I get it," Roman waved him off, before unfolding the map, Virgil peered over his shoulder, "Well uh- here's the river but… it says the path should be right here…"

"Well, the river comes out of the forest here," Virgil pointed to the map, "so if we just keep following the river southeast we should reach the edge of the forest no matter where we are right now," 

“Ok, ok good, right,” Roman nodded, grabbing their compass, “I… I’m really glad you’re here, V,”

“Huh?”

“Yeah uh- I think I’d be screwed if this happened to me alone,” Roman said quietly, Virgil shrugged.

“Me too, so- we’ll call it even I guess,” Virgil smiled, “Which way?”

“The uh… the compass is going haywire…” Roman said, eyes going wide as he watched the compass needle spin uselessly round and round and round… 

“Perfect,” Virgil said sarcastically, “So we’re stuck with no clue which way to go?”

“Seems like it,” Roman shrugged. 

And not only that, but it was just about noon, so they couldn’t even use the sun. 

“So I guess we just…” Roman glanced around, “Well choices are to stay here or start walking, so… which should we do?”

“Well- ok- it’s 50/50, so… i guess we’ll start walking, I don’t want to be here when it gets dark,”

Roman visibly shivered, “Same, lets go, we can eat on the way,”

—

“Princey!” Virgil cried, grabbing the back of Roman’s jacket and yanking him back hard enough that he toppled over onto the grass, Roman fell on top of him.

“V! What the heck was that for?” Roman cried, Virgil took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself before standing up and pointing at something in their path.

“Look, mushrooms,” Virgil said, leaning forward to see better, “It’s a faerie circle,”

“You pulled me over because of a couple of mushrooms?” Roman asked, standing up and dusting himself off. 

“It’s not just a couple of mushrooms, princey!” Virgil hissed, “If you step inside the faerie who owns the circle could trap you forever, idiot,”

“Oh jeez, well that doesn’t sound too great,” Roman huffed, “Thanks then, I guess,”

“You’re welcome,” Virgil huffed, looking at the circle thoughtfully, “How are we going to get around it?”

“Uh- we could just go around the edge?” Roman said, phrased as a question, “It’s a pretty big circle though,”

“Yeah… I don’t want to lose sight of the river…”

“That does sound bad,” Roman nodded, “And the river is pretty deep here too so we couldn’t walk through the water…”

“I don’t know if we could climb the tree and get over it- I’m not sure if it works like that…” 

“You could always just go through,” Said a new voice, making Virgil jump so much he crashed into Roman’s side, thankfully Roman was able to catch him so they didn’t fall again as they both turned to face the stranger. Virgil stared at them, eyes wide. 

The stranger wore a bowler hat, which made them look incredibly fancy. Their face was angular, all sharp like it had been chiselled from stone. They had pointed ears, chestnut brown hair that fell to their waist, held back and intertwined with delicate looking yellow flowers. His eyes were stunning, one a deep shifting turquoise that reminded Virgil of the ocean and the other a piercing yellow, with a slit pupil like the snake. Not even to mention the beautiful golden scales that covered half of his face, this stranger was very obviously fae, and if Virgil took a guess he’d say that the circle they stood next to belonged to this fae in particular. He had to elbow Roman to stop him from gawking after he’d managed to shake himself out of the same daze.

“Um, hello,” Virgil said, trying to seem less awkward than he felt, the faerie raised an eyebrow and smirked, “We’re just- passing through, we won’t be here for long if- uh- if we disturbed you or anything,”

“No bother, darling,” The faerie said with a grin, Virgil noticed fangs, “Really, I’m only curious what two lovely mortals are doing so close to my ring, say, might I have your names?”

“I’m R-” Roman started, before Virgil turned and slapped a hand decidedly over his mouth.

“You can call me V,” Virgil said, “And you can call him Prince, excuse my abrupt actions, he can act an idiot sometimes,”

“You are a smart one, V,” The fae said, taking a step forwards, “You two can call me Deceit,”

Roman licked his hand and Virgil couldn't help but yell.

“Ew prince what the hell!” Virgil yelled, snatching his hand back and wiping it on his shirt, Deceit just raised an eyebrow, Virgil mentally thanked whatever deity was out there that the fae seemed amused rather than offended, “That’s gross, you’re gross,”

“You weren’t letting me speak,” Roman said with a pout, “Hi Deceit, Isn’t that a kinda ironic name?”

Virgil facepalmed.

“How so?” Deceit asked, both eyebrows raised now, Virgil thought he may as well just ask the guy to kill them now.

“Well… fae can’t lie, right? At least V says so, and your name’s Deceit- which is all about lying!” Roman said, pointing as if his statement was an accusation.

“There are many ways to deceive that don’t involve outright lies. darling,” Deceit smirked, stepping even closer, he was close enough to touch now and he did just that, reaching forwards and trailing a finger down the bridge of Roman’s nose, Virgil’s heart sank as Roman’s face went red.

“Now is not the time for this, your royal gayness,” Virgil huffed, rolling his eyes. 

“Oh, as if you’re any better, sweetheart,” Deceit turned to him with a coy smirk playing on his lips, the fae’s fingers traced a path across his cheeks, and Virgil felt his cheeks heat up no matter how hard he tried to fight it, Deceit was… really pretty, and way too good at flirting.

“Look um- we just got lost, and we’re trying to figure our way out of the woods by following the river, if we could continue on our way…” Virgil said slowly, trying to pick out words that hopefully wouldn’t offend the faerie, that was the last thing he could possibly want from this. Deceit almost looked disappointed.

“Oh but I was having such fun,” Deceit sighed, “Won’t you two let me accompany you, at least? So you don’t have any run-ins with… less amicable fae? I can guarantee you safe passage through the forest, if you want it,”

“And what exactly would that cost us?” Virgil asked, “Not to sound suspicious but… nothing ever comes for free with the fae,”

“You’re smart to be cautious, little one,” Deceit whispered, walking around them and dragging a hand across Virgil’s shoulders- and then Roman’s as he went.

“I don’t know what you’re so suspicious about V, he seems very nice and he’s offering to lead us through the woods!” Roman smiled, leaning into where Deceit was now cupping his cheek with a delicate hand. Virgil quickly grabbed Roman’s hand and tugged it gently.

 “You know why, Princey, just because you’re gay and he’s cute doesn’t mean he’s trustworthy,” Virgil huffed. 

“Awe you think I’m cute,” Deceit smirked at him, Virgil huffed, “So how about your journey, then?”

“You never answered my question,” Virgil said, “What will it cost us?”

“You really think so low of me, my darlings? I’m sure your company will be payment enough,” 

“Yeah right so you’ll take us back to the city in exchange for what? Us keeping you company until we get there?” Virgil asked, “What’s the catch,”

“No catch, promise,” Deceit said, taking one of Virgil’s hands and one of Roman’s, smiling as he gently but insistently tugged them around the faerie circle. Virgil huffed, but let himself be gently pulled along. The fae had promised, which definitely meant something. But why would he promise there would be no catch? Weren’t fae supposed to be tricksters? Weren’t they supposed to make deals and promises and snatch mortals and such? Why was this faerie being so… generous, it didn’t make any sense. 

At least Roman was enjoying himself. He had decidedly kept hold of Deceit’s hand after he had let go of Virgil’s, and Roman was happily chatting away about theatre and art and whatever on earth he could find to talk about. Thankfully Deceit seemed interested in entertaining him, or at least the way he continued to hold his hand and bump against his side every so often made it seem so. Virgil was happy enough to trail along behind them, listening in to make sure Roman didn’t say anything too stupid.

Until apparently that wasn’t enough for Deceit.

“V, darling, why don’t you join us instead of trailing behind like a shadow, hm?” Deceit called, looking over his shoulder, “I’m sure you have some interesting stories to tell too.”

“Oh no, not really, I’m just your boring old emo who works at a coffee shop and otherwise never leaves his house,” Virgil shrugged, though he did jog forwards so he was just shadowing Deceit, rather than walking a few paces behind, he wasn’t going to argue with a faerie.

“Well that can’t be right,” Deceit shook his head firmly, “The way you dress seems to tell a story all on it’s own, surely you have something worth sharing,”

“No I… I really don’t,” Virgil said almost sadly, he shook his head, “Princey is much more interesting than I am, why don’t you um- why don’t you keep listening to his stories?”

Deceit stopped walking and Virgil did too, immediately worried he’d offended the faerie, but Deceit just cupped his face gently, leaning close enough that Virgil could feel warm breath fanning on his cheeks.

“You say you’re so uninteresting,” Deceit said softly, “But everyone has a story to tell, even if you believe you don’t… there’s always something,”

“I’m not sure anything I have to say would interest someone like you,” Virgil said quietly, looking away.

“Oh be quiet, V, he was interested in hearing me ramble about my musical theatre roles! No-one wants to hear me ramble about musical theatre!” Roman said, patting Virgil on the arm, “Talk about your music!”

“Music?” Deceit asked, full of curiosity, he turned to keep walking, but kept hold of one of Virgil’s hands this time, “Tell me,”

"Well I-" Virgil huffed, "I don't really like talking about it, but I produce music I guess, though I'm self published so it's not going so far at the moment…"

"You should hear some of the music he's made," Roman said with a grin, "It's amazing,'

"I would love to hear some of it, darling," Deceit smiled, linking their fingers more firmly together, Virgil blushed.

"Well um- I don't exactly have my guitar with me, so…" Virgil looked away.

"A shame, surely," Deceit sighed, "I'm certain you would have a lovely voice,"

"Like an angel," Roman said almost dreamily, "But like, a dark and stormy one,"

"Shut it, princey," Virgil muttered.

"No, no let him speak, I would like to hear you sing," Deceit said, brushing a hand through Virgil's hair. He jumped, because Deceit was still holding both Roman and Virgil's hands- he wasn't prepared for the faerie to have a third hand.

Virgil shook his head to clear his thoughts, embarrassed about the idea of Deceit hearing him sing, the Fae were known to have beautiful voices after all and he was sure he'd never compare, "I um- I'd rather not… if that's ok…"

"Later, then," Deceit said surely, as if there would definitely be a later.

"Aren't you leaving once we get back to the city?" Virgil asked, confused, because as far as he was concerned, they'd never see this faerie again after he left. 

"Did I say that?" Deceit said mock thoughtfully, "You may have to remind me, I seem to have forgotten," 

Virgil spluttered for a second before taking a breath and trying to string the correct words into the right order, "You promised no catches,' 

"I wouldn't say him accompanying us home is really a catch," Roman said with a smile and a shrug, well, at least Virgil knew he wouldn't be getting any help from his roommate any time soon. Deceit had him wrapped around his finger. 

"I'd just like to spend a little more time with you both," Deceit said, ruffling Virgil's hair, "You're both obscenely adorable, and very very interesting," 

—-

"Could we stop for a break? We've been walking for what feels like hours, " Roman practically whined, by the looks of the sky, they really had been walking for a long time, the first streaks of the pink sunset were beginning to light up the sky. Virgil groaned. 

"It's getting dark…" He said, wrapping his arms around himself. He didn't want to show weakness in front of Deceit, but he also really didn't want to be trapped in the forest at night. 

"Maybe we should stop for the night? Set up some kind of camp?" Roman asked awkwardly, they hadn't brought any camping equipment with them, and all they had for a blanket was the picnic rug they'd packed. 

"You needn't be worried," Deceit told them, coming to a stop in a small clearing, "You should be safe from anything else roaming the forest with me here," 

"...right?" Virgil nodded, not trusting the uncertainty that the 'should' left them with, "So do we stop or keep going?" 

"It would be unwise to travel at night," Deceit told them, "We will stop," 

Virgil nodded, hunching his shoulders and glancing around at the trees, they suddenly looked a lot more sinister, As Roman and Deceit started to bustle around the clearing, Roman looking to see what they had left over from lunch- thank goodness Virgil had asked to bring some extra food- and Deceit using some sort of magic to make the clearing nicer. As time passed Virgil didn't move, he simply became more and more uneasy.

"Hey V?" Roman called from across the clearing, Virgil's head snapped up with a short breath, his eyes darted around again, when had it gotten so dark? And who had built the campfire? Why was it so cold…? "Are you ok there buddy?" 

Virgil tried to breathe, but he looked around at the trees again and another wave of panic hit him, it was getting so dark now, it would be easy for something to reach out from the shadows and grab him, drag him off with a hand over his mouth so that he couldn't scream, they probably wouldn't even notice.

"I'm gonna hug you, ok?" Roman asked, a lot closer now, Virgil nodded and felt Roman's arms wrap themselves around him, he buried his nose in Roman's shoulder, drawing comfort from the only familiar thing around. He and Roman had done this so many times before, Roman hugging him while he panicked, it helped, it really did. But here, Virgil still felt vulnerable, with the forest at his back.

“What’s going on here?” Virgil heard Deceit’s voice from somewhere to their right, Virgil shifted, worried, but his tone sounded concerned, rather than accusatory. 

“V is panicking,” Roman said, squeezing Virgil a little tighter when he tensed slightly, “He doesn’t like forests, or the dark, all that much,”

“I see, does this-” Virgil could assume he gestured to them in the pause, “-Help?”

“Usually yeah, V?” Roman asked, Virgil just shook his head into Roman’s shoulder, “Not this time though, somethings still stressing him out…”

Deceit hummed thoughtfully, before speaking softer than Virgil had heard all afternoon, “May I hold you as well?”

Virgil hesitated, but slowly nodded. After a moment, he felt a presence at his back that made him flinch, something was coming for him- he knew it!

“It’s alright sweetheart,” Oh, it was Deceit, Virgil suddenly felt really stupid, “You’re safe, we’ve got you,”

Another pair of arms wrapped around him, this time from behind, he felt Deceit’s nose nestle in his hair, Virgil repressed a shiver, he felt Deceit smile. 

“Any better?” Roman asked, chin on Virgil’s shoulder.

“A little,” Virgil whispered, tightening his arms around Roman, Deceit hummed, and another pair of arms wrapped themselves around his middle.

“That's good,” Deceit practically purred, nuzzling his hair, Virgil sighed, leaning more heavily on Roman.

“Woah,” Roman huffed at the added weight, “I might be strong, but I can’t hold up both of you,”

“It may be best if we sit down, that is if you want to continue in this way,” Deceit said, pressing a kiss to the top of Virgil’s head, this time he did shiver. 

“Well I- I guess it is cold out, so- that might not be so bad…” Virgil muttered.

“Admit it, Hot Topic, you’re just as gay as I am,” Roman said with a grin, Deceit chuckled. 

“Come, let us sit by the fire,” Deceit said, drawing away just to take Virgil’s hand, gently pulling him, and thus Roman, towards the fire pit that had been set up, he lead them to a surprisingly comfortable bed of moss that Virgil was certain hadn’t been there when they arrived at the clearing. When had that gotten there?

“It’s so cold,” Virgil muttered, pulling his hoodie jacket closer around himself, scuffing his foot and hesitating to sit down, “We should light the fire…”

“How do you light a fire?” Roman asked, glancing around, “I’ve never been camping before,”

“I didn’t pack a lighter or matches or anything,” Virgil said sadly, scuffing his foot, turning back to the fire only to find it lit and burning away happily, Virgil glanced at Deceit, who just smirked at him.

“I’m summer,” Deceit said. By way of explanation, Roman looked confused, but ultimately shrugged and sat down on the moss.

“That would explain why you’re so warm,” Virgil said quietly, sitting down as well, Deceit grinned.

“If I’m so warm, and you’re cold, why aren’t you over here?” Deceit smirked at him, Virgil sighed, pulling his knees to his chest.

“You’re deceitful charming tricks won’t work on me,” Virgil muttered, looking away.

“I’m not trying to trick you, sweetheart,” Deceit said softly.

“He has trust issues,” Roman stage whispered, Virgil glared past Deceit at him, before shuffling a little closer to the fire and staring into its centre, the crackling sticks, Roman wasn’t going to stop spilling his secrets to the faerie, so he may as well not bother. Roman had never been good at keeping secrets, so really it had only been a matter of time. 

“He was kinda like this when we first met too,” Roman explained with wide gestures, “He wouldn’t tell me his name for the first three months we were living together, even though I did everything he asked to prove I wasn’t a faerie the first week we met, so um, I can imagine he’d have more issues with you- because- you are- you know,”

“An actual faerie, yes,” Deceit nodded, “i am aware,”

“Sorry,” Roman said with a cringe, “V’s just… I’m not sure why but he struggles to open up to people,”

“It is understandable,” Deceit said, before gesturing to himself, “Considering,”

“What’s so wrong with fae anyway? You’ve been really nice to us this whole time,” Roman asked, shuffling a little closer to Deceit and looking at him as if to ask if it was alright, Deceit smiled softly at him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“I am not your average faerie,” Deceit hummed, trailing a pattern across Roman’s shoulder with his gloved fingers, Virgil watched the movement from the corner of his eyes, covered by his hair, “V is right to be wary of us, most would have tried harder to take your names or lure you into their circles, or make a deal and trick you, there are many things I could have done that I didn't, that many others would have," 

"So why didn't you?" Virgil asked bitterly, "What's so different about you?" 

“I… don’t really know,” Deceit shrugged, “I suppose I was simply… intrigued by you both, and it does ring true that I have been lacking in adequate company as of late so… it seems that perhaps fate brought the two of you to my circle, I wasn’t about to waste that, now was I?”

Virgil huffed, he wasn’t sure what to do with that answer, he shivered again, even with the warmth of the fire close by, the forest was still all around him, no shelter, no safety, no security…

“I’m not gonna be able to sleep,” Virgil said instead of answering.

“Are you not tired?” Deceit asked, “You look exhausted,”

“Thanks,” Virgil glared, “I’m too anxious to sleep, my brain won’t let me switch off, I’m too jumpy, too vigilant, do you need more reasons?”

“I didn’t think humans were supposed to be this afraid all the time,” Deceit said quietly, Roman shifted.

“They’re not,” He said almost sadly, Virgil curled further into himself.

“I get it, ok,” Virgil snapped, surprising even himself, his anger was more directed at Roman than Deceit, of course, Roman was the only one who was talking about it really, “I know it’s weird that I do my courses online because I hate leaving the house, I know it’s weird that I refuse to wear a nametag at work, I know it’s weird that I barely talk when we’re around other people, I know I don’t like to talk about myself or start conversations, I get that it’s not normal, I know being so anxious about everything isn’t normal just- leave me alone,”

Virgil turned around so his back was facing them, he wasn’t about to cry- he wasn’t. Where the hell had that outburst come from? 

To be honest, he knew it really had been a long time coming. Roman tried so hard to make sure he was comfortable, but he never really understood, he didn’t get why Virgil wouldn’t want to go to the campus or meet his friends, he often put pressure on Virgil to come and watch his shows or go to some party- he didn’t understand and he never would, because Virgil was different. At least in the little town he grew up in his superstition wasn’t questioned, now, living in the city, it seemed like everything about him was out of place.

“Would it make you more comfortable,” Virgil choked on a sharp breath as he heard Deceit’s voice right next to his ear, he didn’t lift his head from his knees- he wouldn’t let the faerie see him crying, Roman was one thing, Deceit was a whole other, “If we continued travelling through the night? We’re close enough now that we’d reach the border in just a few hours,”

“You- you said it was more dangerous,” Virgil forced out, “Don’t- don’t want to put Princey in danger…”

“Hm,” Deceit said, the grass crunched next to him and a warm hand was pressed to his back, between his shoulder blades, despite the spike of fear he first felt, he found the hand rather comforting, grounding, “I possess the means to protect you both from anything we might come across,”

“I-” Virgil said, before trying to take a deep breath- it stuttered on the way in, “We need to- to rest…”

“So you’d be more comfortable staying here?” Deceit asked.

“Think so…” Virgil nodded, “We have- we have light here,”

“Alright then, we’ll stay,” Deceit nodded, “Would it help settle your nerves if I kept watch while you and your prince attempted to sleep?”

Despite the situation, Virgil found himself blushing furiously, “He’s not- he’s not my prince! He- I- We-”

“No need to get so flustered, darling, I’m only teasing,” Deceit said, smirk carrying through his voice, “My question?”

“You’re- oh, uh… not really,” Virgil admitted quietly, “I still don’t trust you not to stab me while we sleep,”

“Hm, I plan to keep watch regardless, so, in that case, would you like to join me in watching over your… friend?” 

“Yeah I- I guess that works,” Virgil nodded, finally lifting his head up and hastily wiping the tears from his cheeks, Deceit didn’t comment and Virgil was… really glad about that.

Roman fell asleep with his head in Deceit’s lap, with the faerie running fingers through his hair not even ten minutes later. Virgil still sat a little ways away, knees still tucked to his chest, but he was looking out into the forest now, making sure nothing was going to come for them. 

“Is he always this- touchy?” Deceit asked, voice quiet even though it sounded loud in the surrounding silence.

“I’m glad to have a break,” Virgil answered with a huff, Deceit raised an eyebrow, “Yes, he’s always like that,”

“And you?” Deceit asked.

“Me?”

“Yes,” Deceit nodded, looking over at Virgil, his scales glinted in the light of the fire, and Virgil was captivated for a moment, “How do you feel about touch?”

“I uh- well I guess I’m more reserved than Princey, uh- I don’t really like being touched by people I don’t trust, especially strangers,” Virgil said with a shrug.

“But you allowed me to help when you were overwhelmed earlier,” Deceit pointed out, “And didn’t seem bothered by my touch otherwise, yet you continue to say that you don’t trust me?”

Virgil realised he’d been backed into a corner, albeit what seemed to be a padded fluffy one by someone who really didn’t seem to want to hurt him. 

“I just-” Virgil said, before sighing, “I don’t trust anyone, really,”

“I will not harm you,” Deceit said, meeting his eyes, “And I will do my best not to let anything else do so either,”

“That… helps, a little,” Virgil whispered, “Fae can’t lie,”

“Does knowing that help?” Deceit asked, twisting Roman’s hair into a braid as he spoke, almost as though he didn’t realise he was doing it.

“Yeah,” Virgil nodded, “When you say definite statements like that, at least.”

“I shall aspire to do so more, then,” Deceit smiled at him and goddamn it Virgil was so gay- so gay, “Would you like to come over here? I swear not to hurt you.”

Virgil hesitated, but eventually gave in- he really wanted to hug the faerie, even if he wouldn’t admit it. He shuffled closer and Deceit wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Virgil sighed happily and dropped his head onto Deceit’s shoulder- he was so warm- he felt the faerie chuckle more than heard it. 

“How many hands do you have,” Virgil questioned quietly as a third hand brushed through his hair in a way that was so comforting. 

“Six,” Deceit said with a quiet laugh, “i’m surprised you didn’t ask sooner,”

“Didn’t wanna offend,” Virgil murmured as the hand around his shoulders squeezed him a little tighter, he felt another hand around his waist, settling on his hip.

Deceit hummed, “Just relax little one, I’ll keep you safe.”

Despite his previous hesitations, Virgil found it easier to relax now, he was surprised to find that he really did feel safe. After barely any time at all, he fell asleep.

—-

Virgil awoke with a yelp to the sound of a bird cawing way too close by to be a pigeon outside of his window. He heard a sharp hiss before the bird screeched and seemingly flew away. 

“What the fuck,” Virgil muttered, blinking his eyes open only to find he was looking at the morning sky, the sunrise making the clouds pink and basking just the tops of the trees in a warm light. The events of yesterday came back to him in an instant and Virgil groaned, flopping back onto the cool grass, he was going to miss his lecture this morning.

“Stupid creature,” A voice hissed from somewhere to his right, literally, it sounded almost like a snake- if a snake could talk, he heard the bird caw again, further away this time “You woke him up, you fiend, yes get out of here, I don’t want to see you again until you think about what you’ve done,”

“Shut up,” Virgil slurred rolling over, “Wanna go back to sleep,”

“I brought you breakfast,” The voice- Virgil placed it as Deceit’s, it certainly wasn’t Roman’s, “If you want it,”

“Not eating faery food,” Virgil said tiredly.

“Told you,” Roman said from somewhere across the clearing, “He won’t eat it,”

“V, you’re going to be walking for a few hours and you havent eaten anything substantial since before you arrived at my circle yesterday,” Deceit reasoned, “This food was gathered from the forest, it does not share the properties of food from faerie,”

Virgil groaned and pushed himself up, rubbing his sleeve across his eyes to try and wake himself up a little, he’d have to go without coffee today, “What have you got?”

“Berries, mainly,” Deceit answered, “And a few apples,”

“Gimme the apples,” Virgil said, holding out a hand, an apple was tossed to him and he inspected it carefully before taking a bite. Thankfully it was a good apple, he really was hungry. Roman spluttered.

“Woah ok so what did I miss, what happened while I was asleep?” Roman asked, sounding astounded, “Cursed? A spell? Bribery?”

“I have done nothing to V,” Deceit answered, “I assure you, nothing bad has happened without your knowledge,”

“Yeah Princey, nothing happened,” Virgil said, standing up and brushing himself off as he took another bite out of the apple, “So uh- which way do we need to head?” 

“Southeast,” Deceit said, when they both stared at him confused, he pointed off into the forest, “That way,”

“Excellent!” Roman grinned, before starting off in that direction with all the bravado of a real life fantasy prince who’d had four doses of coffee. Virgil sighed, stretching with a yawn.

“Is he always that enthusiastic in the mornings?” Deceit asked, raising an eyebrow as Virgil stood up, he shrugged with a tired grunt.

“Somehow,” Virgil nodded, before trailing off after Roman, pulling up his hood and hunching his shoulders as he marched off after his more normal companion, somehow Deceit managed to catch up to walk between them. Well, at least he knew that the faerie was still coming with them.

—-

It really did only take a few hours of walking before the trio arrived at the edge of the forest, right at the point Virgil and Roman had entered around the same time just the day before.

As they approached the treeline, Deceit stopped, looking back at the forest, Roman caught on quickly, since he had been holding Deceit’s hand again, it took Virgil a second later to notice, when he almost crashed into Roman.

“What’s going on?” Virgil asked, eyes darting around, suddenly more aware than he had been previously, “Is something wrong?”

“You’re fine, darling,” Deceit reassured, “Nothing is necessarily going on,”

“Well that was a statement,” Virgil said, looking at Deceit with an eyebrow raised, he looked much more awkward than he had at any point before, “What happened to being direct?”

“Well, we’ve arrived at the edge of the forest,” Deceit said. Instead of answering him, Roman and Virgil shared a glance, he was redirecting, “I trust that you can both get wherever you’re going from here?”

“...Yes we can,” Roman nodded, shifting from foot to foot, “But… I was under the impression that you were coming as well?”

“Princey, call us a taxi so we don’t have to wait forever,” Virgil commanded, Roman pulled out his phone, looking at the screen for a moment before gasping.

“Oh my goodness!” Roman cried, “Sweet sweet phone signal! Oh instagram I missed you so much-"

“Princey, focus,” 

“Oh right,” Roman nodded, pulling up something on his phone.

“We’re still gonna have to walk a while to get to the point where the uber can pick us up,” Virgil said, turning to Deceit and holding out his hand, “So, are you coming?”

“I am not particularly aware of the route from here,” Deceit told him, eyeing his hand.

“Don’t worry about it, Princey and I have that covered,” Virgil said with a half smile.

“Alright then,” Deceit said, taking Virgil’s hand, “Lead the way, darling,”

#sanders sides #roman sanders #deceit sanders #virgil sanders #ts roman #ts virgil #sanders sides virgil #ts janus #janus sanders #ts deceit #sympathetic deceit #prinxiety #Anaroceit #roceit #anxceit #fanfic #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides ships #rowans writings

[cakebatteronabrickwall]

@ people who still bring up Roman’s million dollar homerun incident-- it’s okay, you can rest now, shhh, close your eyes

#i was about to say imagine people kept bringing up kendall killing a waiter everytime someone is being sympathetic toward him #and then i remembered #oh #they do that too #succession #kendall roy #roman roy

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Hypermobility

Okay wait I have a prompt!!! If you wanna So I've been reading a lot of fics recently that are in space aus, with the whole humans are deathworlders concept (idk how this is common across my fandoms but it is so I'm binging them lol). And I had an idea based on recent irl events. – anon (long ask, cut for brevity)

inspired by my lovely @ghostofasecretary who has trained all of our friend group to look for hypermobility on account of our schlorpy joints :)

Read on Ao3

Warnings: none

Pairings: loosely implied analogical i guess, but as with most of my shit can be platonic or romantic you decide

Word Count; 1809

Remus glances up to see Virgil staring at Logan like his abdomen has spontaneously ruptured. He sees Roman out of the corner of his eye do the same. Virgil swallows heavily. "L," he says slowly, "what the fuck is wrong with your arms?" "Nothing is wrong with my arms, what are you talking about?" "Elbows don't bend like that!" Ah. So there was something wrong. Remus was right. Take that, human etiquette manual. Wait, shit, something's wrong with Logan.

Roman clicks at Remus as he comes onto the lab floor. Remus clicks back as he logs onto his station, sighing as he looks at the absolute mess someone's fucking made of the logs—seriously, it's only been one quarter cycle, how are they this fucked up already?—and Roman immediately leans over to see what he's sighing at.

"Wait, what's that?"

"Some xetron made an absolute fucking disaster out of the hadron logs."

Roman winces in sympathy and his carapace shifts. "Are you gonna do yours before you clean that up, or—?"

The last part of his question gest interrupted when Logan comes onto the floor, waving a brief hello with his fingers instead of his antenna—because humans don't have antennae, which was a pretty sharp learning curve for both of them when they'd been so confused as to why this human was refusing to talk to them or even show his feelings, they'd had a few apologetic shifts before Logan realized what was going on and explained everything—and raising an eyebrow when he noticed them clustered around Remus's station.

"Is there something wrong?"

"The shift before us messed up their hadron logs."

Logan rolls his eyes. "You'd think that for life forms insistent that their gravitational curves made them more naturally prepared for graviton scans, they'd have a better sense of how to record them properly."

"You're spellcasting on the acolytes, Logan."

Logan frowns, glancing at his tablet, before the equivalent phrase pings on the screen and he hums. "Ah, I see. Yes, well, if you'd like my help at any point, I only have the routine gamma sweeps to do this shift, so I should be amenable."

"Oh, I can do it, it's just a pain in my thorax."

Roman chuckles and heads back to his own station, probably to sneakily-not-so-sneakily ask some of the others on the shift who are fucking competent what the fuck happened. Remus gets himself ready to dive into the long and tedious work of redoing the spin increments and calculating the proper uncertainties for the right variables—honestly, do they even look at the readouts? It has the layout right there! And it's not like the other logs are invisible! Just look at the rows two microns above the empty one you're supposed to be filling out!—and manages to sink into a rhythm for the first half of the shift. Granted, he's absolutely muttering about how stupid it is that they aren't even calculating the basic momentum, let alone the angular velocity to account for the other celestial bodies in the middle of the waveforms, but it's fine, and Roman keeps up his running commentary of the molecular analysis machine that takes its sweet-ass time to do even the most basic of scans, and every so often he'll hear a small huff from Logan as he corrects their probe's trajectory, but for the most part, the lab is a quiet and serene place to be.

God, he can't wait until he gets rotated back to the engineering department full-time.

Like, yeah, he likes spending time with his brother, and the human's cool—he's really funny when he lets himself be, like his wit is drying than the mountain deserts on Cre-Ativa, and his facial expressions are fucking plat when their superiors are being xetrons, but there's only so much he can take of this quiet where not much happens. And he has to deal with the idiots who don't know how to format hadron logs correctly. This is the third time he's had to correct a typo that's rendered the rest of the calculations useless.

"I'm honestly about to recommend them for a review of the training course, that's how fucking serious this is."

"Maybe there's something wrong with how the keyboard is adapted for their limbs?"

"That would explain some of the typos, not all of them. And it definitely wouldn't explain why there's a massive formatting change about halfway through."

"Perhaps there's a shorthand they're using for some of the notes that we don't know about, and they're forgetting to correct them at the end of their shift."

"Yeah, but then they should tell us that, instead of—" Roman trails off and Remus looks up.

Logan is…stretching, yes, that's the right word. His limbs are extended over his head and his back is arched, but his upper limbs are…bending. Not like the way they normally bend, they're bending…too much? Not enough? The wrong way? Yeah, that's it. The wrong way.

Logan notices they've gone quiet and looks over. "Is there something wrong?"

"You're, uh," Remus stammers, "are you—okay?"

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine, what is it?"

"Nothing, nothing."

He and Roman exchange a look—the first rule in the human etiquette training manual was if they get weird, just roll with it for a reason—and get back to minding their own business. Admittedly, some of the errors do make more sense now that he's looking at it like it's some kind of shorthand he doesn't know yet, but that wouldn't explain why some of these variables are straight-up wrong and why they wouldn't bother to tell him what the shorthand is so that he's not trying to do the work of two shifts in the time of one.

Something he does appreciate is that the way the shifts in the lab are set up, opposed to engineering, is that sometimes there will be people whose shifts halfway overlap with theirs. So there's always at least one set of people that are staying in the lab while a changeover is happening and then there's not that risk that the equipment will be left unattended. Apparently they learned that lesson the hard way when the molecular exhibitor decided to go into overload in the five minutes where there wasn't anyone logged in, and nearly destroyed the matter wave projector on the station next to it. The justification was in the name of safety, but really everyone knows it's just so the higher-ups know exactly who to blame when shit goes awry.

Whatever the case may be, the door slides open to reveal the other human down here, Virgil, yawning as he makes his way over to his station.

"Hello, hello, everyone."

"Hi, Virgil!"

Virgil winces. "You are way too chipper this early in the morning."

"It's past the circadian half cycle, Virgil."

"Yeah, and?"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to acclimate to your schedule on your own time," Logan says, stretching again, "even though I'm sure your caffeine tolerance has—what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Remus glances up to see Virgil staring at Logan like his abdomen has spontaneously ruptured. He sees Roman out of the corner of his eye do the same. Virgil swallows heavily.

"L," he says slowly, "what the fuck is wrong with your arms?"

"Nothing is wrong with my arms, what are you talking about?"

"Elbows don't bend like that!"

Ah. So there was something wrong. Remus was right. Take that, human etiquette manual.

Wait, shit, something's wrong with Logan.

"Logan? Do we need to take you to medbay?" Roman's already rushing out from behind his station. "There's a pack in the corner, I can—"

"Oh, for—relax, all of you, I'm fine."

"Uh-huh, yeah, fine, that's what I'd describe elbows that bend all schlorpy as, yeah," Virgil says, "what the—does that not hurt?"

"What? No, it doesn't hurt, look, your joints—"

"My joints suck ass but at least they're fucking bending the amount they're supposed to!"

Remus isn't quite sure how human joints are capable of such a surprising and invasive act, but never let it be said he's not curious. "Your joints are capable of performing anal suction?"

"What the fuck? No! It's a turn of phrase!"

"Oh. Disappointing."

"Ignore him," Roman says, "Logan, are you sure you're—"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, I'm just—oh," he mumbles, prodding at his tablet, "what's the word for this in Common?"

"There's no word for schlorpy elbows, Logan—"

"Yes, there is!" He pokes around for a few more seconds before he lets out a noise of triumph and says something that the translators don't translate.

"It's what?" Virgil just shakes his head when Logan tries again. "I don't know what that means, bud."

Logan sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Okay, let me try it this way. What's it called when you are in a state of heightened energy and it leads to outbursts of things like running around, or talking too loudly, or being high-strung?"

"Remus," Roman offers helpfully.

"No, Roman."

"Are you talking about being excitable?"

"No, there's a specific word for it. It also serves as a prefix for being too much of something, or an overabundance of something."

"Too much—do you mean the word hyper?"

"Yes! Yes, that's it. And then what's the name of the thing that some people hang over cribs that have little stars or animals?"

Virgil stares at Logan for another moment. "You mean a baby mobile?"

"Yes, but only the second word."

"Mobile?"

"Yes, that's it. Then put the two words together—"

"There were probably so many other ways you could've said you were hypermobile, L, I'm just gonna put that out there—"

"Well, it got you to guess it, didn't it?"

"It's too fucking early for this shit."

"Again, it is afternoon—"

"Shut up."

Roman looks back and forth between the two humans, still twitching as though he's going to be asked to sprint for the medbay at a moment's notice. "So…is Logan…are you alright?"

"Yes, for the fourth time, I'm fine. Virgil's just a little excitable, that's all."

"You try being normal when joints are doing unexpected things," Virgil mumbles, more to his caf than anything else, but he reaches behind himself to pat Roman's carapace. "He's fine, his body just does that."

"But you said it bends the wrong way, how is that fine?"

"There is a thing known as hypermobility," Logan says, "it…oh, dear, it basically means that certain joints will bend…more."

"He's not hurt, that's pretty much all I know."

Roman looks like he's about to protest but Remus just clicks at him. They exchange another look as the humans settle back to work.

Humans are weird, just gotta roll with it.

These hadron logs, on the other hand—

"I'm gonna punt these flimflobbers into the next star we see."

"Can I help? They fucked up the carbon dating program as well."

"How do you fuck that up?"

"Ask them, not me!"

General Taglist: @frxgprince@potereregina@gattonero17@iamhereforthegayshit@thefingergunsgirl@awkwardandanxiousfander@creative-lampd-liberties@djpurple3@winterswrandomness@sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes@iminyourfandom@bullet-tothefeels@full-of-roman-angst-trash  @ask-elsalvador @ramdomthingsfrommymind@demoniccheese83@pattonsandershugs @el-does-photography @princeanxious@firefinch-ember@fandomssaremysoul@im-an-anxious-wreck@crazy-multifandomfangirl @punk-academian-witch@enby-ralsei@unicornssunflowersandstuff@wildhorsewolf @thetruthaboutthesun @stubbornness-and-spite @princedarkandstormv  @your-local-fookin-deadmeme @angels-and-dreams@averykedavra @a-ghostlight-for-roman @treasurechestininterweb @cricketanne @queerly-fluid-fan @compactdiscdraws@cecil-but-gayer@i-am-overly-complicated@annytheseal@alias290@tranquil-space-ninja @arxticandy @mychemically-imbalanced-romance@whyiask@crows-ace @emilythezeldafan@frida0043 @ieatspinalcords @snowyfires@cyanide-violence@oonagh2@xxpanic-at-the-everywherexx@rabbitsartcorner @percy-07734@triflingassailantofmyemotions @virgil-sanders-the-gay-emo@cerulean-watermelon@puffed-up-bees@meltheromanstan@joyrose-fandomer@insanitori@mavenmush@justablah65@10paradox10@uhhh-hi-there-i-am-nervous@cutebisexualmess@bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti@ultrageekygirl

#dragonbabbles #fic #sanders sides #roman sanders #remus sanders #sympathetic remus #logan sanders #virgil sanders #humans are weird #humans are space orcs

[gerrikellmanskneehighboots]

real weird takes happening over in the succession shivposting fb group

#after i called these dudes out for weirdo takes the first one told me i was weird for defending a fictional characters trauma #and then said roman actually isn’t traumatized and he’s not a sympathetic character #imagine misunderstanding the point of succession/roman so much #couldn’t be me #roman roy #succession #succession spoilers

[toastytrusty]

thinking about when alex skarsgård said in an interview that lukas gets bored and distracted easily and how he needs to be challenged to stay engaged with something and how that applies to romkas.. how roman and lukas are kinda polar opposites and lukas always pushes rome on the things he knows he struggles with but he would benefit from improving (Emotions and Family Stockholm Syndrome).. how this progresses from constantly prodding him about his feelings to casually suggesting he buy out waystar and roman be his buddy in seperating from logan to eventually not giving him any time between logan dying and meeting for the deal.. how he had to push more and more to get a response.. how when rome finally had a bit of emotional vulnerability with him (yelling at him about how he killed his dad) lukas got all big and smiley and in his space like he was proud of himself for winning . how their seperation past that could be seen as lukas completing his challenge and being satisfied with it and backing off. he's a man who has everything and roman was the only thing that entertained and engaged him. just think about that for a minute yk

#the fuckin. not pushing back the meeting after logan died always confused me #because lukas seems like a fairly sympathetic person all things considered #but then i thought about his tendency for engaging challenges and not backing down or letting up #and how he always needs to win #and thought about his relationship with roman through that lens and it made sense #he said i WILL fix you whether you want me to or not #the fixing is taking a while but he's getting there #roman show any of the excessive emotion we all know you carry challenge #anyways #lukas matsson #romelukas #succession #roman roy

[prodigal-explorer]

anaroceit week - day one - what family is

@anaroceitweek

prompt: forest/magic

relationship: platonic/found family anaroceit

word count: 3.6k

(cw -> whump, physical abuse, kidnapping, selling people (implied), chains, codependent relationships, cursing, bruises, creepy/intimate whumper)

By now, Janus was used to this. All of this. 

He trudged through the forest in a pattern, his feet adjusting to the soft yet spiky underbrush. His face hardened into one expression so his captor couldn’t tell how he was feeling about anything, though anger rose and fell in his chest each time he took a breath. His hands, bound in front of him in fists, the rope coiled around his fingers, and being pulled along, as if he was a dog on a leash, didn’t hurt so much anymore. Now, they just felt numb and tingly from the tightness of the ropes and the force behind each yank pulling him forward. 

Janus had lost count of how many times he had been stolen like this. He wasn’t dumb. He knew he was valuable. Having magical powers tended to add a lot of rarity and demand for a person. Especially powers like Janus’. People liked what Janus could do for them, even if the hallucinations he created weren’t real. He could just cross his fingers together, and show any fantasy that people wanted. Loved ones, memories, images of fame and grandeur. Janus could create anything. Sure, none of it was real. But in the moment, did it really matter? Sometimes, pretending is just as good as having the real thing. 

A tree root jutted up from the undergrowth that Janus didn’t see, his eyes clouded over in thought. His foot caught underneath it, and he came crashing down onto the forest floor, the damp fallen leaves doing little to break his fall as his bound hands curled upwards and knocked the wind out of his chest as he landed. Kicking his feet, Janus scrambled to get upright from his position, but his captor only yanked his hands out from underneath him, starting to pull Janus along once again, dragging Janus along and wrenching his shoulders painfully. 

“We don’t have time for this,” his captor threatened, his voice cold and demanding. “You’re going to be held with my new apprentice. He’ll take real good care of you until we can get a good enough price for you.” 

“You aren’t selling me,” Janus seethed, finally finding his footing and stumbling upwards. “I’m not an object. I’m a person just like you.” 

“Hmm,” his captor responded. “You keep telling yourself that. My apprentice is here under punishment. Poor thing hates the forest and the outdoors. So…feel free to cause as much harm as you’d like. After all, if you manage to escape from him, it’ll only lead to more punishment for him. And he’s got another…product…with him. Who knows? Maybe you two will be friends?” 

One of the sentences the captor hummed carelessly stuck with Janus, and he yanked a little on the ropes to try and stop his captor. It didn’t work. He only got pulled harder along, almost falling forward for the second time. 

“What makes you think I care about your little apprentice?” Janus hissed, his voice laced with venom. “If he’s anything like you, he deserves whatever he has coming.” 

“Oh, darling,” his captor laughed in a disgusting giggle. “He’s nothing like me.” 

There wasn’t anymore time for questions, as Janus was dragged to what looked like an abandoned shack in the middle of the woods. There was no other civilization, no signs pointing to where to go. Even if Janus did manage to escape, it would be a long way back to any city where he could get help. But Janus didn’t care. He’d escaped from worse. 

The door to the shack was opened, and Janus was shoved inside with little care. The inside was even dingier than the outside, the only source of light being the cracks in a boarded up window. From the corner of the room, chains clattered gently. Janus peered over in that direction and saw a man who looked to be around his age, maybe a little older, playing with a small, dirty, torn up stuffed animal. Surely, this man was far too old for such a toy, but he didn’t seem excited or happy. He seemed vacant, closed off. Defeated. 

“Virgil! I’m back!” his captor called out. “And look at this! I brought you a friend! Here, I’ll put him right next to you.” 

Janus seethed as his captor pushed him to the floor and started to attach the chain cuffs to his ankles before untying the ropes around his wrists, and quickly replacing them with the chains after putting mittens on Janus’ hands to prevent any sort of power usage. After all, his fingers had to be linked in order for his powers to work. Now, Janus was rendered useless. 

Looking to his right, Janus tried to get a better look at Virgil, adjusting his eyes to the darkness. Virgil’s raven black hair was a matted mess, and he had bruises blooming all over his face and pale, exposed chest. He had been wearing a white t-shirt, but it was tattered and ripped to the point where it was providing him no protection. His eyes were dark and stormy with unspoken emotion, but his body was still. He didn’t even look like he was breathing. Janus felt the overwhelming urge to take Virgil’s hands and comfort him, but obviously he couldn’t in this state. 

“Roman! Get out here!” the captor shouted towards the kitchen. 

Janus listened closely, and to his surprise, he could hear sobbing coming from the other area where the man named Roman apparently seemed to be. His cries sounded young and scared. Janus almost felt pity, but he was also confused. Virgil seemed to be the other prisoner his captor was talking about. So who did that make Roman? 

When Janus realized, his eyes narrowed. The apprentice. 

Why would the apprentice be crying? He didn’t have to be chained up. He had all the power here. He was probably the one who hurt Virgil so badly. Janus hardened in resentment with every sob he heard. This Roman guy didn’t have the right to cry. He could leave at any moment and nobody would stop him. 

“Roman!” the captor shouted again, but his voice adopted a chilling sing-song attitude. “Don’t you wanna come out here and meet your new pet?” 

“No!” Roman shouted, still not revealing himself. “Please don’t make me, I can’t do this again!” 

“Oh, please, you certainly can,” the captor replied, rolling his eyes playfully, as if Roman was an over-dramatic child. “Come and meet him. He’s almost as lovely as you. Come on out, my dear, and if you’re good to me from now on, I’ll give you double rations.” 

That seemed to be what convinced Roman to emerge. And Janus was not expecting what he saw whatsoever. 

A scrawny redheaded boy with dark skin and extremely curly hair came out of the kitchen. He seemed to be an adult, but he was definitely on the younger side. Roman stood tall, even taller than Janus, and definitely taller than Virgil, but he shook like a leaf, which rendered his domineering height unthreatening. If Janus was unchained, he could make mincemeat out of such a person. Especially in this state. 

Roman appeared to be just as battered and injured as Virgil, his body caked in dirt, and his clothes ripped up and ruined. One of his pants legs had been nearly completely ripped off, revealing his bruised and scratched up knee. But more importantly than any of that, Janus’ eyes locked on the most shocking thing about Roman: the chain around his ankle. 

The crying man was just as trapped here as Janus and Virgil were. 

“I trust you’ll take good care of him,” the captor said, approaching Roman and putting a hand on his shoulder. 

Roman flinched at the touch, but folded in relief when he realized the action was kind and gentle. 

“I will,” he whispered. “I will, I just- I need- I-” 

“What do you need, pet?” the captor asked, starting to weave his fingers through Roman’s hair. “Tell me what you need.”

“Please let me be beautiful again,” Roman whispered. 

Janus didn’t understand what Roman meant. Sure, he was dirty and was wearing rags, but he was undeniably beautiful. His tangled hair framed his face, his cheeks round and youthful. His eyes were large and downturned, and they were a bright amber that could almost be mistaken for orange. He had a flat nose, and small yet plump lips that were chapped, but still a rosy pink color. 

Either way, his captor laughed at Roman’s request, grabbing a fistful of his hair and yanking Roman down so the boy was forced onto his knees. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, darling,” his captor teased. “You’ll never be beautiful again. Those days are over. You’re mine, and nobody who’s mine is ever. Beautiful. Got that?” 

Roman opened his mouth to speak in protest, but his hair was harshly yanked again, which led to him slowly nodding, a tear sliding down his grimy cheek. 

“Now…I’d better see some new bruises, and you’d better write down any information you learn,” his captor threatened. “It could be so much worse than this.” 

Roman took a deep, shuddering breath, his entire body trembling. His voice came out in a soft, terrified whisper. 

“Yes, sir.” 

The captor left with a laugh that shook Janus to his core, slamming the door behind him. Roman and Virgil flinched at the sound, but Janus remained stoic, his eyes narrowing as he thought long and hard about the entire situation. Roman was a prisoner too. Why? 

“Do you have powers too?” Janus asked Roman, who was still crumbling on the floor and crying. 

Roman didn’t respond. But Virgil did. His voice was quiet, and it sounded like the vocal equivalent of wind breezing through trees. 

“He has none,” Virgil whispered. “But that doesn’t matter. He belongs to Foster just as much as we do.” 

“Ah. Foster. That’s his name,” Janus said, his words clipped. “What’re you here for?” 

“I just got snatched off the street one day. Foster somehow knew everything about me. My address, my name, my powers.” 

“Me too,” Janus realized. “I guess he captured us in the same way. Stalking us, and then just…going for it, I guess. He wants to sell me.” 

“Same here,” Virgil said. “I don’t know what kind of creep would buy a person in this century. But I guess there’s a market for it. Foster seems like an expert on all this, after all. It doesn’t matter anymore, but…I can control clouds. I can move them around, I can make it rain, snow, lightning, whatever I want. It was cool.” 

“You think that’s cool?” Janus joked softly. “I can make people see anything. It’s an illusion, but I can make anything look real. I can make your best friend appear right in front of you. I can make you think you look like Angelina Jolie. It was…kinda fun. To just play pretend with anyone who wanted to.” 

For a moment, silence filled the room. But soon, Roman’s gasps and shuddering grew louder. 

“Please don’t hate me,” Roman whined quietly from where he sat, still on his knees. “Please. I have to do this, I have to make him happy, I have to. I have to.” 

“Roman, buddy, you gotta breathe,” Virgil mumbled, reaching out to put his chained hands on Roman’s thigh. “Breathe. He’s gone.” 

Janus stared at Virgil with incredulous shock. Why was Virgil helping Roman? Why was Virgil helping the person who would keep them stuck here? Was it Stockholm Syndrome? Was Virgil on drugs? 

Roman practically lunged at Virgil, and Janus flinched back, prepared for a fight, but when he didn’t hear any punching or kicking, he looked over at the two, and realized that they were embracing, Roman sobbing into Virgil’s shoulder. 

“Come on,” Virgil whispered. “Let’s do this again. You hit me, I hit you. Let’s do the right shoulder this time. Are you ready?” 

“No, I can’t, I can’t, please, please don’t,” Roman gasped, starting to panic as he shook in Virgil’s arms. “I just want to get out of here!” 

“We both do. Well, we all do now,” Virgil mumbled. “Okay. Let’s take a break. Let’s…get to know the new guy. How’s that sound?” 

“Okay,” Roman agreed, taking a few deep breaths. “Okay. I’m sorry, Virgil.” 

“Don’t be sorry,” Virgil said, a strange sort of command to him considering his situation. “Fix it.” 

“You’re right,” Roman nodded, with a brotherly sort of sheepishness before turning to Janus. “What’s your name?” 

“Why should I tell you?” Janus asked with hostility. 

“Because I said so,” Virgil hissed, with an edge to his voice that Janus hadn’t detected before. 

A jolt rushed through Janus’ body. Virgil’s strange protectiveness towards Roman was terrifying to be on the receiving end of. 

“Alright, alright, fine,” Janus sighed. “I’m Janus. I already know both of your names because…well…yeah. What do we even do here? Do we just twiddle our thumbs and wait?” 

“Not exactly,” Roman said awkwardly. “Foster comes around for random checks. He wants to make sure that you both are…weakened well enough to be compliant.” 

“He wants Roman to hurt us,” Virgil muttered venomously. “Cruel ass motherfucker can’t even do the dirty work. He has to make his son do it.” 

Janus almost choked on air. 

“What?? You’re Foster’s son??” he demanded. 

“I might as well be,” Roman shrugged. “He saved me. I don’t know what from, but he told me it’s better if I don’t remember. He raised me, and…he’s given me everything. I owe him my life.” 

“And that’s why you’re here,” Janus realized. “You do whatever he asks of you, no questions asked, huh?” 

“Why wouldn’t I?” Roman asked. “That’s what family is.” 

Janus couldn’t help but scoff. 

“No it’s not! Family isn’t just blindly doing someone’s bidding just because they gave you food and clothing and shelter. Those things are the bare fucking minimum. A family is…people you can trust. People who you help and who help you just because you all want to make each other’s lives better. There’s no owing, no debts. It’s just…a friendly tradeoff. Family is who you feel safe around.” 

Roman shuddered. He certainly didn’t feel safe around Foster. 

“Right,” Virgil whispered, rubbing Roman’s back. “Right.” 

He seemed just as mystified by the idea of family as Roman. Roman seemed to listen to Virgil like he had the answers to everything. What sort of nonsense had Virgil been telling Roman about family before? 

Janus shook his head, figuring that it was unfair to judge Virgil for such a thing. After all, he had no idea how long Virgil had been kidnapped or the treatment he was subjected to. The treatment both of them would be subjected to, now that they were chained up and at the mercy of a puppet. 

But Janus found that as he glared at Roman, desperately trying to muster up some defiance, some hatred, something in those amber eyes, shiny with tears, made every negative feeling dissipate. Janus wanted to make those eyes light up with happiness. He could practically imagine how beautiful Roman looked when he smiled. Was this the same spell that Roman had Virgil under too? 

And when Janus decided to focus his attention on Virgil, he couldn’t help but feel extreme admiration rise through him as he watched Virgil, chained up and stiff with pain, holding Roman as if he were a child under his care. Virgil was so gentle, so careful, even though he had every reason not to be. He had every reason to be bitter and resentful towards Roman, no matter what his situation was. Janus’ face burned with shame as he realized that he almost had been exactly that. Virgil was much stronger than him. 

“Why were you talking about hitting earlier?” Janus asked. “The whole “you hit me and I hit you” thing? What was that about?” 

“Oh.” Virgil squirmed a bit awkwardly. “It’s…how we make it fair. Since I have to look all beat up in order for Roman to not get in trouble, every time he hits me, I hit him back in the same place. Anything Foster can do is a lot worse than what I can do.” 

“That’s…fucking awful,” Janus said after a long moment of bewilderment. “Are you serious? It’s just…a cycle of pain?” 

“Trust me, it’s a lot worse than the alternative,” Roman said. “We’ve tried so many other things. This is the only one that works. Besides…Foster- he likes how I look when I-” 

“When you’re all bruised up?” Janus joked, and when Roman flinched, Janus’ smile dropped. “Holy shit, seriously??” 

“It’s a win-win,” Virgil snapped angrily. “Except Foster gets both wins. He gets to see me too weak to escape, and he gets to see his little pet in pain. What a perfect world he lives in, where he gets everything he wants.” 

“I’m not joining in on that,” Janus said. “That’s insane. This isn’t like a game, this isn’t- I’m not falling for his trap. I’m getting out of here.” 

“No the fuck you’re not,” Virgil glowered. “Not if I have anything to say about it. Do you know what will happen if you escape?” 

“I’ll be free?” Janus said with a short laugh. 

“Sure, whatever, but think about what you’re leaving behind. Foster will see that you escaped, and you know who he’ll turn on?” Virgil asked. “Huh?? Do you??” 

“Virgil, stop.” 

Roman’s voice was demanding. Virgil rolled his eyes, but he slunk back against the wall. 

“You know I hate it when you talk for me,” Roman said. “I’m not a kid. I can handle this just as well as you can.” 

“Clearly, you can’t,” Virgil snapped. “We just saw-” 

“I don’t care about what you just saw,” Roman interrupted. “We protect each other. You don’t just protect me. If anything, I have it better than both of you. At least I know that Foster’s keeping me.” 

“Gee, thanks for the reminder,” Janus hissed. 

“So, let’s just…work together, okay?” Roman said. “It’ll get us hurt, but it’ll get us less hurt than any of the other options.” 

“What do you mean?” Janus asked. “There’s one option where nobody gets hurt at all.” 

“Yeah?” Virgil snorted doubtfully. “And what would that be?” 

“If we all escape.” 

Virgil and Roman stared at Janus for a long moment, before making eye contact with each other and starting to weakly laugh. The action seemed to take a lot out of them. They seemed almost out of practice with it. 

“You really think we have a chance of escaping Foster?” Roman asked. “Didn’t you forget we’re in chains? I don’t have a key or anything.” 

“We’ll pick the locks,” Janus said. “It can’t be that hard. These look to all be controlled by the same key. If we could pick one lock, we could pick all the others too. And we’d start by freeing me, because once I can make my illusions, Foster will be helpless against us.” 

“Wait, how do I know you won’t just run off the second we let you go?” Virgil asked, quirking an eyebrow. 

“Okay, let’s let Roman out instead and see how he does against Foster,” Janus snapped sarcastically in response. 

“You’re really fucking annoying, you know that?” Virgil muttered. “Okay, look. We’ll let me out first. I won’t be going anywhere without Roman, and my clouds can obscure Foster’s vision just as well as your illusions can. Sounds like a plan?” 

Roman was starting to smile, and Janus had been correct. His smile was gorgeous. 

“I can’t believe this,” he whispered, “Foster is pretty much all I’ve ever known. I want to be myself. I want to be in charge of myself. I want to have my own family. A real one.” 

“Hold on, Roman, you were talking to Foster about something before,” Janus said. “About being beautiful. What were you talking about?” 

Roman inspected his arm. Littered with bruises and caked with dirt. 

“Nobody could ever love somebody who looks like me but Foster,” he said plaintively. “Nobody. I look like a punching bag. They’re all over me. They’re all over my arms, my legs, my chest, my back…my neck. He’s made some of them. And he makes sure that they never fade away.” 

Roman took a long look in the dusty mirror that was hanging on the wall. 

He really was very superficial, wasn’t he? 

“Your vanity’s resolve is almost admirable,” Janus mumbled fondly, putting a hand on Roman’s shoulder. “It doesn’t matter what he does to you. You’re very beautiful.” 

“You’re just like Virgil,” Roman laughed. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” 

“No he’s not,” Virgil said. “And I don’t either. Just like you tell me I’m strong, I’m telling you that you’re beautiful. It could take you a hundred years to believe me, but I know that one day you will.” 

“And one day, you will,” Roman said in response to Virgil. “Look at Janus. He looks like he could be a bodybuilder, and Foster still got him. You aren’t weak for landing in his clutches. Just…unlucky. Really, really, really unlucky.” 

“Whatever,” Virgil sighed. “We all have insecurities, blah, blah, blah. We need to focus on getting out of here. This is everyone’s last chance to back out. Are we doing this?” 

Roman nodded immediately. But Janus hesitated. He barely knew these two. Who was to say they wouldn’t just leave Janus behind? But either way, being left behind would probably be just as bad as being here with them. There was nothing to lose from this plan unless they failed. And that was no reason not to do something. 

“Alright,” Janus said finally. “Let’s escape this place.”

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