#I’m hoping for more Virgil and Logan interactions

[halfhissandwich]

Logan is protective of Virgil :)

[elementary-my-dear-daddy]

Cafe

Analoceit (Virgil, Trans!Logan, and Janus)

Warnings: D/S dynamic, Edging, Vibrators, Exhibitionism/In Public

Read it on AO3!

This fic was inspired by this post by @pupplaylogan! Hope ya like it Revy :)

Summary: Janus and Virgil take Logan on a date to a cafe to try something new. Hopefully he'll be able to finish his drink with a vibe in his underwear and a lot of teasing.

“Are you guys ready to go?”

Virgil asked, waiting in the doorway of the bedroom, watching as Logan and Janus were getting ready. The three of them planned a brunch date at a local cafe that morning, since their date nights lately consisted of parallel play that left them wanting more interaction from each other. Sure just sitting together drawing, reading, and crocheting together was nice, but it was getting a bit old and they needed a change of scenery.

“Almost.” Replied Logan from their bathroom, fixing his hair and tie in the mirror. Janus had walked out from the closet half-dressed to meet Virgil, “Why don’t you go start the car, love, we’ll be out in a sec.”

Virgil shrugged and went to go grab the keys. Once he left, Janus hummed and turned to Logan, “You look absolutely ravishing, darling.”

“Hm? Oh, thank you Jan-mmph!” Logan tried to respond only to be cut off by his boyfriend shoving two fingers into his mouth. Janus donned an ear-splitting grin as he looked down at the other, “I think you might be missing a few things though~”

~~~~~~~~~~

Virgil was just about to go in to check on the two when they stepped into the garage. He noted Logan’s new manner of dress, a size-too-big knit black sweater, indigo pencil skirt, black tights, heels, and the thin silver choker he and Janus got him for their 3 year anniversary. Of course Janus had to indulge in his dress-up kink right now. He rolled his eyes affectionately as the two piled into the car.

“I was gonna ask what took so long but I think I figured it out.” Virgil said, starting to pull out of the driveway and drive down the road. 

“What? I couldn’t help myself! I love how flustered it makes him.” Janus glanced back at Logan, who had both his arms and legs crossed while he looked out the window. It was just then when Janus pulled out his phone and opened a special app that would allow him to control the vibe currently resting against Logan’s clit. They were still traveling in the residential area they lived in, and as soon as they drove over a speed bump Janus would turn the vibe up onto its max setting momentarily.

Logan let out a squeak and grabbed at his crotch, the feeling gone almost instantly. A blush formed across his cheeks as he met Virgil’s eyes in the rear-view.

“You good, L?”

“Y-yeah. Yes, I’m fine. Apologies, the speed bump, uh, scared me.” 

Virgil looked between him and Janus, “Hm. If you say so.”

Logan sighed and bit his lip. It happened twice more before they arrived at the cafe, but he was able to hide his noises after the first occurrence. 

Virgil had pulled into a spot up front and parked the car. Janus got out first to open the door for Logan, who gave him a glare as he got out. As soon as the car was locked (8 extra times, so Virgil was sure it really was locked) Janus had pulled out his phone again and set the vibe on a low setting. Logan still had a visible reaction, walking with a different cadence with his hands straight at his sides. Virgil kept an eye on him as he walked trying to figure out what was going on with him. 

“Lo?”

“Mhm?”

“What’d he do to you before we left?”

“Oh, Virgil, don’t be such a worrywort. We just wanted to have a little fun today!” Janus smiled at the two of them, a glint of mischievousness in his eye. 

Virgil squinted at him, “He isn’t acting normal and he was before I left to start the car which means you’re behind this.”

“What ever could you mean?” Janus walked into the cafe with a wink.

Virgil and Logan followed, the former helping Logan by taking his hand and leading him in. They approached the cash register to order their drinks, with Janus quickly taking the lead. When it came to Logan’s turn, he felt the vibrations increase even more. He cleared his throat and managed to stutter his way through his order, fortunately not receiving more attention than a question about whether or not he wanted his drink hot or iced. 

Logan tugged on Janus’ sleeve like a shy child as Virgil ordered and paid. He got close and whispered, “May I go sit down?”

“Ask nicely.” Janus replied.

“May I please go sit down, Master?” Logan whispered behind gritted teeth.

“Well, I suppose so. Go on.”

Logan rushed over to a booth in the corner of the cafe, tucked in the back so no one would see him hide his head down in his folded arms and shallowly thrust against the vibe. Soon both his lovers found him with drinks in hand, Virgil sliding next to him while Janus casually sipped his drink from across the table.

“Alright, quit dodging the question. What did you do?” Virgil questioned, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Janus huffed, “Must you always ruin the surprise? Fine. I made him wear his favorite vibrator and dressed him up. And planned on teasing him mercilessly till we went back home. But am I really at fault here? Look at him, he’s loving this!”

Virgil looked down at Logan, who currently had one hand in between his thighs to soothe the assault on his clit and one over his mouth to prevent any noises from slipping out. He rubbed his back as he realized what was happening.

“Jesus Jan, you really are a sadist.”

“Oh please like you’re not the one to give him a bruised ass and scratch marks.” Janus said while mindlessly amping up Logan’s vibe further.

“Only when he begs me for it.” Virgil smirked and made Logan take his hand away from his thighs, instead replacing it with his own, “Right, L?”

“Mmm, Uh-huh. Oh fuck Janus~ ”

“You’re so tense, baby. Why don’t you take a sip of your drink?” Janus offered Logan his cup. He managed to hold it and take a shaky sip, setting it back down quickly. 

Virgil reached underneath his skirt, running two fingers down the length of his cunt through his underwear, “You should feel him, he’s fucking dripping.”

“Aw, well we don’t want him making too much of a mess, do we?” Janus immediately turned the vibe off, causing Logan to emit a loud whine. He bucked his hips into Virgil’s hand, who moved to tease and pinch his thighs instead, “Calm down, L. We’re in public . You don’t wanna get caught, do you?”

Logan shook his head, “No, Sir.”

Virgil put an arm around him, meanwhile Janus just gave him a cheeky grin, “Logan, sweetheart, would you be a dear and go grab me a few sugars and a stirrer?”

“Um, can’t Virgil? He’s closer and he’d have to get up already-”

“I didn’t ask him, I asked you. Don’t make me ask again.” Janus spat with a much darker tone.

Logan looked between him and Virgil, biting his lip and nodding, knowing that Janus was going to make this difficult. Virgil got up and allowed Logan to scoot out, at least he could be thankful they didn’t make him crawl under the table. As soon as he stood, the vibe started again, making a wave of pleasure rush through his body. His legs felt weak, but he just had to put one foot in front of the other to get to the station at the front with helpings of sweetener and other various drink add-ins. Simple.

It was, in fact, not simple whatsoever. Janus put the vibrations on an oscillating pattern so every step made him want to drop to the floor and whimper and moan. He was sweating by the time he grabbed a handful of sugar packets and a stirrer. He had to pause before deciding to just book it back to the table.

Logan was greeted with Virgil and Janus snickering in the corner, watching him struggle back. He practically collapsed into Virgil's side when he sat down, slamming Janus’ request down in front of him. His boyfriends just chuckled.

Virgil reached down beneath his skirt again, “Is there something wrong, babe?”

“ ‘S so much, please. ” 

“You don’t even know what you’re begging for, huh?” Virgil asked, pressing the vibrator harder against him

“Ahhhh~ please Sir, ‘m close!” 

“Really? You’re gonna cum in public like some pathetic whore?”

“ Yes. ”

Virgil and Janus shared a look. Janus pulled out his phone and ramped the vibrations up to max. Finally, Logan would be able to tip over the edge and this merciless teasing would be over!

All at once the vibrations stopped, suddenly deriving him of any relief.

“No no no no no -” Logan tried to buck his hips to seek any friction, but Virgil's strong hands pinned him down and prevented him from doing so. He whined and rested his head down on the table in front of him.

Janus leaned down to be at his eye level, “You’ll get off when we let you. And that certainly won’t be in public where anyone can see.”

He slid out of the booth and stood, “Come on, maybe we should just go home. I don’t see you being able to last much longer out here.”

Virgil gave Logan a nudge, who in turn just groaned. He felt like he was about to turn into a puddle of goo if he was edged any more and his legs barely worked. 

“Up, Lo, I’ll carry you once we’re home. C’mon.” Virgil gave him another push.

He finally mustered the strength to stand, and with the help of Janus and Virgil, he made it to the car. After Virgil made on his promise to carry Logan into the house, the rest of the night was filled with more teasing torture. He would groan and beg for his doms to let up, only to be met with tasks to fulfill while his toy still continued to vibrate. 

They’d need to do this more often.

[author-chan06]

Hello! Welcome to my Tumblr!

Personal:

Names: Ari, Jay, Roman, Blitzø, And Loki! You can use any or all of them.

Gender: Agenderboy

Sexuality: Biromantic Bisexual (Maybe??? Questioning This Rn Might Be On The Asexual Spectrum???)

Pronouns: They/He/It + Some Neos

Neopronouns That I Use:

Xe/Xem/Xyr/Xyrs/Xemself

Ae/Aer/Aer/Aers/Aerself

Ye/Yem/Yer/Yers/Yemself

Qu/Queer/Queer/Queers/Queerself

Voi/Void/Voids/Voids/Voidself

Vae/Vaer/Vaer/Vaers/Vaerself

Sym/Ser/Ser/Sers/Symself

Un/Un/Uns/Uns/ Unself

Nin/Nin/Nins/Nins/Ninself

Neb/Nebula/Nebus/Nebus/Nebulaself

Sti/Stim/Stims/Stims/Stimself

Pri/Prin/Princes/Princes/Princeself

Fandom Stance:

I am a proshipper, a comshipper, and a selfshipper. I do ship things that would be considered “problematic”, but I will not debate the ethics and morals of this on this blog. It’s just not really what I want to do, and it would cause me too much mental stress, as I’m not a big fan of being involved in debates. Any talk of this will be deleted. So anti’s do not interact.

So Tw’s for this blog:

Unhealthy Relationships

Toxic Relationships

Abusive Relationships

Manipulation

Underage/Adult Relationships

Incest

Sexual Assault

Rape

— And Just In General Some Dark Topics

If you don’t want to see any of that, that is totally fine. Just block and move on. If you’re leaving now, I wanna wish you a happy day and a fun time in whatever fandom you’re in! <3 <3

Fandoms And Ships:

I am in a lot of fandoms and I am a multishipper. So these will be the fandoms I’m in and a link to the post that shows my ships.

Batman

Sanders Sides

Hazbin Hotel

Helluva Boss

Gravity Falls

Marvel

The Owl House

Hamilton

My Hero Academia

My Ships Post

My Otherlinks And Fictionkin:

Otherlinks:

Loki (MCU)

Blitzø (Helluva Boss)

All Of My S/I’s

Fictionkin:

Roman Sanders (Sanders Sides)

Selfshipping/My F/O’s:

Remus Sanders (Sanders Sides) & Virgil Sanders (Sanders Sides) & Janus Sanders (Sanders Sides) & Patton Sanders (Sanders Sides) & Logan Sanders (Sanders Sides)

Blitzø & Stolas Ars Goetia (Helluva Boss)

Alastor (Hazbin Hotel)

Tomura Shigaraki & Dabi & Himiko Toga & Keigo Takami (BNHA)

Mammon (Obey Me)

Fizzarolli & Asmodeus (Helluva Boss)

Vox & Val & Velvette (Hazbin Hotel)

Darkiplier & Wilford & Bim Trimmer & Actor & Yancy & Illinois & Engineer Mark

SCP-049 “The Plague Doctor” & SCP-682 “The Hard To Kill Reptile” & SCP-035 “The Possessive Mask”

Slenderman & Jeff The Killer & Jane The Killer & Ticci Toby & Laughing Jack & Eyeless Jack & Masky & Nina & Clockwork & Ben Drowned

The ones with 2 or more people in one bracket thing are Polyam relationships! And I have made separate posts for most of them, if any of these interest you enough that you want to learn more!

The rest are newer and so they don’t have posts yet, but they will soon!

I’m totally ok with other’s who are dating these guys too! And while our relationships may not be the same, I would love to hear you gush about them, as long as you don’t mind me doing the same right back at you about us ahah

Request Rules And Request Limits:

Disclaimer! Any of these rules and limits to my writing have nothing to do the morality of writing these things and I hold no hate or disgust for people who write these types of things, I just don’t want to write these things or I don’t feel comfortable writing it myself.

Here are my rules and anything you might need to know about my requests: My Requests

Are requests open right now?

Requests are closed!

Links:

My AO3

My Old Blog

My Kofi (Not Fully Set Up Yet)

My Personal Tags

Well I think that’s everything! If you want to gush or ask questions or give requests, go ahead! I hope you enjoy your time at my blog!

[all-time-logan]

Seasons Readings

Hello hello! I’m so excited to present my secret santa gift for @strongindependentcheesecake for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange ! I tried to combine your first two wishes, and I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!

Summary: Roman and Remus co-own a bookstore, The Royal Bookshop. The others come and visit them often, though there seems to be some confusion among the employees on who Roman is actually dating.

Pairing: DLAMP, QPP dukeceit, platonic creativitwins

Word Count: 4421

***

Roman hummed quietly to himself, shifting some books over on the shelf to add the newest inventory. They had just gotten the first of their holiday shipments in, and while he usually manned the counter or sat in the office working on paperwork, Elliot was in today and had trouble bending over repeatedly. So, they were manning the counter and had put everything in the system while Roman worked to shelve the new books they got in.

From where he was standing, Roman couldn’t see the front door or counter over the shelves, so his only warning that a customer came in was the bell above the door tinkling and Elliot saying, “Hi, welcome into the Royal Bookshop! Do you need any help today?”

Roman was already making his way towards the counter but sped up with a grin when the customer spoke.

“Oh, no thank you. I’m actually looking for Roman?” The voice was even and calm, and when Roman turned the corner, Logan was standing next the counter, his laptop bag hanging from his shoulder.

It was early November, so he was clad in a sweater that Roman was pretty sure belong to Patton, and one of Virgil’s scarves was hanging from his neck.

Elliot was saying, “Oh, I can call him for you—” but didn’t get to finish before Roman was speaking over him.

“What do I owe the pleasure, my bespeckled nerd?” He swept forward, gathering Logan into his arms. Logan went easily, resting a hand on Roman’s chest.

“It’s 1:30, which is usually your lunch break. I thought I’d come by and treat you to lunch at the café around the corner?”

Logan was flushed slightly, and Roman couldn’t help the besotted smile that overtook his face, which just made Logan’s face go a deeper shade of red.

“You spoil me, darling,” Roman said, pressing a kiss to Logan’s forehead. He turned to Elliot, who had been watching the interaction with confusion.

“Elliot, this is my boyfriend, Logan. Since he’s a sap, he wants to take me lunch, do you think you can man the shop on your own for a bit?” He ignored Logan sputtering next to him, squeezing his waist.

Elliot shrugged, looking a little apprehensive. “I guess, yeah. I can call you if anything happens, right?”

Roman nodded, “Yes you can. I’ll be down the street, and inventory’s done for the day, so you just have to worry about customers coming in.”

“Ok, then I’ll be good. Have a good lunch!”

Roman grabbed Logan’s hand and dragged him from the store, making sure the sign out front was still propped up as he did. He swung their hands between them as they went down the street, humming again quietly.

“Has Elliot already had their lunch?” Logan asked, readjusting his laptop bag.

“Yeah, theirs was at noon. We also have some snacks in the office if they get hungry.��

Logan nodded, holding open the door for Roman as they arrived at the café. “That’s good. We could have brought them back something if they hadn’t.”

Roman laughed quietly, bumping Logan’s shoulder. “You mother hen. If you’re worried about them, I’ll buy them some chips. I might anyway, for leaving them at the store alone right before holiday season starts.”

“Is Remus not there?”

“No, he had a migraine, so I made him stay home.”

Logan hummed, his brow furrowed in concern. “I might head over there after this then, to make sure he’s eaten.”

Roman’s chest felt warm, fondness coursing through him at Logan’s concern. He was such a mother hen, making sure they all were taking care of themselves. It didn’t help that Janus more often than not teamed up with him. The two were a force of nature in their own right, let alone together. Roman grabbed Logan’s hand and squeezed.

“He’ll appreciate it.”

They ordered and ate, and Logan walked him back to the store. Roman endured the light teasing from Elliot and went back to the office to keep working.

Remus was back at the store the next day, his migraine having abated enough for him to face shelves and work in the office. Roman wasn’t happy about it, wanting Remus to feel fully better before he came back, but Remus had waved him off.

“We both own this store, I’m putting in my own fair share. Besides, if it gets worse, I can pass out on the couch in the office. Or on the floor in the kids’ section, that carpet’s super soft.”

“You’re not passing out in the kids’ section again, Remus. Last time the kids drew all over you.”

Remus grinned, lifting his sleeve to show one of his tattoos, a snake wrapped around a bundle of flowers. “They inspired my newest tattoo though!”

There was a snort from behind the shelves, and Kai, another one of their employees came around the corner holding a few holiday books in their arms.

“Yes, because you should let kids decide what should permanently go on your body.”

Remus nodded, “Yeah, that’s what I did!”

Kai huffed, shaking his head. “Alright man, you do you. Do y’all want me to put these on the display shelves at the window or on the front table?”

“The table,” Roman said, “The window still has the local authors display up, and I’d like to keep it for another week or so.”

Kai saluted with one hand, wandering off towards the front of the store. There was a moment of quiet, before a startled, “Oh, welcome in!” filtered back to the twins.

When the customer responded, they shared a look, and Remus grinned before shoving Roman into a shelve and racing towards the front. Roman sputtered and had to catch the few books he knocked off, and after he put them back, headed towards the front as well.

When he reached the front of the shop, it was to Remus swinging a man around in circles, ignoring the shrieking from the man and Kai’s startled look. It wasn’t until Remus finally put the man down that he could make out Janus’ disgruntled features.

He reached up to adjust the sun hat he had on—despite it being mid-November and cloudy outside—but didn’t stop Remus from wrapping his arms around him from behind.

“Hello, dear,” Janus said, resting his hands on Remus’s arms. Remus wiggled in place, smushing his face into the side of Janus’s head.

“I’m going to assume this guy is your boyfriend?” Kai said, absentmindedly rearranging the books on the display table.

Remus and Roman snorted at the same time. Remus smiled brightly at Kai and said, “Gross! He’s my QPP.” He tapped two small pins on his jacket, one pin of the ace flag and the other the aro flag.

“Oh shit, my bad.” Kai rubbed the back of their neck, looking sheepish.

Janus waved him off, “It’s not a problem. What will be a problem, is if my boyfriend doesn’t come to say hello.”

At this, he made grabby hands at Roman. When Roman got close enough, Janus cupped his face and kissed his cheek, humming when Roman did the same.

“What.” Kai said, face blank the way only pure confusion can cause. Remus cackled before giving out a dramatic fake wail, pulling Janus away from Roman. Janus went willingly, letting Remus swing him around a bit as Remus played up the dramatics.

“He stole my partner right from under my moustache!” Remus said, his voice pitched like he was going to cry. Roman sputtered, but Remus just began to make noises like a dying cat.

Kai put their hands up, turning away to go deeper into the store. “Not my problem, bye!” He said, disappearing around the shelves.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous dear,” Janus said, gently patting Remus’ arms where they were wrapped around his waist, “If anything, I’m playing the long con here to snatch him from the other three.” This was said with a lack of irony, considering that Janus still had a lipstick smudge on his cheek from Virgil, and was wearing one of Logan’s button ups over his shirt.

“Remus don’t make me seem like a homewrecker! I’m going to have to explain that to Kai now.” Roman sighed but couldn’t help the smile twitching at the corners of his lips as Remus kept up the dramatics.

“If he thinks that Remus is being serious right now, then I worry for your hiring choices,” Janus drawled, patting Remus’ arms again to make him quiet down. Remus did, tucking his head over Janus’s shoulder.

“Although,” Janus continued with a smirk, “he isn’t too far off. We did start dating after Remus and I became partners.”

“You guys have been partners since freshman year of college! I’m not a homewrecker,” Roman huffed, crossing his arms.

“Well duh, Ro, if you were, we’d have had a long and bloody battle by now,” Remus said, “I’m just playing, and you know Kai knows that.”

Roman sighed and took a step forward to grab Janus’s hands. “Yeah, I know. I’ll probably still talk to them though.”

He never did end up talking to Kai, as the holiday season seemed to ramp up immediately after that day. Shipments began coming in almost every day and foot traffic to the store increased, causing the twins to get their holiday help in early.

Remy wasn’t upset about it, saying something about “double the pay, working here and the coffeeshop at the same time.” Remus made sure his schedule wasn’t too overloaded though, so that Remy could take breaks away from work when he needed to.

Today, the twins were both couped up in the office, trying to slog through the different inventory sheets they had gotten.

“I swear, Hatchette either needs to get better quality boxes or laminate their inventory sheets. I’m working with a puzzle here.” Roman said, trying to piece the torn-up sheet back together. Hatchette Publishing boxes always came torn up and damaged in some ways, which meant the inventory sheets and books came damaged too. The number of books that they had to send back because of Hatchette was annoying at best and a loss of money at worst.

Remus only hummed, highlighting one of the sheets that Roman had passed him earlier as he checked to make sure everything was in the system. He worked with a narrow-minded focus that only appeared when he was at the shop and working with the business side of their store. Remus finished the sheet he was working on and reached for another, only to find the stack empty. He blinked, coming back to himself, and seemed to register what Roman had said.

“Oh, no, yeah they suck. Is that the last one?”

“Yeah, then we’ll be done with yesterday and today’s shipments.”

Remus stood and stretched, before shuffling the sheets he had finished together. “Then I’m going to go grab a coffee real quick. You want anything?”

“Can I get a mocha?”

Remus clicked his tongue in acknowledgement and headed out of the office. Roman kept working, finally managing to put the sheet together and get the items on it in the system and marked off.

He grabbed the stack of books that had been held back due to the sheet being so torn up and made his through the shelves. About halfway through the stack, Roman heard the bell above the door jingle, and startled when, instead of the usual greeting, Remy said, “We don’t welcome your kind here.”

It was followed immediate by a “Fuck off,” and a loud cackle, so Roman just rolled his eyes and finished shelving the books in his hands before going to the front counter.

As he got closer, he could make out the sounds of playful arguing, which made sense considering that it was Virgil standing at the counter.

They were holding Roman’s mocha in their hand, and still had their apron on, meaning that Remus had most likely pulled them away from their shift to hand deliver Roman his coffee.

“I’m sorry,” Remy was saying, “but we don’t carry The Guide to being Emo here. Maybe you could try the local Hot Topic?” His voice was sickly sweet, the smile on his face an over exaggeration of a customer service smile.

“You can’t talk to me like that, I’m your boss,” Virgil replied, their scowl just as exaggerated.

“Technically, you’re only my boss on Wednesdays through Fridays. Roman and Remus are my bosses right now,” Remy said, trying to swipe the coffee out of Virgil’s hand.

Virgil huffed, turning towards Remus with a pout. Their eyes lit up when they saw Roman behind him, but they kept the pout.

Remus snorted. “Can’t help you there, V, he’s technically right.”

Virgil immediately turned towards Roman, and Roman, ever the pushover when it came to any of his partners, caved.

“Remy, be nice to Virgil, even if they aren’t your boss right now. They’re still my partner,” Roman kissed Virgil’s cheek, taking the mocha out of their hand and taking a sip.

Remy sighed in disappointment, and Roman couldn’t tell if it was because he got told to stop or because he couldn’t have the coffee.

“Alright, I guess I’ll be nice.” Remy said, leaning back in the chair behind the counter. He almost overbalanced and tipped over but caught himself.

“None of you saw that!” He said, his face red.

Virgil snickered, “Sure, and I won’t be telling Emile about it when I get back to the coffeeshop.”

Emile was another one of their holiday workers they borrowed from Virgil, though he mainly only came if they were super busy or one of the others called out. He was scheduled for the next day, actually, since Elliot couldn’t make it in. Emile was also Remy’s boyfriend and loved to tease him.

Remy’s face went a deeper shade of red. “You will not! He won’t let me live it down unless I make brownies.”

“So, make brownies?” Roman said, leaning against Virgil’s side.

Remy groaned, “They’re so messy! They also use so many dishes, I hate making them.”

“Your problem would be solved if you didn’t make it from scratch.” Virgil said, stealing Roman’s mocha to have some.

Remy gasped, scandalized. “I will not use a box mix! They’re fine, but they aren’t as good as ones made from scratch.” After a moment, he added, “Also Emile can tell the difference now and it won’t work.”

“Sucks to suck, Remy. Better stop at the store and get supplies after your shift then!” Virgil said, tapping the counter a bit.

Remy groaned again, and they laughed. Virgil stayed a bit longer before they went back to work, and then it was back to prepping for the holiday season.

The next day saw both Emile and Roman at the counter to handle the amount customers coming in. They worked through lunch, not having a moment for Roman to send Emile on break. They finally got a calm moment, but right as Roman went to send Emile on his lunch break, the bell above the door signaled a new customer. Roman suppressed a sigh and turned, only to light up as he saw it was Patton that had come in.

Patton was wrapped up in one of Janus’s puffy jackets, his face mostly obscured by a scarf that could have belonged to any of them, and his curls poking out of one of Roman’s beanies. He was holding a lunch sack in his hands and was stomping some of the snow off of his boots on the doormat.

“Pat, it’s not that cold out,” Roman said, trying not to laugh. Patton looked up, pulling the scarf down to reveal a bright grin.

“It is for me! Southern California doesn’t get much snow, so this is new.”

“You say that like you haven’t lived here for close to decade at this point.”

Patton just shrugged and dumped the lunch sack on the counter.

“Even so. Anyway, I brought y’all some lunch, since I knew today would be busy! Emile, I made sure that your sandwich was gluten free, and it’s wrapped in its own bag in this one,” he said, starting to unpack the sack. “How are you, by the way? I haven’t been able to stop by the coffeeshop in a bit.”

“I’m doing well!” Emile said, taking his food with a smile. “Finals went well, I’m enjoying the break. I’ve also almost managed to get Remy’s brown butter snickerdoodle recipe out of him, so that’s fun.”

Patton gasped, stars in his eyes. “You have to share that with me if you get it! Nothing I find online is near as good.”

Emile laughed, “If I get his permission, I’ll let you know. How’re you?”

The two continued to chat, and Roman left them to it with a kiss to Patton’s hair as he grabbed Remus’s sandwich and brought it back to him in the office. They were getting closer Christmas, and Remus was trying to figure out what days they could close after the holidays compared to the last few years.

Looking at the different spread sheets Remus had made of doing cost comparisons and sales and employee hours from the past three years made Roman’s head hurt, but Remus enjoyed it, so he left him to it with a pat on the head and a reminder to drink some water when he ate his sandwich.

A few days later they were in the full swing of things, and all hands were on deck. While it wasn’t the first time that all four of their employees worked the same shift, it was the first time this season that they had needed to do so.

Emile and Elliot were at the front counter, Remy and Kai were working on facing the shelves and restocking when needed, and Roman and Remus were both rotating between the front of store, the office, and the shelves as the others took their breaks.

At one point, both were at the front counter, though Roman was considering letting Remus switch with Remy or Kai. He never liked working the front, the constant barrage of customers often leading to a burnout of Remus’s social battery. Remus kept waving him off though, so for now Roman was leaving him be.

He finished bagging the books he had in hand, handing them off to the customer with a “Thanks for coming in, have a happy holiday!” and turned towards Remus.

Remus was tapping the counter with one hand, ringing up a different customer’s order with the other, his smile looking forced. Roman waited for Remus to finish the transaction, giving the customer a quick smile as they left.

“You doing okay, Rem?” he asked, pitching his voice a bit low so the customers looking at the displays nearby couldn’t hear.

Remus nodded, humming low in his throat. “Yeah, I’m fine. I might take a break soon though, get some food or something.”

Roman nodded. “That’d be a good idea. Maybe make a coffee run.”

Remus hummed in acknowledgment, and when they hit a slow moment, he slipped away. A minute or so later, Remy joined Roman behind the counter.

“Remus is making a coffee run, did you want anything?” Remy asked, a text conversation with Remus pulled up.

Roman shrugged, motioning for a customer to come to the counter. “I wouldn’t mind a coffee, but he doesn’t have to get me one.”

He greeted the customer, and as he checked them out another line formed. He and Remy worked through it, Remy only having to leave once to grab some more bags from the office.

Roman smiled at the couple he just checked out, sending them off with a “Have a happy holiday!” before calling the next customer to the counter. He didn’t look as they approached, bringing the transaction screen back to beginning to start their order.

“Hi, did you find everything all right?” He said, turning to the customer, only to light up as he came face to face with Logan and Janus. Logan was setting a drink onto the counter, Janus holding two in his hands.

“Oh my gosh, hello! What are you two doing here?” Roman asked, only accepting the cup when Logan slid it towards him.

“Remus stopped at the coffeeshop, said you all were in need of caffeine,” Janus said, passing back on of the cups to Logan.

“We thought it would be nice to bring them to you all, see how you were doing.” Logan finished. Instead of drinking out of the cup, he slid it over the counter towards Remy.

Remy looked surprised, picking up the cup questioningly. “I didn’t think Remus would actually get me anything.”

Logan’s brows dipped, “Of course he would, he said you all would need it. That isn’t limited to just Remus and Roman.”

“I know, I know, I’m just—surprised I guess,” Remy said, taking a cautious sip. He hummed in appreciation, drinking half the drink down before he resurfaced for air. “Ok, so I needed that more than I thought.”

“Damn right, you guys haven’t really stopped today, have you?”

They all jumped a bit at Virgil’s voice. They appeared from between the shelves, Patton, Remus, and the rest of the bookshop employees following behind. Roman took a quick glance around the areas of the stores he could see, and Remus shook his head when they made eye contact. No customers were currently in the store, then.

“I mean, we’ve had some breaks, but it’s been pretty busy today.” Elliot said, taking a sip of some iced drink. They were less than a week out from Christmas, and people were hitting that point of desperation in getting gifts.

“Then it’s a good thing we brought you all a caffeine boost!” Patton said, “Hopefully it’ll help y’all get through the rest of the day.”

He approached the counter, and with a quick, “Hi honey,” he kissed Roman on the cheek. Out of the corner of his eye, Roman saw Kai jerk in surprise, and Elliot choked a bit on their drink.

Remus thumped Elliot’s back, and Roman leaned around Patton to give them his full attention.

“Are you okay?”

Elliot cleared their throat, their face flushed. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just—caught off guard.”

“At what?” Remus asked, though he didn’t look as confused at Roman felt, some sort of realization seeming to cross his face with a mixture of delight.

Elliot’s face got redder as they stuttered out, “Well, I, um, that is I didn’t, I don’t really know, well—”

“How many boyfriends do you have?” Kai burst out, confusion clear on his face. “I thought you were just dating Janus, but I guess Patton too? But Patton and Virgil were holding hands when they gave me my drink? What’s happening here?”

They had set down their drink at this point, leaning on the counter as if it was the only thing keeping them up. Remus began cackling, and Janus and Virgil laughed along with him. Kai’s face was growing steadily redder, but they seemed to calm when Logan patted their shoulder.

“The confusion is understandable.” He said, but before he could continue Remus cut him off.

“He’s in a torrid affair with all of them,” Remus said, his grin wide enough to show all his teeth.

“Oh, be quiet, you gremlin,” Roman says, exasperated. He turned back to Kai, explaining, “I have four partners. You’ve all met them at some point, I swear.”

Remy nodded, while Emile, Kai, and Elliot shook their heads. Remy did a double take at Emile not knowing, saying, “Babe, I knew because I work at Virgil’s shop, like you do. How did you not know?”

Emile shrugged. “I knew Virgil and Roman were dating, and that Roman and Patton were dating, but I didn’t know they all were dating. I get they’re in the store a lot, but I had just assumed they were close friends.”

Virgil snorted. “That’s because I know how to not flirt while I’m working.”

“You flirt with me when you come here though!” Roman protested.

“Ah, but I’m not working when I’m here, aren’t I? That’s on you, sweetheart,” Virgil said, giving Roman cheesy fingers guns.

Roman huffed, exasperated, but he could feel the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“You’re a menace,” he said, leaning against the counter. The bell above the door chimed as someone walked in, and Roman gave them a quick greeting before turning back to his partners.

“Back to the grind, I suppose. Thank you all for bringing us something to drink, I appreciate it.”

The others gave similar replies, and Roman’s partners gave varying responses back, ranging from a bright “You’re welcome!” from Patton to a simple shrug from Virgil.

“We’ll see you and Remus tonight for dinner?” Logan asked, “It’s Janus’s and I’s turn to cook.”

“Wouldn’t miss it, Specs,” Roman replied. Remus nodded.

“Alrighty, then we’ll head off and let y’all get back to your work.” Patton said, darting forward to give Roman another kiss on the cheek. The rest of Roman’s partners followed suit, and Remus gave Janus a quick squeeze of a hug before the four left the shop.

It was quiet for a moment, before Kai asked, “How did you all get together?”

Remus grinned, immediately launching into some dramatic telling of the group’s college days and how Roman “fought for their hearts in a bloody battle of subterfuge and dumbassery” while Roman denied and agreed with parts in turn. At some point, the customer that had walked in checked out with their purchases, only giving a quick bemused glance towards Remus as he acted out what Roman could only guess to be he and Virgil’s first meeting and subsequent fight.

Their employees were all enraptured with the tale, though they seemed more amused by Remus’ dramatics rather than the actual story. Roman shook his head, doing a quick sweep around the store to check it was empty and putting a ‘Be Back Soon!’ sign on the door. Remus wouldn’t be done with the story for another half hour at least, if he was only just getting to Roman and Janus’s first date. They all could take a break, he thought, beginning to usher them all towards the office. It was the holiday season, and what better way to spend a quick break than by listening to a story about love and joy?

[does-this-look-inanimate-to-you]

for the send a fandom:

sanders sides

favorite character: patton. always has been, always will be.

least favorite character: i don’t really have one! everyone is great in their own way! i guess the one i like the least is roman but that’s only bc i like the others more. nothing against a shitting beauty. (don’t ask.)

5 favorite ships: logicality, roceit, prinxiety, intrulogicality, karrot kings

character i find the most attractive: i’m not attracted to men but janus SLAYED in that skirt so i guessssss janus.

character i would marry: like i said, i’m not into guys, but i’d platonically marry patton. the least favorite side (according to a poll i did in 2020) deserves love.

character i would be best friends with: probably c!thomas. i think i’d get along with all the sides, so it only makes sense for me to be friends with the one that’s basically all of them!

a random thought: i miss logicality. it’s been so long since we got a canon interaction that didn’t make me want to cry my eyes out.

an unpopular opinion: i have quite a few. for one, i don’t think there is such a thing as “dark” or “light” sides. i don’t think anything is wholly good or evil, so why categorize the sides so arbitrarily?

my canon otp: does karrot kings count? i say it counts.

my non-canon otp: logicality!!!!! as if it wasn’t obvious

most badass character: logan. you can’t tell me he’s not a badass.

most epic villain: i don’t think we’ve ever had an “epic” villain, but the most interesting to me is janus. although, like i said, i don’t quite think he’s a villain, buuuut he’s close enough.

pairing i am not a fan of: i’ll have to go with what i like to refer to as “the christmas twins”. the reason i hate it is LITERALLY in the name. they’re twins!

character i feel like the writers screwed up: honestly, nobody! i do think logan has been screwed over by the story, but that’s not the fault of the writers. that is DEFINITELY going somewhere.

favorite friendship: thomas and virgil! thomas has gone from resenting virgil for being a less appealing part of him to treating him like a bestie. his excitement to see virgil in more recent episodes is adorable. although, if i had to stick with side friendships, i’d go logan and patton. yes, i know, they’re going through a rough patch, but i’m still holding out hope for my boys!

character i most identify with: i’d say i see myself in all of them, but if i had to choose one i’d say patton. feeling the need to be there for everyone and make everyone happy is something i am all too familiar with.

character i wish i could be: probably nico. not for the dating thomas thing (we’re both gay in opposite ways, after all), but nico’s just cool and unproblematic. sure, his relationship with thomas has caused some problems, but it’s not his fault. he’s a cool dude.

[princeanxious]

For your sideswap AU (anxiety!Logan is adorable btw), are there big changes in their personalities from the original sides or do they act the same for the most part?

Also how about how they interact? Do they like/dislike the same sides or are their relationships different too?

Okay okay okay so this’ll take a lil bit of explaining so bare with me kjhkjbij

my basis of the swap part of the au is that while two side’s ‘cores’ (i.e. Logic, Anxiety, Deceit) are swapped, half of either original character still remains as a base, so theyre each a combined half of eachother in clothing style, personal motivation, *and* personality. So:

Virgil <-core swapped with-> Logan

Roman <-core swapped with-> Janus

Patton <-core swapped with-> Remus

(This got long, hiding the rest under the cut)

For instance:

Anxiety!Virgil & Logic!Logan have become -> Anxiety!Logan and Logic!Virgil, right?

So in this Au, Logan would:

-struggle with social cues

-Be hot-headed

-overwork himself

But also,

-Being anxious, overthinking and overanalyzing things

-being stand-offish on purpose bc he feels he doesnt deserve help

- struggle to trust the others whilst worrying constantly about them and Thomas

Which adds up to him being the type of person who doesn’t care what the others think of him so long as he succeeds in keeping everyone safe. He wont hesitate to start an screaming match argument if it gets the others to hear his point of view, because he often feels pushed to the side and ignored. He has the added bonus of being able to provide rational points of logic in his arguments but struggles to be taken seriously because he cant handle being taunted, and ends up lashing out because he thinks every jab is a serious one because he legitimately struggles with telling the two apart. He’s sort of like, a heightened version of both personal and external insecurity alongside anxiety, yknow?

His redemtion arc probably involved him getting so frustrated and confused by them coming to bring him back from ducking out that he literally burst into tears, because ‘I don’t understand! You all hate me, so much! I know I can’t be perfect but I can’t handle this, this, pity party! I’m not coming back knowing you’re going to go right back to hating every little thing that I do!’ Because he’s convinced himself that theres no possible way the others could even remotely like him. They *do* manage to convince him otherwise, dont worry!

As for Virgil, his character take looks a little more like this:

-Doesn’t have a high self-esteem, and can be awkward with showing vulnerable emotions

-still leans into the dark brooding shtick to be taken seriously but with a quieter demeanor, which doesnt always work

-can easily match and give playful quips, but needs time to explain himself and his reasoning

But also,

-carries a bit more confidence knowing his points and views are backed by facts

-serious insults and snips aimed at him do not land as hard on him as he knows how to brush illogical lash-out’s(like Logan’s) off as emotionally-charged but not done with malicious intent

-is able to keep up a reasonably constructed schedule, and has logical work-arounds for bumps in the schedule.

-definitely doesn’t take as good of care of himself as he likes to lead the others on to believe

I’m kinda running out of steam here to write out Virgil’s character bits all tied together as a cohesive character type but i hope what i’ve given so far will suffice??

As for the character’s interpersonal interactions, I’ll probably have to explain that more in depth in another ask bc.. I kinda want specific examples to work from because, As I said, trying to explain the relationships via the swap, where the ‘light’ and ‘dark’ sides have flipped positions with who i deemed their opposite half, but obviously not swapped each others personalities 100%, it means i’m aiming for all the original standing relationship types between the canon group to stay the same for their core positions, but just altered enough in a way that fit’s the current core-holder’s personality.

(Plus, for anyone whose curious about the au’s ships but is new to the au, it’s Roceit, Intruality, and Analogical.)

For super simple examples:

-if Anxiety!Virgil & Morality!Patton had a Father/Son type relationship, then Anxiety!Logan and Morality!Remus have a Father/Son type relationship(sort of. I’m aiming for brotherly relationship in this).

-If you headcanoned(like I do, for this au anyway) that Anxiety!Virgil had been raised by Deceit!Janus as a father figure before joining the lightsides, then Anxiety!Logan had been raised by Deceit!Roman as a father figure before they joined the lightsides.

This technically sets things up for Patton and Janus to be brothers in this au, for that reason Remus and Roman are not considered brothers. However, this does not mean that shipping Remus and Roman will be allowed in this au. Please do not take this as invitation to do as such.

Now for a bit of added fun, heres this bonus jumble of character math that i’d tried to used to explain this whole mess to ske last like at like 1 am, and some mock character interactions using this math lol:

“(Really tho its like. Solving math trying to just take two swapped characters and be like ‘okay what the fuck do we have now’ i.e Janus and Logan would actually probably get along rly well bc theyre basically swapped prinxiety, but janus and and Virgil would *STILL* have friction bc theyre swapped logince, but patton and logan would have either a raised by Roman as brothers dynamic or simply just chaotic tension bc intru thoughts and anxiety fuel eachother, but Roman and Patton would be a swapped!dukeceit dynamic, yknow??)”

———

A take on Anxiety!Logan and Deceit!Roman’s relationship:

Anxiety!Logan, having just been woken up from sleeping on the table: *hissing irritatedly at Roman*

Deceit!Roman,sitting there in all his dragon glory in still his night clothes, eyebrow raised but otherwise unphased: Good Morning to you too, 21 riots.

Anxiety!Logan: *hisses louder, bc he’s half asleep and hasnt realized it’s Roman*

Deceit!Roman, tossing the tiny feral child over his shoulder: Alrighty, Pancakes or Bacon?

A!Logan, melting into cuddle mode bc ‘oh okay this is Father, not a giant monster, its purring time then’: …Coffee

D!Roman: Pancakes it is

A!Logan: >:(

———

Aaaand a Take on Logic!Virgil and Deceit!Roman interacting:

Logic!Virgil, a lil peeved: “Are you done trying to mess with me, because-”

Deceit!Roman, smiling with a smug grin and a lil head tilt: “No.~”

Logic!Virgil, now angy from being interrupted “*listen here u lil shit*”

[anxiouslyfred]

Winged Chaos

Summary: Thomas's Sides woke up one morning with wings. They manage to make Thomas's life a bit more chaotic because of this. 

/\/\

Flight was a collective dream of humanity but not so much a dream of the sides of Thomas. It can't be said that they were particularly upset to wake up with wings one morning, but confusion was the primary reaction rather than excitement.

After a morning of confirming that no, this wasn't something Roman or Remus had decided to arrange for a prank, and discovering that no, Thomas was not aware of anything that would have cause his sides to gain extra limbs, the sides all settled into their own reactions.

If Logan was viewing the reactions of his companions as indications of their intelligence then he'd generally consider it low. He'd just come in from attempting to explain to Patton that the mere presence of wings does not provide a human with the vocal abilities to talk with birds. Of course the paternal side of Thomas decided that was how it should work.

Now he wasn't entirely sure what he was looking at in the living room but spoke regardless, “We aren't actually birds now. There's no reason to be acting as if you are.” He raised an eyebrow at the scowl thrown his way.

“I get that, but do you get that nests are worlds safer to sleep in than beds? Enclosed, comfortable and secure. I've been making nests since we were 10.” Virgil straightened a supporting cushion and tightened a twist in his blankets before reaching for another to add in.

“Any added security you feel from being inside a nest is surely countered by the fact you are building this in the centre of our common space.” Logan remarked, gesturing to the room around them.

Virgil huffed again, but tugged on two blankets now visible as the base to lift his nest, steadying it with his wings. “Fine, I'll take my nest where it'll be more appreciated.”

…

Thomas had stopped putting expectations on the appearance of his sides the first time he saw the tentacles Remus sometimes formed. He'd occasionally practised summoning them around other people to test whether they or he could control if other people could see and interact with them easily.

Now however he was regretting evert testing those situations out, because maybe if they weren't all so used to the sides popping, Janus wouldn't be appearing, wings spread wide, during his walk with his friends.

“Janus! Sink down and stop that!” He hissed, glancing at the people turning to stare. His friends had also paused, but said nothing as they registered just how well they recognised the winged man now stood behind them.

Janus of course, ignored the demand, turning to face the people gasping. “Greeting Friends. Be not afraid! I come with tidings of peace and joy!”

Rolling his eyes and looking around to try and find the reason for so many people to be around, Thomas saw they were passing a church. The evening service must have just ended and if the line was anything to go by his deceitful side was now attempting to convince the congregation that he was an angel or something.

“Sure, you're the real Lucifer! I'm not letting you masquerade around. Sink Out!” He put intention behind his words, and reached out to push Janus down as he spoke, sending the side back into his mind.

Davi snickered as even more people were blinking at him now, “So, the side? Not just a cool idea for YouTube then?”

Thomas didn't hold back the groan as he walked away, more gentle ribbing coming from his friends over the Sides.

…

He had gone to get a drink. He had gone to get a drink and barely left his laptop for 2 minutes, hoping that the moments away from the screen would miraculously return the concentration that had run off with social media distractions.

Thomas had been expecting to have Logan pop up sooner or later to return him to the task of editing a short video, but given there were now six tabs open about different bird types, obviously his logical side also had something else to focus on.

“Logan, where's my schedule?” He called over his shoulder, quite certain the side hadn't sunk out after opening the searches.

“It's here, Thomas. Do you need it?” Logan replied, sat at the table beside the bookshelf with the calendar in front of him.

Thomas glanced over to him, eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What's currently scheduled?” He asked.

“Researching wing types and their flight patterns.” Logan recited promptly, finger on top of the day.

“And before I got distracted or you changed it?”

Logan shifted, lips thinning together for a moment, “Video editing.”

Thomas didn't say anything, biting back a smile to give a pointed look at his side.

“But we need to know how our wings work! They just came out of nowhere and it's not like flight or birds were an area you studied in depth. I need to at least know the basics. What if we have to care for our wings like birds do?” The rant burst out of Logan rapidly and honestly was adorable to see.

He chuckled a little but shrugged, “I guess that makes sense. If you need to know these things then perhaps you should hang my schedule back up now and come join me for the researching?”

…

If Roman had his way, he'd be flying through the real sky, seeing Thomas's home from the clouds, but since Janus's angel stunt, they'd all been locked down. Thomas had barely let them become physically able to interact or be seen by others in his own home and completely vetoed any level of manifesting outside of it.

At least the imagination was still there and Roman could soared above it, riveted by the view and changes going on in this world of whimsy. He ignored the sight of Remus in the distance, flying high and plummeting fast, until whatever instincts came with gaining wings kicked in to slow his descent.

For now Roman was just going to fly, perhaps see if he could taunt the dragon witch into a battle to test his manoeuvrability in flight. It was a new experience that he couldn't wait to fully explore.

[boldbrash-fandertrash]

Ignore me, unless I’m right in which case I fucking called it

So I was rewatching the episode for the fourth time and one I realized that Remus is much much smarter than we give him credit for and two I can generally predict how the rest of the story is gonna go.

We’re gonna have another aside video with Patton and Janus before the big season finale, and that aside is going to be one of the most important videos to the general progression of the plot.

I’m sure you’ve noticed the pattern so far, two sides who diametrically oppose each other being forced to work together on a problem they vastly disagree about, usually turning the small issue into something much messier than it ever would be and them learning something about themselves in the process.

Each pairing exists to point out to the viewer exactly what issues exist with each side that need some form of resolving, and the big unifying theme amongst them is “you’re not listening to me”. Roman and Virgil dragging Thomas across the cafeteria in favor of or agains him talking to Nico, Logan and Remus deliberately ignoring and working to undo the others work in an attempt to break Thomas out of the depressive funk he found himself in. Nobody is working together here. The only side to even remotely cooperate with the group was Virgil body checking Thomas into Nico, and it took him and Roman bullying each other and Thomas for an entire video to even get to that point.

Watching Logan and Remus interact, one, brought me immense joy and I will be chasing that high for weeks to come, and two, after an ounce of critical thinking was frankly painful to watch. Any critiques Logan offered to Remus were immediately discarded with absurdity and any critiques Remus offered to Logan were discounted as absurd.

During the obvious scene at the end with the Eyes™️, Logan claimed he wasn’t pretending Remus didn’t exist, but honestly, he kinda was.

The Dunce Cap Scene really accentuates this point. Logan pulls a holier than thou, why won’t you learn I’m always right, bullshit passive aggressive remark, Remus does his dramatic repenting student shtick, starts singing directly into Logan’s ear, and makes a kink joke. Literally the words Remus sings are “can’t fix this guy, all by yourself”. Remus is saying this inches from Logan’s personal face and even still the logical side ignores him outright, because of all the fluff around the message. Hell, in Remus’s introduction video, Logan likens him to a screaming baby on a plane, essentially saying “well eventually he’ll stop screaming so just bear with it for a while and you’ll be fine”. He’s ignoring Remus outright due to a preconceived notion and missing out on valuable information because of it.

The dunce cap scene indirectly calls back to learning new things about ourselves, where Logan is completely unreceptive to the puppet bit because of its perceived absurdity and absolutely refuses to acknowledge any potential the medium might have for learning until he physically cannot anymore.

Remus is capable of, and does often, make valid points and offers genuine critiques of shit happening in their lives. In Forbidden Fruit, almost every single line harkens back to some idea the other sides had been trying, and failing, to communicate to Thomas. “Good and bad is all made up nonsense”, “if you shared those musings with your friends i doubt they would forgive you”, “why deny yourself knowledge, say, knowledge of yourself” “people don’t like me much, Thomas, but that only just cause I’m honest”, “these sorts of things are only thought in the mind of a man who’s soul is truly rotten.”

Despite all of this, he is ignored outright because of his medium. Just like Logan is ignored due to his monotone cadence and large volume of content, just like Roman is due to his flair for the dramatic and artistic display of ideas, just like Patton is due to his playful and childlike nature, just like Janus is due to his perceived role as the Villain, just like Virgil /was/ due to his perceived role as the villain.

They all have become accustomed to being stepped on by the other sides because of who they are and how they communicate, and have in turn learned some less than ideal methods of being heard again. Logan yells and gets passive aggressive, Remus ups the fear factor for everyone around him, Roman shuts down anyone who tries to talk through bullying and raising his voice, Patton manipulates the others into feeling guilt and covers it up with a smile, Virgil whips out the tempest tongue and incites fear in Thomas, and Janus physically silences anyone in his way.

And here’s why I say the next asides episode is going to be the most important one developmentally. Patton and Janus are going to be forced to work together. Patton, who is in the midst of an identity crisis, and willing to listen to any new ideas provided they offer a valid solution to the shit he’s found himself in, and Janus, who knows a lot more than he’s willing to let on, who concerns himself exclusively with Thomas’s self preservation, and loves to talk when given the opportunity. Janus is gonna have a thing or two to say to Patton when they’re inevitably faced with their moral dilemma, and Patton is going to be in just the right mindset that he’s willing to listen. And Janus is going to end up being right, and the small issue they’re facing will be resolved, which will therefore strengthen Patton’s trust, and his openness to changing for the better.

Patton is goofy, and childish, and kinda ditzy sometimes, and because of that we as a fandom tend to overlook any of his moments that are anything but that, but we are not giving this man enough credit. When Patton sets his heart on something, he throws his whole self into it, and is willing to stand up for his beliefs in the face of extreme opposition, and would gladly do anything in his power to defend his family. Once Patton decides that he’s willing to grow, and if he believes that this growth will help put his family back together, nothing can stop him, and that will be absolutely crucial for the growth of all the other sides around him.

Whatever him and Janus discuss during their aside will absolutely give Patton the information he needs to help stitch together the rift between everyone.

I predict the next official Sanders Sides video is going to be the longest one yet, possibly over an hour long, because there’s a LOT of work that is going to need to be done, and Everyone is going to be in it. The big issue of “you’re not listening to me” won’t be resolved, but it will be acknowledged in a serious light by everyone. We won’t be getting any appearances from the Orange Side I don’t think, that would end up just complicating matters even more when each character is already incredibly shaky in their own identity.

Something less than ideal is gonna happen between Thomas and Nico, he’s gonna summon the initial three to deal with the matter but the other lads are gonna worm their way into the discussion, everyone’s gonna start screaming at each other, and Pattons gonna do something that stuns everyone else into silence (I’m guessing he’ll start crying, considering the start of season two was all about him repressing negative emotions and what better way to show character growth than to sob openly on camera).

Once everyone just fucking stops for ten seconds that’s when the apologies start. None of the sides are ever the first to apologize, we’ve seen that time and time again. Their desire to be in the right as well as their pride will always get in the way, however if someone starts the apology train everyone will eventually follow suit. We see that in Alone On Valentines Day, My Negative Thinking, Growing Up, Accepting Anxiety, Fitting In, Moving On, actually in pretty much every video where an apology actually takes place, once one person apologizes the other will immediately follow suit.

Patton is gonna be a goddamn mess, he’s gonna apologize to everyone in the room for anything he thinks he may have done to wrong them, and that’s gonna be what gets everyone to acknowledge all the shit they’ve put each other through, and the others are going to jump between trying to console him and trying to apologize to each other. They’re going to come to the unified decision that they need to work together more on future issues, the group is all going to offer up a solution and decide together on a remedy to whatever happened together between Thomas and Nico, and that will be that. Season three will be about them finding the balance between stepping on toes and being stepped over, while also working out how the orange side fits into everything.

Thus marking the end of my rant.

I started writing this at 2 and it’s now 4. I have to be up in three hours. I have an essay due at 3pm tomorrow that I haven’t started, but instead I typed up all this bullshit. I hope any of this made any sense, and I hope this is a suitable replacement for my emotions essay that’s completely untouched because chances are this is what I’m presenting to my therapist tomorrow. Wish me luck.

[korruptbrekker]

A Deal Worth Making, Chapter 5: Goodbyes

[Previous] — Goodbyes — [Next] — [Masterpost] — [AO3]

Rated T  — Content Warnings: General Anxiety, Foul Language, Mentions of Major Character Death (no actual major character death) — Word Count: 1,907

@analogicalweek​ Day 5: Library

Virgil tugged his jacket closer around him before running out the door with an ache in his chest and his heart in his stomach. He didn’t think about where he was going, instead just letting the need to get away, away, away drive him further and further down the streets of Sanders.

—

Virgil didn’t sleep a wink that night. A rainstorm had set in shortly after Logan had left, heavy drops slamming against the windows accompanied by a howling wind. He’d spent the hours pacing along the length of his room. He’d pick up his phone, thumb hovering over Janus’s contact before tossing it on the bed, not for the first time wishing Logan had gotten himself a phone. Virgil hated being in the dark like this.

Logan didn’t return until late morning. The rain had stopped by then, but dreary, grey clouds still hung over the sky, promising more downfall in the coming hours. Virgil, well versed with dealing with lack of sleep, took out one of his emergency Monster cans in hopes of getting through the day.

The door opened and he shot into the air, almost scrambling out of bed before realizing that it would be a horrible idea. He was the one causing Logan all this pain; he didn’t deserve to interact with him. But the polite thing to do was to greet him, and what if Logan thought he was being rude?

He sat frozen on his bed, indecision and anxiety driving his thoughts in circles. He didn’t even realize Logan had entered the room until Virgil’s bed shifted under his weight.

“Are you alright?”

Virgil’s lips thinned and he nodded. “Yeah, fine.” No point in explaining everything to Logan, he probably already knew.

Logan gave him a look.

“I’m fine, okay?” He didn’t want to have to deal with Logan’s achingly concerned looks, or his comforting presence or anything. Virgil couldn’t deal with that. Not after all he’d done. “I’m going out. Don’t wait up.”

It was harsh, he knew. But it was all that he could do. Logan must hate him for causing all these issues, and Virgil was just making things easier for him. It was easier to hate an asshole than it was to hate a friend. He ignored the confused sound Logan made in favour of snatching his keys off his desk.

Virgil tugged his jacket closer around him before running out the door with an ache in his chest and his heart in his stomach. He didn’t think about where he was going, instead just letting the need to get away, away, away drive him further and further down the streets of Sanders.

Before he knew it he was looking up at the ornate, arching doorways of the local library. The building had always looked out of place to Virgil—it was so old fashioned compared to the sleek, modern shapes of the surrounding buildings—but that had never stopped it from being a sanctuary.

He’d brought Logan here a few times, watching the daemon’s eyes light up as he walked along the shelves. Surely he’d seen libraries before, and he’d later confirmed that he’d had, but the look of innocent wonder painted across his face reminded Virgil of the first time he’d walked into this place; how he’d felt a little piece of his heart slot into place. This was his new home.

Now, though, the warmth did nothing to drive away the cold, gnarled grasp of guilt around his throat.

Virgil pulled the door to the stairwell open, dashing up the steps and into the second floor. He made a beeline for the leftmost corner, some of the tension in his shoulders slipping away when he caught sight of the corner he’d dubbed his own.

There was a small table with a couple of chairs in the nook, but the whole corner was just one big window, allowing Virgil to look out into the streets and people watch his worries away. He heavily sat into his seat, ignoring the window entirely. It reminded him too much of Logan.

God, why did this have to be so hard? Virgil was the bad guy, he should just cut his losses and accept that this was the best thing to do. Logan wouldn’t die, he’d move on, and everything could go back to normal again.

But it couldn’t. Not anymore. Because Virgil had to go and fall in love with his best friend and now everything was so much more complicated than he needed it to be and Virgil really just needed to suck it up and let Logan go, but he really didn’t want to no matter how selfish it was—

He sucked in a strained breath, trying to fight off the closing of his throat as panic well and truly set in. His fingers fisted in his jacket pockets, eyes stinging. Logan always helped him with his panic attacks. Logan wasn’t here. Logan would never be here again. Virgil would be alone and it was all his own damn fault.

He nearly shrieked when his phone buzzed in his back pocket. He cursed, trying to force his speeding heart to slow as he pulled his phone out with shaking hands. It was Logan. Virgil shouldn’t open the text. It would be better if he cut off all communication now.

He clicked on the message.

Logan: Virgil, we need to talk. There’s been a misunderstanding.

Misunderstanding? Like hell there was a misunderstanding. Virgil was to blame and that was it. There was nothing else to it.

Unless Logan was talking about something else. Was he talking about something else? Virgil wouldn’t know unless he agreed to talk, but he really didn’t want to have to face Logan right now. Not when he was so close to losing him.

But this could be his chance to apologize. He’d just walked out, and as much as he wanted to make Logan’s life easier, he also didn’t want to end on those terms. God he was such a mess. He couldn’t even leave right.

Virgil winced when blood bloomed along his tongue. He pulled his thumb from his mouth and wrapped it in the black fabric of his jacket. He hadn’t even had it for a week and he was already ruining it. What a good friend he was.

He looked back at his phone, resisting the urge to continue the massacre of his nails. His thumbs hovered over his keyboard, the left one stinging in the cool, library air. He held his breath and typed.

No. No, this was a terrible idea. He moved to select and delete everything, completely freezing when his thumb slipped and he sent the message.

Virgil: I’m at the library

Shit.

Fuck.

Virgil threw his phone on the table, wincing at the clattering that rang out through the room. He didn’t bother checking to see if he got any dirty looks, instead just burrowing into the hoodie he didn’t deserve and thinking about the friend he couldn’t keep.

His phone buzzed again.

Virgil didn’t move. He wanted to see what it said. He never wanted to touch his phone again. His hands twitched. He didn’t move. Virgil stared at his phone. It didn’t move either.

With a sigh and a sting of guilt and shame he picked up his phone and checked the message.

Logan: I’ll be there in five minutes.

Fuck this was a mistake. Virgil jammed his phone into his pocket and stood from the chair. There was no way he’d be able to sit still for five minutes with the anxiety running beneath his skin. His pulled his hand away from his mouth again, cursing his habits. He was making progress breaking them with the help of Logan, but—

Well, Virgil had gone years with his nails and cuticles in shreds. It wouldn’t be any different from back then.

But it would. It would be so, so different and Virgil really didn’t want to say goodbye damnit. When had he gotten so selfish?

When I fell in love.

Virgil stopped his pacing. He still wasn’t used to it. That one word, that one miniscule, unimportant word had upended his whole life. Of course he had to fall for the one guy he could never have. Just his luck. He would get to watch Roman and Janus walk off into the sunset or whatever the fuck they did and he’d be stuck mourning the loss of a love he’d never get to see.

Footsteps drew his attention and Virgil turned, meeting Logan’s eyes. The daemon was resolute, shoulders stiff and lips pulled into a thin line. Anxiety shuddered and squirmed in his chest. He shoved it down. It was now or never. At least he would get to say goodbye.

He took a deep breath. “Logan, I—”

Logan held up a hand, silencing him. He gestured to the table. “Please, sit. I foresee this taking a little while.”

Virgil swallowed and sat. At Logan’s nod he began again. “Logan I’m sorry. I know you’re dying and I know it’s all my fault. I’m sorry I kept you here even though it hurt you.” He didn’t meet Logan’s eyes. “I just… I wanted to say goodbye before you left for real.”

Silence.

Virgil squirmed. His hand raised itself to his mouth, but something stopped him. He looked up to see Logan with an expression he couldn’t quite decipher. The pale grey light from the windows cast perfect shadows across his figure. Virgil looked away. He didn’t need to make this harder than it already was.

“Virgil, I’m not going anywhere.”

Everything stopped.

“What?”

“While you are correct that I’m not fit to stay in your realm for much longer, I am not dying. And the problem is easily remedied.”

Virgil stared at him. “But, but Janus—”

“I had a talk with Janus. He stopped by the dorm and told me everything. I also informed him that although he had the correct idea, it was horribly exaggerated and was bound to cause you to panic. From what he implied I believe that was his idea, but that is another problem for another day.

“The point is, I’m not dying, and I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

Virgil tried to speak, mouth opening and closing dumbly. “But— But you can’t stay without a deal. What’re you going to do?”

Logan smirked and suddenly the squirming in Virgil’s gut made way to a small fluttering. “I’m going to make another deal of course.” There was a shift in his demeanor, his smirk becoming a little more subdued. “If you’ll let me, that is.”

“Yeah. Yes, yes of course I’ll make another deal with you.” Virgil flushed, cursing the relief and elation flowing through him, embarrassment trying and failing to chase it away. “I— I mean—”

Logan chuckled, standing from his chair. “Well then, let’s go.”

Virgil followed, frowning. “Go where?”

“If I’ve learned anything from living here, it’s that some things deserve a little drama. Don’t let Roman know I said that; I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Virgil laughed, half disbelief half excitement. Logan was staying. Logan was staying and it would all be okay and—

He slipped his hand into Virgil’s with a shy little smile. “Forgive my impatience, but I would like to arrive as soon a possible.”

Virgil glanced at their entwined hands before nodding, not trusting himself to speak. He let Logan lead him out of the library, a heavy weight lifting off his shoulders. It would all be okay.

He focused on the feeling of Logan’s hand in his and the excitement of what was to come.

Yeah, it would all be okay.

Image Credit

[moxiety-my-love]

My thoughts while watching the new Sanders Asides video

Intro: ooh, there's some warnings, so we know this is gonna be a spicy one

0:19- WTF WAS THAT ASIDES LOGO MAGI THING?? I LOVE IT.

0:26- remus' theme, very exciting

0:49- i'm glad to know that thomas is just as awkward as i am when texting lol. also, HE'S TEXTING NICO!!

0:52- logan!! the boy!! also, i think this is the first time we've seen one of the sides rise up in thomas' bedroom? not super exciting, but i thought it was interesting.

1:06- i absolutely would have laughed at '69' as well. sorry, logan.

1:33- i also have a 5am and 2pm version of myself, dw thomas.

1:43- rolling out of bed that way is SO damn satisfying. couldn't relate more.

2:14- logan, you're so cute. i love how he gets so excited about his schedule.

3:54- why is thomas turning old?? remus, what did that trap do?

4:00- it's nico! in real life! not cartoon!

4:12- oh, and ancient thomas is here too. that's fun.

4:18- how long has it been since remus has made a video appearance? since the first asides video, which was probably over a year ago? remus stans are quaking rn.

4:45- i just noticed the carrot emoji next to nico's name in thomas' phone and that is such a tiny detail and reference but it's so cute

5:31- remus, you bastard. also, a pin in the food feels kind of simultaneously evil but also below your standards.

5:59- KCUM

6:18- remus there are so many people in this fandom that you turn on, it's so not okay. also, i'm so here for the sexual innuendos.

6:35- it doesn't even surprise me that logan would ruin the updog joke

7:21- roomba on the loose, what crimes will it commit?

7:51- i like how the picture frames went blank; it's a nice detail. reminds me of when hermione's parents' pictures went blank in deathly hallows part two.

8:12- SHAPES AND COLOURS

8:49- roomba has committed a murder

9:22- ROOMBA HAS COMMITTED A LEGITIMATE MURDER

9:34- remus is allergic to soap confirmed

9:44- ok ok. i have a theory. one of the times that thomas' phone buzzes, he's going to pick it up thinking it's a chore alarm, but it's actually going to be nico.

10:04- pirate remus!!

10:11- patton would love the bratwurst pun

11:37- okay i'm here for the rube goldburg traps, but come on, remus. all that was way too much work to freak out thomas. just prank phone call the guy and that would be enough to send him into a panic.

11:56- being that he was in the closet for many years, thomas definitely knows that closets aren't sentient, logan.

12:19- is that supposed to be remus shapeshifting as nico? am i crazy?

14:16- okay so it wasn't nico. it was some random murderer. also, remus has a knife kink confirmed?

15:08- lovely singing

15:18- REMUS, YOU SAUCY BOY. intrulogical shippers are shaking right now.

16:05- can confirm, emergency ketchup does not seem like a necessity.

16:10- solanum lycopersicum!!

17:57- so he was shapeshifting as nico! i think this is the first side to do this other than janus.

18:55- what the fuscia?

19:02- vibey music

19:14- i just had a visceral reaction to logan saying "shake what your mama gave ya"

20:00- okay so i don't think remus was actually shapeshifting, he just created a fake nico as far as i can tell.

20:59- lol the butt scratching. reminds me of a dog.

21:15- wtf. tongue lollipop?

21:24- cruncy bug

21:55- ignoring dummies for dummies. are nerds in blue ties bothering you? iconic.

22:12- WHAT DID I JUST WITNESS? orange eyes obviously have to symbolize the orange side, right? and since logan was angry, maybe this adds fuel to the flame of the idea that the orange side is rage/anger?

22:21- checking your breath before answering a phone call is absolutely something i would do

22:42- nico! the boy is calling! he's so cute. also, i love the reference to the "Mr." thing they did in the last video.

23:50- logan is sad boy :( but go thomas! go get your man!

24:02- what? that's it? what a place to end off at!

24:45- it wouldn't be a sanders sides video without a hello fresh ad

25:05- i love that he has their number saved omg

26:19- bye thomas!

26:27- patton's here!!

26:34- and roman!!

26:43- and virgil! my FAVOURITE boy!

26:50- oh, logan. you deserve all the influence.

2720- ooh, virgil? some resentment?

27:55- thomas is officially in his feels

28:08- janus is here too! which makes this the first video to include all the sides, if i'm not mistaken. also, what's with the mysterious music?

28:21- the orange eyes again! damn!

Final Thoughts:

As always, I'll bey opinion. Nico and Thomas are so cute, and I'm happy we got to see more of them together. I was also excited to see that we got all of the sides in one video, finally, though I'm still waiting for some onscreen interaction between Janus and Remus. The ending was super ominous, so I'm curious as to what's in store for the future. And as you all could tell, I was clearly very interested in the possibility of being introduced to the orange side. I can't wait to see everyone's theories and such.

As always, I'll be tagging spoilers for 7 days after the posting of this video, and I hope you all will too! I'll be using the tags "ts spoilers" and "sanders sides spoilers" respectively.

[the-girl-with-the-glass-heart]

Some short Remus angst I wrote

Tw: Unsympathetic Patton

Patton walked into Remus’s room, glancing at the disgusting clothes and litter that was practically everywhere, Remus paid no attention to neither the mess or Patton and instead fixated on a tiny octopus figure he was sculpting out of clay.

“Princes sure are fickle little pickles aren’t they? One minute they love you and the next you are everything they don’t wanna be.” Patton said to Remus, causing him to drop the pencil he was using to sculpt the little crevices on the statue in shock.

Remus was silent for a moment and then shook his head “I’m working on something.” He coldly replied, trying to focus again.

Patton walked over and smacked his hand on Remus’s desk, slightly disgusted by how messy it was, he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall “it can wait, although I must say, it’s quite endearing to see you hopelessly trying to make something productive for once.”.

Remus leaned back on his chair and bit his lip, through gritted teeth he mumbled “what do you want?”.

Patton smiled “I just wanted to remind you tomorrow we’re filming a new video so stay out of the living room, we don’t want you messing with anything.

Roman can’t stand being in the same room as you so having you there would just distract him.” Remus remained silent.

As Patton headed out the door Remus stood up and stopped him “Why do you guys always keep me out?” remus pathetically asked.

Patton scoffed “You’re an adult now remus, you aren’t my problem anymore.”.

Remus recoiled in shock, his mouth hung open and eyes wide as saucers “is that what I am to you? You’re problem!?” Remus cried.

Patton was confused “Yes, what else would you be?”.

Remus sniffled a little to keep himself from crying, he hugged himself, thinking of what to say next.

“I do everything you want! I stay in my room! I only talk to Janus! I never ask you for help and you still deny me the only thing I’ve ever wanted!” Yelled Remus, he was finding it hard to contain his rage and anguish at his “dad”.

Patton cocked his head to the side and squinted “and what is that?”.

Remus couldn’t believe him, it was so obvious, was Patton that clueless or was he just so malicious he wanted Remus to openly admit how desperate for affection he was.

“What do you think?! You’re supposed to be my father figure!! We’re supposed to be a family!” Remus was very close to balling his eyes out, he wondered if this was just a particularly cruel interaction between him and Patton or just all the pain Patton had put him through was finally coming out.

“Was... there ever a time when you loved me? Really loved me like Roman or Virgil or even Logan? Even in the tiniest amount? There had to have been sometime when you cared about me just like them!” At some point Remus could feel like he wasn’t truly talking to patton anymore, he was talking to himself, bargaining and begging that there had to have been something there.

Something, anything, to comfort Remus and make him feel like even if he wasn’t wanted now he was wanted at some point and maybe- just maybe he could find a way to return to those bittersweet times just to be seen and heard in the same way everyone else was.

Even Janus was treated with more respect than Remus was, there had to be something.

Patton remained still and emotionless, he looked at Remus with a cold gaze before opening his mount to deliver one final guy punch to any hope Remus had for a normal bond between the two.

“How could anyone love pebble in their shoe?” Patton reasoned, walking out the door and gently closing it, leaving Remus to ruminate on that single, terrible phrase.

“How could anyone love a pebble in their shoe?” He thought, over and over again.

his mind that was once filled with funny and silly little thoughts about all kinds of chaotic gross things now filled with that terrible disgusting sentence.

All he can do is nod in understanding.

How tragic, the first time remus ever fully understood Patton and it was purely about how much he hated him.

[logically-asexual]

it breaks my heart when i think about how Logan was part of the main group and was also kind of friends with Virgil before him being Accepted and it was Logan who told him “i hope you now feel more like a part of this group.” but now he doesn’t feel like he belongs there and to him things seem to be more often than not him vs Virgil, Patton and Roman. he doesn’t interact with Virgil at all anymore, he doesn’t share knowing faces with anyone, or sarcastic comments or anything at all. he’s just there on his own trying his best to be part of the conversation. i’m just.. :c somebody show him affection please. thomas is the only one who acknowledges him, but he's Thomas, he has to.

[anxious-logic]

Helping Hands, ch 1

@tsshipmonth2020

Day 6: And they were roommates

this is technically chapter 1 of a 3-chapter fic! i dont have either of the others written yet but i definitely want to write them :)

it is also a companion to Timeless Love and will make more sense if you read that first (link to AO3)

Ships: Romantic Analogical (Virgil/Logan), platonic LAMP

Chapter warnings: Food mention

Chapter word count: 1,108

AO3 rating: G

Fic summary: 1 time Virgil helped Logan, 1 time Logan helped Virgil, and 1 time they helped each other.

Virgil blew out an (unnecessary) breath, shifting back and forth between his feet. He checked on the sauce that was simmering on the stove, stirring it as he did so to avoid any burning, then shifted his attention to the clock on the stove. Fifteen more minutes, time to get the pasta water boiling.

He used his telekinesis to open the cupboard, pulling out a pot and setting it in the sink as he turned on the hot water and waited for it to fill. He shifted his attention back to the sauce, hissing and turning the heat down as he noticed it was boiling and not simmering, whatever the hell that was supposed to mean.

“Hey man, you good?”

He turned around to face Roman, who was standing hesitantly in the doorway to the kitchen.

“Um- yeah, it’s fine,” Virgil muttered. “Just- stressful to do a lot at once.”

Roman nodded. “Your pot’s full, by the way.”

Virgil spun around to the sink, picking the pot up and tipping some of the water out of it. He put it on the stove, turning the heat on underneath it and floating the lid onto it. He blew out a breath, turning back to Roman. “Thanks.”

“Seriously, do you need any help? I’d be happy to if you need.”

Virgil gave him a humorless smile. “I mean, I appreciate the thought, but I’m not sure what you could do since neither of us can actually touch anything here and you don’t have telekinesis.”

Roman’s mouth opened and closed a few times. “...Oh. Right.”

Virgil laughed slightly at Roman. It’d taken him a few years to adjust to having to use his telekinesis after dying, but Roman hadn’t even been a ghost that long and it must be a completely different adjustment period if you suddenly had no way to interact with the world.

He turned back to the cupboard, slipping out the box of bowtie pasta. He used a knife to open the cardboard flaps - the glue was too stiff, and the cardboard too flimsy, for his powers to separate - and dumped most of the box in the pot. He set the manual timer on the kitchen counter to go off in seven minutes; Logan liked his pasta very al dente. (Too al dente, in Virgil’s humble opinion, but if Logan liked it he would make it like that.)

“Seriously though, he’ll love it. I promise.” Roman gave Virgil an encouraging smile when he glanced up at him.

“I hope so.” Virgil opened the drawer and grabbed the pasta server, giving the pasta a few stirs to make sure it didn’t all stick to itself. “He’s just been so stressed and busy lately… I wish I could do more to help than just. Make a mediocre pasta sauce.”

Roman laughed gently. “I promise you, this is more than that. This is you showing him that you care for him. This is saying that you’re here to support him, even when you two have never heard each others’ voices. He’ll appreciate that.”

Virgil felt a soft smile spread across his face. “...Thanks.” He glanced at the tomato and meat sauce, stirring it a bit before turning the heat off and covering it to keep it warm.

The two of them stood in silence in the kitchen for a few more minutes before the sound of keys in the front door lock echoed through the apartment. The door opened and shut, a weary sigh from Logan accompanying the rustle of fabric and keys.

“I’m home,” he called. “How were your days?”

Roman glanced behind him. “Patton’s talking to him, you can keep going.”

Virgil nodded in thanks; his telekinesis suddenly failing by Logan entering the same room as him could result in injuries, especially with the hot utensils and pots that were currently floating around the kitchen.

“Virgil’s in here,” Roman called, presumably to Logan. “Uh- just a minute.”

“Of course.”

Virgil couldn’t help but smile at the sound of Logan’s voice. His soulmate’s voice.

He was startled out of his reverie by the insistent beeping of the timer going off. “Yeah, yeah, I hear ya,” he muttered, jabbing the tiny stop button with a kabob skewer. He put a strainer in the sink, turned off the heat under the pasta, then floated the pasta pot to the sink and dumped it in.

“Okay,” he muttered to himself, then turned to Roman. “Give me five minutes to get this plated up, then we can have dinner.”

Roman nodded in acknowledgement, then turned outside the door to relay the message to Logan. Virgil tuned out the noise of their talking, carefully arranging the pasta on the plate and attempting to artfully drizzle the sauce over it. It didn’t quite work (it looked more like a child’s rendition of a tree than anything else), but it was the thought that counted, right?

He looked around, getting the last few parts together - a small side salad, because Logan felt strongly about balanced eating, and a glass of wine - before turning to Roman again.

“Does Logan want to come in here and grab everything, or should I set the table for him?”

“He’s in his bedroom right now,” Roman said, “so you can get things set up.”

Virgil nodded, floating the plate, glass, and silverware onto the table. He glanced around one more time, making sure he hadn’t forgotten anything.

“It’ll be great,” Roman reassured him (yet again), reaching a hand out to touch his shoulder before wincing and letting it fall to his side.

He’ll love it, Patton assured him. Now, you should move so he can see us.

Virgil smiled at Patton. Yeah, I know, he signed back. Thanks.

Patton nodded once, then “sat” in his usual place in the chair to Logan’s left. Roman took his usual spot of on top of the empty end of the table (“I’m gay and neurodivergent, I could barely sit normal when I was alive; now that I’m dead there’s no reason for me not to,” had been his argument when Virgil had first protested, and Virgil couldn’t really disagree with that reasoning).

He quickly ducked into the kitchen when he heard Logan’s bedroom door open, taking his usual seat on the floor leaning against the cabinets.

“Oh,” he heard Logan gasp. “I- did Virgil do this?”

There was a pause, when Patton presumably answered.

“I don’t know what to say,” Logan said, and it sounded like he was choking up. “I… thank you, Virgil.”

Virgil gently clattered the strainer in the sink in acknowledgement, and reveled in the warm glow of satisfaction that he felt.

~~~

Please consider reblogging if you liked this, and let me know if you'd like to be tagged in part 2 and 3 when those comes out!

[trashyswitch]

Safety Within the Sanders' Pizzeria

Virgil's inner anxiety and interactions with some of the animatronics, causes Virgil to have a panic attack during work. Thankfully, Logan and Patton are there to calm him down and be playful with him.

The ending includes slightly dirty statements, because...Remus. But that's about it!

And this prompt was suggested by good ol' Pumpkin Paw! I hope you like it! And for the rest of you: JURY DUTY, JURY DUTY, JURY DUTY, BLACK MAIL-

Just kidding! I hope you enjoy!

Virgil was growing terrified of the robots. They all seemed to have a sinister side that tripled when they were kept in darkness and not surrounded by children. Though a couple of the robots were better-suited for children, there were robots he was much more terrified of…

Examples? Remus and Janus.

Janus was an unpredictable robot that managed to glitch himself into an impulsive liar. He’s encouraged kids to set things on fire, let kids play with sharpened swords, showed kids how to make chloroform, and taught kids all kinds of dangerous things. There was a reason Janus was kept in a locked room to only be used for spare parts. He was also scared that Janus was gonna pull some manipulative tricks on him or scare him. His worst nightmare was the thought of Janus sneaking up on him with a box of matches and saying “Humans are very flame resistant! Let me show you:” and setting him on fire. OH PLEASE NO.

Remus was even worse! He caused violence way too much, and looked like a creepy, insane robotic homeless guy that could kill hundreds if he was allowed to go free. He even smelled like a mix of mold, metal and dead mice. Worst of all? He had a mace. A FREAKING MACE! WHO THE HELL GAVE THE ROBOT A MACE?! And since his robot body made him so strong, Virgil’s head could easily be crushed by a single swing of the mace alone! All he could do was pray that Remus never got any ideas to try it out.

“Ooooh Viiirgiiil~” someone called.

Virgil jumped and moved his flashlight around to find the source of the sound. “You-You’d better leave me alone! I-” Virgil grabbed a lamp. “I have a...A lamp! And I’m not afraid to use it!” Virgil warned.

The voice let out a manic laugh that helped him identify the voice. It was Remus. “That’s a good one! The poor security guard’s all alone with only his lamp to hold onto! Such a shame it won’t save you.” Remus teased.

“Oh yeah? How do you know?” Virgil asked, plugging it in.

“The lamp’s hardly a weapon up against my pointy mace! All it’ll take is a big, fat, SPLAT! AHAHAHAHAHAAA! THEN IT’LL JUST BE BROKEN GLASS AND METAL!” Remus declared.

Virgil growled and held up the lamp in one hand, and the switch in the other. “Alright coward, COME ON OUT.”

Remus kicked the door down. “THE FUCK DID YOU JUST- AAAAAAH!” Remus interrupted himself and covered up his eyes with his hands. “FAAACK!”

Virgil smiled a little as he shined the light right into Remus’s eyes. “Not so tough now with burned robot eyes, huh?” Virgil spat.

Remus growled and started swinging his mace around blindly. Virgil’s confident smirk quickly turned to fear as he tried to get out of the way of the flying mace. “WHOA- Oh geez- REMUS!” Virgil shouted.

It didn’t take long for the lamp to end up destroyed into pieces by the mace. Remus let out some proud, chaotic laughter as his eyes very slowly adjusted. “Just like a piñata! A few more hits should do it!” Remus declared as he readied his mace like a baseball bat.

Virgil quickly dropped the lamp and sprinted away as quickly as he could. He sprinted out of the office and darted his way down the hall. But his sprinting was quickly brought to a halt by another robot who was blocking his path.

“Oooooh! Looking confident today, Security guard.” The robot teased as he tipped his hat. Oh no...It was Janus…

Virgil sprinted behind Janus and hid. “Please hide me! Remus is trying to kill me!” Virgil begged.

Janus turned his head a full 180 degrees to look right at Virgil. “My, what a brave soul.” Janus reacted out loud.

Virgil shrieked at Janus’s over contorted head and backed up from him. “That’snotright! that’snotRIGHT!” Virgil muttered.

Janus’s eyes moved to the right...they moved to the left...then they looked back at Virgil. “What do you mean? This is normal.” Janus told him. To top it all off, Janus had shrugged his shoulders like a human usually would. But Janus’s shoulder blades were literally just below Janus’s chin and were facing the terrified security guard. That was NOT normal.

In fact, that was enough to make Virgil scream and sprint off again. He sprinted his way further down the hall, and was soon skidded to a stop by one more animatronic:

“OOOH! A worthy opponent!” The animatronic declared, pointing his sharpened knife to Virgil. Virgil shrieked and put his hands up in surrender. “That’s right, you have no weapon! So that means you’re my prisoner!” Roman declared, grabbing his hand and leading him away. “I hope you can appreciate a quick death. Let’s say...Beheading! With my sword, of course!” Roman declared.

Virgil took one look at the sword and yelped: The sword was AN INCH AWAY FROM HIS EYE.

Roman giggled at his scared face. “Hehehe! Poke poke~”

Virgil screeched like a terrified hawk and pulled his arm out of Roman’s grip. The moment he was free, Virgil screamed again and took off sprinting.

“Wait! Wait, Virgil! I was joking! Come on!” Roman yelled to him.

Virgil sprinted all the way to the other side of the pizzeria. The animatronics were everywhere. He couldn’t get away! They wouldn’t stop grabbing him! Threatening his life! SCARING HIM TO DEATH!

OH NO! NOT ANOTHER ONE! Virgil tried to get up and take off running again. But this animatronic had him good. So Virgil started to kick, scream, and punch. Anything to get out of the animatronic’s strong grip.

“Virgil! Virgil Sanders! Can you hear me?” The animatronic asked.

Virgil’s fighting slowed a bit as he heard his actual name. “Wh- *huff, huff, huff* What-”

“Virgil Sanders. Is that right?” The animatronic asked. Virgil nodded his head. “Okay. I only know your name because I read your name tag.” The animatronic told him.

Okay...Okay. That makes sense. But this is an animatronic! Why are they being nice? The only animatronic he knew that was nice, was Patton! And even HE was a little sinister! “Pat- Patisthatyou?” Virgil asked.

“This is Logan. I need you to sit down and try to cooperate with me.” Logan explained. Virgil looked up and managed to catch the general outline of glasses...and a dark blue shirt. “Don’t worry. You’re safe. I’ve closed the doors and ordered all the animatronics but Patton, to leave you alone.” Logan explained.

Virgil started to relax his muscles bit by bit. “O...Okay...Okay.”

Something slid into his hand. “Can you feel my hand?” Logan asked. Virgil nodded. “Okay good. Can you feel my face?” Logan asked as he placed Virgil’s hand onto his cold, hard cheek.

Virgil nodded and looked up at him. “Cold...It’s cold.” Virgil added.

“Okay.” Logan replied.

“Good job Kiddo!” Another animatronic cheered. Virgil smiled a little at that.

“Now:” Logan placed Patton’s hand onto Virgil’s arm. “Can you feel the hand on your arm?” Logan asked. Virgil nodded. Logan continued. “That is Patton’s hand.” Logan told him.

Virgil nodded. “Okay.”

Patton, feeling a little playful, placed his hand on Virgil’s belly. “Do you feel this?” Patton asked as he started gently scratching it.

Virgil smiled and laughed a little. “Yeheheah, Ihihi doho.”

“Patton, I don’t think childish behaviours like tickling are recommended when a person is recovering from a panic atta-”

“It’s working!” Patton added his other hand to Virgil’s belly and started skittering all over. “Tickle tickle tickle!”

Virgil giggled and fell gently onto his back while he rolled around and pushed at Patton’s hands. “Hehehehehe! Hahahahahaha! Ihihi’m ohokahahahay.” Virgil let him know.

“Alright.” Patton stopped tickling him. “Did that help?”

Virgil smiled. “Yes. A lot, actually.”

Logan raised his eyebrows. “Fascinating...Virgil must be a rare human to appreciate tickling after a panic attack.” Logan reacted calmly.

Patton chuckled and shook his head. “Or tickling really does help for panic attacks and you just don’t believe me yet!” Patton picked up Virgil, held him in his arms like a toddler, and started skittering his fingers on Virgil’s sides. “Kitchy kitchy kitchy koo!”

Virgil squealed and started to wiggle again. “HAhahahaha! Hehehehe Pahahahat! Thahahat ticklehehes!” Virgil giggled.

“Ihi can tell! If it wasn’t ticklish to you, then I’d still be looking for new ticklish spots.” Patton replied.

Patton lifted up Virgil’s Security Guard shirt a bit and found the guy’s belly button. “Oooh! Giggle button!” Patton reacted as he poked it a few times. Virgil guffawed! His back arched like a freaking rainbow, and Virgil just about kicked Patton in the face! But thankfully, Patton caught the foot right before it hit him. “That was close…” Patton said calmly.

Virgil was covering his belly. “Sohorry. My belly button is REEEALLY bad.” Virgil admitted.

Patton dropped Virgil’s foot. “It IS?!” Patton pretty much dove towards Virgil and started scratching Virgil’s belly again. “Does this tickle?” Patton asked.

Virgil squeaked and squealed while rolling around and kicking his feet. “AAAHAHAHAHAHA! YEHEHEHEHEHESS!” Virgil yelled back.

Patton grabbed both of Virgil’s sides and started squeezing. “Does this tickle more? Or less?” Patton asked.

Virgil’s laughter fell to giggles while Patton tickled up and down the one side of his ribs. “Yeheheheheheah. Ihihihit tihihihihicklehehes lehehehess.” Virgil replied.

Patton hummed. “I can tell! Your laughter went from super strong, to little giggles!” Patton reacted.

Virgil nodded. “It did, yeah.”

Patton gasped and lifted Virgil’s shirt again. “I wanna hear your laughter again!” Patton declared before poking and swirling his finger in his belly button.

“Patton...Maybe we should tone it down-”

“BAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WAITNOHOHOHOHOHOHO!” Virgil rolled onto his belly as soon as he possibly could, and then continued to giggle into the floor as he recovered. “Lohohoho...Loho hahahas ahaha pohohohoint.” Virgil told him.

Patton frowned a little and crossed his arms. “Fiiine. I guess I’ll give you a break.” Patton decided.

Virgil let out a breath of relief and turned onto his back again. “Thank you.”

Logan was staring at Virgil with his eyes slightly narrow and a hand on his chin. It looked like he was in a hyper focused thinking mode. Logan just kept on staring at him, and looking him up and down. It was growing a little creepy for his liking. But...Logan probably didn’t really realize it.

“Um...L-Logan?” Virgil asked.

Logan moved his hand off his own chin and brought his index finger closer to Virgil. “Virgil…” He said, pointing to the nametag. “A male name meaning ‘Staff bearer’ in Latin.” Logan explained.

Virgil bit his lip and nodded. “Yes...That’s right. It’s also the name of a Roman poet.” Virgil admitted.

“Yes: Publius Vergilius Maro. He became influential in The Golden Age. Also known as The Augustan Age.” Logan added.

Virgil smiled. “Isn’t Augustus the Emperor that was related to Julius Caesar?” Virgil asked.

“Yes! Caesar was Augustus’s great-uncle.” Logan replied.

“Okay.” Virgil decided. “So...What about it?”

Logan smiled. “The name is very uncommon in this century.” Logan told him.

Virgil smiled. “I guess I’m special.” He teased.

Logan shrugged his shoulders. “Perhaps.”

Logan leaned in and brought his hands towards Virgil’s ribs. “Is your ribcage ticklish by chance?” Logan asked him.

Virgil widened his eyes and scooted closer to the wall with a wobbly smile on his face. “Nohoho, no, no it’s not. Totally not.” Virgil lied desperately.

“Hmm...I see...And,” Logan touched down and started skittering, “-does proving my point help the factual robot to see that you’re lying?” Logan asked with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. “Yes! Yes it does.”

Virgil bursted out into fits of giggles and laughter mixed into one reaction. “Aahahahahahaha! Ohohokahahahay, okay yohohohou’re rihihihight! Ihihi lihihihied! Ihihi’m sohohohorryhyhyhy!” Virgil admitted.

“I appreciate you apologizing. However, I’m afraid it’s a little too late for mercy to be bestowed upon you.” Logan told him as he started to move up the ribs.

Virgil’s laughter grew higher in octave, and a little louder. “WahahaHAHAHAIT- WHAHAHAHAT?! IHIHIHI THOHOHOHOHOUGHT-”

“You thought you were getting a break?” Logan finished for him. “Nah. I just wanted to have my turn to be the infamous ‘tickle monster’. Coochy coochy coochy coochy coo Virgil~” Logan teased.

Virgil threw his head back and started cackling. “AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NAHAHAHAT THEHEHERE! PLEHEHEASE! EEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!” Virgil begged, trapping Logan’s hands in his upper arms.

“Oh dear...Patton, did you trick me into entering a trap?” Logan asked.

Patton giggled and shook his head. “Nohoho, why?”

Logan huffed dramatically and pulled. “Because I appear to be stuck. And Virgil is a lot stronger than I envisioned.” Logan explained.

Patton laughed even harder. “YOHOHOU’RE A ROBOT! You’re made of METAL! All it takes is a tug, Logan!” Patton reminded him.

Logan paused his tickling as he looked down at his arms and started pulling. But the pulling was made to be super weak and...quite pathetic for a robot.

“Ohohokahahay, nohohow you’re just beheheheing rihihidicuhulohohous.” Virgil told him.

Logan looked at Virgil with a frown and a smirk. “Excuse me?” Logan reacted. “Pathetic?”

Virgil’s giggles skyrocketed from Logan’s reaction. “Yeheheheahahahah!” Virgil further provoked.

Logan smirked even wider and fixed his glasses. “Excuse me while I do this:” Logan picked up Virgil like a toddler, brought him into his arms and covered every part of Virgil’s middle with tickles. Ribs, belly, sides, belly button, hips, they were all tickled.

Virgil absolutely LOST IT! He was a mess of cackles, snorts, hiccups, and even squeaks mixed together into one big ball! Virgil looked like a snorter, so the snort didn’t really catch Logan off guard.

However, Patton was ecstatic. “Logan! Did you hear that?! He snorted! He has a snort laugh! Hahahahaha! I love it! I wanna hear it again! Can you make him snort again?” Patton asked amidst his rambling.

Logan giggled at this and nodded. “Sure thing Pat in the Hat.” Logan replied. To make Virgil snort again, Logan specifically targeted his upper ribs and his belly all at once. This made Virgil cackle, squeal, and as Patton wanted: snort.

“PLEHEHEHEHEASE! *snort* TOHOHOO MUHUHUHUCH! TOHO *snort* MUHUHUHUCH! MEHEHEHERCYHYHYHYHY! *snort* PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE?” Virgil pleaded.

“Uh oh...I do believe his oxygen level is dropping a bit too low. I will need to stop and let him breathe again.” Logan told Patton as he stopped tickling.

Virgil went limp in Logan’s arms almost immediately. He was breathing heavily as well, which further proved Logan’s observation.

“Hohohow…” Virgil was stopped by Logan’s index finger on his lips.

“Hush Virgil. Just breathe for a bit. Then you may ask your question.” Logan advised.

Virgil rolled his eyes and listened to him. But Virgil did feel a little annoyed by Logan’s advice. How did Logan know what’s best for him? He’s not a human. He hasn’t experienced being human since he was made. Heck, even his human-mimicking socializing was quite off. No one quite talked like Logan. Well, except for the super introverted nerds in the world.

BUt Virgil still listened to him. When he felt recovered enough, Virgil tried again. “How do you know my oxygen level?” Virgil asked.

Logan looked down at him. “I have been fitted with a pulse Oximeter at my fingertips.” Logan explained briefly. He brought his fingers to Virgil’s. “I can squeeze gently on your finger, and a number will show up. If it’s normal, then I don’t have any reason to act concerned. If it’s low however, I may advise breathing more heavily or going outside for some fresh air or a short walk. That usually helps raise a human’s blood oxygen level.” Logan explained.

“Hm...I see. Can you do anything else?” Virgil asked.

“Indeed I can.” Logan replied. “Not many people know this, but I have been fitted with a Glucometer for checking the blood sugar of any suspected or confirmed diabetic of any age.” Logan told him. “I also have a way to check your general body temperature.” Logan added. “You’re fairly warm still. However, exerting activities such as tickling can make you increasingly warm.” Logan explained.

Virgil smiled. “That’s really cool.”

Logan smiled. “I can also confirm that you are, in fact, a male. If you were a trans male, I would know. But I would still be ordered to call you by your preferred pronouns due to backlash if I failed to do so.” Logan explained.

“Kinky!” Someone added randomly.

Patton jumped at the new voice, and frowned at the word he used. “Remus, no!” Patton warned.

Logan sighed and fixed his glasses. “Remus, it is NOT kinky! It is basic knowledge!” Logan argued.

“Sounds pretty kinky to me! Right Security Guard?” Remus teased.

Virgil looked away, growing a little more uncomfortable than he expected. “A...A little…”

Logan looked at Virgil. “I don’t quite understand…” Logan admitted. “Did I do something wrong?”

Virgil shook his head. “No! No you didn’t. Just for the future...Maybe keep the ‘gender’ identifying technology a secret. For...social purposes.” Virgil advised.

Logan nodded. “Noted.” Then, Logan smiled. “However, we are gonna take advantage of your more regular oxygen levels and resume tickling you.”

Wait a minute, WHAT?!

Patton gasped and clapped his hands. “YES! MORE SNORTS!”

And more snorts Patton got. Dozens, to be specific.

[eliemo]

Blameless

Summary: Logan knew it was only a matter of time until Thomas found out, but he had no intention of pushing Virgil out of his comfort zone. Unfortunately, things are a bit different right now. 

Masterpost

Notes: I plan on writing the “incident” mentioned throughout this fic sometime soon. It’s killing me to plan out

Logan had known it was only a matter of time until Thomas found out. 

He’d been the one to suggest telling him right away, just days after Virgil’s past had come to light. After all, it couldn’t do any harm to have him on the same page when it came to redirecting a harmful mindset.  

But he’d quickly dropped it upon seeing how distressed the idea made Virgil. Logan wasn’t quite sure what he was so afraid of, (Rejection? Dismissal? Annoyance?) but he had no plans to push the anxious side out of his comfort zone. 

Unfortunately, things were a bit different right now. 

It had been almost a week since the...incident had occurred, and while things were steadily improving, they were still hardly back to normal. 

Virgil was still horribly jumpy, wide eyed and trembling far more than usual, apologizing relentlessly for even the smallest things like he was terrified they were all still upset with him. 

Not that anyone had been upset with him to begin with. Just...stressed and worried, was all. They’d all triggered some kind of panicked response from Virgil before, but last week had been a whole different story. 

But that was in the past. It wouldn’t happen again. 

That being said, Virgil still needed time. And Thomas wanted to film today. 

Logan had done what he could to get the date rescheduled, but logically, there was no reason not to film today. Not without a viable excuse, and he knew better than to push the idea of telling Thomas the truth. Virgil would open up when he was ready. 

So now they were all in Thomas’s living room as usual, sharing wary glances as they talked through their host’s latest problem, hoping he wouldn’t notice Virgil was just a bit quieter than usual. 

Virgil’s hands were still wrapped in bandages- and Logan made a mental note to check how those were healing when they were done here- but he was able to keep them hidden beneath his sleeves. 

The issue today was fairly standard- Thomas panicking over a reaction from one of his friends, frantically scrambling as he tried to figure out how to respond and move forward. 

It was the kind of discussion that would usually have them all bickering, shouting over each other with no real malice, probably getting frustrated and carried away in the process until they inevitably came to some kind of conclusion. 

Today, they were careful to keep the volume low, cautious not to lose their temper, Patton and Roman sending less than subtle glances Virgil’s way every few minutes. 

Really, with how obvious they were being, Logan would be more worried if Thomas didn’t pick up on something being off. At the very least, he was bound to be feeling a little extra anxious recently. 

But he hadn’t said anything, Virgil left to his quiet fidgeting from his usual place on the stairs, so perhaps they could--

“Virge? What do you think, buddy?” 

Then again, perhaps not. Thomas was speaking softly, and Logan knew he was only trying to gently encourage Virgil to voice his thoughts, but the anxious side still jumped at the sudden attention, eyes widening slightly. 

“I...s-sorry, what?” 

“I was just wondering what you thought,” Thomas said. “About what Patton was saying.”

Logan saw Patton wince at the question, at the way Virgil was beginning to look helplessly cornered, Thomas still watching with oblivious confusion. 

He should have tried harder to get them to reschedule. Today was a bad day. 

“I- um, I don’t know,” Virgil said. “Sorry, I-I was just, I was…”  

“Zoning out a bit?” Thomas offered, his smile easy and gentle. He’d meant it lightly, Logan knew, but Virgil actually flinched at the implication. 

“N-no I was listening,” he said quickly. “Or, I- I was trying to, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to space out.” 

“What? No it’s...It’s fine, Virgil. Honestly, we were all just rambling at this point, right guys?”  He turned, just in time to see the worried glances Patton and Roman were failing to hide. 

“Right!” Patton exclaimed, too quick and too cheery, and Logan resisted the urge to groan at how utterly horrible the two were at nonchalance. “Everything’s ok! You’re doing great, kiddo!” 

Virgil sunk even further into his hoodie, fiddling with the strings, looking like he would rather be anywhere else in the world, the attention clearly overwhelming. 

Thomas noticed, frown deepening, and he quietly cleared his throat before turning to the creative side. “Roman? Can you stop the recording for a sec?” 

Roman hesitated, looking to Patton and Logan as Virgil began noticeably trembling. But he did as he was told, moving to shut the camera off as Patton hurried to Virgil’s side, talking too softly for the others to hear. 

“Alright, what’s going on you guys?” Thomas asked, missing the way Virgil flinched again. “Logan tried to change the schedule earlier, which we all know is unheard of, and all of you are acting...really weird.” 

Logan opened his mouth to answer, everyone else stubbornly silent, but Virgil beat him to it, his voice heartbreakingly small. 

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to, we can...we can keep f-filming, Thomas.” 

Immediately, Thomas’s expression softened. “Hey, buddy it’s ok. I’m not upset, I just wanna know what’s going on. Obviously something’s been happening for a while.” 

Virgil stared resolutely down at his lap where Patton had intertwined their hands, and Roman was shifting restlessly by the camera, clearly waiting for someone else to take the lead. 

Logan sighed, realizing that despite his own lingering stress, he was still the most composed person in the room. As was usually the case. 

“Thomas,” he said, hands automatically fidgeting with his tie when the others turned their attention to him. “There was a...situation a few days ago. It’s been sorted out since then, but today might not be an ideal time to film.” 

“A situation?” Thomas echoed. “Is...is that why I had a panic attack earlier this week?” 

Virgil’s head snapped up at that, kept only from scrambling to his feet by Patton’s tight hold. “You felt that? I- I’m so sorry I thought I...y-you said you felt fine and I thought--” 

“No, no, Virge it’s ok.” Thomas was moving towards the stairs, crouching to Virgil’s level, careful to keep a couple feet of space between them. “It wasn’t that bad. Your panic attacks don’t usually get to me, but this one felt...different.” 

Virgil shrugged, but offered a reluctant nod. “Yeah it was...more intense than usual, I guess. Sorry.” 

“What did we talk about, kiddo?” Patton squeezed Virgil’s hand, smiling sadly. “You don’t have to apologize. It wasn’t your fault.” 

Virgil didn’t answer, still refusing to meet anyone’s gaze, shoulders hunched under the weight of their stares. 

Thomas inched closer, ankles brushing the stairwell, finally breaking the silence. “Virge, can you...tell me what happened?” 

Logan was actually surprised by how quickly Virgil shook his head, looking like Thomas had just suggested something ludicrous, like talking to a cute guy in public. He’d known Virgil was adamantly against telling Thomas any of this, but he hadn’t realized just how hesitant he was. 

“I-I can’t,” he stammered, looking to Patton for help. “I can’t say, I’m sorry, I just...I can’t tell you.” 

“Perhaps it is time we told Thomas,” Logan suggested. “He’s bound to find out eventually, Virgil. And I can assure you, there is nothing to worry about.” 

“But of course, you don’t have to!” Roman added, looking almost just as nervous as Virgil. “It’s entirely up to you!” 

“I’m not gonna pressure you into anything,” Thomas said. “But you know you can tell me anything, right? I’ll do what I can to help.” 

Thomas’s living room was silent for a long moment, the only noise being Patton’s overly exaggerated breathing to keep Virgil from hyperventilating. They all waited, patient and silent, careful not to do anything to make the anxious side feel rushed. 

Logan blinked, surprised when Virgil’s eyes were suddenly locked onto his. 

“Can…” he paused, chewing on his lip. “Can you tell him? Please?” 

Logan gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile and nodded. “Of course. Would you prefer to be in the room or wait somewhere else?” 

Virgil hesitated, free hand tugging at his hoodie, glancing up at Thomas as if to make sure he wasn’t upset with the change in plans. 

“Do you want to wait in the other room, kiddo?” Patton asked. “I can come with you if you want.” 

Virgil nodded, the relief in his eyes painfully obvious, but Logan didn’t miss the tremble that stayed in his hands, the wary, anxiety riddled glances he kept sending Thomas’s way as Patton led him up the stairs. 

“I’ll come get you in a few moments,” Roman called, moving to sit on the edge of the couch, wringing his hands in his lap. “Teach?” 

Logan cleared his throat, adjusting his tie again as he turned back to Thomas, suddenly painfully unsure how he was supposed to continue. 

“Right...Yes. Well,” he started. “A few weeks ago we became aware that, ah...actually Thomas, would you like to sit down?” 

He was stalling and they all knew it- he wasn’t exactly trying to be subtle. But Thomas went along with it anyway, sitting opposite of Roman while Logan awkwardly remained in his usual spot, careful not to fidget. 

“You are, of course, aware of the other sides.” 

“Yeah,” Thomas said. “The dark sides, right?” 

“You have, being a complex and emotional person, many facets of your personality,” Logan explained, ignoring the question. “Some are not as...developed, or as fundamental as the four of us. Most you will likely never interact with. I doubt they even have the ability to manifest.” 

“Okay?” Thomas looked to Roman for some kind of clue, concern clearly morphing to confusion. “What does this have to do with Virgil?” 

Roman clasped his hands in his lap, switching between staring intently down at the floor and looking at Logan- who was frantically trying to figure out the best way to put the delicate situation. 

“Soon after we had accepted Virgil as one of us,” Logan said. “It...came to our attention that he was not...treated well, in a sense, by a majority of the other sides.” 

Roman scoffed. “That’s one way of putting it.” 

“We had all noticed right away, of course, that he was uneasy around us, and always a bit on edge. We all thought he was merely nervous about being rejected again and assumed it would pass.” 

Logan was resolutely not looking at Roman. He would not lose himself, would not fall apart in front of Thomas. He was simply restating facts. That was all. 

“I found him in my room about two weeks into our attempts to get to know him. He was borrowing some reading material and he...well, he believed I intended to strike him as punishment, since he was used to that being standard.” 

Logan risked a glance up, allowing himself to be relieved at Thomas’s expression. He was horrified, as was expected, but there was compassion and understanding flickering in beneath that. 

He wasn’t sure what he had been so afraid of. Perhaps Virgil had been rubbing off on him a bit. 

“But he’s...he’s alright now, isn’t he?” Thomas asked. “I mean, he knows he’s safe with you guys. Right?” 

“It’s a...work in progress,” Roman admitted, and Logan quickly jumped in to elaborate at Thomas’s growing distress. 

“And he is making a great deal of progress. We’re all very proud of how far he’s come in such a short period of time. But it is not something that fixes itself right away.” 

Thomas nodded, scrubbing a hand over his face, and Logan shared a worried look with Roman, both sides at a loss of what else to say or do. 

“How long?” Thomas asked suddenly. “Do you know...how long it went on for?” 

Logan shook his head. “Not exactly. We’ve all...helped Virgil talk through his experiences in chunks whenever he is comfortable. But from what I’ve gathered, it would have been several years at the very least.” 

That, clearly, was not what Thomas had wanted to hear, distress only doubling as he dropped his head into his hands, Roman frantically attempting to provide comfort. 

“Thomas--” 

“Years?” Thomas pushed himself off the couch, Roman hurrying to follow. “It went on for years and I just-- fuck I just let it happen?” 

“You did not let anything happen, Thomas.” 

“He’s my anxiety, Logan!” Thomas shot back, and Logan couldn’t help but be thankful that Joan wasn’t over to hear this particular rant. “It happened in my head and I didn’t even--” 

“Thomas.” Roman’s hand on their host’s shoulder shut down his rambling, the Prince's voice uncharacteristically grim. “There was no way for you to have known. None of us knew- hell Virgil didn’t even know it wasn’t normal!” 

They’d all gone down a spiral of self blame, obsessing uselessly over what could have been since they’d found out what Virgil had gone through. 

If they had just been kinder to him, welcomed him sooner, tried harder to get him to open up from the beginning, then maybe they could have stopped it, saved him from the treatment sooner…

But there was no use in those thoughts. All they did was upset Virgil, who refused to allow anyone to feel guilt over him, half the time convinced he was still just a minor inconvenience. 

“Placing blame is not of importance,” Logan said. “What’s important is Virgil’s safety, and learning how we can undo what has been done. He’s been...conditioned to have a very unhealthy mindset.” 

Thomas took a shaky breath, still much more pale than Logan would like but noticeably more collected than before. 

“You guys found out about this a while ago,” he said after a moment. “What about this last week? You said something else happened?” 

And just like that the tension in the room skyrocketed once again, Roman meeting Logan’s stare with wide, questioning eyes. 

It was like they hadn’t talked about it. They’d had several long discussions, both with and without Virgil, doing all they could to ensure nothing like that ever happened again. 

But Logan didn’t think they’d ever really...recounted out loud exactly what had happened. They all knew. They didn’t need to relive the details. 

Which was illogical, of course. It happened, it was terrifying at the time- the glass, the blood, the way the mindscape had been too quiet- 

But it was over now. It was a mistake, an oversight, and it wouldn’t happen again. And Thomas had the right to know. 

“You don’t have to tell me,” Thomas said, and Logan was surprised by the sheer force of the relief that hit like a tidal wave. “It’s ok. I trust you guys to take care of him.” 

“We will,” Roman agreed. “Always.” 

Logan nodded and Thomas took a breath, running his hands through his hair before glancing at the empty stairwell. 

“Roman, do you think you could go get him? I wanna talk to him if he’s up for it.” 

The creative side nodded, glancing at Logan for some kind of unspoken approval before hurrying up the stairs, disappearing the way Patton and Virgil had left, leaving Logan and Thomas alone in the suddenly much too quiet living room. 

The logical side adjusted his tie once more, eyes trained on the floor. “Virgil has been worrying over your reaction for weeks,” he said. “Please attempt to keep your emotions in check.” 

He couldn’t help but think back to that first day, when Patton had lost himself in his emotions, and Virgil had been convinced that anger was directed towards him. 

Luckily, Thomas seemed to pick up on the uneasiness because he just nodded again, glanced once more at the staircase, and moved back to his spot on the couch. 

“Did...did Deceit hide this from me too?” 

“Not that I’m aware of,” Logan said, and unfortunately that was the truth. He didn’t know. “But from what I’ve gathered, I don’t believe he ever laid a hand on Virgil.” 

That, of course, didn’t mean he hadn’t known about the abuse. No one had really gotten the nerve to ask the dark side about the affair.

But there wasn’t a need to fill Thomas’s head with any more doubts.

It wasn’t long before there were footsteps from the stairs, Virgil reluctantly following Patton into the living room, Roman lingering a few paces behind. 

Thomas waited until they were all off the staircase before scooting over, patting the spot next to him. “Hey, Virge. You want to come sit?” 

Virgil shrugged, shoulders hunched and hands buried in his pockets, but he made his way over to the couch, sitting as far away from Thomas as possible. 

He didn’t look like he was panicking, Logan noted with some sense of relief, just miserable and wary, like he was expecting the worst. 

“Did Logan tell you?” Virgil asked, pressed up against the back of the couch with his knees pulled up to his chest. 

“Yeah, he did.” Thomas moved closer, still careful not to crowd the anxious side. “Buddy...do you think I’m gonna be mad at you?” 

Virgil shrugged. “No. I...I don’t know. Maybe.” 

“I don’t think Thomas has ever been angry with you, kiddo,” Patton pointed out from his spot by the window. “And I really doubt he’s gonna start now.” 

“Of course I’m not angry with you, Virge. Why would you think that?” 

A beat of heavy silence, and for a second it looked like Virgil would refuse to respond at all. But there were no tell tale signs of a panic attack, even as he took a small, trembling breath. “Because you should be.” 

It was mumbled, barely audible, and Logan frowned as Thomas looked like he’d just been slapped. “I- what?” 

“You should be,” Virgil snapped, finally looking up to face the others. “All of you should be! You should...you should be furious with me and you’re not and it’s been months and I don’t get it!” 

His breaths were steady, albeit labored, eyes wide as he met each of their stares, voice only slightly wobbly, and Logan briefly wondered how long he’d thought about saying this. 

Roman took a careful step forward, still hesitating by the stairs. “Virgil...why do you think we’re going to be mad?” 

It was a question they’d all asked him before, when he got that panicked look in his eyes when he thought he’d done something wrong. But this...Logan knew this was something different. This wasn’t panic. 

He didn’t like it any better. 

“I don’t,” Virgil argued. “I know you won’t be and that’s the problem.” 

No one knew what to say, exchanging helpless glances as Virgil took a steadying breath, finally focusing on Thomas. 

“I just...let them do that to me,” he said. “They said I had to be- be h-hurt and I just believed them like an idiot. It probably just hurt you and I didn’t even realize!” 

“Virgil, there was no way you could have known. You thought what was happening was normal.” 

“How is that any better, Logan? I thought I deserved it just because they told me I did. I never tried to fight back! It just...to me it just made sense. I deserved it. I...I still think I do sometimes.” 

“Virge--” 

“But you’re all so nice to me. I just...I-I love you all so much and I don’t know how...I just keep messing up and panicking over stuff I let happen to me and making your lives harder and it’s...what if I don’t get better? After what happened last week how long are you gonna…” 

He paused with a shaky breath, clearly resolutely determined not to cry. “What if I don’t stop doing this to you? I-I keep...doing this and- and I try to listen to you but sometimes I...I get it. I get why they did it. I mean, if I’m just such a fuck up that that’s the only way to control me, then why don’t you guys just do the same thing and beat the shit out of me so--”

“Virgil!” 

Logan hadn’t meant to raise his voice, but he could see Virgil getting more and more worked up, and the last time he’d brought up any of them getting fed up enough to resort to violence Patton had burst into tears, which would do nothing to help the situation.  

Luckily, the flash of fear in Virgil’s eyes as he fell silent only lasted a second, recognition taking over as his shoulders dropped. 

“Sorry,” Virgil muttered. “Sorry I didn’t mean to say all that, I know you guys...I know you won’t do that. I just worry...I don’t know.” 

Thomas was scooting closer again, watching Virgil with an expression Logan couldn’t quite read. Sadness, definitely. But it was also fond, something protective and kind. 

Logan thought Thomas was the only person kind enough to look at their anxiety like that. 

Good. Virgil deserved that kindness. 

“Virgil,” Thomas said, arms now open and inviting, his smile warm and genuine. “Come here?” 

Virgil didn’t hesitate. His face crumpled and the facade he was trying so desperately to put on faded as he fell forward into Thomas’s embrace, holding him tight. 

Logan smiled, sinking out along with Roman and Patton. They would need to talk about what had happened- all of them, but it could wait. 

Virgil needed some time with Thomas, and Logan had no doubt he would be taken care of. 

To Virgil’s own, silent amazement, he managed not to dissolve into tears the second he realized Thomas not only wasn’t upset with him, but offering physical comfort. 

The others had sunk out sometime into the hug, leaving the two of them alone on the couch, and he did his best to breathe through the lingering panic at the memories of what he’d just said. 

Thomas didn’t let go, but didn’t try to pressure a conversation either, seeming to know Virgil needed some time to find his voice again. 

Instead he just leaned back slightly, enough so both of them were resting comfortably against the back of the couch, and turned the tv on to some mindless show, the background noise helping to ground them both. 

His arms were still wrapped around Virgil, comforting and safe, and the anxious side’s breath hitched as Thomas began carding fingers through his hair, unable to stop himself from leaning into the touch. 

Thomas shouldn’t be taking care of him like this. Not when Virgil had done nothing but hurt him. 

He pushed those thoughts away, closed his eyes, and willed his mind to focus. 

It was impossible to tell how much time passed, everything fuzzy and far away, but Thomas never pushed, waiting until Virgil was ready to talk on his own. 

“I’m so stupid.” 

The fingers in his hair stopped, just for a second, before starting up again, even more gentle than before. 

“You’re not,” Thomas said. “You’re not, Virge. You were being hurt and manipulated. It wasn’t your fault.” 

He’d heard this all a thousand times before. It wasn’t his fault, it was manipulation, his reactions were normal, he shouldn’t blame himself. 

It helped to hear, sure, but only in the short run. It all came creeping back eventually, taunting, jeering voices mercilessly screaming in his head. 

“I know,” he said against Thomas’s shoulder. “But I believed them. I know what they did wasn’t my fault but I never questioned it. I hated the way it made me feel and I still never tried to get it to stop.” 

“You thought you didn’t have a choice.”

“Nobody else would be stupid enough to believe that,” Virgil muttered. “You wouldn’t, the others wouldn’t, I just always thought...I thought I was helping but I always just make it worse.” 

For a second, Thomas didn’t answer, the low volume of the television the only sound in the living room. For a terrifying second, Virgil thought Thomas was going to agree. 

“You make us better, Virgil,” he said, the same words Princey had spoken in his room. “Not worse. Never worse. Don’t forget that.”

Thomas pulled back slightly, just enough to meet Virgil’s eyes, carefully moving a hand under his chin when the anxious side averted his gaze. 

“You aren’t stupid, buddy. And you did not deserve that. Any of it. You couldn’t have known- we all treated you like a villain, and you thought you had to be the bad guy.” 

Virgil shrugged, taking a shuddering breath. “I thought...I was just trying to protect you.” 

“And you do,” Thomas said. “You always have. Nobody blames you for believing what they told you. Especially not when you were scared.” 

Thomas finally allowed Virgil to look away, the side staring down at his lap, forcibly reminding himself not to pick at the bandages under his sleeves. 

“I hated it,” he mumbled, face burning. “I wanted it to stop so bad so I don’t know why...why I can’t accept that it’s over.” 

“You’ll get there,” Thomas promised, more certain than Virgil had ever heard him. “You’ll realize someday you didn’t deserve it. We’ll show you that you deserve to be loved, Virge.” 

Thomas pulled him close again, the hug tight and desperate on both ends, and for just a moment Virgil thought that with an embrace like this, a family so open and understanding, he would never be afraid again. 

[shortnfantastic]

Short’s Comics Masterpost!

✿ Little Mindscape AU

About: Little Sides are all kids and friends!

♥ Little Story about Playtime and Homework (Complete)

Part 1: Booored! 

Part 2: Inevitable

Part 3: A Plan

Part 4: Poopy or Boogers?

(cw: Death mention, existentialism, anxiety attack, dissection of animals, undead animals, zombies, frogs, spiders, paint that looks like blood, body horror, eye horror, gross body substances mentioned)

♥ Little Story about Colors (?)

♥ Little Story about Breakfast (?)

♥ Little Story about a Mirror

Concept art: The calm

Concept art: The Split

Concept art: What were you thinking?!

Concept art: Little Lost in the Dark Side

♥ Little Stand alones

Big Creativity! (mini doodle)

Scheeming Bleps (mini doodle)

Snek all grown up, but same AU (mini doodle)

Little interactions

The first little doodle

Little Dark Sides chilling

A Little cheering up from Jason Hopscotch (Mr. Zombie Frog)

Little smol Roman

✿ Royal AU

About: Two Princes. One tired manservant. And friends! 

Good Morning

Get Out

✿ Bigger House? More Dogs!

About: Character Thomas has too many dogs. He gets a bigger house. 

Roman, Logan and Virgil are not good boys (mini doodle)

✿  Other Comics/Art with a story

Knowledge is a Tool (cw: Blackmail mention)

He do be like that (cw: Repression)

Sluuuurp (cw: Identity Theft mention)

Problem Solving (cw: Body Horror, blood)

Free Him (mini doodle)

Janus’ Brilliant Foolproof Plan (mini doodle)

It’s angst time apparently (mini doodle) (cw: Blood, Nosebleeds)

The Orange Side (mini doodle)

Scooby Doo Inspired Sides (mini doodle)

Notes:

(Mini doodle) Can vary from 1 minute sketches to 1 hour pieces. 

(?) I really want to draw these but I’m not sure they’ll make it. Let’s hope for the best.

Last Edit: Jan 14, 2021