#Logan getting kidnapped was the final straw

[cod-dump]

Hesh: No mask so I can bite people easier

Hesh: When the gloves come off they come OFF

Keegan: ... Oh my god

[canon-transgender-virgil]

Check In (Intrulogical)

A/N: Finished this fic relatively quickly! It's a lot shorter than the Roceit one I posted earlier this week but it's still kinda a long fic lol!

Summary: Directly following the events of WTIT, Remus pops into Logan's room for what he claims is a quick chat, but that quickly grows into something more when the two actually get to talking.

Content Warnings: innuendos, swearing, intrusive thoughts, implied NS/FW (but nothing happens, dw), hurt-comfort

Logan had taken shelter in his room the moment Thomas got home from his outing with Nico. The logical side couldn’t stand to be around the other sides at the moment and he needed to sort out what was going on in his head.

The spectacled side took a deep breath and sat at his desk, staring at the wooden tabletop before slamming his fist down on it. “Fuck!” He yelled at the top of his lungs, infinitely thankful for the magic soundproofing around everyone’s rooms. What would the others think if they heard the rational, level headed (yeah right) Logic yelling expletives at random in his room?

He straightened his tie and glasses and got up, summoning a straw dummy labeled “Thomas”. He stood in front of it and glared at the doll, visibly angry, before he began ranting to it. He talked and talked, yelling at the dummy about how angry he was at being constantly ignored and pushed aside and made fun of, and if the familiar 10 notes announcing a certain Creativity’s presence hadn’t gotten his attention, he would have continued.

“My my Logan, you’ve got so much to say and no one to say it to, huh!” The moustached side raised an eyebrow, smirking at the nerd.

“...what do you want, Remus.” Logan’s words were curt, like he was trying to say just little enough to make the Dark Side leave.

“Gosh, I can’t just talk to a friend?-”

“We are not friends.”

“Ouch!” Remus pretended to be injured. “You’re so prickly, like a kinda sexy cactus! What’s up your ass today?”

Logan stopped and consulted his flashcards, hearing Remus snicker at this and trying to ignore the fact that his face was burning slightly. “Um… Ah.” He found the card he was looking for and examined it a little. “Nothing is ‘up my ass’ today, Remus. You know full well why I’m upset.”

“Uh huh, cuz I called you out on your lying ass.” He sounded irritatingly proud of that fact.

“Yes, well, you got what you wanted. Are you just here to rub it in my face?” Logan stared at Remus, though he noticeably avoided direct eye contact with the gremlin of a side.

Remus frowned. “No, actually.”

“Then you’re here to make me… feel… worse, correct?”

“Nope!” The green-sashed monster grinned.

“Then what do you possibly hope to gain from this interaction?” The blue tied Side frowned. Remus wasn’t here to bug him, or to upset him further? What reason, then, did he have to come to Logan’s room?

“It’s like I said earlier, I wanted to talk to you!”

“...what about?”

Remus shrugged. “I dunno! What do you wanna talk about?”

Logan blinked. “...excuse me?”

“Yeah! Let’s hear what you wanna talk about!” The Duke sat down on Logan’s bed and grinned up at him.

“...” The teacher was silent. “...you’re mocking me, aren’t you?”

“Huh?” Remus blinked and raised an eyebrow. “Why would I-?”

“Yes, I figured as much. Remus, I don’t have time for your games and if you’re simply going to make fun of me you can just-”

“Woah! Pump the brakes Lo, who said I was making fun of you?” The green side looked legitimately confused.

Logan crossed his arms. “Remus, statistically speaking, a total of… Zero sides share any of my interests. A total of three sides have shown aversion to or have mocked the things I consider interesting or enj- er, have a vague liking towards. Why should I believe you aren’t here to add to the latter set of data?”

“First of all, because I sat through that whole talk.” Remus joked. Seeing that Logan just rolled his eyes, he continued. “And secondly, because we also have some of the same interests! Your census of mockery only includes J-Anus, Emo Boy, Hop-Pop Patton and my dumbass brother!”

“Really? Then what are some of those shared interests, oh Duke of Imaginary Death?”

“That was terrible, one.” Remus held up his pointer finger. “And two, we both like chemistry, and poisoning, and astronomy-”

“Wait wait wait.” Logan held a hand up to silence Remus for a moment. “You… like astronomy?”

“Sure! What’s more existentially terrifying than imagining going hurtling right into the sun, or a black hole, or-” Remus’s eyes widened as he talked about the possibilities.

“Thank you, Remus.” Logic sighed. “But… why talk with… me?”

“Cuz… I kinda owe it to you? After being a dickhead all day?”

Logan blinked. “You didn’t have a phallus for a head today?-”

“Figure of speech, teach.” Remus explained curtly.

Logan ‘ah’d’ and nodded.

“And anyways… I wanted to apologize.”

That caused Logan to stop. “...you… wanted to apologize… to me?”

“Yeah, it’s weird for me too, but it’s true! I didn’t mean to make you so mad you - figuratively - blew up, I just wanted to prove a point.”

“I appreciate your use of the word figuratively Remus, and… thank you.”

“No problem!” Remus grinned and thought for a second. “So… wanna talk about forensics?”

Logan’s eyes lit up. “Do I ever!-” He stopped. “Ah, uh, I mean… If you’d like to…?”

Remus giggled. “Cute! But you don’t have to hide that, not around me at least!”

“...thank you…” Logan smiled softly and the duke’s heart just about stopped.

“Uh, um… no problem Nerdy Wolverine.” Remus smiled weakly at the cute nerd.

The logical side rolled his eyes and playfully pushed Remus’s shoulder, which brought the moustached side’s attention to just how touch starved he was - a problem for another day, Mus.

“So what d'ya wanna talk about? Black lights, true crime?”

“Both interesting conversations, but… how about another topic you mentioned earlier?” Logan sounded timid, like he was scared Remus would stop listening if he dared to change the subject.

“Oh? What’d you have in mind?” The intrusive thot tilted his head at a sickening 180 degree angle, but that didn’t seem to bother Logan.

“You mentioned being fascinated by astrology as well. Would you like to talk about that?”

“Of course I would, my nerdy Astro-Boy Toy~” Remus laughed at his own nickname, to which Logan rolled his eyes again. “What about space, starlight?”

Logan’s smile grew ever so slightly, thankfully drawing Remus’s attention to that as opposed to his pink cheeks. “Well… let’s talk about constellations. You’re a storyteller of sorts, what’s your favorite constellation origin story?”

“Ooh, how fun!” Remus grinned. “Well, I personally love the story of Aquila, the king who got turned into a golden eagle messenger thing because Zeus got jealous of how much people liked him! You know, he’s the one who brought Zeus his cupbearer, Ganymede? That’s where the Aquarius constellation comes from! He was some Trojan prince, he ended up being the god of homosexual love! Historians think his name was a euphemism, since it’s a combination of the Greek words for ‘gladdening’ and ‘genitals’!”

Logan nodded and watched Remus explain the stories, smiling at how enthusiastically Remus shared the information. Remus noticed this and stopped. “Well, how ‘bout you, teach?”

“Huh?” Logan blinked, being pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Remus’s voice.

“You wanted to talk about constellations! What’s your favorite story?”

“Oh, um… I enjoy the story of Orion, the hunter who killed so many innocent creatures that Gaea sent a large scorpion to kill him and then put both of them in the stars for all eternity.”

“Huh! So that Scorpio constellation…?”

“Yes, that’s its origin story as well.” Logan smiled.

“Funny! I would never have guessed it!” That wasn’t true. Remus knew each and every constellation origin story like the back of his palm. He loved Greek mythology, but the only thing he loved more than that was seeing how Logan’s face lit up when he got to explain it. “Any other stories?”

The teacher blinked and adjusted his glasses. “Oh, um… I also enjoy the Cassiopeia story…”

The duke’s face brightened, eagerly awaiting Logan’s explanation. The spectacled astronomer’s face turned pink when he realized this, not sure what to do with this sort of attention.

“Well, Cassiopeia was a queen in Ancient Greece and she claimed to be the most beautiful thing in creation, which Posideon took personally since he had made what he considered to be the most beautiful creatures, and those were the sea nymphs. So Posideon sent Cetus, this giant sea monster, to torment the town, and he told the citizens that if they wanted him to get rid of the monster, Cassiopeia would have to apologize. She didn’t, so they asked if they could do anything else, and Posideon said if they sacrificed Cassiopeia’s daughter Andromeda to him that Cetus would go away, so the townspeople kidnapped her and brought her down to the pier. Poseidon didn’t like that, of course, since he was really just trying to get Cassiopeia to apologize and didn’t want some poor mortal’s blood on his hands so he let Perseus save her and kill Cetus.

“As punishment for almost letting her daughter die to save her own pride and for insulting the gods, they put her in the sky upside down on a chair to humiliate her for the rest of time.” Logan had gotten pretty excited while he explained the story, grinning widely as he finally finished it.

Remus was silent the entire time, watching how happily Logan told him a story he’d heard a million times before and thinking about how nice it was to be able to hear it from the nerd’s perspective.

Logan, finally remembering Remus was there, coughed softly and adjusted his tie, his smile fading. “Um, apologies, Remus. Thank you for letting me ramble.”

“Lo, you were telling a story! That’d be really dickish for someone to just cut you off during a story, you know?”

“I know, but I still appreciate it.” Logan yawned and Remus realized he looked tired, like the story had exhausted him.

“You wanna take a nap, teach?” The duke frowned and tilted his head.

“I… I have to finish up my work for the day…” The logical side moved his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

“...Lo?”

“Yes…?”

“You had a long day. Yes it was cuz I was being a bitch, but still, you need to get some sleep. Or, y’know, I’m gonna be even more of a bitch to deal with!” Threatening intrusive thoughts usually worked to get Janus to go to bed when he refused to sleep, so he figured he’d try the technique out on Logan.

The nerd however simply shook his head and laughed softly. “I don’t think so, Remus. I can… I can handle you…”

“You couldn’t today, could you?” Remus accidentally blurted out before immediately covering his mouth. “Oh my god I didn’t mean that-”

“It’s fine, Remus.” Logan stated, rubbing his eyes. “You’re right. I couldn’t handle you today. But I really do have to finish working on this-”

“I’ll stay with you if you go to bed!” The duke once again blurted out. “Cuz I don’t think you’d wanna stay alone with Orange so close by, y’know? I can stay and like, fend him off!”

Logic blinked at the proposition and squinted. “...you… want to stay with me? Why are you so adamant about me getting proper sleep?”

“Well one, cuz it’s already 10:30 at night, and two, cuz… you know, I don’t wanna end up actually hurting you!”

That further surprised Logan. “You don’t want to end up hurting me? I was under the impression that that’s something you enjoyed.”

“Well…” Remus was hesitant to explain - that tipped Logan into the fact that it was probably something more than that.

“What’s really going on Remus?” The stern side crossed his arms and stared at the Creativity.

“...okay, I don’t wanna be alone tonight!” The duke stomped his foot and crossed his arms, looking away. “My nightmares have been getting worse and Janus is hanging out with Roman and Patton today and Virgil hates my guts so I figured I’d at least try to hang out with the one side that for some reason still tolerates my dumb ass!” He sounded a little hurt, and added, “Or, one that wouldn’t immediately kick me out or hit me with a broom at the mere sight of me.”

Logan blinked. “Nightmares? You suffer from nightmares?”

Remus sighed and tugged on his sash. “Yeah, they suck ass - not in a fun way - but it’s part of the job description, y’know?”

“I don’t. But… does this mean you also suffer from intrusive thoughts?”

“...yeah… They’re kinda the reason I came in here in the first place...”

The logical side sighed. “Remus, you could have told me sooner you just needed company. I’m not the best at keeping up conversation but I could have at least put on a movie for you to refocus on something other than your intrusive thoughts.”

The duke blinked. “You… you’re not gonna just kick me out?”

“Why would I? You’re in need of assistance and I’m going to provide it for you.” Logan got up and rummaged through his DVD stack. “What would you like to watch?”

Remus stretched and looked over. “Whatever ya want, Sub-astute but Super Cute Teacher.”

Both sides flushed red when they realized what Remus had said.

“...interesting nickname, Remus.” Logan gulped, looking down.

“Yeah, uh…” The duke laughed weakly. “Well, I guess that cat’s out of the plastic bag it was choking in, huh?”

“What, that you think I’m cute?” The teacher looked over at the moustached Creativity. “You already called me sexy.”

“Well yeah, but that felt less… sappy, than calling you cute. And anyways, I meant that I was into you. Ooh, do you have Coraline?”

Logan stopped. “...repeat that, please?”

“The Coraline thing?-”

“The thing before the Coraline request.”

“Oh yeah, I like you.” Remus was right to the point, like always. “When I saw you take the shuriken to the face and just keep on moving right along… God, that was an image!” The duke gripped his thigh and shook his head, stopping himself from reaching down his pants.

“And you’re telling me this now… why?” The teacher was still reeling from the initial confession.

“We don’t get to talk one-on-one a lot! Plus, I don’t really like talking about cutesy emotions - that’s Roman’s department, y’know?”

Logan nodded slowly.

“Anyways, I changed my mind on the movie, can you put on Monster House?”

The spectacled side nodded and got the CD for Monster House, putting it in the DVD player and sitting next to the green-sashed side. He should have figured Remus wouldn’t be the type to linger on his feelings, and he was grateful for that at least. He couldn’t handle talking about feelings for long periods, especially not his own, but to have one of the most passionate sides just drop the fact that they liked him and immediately move on from that fact? It was odd. He almost couldn’t believe it.

Remus meanwhile was laying on the bed and watching the movie intently, smiling brightly at the screen before realizing that Logan had gotten into bed next to him. He turned over a little and growled “seductively” at the teacher, who laughed softly at the dark creativity. The sound caused butterflies to erupt in the duke’s stomach, flustering him a little. He smiled back at the logical side before returning his attention to the movie.

Logan meanwhile admired Remus, watching as he talked excitedly about the movie. He found it strangely endearing, how excitable Remus got when he was able to talk about things he found interesting. He didn’t have much time to think about it though, as he found himself falling asleep soon after the thought passed through his head. The astronerd yawned and passed out, sleeping peacefully next to the intrusive side.

The duke didn’t notice until he felt warm arms wrap around him. It startled the hell out of him, but he relaxed after he realized it was simply the sleeping teacher clinging to him. He carefully took Logan’s glasses off and turned off the TV before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

**The next morning**

Logan woke up first the following morning, still a little tired but feeling much better than he did the previous night. Vision blurry, the blind scholar felt around his nightstand for his glasses before realizing he was curled up into another person. He quickly got his specs on and saw the sleeping form of Remus below him, remembering that Remus had asked to stay with him the night before.

He looked at the sleeping creativity, who looked much more peaceful (and admittedly much cuter) asleep than he ever did awake. Still feeling somewhat tired, the Sherlock kinnie looked away and closed his eyes, feeling his face start to burn. When did he start thinking of Remus as “cute”?

Logan didn’t have too much time to dwell on it as he heard Remus start to stir. “Ugh… morning starshine…”

The teacher jumped and sighed. “Oh, good morning Remus. Did you sleep well?”

“Like an asphyxiated baby… you?” Remus groaned and stretched, waking up a bit more.

“I slept well too.” Logan fidgeted with his hands. The dark creativity, sensing the spectacled nerd’s unease, sat up and went to get off the bed. He was somewhat shocked to feel Logan tug on his sleeve. “Stay. I wanted to talk about what you said to me last night.”

“Oh… that.” Remus sighed and sat back on the bed. “What about it?”

“I… I’m not entirely sure what it feels like, but I think I reciprocate your feelings?”

Remus’s expression changed from slight concern to a poorly hidden malicious grin. “Oh? You’re into me?”

“I… think I am.” Logan nodded slightly.

The duke was silent for a moment before bursting into a grating cackle. “Oh- oh my god! Oh my god, you’re gonna kill me nerd!”

The scholarly side tensed up and blinked. “Excuse me?-”

“Are you fucking kidding me?! What kind of goddamn loser are you, to think I - or anyone really - would like you?! Especially after the bullshit you pulled yesterday, like Jesus Christ you’re pathetic!”

Logan’s heart sank as he heard Remus say this. “So you were, what, mocking me?!”

“No shit, Sherlock!” The intrusive side cackled once again before morphing into a huge octopus-human hybrid monster and grabbing the teacher. “You’re so fucking stupid! What on Earth made you think someone like me would like someone like you?! You’re lucky any of the others even talk to you anymore!”

Logan panicked as the tentacles pulled him up to Remus’s razor sharp teeth, about to chomp down on his head, when-

“Lo! Logan, wake up!” The logical side heard Remus’s voice coming from somewhere it should not have been, and Logan woke up with a start. Remus frowned as the teacher practically flung himself away from him.

“Get away from me!” Logan’s voice sounded frantic and panicked, like a cornered animal.

“Woah, woah!” The creativity held his hands up in surrender. “Teach, it’s me!”

The teacher took a few deep breaths and grounded himself, looking around. “...right, right… Apologies, Remus…”

“No problem, Nerdy Wolverine. Now, care to tell me what happened?”

Logan sighed and moved over to Remus, explaining to him his nightmare, tentatively telling the nightmare inducing side that he’d tried professing his mutual love to the other before getting horrendously mocked and belittled.

“Sounds a lot like my Nightmare Nico scenario. Has this happened before?” Remus had managed to ignore his thundering heartbeat and the cheering going on in his head - Logan likes me back!! He could focus on that later. Right now, Logan needed his help.

“No. I don’t normally dream, period, so to get a nightmare is extremely unprecedented.”

“Huh… so, I’m the reason you had the nightmare?”

“That would be the logical conclusion, though I had assumed that your effects would be… muffled, in my room?”

“Maybe it’s a mix of psychological and my effect on you guys? Like you were stressed or anxious about last night so my ability to give people nightmares got amplified?”

Logan nodded. “Interesting hypothesis, and it’s… definitely possible. I apologize for yelling at you earlier.”

Remus shrugged. “Eh, it’s okay, I’ve heard worse.”

The nerd nodded and the two were silent for a moment before Remus sighed and asked what they were both thinking. “So. I like you, and you… apparently like me back? What does that make us?”

Logan hesitated. “I… I’m not sure. What would you like us to be?”

The duke grinned. “How about boyfriends?”

The scholar smiled. “I think I’d like that.”

Remus beamed brighter and moved a bit before stopping. “Can I kiss you?”

Once again mildly surprised by the other’s bluntness, Logan nodded and scooted closer to the dark creativity. Remus quickly pulled the former into a kiss.

Logan was the first to pull away, flushed red and smiling to himself. “I think I could get used to this.”

Remus grinned and took the scholar’s hand. “Me too, Lo. Me too.”

[medusinestories]

Today is Two For One because these two eps pretty much follow onto each other in terms of storylines and themes etc.

Black Sails V and VI (s1 eps 05-06)

- A big plot point in these two episodes is Billy mistrusting and investigating Flint. It starts with Flint approaching Billy and claiming he wants an “honest” conversation with him (note that he’s had time to think about what he’ll say to Billy, coming back to my previous comment about how Flint does better at persuasion when he has time to script things). Flint explains that you can’t ever be entirely truthful to a crew because if you explain any risk of failure they’ll be demoralised. He also talks very briefly about Miranda, portraying her as a “nice Puritan woman” who likes books. When Billy asks if this is really true, Flint just gives him That Wink. Billy spends the episode wavering between trying to support both Flint and protect the crew, clearly conflicted. This feeling intensifies when Logan asks whether Flint will give up trying to get the guns even if the situation becomes extremely dangerous, and Billy can see that Flint is risking the lives of men to get at the guns and knows what he did on the Maria Aleyne. The last straw is the discovery of Miranda’s letter and the realisation that she didn’t prevent Guthrie from betraying them like she was supposed to. Gates dismisses Billy’s doubts and refuses to get into it, mostly in a stategic move, knowing that Flint is the only one who can get them through this battle, and that they all need to obey him in this moment.

- Speaking of battles, this is the first prolonged sea battle we get to see, and the first time that Flint is given a really worthy opponent in the character of Bryson. Bryson is extremely clever and uses both sailing and defense/siege/booby-trap strategies that make taking the Andromache practically impossible to take. Flint shows a lot of resourcefulness in response: he seems to know exactly how much his ship can take and how to handle it (in spite of DeGroot’s warnings, which end up being unfounded for once) and hammers out a good (if dangerous) strategy to board the ship. However, this isn’t enough to outwit Bryson, who’s extremely well prepared for a siege if he gets boarded and has the Scarborough already heading their way. In fact if the slaves in the hold hadn’t helped the pirates, I doubt Flint would have had to leave without the guns. Even when he’s dying, Bryson still attempts to blow his ship up. In fact, his explosive booby trap has a real impact on what happens in the end of episode 6.

- It’s interesting to watch Dufresne in his first battle. He’s clearly meant for us to identify with, as the “nerd” on the ship who’s never seen battle. Following him allows us to see the faces of a lot of crew members, to feel the tension and fear before boarding the other ship, the desperation of the battle, and... okay I’m not sure just anyone would go feral like Dufresne does and rip someone’s throat out. This is definitely a turning point in Dufresne’s character.

- Something new in Billy’s character that he is shown lying to Dufresne to reassure him before the battle, using exactly the technique Flint mentioned earlier. First he tried telling Dufresne that guns only go off half the time - not at all reassuring. Then he tells Dufresne that sailors on their crew never die in their first battle. Only after the battle, does Dufresne realise that what Billy told him isn’t true - and tells Billy that he appreciates the lie. Does this change Billy’s point of view on lying? Is lying all right, for a good cause?

- In the meantime, Eleanor is saddled with Silver. I absolutely love this plot line and wish these two had worked together some more, because they’re hilarious. Silver knows that Eleanor’s angry with him and finally gets to find out that it’s because he involved Max in his scheme, but he flatly refuses taking any responsibility for that, saying it was Max’s choice (which it was). Later, when the angry pirates are turning into a mob, Silver is clearly getting anxious and Eleanor pretending not to be, he says: "if you're pretending to remain unconcerned for my peace of mind, please don't", a line mirrored in S2, where Flint openly admits to Silver that he’s “appearing unconcerned” as a strategy (and thus establishing the Flint/Eleanor parallel). Finally, Silver confronts Eleanor about the danger of not appeasing the mob by letting Vane operate out of Nassau again; she asks him to convince her why she should - and he actually does. It takes two hours, but he actually gets through to her. In this conversation, he utters the classic line “guilt is natural; it also goes away, if you let it”. Clearly he’s had to make some nasty choices for his survival, and likely he has quite a personal experience of mobs, too.

- Richard Guthrie continues to be one of the biggest assholes of the show. In these two episodes he 1) betrayed Mr Scott by telling Bryson to kidnap him and sell him as a slave, 2) announcing that he’s liquidating his holdings in Nassau without warning Eleanor and saddling her with the angry mob, 3) shamelessly revealing to Eleanor how he betrayed her and why, disregarding the fact that she’s made Nassau what it is over the last few years, 4) is worming his way into Mr Underhill’s good books and got himself a cosy and very safe place to live while all hell breaks loose in Nassau.

- Speaking of Mr Scott, he ends up amongst the slaves in Bryson’s ship and appears somewhat disdainful towards them, mostly because he doesn’t want to knows the realities of what would happen to them if they joined the pirates (some would still be sold as slaves). Eme believes that they should still seize their chance for freedom, but Mr Scott won’t help the pirates get these weapons, which “are dangerous to someone I love". This of course is understood as being Eleanor, but it also easily be interpreted as the Maroon Queen/Madi in light of S3. In fact, it makes much more sense that he is resisting the Urca plan to protect them/his community than because he’s worried that Eleanor will be killed. Eme counters that he’ll never see this person again, which still isn’t quite enough to break his resolve. Finally, once Mr Scott has changed his mind and helped free the slaves and ended up helping Flint, he has a conversation with him. Flint decides not to tell the crew of Mr Scott's betrayal, because he’d rather prove Mr Scott wrong re: making Nassau into more than it currently is.

- Anne’s inability to bear the violence done to Max comes to a head in these episodes. First she dismisses Mrs Mapleton who’s not being all too gentle while “tending” to Max, and the brief talk between Max and Anne seems to reinforce Anne’s resolve to stop Hamund (looked him up) (but did they really need to bond while Anne pushes a phallic instrument into Max’s cervix after lubing it up? there’s clear sexual innuendo in the way it’s filmed and it’s pretty inappropriate). It’s only when Rackham sees Anne defending the entrance to Max’s tent and can’t believe that Anne would put herself in danger over “a fucking whore”, that it finally dawns on him that Anne is horrified with this situation (something he could have guessed considering the circumstances in which he met Anne). Once Max is freed and thanks Anne, Anne tells her that she didn’t do it for Max. Which is probably not completely true, but again what we know of Anne’s past also means that she didn’t want to see any woman treated that way.

- The theme of men siding together and not listening to women comes up several times in these two episodes. Guthrie says that he persuaded Mr Scott to betray Eleanor because “we talked like men and he saw reason”. The “like men” suggests that men support each other’s decisions, especially to resist a woman’s folly. The Consortium refuses to listen to Eleanor unless a respected captain, in this case Hornigold, also backs it. But of course Hornigold won’t back it unless Eleanor allows Vane to become a captain again; he considers how Vane’s men are treating the “thieving whore” to be of absolutely no relevance. Rackham opposes Anne’s attempt at stopping Hamund from visiting Max to protect her from Hamund, who he fears would harm Anne. And finally, Pastor Lambrick doesn’t believe Miranda when she tells him that doesn’t need to fear Flint’s anger.

- An answer to this is unlikely collaboration between women people in ep 6, aka, Eleanor  and Anne who deeply despises her. Both of them share a sense of responsibility for what happened to Max, and believe that they’ll only feel better when Max is free and Hamund is dead. John “guilt will go away if you let it” Silver is roped into the plot, when Eleanor, reminds him that he’s a “loose end” to Flint, who will likely want to get rid of him, and promises to tell Flint not to kill Silver after he’s served his purpose if Silver helps them. Which he does, begrudgingly, and at the risk of getting murdered by Hamund at any moment. This puts Eleanor and Anne’s plan to kill Vane’s remaining crew into place, and ruffles Rackham’s feathers: he’s forced to help kill even the men who aren’t disgusting rapists like Hamund. He asks "do I not deserve  say", to which Anne answers "you had your say, now I have mine". GOOD FOR HER.

- When the dust settles, we get a really interesting moment where Silver accurately analyses Eleanor, pointing out that she can’t stand to be wrong, feel weak or let anyone get away with fucking with her - which makes her in his opinion possibly more dangerous than Flint. Does this mean that Silver still thinks he had a genuine chance of winning Flint over and surviving him even without Eleanor’s help? (he’d be right, considering how his relationship with Flint evolves later on the show; perhaps the difference between Flint and Eleanor is that because she’s a woman, she can’t *afford* to show any weakness at all)

- Lambrick has his big moment in episode 6 when he rides chivalrously to Miranda in the middle of the night, hoping to save her from Flint’s retribution. Instead of really reassuring him, Miranda chooses to talk about Thomas instead. This is where we hear the most about Thomas in S1, and the way Miranda speaks about him is clearly loving and admiring. She compares Thomas to Lambrick, saying that he was also a sort of shepherd (the comparison stops here imo). Then she imagines how Thomas would have played devil’s advocate, left all of Lambrick’s beliefs in tatters, all for his own good, to free him from the yoke of shame. I can’t help but think, from her teasing tone and the way she smiles, that she believes that Thomas would have somehow debauched Lambrick. The fact that she decides to have sex with him moments later certainly supports that idea. The ghost of Thomas looms on this scene, and it could be that she briefly imagines being with him, which could explain her smile and the way she holds him afterwards. But Miranda had another reason for sleeping with him: it was a very good way to make him stop asking questions about Flint.

- And in the meantime, Flint knows that Billy has been asking questions about Miranda and overheard him talking angrily with Gates about the letter. It just so happens that Billy has to go cut off a piece of the Andromache’s sail that’s slowing the Walrus down, which puts him in a secluded and dangerous spot. The conversation between Flint and Billy is very brief: Flint asks about the letter Billy found, and Billy answers “I think you know what was in it”. Actually, no, Flint has NO CLUE what was in it. Whatever else passes between them is a mystery, and the next thing we know is Flint announcing that Billy went overboard. We see him hovering behind Gates, watching him intently, until Gates decides that they can’t turn back for Billy. The camera pans a lot on Flint’s face, and his expression is quite unreadable. At first I wasn’t convinced that he’d pushed Billy, but on this watch I’m not so sure, because of the way Flint’s face is filmed. There’s also a sort of clue where we see Flint throw Billy’s sword into the sea during the burial at sea ritual. Of course as Captain he was meant to do that... but the gesture is suggestive of him throwing Billy himself. It’s certainly true that Billy had become a thorn in his side for two reasons: 1) he was one of the rare crew members who could influence Gates and get him on his side; 2) he was much too interested in who Mrs Barlow was and what her motivations were - if Billy had alerted the crew of what she’d done, Miranda may have been in danger (a mob quickly turns against a witch who works against the crew).

- To finish on Flint and Miranda: season 1 has painted them as a unit, an inseparable pair, working as a team (in supernatural ways, sometimes). And to some extent they are. Even at this time where they are truly at odds, where Miranda has tried to take control of Flint’s fate behind his back, they are still protecting each other. Flint doesn’t reveal anything about Miranda and possibly attempts to kill Billy to protect her, while Miranda seduces Pastor Lambrick as a way to distract him from his questions about Flint. She can’t convince him to believe her, but she herself is clearly convinced that Flint is a good, decent person (as she tells the Boston judge in her letter) and she trusts that he knows that she only tried to stop him get the Urca because she wanted to save him - something he will come to accept by the end of S2 (unfortunately for them).

[ameliidarling]

Alone

Warnings: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, and a bit of a Happy Ending. Contains Descriptions of Loneliness, Torture, and Arson

Notes: This is my first work so please be nice <3 I'm open to criticism as long as it's polite :)

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“Hoowee, Logan~ Now you’re speaking my language~ But who do you really want to scream that at?”

Remus rose up into the Dark Sides’ Mindscape. The smirk on his face slowly fell as he looked at the messy room around him. It looked like a tornado had swept through the living room.

The glass coffee table was shattered and lay in a pile on the floor. The couch cushions were ripped apart and the sides were singed and charred black. The curtains were torn to shreds and were in a crumpled pile on the floor.

In the kitchen, Remus could hear the sounds of gushing water.

He walked into the kitchen, stepping over a broken picture frame and a half-burned photo of the Dark Sides, shattered glass crunching beneath his black boots with each step. He stepped in to see that he had left the faucet on. Oops.

He looked around.

The kitchen was almost as bad as the living room. The shattered remains of coffee mugs and porcelain plates and bowls covered the tiled floor. In front of the refrigerator lay a pile of torn, yellow post-its that Dece--... Janus always left on the fridge door with reminders for the others to hydrate, eat, and take breaks.

Remus glared at them with resentment, almost hoping that they would spontaneously combust if he stared long enough. And they did.

The pieces erupted into flames right before Remus’s eyes. The fire licked at the front of the fridge, blackening the grey metallic surface. He watched with a melancholic expression as the fire slowly died down and the post-its were reduced to a pile of ashes. Remus took a slow step towards the charred remains and raised his foot over the pile of ashes before bringing it down just as the last orange embers faded away. He crushed it beneath his boot, as if trying to stomp it out of existence.

He stepped away from the fridge and huffed in anger.

He still wasn’t satisfied.

He continued to stare at the ashes for a few seconds, in silence, before turning around towards the sink.

If Thomas’s sink was gross, then Remus’s was probably downright horrifying to even look at. It was filled to the brim with murky dishwater, scattered pieces of leftover food-- if you could even call it that-- drifted along the surface, a few bubbles coming up from the drain.

It smelled like the rotten insides of a dead fish.

Remus was tempted to slurp it all up with a straw, or eat it like soup. But he actually stopped himself from it this time. He wasn’t in the mood for dishwater soup. That was his happy food. He was most definitely not happy at the moment. Remus felt like how you feel when you burn popcorn.

Annoyed.

Frustrated.

And… A little bit sad.

He felt like committing arson. Watch a building burn down right before him, sirens blaring in the distance accompanied by a beautiful display of blue and red flashing lights against his surroundings.

He wanted to kidnap someone and chain them up in his makeshift medieval dungeon. Carve his name into their skin and memorize the sounds of their screams as he dug the knife into their skin and blood dripped down to the dirty, concrete floor. He could watch as the life slowly left their eyes and their body going limp, their final breath escaping them in a small puff of fog in the cold air of the dungeon.

He just needed to do something, anything to fill the deafening silence of his loneliness.

A distraction.

Remus didn’t usually mind being alone, but that’s because he was never actually alone, alone. There was always someone, or something, somewhere in the background that didn’t make being by himself so bad.

When he was “alone” in the Imagination, it was never quiet. There was always the distant sound of creatures rustling through the bushes or the tall grass. There was the sound of gushing water from the long river of an unnamed black liquid a little ways away from the forest path, and Remus was a little bit proud of that creation. When he was in the Imagination he was never actually alone. There was always some eldritch horror hiding in the eternal darkness, watching him. And the sound of wind brushing against his face and back kept him distracted from the eerie silence.

When Remus was “alone” in the Dark Sides’ living room, there was often the faint sound of emo pop songs coming from Virgil’s room. Then, when he left, there was always some light jazz playing in the background. Remus suspected that Janus had something to do with it. As if he too needed something to fill the empty, and silent void that Virgil’s absence had left. Of course, Janus would deny hearing it, but Remus spent his whole life living with the embodiment of deceit, and he could tell when Janus was lying. Still, he didn’t ask anymore,nor did he thank him for it.

Now that Janus was gone, there was no more jazz music. No more reminders of self-care written on yellow sticky-notes stuck to the fridge door. No more late-night scheming. No more clear kitchen sinks and freshly washed dishes. Nothing.

Remus was always alone before, but he’s never felt lonely.

He hated it more than anything in the world. More than he hated being ignored. More than he hated Virgil for leaving. More than he hated soap.

God, he hated soap.

He despised it with every fiber of his being. But he couldn’t do anything about it. All he could do was look around at the broken dishes, dirty walls, and flooded sink, and hope that the floor beneath him would open and swallow him whole.

Remus walked back into the living room and sat down in front of the couch. He brought his knees up closer to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He rested his head on his knees just as his eyes began to burn with tears.

‘Maybe if I sit here long enough, without moving, I’ll turn into stone.’ Remus thought to himself.

It was a nice dream. Maybe Remus could even cause someone to stub their toe, or trip and break their neck. Remus chuckled a little at the thought of someone tripping over his curled up statue, and then breaking their neck and their tongue would hang out of their mouths as their body lay motionless on the floor.

Remus wiped a few tears from his cheeks and threw his head back against the sofa.

Maybe Remus could get used to the silence.

Maybe, if he tried hard enough, he could enjoy being alone. Being free.

‘Yeah… I could get used to this…’ he thought.

Maybe, he could stop feeling so lonely, all on his own.

[giant-sketches]

Oh my gosh! This part is so long that I drew a total of four sketches for it instead of the usual three. I’ve been changing up my writing a bit so I do hope you enjoy it still. 

Again if you would like to be added to the tag list down below just send me an ask or comment and I’ll make sure to add you.

Disclaimer: past trauma, crying, mention of eating people, people being treated like toys, swearing/cursing, pain, innuendos

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

In the valley:

Roman: “VIRGIL! VIRGIL PLEASE WAKE UP!!! VIRGIL!”

Remus: “Hush now, your prince has fallen into a deep slumber thanks to my sleeping spell.”

Roman: “REMUS! What sleeping spell, you stomped on him until he passed out!?”

Remus: “It’s an original, I call it Stompus Knockoutus!”

Roman: “Ugh, whatever! Just let me down this instant you dirty marauder!”

Remus: “Woooo! Marauder, I like that. Thanks for the darling nickname Princey!”

Roman: “Aaaahhhh! What are you even going to do with me?”

Remus: “I’m taking you back to my little hole in the wall so we can play together like old times.”

Roman: “Li-like old times?”

- Roman shuddered at the memories of when his brother and he would play ‘games’ before the destabilization occurred. Once Roman and Remus had split from the same trait they stuck together still as brothers who had no idea how to be separate people. Those days started out pleasant with their creative minds expanding everyday. Roman imagined far off lands, magnificent castles, heroic adventures, and more. Remus, on the other hand, imagined tentacle arms, vomiting spiders, eyeball spaghetti, and more disturbing imagery.

- It quickly became obvious to the others that Remus was beginning to unravel once Roman started distancing himself from him. It’s all he could do as Remus’s thoughts were too extreme for Roman to take in as their imaginations interfered with one another. In response, Remus became a recluse and locked himself away to drown in his own madness. Roman tried desperately to talk with Remus, to find some kind of solution so they could stay together, but to no avail. Then one night a large crashing sound shook the fort awake. Roman dashed to his brother’s room in a panic and swung open the door, only to find a now 150 foot tall giant grinning menacingly at him.

Remus: “I’ve found a solution to our problem brother! If I simply take you away from here then we’ll never be separated again.”

Roman was petrified with fear and had no strength left to flee as Remus’s giant hand snatched him higher and higher into the air. There was no tenderness in his touch as Roman’s bones cracked and he yelped in pain.

Remus: “Singing cheers of our reunion all ready? Glad to hear them, keep it going!”

Remus squeezed even tighter as he violently pumped his fist in the air, with Roman in hand. Roman screamed loudly in pain and tears began to well up in his eyes.

Remus: “Tears of joy as well?! Oh brother, you really do know what I like!”

- Now fully enjoying his new stature Remus cheerily skipped away from the fort, into the forest and up the mountain to a cave that could fit him. For the next month Roman endured a variety of Remus’s ‘games’ and was treated like a plaything. He would be punished if he misbehaved and he was kept in a drawer with only a small hole where the knob should be for air. Eventually, Patton and Logan were able to find him when Remus was away and promptly rescued him. However, the experience left him traumatized.

- That’s why it had been so hard for him to adjust to Virgil being one of them. Luckily, with time, he realized that wasn’t true and that Virgil was special. He was special to him. Roman could feel his consciousness fading as he was still exhausted and slowly passed out as Remus carried him off into the mountains. He was simply too tired to fight back or stay awake. Roman could only hope his friends would be able to find him soon. --------------------------- Back at the fort:

Patton: “ROMAN’S BEEN KIDNAPPED!?”

Virgil: “I’m so sorry Pat. Remus snuck up on me while Roman was sleeping and I-I couldn’t do anything. I was too scared.”

Patton: “Oh Virgil, there’s no need to beat yourself up over it. We’re together now, so let's go get our boy back!”

Logan: “My thoughts exactly Patton, but we need a plan. Virgil, do you have any idea where Remus might have taken Roman? Last time he hid out in a cave up in the mountains, but that ridge is vast so it will take too much time to scan all of it.”

Virgil: “I think he’d still be hiding the same way honestly. I remember him bringing me to this one cave he had all decked out with all sorts of weird clothes and tiny buildings.”

Logan: “Promising, do you recall where that cave was?”

Virgil: “Yeah I do since it was just a couple of months ago.”

Patton: “Why did he take you there anyway?”

Virgil bit down on his lower lip as he decided whether or not to answer Patton.

Virgil: “Ugh, he wanted me to play with him...but he said we had to go out and find some toys first.”

Patton: “Toys!? Yo-you don’t mean...people?”

Patton was mortified at just the idea of people being played around like dolls. Virgil freaked out and responded quickly,

Virgil: “Woah hey! I never agreed to it. I never liked playing with that guy so I just shrugged him off and found a corner to read in instead. You don’t think I’d actually go out people-snatching with that loon do you Pat?”

Patton’s eyes softened.

Patton: “Oh course not kiddo, but the idea was really scary to think about is all. I know you don’t see us like that.”

Virgil sighed in relief and smiled. Logan coughed a bit to suggest they get a move on quickly in order to rescue Roman.

Gently, Virgil laid his hand on the ground and motioned for Patton to climb on up. Patton hopped right on enthusiastically as he was lifted up to Virgil’s shoulder. Logan reached out his arms to help Patton climb on and they held hands to keep each other steady as Virgil stood back up.

Logan: “One more thing before we disembark on our mission, Virgil, I suggest you increase in size substantially in order to better traverse the mountain terrain.”

Patton: “I agree with Logan. If you get bigger it will help finding Roman easier.”

Virgil: “Okay, you both hold onto my shirt collar then. I don’t want either of you falling off.”

Logan and Patton: “Got it!”

- With that Virgil shifted dramatically to a whopping 500 feet tall instantly. As they were being flung up rapidly, Patton and Logan hugged onto Virgil’s shirt for dear life until the shaking stopped. Both of them peeled their eyes open again to find their new view spectacular! They could see everything from the town, lake, valley, forest, and mountains. Neither of them had ever been so high up before. The entire experience was completely indescribable as they both stared in awe.

Virgil: “You both okay?” he whispered.

Virgil’s sudden question snapped Patton and Logan out of their starry eyed daze and back to reality. They both hastily answered,

Logan and Patton: “Yes, we’re fine!”

Virgil: “Alright, I’m going to start moving then. Prepare yourselves.”

- Instinctively, Logan and Patton both gripped onto Virgil’s shirt collar tightly and braised themselves. This was going to be a long trip as each step Virgil took, no matter how delicately, jostled the two of them around like wet noodles. ----------------------------- Now in the caves:

Remus: “Wakey, wakey sleeping beauty. Your tower awaits.”

- Roman was in a daze when he awoke to find himself lying on what appeared to be a play mat with the design of cobblestone printed on. Immediately, he remembered where he was and with whom. It took even less time for him to realize he was no longer wearing the clothes he previously had on as well. He was now donning a poofy pink dress, white silk gloves, and a puffed up blonde wig with a tiara attached. His face had been painted on with a fake beauty mark near his eye and plump red lips. Overall, he looked ghastly!

Roman: “Oh my gosh, did you undress me in my sleep?!”

Remus: “What’s a little nudity between brothers? Honestly you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You make a darling little damsel!”

Roman: “Damsel? Is that what this tacky dress is all about? You want to play damsel in distress with me?”

Remus touched his nose in delight.

Remus: “Bing bong! You got it!!!”

Roman: “Then are you supposed to be the prince or something?”

Remus: “Come now brother, do I look like a prin-”

Roman: “No.”

Remus: “Ouch, you didn’t even let me finish. Now I’m left all limp.”

Roman winced in disgust at that remark.

Remus: “No your prince is the brat I left out cold in the valley. I’m taking up the role of the big scary monster who's taking you hostage in my tower.”

Roman: “I’d hardly call this cave a tower.”

- Remus smirked as he flicked his pointer finger in the direction right behind Roman. A shiver ran down his spine as he cautiously turned around to face the looming figure of a tower, a real tower. It wasn’t something Remus had made, but stole from somewhere. Roman didn’t even want to think about what else Remus might have destroyed in the process of acquiring it, then an even more frightening thought flashed through his mind. Frantically, Roman looked around the room to see if Remus had snatched any people up as well.

Remus: “Now, now brother there’s no need to worry. You’re the only toy here and that’s because you’re so special to me. This game is just for the two of us, that is until your tiny friends find you.”

Thank goodness Roman thought as he sighed in relief. No one else had to suffer the way he had all those years ago. He had finally started to relax a little when Remus suddenly began poking at his backside.

Remus: “No time to waste princess! Time for you to get into the tower and start the game.”

Each poke was more forceful than the last, until Roman found it hard to keep his footing. He toppled over in pain to Remus’s dismay.

Remus: “Hey! Don’t ruin the dress, it’s my favorite.”

That was the last straw for Roman. He wasn’t going to be Remus’s plaything, not again.

Roman: “ENOUGH! I’m not playing your games anymore Remus! Not now, not ever! Screw you, this ugly dress, this stupid play mat, and the idea that I’m still afraid of you after all this time!”

- In a fit of rage Roman chucked the dress and wig off his person and hurled the gloves towards his brother in a challenging manner. Luckily, it seemed Remus had only removed his shirt as he was still wearing his pants and boots. Using his arm he wiped off the paint on his face and scowled at Remus. Remus was not pleased.

Remus: “It would appear you’re in need of some punishment in order to correct that boorish attitude of yours.”

Without warning, Roman was forcefully grabbed and lifted high up towards Remus’s face. While startled, Roman wasn’t going to keep quiet like when he was a kid.

Roman: “Just try me! There’s nothing you could do that would affect me anymore.”

Remus: “That’s what you’d think, but I’ve had a long time to come up with better punishments. I actually had an epiphany the other day that I think will work quite nicely in turning you docile.”

Roman gulped loudly. What could Remus be thinking of doing to him that he hadn’t already done?

Remus licked his lips.

Remus: “You know brother, at my size it wouldn’t be too hard to swallow someone whole. I’ve been playing around with the idea for a while now. I used to lick you all when I was a kid, but now I think it might be fun to try for something bigger than just a taste.”

Roman’s eyes went wide with fear. Remus wouldn’t actually eat him, would he? He must be bluffing, right?

Roman: “Woah, hey Remus, yo-you couldn’t actually be entertaining the idea of e-eating me would you?”

Roman was now visibly shaking and his throat had gone dry. The thought of being eaten alive was just too horrifying to imagine.

Remus: “I am actually, after all you look like such a taste morsel.”

- Remus stuck out his tongue tauntingly as Roman squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel himself being lifted up slowly towards Remus’s mouth as his putrid breath wafted over him. He really was going to be eaten, he thought. Miraculously, a familiar loud cry echoed from outside the cave,

Virgil: “ROMAN!”

Roman gasped as he flung his eyes open towards the cave entrance with excitement. He was saved!

Remus: “Looks like the party crashers have arrived! Ahead of schedule, but after this disappointing first act I’m looking forward to the clim-”

- Before Remus could even finish a massive hand launched itself into the cave and pulled him out into the night sky. Startled Remus was not at all prepared for what he would see next. He was now, somehow, locked in place by a giant fist and staring up at a now massive sized Virgil. Never in his life had he seen something or someone bigger than himself. In this moment Remus for once felt completely helpless and small in Virgil’s stern grip.

Remus: “Wh-what is this? How are you this big all of a sudden? I-I...this isn’t right.”

- Previously, outside Virgil had asked Patton and Logan to wait behind him as he went up ahead at max size. He needed them to stay a safe distance away as he confronted Remus head on. They both agreed and waited in the forest for his and Roman’s return. Virgil then walked a considerable distance away before shifting to double his current size, his limit of 1000 feet. This is where he stands now with Remus in his clutches and pissed off!

Virgil: “Let him go.”

Surprise, by such a suppressing voice coming from the once tiny Virgil, Remus completely missed what he just said. He was now overcome with fear he had never experienced before. He was now the weakling.

Remus: “Wh-what?”

Virgil: “I said let him go, now.”

Virgil repeated himself as calmly as he could. He was fuming with rage right now as he spotted Roman still being held tightly in Remus’s hand. Although, he did take pleasure in seeing Remus afraid of him for once. Still, Virgil couldn’t help thinking about what he had become if even the monsters feared him.

Remus: “O-okay….”

- Cautiously, Virgil raised his free hand up towards Remus in order to have a safe place for Roman to land on when released. As Roman fell out onto Virgil’s palm he gasped for air as Remus’s grip knocked the wind out of him when they were both pulled out of the cave. Concerned, Virgil gingerly lifted his hand up to his face to get a better look at Roman’s condition. He appeared physically okay, except that he was missing his shirt. Virgil wanted so badly to comfort him, but knew at his current size it would be too dangerous to try. He didn’t want another kissing incident after all.

- He decided it would be best to set Roman down for now while he dealt with Remus, however, before he started to move again the image of Roman running towards his face stopped him. Suddenly, Roman was clinging to the arch of Virgil’s nose and sobbing. All the stress and fear he had bottled up in order to put on a brave face melted away the moment he was safe on top of Virgil's hand. Virgil had previously been worried about Roman’s reaction to his now gigantic size after hearing about what happened to him as a child from Patton and Logan on the way here. It appeared his concerns were unwarranted as Roman felt safest when near Virgil.

Roman: “Virgil, oh my gosh Virgil, I was so scared!”

Virgil: “Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here now. You’re safe with me”

Roman: “I-I know, but he….he tried to eat me. I thought I wa-was going to die. I’m so glad you showed up when you did!”

Trying his best to keep himself from yelling,

Virgil: “He tried to do what?!”

Remus groaned as the fingers surrounding him suddenly tightened.

Virgil: “Oh I’m sorry did that hurt? Good! How would you feel if I tried to eat you right now?”

Remus chuckled, Remus: “That’d be one hell of a french kiss monsieur monstre.”

Virgil scoffed in disgust while Roman frowned at Remus calling Virgil of all people a monster.

Roman: “The pot calling the kettle black, I see.”

Remus: “You think I’m a monster? Have you been completely ignoring the behemoth you’re standing on? He was so small back in the valley and now he’s somehow ballooned himself to such a size that even my butthole clenches in fear.”

Roman: “Geez, did you have to use the word butthole?”

Remus: “It’s my word of the day in that I use it every day, all day.”

Virgil and Roman both groaned at this weasel's meaningless antics.

Virgil: “What should I do with him? Any ideas Roman?”

Roman: “Usually we use Logan’s dimensional splitter to just send him and Deceit back into the dark realm. I assume you left him and Patton somewhere safe so I guess that’s not an option right now.”

Virgil: “Actually, even though I’ve become a resident of the light realm I should still have the ability to form rifts still.”

Roman: “Really?! Then hurry up and do it before this guy does anymore damage. We still have to locate which town he stole that tower from.”

Virgil: “He stole a tower?!”

Roman sighed,

Roman: “Yeah...somewhere in the realm, there’s a big mess for us to clean up later.”

Virgil: “Okay then, no more waiting. It’s time to send Remus back where he belongs.”

With that Virgil created a rift big enough for him to toss Remus into with ease.

Remus hummed as he flew into the rift,

Remus: “I look forward to the third act another time!”

Roman: “Good riddens!”

Virgil had now bent down to place Roman on the ground as he started shrinking down to a more manageable size.

Virgil: “You can say that again.”

- He rested on 200 feet in order to comfortably hold all three of them once Patton and Logan were retrieved. Roman told them about what happened as Virgil concentrated on getting everyone back to the fort. Once there, it was definitely time for bed. Before Virgil headed back to his room for the night he was stopped by Roman.

Roman: “Hey Virgil...I know you’re really tired and probably rather sleep in your own bed after such an eventful night, but do you think you could sleep with me instead?”

Virgil: “You want me to sleep with you for tonight?”

Roman: “If that’s not too much to ask. I’m...still really shook up from what happened. Even though in my mind I know Remus is gone I can’t help feeling I’m not completely safe yet.”

Virgil: “I don’t mind at all Roman.”

Roman: “Really?! Thank you so much! Come one, I’ll lead you there.”

Roman cheerful took Virgil by the hand and led him to his room. Inside the walls were covered in Disney posters and theater playbills. There was pink glitter on the ceiling and the bed covering was of a unicorn jumping over a rainbow. Overall, it was super colorful compared to his.

Roman: “Come on in!”

Roman had already tucked himself into bed and was waiting patiently for Virgil to join him. Sheepishly, Virgil climbed into bed and laid his head down on the plush pillow facing Roman. Roman did the same and smiled softly towards him.

Roman: “Thank you for saving me Virgil.”

Virgil looked away.

Virgil: “Even though I was completely useless at the valley?”

Roman reached out his hand to stroke Virgil’s face.

Roman: “Now you listen here. That wasn’t your fault and anyone else in your position also would have been knocked out cold if a giant stomped on them suddenly.”

Virgil chuckled as he lifted his hand up to touch Roman’s and leaned into it.

Virgil: “You’re right, sorry. I accept your thanks.”

Roman: “Good. Now for your reward.”

Virgil: “My wa-”

- Without warning, Virgil found himself locking lips with Roman in a passionate kiss! Stunned, Virgil simply let himself enjoy the moment until Roman pulled away slowly. Both of them were fully satisfied with the exchange and blushing deeply with embarrassment.

Roman: “We-well goodnight Virgil!” he stuttered as he hid himself under the covers.

Virgil: “Ye-yeah goodnight Roman!” he also stuttered as he turned to face the wall.

Neither of them could manage to face the other for the remainder of the night. Even though they had kissed in the valley when at the same height it was somehow more intimate.

To be continued.

@paranoidgurl​ @pattonvirglsanders​ @suckedinfandoms​ @crystalk17​ @gentlegiantdreamer​ @enby-phoenix​ @sanders-sides-virgil​ @just-some-gt-trash​ @notkolaidoscop​ @bluegreeninbtwn​ @lgbtqiaemo​ @avenirunknown​ @rainbowbowtie​ @ncanspeak​ @maryann-draws​ @himeperson​ @perfectly-princely-emo-nightmare​ @daydreamburritoworld​ 

[magpiemorality]

Bring It On, Moceit/Moremus, 5/5

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5  AO3

We’re here; the final part. The happy ending, hopefully… 

Huge thanks to @littlestr​ for the original prompts! And thank you all for following along with this fun weekend jaunt, I have come to adore these boys and they’ve outgrown the little prompt oneshot they were supposed to exist in, constantly yelling at me for more attention until now we’re here. There’s even art HERE by @sometimeswritingsometimesdying go look at it!!!! 

Without further ado; please enjoy.

Warnings: dismissal of polyamory (character doesn’t believe it’s real/feasible), swearing 

Patton Sanders was the prettiest boy in the whole college...

***

Patton Sanders was the prettiest boy in the whole college. He wasn’t being vain or anything; there had once been an online poll on the college gossip blog and he’d won hands down. It was just fact at this point. 

He was also currently (in his own internal poll) the saddest. Everything had been going so great (shut up Remy it had) and then it had taken a turn towards the endgame and then- 

Well, what had happened with Remus? Patton still wasn’t sure, and Remus was ignoring his texts so he had no clues to go on apart from the fact that one minute the boy was giving him some very upmarket salmon filets and pulling off a classing hair-behind-the-ear move that would have possibly even led to a kiss- and then nothing. Remus had suddenly… changed his mind? He’d freaked out for some reason anyway, and had just run off. 

Since then nothing, nada, total radio silence (yeah so it had only been two days so what Remy shh) and Patton was falling into despair. There had to have been a vital signal he’d missed somewhere that would have turned the whole thing around. 

Maybe the fish was a clue? 

He and Remy had spent a full evening poring over the fish. Was it a secret message? Symbolic in some way? Was there something written on it? Patton had drawn the line at trying to open it up and check the inside because he still very much wanted to save it to cook for Remus some day, so it had been rehomed in the freezer after a careful perusal of storage methods on Google. 

And there was a whole other problem now too- Dex was avoiding him. Over text, on campus, in the cafe; everywhere Patton could think of to try and run into his second paramour turned out to be a bust, and the only way (again, two days was ages Remy don’t be a bitch) he could have avoided even accidentally bumping into Dex for that long was if the other boy was actively staying away. 

Those texts went unanswered too. 

(Remy was starting to lose patience.)

“But I just don’t-”

“Oh my god gurl please don’t finish that sentence!” Patton’s very best friend and emotional support gay snapped, slamming his Starbucks cup down on the table (situated outside the cafe, so they could be seen by as many people as possible, of course). “I literally can not with you.”

Patton’s nose wrinkled. “My tutor Logan says we shouldn’t say literally when it’s not grammatically accurate.” 

“Your tutor Logan can literally suck my dick. No seriously; he’s hot, get me his number and I will consider literally forgiving you.” 

“But-”

“Baby, sugarplum, Patty-cake- for the love of all things caffeine; just take a chill pill okay? Boys will come and go in your life and if they’re worth anything at all then they’ll be back. Besides, they’re probably just duking it out over you somewhere. Maybe shirtless. Maybe there’s baby oil…” Remy trailed off with unfocused eyes, sipping his drink absently and Patton sighed, because even that nice (very nice, saved for later) image not enough to dispel his melancholy. 

He checked his phone again for the millionth time that day. Spring break was coming up and the cheer squad Whatsapp was going wild with anticipation, but Patton wasn’t in the mood. He’d foolishly hoped that one of his handsome men was going to sweep him off his feet and away to somewhere spectacular for the holiday, but that hope had tanked dramatically in light of recent developments. Normally that would’ve just made him shift his hopes towards prom, but it wasn’t enough of a big deal as it had always been in high school, and it was really more of a friends’ night out situation. Not the sort of time to be expecting big dramatic declarations of love, you know or whatever. 

No, the universe seemed to be spelling out ‘Patton Sanders is going to die alone’ pretty hard, even if Remy wasn’t in agreement. 

“Who are you texting, anyway?” Patton asked, picking at his nail polish with a pout. “Let me at least live vicariously through you until I waste away, a tragic damsel whose beauty was lost to time…" 

Remy looked up, talking around the straw in his mouth. “Jesus you’ve got it bad. And it’s none of your business, P, I’ll tell you when you aren’t moping.” The way Patton visibly and genuinely sagged seemed to revive Remy’s best friend sympathy instincts, because he quickly finished his drink, took Patton by the hands and pulled him up. “Come on cupcake, it’s the weekend and we’re going shopping. Because no matter what happens with your boys- it’s nearly Spring Break and we are gonna look hot to trot!” 

And who was Patton to disagree with such flawless logic? 

***

Maybe there was something to be said for the mystical powers of retail therapy, because when Patton flopped down on his bed that evening there was a text notification from a blocked number on his phone that made his heart beat wildly. 

It contained an invitation, to meet the following weekend at a destination that would be sent in a future text, and it was signed ‘from your not-so-secret admirer’. 

The week went by horribly slowly. Even practice seemed to drag, and yet… 

Suddenly Dex was meeting him every day with his tea again, no word of explanation but a soft smirk always hovering around his lips, lighting up his usually serious face. 

Suddenly Remus was watching and winking at him from across the gym- not approaching this time round but offering little shy waves and offering help when he could, putting away the gym equipment or offering a protein bar on the way out just as Patton’s stomach started to rumble. 

Something was up, and Patton’s head was in a spin, but it was oddly perfect. 

Even Remy couldn’t believe the change. 

“You’re totally one hundred percent sure they’re not on drugs?” Patton shot him a look. “Okay just double checking. Joined a cult? Kidnapped by aliens and replaced by pod people? Serial killers planning on luring you in an-”

“God, Remy, no!” He hit his friend with his pillow, laughing at the offended noises Remy made before he joined Patton in giggling on the bed. “No I think they just… sorted something out. It’s weird though, right? Like there’s something weird happening? Not bad weird, but…”

Remy mirrored his shrug. “You’ll have to wait and see what happens with your ‘not so secret admirer’,” he said, singing the name. “Do you have any clue which one of them it is?” 

“Well no. But surely it’s Dex? I mean, he’s Dexter, he can sort out a blocked number. It’s… Remus is a total carebear but he’s not exactly James Bond, you know? It’s got to be Dex. But he’d just out and say it, I know he would, so I don’t- I can’t be sure. Remus is the dramatic one…” Round and round in circles they went but never came any closer to solving the puzzle. 

Friday came and went and at long last it was time to head out for the grand reveal. Remy had helped him get dressed (cute but weather appropriate and with good running shoes, just in case) and they were waiting in the living room for the address to come through. 

His phone buzzed. 

Once they’d stopped shrieking in excitement they googled and found the address was of the same cafe he’d spent so much time in with Dexter over Winter break, which- it was probably not a good thing that his heart had sunk over ruling out the possibility this was Remus all along, right? It had simultaneously skipped a beat at the confirmation that it was Dex, so… You win some, you lose some he supposed. 

Crunch time. 

He hurried along the streets- glad for the tiny size of their college town and for the lack of rain on the crisp February morning- and slipped into the cafe. Only to see not Dexter O’Reilly sat inside waiting for him, but- 

“Remus?!”

***

Let it be known that Remus Duke was not the prettiest boy in the whole college, far from it. Nor was he the most intelligent, nor the richest nor the most popular. However what Remus Duke had in spades was earnest charm. It was lethal in a one on one situation, and he made sparing use of it so as not to abuse his power. 

Let it also be known that Dexter O’Reilly was far from immune to said charm, especially when it was turned on him from a few feet across a brightly coloured, messy, but shockingly cosy room in a frat house on Greek Row. If Dexter was the Slytherin here then Remus was almost certainly the Hufflepuff who would drive said Slytherin to world domination. 

In this case, of course, world domination was replaced by Patton Sanders, and the prospect of getting to date him. The concept was the same though, and the intense level of detail required to get the plan exactly right was too. 

In fact, Dex had stayed way later that night than either of them had expected, as they’d plotted and planned and discussed various ways of making their dreams reality. What Remus lacked in book smarts, he made up for with an innate talent for asking exactly the right questions to fix any inefficiencies or problems before they ever arose, and you bet Dex had made a mental note of that for future reference. 

What neither of them had really considered, was the exact reaction Patton would have when he walked in the cafe door on Saturday morning to find not just Remus, but- 

***

“And Dex!” Patton’s eyes were big and round as they switched back and forth and back and forth between the two young men. He clutched his phone in his hand like a lifeline, wondering if this was going to turn out to be the worst day of his life so far, rather than the tentative best he’d pencilled it in as… 

“Hey,” Remus smiled hopefully at him, standing up and awkwardly trying to gesture Patton to his seat like a magician’s glamorous assistant or something. Patton took pity on him and did in fact sit, still mostly set to ????? and !!!!!! and only just managing to process what was happening. 

Opposite him, Dexter crossed one long leg over the other, and Remus perched on the edge of the third chair like he was physically restraining himself from getting up to go be closer to Patton. Which wasn’t entirely untrue, as it happened. 

“Guys, what’s going on?” Patton asked weakly, looking to Dex for guidance, but it was Remus who replied. 

“Well,” he started, twisting his hands around nervously. “We ended up having a bit of a chat, last week. I um, I- oh fuck what was I supposed to say?!” Dexter snorted softly and Remus pouted at him. “You’re no help, we said we’d do this together!” 

You could’ve knocked Patton over with a feather. His mouth actually fell open at the display of camraderie. Suddenly the serial killer theory had merit. 

“Patton. Through a convoluted set of circumstances we ended up discussing our possible futures… with you. It’s fairly clear you’re struggling to choose between the two of us, right?” He waited until Patton nodded slowly. “So we thought… why choose?” 

“My brother Roman told me about this class he took last semester see, about like, changing identities or something. People, basically, and he heard about all these different things they never taught us in school! And one of them was-”

“Wait,” Patton interjected, holding a hand out because he was ninety percent sure he knew where this was going, but- “That’s real? Having… sharing partners is real? It actually works?” 

“Hey how’d you know what I was going to s-”

“Yes, darling, yes to all of that. If the people involved are honest and open and willing to work on it,” Dexter interrupted, smiling at Patton. Remus was also looking at him, nearly bouncing in his seat with excitement, overflowing with energy like always. Gosh Patton loved his energy, his enthusiasm for life, his potential, ahem, stamina… 

He turned back to Dex, only to be filled with warmth at the look he was getting, because he loved the way Dex gave him special smiles he gave no one else. He loved his soft, clever words, and his gentleness. 

Oh. 

“Oh.” There was quiet for a moment before the two hopefuls shared a concerned glance. 

“Patton?” Dexter prompted. “Is that… a good ‘oh’ or a bad one? We uh, we know it’s kinda not what you were expecting, probably?”

“And you can take your time to think about it!”

“Thank you Remus, yes. You can take your time, darling. But we would like to try this with you. However you like. And if we want to change things down the road… we can talk about that too.”

Patton was the prettiest boy in the whole college. Seemed like today he was the luckiest, too. “Yes!” He shouted, leaping out of his seat to grab them both in a hug, dragging them together forcefully. “Oh gosh, goodness, yes, that sounds perfect!” He gave them each a kiss on the nearest cheek and sat back down, cheeks red but smile bright, holding his hands out for them to take one each. 

“This is going to be so cool!” Remus crowed, and Dex chuckled softly at his exuberance, squeezing Patton’s fingers, his eyes betraying his own quiet excitement.

Yeah, Patton thought. It really was. 

--

Bonus 1 | Bonus 2 | Bonus 3 | Bonus 4

[ephemeral-afterlight]

Day 27: Ransom

(Protect those you love), prepare to leave it all behind.

Whumptober 2019 Day 27: Ransom

Word Count: 2161

Relationships: Intrulogical

Warnings: Kidnapping, physical violence/weapon (knife), blood and injuries, mentions of torture, threats of non-con to another character, vulgar/explicit language, mentions of drug usage/bad parenting/death of a minor character (not a side), cursing

A/N: hmm... i don't really know what to think of this one, to be honest. it feels weird to write right now, since i'm a bit sick, but i don't know. maybe it's not as awful as it feels like it is. who knows. anyway, have this shit. i'm not really a huge intrulogical shipper, since i don't actually ship remus with anybody (i hc him as aro), but logan fit so here we are.

It’s pretty cold here. Remus knows that being kidnapped and held hostage in a basement however far below the surface isn’t a particularly forgiving situation, but couldn’t his kidnapper give him a blanket or something? It’s too fuckin’ cold for this! And it’s weird, because the guy seems pretty warm himself despite not even wearing a jacket or anything, just a t-shirt, and it makes Remus a little jealous. Remus is always cold, but this place just makes it worse.

He doesn’t even know why he’s here, either. He’s not special, doesn’t stand out, isn’t known for any notable actions or anything. He’s just a simple guy, a dude who lives in a shit apartment and works two jobs in fast food and bartending. He’s pretty common, in society’s eyes, so… why is he here? 

The blow to the head had been delivered from behind, just after Remus has gotten into his apartment after work. It came when he least expected it, which is so not fair, because he would have loved to fight the guy. Have a fun old-fashioned full-out brawl in his living room at two in the morning, show him what he’s got. It could have been a fun end to his shitty night, but no, of course the guy had to take the coward’s way out and avoid the fight completely. What a fucking bore.

Now, sitting here tied to this chair in the middle of the room, Remus doesn’t even really feel the pain from the big knot on his head. There’s better things to worry about, like “Am I out of milk?” and “Will I get back in time to catch the season finale of the television show I’ve been following since the premiere?”. Besides, injuries are nothing new to Remus, having grown up playing only contact sports, so a little bonk on the head is nothing compared to the evenings he’d come home from practice or games with welts and bruises littering every inch of his skin. Before she died, his mom would freak out over the blood and cuts on his arms and legs, but then he’d give her a toothy grin with multiple teeth missing from being knocked out, and she’d just shake her head and clean him up. His mom was super cool, before she became a druggie and too busy fucking whoever was closest to come home and take care of her kids.

Anyway, Remus still doesn’t get why he of all people had to have been kidnapped, because it’s not like he’s some important figure or in any sort of position of power. He holds sway exactly Nowhere, and therefore isn’t exactly the ideal choice when stealing someone from their home for your own gain. Whoever this guy is, he’s kind of a dumbass.

“Listen up. You’re gonna sit here, smile into the camera really pretty, and you ain’t sayin’ a word unless I tell you to. Got it?” the guy demands as he sets up a tripod, and Remus just snickers. His kidnapper gives him a withering glare as he settles the camera into the correct spot, and then walk around to the other wide to line the shot up the way he wants it. “What’s so funny?”

“Just wonderin’ what the video’s for. Who you gonna send it to, my dead grandma?” Remus asks, licks his lips with a grin as he wiggles in his seat. The ropes around his wrists are tight, but definitely loose enough to slip out of if he pulls hard enough. Remus gets to work using his sharp fingernails to slice through through the rope one strand at a time, to try and reduce the circumference and be able to slide it far enough through the knot that he’ll be able to just yank his hands free. Remus guesses that all those years of putting up with Roman’s boy scouts phase weren’t a complete waste.

“Nope. You got a brother, it’s goin’ to him,” the kidnapper replies with a sneer. He’s finally finished setting the camera up, presses a button to start it rolling, and the red light begins to blink. Remus raises an eyebrow as the kidnapper settles back slightly further from the tripod and pulls out a stack of note cards, and it’s with a barely contained giggle Remus realizes that he had to write his speech down.

“Proof of life,” the guy says into the microphone with a much deeper, more gruff voice than before, and it takes so much effort to not burst out into raucous laughter. “If you want your poor little brother here back to you alive, you’re gonna leave no less than 200 thousand in a bag at the address provided. Unmarked bills, no cops. You leave the money, and then you get your ass out of there. If you call the police or try to pull any tricks, little bro here is gettin’ a bullet to the face. Once I confirm the money’s clean, he’ll be dropped off somewhere within walking distance of help, alive. You have three days. If that money still isn’t with me by the time midnight rolls around come Saturday, he’s dead.”

The kidnapper presses a button on the top of the camera and the red light stops blinking with a little click. Just in time, too, because Remus busts out into uncontrollable laughter as soon as the camera stops recording. His lungs and chest hurt with how hard he’s laughing,  but he can’t stop, and the offended, angry look on the guy’s face just makes him laugh harder. 

“Stop fuckin’ laughing!” his kidnapper snaps, but his voice cracks at the end, and Remus is in tears. It’s pretty predictable when the guy rushes him and punches him in the jaw, knocking the rest of his breath out of his lungs in a pained wheeze. Remus barely has a moment to recover before the guy’s fist is buried in his gut, forcing a hacking cough from Remus’ throat. He wants to keep laughing, but now it hurts like a bitch to even breathe, so maybe staying quiet for now is the best option.

“I said I’d bring you back alive, not unharmed. Don’t fucking push me,” the guy growls maliciously, a cold glint in his eyes as he reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a switchblade, flips the knife out in a way that shines the metal’s reflection of the light in Remus’ face. How annoying. The kidnapper presses the knife into Remus’ throat, in the same spot he’s had tracheostomies performed when his airway was blocked, and the feeling of smooth, sharp metal just centimeters away from his trachea is almost comforting in its familiarity.

“Fuck you,” Remus responds hoarsely, spits as much as he can and it lands on his kidnapper’s chin. Remus knows he’s going to be pissed, knows the fallout will be painful as fuck, but he can’t really seem to bring himself to care. He doesn’t regret it, either, not even when the guy yells out in anger and slams his fist into Remus’ stomach again. He doesn’t regret it when the guy mutters something about teaching him a lesson, he doesn’t regret it when he replaces his switchblade with the bigger chef’s knife laying on the shelf in the corner, and he certainly doesn’t regret it when the guy returns with a sadistic grin.

Remus will brag about what happens next for so, so long after he gets out of here, because it’s the funniest shit he’s ever done. The disheveled man brings the knife to Remus’ chest and pushes the blade into his skin, slowly slicing it open as the fresh cut forms a bleeding slash. But Remus doesn’t even flinch, doesn’t even yell from the pain. He just moans, one that isn’t of fear but rather high-pitched and obscene, a mockery of sex that leaves him barely able to hold onto the laugh that wants to push past his harshly gritted teeth. “Harder, daddy!”

And that’s probably the last straw, because the end of the cut turns much less clean in the guy’s lividity. The blade presses deeper into his skin, draws more blood and elicits more pain to radiate from his chest, and it takes more effort than Remus would like to not cry out. As much as he doesn find real humour in this situation, he can’t really afford to die here, so staying the dominant, unafraid personality to this man who obviously fears a lack of control is important. He can’t show fear, because that will just bolster the guy’s confidence and keep his head clear enough to not make mistakes. However, if he’s upset and feeling undermined, his anger will cause him to slip up, and allow Remus the opportunity to turn the tables on him. It does sound easy in hindsight, but slacking off won’t help any, so Remus focuses in on burying the pain below a layer of numbness.

“You know what? Maybe I won’t send it to your little brother. Maybe I won’t return you at all. Maybe, I’ll just keep you here, tied up so you can only sit there as I torture your little boyfriend,” the kidnapper seethes, and his eyes narrow as an even more deranged smile slips onto his face when Remus stiffens uncontrollably. “What, that hit a nerve? You scared for your little boy toy? What was his name… Logan, right? I know where he lives. And I’ll steal him from his bed, bring him here and force you to watch while I slice him up. Maybe I’ll make you watch me fuck him, take care of him better than you ever could, hmm? How about that? Want me to fuck your boyfriend for you? I saw him, y’know, a cute little nerd with glasses. Nice ass, skinny waist… he’s almost like a girl. Maybe I’ll keep him for myself, after I kill you, fuck him every single day while he just cries for his poor ol’e Remus.”

No. No, no, no no nononono. How dare he?! You can do anything to Remus. You can threaten him, make fun of him, torture him, and he’d laugh in your face. But this guy has the fucking nerve to bring his boyfriend into this? No. Unacceptable. This isn’t-- fuck.

And Remus knows he should stay calm, not let his words get to him, but…he knows Logan’s name. And apparently, where Logan lives. What if he does take Logan, does hurt him while Remus can’t even do anything about it, helplessly tied to a chair? What if this guy hurts his baby, hurts his Logan, and Remus could’ve prevented it? It’s far too easy to imagine Logan’s eyes filled with fear, the attempts to stave off tears, muffled cries of pain. All he can see in his mind is Logan traumatized, and for the very first time, the thought of sex makes Remus feel sick to his stomach.

So with an enraged snarl, Remus yanks his hands free from the flimsy rope keeping then locked behind the back of the chair, and then lunges. He relishes in the surprised yelp, the angered fear in his eyes, the way he scrambles to fight back far too late. Because he’s pinned under Remus, and once he’s got someone in his grip, he isn’t letting go. For probably too long, Remus just sits there, beating his kidnapper with shaking fists. The man fell unconscious a while ago, hasn’t been a threat for minutes, but Remus doesn’t have any other way to take out his frustration besides sitting here on top of this guy, pummeling him to hell and back. Eventually, his arms fall limply to his sides, and Remus’ eyes dull as he slouches over. His breathing is light and trembling, and there’s a feeling welling up in his chest that he doesn’t understand, can’t pinpoint or identify. His legs feel like they’re on fire when he pushes himself to his feet, burn when he sways a bit in an attempt to keep his balance. 

Remus doesn’t know where he is, or how far he was taken from his home, but that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what Remus has to go through, because as he climbs the ladder out of this cellar and emerges in a long, dark hallway, he knows. He knows as he trudges to the end, as he whips open the door on the other side to reveal an alleyway. He knows as he gets to the road, recognizes the bakery across the bustling traffic, and when he turns in the opposite direction of his apartment. He knows when he sees the green sign at the intersection, sees the familiar name of Logan’s street, when he approaches his apartment complex. He knows that Logan’s going to be okay, because he’s going to make sure of it, and Remus vows that nobody will ever be able to threaten his boyfriend ever again.

[khadij-al-kubra]

Persephone & Hades AU...

For your consideration, and bearing in mind that the original myth is not really all that toxic at all and is not a show of Stockholm syndrome...

The “””Kidnapping””” of Persephone:

Logan as Hades-

Bespectacled Ruler of the Underworld

Takes his job very seriously (wears a black and blue necktie with his long silky black robes)

Cold pale skin and intelligent grey eyes with slicked back black hair. Looks scarier and meaner than he actually is. (although he can have a bit of a temper if pushed and will have loud sharp outbursts of “FALSEHOOD!”)

Very logical and methodical in how he rules the underworld and keeps the souls passing through organized. Like he’s got the judgement thing down to a T! But despite his cold demeanor he’s actually very generous and kind at heart. He just recognizes the importance of his work and in remaining just yet impartial

Sucker for dogs, hence why he has a three headed one. He just wishes he had more time to play with Cerberus, but alas ruling the dead alone takes up a lot of ones time.

Has a sweet tooth and often indulges in jams made from the pomegranates that grow in his realm.

Is on decent enough relations with his brothers (Emile as Poseidon and Deceit as Zeus), although he STILL thinks that Deceit cheated in their straw draws, but let it go because he’s actually best suited as the more organized brother for ruling the dead.

Is secretly very lonely. Once in a blue moon he’ll sneak up to the surface for fresh air and sunlight. One day he spots a certain someone in a flower field who takes his breath away. (can you blame him, i mean that smile! )

Patton as Persephone-

Supreme flower child! (flowy sky blue clothes, grass green eyes, sun-kissed freckly skin and wheat colored curls, barefoot, flower crown)

Loves gardening, animals, and helping his father Demeter (Roman) with the changing seasons. Loves Roman to bits....He just wishes he wasn’t so overprotective. Like come ON dad, i’m a grown god, i can look after myself. I don’t run off on my own THAT much!

Is protective and loving towards most all forms of life and tries to see the good in each and every soul, both mortal and god/goddess #momfriendtothemax

Unless given reason to feel otherwise. Then...weeeell at the least he’ll give you a stern talking to but at worst...lets just say you DONT want to get on the bad side of someone who can grow massive and sharp thorn bushes and effect earthquakes when pushed too far. XO

Sometimes gets bored with the same old routine with Roman and wishes to get away and see something new from time to time. Maybe have some quiet time to make his own floral crafts and garden peacefully for fun and not work.

Often sneaks off when Roman is busy and goes wandering along dirt paths, sit under or climb a tree, or frolic in the flowers.

Roman as Demeter -

God of the Harvest, but like, EXTRA in all ways shape or form. (”we can top last years crop no problem, MORE WHEAT STALKS!” “No dad, we can’t, then there’ll be too much in this region and not enough for the next.” “LONGER SUMMER!!” “No! Bad idea dad! That’ll throw the seasons off”)

Often dresses in flowing gold threaded and sunset colored robes, but will change ensemble to match the seasons.

Enjoys watching the goings ons of the mortals, they’re just so entertaining! Especially is fond of traveling thespians and will bless the harvest of wherever they perform in.

Loves his son more than anything and has him help in godly duties because it keeps him close so he can keep an eye on Patton MUST KEEP PRECIOUS BAB SAFE!!!

Stubborn (but will never own up to it)

Virgil as Charon-

In charge of Ferrying souls across the River Styx

Doesn’t mind his job all that much but is #done with soooo many of these complaining, noisy and often rude or entitled souls. (like, NO dude, i don’t care who you were ruler of in the living world. Its two coins for passage like everyone else buddy!)

Really just wants a nap (often tries to hit up Remy a.k.a. Morpheus but he shows up late ALL the time)

Is actually very compassionate and gentle. He tries to ease the fears of souls who he sees are younger or were genuinely good in life or died in unfair ways.

Lives for the dark skull & bones aesthetic

Master of snark

Plays chess with Logan when either of them have some rare down time

    Click the cut for full story

One day Roman and Patton are off doing their nature godly duties, and Roman is nagging his son about the proper way to harvest corn. (”Yes father, i know how to do it. you’ve only told me like a hundred times” “well i just want to make sure to remind you and that you don’t cut yourself on the sickle”)

Patton sneaks off one day to pick flowers since it’ll probably be the last bloom before autumn sets. Suddenly he sees a curious crack in the ground and ambles over to it to take a look. (”what sort of creature could’ve made this deep thing?”) He leans in too far however and pulls an Alice in Wonderland.

Turns out that crack was made by Logan. Apparently he’d become so deeply smitten by Patton that he went to his older brother Deceit/Zeus for advice. (Yes he was a dick and a little shit at times-although took his duties seriously when need be-and tricked many of his lovers into bed, but Emile didn’t have nearly as much love experience as their elder brother & Logan was desperate)

Deceit had actually been pleased when his too serious brother told him that he’d fallen for the spring god. His advice to Logan had been to simply kidnap Patton and either bed him then woo him or woo him and then bed him. Logan, of course, didn’t listen because that was the stupidest idea ever! (”what under earth was i thinking? This is the guy who turned himself into a cygnini in order to copulate with a woman behind his wife’s back.”) Besides, he was too painfully shy and socially awkward to try wooing. (He worked with the dead for crying out loud, not the best circumstances for practicing social skills)

He did however create a crack in the ground so he could sneak peeks at Patton from below the earth and admire him from afar. However, he’d been called back on an emergency and forgot to close one particular crack up before leaving again.

So sufficed to say, he was fairly shocked when he suddenly heard screaming above him one day. He looked up to find one Patton falling towards him and just caught him in his arms in time. (BLUSH CITY ON BOTH PARTS)

Patton thanks Logan but is admittedly miffed at him when he learns Logan was the one who’d made that crack in the ground. “What were you thinking leaving a big hole in the earth like that? Some poor oblivious mortal or animal could’ve fallen into it and gotten hurt!” “Apologies I-it was a foolish oversight on my part. i-I certainly hope you are uninjured?”

After a while Patton forgives him when he sees how truly sorry this (admittedly) scary and stern looking god is. (lest we forget he’s one of the big three) And Logan is honestly just trying not to show how flustered he is. i mean Patton is there in his realm! They both realize the crack is far too high up for Patton to get back out through right away. So Logan offers to have Patton stay in his palace until he can fetch his assistant Virgil/Charon to help Patton back up the next day. IN HIS OWN QUARTERS, OF COURSE! Logan says blushing, trying to be a gentleman. Patton agrees, promising upon Logan’s request to only follow one rule: “You must NOT eat anything”. Strange, but okay. Besides, it’ll be nice getting a break from his father. And it’s just for one night, right? (WRONG!)

Patton ends up having to wait longer than he realized because both Logan and Virgil are super busy with ferrying and judging souls. So he wanders around the Underworld. (of course he is marked with untouchable safety from almost everything as a guest of Logan) 

One night however Patton finds himself stumbling upon a sparse garden. He’s surprised that anything is capable of growing down there in the realm of the dead, but even more shocked by the poor state of it. “Really, just look at the se rose bushes. They’re so brittle!” (it’s not Logan’s fault. He’s a busy boi. plus the god of the dead doesn’t exactly have a green thumb) Really the only thing flourishing down there is a single Pomegranate tree. The fruits on it look so red and shiny and juicy and...well...whats the worst that could happen if he eats just a few seeds?

Of course if you know the myth, it means now Patton cant leave. Because, well, greek god realm rules. Sufficed to say, Patton is pretty miffed that Logan hadn’t thought to tell him why he shouldn’t eat the darn fruit in the first place. Logan is greatly frustrated at Patton because a) he didn’t listen, and b) he actually has a point there and he does NOT like being wrong. Still, nothing to be done about it now.

Over time they cool off and apologize to each other. Patton’s still kind of mad though because now he can’t go home at all if he wanted too, but he recognizes that Logan wasn’t forcing him to stay on purpose. So he get’s over it and tries to make the best out of the situation. At least he can finally get away from Roman’s nagging for a while. 

* Meanwhile in the living world, a frantic and angry Roman raises hell. “WHERE IS MY BOOOOYYYYY?!?!?!?!?!?!?” (Thebes did not have a good crop that year)

While in the Underworld Patton starts talking to some souls, listening to their stories and offering kind and comforting words. Which as it turns out makes them more at ease and willing to go for judgement as they pass on. Logan’s fondness for Patton grows as he witnesses these acts of compassion and kindness. He also comes to respect Patton when he sees just how fierce he can be in the face of those who’d been cruel or unjust in life. ”I’m sorry, you did what to how many people!? and NOW you’ve got the nerve to demand entrance into Elysium young man!? Logan, hold my flower.” “Fret not Patton. I have your bougainvillea.”     (art link for this scene)

Meanwhile Patton cant help but notice that, although he’s stern and serious on the outside, Logan is actually a very gentle god deep down. (he picks up on this from the soft tone of Logan’s voice as he speaks to souls being judged who’d suffered in life, or the way he reassures the more anxious ones with facts and logic about the afterlife that set them at eases “it’s not all punishment and Tartarus you know. Statistically few souls on the grand scale are malign enough to enter there. The Asphodel Meadows are quite pleasant, I assure you.”)

Logan works so hard and tirelessly at his often depressing job, but never acts mean or harsh unless a soul is nasty or rude or was truly evil, and Patton gains an admiration of him for that. (besides, he is actually quite handsome and beautiful in a cold distant way, like the stars and moonlight on a midsummers night) Patton also sees what a softie Logan can be when he’s playing with Cerberus. (”Who’s my excellent tri-headed canine? Who is a good demon dog?”) Patton gushes and of course Cerberus and Patton LOVE each other. Watching Patton play with the big dog becomes Logan’s newest favorite thing. (”By the gods Virgil, it is too precious to process!”) 

Sometimes Patton will keep Logan company when there’s a lull in souls. He’ll tell Logan about all the different places he’s seen and what mortals are like when still alive. Logan meanwhile will often go into rants about the fascinating bits of knowledge he’s accumulated over the years from souls who’ve lived full lives. Logan enjoys having someone who enjoys listening to him (not that Virgil isn’t a respectful listener, but Logan sometimes wonders if he only does is because he’s his boss) And Patton really likes being able to share his own opinions and ideas without condescendingly albeit gently being told, (“no, no, my silly sweet boy. This is the right way to do it. Now eat your cereal, you need the fiber sweet pea”) Having picked up some of the mortal’s sense of humor, Patton is very much a fan of word play and LOVES making puns. Logan is...less than amused by them. However, the first time he makes Patton laugh with a clever quip (about Virgil or one of the more disgruntled souls) he swore the whole Underworld actually lit up. He treasures every time he can make that precious god laugh and smile.

Heck, even Virgil warms up to Patton and actually becomes VERY protective of the spring god. Patton sees through to his anxious softie center and enjoys talking to Virgil who is a very good listener. Meanwhile Virgil finds Patton’s sunny disposition refreshing and his warm presence calming. Patton will often keep Virgil company, but can’t always bring himself to follow when he has to ride across the River Styx. The memories and voices coming off the water just make him too sad.

Virgil ends up playing wingman for Logan. He tells Logan how Patton’s been a bit down in the dumps and recommends Logan cheer him up with a present. “That is an excellent idea Virgil, but what? What could possibly be good enough for that sweet honeysuckle?” “Well you’ve spied on him enough times- and don’t try to deny it boss- what does he like?” 

Sufficed to say, Patton LOVES his surprise underworld garden that Logan had worker rigorously on creating for him. He knows it couldn’t have been easy. Of course, being the god of the dead, Logan cannot maintain the garden and Patton is more than happy to have free creative reign over it. He giddily catches Logan in a big hug, and is pleased when a blushing Logan returns the heartfelt embrace, pressing a tender kiss to Patton’s forehead. Then he takes a blushing Patton’s hands in his.

”Patton, my honeysuckle, sunshine of my heart...I cannot contain it any longer. For so long you’ve been the object of my affection, but over the course of our time together down here, although the circumstances had been less than idea, my love for you has only deepened. Would you perhaps...although I am not worthy of you...would you consider marrying me, and ruling the Underworld by my side?” By now Patton is blushing like crazy and in tears because, although he’d been mad at Logan for getting him stuck down there at first, he realizes that he’s come to deeply love the dark god too. Logan worries that he’s crossed a line but then Patton beams and looks up at him with tears in his eyes. “Oh Lo-lo, my brilliant beautiful lobelia blossom, I-” BAM!

Cue a properly pissed off Roman crashing down to the Underworld. He’s also got Deceit/Zeus with him by the ear. “AHA! So THIS is where you’ve been keeping my precious boy!” “Deceit, you told him!?” “He got it out of me. Sorry, not Sorry. I may be the ruler of the gods, but Roman is quite -ow- convincing when angry.”

Roman rushes over to Patton and they embrace, because although it was nice having time to himself Patton did miss his beloved father. After Roman fusses over Patton-“Are you alright? Are you hurt? have you been eating properly?” “yes, yes, i’m fine father. I promise!”- Roman unleashes verbal hell on, well, the god of hell. He reprimands Logan for kidnapping his son, but Patton quickly comes to Logan’s defense saying that it wasn’t his fault and the whole thing had been an accident, not a kidnapping. When he hears the whole story Roman does calm down a bit, and is admittedly happy to see Patton so happily in love as well. (he may be a helicopter parent, but the god of the harvest is quite the romantic at heart and loves seeing Patton so happy. Even if he doesn’t think the doom and gloom Logan is good enough for his precious little sunflower) 

But upon finding out about the pomegranate sees he practically begs Logan to release him so that Patton can come back to the land of the living with him. (besides, he does still need him to help with the seasons and crops) Logan apologizes, saying it’s impossible and there’s nothing he can do. He just doesn’t have that kind of power. Then all three hear Deceit clear his throat.

“Ahem. God of gods speaking, and if you’re all done blubbering, i may have a solution.” So he tells them that there may be a loophole he can work around. He’ll give Logan his blessing to marry Patton, who will also be allowed to go back upworld with Roman, but on the condition that Patton spends part of the year co-ruling the Underworld. He tells them that for the number of pomegranate seeds that Patton ate, he’ll be obligated to spend a month with Logan. “Well darling, how many seeds did you eat?” They all look at Patton expectantly. Technically Patton only at 3 seeds, but heckitty heck, he really wants more time with Logan than three months. And frankly, he enjoyed the idea of getting some time away from Roman too, bless him but he cannot face so much nagging again! 

He lies and says six. Only six seeds. Because it’s not like anyone was there to see him or could know. Weeeell maybe the all seeing god of gods, but Deceit just winks and smirks at Patton, pressing a finger in secrecy to his lips behind Logan and Roman’s backs. So it’s agreed that Patton will spend the summer and spring half of the year in the Living world with Roman and the fall and winter half ruling the Underworld with Logan.

Before he goes back up with Roman though, Patton and Logan are wed. It’s Logan’s first and only time back to Olympus (he forgot how bright and noisy it was up there!) and all the greek gods and goddesses bear witness to their union. Even Virgil is granted a short vacation to be the witness of honor for his two favorite immortals. As it turns out the months apart end up being good for Roman as well as Patton. He gets a lot more work done now that he isn’t constantly fretting (actively anyways) over Patton or keeping him out of trouble or from wandering. 

When they consummate their marriage for the first time, hoooboi! Logan’s so bashful but respectful (never having been with any other being before, mortal or immortal) and Patton thinks its adorably sweet. Having been topside, well, lets just say Patton snuck off every now and then when he could to “frolic” with a few naiads and mortals he found sweet or lovely. So he ends up being a thorough teacher to Logan. Turns out they’re quite compatible in more ways than one ;)

Patton ends up being a fantastic co-king of the underworld. Heck, he’s even incorporated the new job into his aesthetic (he always wears a crown of flowers and bird skulls in the Underworld) and, as it turns out, can be even scarier than Logan! Only when some foolish soul makes him mad or gets on his bad side. So none do. And with the souls being more behaved it takes the pressure off of Virgil and Logan a LOT. But for the most part Patton remains a sweet, kind and benevolent co-ruler to the dead souls, and balances out Logan’s stricter judgements quite well. Logan now has a bit more breather time to read and play with Cerberus since he’s not the only one in charge of the whole Underworld anymore. And he and Patton LOVE spending time together in Patton’s dark yet flourishing underworld garden! 

Patton is always so happy to go back to the Living world with Roman when winter’s over. Of course he hates leaving Logan and misses him. Logan doesn’t do a very good job of hiding his sadness and tears, but understands. He does get a bit clingy their last nights though. (he becomes a kissy snuggly fiend)  Virgil always promises Patton that he’ll take care of Logan while he’s gone. But Patton is a child of the earth and he does tend to miss the sunshine and his father. So he get’s back to work with a newfound exuberance, making the flowers grow, spending time with Roman and frolicking about the world. He always does his best to bring back a new scroll or star map for Logan, who treasures every gift and is slowly building a library for himself.

Sufficed to say, the decades pass by, Logan and Patton attentively fulfill their godly duties, and remain happily and devotedly in love with one another.

Tag List: @altruistic-skittles @thekeytohappiness-is-you @canadian-crofters@icecoldparadise @the-pastel-peach @justisaisfine @bluebloodstains@purpleshipper @patchworkofstars @axyzel @hissesssss @beautifully-terribly@pink-and-purple-flowers @jynxlovesluck @thatsanswitch @6tick6tock6@hanramz-the-fander @azlinne @helplesscreator @thestoryofme13 @bibbidi-bobbity-booyah @accidental-sanders @moonstone-fox @smokeyrutilequartz@phlying-squirrel @madly-handsome @puns-and-patton @notveryglittery@eequalsmcscared @safesandersides @lizziepopanime @anxiously-unsatisfied-world @ab-artist @unikornavenger  @queer-human-being  @grey-lysander @asofterfan  @fangirltothefullest @tinkslittlebelle @allsortsofgeekery @fuck-my-life-i-want-food @ironwoman359

[ambersky0319]

The Misfits - Fantasy AU

This has been on my mind for awhile, and decided to finally do something with it

So! Basically, there are different creatures in this one realm I'm calling Rikki. These creatures can vary, from humans and elves to dragons and witches. Humans live on the main island, however the other creatures do inhabit the outskirts and are welcomed into the inner parts. But most stick to their own islands, which circulate around the main one.

In this specific AU, the sides are these creatures. You'll see more about which ones later. They're pretty much a very, very diverse crew of pirates, but instead of stealing gold and such, they help those with troubled pasts, because they can all understand how person they're helping is feeling. They're known as the Misfits on the main island, and when trouble actually arises, are looked to for help.

But I suppose you're done hearing me blabber, so here are the character designs and some of their traits!

Damien (Deceit) Andrews

Damien, commonly going by Dee or Deceit(only close friends can call him Dee), is a shapeshifter

His human form is defective, and he has patches of dragon scales all around his body. Largest patch is around his left eye, that matches his dragon form

His dragon form is his favorite

He doesn't have control over what his animal form will look like(i.e. if he chose to become a bird, he'd have no control over which bird)

He used to live on the main island, but most humans really didn't like him because he looked really strange. His last straw was when he got into a fight with someone and they pulled a knife on him; they had cut his arm and a few minutes later the humans watched as a dragon flew off towards the horizon.

Absolutely adores flying, almost as much as he does sailing

He loves the ocean, away from anyone who might ridicule him for his appearance

Was the first "Misfit"

He's terrified of thunderstorms; lost many precious ships to them, along with his pet dog(he was devastated and cried for a literal two months)

Will murder anyone who tries to harm his crew

Virgil Shay

Virgil is a witch, however he only knows healing spells

Was the second one to join the Misfits, and is Dee's right hand man

He's not very useful in a fight, and has been kidnapped on multiple occasions

The others try to teach him how to fight but Virgil just can't seem to get it

Joined Damien because the shapeshifting pirate seemed nice and also saved him from a different crew- whatever happened to them, Virgil doesn't know

Whacks people with his broomstick whenever they annoy him

Sometimes the others will ride with Virgil on his broom. On those days, whoever's not on the broom ride on Damien's back(when he's in dragon form, of course)

Curses like a sailor

He loves the night and the stars

Mornings are not for him

Logan Lowell

Logan is a winter elf

His fascination with the idea of realm jumping and space quickly got him into trouble though, since the other winter elves are stubborn and quite passionate about the cold and don't really like anything else

Has the ability to control and create ice, but needs to rest if he uses it in large amounts

Believes there are other realms like theirs, like alternate realities, but has never gotten the chance to try collecting much proof

Became a part of the "Misfits" after nearly drowning and being saved by them, he says he's forever in their debt

Was the third member of the Misfits to be recruited

Actually really skilled in fighting, but he doesn't want to ruin his coat

His coat is the one thing that if he lost it, he'd be incredibly upset. It helps him keep calm and relax whenever stressed.

Virgil's the only other person who can wear it

He's the brains of the Misfits. Most of the others are idiots(cute idiots in Logan's opinion, but still idiots)

Roman Sunflare

Fire elf/human hybrid

Roman has the ability to create powerful weapons, usually making daggers that can burn through almost anything

His skin radiates a warmth, and he's practically immune to the cold

Dramatic boi

Joined the Misfits after a mishap happened in his village, where he may or may not have burned down a few houses with one of his swords

Magic comes from his horns; if they are cut off, he loses all his magic and can possibly die from it

The tallest of the Misfits

Will cuddle you to death

Giant sap and sucker for romantics

When he falls for someone, he falls hard

Already had met Logan, but it was long ago, and was travelling with Patton Carter before meeting Damien, Virgil, and Logan

Patton Carter

Patton is the only human in the Misfits

He commonly wears pastels, and you can never get him away from his scarf

Loves to wear skirts, they're just easier to move around in

Is the "heart" of the group, and the others will defend him with their lives

He would be absolutely devastated if any of them died though

Despite what some may think, he can fight. He just really, really, really hates fighting

Emotional support of the group

Oldest in the group, but shorter than all of them(except Virgil)

Was travelling with Roman after he ran away from home; his father had died and his mom grew bitter, to the point she was abusing him despite his efforts to help her

Before he met Roman though, he was taken advantage of and found himself in a near-death situation with a disgusting asshat of a man

Can't be around those who yell, he'll flinch and start to tremble and tear up. If no one notices and he can't leave the situation, he ends up breaking down

Initiates the most hugs

Typically stays back with Virgil whenever the others get into a fight, and helps him create some healing mixtures to give them so they'll heal faster

Is always the first person someone new on board turns to, because he's just so bubbly and adorable and sweet despite the shit he's gone through and there's just something about him that make people trust him

C U D D L E P I L E S

Well, here's my AU! I'm planning on turning this into a full-blown fanfic, and the first chapter should be up sometime this week!

Have a wonderful morning/noon/night everyone!

[nyxwordsmithwrites]

"Hey, I said stop!" "I'm out of here." with a side order of "You're such a bitch." Virgil and deceit brothers AU

 Sooooo THIS is definitely expanding into a bigger AU cause this was one of the few that got me all kinds of carried away. Lemme know what you guys think AND feel free to ask questions!

Familial VirgilxRemyxDecietMute!Remy Vampires!Deciet/Virgil/Remy Noble!Patton Mage!Virgil/Logan/DecietWarnings: Kidnapping, Fantasy Violence, Deciet, Swearing, Minor Character Death

2,2,79 words

Stealing the Bastard Prince

The sky above was dark, littered with flashes of lightning, rumbling as it threatened to open up with rain. It felt like his life was a never-ending cycle of rainy days, that the sun had died the day his parents-

Nope, no time to think about that. The targets. Focus on the targets.

He took a deep breath, sinking further into his patched cloak and shrugging it up around him. Slouch but look big. Unassuming but intimidating. One foot in front of the other, scanning the bodies around him for his target.

With his hood pulled over his head, he was practically invisible, a black and purple shadow amidst the flowing river of bodies around him.

A festival, if Virgil remembered correctly. Some kind of celebration for a king long dead. It made little sense to him now, nearly a man, but as a child…he was sure he would be as awestruck as the children around him.

They were supposed to be somewhere ahead…three of them if he recalled correctly. His brother had been pretty certain, even if Virgil hadn’t been, giving out some suspiciously detailed descriptions.

Still, this was Dee he was talking about here. The man knew what he was doing. And he certainly had enough connections to get that kind of description.

He sighed as he saw a glimpse of the first one. A tall, thin man with small, square glasses and a small book in his hand. He was standing, as though waiting for someone as he read, wearing a fairly simple, long overcoat over a navy blue shirt. The brightest thing about him was a pastel blue tie…Virgil would have probably missed him if he hadn’t been told to look out for the bright magical scarring on the side of his face.

Great, swirling lines of pale blue magic wound over his cheekbone and around his eye, covering nearly the left half of his face. It glowed, like a small night light on a gloomy rainy day and Virgil was awestruck for a moment.

“Logan!”

He snapped his book closed, turning to the new voice. A shorter man trotted up, beaming brightly with shining eyes behind much larger, circular glasses. His face was peppered with freckles and Virgil blinked from the brightness of his smile alone.

“You are a very convincing commoner.” Logan spoke simply, looking behind the child to the older man coming up behind him.

His regalia was bright and flashy, far too flashy to be all that convincing. A perfect white, a perfect red, glittering gold and two large crests on his shoulders. Virgil thought to send a thought to his brother, ‘The child is the noble.’

‘Stick to the plan.’

Virgil watched as they gathered up, moving through the crowd slowly. At a distance, keeping his cloak close, Virgil watched and followed. They were muted for a group at the a festival, save for the child, who was eagerly pointing out everything.

The ‘noble’ was doing his best, hands clasped behind his back, standing too straight, chin too high. Virgil had to give him props though. He was doing his best.

The child on the other hand, couldn’t seem to shake it. He spoke too properly, kept his movements fluid and small…Why did Dee want the imposter then?

Virgil shook his head. No, he would worry about that when this was over. Right now, he just had to follow through. He knew his brother well enough to know there was probably someone else in the mix here, another working part that Virgil didn’t know. Someone else preparing to snap a trap.

For all he knew, Virgil was playing a tiny part in a bigger game.

‘On my signal.’

Virgil swallowed, keeping his cloak clasped tight, watching closely.

‘Now.’

A man leapt out from an alley before the scholar, grabbing fiercely onto his arm. The commotion that started made it difficult to hear what exactly was happening, but Virgil watched the ‘noble’ grab the stunned boy.

“Go!” the scholar shouted, looking to the stranger on his arm, “Hey, I said stop!”

‘Don’t engage yet.’ Dee murmured, ‘Follow.’

‘The boy isn’t a threat.’ Virgil answered, following closely but staying out of their line of sight. There was already someone else chasing too close, directly behind them.

‘I am aware.’ he answered with a soft chuckle, ‘You stay on the imposter.’

Virgil nodded, keeping his distance until the noble suddenly darted into an alley. He sensed orders were being spat to the other pawn in the game, but he couldn’t quite hear them.

He used some crates to scale the side of a building, panting as he trotted to the alley, looking down and spotting the ‘noble’ and the boy sprinting through the darkness.

‘Stay out of sight. Out of the dark.’

‘Too many know me down there…’ he hummed as he kept close to his targets from the rooftops, dodging tannery’s and drying laundry, ‘Is there a reason for the cat and mouse?’

A soft and familiar chuckle brought a smile to Virgil’s face.

‘A mind game then. Okay.’ Virgil huffed, ‘You know I like this game.’

Another chuckle, ‘I do. But I need you to focus.’

Virgil nodded firmly, looking back down and following the two charges, ‘Your other man is losing them.’

‘Good.’

Virgil didn’t question as he followed, leaping the distance between buildings and smirking as the imposter lead the young boy into a dead end.

‘Hold.’

Virgil crouched on a rooftop, trying to steady his breathing as he watched. The ‘noble’ spun from the high wall to the entrance he’d just sprinted through. He was panicking.

“Roman?” the young boy squeaked, “What do we do?”

Virgil watched as the imposter swallowed a whimper, “You hide.” he answered, shoving the smaller boy toward a group of crates and netting.

“Roman-?!”

“Patton, please!” the imposter begged, pushing him down. Virgil could hear tears in his throat, “Please, they can’t find you. Please, just stay here and stay quiet, please.”

‘Us?’ Virgil asked.

‘The others.’

Virgil nodded as he watched Roman slip the netting over the small noble.

“It’s itchy…” he whimpered.

“Shhh, Patton.” Roman took a few steps back, “He’ll be here soon-”

Just as he predicted, the man finally came around the corner. A murmur of his brother’s orders and a sword was drawn. Virgil clicked as Dee did. A subpar weapon by any means, but it seemed to do the job, spooking the imposter into drawing his own weapon.

‘A training sword?’ Virgil frowned, ‘Oh, this poor kid.’

‘He’s like your age, Virgil.’

‘You’re such a bitch.’

Dee laughed as Virgil watched the stranger approaching waving his sword at the noble. Virgil could see him thinking, his footing uneven as his mind wandered elsewhere.

‘He’s going to run.’

Dee hummed, clearly trying to think. There was a purpose to this, Virgil knew it, he just didn’t understand it yet. Virgil’s head snapped to the sound of footfalls behind him, his eyes widening when he saw a pair of dark shades. He sipped on a straw, saluting Virgil as he walked closer.

‘Remy’s here.’

Virgil heard murmuring as the tall elf crouched beside Virgil, sipping nonchalantly on his drink. His expression never changed, until something caught his interest and his eyebrow arched up a little.

‘Stay on the imposter.’

‘You still want him?’

He heard a darker chuckle, ‘As far as he’s concerned, you want him.’

‘Dee.’

‘He’s unimportant. Do whatever you want with him once you have him. Just make sure you take him elsewhere.’

Virgil rolled his eyes and sighed, turning his attention back to the stand-off as Roman circled to the gap in the alley. The pawn…bandit, whatever, down below should have known better than that at least but…then again, he was no professional.

Remy put his cup aside, throwing his long and thin legs over the edge of the building. With a smile, he leaned over and kissed Virgil’s forehead. His fingers moved swiftly, ‘You be careful, yeah?’

Virgil nodded back to his brother, winking back and Remy’s grin widened, revealing two very sharp fangs.

‘Give ‘im hell.’

As Roman turned to bolt, feet crunching over the gravel, the bandit shouted, “Hey!”

Virgil darted along the rooftop, following Roman, hearing Remy slip off the edge of the rooftop.

Remy landed on his feet behind the bandit, tossing his cup away as the bandit turned, leaning back to look up at the tall man. He grinned down at the bandit, “Who the fuck are you?!”

‘Thanks for your service.’ Remy and Virgil heard Dee’s voice and the bandit paled.

Remy leaned on one leg, pulling a blade from a sheath on his chest and twirled it. The blade caught light, shining off an inscription and the bandit snarled.

“Wait…wait-”

Remy lunged forward, his blade easily slicing through the bandits and the man yelped as he stumbled back. Remy’s grin didn’t vanish as he stood straight, looming over the bandit, pushing his shades into his hair.

Grey eyes met the bandits, his muscles locking in place and a low, dangerous chuckle escaped Remy. He leaned close, breathing over the bandit’s ear, before thrusting the blade in deep.

The bandit did nothing more than gasp and choke on air, eyes wide and pleading as Remy leaned back. He shrugged, fingers moving, ‘No hard feelings, yeah?’ before he jerked the blade back out and cleaning it on the bandit’s shirt.

The spell broke on the bandit as Remy pulled his shades back down, turning away and sheathing his blade. He moved toward the crates and netting, pulling it up to find the terrified little noble.

Virgil hopped buildings, following Roman as his pace gradually slowed and then he stopped altogether, collapsing against a wall. He really did want to chase for longer, see how far he could push the imposter noble, but there was a point to all of this. Surely.

He hopped off, his heavy boots hitting the ground hard. Roman panted, crimson eyes meeting Virgil’s as he tried to keep a hold on his weapon, “Who are you? Back off-”

“Calm down, or I’ll give you a reason to be scared.” Virgil snapped, and Roman huffed as he tried to catch his breath.

Smaller than Roman by an inch and considerably thinner, the imposter obviously thought he could get past him. “I’m out of here.”

He tried to charge past Virgil, but the darkness bolstered him, hand catching him by his regalia and shoving him back against the wall of the alley.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Virgil purred, smiling as the imposter noble struggled, dropping his sword. He tried to pull Virgil’s hand from his regalia, but Virgil pushed him up a little ways off his feet, “Is that better?”

Roman grumbled, “Let go of me!” he cried, “I am-”

“Hardly nobility.” Virgil answered coolly, twisting his hand in Roman’s regalia, “You’re as easy to spot if you were wearing a cardboard crown.” Roman froze as Virgil pulled him closer, “But I like you.”

“What?” he squeaked.

Virgil moved closer, letting Roman drift down to his feet, “I like you.” he answered, “You smell of potential. Strength. Integrity.” he hummed, “I like that.”

Roman stared at him, “Smell like-”

Virgil grinned, revealing sharp fangs and Roman paled, “Oh yes.” he answered softly, “But like I said. I like you.” Roman’s eyes were wide and terrified, starting to get glassy, “And I know you’re not the noble we’re after.”

“S-so-”

“So, that means you’re all mine.”

Roman squeaked, “Wha-what?”

Virgil chuckled softly, “You’re mine.” he answered, tracing a finger down Roman’s cheek, “And I think I’m going to have a lot of fun with you.”

“Yours? Yours how? I don’t-”

Virgil placed his fingertip on Roman’s lip, “Shh…” he whispered, hearing footfalls, “Let’s get you out of this silly get up, hm?” Roman squeaked, struggling uselessly until the regalia hit the dust with a soft ‘fump’, “There we go, my little prince, better?”

“I’m no prince-”

“Hush.” Virgil whispered, the human meeting his eyes again. They were wet and scared, despair already filling the crimson orbs staring up at him, “You will be.” he answered softly.

As footfalls stepped out the end of the alley, Virgil spun them so Roman’s back was pinned to his chest, hand tightly gripping his chin and his other hand pinning Roman’s hand up between his shoulderblades.

The scholar was glaring darkly from the end of the alley, “Vampires…of course.”

“Logan-!”

“Roman, calm yourself.” Logan spoke coolly, even as the imposter noble whimpered. Virgil leaned close to his ear, smiling at Logan as he breathed over the sensitive skin, “Where is Patton?”

“He doesn’t care for you.” Virgil whispered, “Don’t you see?”

“B-but-”

“Look at him.” Virgil whispered, his grip softening on Roman’s face, “He asks for Patton, but not if you’re okay?” he asked, stroking Roman’s jawline, “You’re a pawn. A tool.” Roman whimpered, “I want you to be more than that-”

“No.” Roman squeaked, tears falling from his eyes. Logan was speaking, but Virgil wasn’t listening, “I just wanna go home…I don’t want-”

Virgil chuckled softly, “Your home’s with me now.” he whispered and Roman whimpered, “Time to say goodbye.”

Roman shuddered, “Logan! He’s-”

Dark magic pulsed around them, long ribbons of purple magic blinding Logan and pushing him back as Virgil held Roman closer.

“I’ll take good care of you.” he whispered, “My little prince Roman.” the magic wrapped tightly around them, “Bastard son of the Mad King.”

Logan looked up in horror, but they were already gone. How did he know?

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[snowdice]

Road Trips and Missing Persons (Part 20)

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Patton & Virgil, Virgil & Janus, Logan & Patton, Emile & Remy, Roman & Remus & Janus

Characters: Patton, Virgil, Janus, Remus, Roman, Logan, Emile, Remy

Summary: Patton was just getting groceries. The next thing he knew, there was a knife at his throat and he was an unwilling uber driver. Virgil’s on the run after the murder of his dad, and it’s not just his paranoia that’s telling him he’s being chased down. He has to get somewhere safe, somewhere he can trust, and all he has is a couple of stories from his dad and a name: “Green Bellow Foods and Dispensary.”

Notes: Secret Agents AU, knives, carjacking, kidnapping, murder mentioned, guns mentioned, pepper spray, blood mentioned, drugs mentioned, explosions, car crashes (more to be added)

This is a fic I’ve been writing on study breaks that you have probably all already seen at this point. I’ve affectionately named it the Goblin Brain Fic because it’s helping my brain actually get motivated for studying. I’ve slightly edited it for wording and grammar, but not for content from my previous posts. Feel free to send in asks to direct it because I’m not 100% sure where this is going and you can help decide if you feel so inclined! You can see the process I went through to build this at this link.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 My Master Post

Janus was being very sulky. Spraying Remus in the face with a little bit of juice was one thing, but pouring the entire juice pouch into his lap, that was another. Clearly Janus was very unhappy with the state of affairs. Remus was glad Roman had interpreted the shoulder bob Remus had given him while getting into the car correctly and had helped Remus pin Janus in the middle. Remus… honestly wouldn’t put it past Janus to try to jump out of the car when it was moving at this point. He was clearly very strung out and in one of his bad headspaces.

The first time Remus had seen him in this bad of a headspace had been after a week “vacation” (He still refused to explain the quotation marks to this day even though Remus now knew who his mother was and what she did.) with his mother and had legitimately planned an assassination of their shared calculus professor thinking she was plotting against him. At the time Remus had thought that had mostly been a joke. Having gotten to know Janus since… it was a good thing Dr. Hawkins had decided to give them a break on the homework for that week.

Remus had no idea where the man’s mind had gone, but he was pretty sure distracting him as soon as possible was the best move. So, Remus did the only think he could think of in that moment to possibly shock his best friend out of spiraling into a pit of cynicism. He leaned forward and grabbed another Capri Sun (this time Strawberry Kiwi instead of Tropical Punch) out of the cooler. He stabbed the straw through the hole and then turned to Janus. “Want another one?” Remus asked. Janus blinked at him stone faced, but then held out his hand. He took the straw out immediately after Remus handed it to him and didn’t hesitate to pour that entire pouch onto Remus’s lap as well.

Remus nodded seriously as though Janus had just made a good point in an argument. He leaned forward and grabbed another one. “Does,” he said glancing at the label on the pouch as he stuck the straw into it, “a Wild Cherry one catch your fancy?” He handed it over to Janus and once again got the entire package squirted into his lap. “Fair enough,” he said mildly, reaching into the cooler once again. “How about a Grape one?”

They went through a Pacific Cooler, a Surfer Cooler, and an Orange one before, finally, Remus pulled out a Fruit Punch one. Instead of immediately tearing out the straw and dumping it on Remus, Janus hesitated at that one. After a moment, he turned away from Remus to stare foward and brought the straw to his lips. Roman was shooting them a bewildered look, but Remus just winked at him. Janus made short work of the juice pouch and then extended a hand to drop the empty container into Remus’s lap.

Remus gave it a moment and then leaned over slightly to bump shoulders with him. He paused for a second and then bumped him again.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” Janus mumbled. Remus paid him no mind and bumped their shoulders together for the third time.

“Come on Jay,” Remus said.

“No.”

Remus narrowed his eyes at him and then slammed into him even harder sending him into Roman who yelped in surprise.

“What the hell is wrong with you, you cretin?!” Janus spat, slapping Remus away.

“Oh, so many things,” Remus said. He heard Roman give a soft puff of amusement. “What about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Well I’m stuck in a car with you, asshole,” Janus snapped.

Remus tilted his head. “No,” he said. “What’s really wrong?”

He scoffed. “What’s not, Remus! My brother’s missing. My da…ad of my brother is dead! My mother is trying to murder me in cold blood. And you claimed to be my best friend earlier, but now you are unflinchingly on board with turning me over to your father who is more than likely going to throw me into a prison cell the moment he sees me.”

“Okay,” Remus said. “First things first, dad is not going to throw you into a prison cell when we show up.”

“Oh really?” Janus asked. “And why wouldn’t he.”

“He likes you Jay.”

“Even if that’s true, he clearly doesn’t trust me.”

“If he didn’t trust you, he wouldn’t let you be a double agent for him,” Remus pointed out.

“I’m not a double agent because he trusts me,” Janus argued. “I’m a double agent because I’m Barbara Nelson’s son. I was a calculated risk at best and now I’m too much of a risk even if I was still useful.”

“Dad’s not like that.”

“Maybe not to you,” Janus grumbled.

“Why do you think he doesn’t trust you?”

“Well it’s pretty obvious when he sends another agent to go pick up my brother and meanwhile tries to send me on a different mission as a distraction to get me out of the way. Clearly, he doesn’t trust me to not deliver Virgil to my mother. Why else would he do that?”

“Jay, did you consider that he knows you?” Remus asked. Janus raised an eyebrow. “Dude, just last week you were drunk texting me and dad pictures of you and your brother from your childhood, many of which included Virgil’s father. He may have jumped to the conclusion that you’d be upset about Remy Gates’ death and that you’d act irrationally because of those feelings.”

Janus scoffed. “Irrational?” he asked. “What did he expect me to do?”

“Oh,” Remus said. “I don’t know. Perhaps something like bash in some guys skull against a water fountain in a public park, blow your cover with your mom, explode a car, smash a bunch of phones, get into a car chase and shoot out with your mom’s men that ultimately ended up with you in a lake, poor juice all over me, and spiral into a pit of thinking that everyone in your life is out to get you.”

If looks could kill, well, Remus would have already been dead long ago, but he would have been especially dead right then. However, as it stood, Remus was decidedly not dead. He shot a toothy smile at Janus who glared even more intensely. “All of those things were perfectly rational,” Janus insisted, “and even if I were emotional, that is because my brother is missing which your father did not know about until after he sent Roman. It has nothing to do with the boy’s father.”

“You are worryingly good at hiding your emotions from yourself,” Remus said. “I think you actually believe that. Wonder what you’ll do when we find Virgil and those feelings are still not gone.”

“You and your father can both screw off,” he ground out. Yet, his tone was still somehow milder than it had been before they’d started to talk through his idea that dad 100% inarguably hated him. So, that was progress.

Remus bumped their shoulders again. “Plus,” he said. “If dad did decide to throw you in a prison cell, I’d totally break you out of it, and we’d go on the run. Our future cat has to have a daddy after all!”

“I don’t even like cats,” Janus said.

“Sure Jan.”

“I’m going to pour more juice on you.”

“Kinky.”

“What? What does that even mean?”

“It’s his default catch phrase,” Roman offered. “Try spinning him around and bonking him on the head three times. That usually resets him.”

“Bet I could do it in one if I hit him hard enough,” Janus said.

“I’d say no blood in my car,” Lena pipped in from the front seat, “but it’s far too late for that.”

“Hmm,” Remus said. “What’s worse on car seats? Nose blood, Capri Sun, or lake water?”

“We’ll fine out when it dries,” Janus said.

“I’m charging the agency for a new car,” Lena grumbled.

“Same,” said Roman.

Want to read more? Click below!

Part 21 Part 22

[ozhawkauthor]

Happy Birthday, evolution-of-magic!

February 22 - “No, I don’t know how I got a boner, it just kind of happened! It’s because of how you were eating that ice cream, I bet!” Victor/Darcy, You Came Back 'verse, secondhand embarrassment because Logan hears, for @evolution-of-magic

Darcy woke up being carried up a flight of apparently endless stairs by Logan. “Oh,” she said vaguely, “it’s you. Good. Is Victor here?” She could feel him, vaguely, through the soulmate bond, but she felt too unwell to focus on it.

“He’s angry and taking it out on those bastards who had you,” Logan said shortly. “He knows I have you safe. He’ll be along shortly.”

Victor also didn’t like for Darcy to see him covered in blood, she knew, so she let her eyes drift closed and relaxed in Logan’s hold. He didn’t feel or smell quite the same as Victor, but it was close enough to be comforting, and comforting was good after the last few days.

When she woke up again, she was in Avengers Tower; she recognised the medical wing. Victor sat beside her bed, wearing his customary dark and brooding expression.

“Hey, Tiger,” she whispered, disgusted that her voice came out weak and thready. Victor didn’t smile, but the lines of tension around his eyes eased marginally.

“Darcy!” It was Helen Cho’s voice; the slender doctor came into view, Logan as usual shadowing her every move. “How are you feeling?” Helen’s hand wrapped around hers lightly.

“A whole shedload better than… whenever it was Logan picked me up,” she admitted raspily. Helen frowned, picked up a cup from the nightstand and brought a straw to her lips. Darcy sucked greedily and sighed with pleasure as the cool water soothed her throat.

“Everyone who was involved in your kidnapping is dead,” Victor said grittily. Darcy gave him a smile of loving approval, knowing that he needed to assure her of that fact. Her kidnappers had been too frightened of Victor’s potential wrath to physically abuse her - but the problem was that they were too frightened that she might perhaps share some of his abilities to get anywhere near her, either.

Which in effect meant that she’d been starving to death for the six days they’d had her. Thank God there’d been a tiny sink in her cell or she might not have survived long enough to be found.

Her stomach growled loudly, and she gave Helen a hopeful look. The other woman laughed.

“I’ve got soup on a warmer for you. Logan, be a darling and go get it, would you?”

Darcy still found it funny to watch Logan jump to obey his soulmate’s every command. He was back in moments with the bowl of soup on a tray, a few saltine crackers on the side. Darcy was fairly sure that Victor intended to feed her himself, but she wasn’t that far gone. She gave him a narrow-eyed look and he sighed, helped her sit up and set a bed-tray across her thighs.

“There’s ice cream for afters if you get that lot down and keep it down for fifteen minutes,” Helen said encouragingly.

“Please tell me it’s chocolate?”

“Would I dare give you anything else?”

She felt weak halfway through, gave up and let Victor take the spoon, but she was determined to eat it all. The thought of the ice cream kept her going.

Finally she swallowed the last mouthful of soup, lay back against the pillows. Helen gently asked if she could give her an examination; Darcy hushed the faint growl rumbling in Victor’s chest and nodded.

Helen shooed Logan and Victor out; Darcy could hear Victor pacing in the corridor just outside, smiled to herself as she lay back and let Helen check her over with gentle, careful fingers.

“Ready for that ice cream now?” Helen asked finally, and Darcy grinned at her.

“When have I ever not been ready for ice cream?”

They’d spent many an evening when Logan and Victor were away curled up on a couch together sharing a pint of Ben and Jerry’s and mainlining Parks and Recreation. Helen grinned at her, turned to open the door and called Victor back in, sending Logan off again to fetch Darcy’s ice cream.

“How’s she doing?” Victor asked Helen quietly, looking at Darcy lying back against the pillows with her eyes closed, face almost as pale as the bedding.

“On the mend,” Helen told him equally quietly. “We’ve done everything we can, but she needs time now.”

“Whatever she needs,” Victor growled quietly, “she’ll have.”

Logan came in with another bowl, and Victor took it off his hands to take to Darcy. She almost snatched it, grabbing up the spoon and shoving it in her mouth with a moan of pleasure.

Victor’s reaction was completely involuntary. And because he was standing right beside the bed with his groin at Darcy’s eye level, she really couldn’t miss it. She choked on the ice cream and started laughing.

“You cannot be serious!”

Helen looked puzzled, but Logan instantly spied what had set Darcy off and snorted with a laugh of his own.

“Now? Seriously?”

“No! I don’t know how I got a boner, it just kind of happened!” Victor was red with embarrassment. “It was the way you were eating that ice cream, I bet! Making those noises!” He glared down at Darcy accusingly, but he also clearly had no intention of leaving her side, so Logan urged a giggling Helen out.

“I’m sorry,” Victor dropped back into the chair beside the bed. “I really didn’t mean to… I know you’re not… it really was the noises…”

Darcy couldn’t stop her giggles. The happy, musical sound was a balm to Victor’s soul after the last week, probably the worst of his life, since he’d returned to their apartment to find her vanished without a trace. Settling back in his chair, he smiled at her. Embarrassing himself in front of his brother was worth it to hear Darcy laugh again.