prettyandcuteblog

[oliviaischillin1204]

to defeat a dragon (tickletober day 14- "lose")

word count: 1,655 words

this was an old wip that i repurposed for tickletober! it also ended up being in the same verse as day 7 for no reason other than the vibes. wahoo!

"Had enough, puny knight?"

The Knight of Gold looked up from his position kneeling in the dirt. "By the love of my sword, you shall never defeat me!"

"It looks like I already have," the Dragon Snake hissed in return. The vile creature was crouching on the edge of the cliff just above the knight, glaring down with his deadly gaze. "It's only a matter of time before my partner has defeated your fellow knight--"

"I'm not dead yet!" the Knight of Hearts chirped from across the battlefield, although admittedly his prospects looked grim: he was perched atop the Wheel of Safety, standing tall with his sword raised in defense against the Dragon Beast, who was circling the wheel and occasionally attacking with his own weapon among his villainous cackles of laughter.

The Knight of Gold grimaced. Not dead yet, but stuck. Which meant it was up to him to rescue the dragons' treasure.

He must've given away his train of thought, eyes flicking to the high tower for just a moment, but it was enough to make the Dragon Snake give a cocky laugh.

"Oh, yes, you shriveling fool," he said. "It looks like the poor princes will have to stay here forever!"

On cue, the Dark Prince clanged his own weapon against the slats of his cage. The Wise Prince was silent-- probably reading his book again, which was kinda annoying since the Knights were literally fighting to the death to save him from the Dragons, and the least he could do was pay attention to the battle, but whatever. The Knight of Gold was too busy being an awesome hero to worry about spoilsport Princes.

He flinched as the Dragon Snake slammed his stick-- sword, or, uh, maybe it was a staff, he couldn't remember-- against the ground.

"Enough talk!" he yelled. "Rise and fight!"

Right! Fight! The Knight of Gold rose and rolled his shoulders once before lunging forward. He took a swipe at the Dragon Snake, making him stumble back with a yelp. Step, retreat, step, step, retreat-- he landed a few good blows, but the Dragon Snake was fast, and eventually the two of them were nearly face to face as they pressed their swords against each other.

"Any... last... words?" the Knight of Gold grunted. The Dragon Snake hissed.

"You haven't won yet, puny knight!"

"Oh, yeah? What are you gonna do about it?"

This was it. The Knight of Gold knew the battle was soon to be over. He'd beat the Dragon Snake, then he'd help slay the Dragon Beast, and save the princes, and-

Suddenly the Dragon Snake shot a claw out towards the Knight of Gold's stomach. He gasped, bracing for impact... but he wasn't prepared for a flurry of scratches all along his midsection instead.

The Knight of Golden yelped, then squeaked, the fell unceremoniously onto his butt in the dirt.

"Ha!" said the Dragon Snake, standing tall above the fallen knight. "Is that all it takes to be a knight?"

"Janus!" Roman whined, color rushing to his cheeks. "Stop cheating!"

From behind them, the noise from the battle between the Knight of Hearts and the Dragon Prince came to an abrupt halt.

"How's he cheating?" Patton asked, hopping off the tire swing and letting the end of his pool noodle sword fall to the ground. Remus continued to harmlessly whack at it with his own pool noodle, but he, too, had halted the game to watch the interaction between his brother and Janus.

"I'm not cheating," Janus replied. "I beat Roman, and he's being a baby about it."

"I'm not a baby!" Roman protested, crossing his arms as he glowered up at Janus. "You're just a cheater."

"So every time I win, it's cheating?"

"No, only when you cheat, duh."

"How did he cheat, dummy?" Remus asked again. From above them, he could see Virgil and even Logan peeking between the wooden slats of their tree house to investigate what was going on. Roman clamped his mouth shut.

"Doesn't matter," he mumbled, staring at the dirt and hoping his cheeks weren't too dark. "Just... don't do it again."

Janus replied with a smile that made Roman's stomach flip-flop with... some weird feeling, he'll think about it later. Instead, he needed to focus on what was happening right now-- like how Janus was suddenly taking another step towards him.

"Wait!" he blurted, scrambling to his feet. "Wait, wait, we're not playing like that--"

"Why not?" Janus asked. Roman stepped to his right, and Janus mirrored him. He stepped do his left, and again he was blocked.

Janus' smile was bright and a little bit sharp. "Better run, puny knight, or I'll sink my claws into you!"

With that, he lunged forward, tackling Roman back to the ground, and Roman barely had a second to register that his shirt definitely was gonna get mud stained again before Janus' hands were digging into his stomach.

His laughter exploded out of him-- that loud, squawky laugh that made him feel hot all over-- but it was hard to think about being embarrassed when Janus was freaking tickling him!

"Nohohoho!" he begged-- no, commanded, because Knights didn't beg. "Stohohohop!"

He could hear Remus and Patton laughing somewhere behind them, and even though he couldn't see or hear Virgil or Logan, he knew they were probably laughing too. He wanted to be angry, but he couldn't find it in himself to yell at them when Janus haphazardly shoved his hands directly under Roman's arms.

"Na-hahahaha!" he gasped as he shuffled backwards on the ground. "Hehehehelp! Come on, Janus, ahahaha! You jerk-- help mehehe!"

Remus cackled louder. "No, this is great! Let's torture him to death, Janny!"

"Wait!"

Remus looked back at Patton, confused by his outburst. "What?"

"I think..." Patton whispered loudly, his hand on his chest. "The Knight of Hearts... is getting a second wind!"

And with that, he lunged at Remus with a wide smile, grabbing him around the waist and immediately digging into his sides.

"Ah-hahahaha!" Remus squawked. He tried to fall to his knees, but Patton only followed him down. "Patton!"

"There is no Patton here, there is only the Knight of Hearts!" Patton cheered. "Tickle tickle, evil dragon!"

The backyard was taken over by Remus' screams and squawks, but Roman could only barely hear them over his own laughter. He tried to wrestle Janus off of him but there was nothing he could do, especially when Janus shoved his thumbs under Roman's arms and wiggled them mercilessly.

"Na-ahahahahahaha!" Roman wailed. He was giggling and laughing and squealing and he couldn't stop for anything. This was not how the game was supposed to go! He was meant to be a brave knight, not a dork getting tickled to death!

"Hehehehelp!"

But no help was coming. Patton was too caught up with tickling Remus, and Janus wasn't showing mercy anytime soon. This is it. The Knight of Hearts was about to be slain on the battlefield.

Until suddenly Janus's face disappeared from above Roman; he blinked up at the sudden sunlight that blinded his vision, but all he could hear was Janus' "oof", a flurry of fabric, a lot of weird hissing noises, and finally-- Janus' laughter.

"You ssssssssstupidhead!"

Roman, catching his breath, pushed himself up from the dirt and looked to the side. There was Janus, lying on his back just like Roman had been-- only now, there was someone sitting on top of him, holding onto Janus' sides for dear life as the older boy screamed and kicked.

"Dark Prince!" Roman gasped. "What are you doing out of your tower?"

Virgil glared at him. "Saving your life, dummy." He punctuated this with another scrabble at Janus' sides, no matter how loud his older brother screamed.

"Virgil! I'm gonnahahaha-- gonna tell Mom! Stohohohohop!"

"Surrender!" Virgil-- the Dark Prince-- yelled in defiance at the Dragon Snake. Roman watched, unable to do anything to help as he skillfully took down the evil enemy. "Say mercy!"

He pressed his thumbs into Janus' ribs, and Janus squealed, scrabbling against the ground desperately.

"Okayokayokayokahahahay! I give up! We give uhuhuhup!"

And just like that, it was over-- Janus taking heaving breaths, his hands clenched onto Virgil's wrists. Virgil didn't move yet, though, continuing to crouch over Janus with his hands pressed against his sides.

"Do you swear you're not gonna get me back?" he said. "Or Roman?"

Janus huffed. "I said I give up, jerkface."

Virgil tazed his sides again, sending Janus back into gasping laughter. "Swear it!"

"I swear! I swear, I give uhuhup! Stop I swear I won't get you back plehehehease!"

Finally Virgil relented, rolling off his brother and landing in the dirt next to Roman.

"Are you okay?" he asked, eyeing the child still laying on the ground. "Are you dead?"

Roman flushed a little and pushed himself onto his knees. "I'm okay.

"You baby," he said with a cheeky grin. "I barely even tickled you! Roman lasted way longer than you!"

"So did I!" The three of them looked up to see Remus and Patton standing above them, arms around each other's shoulders like they hadn't just been enemies locked in fearsome battle. "You're really ticklish, Janny."

"Shut up!" he hissed. "Everyone's a jerkface today."

"What did Logan do?" Patton asked. All five of them looked up to the jungle gym, where their friend's face was still buried in his book.

He must've sensed them looking at him, because he suddenly looked up. "Oh. Are you finally done?"

No one spoke. Roman and Virgil looked at each other. Patton giggled. Janus stood up, and Remus cracked his knuckles.

Bless Logan's heart; he put the pieces together just a bit too slowly.

"Wait-- wait! Not all at once, not all at ohohohohonce!"

Well, if Logan wasn't paying attention to the game before, he certainly was now. Looks like the Wise Prince wasn't so wise after all.

[tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors]

Symbiotic Mutualism

Mutualism; a relationship between two different kinds of organisms that benefits both.

Pairing: platonic moceit

Word count: 896

Warnings: a pushy failed blind date, but nothing happens

Notes: part of my MPD verse

for @lighthouseinagardenofstars

thank you to @teacupfulofstarshine for beta reading

---

“I will give you four dollars and a really good croissant if you let me hide in here.”

Devin blinked in confusion at the cherubic, wind-flushed hobbit who’d just entered his store, who was currently glancing nervously over his shoulder and looking like he was on the run from a pack of wolves.

Making a split second decision, he gestured firmly for the hobbit to come behind the counter  (he didn’t think he had time to explain the curse, so talking wasn’t going to be helpful at the moment), earning a relieved smile. The hobbit darted behind Devin, who turned back to the dried and powdered flowers display next to the register, looking surreptitiously out of the corner of his eyes at the door.

A man walked past, looking searchingly around him, even going so far as to cup his hands to the glass front windows and scowl inside. He didn’t see Devin’s hidden charge, visibly slumping in frustration, and huffed out what was most likely an inaudible curse word before stalking further down the street.

“Ex?” he said, not looking up (just in case the searcher suddenly came back).

“Blind date,” said the hobbit.

“That bad?”

“Worse.”

“Condolences.”

“Is he gone?”

“I’m surely going to have an easy time answering that before you’ve looked at my curse bracelet.”

The hobbit visitor simply appeared next to him in that startling way hobbits often did, as if he’d materialized from nothing. He peered around Devin’s shoulder, and Devin helpfully raised his wrist so the bracelet could be read.

“Okay, I’m up to date!”

“In that case, no, he’s right outside the door.”

The hobbit giggled, before offering a hand for a shake.

“Thanks so much!” he said cheerfully. “I’m Patton. What’s your name?”

“It’s not Devin. And I’m certainly not at all curious as to what your blind date could have done to make himself so distasteful you hid from him that quickly.”

“The date was actually last night,” said Patton. “And it wasn’t that bad, we just didn’t hit it off, and I said so in the text I sent him after. But he showed up to my work today and bothered me through my whole shift, and then he tried to follow me home after I got off.”

“Totally not completely terrifying.”

“I know right?” said Patton. “He’s lucky my brother wasn’t working today, Virgil might have literally stabbed him.”

“Doesn’t sound like my kind of solution.”

“Thank you so much for letting me hide!” said Patton, pulling out a lunch box from seemingly nowhere.

“It was very troubling,” said Devin, waving a hand dismissively.

“Here’s your croissant!”

“I want it,” said Devin. “It was a huge inconvenience to let you duck behind my counter for three minutes. I’ll be taking your lunch.”

“I have two!” Patton chirped, holding out the napkin-wrapped croissant insistently. Devin was surprised – normally the longer he spoke, the more trouble people had parsing what he was trying to say, but Patton didn’t seem confused or put out by having to decipher it. He hadn’t even mentioned Devin’s curse since he read the bracelet.

“Fine,” said Devin, taking the pastry and nibbling on the corner. “... Unholy shit.”

“I know, right?” said Patton smugly. “Me and my brother are so good.”

“You didn’t make this,” said Devin incredulously.

“Sure did! Apothecafe, down the street, it’s me and my brother’s coffee shop and bakery. Patton Cottonwood, at your service.”

“I’ve had a chance to try it out.”

“Well, that won’t do!” exclaimed Patton. “All my friends get half off treats!”

“Oh, really?” laughed Devin’s, “Is this how you normally make friends?”

“Oh definitely not, normally I’m the one doing the rescuing,” said Patton, in a very over-the-top way and a twinkle in his eye that made Devin think he was being sarcastic in a strangely saccharine way. “I’m a regular superhero, just look at me. Can’t you tell?”

Devin looked him up and down, all four-feet-something of him, springy brown curls and golden skin with pink-apple cheeks and a smile like a storybook character.

“Oh, definitely,” he deadpanned.

Patton let out a trill of a giggle.

“Gimme your phone,” he said, shaking his hand insistently. “I’ll put my number in and you can text me when you’re coming into the bakery! I’ll be sure to find something you like on the menu.”

“You’re not at all presumptuous you know,” said Devin, even as he did capitulate by unlocking and handing over his phone.

“I’ve been told I make friends like a steamroller!”

“An inaccurate comparison.”

Patton handed Devin’s phone back and trotted toward the door.

“I gotta head home, chores to do, but text me!” said Patton. “Treats! Half off! I am not above bribing you to be my friend!”

“You’re not very strange, Patton Cottonwood.”

“You’re stuck with me now so you better get used to iiiiit!” sing-songed Patton, darting out the door with a jingle of the bell and half-jogging down the street in the direction he’d come from.

“What a normal little creature,” Devin muttered to himself.

He glanced down at the contact in his phone.

‘Your New Best Friend Patton.’

Rolling his eyes, Devin changed it and texted a screenshot to him, getting a long string of laughter emojis in response.

‘Patton (Nuisance)’

Patton replied with another screenshot, and Devin couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Snake Boi 🐍’

[ts-replicated-au]

I am so excited!!! 😁😁🤩

Me toooooo!

SO! This is how it's gonna work. Since I've been away from this au for a bit I need to gather up some of my notes to go over again, since I was about to hit a major plot development/character introduction part and now all that stuff that was in my head is kinda,,,floating away in the ether? So while I gather up those thoughts again and get ready to move the plot forward, I'm opening up the askbox to lore dump questions and a very special canon-adjacent askathon for all our cloned bois! (and I guess Thomas and Remy too XD)

Again, the askbox is now open for any questions you want to ask, either to me about the world and lore or to our boys, who will answer in character! The tag for those character asks will be *character soliloquy*, because they will be 'canon' in that anything they say about themselves, their lives, their feelings, etc. will be true, but they are not literally happening; no one is in-universe asking them these things.

Character refreshers (since it's been awhile):

Thomas (our pov character, normal guy who's currently trying to figure out how to rescue all six of his clones)

Remy (Thomas's older cousin, an IP lawyer who's helping Thomas figure out how to legally loophole his clones out of the RepliCorp facility)

Virgil (clone undergoing the Isolation Adjustment experiment)

001 (clone undergoing the Positronic Neural Enhancement experiment; this is Logan but he is not yet named)

RCG-19104 (clone undergoing the Human Tissue Regeneration experiment; this is Janus but he is not yet named)

Patton (clone undergoing the Innate Morality Testing experiment)

Roman (one of two clones undergoing the Predictive Treatment Behavioral Analysis experiment; he is the "good" twin)

Remus (one of two clones undergoing the Predictive Treatment Behavioral Analysis experiment; he is the "bad" twin)

To refresh on the experiment details check out the Visitation Arc!

[thetomorrowshow]

Slower Than Words Ch. 24

First  -  Previous  -  Next

I’ve been waiting for this one :)

cw: bad parenting, arguing, intense anger

~

“Hey, Lo? Do you have a minute?”

Logan’s eyes followed Patton as he went directly to his room, barely flashing a ‘hello’ at him. Then he returned his attention to a strangely nervous Remus. “Of course. What do you need to discuss?”

He almost invited Remus to sit on the couch with him, but he knew the man would decline. Instead, he stood, watching Remus hop from one foot to the other.

“Well,” Remus began after a moment’s hesitation, “this could sorta come as a surprise. But . . . I found them.” A small smile appeared on his face, immediately washed out by apprehension.

Logan smiled gently. “I would guess that by ‘them’, you mean your family. In that case, congratulations.” He stuck his hand out, and after a moment, Remus shook it. “I assume that is why all of your possessions have gone from being strewn about the living room to being contained in a trash bag?”

Remus’s teeth flashed in another quick smile as he nodded. “Yeah. Haven’t really been subtle, huh?”

Logan had been planning for this eventuality for quite some time, and had not been at all taken by surprise. Instead, he dropped the car key that Remus had just given him after returning home back into Remus’s hand. “I want it back, of course, preferably before the end of the month.”

Remus looked down at the keys, then to Logan, then back at his hand. Logan chuckled.

“Naw, I—how will you get to work?”

“I’ve already made arrangements, don’t worry about me.” And he had. One of his jobs was within walking distance, and a coworker had offered to carpool for his other job. He nodded at Remus. “I take it you’ve already quit?”

Remus ran a hand along his slack jaw, still staring at the key in his hand. “Y-yeah. Gave ‘em my letter two weeks ago. You sure?” he asked, almost as an afterthought.

“Of course I am,” Logan waved him off. “You need it more than I do right now. Find them.”

Remus laughed, almost shrill. “Thanks, thank you . . . so much, Lo. Not just for this. For everything.”

Logan inclined his head. “Thank you, too. For bringing my son back to me. Consider us, er, even,” he said. “Will you be leaving immediately?”

Remus didn’t say anything for half a minute, before nodding. “No reason not to, huh? Guess I’ll just . . . say bye to Pat and be on my way.”

Logan sat back down, content to let Remus pack his things into the car and exchange a private farewell with Patton. Thinking of Patton, Logan shifted uncomfortably. He could wait until Remus left to confront his son. Unfortunately, Patton may already have an idea of what was to come. If he had sought out his notebook, it would have not been found under his bed.

Finally, Remus was out the door, with a little wave and a spring in his step. It was time to speak to Patton.

-

Patton rubbed his face tiredly as he followed Father to the cramped kitchen. He really didn’t know what this was about, but he could guess. Now that Remus was leaving, he didn’t see how it was possible to continue with therapy. His weekly appointments would probably become monthly, then he would only still be in contact with the physical therapist in order to continue getting back to full strength. Today, for instance: it was around midday, and he had only had a therapy appointment and he was already exhausted. He’d been about to take a nap when Remus came to say goodbye.

Remus had promised to video chat with him, but Patton didn’t know how much help that would be with voice lessons. Up until now, he’d frequently been able to rest his hand on Remus’s throat and mouth to really understand how it was supposed to feel when he spoke. And with Father’s laptop not having a very good camera, it wasn’t very likely that he would be able to continue speaking lessons at all.

Not that he wasn’t happy for Remus! Patton was as excited as he could be that Remus was going to find his real family. He understood that. And he was sad that Remus was leaving, but not because it meant he was going to be stuck in this terrible apartment for even longer. He was going to miss him as a friend. He was going to miss teaching him sign, laughing at his jokes, his big smile when Patton managed to say a word correctly.

Losing Remus was losing his only friend. He’d already lost his love. Now it was just him and Father, in this tiny house that he could never leave. It was worse than the Haven, because at least then he could go outside. Now he was stuck in this acrid-smelling, too-small apartment. And without his best friend.

“Patton, I need to speak with you,” Father signed. Patton resisted throwing out something snarky and kept his hands by his sides.

“Earlier today, I was cleaning, and I happened to find this.” From the silverware drawer, Father pulled--

Oh no. Oh no. His notebook.

Patton tried not to let his sudden panic show in his face, but could feel his hands fidgeting. He shoved them in the pockets of Virgil’s jacket. This was fine. There was nothing wrong with learning to talk, or writing jokes. Maybe he’d been a bit frustrated in some of his journal entries, but that was normal. Everyone got frustrated sometimes. Father would understand.

“Son, I was not happy with what I found,” Father told him, and Patton’s heart sank. He fell into a chair, knowing exactly what it was. Sure, there was nothing wrong with learning to speak. For everyone else.

“You seem to have been teaching yourself how to speak audibly,” Father continued. “While I admire the effort and your willingness to learn, I have to tell you how disappointed I am. Learning something that could endanger you and this family behind my back? That is not something I will tolerate.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Patton asked cautiously. This was going a little better than he’d thought it would—Father hadn’t outright told him to stop yet.

“What is wrong is it is dangerous. Learning to speak and lip-read may seem appealing, but once others discover your talents, they will want to take you away. I am putting a stop to it right now.”

There it was. Patton felt tears well up in his eyes, but he wasn’t sad. He was angry. The fire that had been simmering in the bottom of his belly rose to his throat, and with stilted movements, he asked, “Who do you think is going to take me away?”

Father was losing his composure as well. He tugged at his own hair for a moment, hands spasming, before answering, “Anyone. They’ll take you away from me, and study you, or make you work, or hurt you. They won’t let you see the light of day ever again. I can’t let that happen! Not again!”

“Well, it kind of feels like you already did.” Patton’s hands moved furiously. Did he really want to say this? “I don’t know if you noticed, but you’re doing the exact same thing that they did.”

“No, I’m not.” Father reached out, but pulled himself back at the last moment. “I-I’m keeping you safe. You’re only a child.”

“Dad, I’m twenty-two!” The anger burst over the surface. Patton shoved back from the table and stood, chest heaving with adrenaline. The leg of the chair scraped against his calf as it fell to the floor. “I’m an adult! I finally got out of that godforsaken cult, and all you do is keep me trapped in this horrible apartment! I know what danger is, I lived through it. I nearly died in that place, starving to death as nobody opened the door. Well guess what? I’m starving again. I’m starving for sunlight, for open space, for the love of my life!”

“Patton—”

“I’m not finished!” Patton kicked the overturned chair, then the table leg, unable to feel the pain it surely brought. “You’re actually worse than them! You know why?”

Logan was crying, a single tear rolling down his cheek. The pain in his eyes only served to fuel Patton’s rant.

“Because Virgil’s out here!” Logan flinched, and Patton kicked the wall, leaving a dent. “Virgil’s out, somewhere, and I could find him, but you won’t let me out! We don’t have any money, but you won’t let me work! There’s nothing to do, but all you do is bring me more and more books that I don’t want! And you know what? I’m done!”

“Son, please—”

“No. I almost died back there. So you got me out. I’m dying here, so I’m getting myself out.”

Patton kicked the wall one last time, then picked up his notebook from the table, resisting the urge to throw it at Logan.

“Wait!”

He looked at his father, who was pressed against the cabinets. He was shaking, eyes wide with hurt and fear. Hastily, he signed, “Where are you going?”

“Anywhere is better than here.” By the look on Logan’s face, that sentence had come out close enough. He nodded curtly at his father, then stalked out of the kitchen, then out of the apartment, only pausing to grab his thin winter coat.

The door slammed shut behind him, and Logan fell to his knees.

-

Remus swung the door shut and threw the scraper to the floor of the car, feeling far too tired for not even having left yet. It didn’t normally get too cold around here, especially not now that it was March, but apparently a cold front had moved in overnight or something and it had been lightly snowing all day. He hadn’t thought it was enough to freeze the windshield--he’d just barely gotten back from taking Patton to therapy, after all—yet here he was, switching on the defrost and scraping off the windows.

He was just about ready to pull out, even had his hand on the gear, when the side door of the apartment complex burst open.

Patton came hurrying out, walking so quickly that Remus would think he was trying to escape a crab that kept snipping at his heels. The kid didn’t even give him a second glance as he walked in front of the car. Remus’s jaw dropped as his head turned to follow him—across the sidewalk, into the parking lot, then right up beside the car.

Patton yanked open the passenger side door with surprising strength, then threw himself into the seat and slammed it behind him. His face was red and wet, Remus noticed, as he roughly drew his sleeve across his face. Then Patton turned to him.

“I’m going with you,” he signed, his movements quick and short. Remus picked his jaw up off the floor and quirked an eyebrow.

“And daddy’s okay with that?” he asked aloud, signing along. Patton rolled his eyes and turned away.

“No.”

Remus shrugged. “Ooookay then!” He made to get out of the car, but Patton grabbed his arm.

“Please—don’t tell him. He’ll make me stay.”

Remus looked up at the building, then back at Patton. He looked like he’d really gone through it, poor kid. And he’d been trying to tell Logan for months that he needed to loosen up, let Patton explore the Outside a bit.

“First place with a phone we hit out of town, I’m calling him,” Remus compromised. Patton nodded, pulling the zippered edges of his two jackets closer around him. Remus hadn’t noticed previously, but now he saw the blue notebook laying on his lap. He reached over and tapped it lightly. “Get some practice in.”

Patton nodded, awkwardly pulling his seatbelt one-handed while he flipped it open with the other hand. Remus gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile, then shifted the gear.

He was on his way home. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he muttered something that Patton, his nose already buried in his notebook, had no way of seeing.

“Hope you like Sharon.”

~

Taglist: @enragedbees @gotta-love-alejandra @bunny222 @basiic-emo @melancholicbear @rosiepupper @fangirlgeekandfreak @dn-fan21 @that2000skid @remy-the-lemon-berry @itsadastraperaspera @xionbean @sanderssides-angst @hell-yea-we-gay-tonight @maybedefinitely404 @broken-pencils @thewhimsicallibrarytech @doomllily @hereissananxiousmess  @judyismydog  @arodynamic-enby @at-that-one-nerd @therapysides @awkwardandanxiousfander @thekitchenpan @im-an-anxious-wreck @larkiaquail

[anxiouslyfred]

A Night Off

for @dukexietyweek free day

Summary: Virgil’s day off gets taken over by friends, but at least Remus is there to give him a break and the chance to relax at the end of it all

/\/\

It was meant to be Virgil's first day off with no obligations in what felt like forever.

He'd been perfectly ready to crash out and stay in bed all day, or slouch around his house, relaxing and just watching TV or browsing the internet with nothing to do and nobody needing his attention.

It was meant to be his day off and now it was 9o'clock at night and he wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.

He'd started the morning off perfectly, just relaxing, but then Patton had called about this thing that they swore he'd absolutely love and it was happening just today, so he had to get up and go there or face them calling every hour until he did so. After that things just spiralled, with Roman and Logan, even Janus meeting him while doing stuff with the others and claiming some time for something else they all swore were the perfect ways to spend his time off from work.

None of it had been what Virgil wanted to do and none of them had listened when he begged to just go home and relax. They all seemed convinced that no matter how many evenings they did things with Virgil any days off from obligations were meant to be spent with or claimed by friends.

So here he was, finally home again, in the biggest hoodie he had, stolen from his boyfriend a while ago and curled into a ball, trying not to cry. He had just wanted a break, to relax and not interact for a while; Some time where the public didn't get to see him, and the only person possibly likely to was his boyfriend. Had that really been so much to ask?

“Sofa spiderrr?” A soft call matched by the door opening only had Virgil burying himself deeper in his knees. Remus would find him soon enough. “I brought Chinese for dinner.”

He grumbled, not turning even when he knew his boyfriend was in the same room, looking him over. “You don't look like you've spent the day on the sofa.”

Virgil just threw his phone over to Remus, expecting it to be immediately unlocked and the pictures and notes flicked through. He did wriggle his legs free of the hoodie while that happened since the smell of the Chinese was making him hungry now so he wanted to get cutlery at least to start eating.

“I am so tempted to go and be the nightmare and destructive spirit they all claim I am. We both told them this was for you to have a day off, for you to stay home and relax after everything that's been happening recently. I bet they were ignoring you saying you'd prefer to be home through all of this too.” Remus grumbled, and Virgil knew he was keeping his voice measured to avoid grating on his nerves as much as possible.

“Something like that.” Virgil mumbled, just looking at the bag, but melting when arms wrapped around him.

Remus nuzzled the back of his neck for a moment before whispering, “Next time I'll tell you that I'm plotting to have you abducted in sacrifice to Cthulhu. That'll keep them from bothering you and give you a reason to silent and mute notifications from any chat system they can contact you through.”

“Or banging the door down to rescue me from your schemes.” He tried to muster a smirk but knew it fell short. “You know Roman did that so many times when we first started dating. I literally replaced the locks so many times because of it.”

“Then I'll steal your phone and threaten everyone who tries to make you do something on your day off instead.” Remus suggested, tugging him over to the sofa with the hug, one hand grabbing the bag of take out. “Until then we are going stuff our faces and snuggle until you feel calmer again.”

[delimeful]

hold my body down (2)

chapter 2 of this fic!

warnings: arguing, mild violence, cult mentions, mild gore mentions

-

Virgil stared at the man, his mind blank. What?

“That’s-- great?” Roman tried, his voice cracking in the middle with bewilderment. The human beamed, beckoning with his hand. Roman reached out and Virgil slapped his hand back, glowering at him.

“What have I said about accepting help from random friendly men?” he hissed, eyeing the stranger warily. Roman flushed, shoving him slightly, but notably didn’t try to move forward again.

The man-- Patton’s smile didn’t falter, but his hand dropped slightly. Virgil refused to feel bad. For once, he was completely sure that his level of paranoia was necessary for the situation.

“Oh, that’s okay,” Patton said, folding onto his knees to sit on the edge of the bag’s opening. “I can just explain from over here. I would come to sit in the bag with you, but last time I did that I got held hostage and Logan put a ban on interacting with terrified strangers without his direct supervision.”

“That, uh, seems rather fair,” Roman offered, still wildly out of his depth. Virgil rolled his eyes, a hand on the hilt of one of his daggers in case the stranger made any sudden moves.

“Who’s Logan?” He asked, eyes flickering up to what little he could see through the opening.

“Oh, he’s the one who rescued you!” Patton said cheerily. Virgil broke out into a cold sweat immediately.

“Rescued?” Roman echoed in disbelief. “Are you talking about the giant? Because I’m pretty sure he just abducted us against our will.”

“No, no, it’s not like that!” Patton insisted, only confirming Virgil’s theory that he was probably brainwashed and/or had Stockholm syndrome. Or both. Or a variety of other, worse options, such as yet another cult member or another giant in disguise.

“Easy, Virgil.” Roman laid a hand on his shoulder, grounding him. “Uh-- Patton, was it? If we’re not being… y’know… kidnapped and imprisoned, do you think you could back up so we can get out of the bag?”

“Of course!” Patton answered, popping back to his feet. “I’ll be right out here, take your time! I’m sure the last couple of hours have been rough.”

Virgil tried not to snort. Rough was one word for it. His amusement died a quick death when Roman began moving towards the opening. He latched onto the other man’s arm like a steel trap. “I don’t trust this.”

“You don’t trust anything,” Roman retorted automatically before softening. “It’s okay, I’m just checking to see what’s out there. Won’t even get out of the bag, on my honor.”

Virgil reluctantly followed him, grabbing onto him tightly as though he could keep anything out there from hurting him by yanking him back into the bag.

Roman ducked his head back under the cloth a moment later. “Okay. Bad news, there is absolutely a giant still out there. Good news, he’s all the way over across the room, reading a book. He is steadfastly ignoring both us and Patton, who waved at me.”

“What.” Virgil clutched at his hair. “What is going on?”

“I suspect we’ll have to ask Patton that. If we want answers, we’ll have to go get them,” He said, patting Virgil on the back encouragingly. “Don’t worry, my Dark and Stormy Knight, I’ll keep you safe.”

“My job,” Virgil grumbled, not releasing his grip on Roman’s wrist as he led the way out of the bag.

Everything was huge. He should have expected it, seeing as this was a giant’s home, but it still threw him off. They were on a huge table, in a huge living room, and the giant was indeed across the room with a huge book, pretending like they didn’t exist. From this distance, Virgil could actually take in all of him without feeling like he was going to pass out.

Patton was sitting a few feet away, and beamed at their approach. Virgil barely tore his eyes away from the giant long enough to nod distractedly at him. “Hi again! Are you guys okay?”

“We’re… fine,” Roman said, uncertain. “I think we’d just like to know what’s going on?”

“That’s totally understandable!” Patton replied, sympathetic. “I was pretty jittery after Logan first brought me here, too!”

“Oh, great,” Virgil muttered to Roman. “Serial kidnapper.”

Roman shot him a look before turning back to Patton. “He brought you here? Could I ask… why?”

“The same reason he brought you two here! I was in danger.” Patton glanced over to the giant with a fond smile before leaning in secretively. “To be honest, I think he was even more worried than I was! I was sort of stabbed at the time, though, so I guess that makes sense.”

“How were you ‘sort of stabbed’? You’re either stabbed or you’re not!” griped Virgil, who was possibly feeling more snappish than normal after one of the most stressful experiences of his life.

“My goodness, you were stabbed?” asked Roman, who had always been a sucker for a dramatic tale.

Patton tugged up the edge of his shirt, displaying a nasty-looking scar that curved around his side and stomach. In Virgil’s professional opinion, there was nothing ‘sort-of’ about a wound like that; it had been meant to kill. “Yeah, the people you met in town, they’re a cult! And they wanted to do a blood sacrifice for the monsters in the woods, and I wasn’t exactly well-liked, so…,”

“They stabbed you and left you for dead?” Virgil finished, a bit of anger leaking into his voice despite his determination not to sympathize with this guy.

“But I didn’t die!” Patton waved his hands a bit as though in celebration. “All the monsters in the woods had already been scared off when Logan moved here, and so he was the one who found me and helped me recover!”

Roman glanced over at the giant again, a speculative look in his eye that Virgil absolutely did not approve of. He scowled, his grip on Roman’s wrist tightening slightly.

“Right, and he just did this out of the goodness of his heart?” Virgil snorted dubiously. “I wouldn’t believe that from another human, let alone someone with a literally huge advantage over us. If your story is true, why didn’t the cult try to gut us? For that matter, if he’s not into human sacrifices, why wouldn’t your buddy over there just tell them to stop? Or, y’know, not kidnap us in the first place?”

“Well, hold on--,” Patton tried, but Virgil was on a roll.

“How do we know that this isn’t some elaborate setup? If he has the magical capabilities to heal a mortal wound, then wouldn’t it be easy for him to enchant a captive into believing that he’s just doing what’s best for him? Before, you said there were other people brought here-- what happened to them? Do you even know?”

Across the room, there was a sharp clap as the giant firmly snapped his book shut.

“They left,” Logan said firmly, the first words that they’d heard from him. “And if you continue to harangue my housemate, I will ask you to do the same.”

“Logan,” Patton said, a little exasperated.

Virgil felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of those huge, dark eyes locked onto him, but he plastered his best snarl on even as he dragged a protesting Roman partially behind him. “We’d be glad to leave, but someone put us on a table ten times our height!”

“Virgil,” Roman tried, but Virgil didn’t have the luxury of not paying attention to the pissed off giant in front of them.

“There’s a staircase down to your left,” the giant informed him coldly, “so if you are intent on watching your companion die from organ combustion, you have my utmost permission to leave.”

Logan!” Patton chided, a lot exasperated. He turned back to them. “He doesn’t mean it like that, I promise.”

“Really?” Virgil snapped, crowding Roman back further. “Because it sure sounds like he just outright threatened to kill us if we leave.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake.” Logan pinched the bridge of his nose before rising easily from his chair and reminding them all just how big he truly was. “This is why I let Patton handle the talking. I don’t know why humans always insist on making this more difficult than it needs to be.”

Virgil’s heart jumped into his throat as the giant approached, a thousand potential ways they were going to die flashing before his eyes. Behind his back, he flashed Roman a hand sign that meant ‘run for it’, and then released his friend’s wrist to draw one of his knives threateningly.

It was a pointless effort, but he’d known since setting out with his prince that one day he’d die for him.

Sure enough, the giant moved with that same uncanny speed he’d shown in the clearing, and simply grabbed Virgil’s forearm between his fingers as easily as one might scruff a cat, preventing any stabbing.

When Virgil immediately went to grab for another knife with his free hand, he found himself abruptly lifted and maneuvered, and couldn’t help letting out a startled yelp. The giant had essentially flipped him onto his front and settled one hand on his back as a weight, leaving him pinned and the giant firmly out of stabbing range.

More concerning was the fact that he could now see Roman, who hadn’t moved more than a few steps, and not just because he was a stupidly loyal, headstrong idiot. The prince seemed almost dazed, his skin shiny with sweat as he glanced between Virgil and Logan. Something was wrong. “Roman--!”

“You’re beginning to feel it, aren’t you?” Logan said, his cold tone thawing slightly as he looked down at Roman. “The cult of that town has only grown more... inventive with every cruel sacrifice they attempt. Rather than physical injuries, they’ve turned to blood curses, which has made my life exceedingly difficult.”

“Blood-- Blood curses?” Roman managed, looking more pallid by the moment.

The giant set a free hand down, palm up in offering. “I can reduce the effects. If you give me sufficient time, I can unravel the curse entirely, though brewing a countercurse will likely necessitate a drop of your blood.”

“Why go to the trouble?” Roman asked haltingly, meeting Virgil’s frantic gaze for only a moment. “What do you want in return?”

Logan sighed. “If you insist on applying such intentions to my actions, you can call it compensation. It is because of my presence that the cult continues to leave ‘offerings’, and thus your current state is my fault.”

“Then why not just do it?” Roman asked, staring at the offered hand with clear suspicion. Virgil was almost proud.

“Patton has gone to great lengths to teach me manners for interacting with smallfolk,” Logan replied dryly. “The first of which being ‘don’t grab.’”

There was a brief moment of silence as they all looked to Virgil, who was still pinned and sorely wishing he was in biting range of Logan’s hand.

“Manners don’t apply if someone is trying to stab me,” Logan added, a beat late.

Patton waved from where he was half-hidden behind Logan’s arm. “It’s true, my lessons did make an exception for stabbing!”

“Let him up,” Roman requested, his voice lacking its usual bravado. He still appeared concerningly ill. “He won’t stab you, right Virgil?”

Virgil grumbled something uncomplimentary under his breath, before sighing and going limp. “All I want is to protect my prince. If you actually mean to help him, I won’t stab you.”

“Now that stabbing is off the table, I’ve gotta say, it’s knife to meet you,” Patton chimed in, his grin audible in his voice.

“Patton, please,” Logan groaned, lifting his hand off Virgil to instead massage his temples in exasperation. “You’re going to disturb our guests.”

“Aw, are you sure? I think my jokes are stabsolutely hilarious!”

Virgil ignored the ridiculous byplay between the two of them to scramble to his feet and hurry to Roman’s side, ignoring the way Logan moved his arm slightly to be between him and Patton. “Roman, are you okay?”

“Are you? You’re the one who just got gently tenderized by Bignoramus over there for the second time today,” Roman countered, matching Virgil’s whisper.

“Fine, stupid question, clearly neither of us are okay. Are we really doing this, though? We could still run.”

“I’m… not sure we can, actually.” Roman’s hand hovered over his chest, face drawn tight with pain. “They definitely did something to me, and I doubt either of us will figure out how to fix it or get aid in time. … Look. This may be my only option, but you don’t have to--”

“Can it, Princey,” Virgil cut in, dragging a hand through Roman’s hair roughly and ignoring his resulting squawk. “Where you go, I go.”

“Even there?” Roman asked, tilting his head toward Logan’s palm somberly.

Virgil looked over to Logan, watching the attentive way he was listening to Patton speak and contributing words of his own. The giant could have done away with any of them at any point, and he hadn’t. That wasn’t enough to really trust him, it could still all be part of some scheme, but... it had to count for something.

If it was the only thing that could help Roman, Virgil could push aside his fear and his anger.

“Even there,” he answered, and led the way onwards.

[the-sympathetic-villain]

The Stowaway's Heart - Chapter 9

AO3 | First | Previous | Next | Masterpost

Description:  Virgil is rescued by selkies after being abandoned at sea and brought back to their pod to recover. Virgil’s poor, gay heart may just explode from how attractive they all are.

Word Count: 5935

Chapter Warnings: Flirting, Romantic contact, Sexual innuendo, Swearing, Anxiety, Self-esteem issues, Mentions of less than ideal childhoods (Let me know if I missed anything!)

---

“I do apologize, Virgil.” Logan stated, glancing at Remus for help before turning back to Virgil’s desperate expression. “I am struggling to understand why this is an issue. Please, help me understand what is bothering you.”

Virgil stared at his soulmates. His face flushed as he tried to find the right words to convey the sudden feeling of fight-or-flight response pulling at his mind. “I just—I don’t know. It's a lot.”

“It's just dinner, Doom and Gloom.” Remus chimed in playfully. “You won't even have to get naked or nothing—”

“Not helping, Re.” Virgil whined, massaging his temples as he tried to force away the growing ache in his head .

“Awww—Come on, pretty boy.” Remus cooed, curling an arm around his shoulder. “This ain't nothing you haven’t done before.”

Logan's soft chuckle drew Virgil’s attention up as Remus' limbs slowly wrapped around him. “Now, not that I believe Remus’ ego needs stroking—”

“Oh, Lolo.” Remus giggled in Virgil’s ear, mustache tickling his neck. “You make me blush.”

“Re, stop—” Virgil protested weakly, though he could feel his heartbeat start to slow as he melted into Remus’ arms.  His skin tingled with warmth as Logan cleared his throat, drawing both their attention.

Logan's coy smiled gleamed down at Virgil as he stepped forward, raising a hand to Virgil’s cheek. “As I was saying, Remus is right. None of this is nothing new for you.”

“I know,” Virgil’s gaze fell as he went slack in Remus’ arms. His voice dropped, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “but it's different now.”

“What is different, Virgil?” Logan’s smile turned serious as he dropped down beside them.

Virgil bit his lip, hair falling over his eyes as his voice dropped to a whisper. “This is the first time I've been around everyone as an equal.”

“Oh, love.” Logan reached forward to brush the hair from Virgil’s face as Remus' arms squeezed him. “You've always been an equal.”

“I know. Everyone’s been perfectly nice. It’s just—” Virgil quickly lost his words, sighing in exasperation as he shrank back into Remus. “Listen, I get that this doesn’t make any sense, but—"

“It makes perfect sense, Dr. Doom.” Remus’ soothing voice rumbled in his ear as he sank deeper into his soulmate’s arms. “I mean, we boxed you up like a rabid animal. What were you supposed to think?”

“It’s not—it's not that.”

Silence hung in the air for what felt like an eternity before Logan asked the question Virgil had been evading. “What is it that is really bothering you then, dearest?”

“I'm not special.” Virgil whispered quietly, avoiding his soulmates’ eyes. “I'm surrounded by literal mythical beings and I’m just normal.”

“Well,” Logan chuckled, sharing a knowing look with Remus. “I must say I disagree with that sentiment. In fact, I do believe you may be the most special of all of us.”

Virgil’s eyes filled with confusion as he raised an eyebrow in confusion. “I am not.”

“I mean, going by statistics alone, you are the only full bred human among us. The rest of us are selkies.” Logan smirked coyly as he rested a hand on Virgil’s knee. “Therefore, if judging on rarity alone, you are special above all of us.”

“Only if you’re using the lamest metric possible to judge me on.”

“Oh, I am not finished dearest.” Logan smiled as Virgil grumbled. “You are strong where we are weak.”

“What?”

“You are not bound by a pelt, love.” Logan smirked as he traced his fingers up to where Virgil’s hand rested on his thigh. “Should humans land on the island, we are significantly safer with you around because you do not have the same weaknesses as us.”

Virgil hesitated, trying to ignore the tingling in his arm as Logan traced circles on his skin. “I never thought about it that way.”

“Certainly not, because it is as natural to you as breathing.” Logan smiled, not even looking up as he pulled a soft gasp from Virgil as he continued to gently massage his arm. “Much like you seem to overlook your ability to handle our pelts with such ease as a given attribute. Whereas to us, it is a show of incredible strength and self-restraint beyond that of most of your species.”

“I don’t think I should be praised for not turning you into a mindless drone, Lo.” Virgil raised his lip on disgust at the idea, though the expression was short-lived.

“Neither do I, Virgil.” Logan whispered as his fingertips reached Virgil’s elbow.

The light touches along Virgil’s joint sent gentle, lightning-like pulse up his arm, pulling another light gasp from him. “What are you do—”

“However, I do think it is worth considering that it translates to your other traits.” Logan continued quietly. He barely looked up, deep in focus as he rested Virgil’s hand back on his leg and picked up his other hand. “I have already commented on your near selfless behavior, and though I have my concerns about how your self-esteem fuels that trait, it is commendable nonetheless.”

“Logan—” Virgil whined, letting out a breathless sigh as Logan continued his methodic tracing of his arm.

Logan paused briefly, smirking up at the blissful look on Virgil’s face as Remus giggled behind him “Not to mention, I think it is worth noting that your interactions with Patton show that you are both empathetic and compassionate.”

“What are you doing?” Virgil whispered breathlessly.

“Reminding you of all the reasons you are special, love.” Logan whispered, feigning innocence as he smiled knowingly as Virgil’s eyes fluttered wearily.

“I was talking about whatever you’re doing to my arms, you bastard.” Virgil chided weakly, barely keeping his eyes open.

“Sometimes the energy conduits in your body constrict and stop flowing properly due to prolonged stress.” Logan smiled, stopping his movement as he reached up to brush Virgil’s hair from his eyes. “With some practice, I have figured out how to use the gentle application of pressure to allow the energy to flow more efficiently.”

Virgil groaned, rolling his head back into Remus' shoulder. “Do you ever play fair?”

“No,” Logan smirked, drawing his fingertips down Virgil’s jaw. “I have grown accustomed to getting my way.”

Virgil glared up at him, chewing on his lip. “I know I'm overreacting, but—”

“There is no shame in being nervous, dearest.” Logan interrupted gently, smiling reassuringly at him. “but you've contributed a great deal to our lives already and I hate to see you undermine your own value.”

“I haven’t done anything”

“Oh, please.” Remus hushed him with a smirk. “Your presence has changed everything around here.”

Logan’s expression softened as Virgil rolled his head back in disbelief. “What Remus says is true. Obviously, it goes without saying that you have had a significant effect on Remus and I but I think perhaps you don't see the way your presence has affected the others.”

“What do you mean?”

Logan leaned forward, resting a hand on Virgil’s as he continued. “Patton adores you. He has continued to talk about you constantly since the day you were accidentally introduced to him—”

“—and Jan-Jan won't admit it but he's excited to have someone new around." Remus purred into his ear with a sympathetic smile. “The rest of us have known each other since we were kids and it’s been a bit isolating for him.”

Virgil’s eyes dropped to his lap as he leaned into Remus, processing their words. “Roman's really okay with me being out?”

Logan smiled, subtly squeezing Virgil’s hand. “Roman said so himself, love. You have a place here.”

Virgil slowly let out the breath he'd been holding as his grip tightened on Remus' arm. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Logan prompted hesitantly.

“I'll do it.” Virgil bit his lip, nodding stiffly. “It's not like I can avoid it forever anyway.”

The energy around him shifted quickly and he could feel the excitement almost bubbling around him as his soulmates perked up. Remus' arm uncoiled from around him as Logan pulled him to his feet rather suddenly.

Not for the first time, Virgil was grateful that the selkie's grace made up for his own clumsiness. A deep blush settled onto his cheeks as Logan hooked his waist, pulling him close. The selkie’s hair brushed his forehead lightly, sending shivers down his body as Logan leaned his forehead down to his with a contented sigh.

“Thank you, dearest.” Logan whispered, pulling him toward the door. “I promise it will be well worth your time.”

---

Virgil shuffled behind Logan and Remus reluctantly as they led him through the tunnels. His shoulders curled forward, tensing as he tried to make himself smaller as the narrow tunnel began to open up. His anxiety burned in his chest as the loud sound of rushing water filled his ears. He slowed his pace at the entrance to the cave, pausing entirely as he found himself staring out in awe at the open space.

He barely even noticed as Logan and Remus continue on without him as his eye adjusted to the dim light. Hesitantly, he peeked around the corner, letting his eyes trace up the high walls of the cave disappeared into the shadows. His attention slowly drifted to the sound of rushing water as he lifted his head to see a shimmering glimmer on the far wall. A rush of mist rushed past his face as he stepped out into the open and he let out a small gasp as he realized the far wall was made up by a giant  waterfall.

“Beautiful. Isn't it?”

Virgil jumped at the sudden voice behind him. His body tensed and his head spun over his shoulder, relaxing slightly at the sight of Janus' white pelt standing out against the darkness.

“Yeah,” Virgil dropped his gaze, shoving his hands in his pockets as Janus came to stand next to him. “It's pretty impressive, I guess.”

A smile twitched at the corner of Janus' lips as he glanced down at Virgil. “This island holds many wondrous secrets, but this place has always been a particular favorite of mine.”

Dark circles filled the space under Virgil’s eyes as he tipped his gaze up to Janus, crossing his arms. “Yeah?”

“Certainly,” The dim light glistened on Janus' gilded scars as he nodded quietly. “This island has offered sanctuary to us all and there's no denying how fortunate we were to find such a beautiful home, but personally, I'm only truly at peace when I can breathe in the ocean air. The waterfall isn't the same, but the mist offers its own comfort.”

“You don't ever go out?” Virgil questioned, raising an eyebrow up at Janus as the selkie stared wistfully at the waterfall.

Janus shrugged, casually glancing over at Logan and Remus on the far side of the cave. “Of course we do, but it's not as often as any of us would like.”

“Right.” Virgil muttered, chewing his lip as he glanced up at the distant look in the selkie’s eyes. “I guess Logan mentioned that you guys have to be careful, but that doesn't seem fair to deny yourself that comfort when it's so close.”

Janus sighed, crossing his arms across his chest. “Our choices are what brought us here, so to complain about the consequences is redundant. For better or worse, this is our reality now.”

“You hardly seem to have had a choice in your situation.” Virgil muttered quietly, deep in thought.

“Perhaps not originally,” Janus smirked softly at Virgil’s acknowledgement. “but at this point, it's my choice to follow Roman and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Virgil felt his anxiety rise in his chest at the mention of Roman’s name, but he forced his expression to remain neutral. He tapped his fingertips on his arm as he looked down at the ground, eyeing Janus curiously. “What choices brought the others here?”

Janus’ knowing smirk widened. “Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but I do believe either of your lovers would be more equipped to answer that question than myself.”

“I know. I just—” Virgil stalled as Janus turned to stare at him. He shifted his gaze away, rolling his eyes as Janus chuckled at him. “Just, never mind.”

“Don’t worry, Virgil. I understand.” Janus smiled gently at him. “It's new and you’re still learning to trust them.”

Virgil stopped chewing his lip, looking up at Logan and Remus on the far side of the cave. They were laughing as they sat next each other worked together to light the kindling for the fire. “I'm not worried about them, Janus. I'm worried about what they’ll think of me.”

“Trust me when I say there's nothing you can do to that will scare them away.” Janus reassured him with a knowing smile, running his fingers down the pelt on his shoulders “Even if they weren’t your soulmates, both of them are too insufferably optimistic about people to think ill of you.”

Virgil smirked rolling back on his ankles. “Hopefully, with that advantage I'll be able to live up to their expectations for me.”

Janus smirked, shrugging his shoulders. “You have nothing to worry about, Virgil. Truly, they adore you already."

“Thanks.”  Virgil smiled faintly casting a grateful glance up at Janus. “I appreciate the—”

“Vee!”

Virgil let out a quiet grunt as a small force curled around the back of his knees, nearly knocking him forward onto the ground. He looked down to see Patton’s wet, brown hair as he curled around Virgil’s legs.

“Hey.” Virgil grinned softly as he knelt down to ruffle the kid's wet hair as he giggled. “Long time, no see, kiddo.”

“Finally, the mystery is solved.”

Virgil jumped instinctively at the sound of Roman’s voice behind him. He barely had a moment to react before a hand rested on his shoulder and he looked up to see Janus smiling down at him reassuringly before turning to move back to Roman.

“And what mystery is that, my dear?” Janus cooed as he stepped toward Roman, reaching out to intertwine his fingers around his soulmate’s. An adoring smile spread across his face as he ran his fingers through Roman’s damp, dark hair.

“Our littlest selkie has started referring to his elders as kiddo, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out where he'd even learned the word,” Roman’s head tipped up to Virgil with a gentle smile. “but it would seem that I've found it's source.

“I'm sorry.” Virgil replied, running his fingers through his hair as he dropped his gaze.

“No need to apologize, Virgil.” Roman replied immediately, holding a hand out in reassurance as Virgil slowly tipped his head back up to him. “I actually find it quite endearing.”

“Oh.” Virgil blinked. He couldn’t help but be shocked at the gentleness in Roman’s voice as he spoke to him. “Right.”

“Vee—” Patton whined impatiently as he leaned his hands into Virgil to get his attention. “—I went swimming today.”

“Did you now?” Virgil felt his confusion melt away as the kid's eyes sparkled up at him.

“I did!” Patton grinned as he rolled forward on his feet. “I went all the way down to the bottom and I wasn’t even scared.”

“That's amazing, kid.” Virgil chuckled as Patton leaned into shoulder. “You’re a lot braver than me.”

Patton beamed at the praise, absently grabbing a handful of Virgil’s shirt as he rolled forward on his feet in excitement. “I brought something for you.”

“For me?” Virgil blinked in surprise. His eyed flitted up to Roman and Janus, chewing his lip at their warm smiles as he turned back to Patton. The kid was almost bouncing as he lifted his hands up and unfolded them for Virgil.

“Yeah, here.” Patton whispered as he held out a dark, black rock. The outside was rough and unremarkable, but as the kid turned over the rock, Virgil’s jaw dropped. The far side of the rock was broken, and Virgil could see glittering purple crystals inside.

“Pat, wow." Virgil whispered as Patton dropped the crystal in his hand. He stared blankly down at the crystal as he ran his fingers over its smooth surface. Warmth spread across his chest as turned up at Patton with a soft smile. “Are you sure you don’t want to keep it for yourself?”

“It's ‘kay.” Patton murmured as he leaned his head into Virgil’s shoulder, curling his arms around Virgil’s bicep. “You need it for your new room. Janus says the purple ones keep the bad dreams away.”

“My new room?” Virgil echoed in disbelief, feeling his shoulders slump as Patton continued to ramble excitedly.

“I didn't want you to be scared, if you have to turn your lamp off.” Patton finished with a tired smile as Virgil wrapped an arm around his waist.

“That was meant to be a surprise,” Roman chuckled softly above him. “but I suppose the kid's tired rambling is as good a way to find out as any other.”

Virgil stood up, gently lift Patton into his arms with him. He looked up at Roman as Patton leaned his head into his chest. “What do you mean?”

“Logan’s room has been functional up until this point but since you’re going to stay, you need to have a space that’s all your own.” Roman smiled as he leaned back into Janus’ chest. “We've got temporary furnishings to get you by for now, but of course eventually we’ll get you something more to your taste.”

“You would do that for me?” Virgil whispered, feeling his voice quiver with emotion.

“Of course, Virgil.” Roman’s expression softened as Patton leaned on Virgil’s chest. “This is your home now. You need a space that belongs only to you.”

“Maybe, but—” Virgil took a small breath as Roman smiled at him reassuringly. “—but, like, personalizing it seems expensive. I wouldn’t want to put you out.”

“To be honest, Logan’s negotiation techniques are effective and the resources we tend to trade are bountiful.” Roman let out a soft snort, looking over at Janus as he rolled his eye. “Not all of us have Logan’s high taste, but his room is proof that he can get his hands on most anything for you.”

“Thank you.” Virgil whispered, unable to think of anything else to say as an unexpected warmth flooded his body.

“There’s no need to thank me or anyone else. The fact that we were going to make you comfortable was a given when you decided to stay.” Roman smiled patiently as Virgil ducked his head to hide the flush on his cheek as gratitude flooded his chest.  “Now, let's get this kid some food before he passes out on you.”

“S-sure. No problem.” Virgil nodded as Roman reached down n to pull Patton off where he'd laid his head on Virgil’s shoulder. The selkie edged past Virgil, followed shortly by Janus. Virgil rose to his feet and hesitantly turned to follow Roman and Janus as they moved to join Logan and Remus around the roaring fire his soulmates had managed to conjure up. Virgil took his time following. He reached his wrist to his eyes, wiping the tears from his eyes before following behind the selkies.

---

Everything seemed to blur around Virgil as he stepped out to join the family of selkies. He could feel tingling on his skin as the sounds of laughter filled the air and the light of the fire flickered on the walls of the cave. The smell of smoke was dampened as it vented out through the gaps of the edge of the waterfall.

Despite Virgil’s best effort, he could feel his energy draining as the selkies moved around him as they prepared the meal. Time seemed to pass slowly as they moved about their routine around him. He knew he should engage but as time passed their words slowly started to melt into the background of his mind. His skin prickled as he stepped back, watching as Logan tossed a bundle of herbs into the pot in which he was cooking as he conversed quietly with Janus.

A sad smile spread across his face as he gravitated towards the shadows, watching the family smile fondly as Patton climbed up to help Logan as he attempted to prepare some sort vegetable that Virgil didn’t recognize. The simple moments held a certain kind of beauty, but as he stood alone, he couldn’t banish the feeling of being disconnected from everyone else at bay. He leaned into the cave wall, so lost in thought that he nearly jumped out of his skin when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist.

“Why ya lurkin'?”

Virgil instantly relaxed at Remus' voice in his ear. He crossed his arms, subtly leaning back into Remus' chest. “I'm not lurking.”

“You’re creeping in the shadows, pretty boy.” Remus cooed quietly into Virgil’s ear. “That's lurkin' by definition.”

Virgil tensed, feeling heat rush to his cheeks as he dropped his eyes to the ground. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Hey—Relax, man. Creep to your heart's content.” Remus pulled him deeper into the shadows as he rested his head in the nook of Virgil’s shoulder. “It's a little overwhelming. Isn’t it?”

Virgil sighed as Remus’ deep voice resonated through his chest as the warmth of his arms soothed him. “It shouldn’t be. Everyone’s been more than nice about letting me stay here.”

“Ain’t nobody letting you do nothing, babe.” Remus chuckled, pulling Virgil down so he was almost curled in Remus' lap as they rested back among the rocks. “Everyone’s excited to have you here.”

“I—” Virgil tensed as Patton squealed in excitement from across the cave. His attention flitted about the room as the feeling of being detached returned to his body as he watched the happy smiles of the family of selkies. Remus' hand curled into his own as his anxiety peaked. He paused, looking up into Remus’ emerald eyes long enough to bring him back to his body enough and relax into Remus’ warmth. “—Thank you, Re.”

“You don't have to thank me for nothing.” Remus purred as Virgil relaxed back into him. “Shit sucks when you feel out of place, especially when you’re supposed to feel like you’re at home.”

“Fucking stupid is what it is." Virgil muttered as curled into Remus' shoulder, eliciting a chuckle from the man holding him. Virgil smirked up at Remus and his expression softened at the melancholy in the man’s expression as he smiled down at Virgil. “You know what it feels like then?”

“I know.” Remus purred at the surprise in Virgil’s voice. With a dramatic flourish, his hand came to rest on Virgil’s leg as he played up his apparent distress. “It’s difficult to imagine that anyone could resist my dazzling charm, but there’s no accounting for taste.”

Virgil snorted, blushing as Remus’ crooked grin beamed down at him. He chuckled as he shyly dropped his gaze, leaning into Remus' shoulder. “Sounds like their loss.”

Softness spread across Remus’ dramatics melted into a fond smile and firelight flickered in his eyes as he stared down at Virgil. “You surprise me, Virge. I thought for sure you’d take longer than Lolo to warm up to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Poor bastard actually cried when we found out were soulmates.” Remus chuckled as Virgil’s eyes darted to Logan and back to Remus.

“What?” Virgil's grip tightened on Remus' hand and he started to sit up.

Remus shrugged, smiling down at Virgil as he gently eased him back. “In his defense, we were both only a little older than Patton when we found out, so we were both pretty freaked.”

“You were that young?” Virgil relaxed slightly as Remus' arm curled around the back of his neck.

“Our pods traveled the same waters. We ended up at the same beaches throughout the year.” Remus chuckled. “I actually thought he was a bit of a stick in the mud before I got to know him. Couldn’t take a joke to save his life.”

“Really?” Virgil stared over at Logan across the room, unable to imagine a Logan who was anything less than the sultry man whose unearthly amount of confidence was constantly testing his wit's end.

“Thought I was going to end up giving up my entire life for some prude.” Remus chuckled. “Never In my life would I have imagined that he'd be willing to leave his own pod, let alone that he'd be able to outmatch me on my own bullshit better even than Roman.”

Virgil blinked, turning back to Remus in confusion. “He left his pod?”

“Soulmates are kind of a big deal, especially among selkies. Don’t matter how young you are. Once you’re matched, you’re expected to stay with each other.” Remus sighed. “Most pairs come from the same pods, but since we came from different pods one of us had to give up the life we knew.”

“Seems pretty harsh.” Virgil muttered. “You were just kids. How can they ask that of you?”

“At the time, I thought it was total sea horse shit,” Remus growled as he reluctantly shrugged it off. “but I was glad to have had him around when I did. My own pod didn’t like me much but thanks to him, I always had someone outside of Roman.

Virgil frowned, resting a hand on Remus’ waist as he drew quieter. “I thought you said he was upset.”

“Not upset, just scared.” Remus whispered with a smile. “As if all the overwhelming feelings weren't enough, Lolo was made even more nervous by the fact that I had a bit of a reputation.”

“I'm sure you did—”

“Not like I do now,  Virge.” Remus cut him off abruptly, looking ashamed. “It wasn’t good.”

Virgil paused, surprised by Remus interruption.

“I was an angry kid. Ro was constantly bailing me out of brawls with my podmates.” Remus sighed, glancing over at Roman. “Hell, I can't even imagine if I didn’t have him in my corner. I give my brother a lot of shit, but he's always had my back when I needed him.”

“Why were you mad?”

“Felt out of place and lonely. People were drawn to Roman and repulsed by me.” Remus whispered. “I don’t care what anyone says. If a kid gets the idea in their that they’re not wanted, that shit messes ‘em up for life.”

“I know the feeling.” Virgil replied, quietly fidgeting with his sleeve.

“Gotta say though, my whole attitude changed when Lolo came around.” Remus whispered as a rosy blush spread across his face and he grinned down at Virgil. “God, he's so pretty. You know?”

Virgil smiled as he curled into Remus warmth watching his eyes light up as he talked about Logan.

“I was so scared he wouldn’t even like me. Might be the only time in my life I tried to dull myself down to impress someone.” Remus purred. “I was ready for another rejection but turns he was into all the same weird shit I was.”

“It's too soon for you to be dragging me into all your guys' kinky shit, Re.” Virgil teased, holding Remus'

“Fuck off.” Remus giggled.  “We were kids, you freak.”

Virgil's breath caught in his throat as Remus curled his face into his neck. He squirmed, wrapping his arms around Remus’ neck in an attempt to stop him from tickling his neck with his mustache.

Remus let out a long breath Virgil curled across his lap, hands wrapped around his neck. “I thought I was alone in the world and then I suddenly had a friend who was willing to swim to the bottom of the harbor to dig up the best worms or see how far we could swim under the ice. It was like goddamn magic.”

Virgil smiled, reaching a hand up to run his hand through Remus’ dark curls. “That's really sweet, Re.”

“It was easily the best thing to happen in my life until I met you.” Remus purred, grin widening as heat rushed to Virgil’s cheeks. ““I can tell this is going to be just as life-changing.”

“I didn’t know you were such a sap, Re.” Virgil dipped his head into Remus' chest, hoping the shadows might hide the bright red flush spreading across his face.

“Can't help it.” Remus smirked. “You’re cute when you blush.”

“Shut up.”

Remus hummed contentedly as Virgil retreated deeper into his chest. He smiled, placing a gentle kiss on Virgil’s temple. “How are you feeling now, stormcloud?”

“Better.” Virgil admitted quietly, realizing he'd lost his nervousness as he listened to Remus.

“Good.” Remus smiled. “You’re going to find your place here, but while you’re figuring it out, you can always fall back on me when everything gets a little too overwhelming.”

“The same goes for myself, Virgil.”

Virgil blinked. He looked up to see Logan lingering next to them, his back to the firelight as he stared down at them.

“If ever you are feeling uncertain or overwhelmed, I hope you know you can seek refuge with myself or Remus.” Logan smiled as he slipped down next to them. “While I hope you do continue to join our family gatherings, there is no pressure to do so all at once. Stepping back when you need to is important for your own well-being and that is always our first priority.”

“Thank you. Both of you.” Virgil whispered, feeling warmth rise in his chest as his soulmates stared down at him with gentleness in his eyes. “Both of you. I-I don’t even know what to say.”

“Then say nothing, love.” Logan whispered with a soft smile as he ran a hand through Virgil’s hair. “Your feelings are shared by us all.”

Virgil nodded quietly, feeling the warmth spread from his chest to the rest his body as Logan rose to his feet and offered him a hand up.

“Now, I do hope you are hungry, because dinner is ready and everyone would like to see more of you.” Logan whispered, intertwining his fingers with Virgil’s. “if you are ready for that, of course.”

“I am.” Virgil’s heart jumped in in chest as his soulmates closed in on his sides. He'd never felt so relaxed they led him back to the campfire.

Roman was the first to look up as they approached. A gentle smile spread across his face as he looked up from the pot. “Sit anywhere you like, Virgil. I'll bring a dish to you.”

“Thank y—”

“No! Sit next to me!”

Virgil smiled as Patton jumped up to clear the spot next to him.

“Patton—There's no need to be so demanding.” Janus chided him softly.

Patton stopped, his small body leaned on the rocks for a moment as he considered Janus' words. After a brief moment, he quickly turned back to Virgil with a wide smile. “Pretty please will you sit with me?”

Virgil smiled at the kid’s enthusiasm, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he dropped down next to the kid. “Well, how can I say no to such a polite request?”

He could see Janus roll his eyes as the kid squealed and scooted over to him. His eyes lingered for a moment as Patton curled his fingers around Virgil’s hand.

“Have you picked a room yet, Vee?” Patton asked, leaning into his shoulder.

Virgil chuckled, as the kid’s eyes sparkled up at him. “Not yet, Pat. I haven’t had a chance to look around yet.”

“I think you should have the room next to mine.” Patton suggested proudly.

“That is certainly an option if you would never like to sleep again, Virgil.”  Janus turned his gaze from the empty air around them back to Virgil with a smirk.

Virgil chuckled as Janus’ sarcasm didn’t seem to register in Patton’s mind as he looked eagerly up at Virgil. “I'm not sure, kiddo. I might have to see a few places first.”

“I can show you tomorrow.” Patton shouted gleefully. “I know all the best ones.”

“Sounds great, Pat.” Virgil smiled quietly. “but I don't think it's up to me if we can do that.”

“That's perfectly fine if that's what you want to do, Virgil.”

Virgil turned up his head, surprised to see Roman above him, hand extended as he offered Virgil a bowl. He hesitantly let go of Patton’s hand to take the bowl of soup from Roman, glancing cautiously at the faces around him.

“Of course, I do think that someone should accompany you both since you are unfamiliar with the tunnels, Virgil,” Roman smiled at his blank expression as he continued. “but I see no reason why that cannot be arranged.”

“I would be more than happy to accompany Virgil and Patton tomorrow.” Logan offered, dropping down next to him as Roman offered him a bowl. “I believe it would be wise anyway to have the input if someone whose familiar with each to point out potential cons as you choose your new living space.”

“Very well, but Patton will be your responsibility, Lo.” Roman continued, absently handing out bowls of food as he went. “It's not fair to place that expectation on Virgil until he’s settled in a bit more, especially when Patton has a habit of wandering off on his own."

“Of course. I do not mind the resp—"

“Really?” Virgil finally sputtered out. “You’re actually going to let me take the kid out tomorrow?”

Roman paused as Virgil’s timid voice broke his concentration and he turned back to face him. Guilt seemed to flash across his face as Virgil stared up at him in disbelief. “Of course, Virgil. Your restrictions have been lifted. We discussed this already.”

“I know—” Virgil whispered quietly, heat rising in his face as all the eyes in the room turned to him.  “I guess I assumed the kid was an exception.”

Roman’s eyes softened as Virgil ducked his head down, running a hand through his hair. “No exceptions, Virgil. You’re part of our family now.”

Virgil’s mouth hung agape as he glanced around the warm expressions of the faces around him. He blinked, absently wrapping an arm around Patton as the kid leaned into his side.

“There are no more tests, love.” Logan whispered, curling an arm around his waist from beside him as he placed a gentle kiss on Virgil’s temple. “You can breathe now.”

Virgil nodded at Logan in apparent shock. He swallowed glancing around at the others as they nodded their own affirmations and turned back to their own conversations, leaving him to ponder the new information. A warmth welled in his chest as he settled in to the subtle contact of Logan and Patton on each side of him and slowly, a smile spread across his face as he brought a spoonful of the savory soup to his lips, listening to the family of selkies as their excited voices filled the air around him.

Somehow the sound of their voices around him wasn't so overwhelming anymore. The feelings of anxiety he'd had seemed to fade to the back of his mind as the hours the night began to pass him by, filled by the sounds of stories of his new family. A warm feeling of gratitude filled his chest that Logan had insisted on him coming out. He relaxed into Logan's shoulder, feeling the warmth of the warmth of the fire as he learned more about the wonderful people who had welcomed him into their home and he was happy.

---

General Taglist:

@somehow-i-got-an-account @justanotherhumanstuff @im-an-anxious-wreck

The Stowaway's Heart

@alias290 @lonelyanxiousbean @kieraelieson @evoodo123 @dndnerd1609 @lovesupernova25 @minninugget @trainwreckwithlimbs @ace-in-a-shopping-cart @the-spiral-sun @rachetssearch @twilight--trix @evelyn-nova @sluggerbot-2-5 @arsenicdragon @so-what-if-im-crazy@slutty-cinnamon-roll @inferiorfilth @bluerosesbleedred @maybedefinitely404 @deathdarknessdevils @itawalrus @judyismydog @im-actually-ok @romano-hottopic @monkeythefander @hope340 @dwbh888

[coconut-cluster]

Lexi the new au sounds magnificent please tell me more - hopeless

i haven’t thought out TOO much bc this is a just a random fun au, but i should preface a few things about darkest minds: 

kids were rounded up in schools and such by the government when their powers surfaced, to the point where parents reported their own children to be picked up

those kids got taken to “rehabilitation camps” 

reds (pyrokinesis) and oranges (mind manipulation) are the most dangerous powers and those kids were usually taken to different ‘camps’ (presumably killed) 

there’s two main refuges for kids with powers: the Children’s League, a complex where the kids basically go on rescue missions, and East River, an isolated camp for them to be safe and distanced from the rest of the country (aka the government and bounty hunters)

okay now that that’s out of the way :) 

so Virgil escapes from his rehabilitation camp (with the help of some undercover Children’s League people), right, and as an orange who probably should have been killed off years ago, that’s kind of miraculous 

the only issue is that he has no idea where to go. 

the CL gave him vague directions - a part of town that’s largely uninhabited and functions as a kind of meeting place for stray kids to find each other - but there’s the risk of bounty hunters, and officers, and everyday citizens eager to report a runaway for the promise of a reward

luckily enough, though, he runs into a little pack before any of those get in his way! Patton and Logan (both blues, aka telekinesis) and Remus (a green, basically smarts and intuition) run into him, literally, outside of an old gas station, where they’d been refilling on supplies for their search for East River. 

They’re suspicious of him, but eventually they agree that they would want help if they were in his position, so they welcome him into the group. Virgil quickly sees that Remus seems the self-appointed leader, but Logan does most of the strategy and planning, and Patton is a sort of moral support/medic for the group  

He also finds out that they all came from the same camp and escaped together, three of the very few kids who managed to make it out when the kids tried a mass escape. (Virgil finds this out from Remus one night when the other two are asleep, because Patton and Logan refuse to talk about it.) 

((Remus also mentions, very briefly, almost offhandedly, having had a brother. Virgil asks about had, and Remus simply says ‘He was a red.’ and moves on. Virgil doesn’t ask any more questions.)) 

So the group fills Virgil in on the East River situation - it’s a refuge camp, they tell him, and they know the general location, but the entire atmosphere around it is incredibly cryptic (to keep it hidden from the government), so finding it is a bit of an issue 

and there ARE issues - bounty hunters, other stray kids who are very territorial of their hideouts, trauma, you know the deal - but eventually woohoo! they figure out where East River is, thanks to an old radio with a noticeably odd channel of static and beeping and Logan’s knowledge of morse code!! 

so boom, they show up at East River, and find that it’s almost like a summer camp of sorts - there’s kids of every color level, functioning together like a little society, and the crew is near tears and collapsing because they’re finally safe :’) 

anywho they arrive and meet three key people:

first is Marius, the founder and leader of the camp, an orange just like Virgil (there aren’t many left, so Virgil hasn’t met another orange since he first went to his rehabilitation camp five years ago). He gives them some new clothes, a cabin assignment, and a rundown of the camp rules/resources, and tells V if he ever needs someone to talk to or practice with, he’s there

second is Marius’ right-hand man of sorts, Janus, a yellow (electricity) with cool gloves and a remarkable amount of snark. (He seems a little untrustworthy, but Patton and Remus think he’s cool, so there’s that.) 

and third, a day after they arrive, while they’re in the middle of discussing which government official they could probably take in a fight over lunch, they hear a very disbelieving “...Remus?” from behind them, barely above a whisper. 

They turn around to find a boy who looks... well, like Remus, though distinctly more well-kempt and missing the white streak Remus bleached in his hair in the gas station bathroom a month ago. on the boy’s black shirt, the one they all have, each stamped with the camp’s symbol in their own color, is a bright red psi. 

he and Remus stare at each other for a long minute - Remus blinks, like he’s making sure he’s not imagining anything, and after a dragging moment of silence where Virgil and Logan and Patton are literally holding their breath, he starts laughing. 

He laughs, and scrambles to get out of the picnic table they’re at, tripping over himself, and rushes at the boy, wrapping him in a hug that nearly knocks him off his feet as Remus manages a “I thought you were dead!” through his laughter - Patton gives a little oh from Virgil’s side, and Virgil finally connects the dots that this is, in fact, The Brother™ Remus refused to talk about

anyway that’s how they meet Roman :) 

so basically everything is good and well at the camp - they’re not worried about the gov, you know, killing them, everyone’s back together and forming a good group of friends (even though Logan and Janus bicker like an old married couple and Virgil still isn’t sure they should even trust Jan), and Virgil’s met not one but TWO people who were set to be killed by the government years ago so there’s bonding there (he feels leagues more comfortable around Roman than he does Marius, but everyone else loves Marius, and he’s the only other orange, so Virgil sticks it out) 

but Virgil quickly starts to realize Marius isn’t really telling the whole truth about who he is, and the way he runs the camp is... questionable at best. 

and that is a horrible place to stop but i have class in like two minutes so i’ll be back with yall soon about this askjfskfjl

[magpiemorality]

Virgil suddenly has the power to turn invisible and finds a very affectionate snake (Dee), a baby hydra that randomly will split into various animals (creatitwins), a baby with curly hair (Pat), and a robot (Logan). He has to take care of all of them

This was unbelievably fun. I love the concept so much that I may elongate this eventually, the world is incredible and just- how did you even come up with this??? It’s awesome! I hope you enjoyed where I went with it- for the purposes of this prompt I went with just a sort of overview/slice-of-life :) 

Urban Fantasy AU, found family, pseudo-parent Virgil.

Warnings: snakes

AO3

***

Three years ago Virgil’s life changed forever. It’s been a wild ride since, but among the weirdest things that have happened as a result of being flung into a crazy, spectacular, fantastic world include (but are very much not limited to):

 -That time he accidentally earned a life debt from the Dragon Witch of Downtown;

 -Fighting a horde of pixies disguised as wasps on Midsummer’s Eve when they tried to fuse into some kind of pixish superentity that would’ve taken over the entire park system of the city;

 -Ending up dripping wet and furious in front of the shockingly human mayor when things had gone very wrong with a local kelpie;

 -Off the back of that- being officially inaugurated as the city’s Gatekeeper of the Odd and Atypically-Terrestrial (yeah he had a hand in coming up with that name and you bet he’d made sure it made a cool acronym);

 -Oh, and adopting a veritable menagerie of magical-or-otherwise individuals into a patchwork family of six (sometimes five; it’s complicated). 

That last one stands out, doesn’t it?

It certainly stands out to Virgil, who is only in his mid-twenties and very much under-qualified for basically everything his daily life now consists of. Saving and watching over the border between the sub- and sur-reality that makes up the city is one thing, and thanks to his handy-dandy (possibly granted by Death question mark) power of invisibility he can get those responsibilities done without too much issue or risk, and literally vanish when he needs the time away from it all. But the kids? You don’t duck out on kids- especially not these ones.

They’d never let him, for one thing. For another; he would never, ever want to.

Technically two of them aren’t actually kids; they’re just part of the family, but he’s fallen into the habit of parenting everyone he comes across now and they’ve yet to complain. Well, D.C. complains regularly, but Virgil knows it’s just for show. The other three (he says three; they could be two today but he hasn’t checked yet) are all actual children, and definitely require his parenting to stay alive.

Almost as if summoned the door to his room opens and little footsteps skitter in over the wooden floor. With a soft huff of effort Patton pulls himself up onto the bed, all soft blond curls and smiles, displaying the missing front teeth they’d had a whole debacle about the tooth fairy over. Virgil groans dramatically which makes the kid giggle, and he rolls over so Patton can come and sit on his chest and play with his bangs. He needs to dye those again soon, Virgil thinks as he yawns.

“It’s so late, you’re so sleepy!” Patton trills. His voice is high and sweet and there’s a note to it that makes Virgil wonder for the billionth time since the kid started talking if there’s something other than human in Patton’s background. He makes a mental reminder to check in with the Witches who ran the orphanage Patton had been dumped in when he goes to get his hair-dye, because if the boy turns out to be part siren or banshee then Virgil will definitely need the heads up.

For now the power of Patton’s cute pout is dangerous enough as it is. “You know, I used to sleep in every morning and not get up until lunchtime, until you guys came along,” Virgil says, booping Patton on the nose. The boy makes a face and rolls his eyes (he’d learned that from Logan) before clambering off him and walking to the end of the bed, where he hurls himself off and lands neatly on the floor a few feet away (he’d learned that from either Roman or Remus, or both). It doesn’t give Virgil as much of a heart attack as it had when he’d started doing it, because somehow he has yet to injure himself on landing. It’s pretty impressive really, and Virgil is just a teeny bit proud of his so- of the boy.

“We want pancakes!” Patton yells as he races out of the door, and an answering roar of ‘Pancakes!’ from down the hall signals that Roman and Remus are up as well.

It’s so early, ugh. But the kids are up; so he’s gotta be up. That’s how it works when you’re a parent, he’s learned.

Virgil glances over to the enormous tank on the far side of the room, meeting a pair of black eyes and a flickering tongue where the yellow anaconda is hanging out on the carefully selected plants that litter the floor of the terrarium. D.C., his best friend-slash-first-pseudo-family member, is snickering softly, and yawns while they hold eye contact, giving Virgil a pointed twitch of the head in the direction of the door before he slithers off to curl back up in his favourite corner under the sunlamp, out of sight. Traitor. He knows damn well he’s the only thing that can currently distract the twins while Virgil is trying to get things done as efficiently as possible. Fine, the human will just have to get him back another time then. 

Logan appears at his door on the way past to the living room, drawn by the noise. He stops and looks in on Virgil, who gives him a little wave as he rolls out of bed. “You are required in the kitchen, Mr. Gatekeeper,” the android says, and then he’s gone again. Virgil shakes his head fondly. He could do without constantly being referred to by his title, but Logan is a bit of a work in progress. 

Since being rescued from a nasty fae lab under the Library, Logan’s processors have been a little screwy. How he even manages to function without the fae who built him powering him directly is quite the mystery, but function he does, and they’re working on finding him some better memory banks to help with the acquisition of new knowledge as soon as possible. For now the android knows a lot of things, but is shockingly naive, and Virgil has had his hands full trying to acclimate the poor guy to the real world, instead of the world of books he’d previously known. 

Everything else aside, though, Logan does have a point. There’s already a lot of concerning noise coming from along the corridor and with a baby Hydra with a penchant for shape-shifting and a terrifying grasp of the concept of divide and conquer; a fearless and far too easily led seven year old with a face that will get him literally everything his heart desires; an android who knows probably more than all the experts in the world combined but is the walking definition of 'you spent so long wondering if you could that you never stopped to think whether or not you should’; Virgil needs to hurry up before the place is burned down. He’s their only impulse control, after all. 

So he breaks into a jog once he’s pulled his hoodie over his t-shirt, disappearing out of the room to try and supervise his unorthodox and wonderful family. 

D.C. blinks at the disturbance and smiles to himself. “He’ll be fine,” he murmurs, tongue flickering once before he settles back to sleep to the distant sounds of glorious chaos. 

--

Next

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

Pairings: Roman x His Mystery Boyfriend, Romantic Andy x Pryce, Intrulogical (Remus x Logan)

Word Count: 1,878 Words

Summary: Snakes, Deceit in the hospital yet again, and Roman being touch starved as usual.

Warnings: Sex Mentions, Cursing, Snake Mention, Cancer Mention, Sick Character, Immunocompromised Character, Food Mention, Death Mention, Touch Starved Character, let me know if I should tag anything else.

Note: Bolded and blockquoted are actions in their chatroom, not a message.

Usernames, a quick translation guide: Andy: Raccoon Man (the trashiest hero), Castor: schrodingersdumbass, Dayd: carniverousroomba, Dice: Dr. Bitch, Emile: Thera-pissed, Halley: aspermylastemail, Janus: SnekBoi, Logan: Momgan, October: eatpavementido, Orion: birdgeoisie, Patton: Papa Bear, Pollux: satantakemehome, Pryce: SwEeTvErUcA, Remus: Octopussy, Remy: Coffee Bandit, Roman: waaahluigi, Sirius: literalsunshine, Teal: uwu, Thomas: shrexy, Virgil: spipples, Vita: þiccness

A Very Sanders Group Chat: Chapter 8

1:17PM

SnekBoi: Inny, did you feed my snakes?

Octopussy: I did.

SnekBoi: Oh good, I was worried about Ceres. She's only taken her food from me before.

shrexy: Ceres?

Octopussy: baby Burmese Python Dee just got.

SnekBoi: And I have more snakes that will be laying soon.

Thera-pissed has kicked SnekBoi from the chat

Thera-pissed: Seriously, Inny, is he okay? He looks really pale.

Octopussy: well, he's in observation so, obviously, no. he's pretty much running himself down again. he said he plans to reopen his studio again on the fourteenth against me and Dice's medical advice. he's currently digging his hole and he's going to have to work his way out of it when he finally crashes again.

Thera-pissed: Well, how deep in the hole is he?

Dr. Bitch: Currently, he's at least twenty pounds underweight even though he's eating like he should, he's just burning it off by straining himself so much. He had at least two nosebleeds while he was hospitalized last night so it's inevitable that he'll have to do the induction again because it's just not working.

Octopussy: plus, this morning he couldn't open a tupperware I brought him, so I'd say he's pretty much back at the beginning again.

Dr. Bitch: You didn't tell me that you brought him extra food.

Octopussy: he said he'd tell you.

Dr. Bitch: So he's lying between us now.

Octopussy: maybe trying to make himself stronger by lying to people he's connected to emotionally?

Dr. Bitch: Maybe.

Octopussy: if he gets any better, maybe that's the point of his lying right now but just keep eyes on him so his lying can't backfire on him.

Dr. Bitch: I always have a nurse near his room. He's too dangerous left alone for too long.

Octopussy: I have to get back to work, Alice came in with Hannah and Hannah needs her fur de-matted again and if I make Riley deal with her for too long, he'll scream in the break room later.

Dr. Bitch: I wish you could just take the animal from the owners that don't care about them.

Octopussy: I'm not getting fired to rescue dogs, Dicey.

Octopussy: plus you have that kitten now, you can't take care of a month and a half old kitten, a dog, and your job.

Dr. Bitch: You're right and I hate you.

Octopussy: don't lie, bitch, you love me.

Dr. Bitch: Irrelevant.

Octopussy: anyway, work.

Dr. Bitch has deleted 12 messages

Dr. Bitch has added SnekBoi to the chatroom

SnekBoi: You booted me to talk about animals?

Dr. Bitch: No, we were talking about our Christmas present ideas for you and ended up talking about animals.

SnekBoi: Fine.

SnekBoi: Also, you're across the hall at the nurse's station talking to Miss Esme, I can literally see you, Dice, you could just say that to my face.

Dr. Bitch: And yet you just texted me back instead of calling over to me.

SnekBoi: Touche.

SnekBoi: Anyway, back to looking at snakes.

shrexy: Oh yeah, Dee, you breed snakes?

SnekBoi: Well, it started out an accident, actually. Me and Inny moved our rooms around last year after brumation and we put a few of my snakes that could be temporarily cohabed in bins together for a few days so we could do it and quite a number of the snakes got gravid. Roman owns a couple of the amazon tree boas, actually.

SnekBoi: This year we got a new adult garter thinking it was a boy and we only found out it was a girl when we saw Inny's garter snake locked with her and, by then she had already mated so we're just waiting now. Plus we actually decided to see what happens with our sunbeams, only because we want to at least try with them to get babies since it's so hard to get them not wild-caught.

waaahluigi: Livia and Caius are very happy by the way.

shrexy: I now want a snake.

SnekBoi: You really want me and Inny to vet you?

shrexy: Sure?

SnekBoi: Dice, can I have visitors?

Dr. Bitch: I have said this like four times each time you're in here. Only if they wear a mask and so do you.

SnekBoi: Fine. Thomas, come here and wear a mask.

shrexy: Why?

SnekBoi: Because I'm going to vet you first while Inny's working to get it out of the way and I can't leave the hospital for another six days so get in here.

shrexy: I guess I'm going in my head again.

2:40PM

SnekBoi: Trial number one is over. He passed.

waaahluigi: How!? It took me like three tries!

SnekBoi: He knows a lot about snakes, what can I say?

Momgan: Can confirm, Thomas knows quite a bit about snakes since he wanted learn if your scales were indeed slimy and he happened to fall down a rabbit hole and got extremely interested in them.

shrexy: Stop exposing my late-night rabbit hole knowledge to others, Logan.

Momgan: We all live in your head, it literally does not matter.

SnekBoi: Second trial; Inny. Someone you don't even know. Good luck.

shrexy: Yeah, I'm making him trial three, I'm buying snake stuff for trial two.

SnekBoi: Using the stuff I recommended or something else?

shrexy: Stuff you recommended.

SnekBoi: Smart man.

4:30PM

Octopussy: hey, Dee, I went home for lunch and guess what happened?

SnekBoi: No way. Baby garters? Did Venus have babies?

Octopussy: nope, neither. you remember how how we left Juno and Jupiter together earlier this year because we ran out of separators while we had to shift them from their quarantine bins to their enclosures?

SnekBoi: Tell me they didn't.

Octopussy: I think Juno's newly laid litter means they did.

SnekBoi: Well, it looks like unfortunately have baby rainbow boas.

spipples: I want one.

SnekBoi: You really want a snake? You've told us for years you didn't want to own them.

spipples: I was thinking of looking for a cute little noodle and Juno and Jupiter are just plain beautiful so their babies have to be pretty too.

SnekBoi: Reasonable, rainbow boas are pretty as hell.

Octopussy: do you even have an enclosure for a baby rainbow boa?

spipples: I already have an extra 20 gallon enclosure from getting Celeste. I got the wrong one. It was too small for Celeste so I ended up having a spare 20 gallon.

SnekBoi: Amazing, this one is the first one to already have both an enclosure and past snake experience with our babies.

spipples: Oh yeah, I've fed Minerva before.

SnekBoi: Do we even need to continue vetting him?

Octopussy: I still will, this is the first time Juno's had babies and I'm still counting.

SnekBoi: Jeez, how many are you at?

Octopussy: well, I'm doing it alone and I'm searching Juno's enclosure so I'm not even counting yet, I'm still cleaning. it has to be at least seven though.

SnekBoi: Good lord, Juno.

Octopussy: Juno cares not for your so called "lord", she will make any number of squirmy children she wants. and apparently that number was a lot. I'm already above ten.

SnekBoi: I believe it.

Octopussy: just look how pretty this bucket of large rainbowey worms are.

Octopussy: abakersdozenofrainbowboas.jpg

spipples: Wow, they're beautiful.

shrexy: Oh wow, they're so pretty!

waaahluigi: I would kill for them.

Coffee Bandit: I think they look very squirmy and cute. A+ work right there, Juno.

SnekBoi: Oh yeah, Virgil. Time for vetting. Come see me.

spipples: Wish me luck not to die.

Raccoon Man (the trashiest hero): Don't die, I'm not qualified to raise my nephews and niece.

spipples: Fair.

7:45PM

SnekBoi: I'm exhausted. I'm going to sleep again. Live on without me, you feeble simpletons.

spipples: Yeah sure, jackass.

SnekBoi: Love you too, bastard.

spipples: Fair.

SnekBoi is offline

spipples: Hey, Inny, can we talk alone?

Octopussy: Nu-uh. I just got home and I'll be incriminated. Witness.

spipples: Fine, Andy, come with me.

Raccoon Man (the trashiest hero): Fiiiiiiine.

spipples, Raccoon Man (the trashiest hero), and Octopussy are now offline

shrexy: Should I be worried about them.

Dr. Bitch: Virgil seemed extremely worried about Deceit, which is seeable given Dee has declined in health quite a bit lately with his recurrence and he's not quite getting much better as of yet given he's stressing himself out more than he's helping himself get better.

shrexy: Isn't there a way to make him stop that?

Dr. Bitch: We're fortunately unfortunate that he's stubborn. His stubbornness has served well going through things like induction and maintenance but he's absolutely shit at consolidation.

shrexy: Do you think he'll be okay? He's just getting worse.

Dr. Bitch. Like I do with all my patients, I hope he'll get better but, right now, it doesn't seem like he will be unless something changes and he finally stops being so self-destructive.

shrexy: So, no?

Dr. Bitch: I don't think he will, but I don't think he'll die and he knows that. he's a part of you, he can't die, he'll just be in a lot of pain for a very long time and will likely go dormant.

shrexy: It's a relief he won't die but I don't want him to be in pain.

Dr. Bitch: Well, we don't really have a choice. We have the option of I either do my best and get him into remission again and hope it doesn't come back again or I give up on my favorite patient and let him drive himself into the ground again. And you have the option of living with him or rejecting him.

shrexy: I know.

Dr. Bitch: Now I need to work, I get to go home soon.

shrexy: Good luck, Dice!

Dr. Bitch: Yeah, yeah.

Dr. Bitch is offline

Momgan: I'm not surprised that I worked and this chat, yet again, is chaos.

Papa Bear: Yeah, it usually is chaotic while we aren't here, huh Lo?

Momgan: It is. Sometimes I'm shocked any of them have a single braincell between them.

Papa Bear: You're right! Our beloved braincell is at work, so they lose their minds.

waaahluigi: I resent that!

Momgan: We know you're chaotic because you miss us, Roman.

waaahluigi: No! I just get...

waaahluigi: ...bored stupid.

Momgan: Would you like to hug, Roman?

waaahluigi: Wait, you're offering to hug me? You? The robot?

Momgan: Well, given I am designated the group mother, I may as well give you motherly affection.

waaahluigi: I would kill to hug someone.

Momgan: Roman, are you touch starved?

waaahluigi: No! Of course not! I just like attention!

þiccness: He is. Mom refuses to admit it but he is touch starved quite frequently.

Momgan: I guess I'm staying with you then until you have had an adequate amount of touch.

waaahluigi: Hang on, gonna cry real quick because Lo's being so nice to me.

shrexy: Aw, bud! Cuddle pile on Roman time!

SwEeTvErUcA: You mean flop on my brother like he's a pancake and I'm butter? Great idea!

waaahluigi: Wait nonono!

uwu: Hey what was that bang?

waaahluigi: Ow.

uwu: Ah, two touch starved triplets. Makes sense. Carry on.

Momgan: Oh no, you're getting in on this too, Teal.

uwu: What god did I offend to be taken from doing my work like this?

Momgan: All of them.

uwu: Sounds about right, deal.

Taglist: @glaxyjellyfish @chronophobica @fear-ze-queer @imma-potatoo

[nachosforfree]

Ok so since it literally JUST popped into my head, I don’t have all the details worked out, but Remus and virgil are werewolf brothers, Logan and deceit are vampire brothers, and Patton and roman are monster hunter brothers (I really like the brothers thing I guess lmao) and Remus and Logan fall in love but have to date in secret cos werewolf and vampire feuds n all that, and deceit is the first to discover them together and hes pissed but he’s also happy his brother found someone (1/?)

Logan does convince him to give them a chance cos he truly does love remus, in a way he’s never loved anyone before, and deceit has to admit it’s better that he fell for a monster than a human (even if it’s a werewolf) cos then at least he doesn’t have to keep secrets about who he is, and then of course later on he falls for roman who’s not only a human but a monster hunter, which of course raises concerns (2/?)

It isn’t long before virgil discovers their relationship as well, and he’s also pissed, but maybe a bit more pissed than deceit was because he has a personal vendetta against deceit and of course remus went and fell for the guys brother, but he gets to know logan a bit better and realises he’s not that bad at all, nothing like his slimeball of a brother (3/?)

And then eventually Patton and roman get tied into the story. It’s u!patton which is a squick for me but maybe I’ll find a way to work on this story in spite of that idk. So roman is not nearly as enthusiastic as Patton is about monster hunting. Patton sees it as “world purification” and only sees monsters as nasty menaces that cannot be saved and the only way to deal with them is to kill them (4/?)

So of course when the two start hunting down these werewolves and vampires, he manages to fall head over heels for one of the vampires, and while he’s convinced he’s under some sort of vampiric spell and is researching some kind of cure, he soon realises that this isn’t a spell or enchantment or curse... this is just love. A curse all of its own (5/?)

He does everything he can to never let patton know, but when Patton finds a lead on where the vampires might be hiding, he sneaks ahead to warn deceit. He didn’t realise that Patton had followed him though, and uncovered his secret. He and deceit fight, but deceit manages to get away, and Patton decides to lock up roman until the “love spell” wears off, no matter how hard roman tries to convince him it’s not a spell (6/?)

Deceit warns the other three about Patton and they know they have to leave town and find someplace else to hide, but deceit knows that roman is in trouble with Patton and wants to save him. The others aren’t sure about this idea since roman is a hunter as well after all, but deceit insists he’s a good human that doesn’t mean them harm, and reveals that they’re in love (7/?)

Things are tense but they form a plan to rescue roman, and while I don’t have details sorted out on how they save him, I feel like it might involve Patton being turned into either a werewolf or vampire because irony. And once roman is safe, he, deceit, Logan, Remus, and virgil are able to live in relative safety. It’s so drama and angst but I’m already invested. Thoughts? Opinions? Questions? (8/8) ~ Remy 🐀

Ohhhh I like this a lot! You dont have to include unsympatton if its a squick for you though!

[miguel-manbemel]

Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 44: Beware the Paladin Part 4: The Gift from the Core

Here comes another part of this five-part story on this fic inspired on Sanders Sides by Thomas Sanders, Joan S. and the Foster Dawg Team. I hope that you’re still enjoying this story and see ya in two weeks with the finale of Beware the Paladin.

SYNOPSIS: Patton tries to get in touch with the Mind Palace Core to find a way to cure Janus and wake him up, and this way being able to restore Thomas’ connection with his Sides. Meanwhile Virgil and Roman try to fix their relationship, very damaged by the Paladin’s words.

WARNINGS: Slight, implied innuendo references, mentions to divorce and breakups.

EPISODE INDEX

[Joan arrives to their home. Talyn is there]

TALYN: Joan? What are you doing here? I thought you were staying with Thomas this week.

JOAN: I am, Talyn, but the truth is I’m gonna need you to come with me, at least today.

TALYN: What? Why? Is something wrong with Thomas?

JOAN: To an extent, it is. Don’t worry, it’s not too serious, but Thomas needs you.

TALYN: Okay, I’ll help in any way I can… but I’m gonna need you to give me a moment to get dressed and put a basic makeup on. I’m not getting out of the house like this.

JOAN: Okay, it’s on me, I should have phoned you in advance so that you would get ready. Don’t worry, it’s not a strict emergency, but please, don’t take too long. I don’t want to leave Thomas alone for too long, at least for this week.

TALYN: [going to their room while Joan waits on the living room] Why don’t you bring me up to date about what has happened while I’m getting ready?

JOAN: Sure. You see, as you know, I went to the hospital to get Thomas and lift him home. After two weeks of treatment, he’s totally recovered from his bipolar disorder crisis. He was so happy, so lively, with such an excellent mood… Until he tried to summon his Sides and discovered he couldn’t anymore. Not only that. When I summoned them, because I still can, he couldn’t see or hear them and they couldn’t physically touch him, as if they were ghosts.

TALYN: [from their room] Wow… that must have been a shock for him.

JOAN: It was, for him and for the Sides too. Logan thinks it’s because of the medication, which has disturbed Thomas’ brainwaves and weakened the connection. I had the idea, and Logan confirmed that it could work, that you could try to hypnotize us both again to reestablish that connection by synchronizing Thomas’ current brainwaves with mine. That’s why I came here to fetch you.

TALYN: Oh, of course, I’ll be happy to help. I’ll do it as soon as when we get there.

JOAN: I hope you can, because, you see, there’s another part of the story. Two weeks ago, as I told you back then, when the Paladin was on the loose, he attacked Janus and hit him on the head with his heavy sword, causing him a traumatic brain injury. The point is he has been unconscious ever since, and without him awaken we can’t perform the hypnosis, because all Sides must be in autopilot when we do it. I’m sure you remember what happened when they weren’t.

TALYN: Oh… I see… Is there anything we can do to help?

JOAN: We can’t, but Patton has stepped in to help. Logan suggested that only Patton, as a former Master Side, can help Janus wake up. He’s going to go to the Mind Palace Core to try to get in touch with the Core itself so it can give him a solution. He’s probably doing it right at this moment. The problem is that it’s too dangerous. The Core is in many ways like a black hole, it can absorb Sides and destroy them. Patton is literally risking his life to save Janus’.

TALYN: Goodness, I hope he’s all right…

JOAN: Me too, Talyn… Okay, I brought you up to date. Are you ready yet?

TALYN: Almost ready. Just give me a second to retouch my eyebrows and we’re good to go.

JOAN: Good, because if Patton is successful, Thomas will need us there. I really hope he’s successful, for Patton’s sake, but also for Janus’ and Thomas’ sake. I fear what will become of Thomas if he can’t make contact with his Sides anymore.

[Talyn gets out of their room]

TALYN: Okay, I’m ready.

JOAN: Good, let’s go then.

[Joan and Talyn get out of the house and into the car]

[intro sequence]

[Patton rises up in the Mind Palace Center. It’s exactly as they left it when Chris’ rescue was over months ago. Chris’ arrow that hit the Dark Master is even still on the floor, full of dust]

PATTON: Gosh, does no one clean this place, ever? This is gonna be the center… of criticism… Okay, Patton, that was really awful. You know that when you’re so distressed your jokes are horrible, so stop making bad jokes no one’s gonna hear… There’s the Core. As bright as always… [shows a face of fear] as dangerous as always… [takes a deep breath] but it’s our only hope now, so please, Core, have mercy on us, and especially on me right now. First, I’m gonna need to secure myself so that I don’t get absorbed if I get too close.

[Patton summons a rope tied to a stake firmly stuck into the floor. Then he ties the rope firmly around his wrist. He unties his cat onesie and throws it behind him]

PATTON: I wouldn’t forgive myself if the onesie got untied and absorbed by the Core, it was given to me by Logan, it’s too much valuable for me. If something happened to me… I want him to keep that garment, so that he can remember me and how much he meant to me… Don’t be so fatalist, Patton, you’re gonna see Logan again in no time, you’ll see… Okay, this should do it. I summoned the stake at least a couple of meters into the ground, which will leave a huge dent on the floor. That’s not a very nice way of treating this sanctuary, but no one’s gonna complain anyway. Sort of, I’m the only Master left out of the Core right now, even if I’m not a Master anymore, so in a way this place is mine now, and besides, I’m positive the only Master inside the Core whose opinion I care about would certainly approve. I hope the rope is strong enough and the stake can hold on in place. My life depends on it… [sighs, then looks at the Core in fear, his whole body is slightly shaking] I’m so scared… this could be my final moment in the Mind Palace… but I have to do this, for Janus, for Thomas… Enough overthinking, Patton. It’s now or never. Let’s go.

[Patton starts walking towards the Core. When he approaches it, he starts feeling a force pulling from him. The rope seems to be strong enough, though, so he keeps on walking. Soon, he’s levitating on the air, tied to the rope which gets tense, as tense as Patton’s gesture]

PATTON: Please, don’t break, rope… I think I’m close enough, though, I can feel all sorts of feelings from inside the Core. I’ll try to enter in communication with these feelings and maybe I’ll receive an answer.

[Patton closes his eyes and concentrates, still levitating, tied to the rope, some brightness glows out of the Core as bright translucent flames that reach Patton. When the translucent flames touch Patton, he starts smiling and nodding, as if he was having a conversation without words, and a bright light-blue aura that starts surrounding him gets in contact with the brightness from the Core. Meanwhile, in Roman’s room, Virgil enters Roman’s bedroom. Roman is in bed there and looks at Virgil]

ROMAN: Hi, my love… How is Thomas doing?

VIRGIL: [cold voice] Fine, I guess… How are you feeling now, Roman?

ROMAN: I’m almost okay now. It’s been bad days, but now that the symptoms are almost gone, I think I’m ready to get out of bed and start a normal life again. Thanks for asking.

VIRGIL: [same cold voice, avoiding eye contact] That’s nice…

[Virgil gets silent. Roman looks at him]

ROMAN: Anyway… How are you doing now, Virgil? Since you moved to the guest bedroom after Patton left to take care of Logan, I barely see you each day, only at meals and you barely share a couple of words with me. This is the longest conversation we’ve had in two weeks.

VIRGIL: Do you even care how I am doing, anyway? I’m okay, I guess…

ROMAN: Virgil, please, we need to talk this out. This dynamic that we have established is unhealthy. At least it’s very hard for me.

VIRGIL: This wasn’t easy for me either. But… I wasn’t ready to face you yet. The Paladin’s words still dance in my head each and every minute, even in my sleep.

ROMAN: I have apologized to you a thousand times already to no avail. Isn’t there any way for you to forgive me?

VIRGIL: “Sorry” isn’t always the magic word that solves each and any issue, Roman. I know you probably are sorry, but that’s not enough to magically fix all of this. Apologizing doesn’t change the facts, nor does it change the pain you made me go through… or the disappointment I feel every time I look at you in the eye. Being close to you… has hurt me these past few days, that’s why I’ve been avoiding you. And I didn’t see a way to stop the pain other than staying away from you.

ROMAN: [both scared and sad] Are you saying that… you want to break up with me?

[Virgil looks at Roman right in the eye for the first time, with a sad face of longing]

VIRGIL: No, I’m not saying that… I have wanted to avoid you… but at the same time I didn’t wanna leave your side and I worried about you and your safety each minute I was away from you. I wanted to avoid you to stop the pain, but at the same time avoiding you caused me more pain, cause I longed for you, so I accomplished nothing. I have thought about that question you’ve just asked, Roman, if I wanted to break up with you. I’ve had plenty of time to meditate about it and every time I always reached the same conclusion: I still wanna fight for our relationship and for our family. I want to believe that there is still a chance for us to go through this crisis and emerge stronger as a couple. I think the only way to stop the pain is by working it out, together, and I’m willing to try if you are. I still love you, Roman.

ROMAN: And I love you too, Virgil, and if you give me the chance to prove to you that my love for you is real, I swear I won’t throw it away.

VIRGIL: One part of me is yelling at me to let you go… but my heart wants me to seek refuge in your arms and never leave your shielding comfort… [looks at Roman with a glance of sadness and overwhelming love at the same time] I guess I’m my father’s son… my heart’s voice is stronger. I love you too much to give you up... maybe I’m bound to love you all of my life, even in spite of myself.

ROMAN: I swear I’ll requite that love as you deserve, Virgil. I’ll make myself worthy of your love for me, I promise. And I also need you in my arms, Virgil. You have no idea how much. Come here, my love.

[Virgil approaches Roman and they both hug and kiss. Meanwhile, Remus, Logan and Ian are still waiting next to Janus’ bed]

LOGAN: He’s taking too long. I’m so worried.

REMUS: Relax, Log, I’m sure Patton will be all right.

LOGAN: I can’t relax, Remus. At this very moment, he could be gone already, and we would never know for certain, because we can’t follow him. I’m so scared for his safety.

IAN: You love Patton very much, don’t you, Logan?

LOGAN: He taught me the real value of feelings, Ian. He taught me the only thing I couldn’t learn myself from my Library, that love is the real force that moves everything, stronger than any other force in the natural world, and worth to fight for more than anything else in life. How could I not love him when it was him who taught me how to love?

IAN: That’s so sweet…

REMUS: A little sappy, but I like sappy sometimes. I understand you, Logan, and I hope that Patton returns, [looking at the unconscious Janus] for both our sake.

LOGAN: I really hope he returns and also that his trip is worth the risk and Janus can be saved too.

REMUS: Thanks, Teach.

[At that moment, Patton appears from the ceiling, landing on the floor in front of Logan. Logan looks at Patton. For a second, he doesn’t react, then his face lightens up and he sports a wide smile, then he hugs Patton]

LOGAN: [happy] Patton, you’re back!

PATTON: Of course I’m back! I would never leave you!

[Logan releases Patton, then Patton summons a green leaf and gives it to Logan, who looks at it, confused]

LOGAN: Uh… what’s this? Something given to you by the Core? I know! We must make an infusion with this leaf, then give it to Janus to drink, or we give a massage on the head with it and he’ll wake up, right?

PATTON: No, Logan. You didn’t let me finish my sentence. I would never leave you. Instead, I just did leaf you… [smiles widely while doing the badoom-tish gesture with his hands]

[Logan is confused for a couple of seconds, then he realizes it’s only one of Patton’s puns and frowns at him]

LOGAN: Why did I marry you, again?

PATTON: [smirks] Because I taught you the real value of feelings and that love is the real force that moves everything, and I also because I taught you how to love, Logan.

LOGAN: You were listening?

PATTON: Not quite. I heard it from the Core. It can see the past and the present of this Mind Palace and it can even go a little bit into the future, and it showed me you would say that at some point in the near future from mine. Did you say it already?

LOGAN: Yeah, I just did… [sighs] And you’re right, I do love you because of that… even in punitive moments like this against all of… me…

PATTON: [smirks] Pun-itive, I see what you did there.

LOGAN: [clears his throat] Patton, let’s get serious. So you got to the Core, right?

PATTON: Yes, I did.

REMUS: And did you get anything useful for Janus?

PATTON: Yes. As I said, I entered in communion with the Core. I almost spoke to it. Well, I did speak to it, without words, but I did. It was the most wonderful feeling I have ever experienced. The Core approved of my intentions, considering them noble and wanted to help me fulfill my purpose. So, the Core gifted me a new ability I’m gonna use right now to help Janus.

IAN: A new ability? What do you mean, Patton?

PATTON: Step aside, let me get closer to Janus.

REMUS: Okay…

[Everyone steps aside and Patton approaches Janus. He puts his hand on Janus’ forehead, then closes his eyes. A light blue aura starts glowing around Patton, and it extends to Janus. The others watch the scene, stunned. After a few seconds, color returns to Janus’ face, then he opens his eyes and the aura disappears]

JANUS: What… what has happened? Where am I? And I know this is not a cliche thing to say in this situation, like, at all.

REMUS: [happy] Janus! You woke up!

[Remus hugs Janus. Janus hugs him back, still confused]

JANUS: I’m totally aware of what’s going on… glad to be back, I guess.

LOGAN: You’ve been knocked out for two weeks. Remus and Ian have been taking care of you all this time.

JANUS: Two weeks!? Oh, now I remember… the Paladin suddenly got in front of me, he hit me hard with his sword… and then, after a split second of a huge headache, everything went black and I lost notion of time. Then, in the darkness I saw a light-blue source of light, and a strange sweet music calling from inside, asking me to get there… and I did… and then I opened my eyes just now.

REMUS: It was Patton. Patton brought you back to life. [Remus hugs Patton] Thank you so much, Patton!

PATTON: It was my pleasure, kiddo. Glad to be able to help.

JANUS: So that light… was you, Patton? How? Wha…? Thank you, Patton. I don’t understand how you did it, but thank you for saving my life.

IAN: We’ll explain in time. Now it is important that, when Joan gives us the signal, we all enter in autopilot. We have to resynchronize Thomas’ brainwaves because he’s lost contact with us and we gotta fix that.

JANUS: Seems there has been a lot going on around here while I was gone. What else did I miss?

IAN: Okay, guys, while you bring him up to date, I’ll go alert the others to be ready. See ya in a moment.

[Ian sinks down, then rises up in Roman’s room, in the living room. Chris is there]

CHRIS: Hi, Ian.

IAN: Hi, Chris, I got good news. Janus has woken up.

CHRIS: [happy] Really? That’s so cool! Is he okay?

IAN: Yes, he’s okay, thanks to Patton, and he’s ready to enter autopilot when Joan gives us the signal. Where are your parents?

CHRIS: Upstairs. I think they’re finally having a good conversation after weeks.

IAN: That’s good to know. The Paladin’s words affected Virgil very much.

CHRIS: Yeah, I know. I had never seen him like that. He’s been so distant of my father… even of me. I even thought that, as soon as father got better, dad was going to ask him for the divorce. I guess he changed his mind, cause when I came around their door to ask what they wanted for dinner, I heard them muffled-giggling and saying loving things to each other. As they usually do after an argument, they took the saying “kiss and makeup” literally, if you know what I mean, so I decided not to disturb them.

IAN: Well, we gotta warn them that they must be in autopilot too…

CHRIS: Oh, don’t worry. I’m positive they’re already in autopilot.

IAN: All right, if you say so. Tell them the good news about Janus when you can, okay?

CHRIS: Okay, I will. Thanks for the warning Ian. Glad that Janus is okay.

IAN: You’re welcome. [sinks down]

CHRIS: Janus waking up, Thomas back to normal, my father almost recovered and my dad giving him another chance… it seems that things are starting to look up at last…

[suddenly there’s angry yelling coming from upstairs]

CHRIS: Perhaps I spoke too soon… What is going on up there? Dad! Father! What’s the matter!?

[the sound of the bedroom door slamming open upstairs is heard and Virgil rushes down the stairs. Roman follows him. Virgil is furious, Roman tries to calm him down]

ROMAN: I swear it wasn’t me who said that, and I swear it’s not true!

VIRGIL: Yeah, right! Of course it isn’t true! These words came out of your mouth, I remind you, and the last time the Paladin spoke through your lips, he was saying the truth!

ROMAN: This time, like the last time, he twisted the truth, Virgil! I swear!

CHRIS: Whoa! Whoa! Time up! What is going on here!?

VIRGIL: What is going on here? We were done making… things up, when suddenly the Paladin started speaking through your father’s mouth!

CHRIS: The Paladin? Again?

ROMAN: It was only a few seconds! And I quickly reined him in!

VIRGIL: But not before he said a devastating truth about me! Something that your father thinks for real about me!

CHRIS: And what truth is that if I might know?

VIRGIL: He blames me for your leg injury! He doesn’t believe I’m good enough to be your father and he thinks I’m a bad influence for you and you’re better off without me!

CHRIS: What? Father, is that what you think?

ROMAN: I don’t think that! Virgil, you’re good enough to be Chris’ father, I’ve always said that!

VIRGIL: But your thoughts are very different from your sayings! Admit it! Admit you were saying the truth!

ROMAN: I… I’ll only admit that I do believe that you’ve been a hinder in Chris’ development as a Side. And you have to admit it was true as it was you who said it first. But I also believe I’m not better than you on the matter, and I also believe you didn’t do it on purpose and you do your best to change for the better, and that’s what’s important to me! You have to believe me! The Paladin took my thoughts out of context and twisted them! Please, trust me!

VIRGIL: I can’t! I’ve tried, but I can’t trust you anymore! I don’t know when you’re being honest about your feelings towards me, or when you’re lying or hiding things from me! How much are you keeping to yourself about me that you don’t want me to know? Tell me! How much!?

ROMAN: Virgil, please, I swear whatever I avoid saying to you is not as bad as you think it is! Please, don’t be so para…!

[Roman covers his mouth. Virgil looks at Roman with a face of shock that leads to a face of anger and tears]

VIRGIL: Come on, say it! You think I’m a paranoid! At least this time you’ve said it in my face with your own free voice!

ROMAN: Virgil, I… I…

VIRGIL: [yelling] Save your excuses, Roman! I can’t… [makes a pause, fighting tears] I need to leave this room. I need to get away from you.

ROMAN: [horrified] What? Are you… breaking up with me?

VIRGIL: Maybe… Maybe not… I don’t know… I need to think, and I need to be alone to do so. Since now you’re strong enough to stand still, you don’t need my care anymore, so I’m going back to my own room right now.

ROMAN: [in despair] Virgil, please… don’t leave me! Not like this! Not because of this! I swear that I love you! And I know for certain that you love me! Can’t we talk this out like civilized people?

VIRGIL: Not now, Roman. Yes, I still love you to my despair, and I know that, despite it all, you love me, but… sometimes… love is not enough. I need some room to breathe and put my ideas in order. Please, if you love me, don’t go look for me.

ROMAN: [sighs] As you wish, Virgil…

CHRIS: Before you go… Ian has warned us that we must all enter autopilot when Joan gives us the signal, to restore Thomas’ connection with us.

VIRGIL: I understand… Don’t worry about that. I’m gonna stay in autopilot for a very long time. And I’m not ducking out altogether because I don’t want to put Thomas’ mental health at risk again, but right now… I just wanna be alone and not see anyone. Bye, Chris. Goodbye, Roman.

[Virgil sinks down. Roman looks at the empty space where he was standing. Then, tears start falling down his cheeks, and he starts sobbing heavily as if he was running out of air or as if he was on the verge of crying aloud. Chris hugs him]

CHRIS: Father, don’t worry, I’m sure that when his anger wears off, you’ll have your chance to talk to him more calmly. Now give him some time. I’m sure your mutual love will prevail eventually.

ROMAN: [sobbing] I hate the Paladin inside of me. He brings up every wrongdoing I’ve ever done, even in my mind, puts it out of context and uses it against me. I swear I don’t think that Virgil is harmful to you. I swear!

CHRIS: And I believe you, father.

[Suddenly, the sobbing stops abruptly and Roman starts getting sick]

CHRIS: Father? Father, what’s wrong with you!?

[Roman has to rush to the bathroom where he loudly vomits off-screen]

CHRIS: Father! What was that!? Are you okay?

[after some time, he gets out of the bathroom]

ROMAN: Yeah, I don’t know what’s happened to me… I suddenly got very sick and I couldn’t help myself… Perhaps it’s residual effects from the illness, or perhaps it’s because of the nervous breakdown I just had. I hope… because the last time someone vomited like this… But that couldn’t be, that’s impossible. It couldn’t be that… could it?

CHRIS: You lost me…

ROMAN: Never mind, I was talking to myself. It couldn’t be that… I hope…

[Chris stares at Roman with a face of confusion. Then Ian rises up]

IAN: Okay, guys, everything’s ready. Everyone enter autopilot now! Where is Virgil?

CHRIS: He’s in his room.

IAN: Is everything… okay? Roman, your eyes are red and your face is white as a ghost. What happened?

ROMAN: It’s okay, I’ll… I’ll be fine… it’s only a… a disagreement between Virgil and I, that’s all…

IAN: Okay, I’m lost, how could everything here change so radically in a matter of five literal minutes?

CHRIS: Don’t worry, uncle Ian, we’ll be fine… And Virgil is in autopilot too, so don’t worry about him either…

IAN: Okay, if you say so. But remember I’ll be there for anything you guys need, okay?

CHRIS: Thank you so much, Ian… Okay, you came for the autopilot, and autopilot you will get. Let’s hope everything goes right. Ready, father?

ROMAN: Ready.

CHRIS: Entering autopilot… now.

[end card]

[Talyn is about to wake Joan and Thomas up from their hypnosis, after Logan guided them on the synchronization like the last time]

TALYN: Three… two… one… Wake up!

[Talyn claps their hands and both Thomas and Joan wake up]

JOAN: Well? Do you think it worked?

THOMAS: There is only one way to find out… Logan, come here, please!

LOGAN: I’m already here, Thomas. Perhaps it didn’t…

THOMAS: No, it did, somehow, Logan, I can hear you! But I can’t see you… wait, what’s that…?

[Logan’s image starts appearing blurry in his spot, after a couple of seconds, he becomes completely sharp]

THOMAS: [happy] Now I can see you! It worked! I’m so happy to see you again, Logan!

LOGAN: [smiles] And I’m happy to know it worked, Thomas.

THOMAS: I got so scared for a second it wouldn’t have worked and everything today had been useless… It’s so good to see that now everything’s back to normal again, at least what I consider normal in my life. I know any other people would consider your absence as regaining normality, but… I don’t know if I would have coped to give up your company, guys, after having you in my life since forever.

LOGAN: Hearing those words feels… adequate, Thomas.

THOMAS: How is everybody doing? No, don’t tell me, I’ll call everyone so that they tell me themselves. Roman, Patton, Virgil, Janus, Remus, Chris, Ian! Everybody come here!

[all the Sides rise up except Virgil. Janus is already wearing his usual outfit and snake makeup, including a brand new bowler hat]

JANUS: Hi, Thomas. I’m not happy at all to see you. Just kidding.

THOMAS: Hi, Janus. Joan told me what you’ve been going through. Glad that you’re okay now.

JANUS: Thank you, Thomas. And look, Remus gifted me a brand new bowler hat.

REMUS: Of course I did, you couldn’t go around wearing that crushed bowler hat, could you? That’s more my thing, you know?

ROMAN: [with a smile] Hi, Thomas. I’m sorry for all the fuzz I’ve caused to you.

THOMAS: It… it wasn’t your fault, Roman. In fact, among all of us, you’re the one who has suffered the most from all of this, so it’s me who should apologize to you. You were the worst victim of this illness, which now I’ve got under control. Doctors said that if I keep my treatment and healthy habits, I’ll have a perfectly normal life. And if I’m healthy in the hopes and dreams department, so will you.

ROMAN: I’m happy for you, Thomas. Maybe it’s a little late for me, but I’m happy for you.

THOMAS: What do you mean? By the way, where is Virgil? He’s the only one who didn’t show up.

[Roman’s smile starts trembling. Soon he can no longer fight the tears and his act drops down completely. He turns around quickly and the others except Chris and Ian look at him in shock. Chris and Ian look at him in sadness]

THOMAS: Roman, what’s wrong?

CHRIS: Well, I guess you all would have found out sooner or later. You see… my parents are separating, at least for the time being. Virgil has returned to his own room and currently is in autopilot, as he doesn’t want to see anybody.

THOMAS: But what happened? I hope it’s not because of me.

CHRIS: No, don’t worry, it’s not your fault. It’s complicated, Thomas. For now, at least, it’s not definitive. Virgil hasn’t asked for the divorce yet, so technically they’re still married. It’s just that Virgil needs time to think alone, that’s all… Father, what’s the matter?

[They all look at Roman and they see him retching, still facing the wall. He quickly summons a huge bucket and vomits inside. Then he summons the bucket away and turns around, showing a sick face]

ROMAN: Ugh… I’m sorry, guys… I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Perhaps it’s residual effects of the illness, or maybe it’s the stress of my breakup with Virgil…

CHRIS: Father, you still haven’t really broken up. There may be a chance for you to fix things up. Dad still loves you, he admitted it. Your bond surely can’t be broken up so easily.

PATTON: I’ll have to talk to my son. Maybe I can help him on this.

ROMAN: If you could help him, Patton, I’d be very grateful.

PATTON: I’ll do my best, Roman. But if he decides to carry on with the break up, you know as his father, I’ll have to support him. I hope you understand.

ROMAN: I understand, Patton. As long as I don’t lose your friendship, I couldn’t bear it happening too…

PATTON: Of course you won’t, Roman! You will always be my friend, no matter what, and you’ll still be my son-in-law, even if not “legally”.

ROMAN: That means a lot to me, Patton, thank you.

PATTON: And now that I’m here with you, Chris, let me see that leg of yours.

CHRIS: What? My leg? Why?

JANUS: [smirks] Just wait and see, Chris. Let Patton work his new magic.

CHRIS: [confused] Okay…

[Patton touches Chris’ leg. A light blue glow appears around the leg and Chris looks at it, stunned, just as stunned as the others watching except the ones who were in Janus’ room earlier. A few seconds later, the glow disappears]

PATTON: Done. How do you feel now?

CHRIS: About what? Wait… my leg… it feels less weak and I no longer feel any pain when I rest on that foot… Why, I can stand on my foot normally! My leg is healed! Grandpa, how did you do that?

PATTON: It’s a gift from the Core, the same gift I used to heal Janus. I’m just grateful that I can use it for your benefit, kiddos.

CHRIS: [happy, summoning his crutches away] Thank you, grandpa! You’ve saved me months of recovery! I love you!

PATTON: Love ya back, grandson. I hope I can still help all of you in the future… [suddenly looking at Roman, scared] Roman! Look out!

[Suddenly, Roman seems to get dizzy. He loses balance and falls, but Chris and Patton grab him before he hits the floor]

CHRIS: Father, what gives!? This isn’t normal!

ROMAN: [shaking his head and regaining balance] I know… Suddenly my head started spinning… And I think I know what’s going on. I didn’t wanna believe it, especially after being with Virgil only one single time in the last couple of weeks, but, judging for what Virgil told me in the past that he felt, which is the same I’m feeling now, I guess it’s true…

CHRIS: What do you mean?

ROMAN: Vomiting, dizziness, this strange feeling in my tummy… Chris… I hope that you’re ready.

CHRIS: Ready? Ready… for what?

ROMAN: Have you ever imagined having a brother?

[there’s a short moment of silence]

EVERYBODY BUT ROMAN: [yelling at the same time] Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!??????

[a sign reads “To be concluded, guys, gals and non binary pals”]

[babysizedfics]

I just noticed something while re-reading your fics, I know that Roman is an age dreamer but at some pints i can see him actually like regressing? like in The Little Prince's Rescue when they were found he said himself he didnt feel little but instead small and stuff like that, was that intentional?

(This is the fic anon is referring to)

Yes it was!

I talked about it in the comments section on AO3 but i'll post it here for clarification

TheBuckySoldier's comment on ao3 included this:

Would you say that this is the first time Roman has slipped this young, or rather the first time he becomes aware that he has the capacity to do so? I'd be curious to know Logan and Patton's reactions to this (since here they obviously had more pressing concerns)

and I replied (with added paragraph spaces for readability):

I believe this is something of a first time for Roman - his littlespace had never been defined by age before since it was always voluntary and just vaguely 'childish' rather than defined by developmental stages as Virgil's is.

I think this might even be the first time that Roman is involuntarily little, at least to a certain extent. It obviously starts off with him acknowledging that he could be big but that he doesn't want to be, but in reality I don't think he would have been able to stay big for very long even if he tried.

You might even be able to define this particular instance as age regression rather than age dreaming, though it will not repeat very often for him as this was a very specific and emotionally intense occurrence.

I do not think he has ever truly been in such a young headspace before, though he came fairly close when he was crying after making fun of Vee in Little Accidents!

As for Logan and Patton's reactions, I may have to explore their reactions in the future!

I have a lil bit more to say now:

Essentially, this fic (though it is kind of brushed over) depicts a worst case scenario for romans nyctophobia - he isn't just scared of the dark like virgil, he is terrified of it, in the fic he is literally paralysed with fear

and in moments of extreme distress, many humans regress in one way or another, whether that be crying or rocking yourself or, for some, completely reverting to a childlike state of mind

this is that instance for Roman. Because he has opened a little (ha) door in himself to acting childish then he is more prone to regressing in moments of extreme emotion

but i still maintain that he is not an age regressor, he has just experienced a couple of moments of regression to a more extreme extent than the average person

[98prilla]

Changing Tides

Next

Previous

AO3

...

“What is taking so long?” Roman muttered, tail flicking the water impatiently.

           “Look.” Logan replied, pointing up the hill. Two small figures were making their way down the slope. One was the easily recognizable form of Patton. The other was slouched, hands deep in pockets, following after Patton a little hesitantly as they reached the pebbly beach.

           “Hey guys! So, Virgil, officially meet Logan and Roman!” Patton exclaimed, pointing to the two mermen in turn. Virgil’s eyes flicked up, quickly taking in the two of them before looking back down at the ground.

           “Heya.” He gave a little salute, leaning against the rocky outcrop that ran around the beach.

           “Well, I’m just gonna slide this on and get in the water. Don’t mind me.” Patton said, slipping easily into his seal skin. Virgil watched wide eyed as he instantly morphed into the form of a seal. It gave a little bark, then hopped the few feet to the water and glided away, splashing playfully as he went.

           “woah. That was wild.” Virgil commented, eyes still fixed on where the seal vanished into the water.  

           “So, everything healed fine? Nothing sore or aching? Nothing wrong?” Logan asked, looking over Virgil carefully for any sign of injury.

           “Yup.” He popped the p, rubbing the back of his head. “thanks, by the way. For rescuing me, I guess. For… for helping. I can’t imagine it’s safe for you, being around boats and stuff.”

           “Yes, well, some of us can’t resist showing off. You’re just lucky he happened to be nearby.” Logan replied, pointedly looking at Roman, who rolled his eyes.

           “So overdramatic, Logan. That’s supposed to be my department. I’ve been around longer than you, and I haven’t been found out yet!” The mer argued, though it was clear they’d had this fight before and never resolved anything.

           “I’m going to go catch up with Patton. If you’ll excuse me,” without waiting for an answer, Logan flicked his tail and was gone.

         “Sorry about him. Not much of a social person, he’d rather be cooped up in his cave all day studying. Sometimes it’s like grabbing a jelly fish by the stingers, trying to get him out into some open ocean.” Roman commented, looking the kid up and down, frowning slightly.

           “Your hair wasn’t purple before, was it? It looks good, don’t get me wrong, but-“

           “Yeah. Yeah it’s purple now, for some reason. I don’t know why or how so…” The kid trailed off, kicking a pebble.

            “Easy there bud, didn’t know it was a touchy subject.” Roman replied, hands up in surrender. Virgil sighed.

           “sorry. It’s just… just been a lot.”

           “I’d imagine. Mermen, selkies, magic, most humans couldn’t handle it.” Virgil shrugged.

           “Is it so hard to imagine? I mean, there’s tons of the ocean we haven’t explored yet. Of course there’s going to be stuff we don’t know about. Like, I don’t know, giant squids were just legend until the 1920s. And you guys are clearly smart, so you can hide from divers or whoever.” Virgil replied animatedly, gesturing with one hand to help make his points.

           “Obviously. It’s just most humans think they’re the smartest things around, and if they haven’t conquered something or discovered something by now, it doesn’t exist. A load of arrogant pricks, most of the time.” He muttered, flushing as he realized what he’d said. “Not that you are, I mean, you seem fine, for a human, not that you being a human makes it not fine, I mean-“ He cut himself off before anything else could escape from his mouth, noting with some satisfaction that at least the human was grinning now, clearly having found his stumble amusing.

           “I’m the last one who’ll argue against humans being pricks, I can promise you that much.” He replied, smile fading a bit as something flashed across his eyes, a memory of something. He sat down, leaning back against the crag, looking up into Roman’s face for the first time since they’d started talking. “its not like they’ve ever done anything for me.” His voice was bitter, and he bit his lip as he idly grabbed a stone, running his thumb over its uneven edges to keep himself grounded.

 “I’m sorry.”

 “Why? Not like any of it is your fault. Should blame my mom, I suppose, for leaving and not taking me, too. But what's the point? He was a scumbag before she left, too. If she got out, good for her. Probably knew I’d just weigh her down.” Roman winced at the dullness seeping into Virgil's voice, the pain he tried to hide in his clouded eyes. Then Virgil stood, hurling the rock as far as he could, letting out a long breath, before wiping his eyes, turning back to Roman.

 “So. What do you do? I mean, Logan heals, Patton turns into a seal, sooooo what’s your thing?” He elaborated, at Roman's confused stare. Roman blushed, tail flicking the water uncertainly.

 “Don't freak out. I’m a siren.” Virgil stared at him for a long moment, before he stifled a snicker.

 “Aren't sirens supposed to be all ‘oh look, I’m so beautiful, come swim with me, sexy sailor', not… giant whale tail?” Roman gasped in indignation, flopping onto his back on the beach, hand flung dramatically over his face.

 “So ignorant! I have been slain by your words, young human! My pride is forever destroyed!” Virgil covered his mouth with his hand as he laughed at the merman's dramatics, standing so he was leaning over Roman's face.

 “… whoops?” It was Roman's turn to laugh at the bright smile across the human's face, his smirk infectious as he began to giggle again, flopping to sit down in the sand next to Roman. He shifted so he was on his stomach, hands under his chin, tail idly splashing the water.

 “Siren songs are what lure sailors close. And it’s not always sex" Roman wrinkled his nose, getting another snort from Virgil, “it’s whatever the human wants most. And our song only affects humans when we sing specifically to lure them in. Usually it’s harmless. Still, I don’t sing when there’s anyone around. Don’t want to risk it, mostly." Virgil bit his lip, thinking it over.

 “You… you weren’t singing this morning, were you?” Roman shook his head immediately.

 “No. Especially not near the island, now that you’re here. Why?” He shrugged.

 “I… had a weird dream, I guess. It was like… like the ocean, was singing to me. Trying to lead me somewhere, show me something. It sounds crazy now, I guess. But I thought your singing coulda caused it?” Roman squinted in thought, tapping his chin.

 “wasn’t me. And no other sirens are nearby, either. Could have been just a dream, I suppose.” Virgil's shoulders hunched a bit higher as he sighed, looking out at the waves.

 “that's when this changed.” He commented, indicating his eyes and hair. Roman’s eyes narrowed further.

 “well it definitely meant something, then. Logan might have an idea. He’s spent pretty much his whole life studying different beings, like us.”

 “Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. How many are there? Different beings I mean. Are we talking other mer people, or like, sea serpents? Kraken? IS THE LOCH NESS MONSTER REAL!?” Virgil asked excitedly, jumping to his feet, eyes wide.

 “Please. Nessie is a hoax perpetrated by a bored human who took pictures of a log.” Logan scoffed, head appearing above the water, settling on a rock in the surf. “sea serpents on the other hand, are real, and, contrary to human lore, quite timid and friendly.” Roman groaned, Virgil practically bouncing up down.

 “ohmygod cryptids are REAL!” He exclaimed giddily, fist pumping the air.

 “Um, did we not count? Cause, literal merman, in front of your face. But sure, get excited about some sea snakes, or whatever.” Roman pouted, making Virgil laugh.

 “yeah, yeah, you’re a pretty fish man, now shut up, Logan was about to tell me everything.” Roman squawked in offense, Logan looking a bit flushed at the sudden intense attention directed his way by the young, very enthusiastic, human. Still, he wasn’t one to pass up giving a lecture, and soon Virgil was wide eyed and completely enthralled by Logan, raising his hand when he had a question, Logan answering each one patiently, his own enthusiasm growing as Virgil soaked up every word.

 “well. Glad to see the both of them loosening up.” Roman jumped at the voice beside him, splashing Logan and Virgil with a face full of water, Patton devolving into giggles at their water logged expressions of annoyance and shock.

 “Sorry, kiddos!” Virgil groaned, pushing his wet hair back out of his eyes, though his lips still hinted at a smile.

 “It’s fine, Patton. You would think given his size, he would be less of a scaredey cat.” Roman huffed, sitting up and crossing his arms.

 “You’d think given your size you wouldn’t be so rude, and yet you hold enough attitude for the both of us!” Logan raised an eyebrow.

 “Alright, alright, enough arguing, guys.” Patton cut in.

 “He started it.” Roman grumbled, making Virgil smirk.

 “I don’t care who started it, I’m finishing it.”

 “Fiiine. I suppose I should be off, anyways. Need to spend a lot of time looking for food, comes with the size.” Roman explained to Virgil.

 “And I have sea creatures to check on. No supernatural beings, just normal ones.” Logan added, sensing the question on the tip of Virgil’s tongue.

 “Well, stop by again soon, guys! I should get your new books in any day now, so you have to come back now.” Patton teased, smiling as Logan waved, Roman flashing a grin, before slipping back beneath the waves, as if they’d never even been there.

 “Wait, how do you get books out here? Or food? Or… anything?” Virgil asked, following Patton back up the hill.

 “Oh, I have an arrangement with a captain of a boat from the mainland. He brings supplies and anything else I request, if he can get it, once a week. I pay him for the items and his time. He’s a fae, so he doesn’t care much about the odd goings on around here, and he knows better than to touch my coat.” That made Virgil shake his head, because why not add fae to the list of stuff that’s real?

 “should… I be worried about him?” Virgil asked, trying to keep his voice from rising an octave at his nervousness, pulling at his sweater sleeves.

 “Oh, no, you’ll be fine. If you’re nervous, just stick close to me, kiddo. I won’t let anything happen. I think he’s a bit lonely, honestly. Not many people around who he can really talk to, and fae don’t exactly trust each other.” Patton waved away his concern, and he bit his lip, thinking, unconsciously hunching in on himself as they reached the door, and he curled his legs under him on the chair near the fireplace.

 Why was it so… easy? It had never been easy, nothing in his life was easy, yet trusting Patton, believing Patton when he said nothing would happen, was so easy it was terrifying.

 Nothing good, happened to him. Nothing right, or happy, or positive ever happened to him. So why was Patton here, why was Roman, why was Logan? What had he done, to deserve to be found by them? He’d given up. He didn’t deserve a second chance, not when he’d chosen to give up, like the coward he was.

 “Virgil?” He flinched back, realizing he’d bit his lip so hard it was bleeding, trying to ignore the sting of tears pricking his eyes. He pressed his lips together into a hard line, trying to hold back the ache that suddenly tore at his chest and made him want to scream. Because he wasn’t worth that soft concern. He shouldn’t be here right now. It should be some other kid, who’d had it way worse than being hit, tossed around every now and again, not him, pathetic, little, useless, him.  

 “i don’t deserve this.” He whispered, looking down. “I don’t deserve to be here, to be… happy, here.” He felt Patton slowly come around the front of the chair, kneeling so they were eye to eye.

 “Why do you think that, kiddo?” Virgil swallowed hard, shaking his head.

 “I’m bad. I… ruin everything. I never do anything right. I’m a coward. So many people have it so much worse, and handle it all so much better, I-"

 “hey. You’re not bad, alright? I know it’s hard to believe, but you didn’t deserve any of the pain or hurt your father put you through. And you’ve been plenty brave, taking all this weirdness in stride. You were plenty brave when Roman rescued you, from falling over board.” Virgil winced and pulled back further into the chair, a desperate laugh bubbling up from his throat.

 “Brave? That wasn’t brave! He didn't rescue me, he stopped me! I’m not some cast away, Patton, I didn’t fall over board! I jumped! I jumped, okay?!” Patton drew back just slightly at that, eyes wide, and he wanted to stop before the selkie saw how pathetic he really was, but he couldn’t force the words back, now that they were coiling his throat. “I couldn’t take it anymore, I couldn’t get out any other way, I’d tried and it was hopeless and nobody would have even noticed, so what would it matter? What’s the point, if no one even cares to notice!? So why not?! Drowning's supposed to be peaceful anyway, once the body stops fighting it. Just drifting away. Sounded better… better than living with him for a single more day.” He gasped in a heaving breath, eyes wide as he looked through Patton, deflating almost as quick as his anger had risen. “I’m not good. How can someone who would do that ever be good? I tried to kill myself, Patton. I wanted… I wanted to die. How pathetic is that? How… how useless, right? I can’t do anything right, can’t even die without fucking it up. All I had to do was drown, and I couldn’t even manage that.” He said hoarsely, swiping at his eyes.

 “Oh, kiddo.” Patton murmured, trying to reach out, but Virgil shrank back, an almost feral hiss escaping him, as he lunged, shoving past Patton and throwing open the door.

 His world was spinning, tilting, and he needed out, needed air, needed to be alone, because he couldn’t let anyone see him fall apart, or he’d be hurt again, hit or kicked or grabbed and slammed against the wall for being a weak, no good waste of space, who was lucky he could haul a rope or he wouldn’t even bother to feed him, every once in a while. It didn’t bother him that they were scraps from the table, that he was treated like some unruly stray dog, that needed to have its lessons beat into its too thick skull, its what he deserved, after all, if he’d been better it wouldn’t have to happen, if he’d been better he’d have managed to run away properly, if he’d been better his mother would have taken him with her, if he’d been better he would have done everyone a favor and never existed at all.

  He wanted to scream, to rage, to rip at his hair, to claw his own skin to shreds, he wanted to bite his tongue until he choked on the copper, he wanted to stop, to stop feeling, stop caring, stop hurting, and he barely realized he'd stopped breathing before his vision went black and he crashed to the ground.

[akunin-no-tani]

Remus belonged to the circus owner like the rest of the freaks. And he was just as mistreated... it just wasn't as obvious since he was forced to the man's side like some sort of twisted pet. But he could take no more. he'd run, through a deep forest. he was on his last leg, very near literally and was searching for shelter or a road or both (rp. @skeletons-all-year-round)

@skeletons-all-year-round

Patton had been in the forest at the time- He has been following this circus from a distance for a while, actually.

You see, Patton is part of a special group that run a sanctuary for the unjustly labeled ‘freaks’ rescued from these circuses. This group is the Anomaly Resuce and Circus Halting organization, or A.R.C.H for short. ARCH has worked hard over the years to try and end traveling circuses that poorly mistreat anomalies, which is the correct term for the ‘freaks’ found there, though they have found some circuses, albeit rare, that treat the anomalies in a humane way, and the anomalies willingly choose to stay, these circuses usually join in partnership with ARCH to help spread the message.

He looked up when he heard the rush of footsteps, watching the anomaly come running out of the bush, quickly kneeling down and opening his arms to catch him, rubbing his back.

“D-Don’t worry! You’re safe with me, I promise. I won’t let them hurt you.” He reassured the anomaly.

[illogicallyinclined]

Without Any Further Ado, Here is the Team Roster for the Year Following Logan’s Concussion

Line #1: 

Right Wing: Jared Jaslow (#24)

Year/Major: Junior, Computer Science Major

Physical description: average build. short, dark brown hair. dark brown eyes. wears glasses. is one of the plainest white boys that this world has ever seen (self-proclaimed)

Fun facts: jared is the one who created the Silence Bottom bot that roman hated So, So Much. jared is also logan’s partner for beer pong, and he drinks every cup so that logan doesn’t have to; (logan has carried jared back to his apartment Many Times)

Center: Roman Prince (#1) – Senior

Left Wing: Patton Flores (#7) – Junior

Line #2:

Right Wing: Remus Prince (#34) – Senior

Center (submittedby @ephemeral-afterlight): Callen Kang (American name) Kang Mincheol (Korean name - 강민철) – (#26)

Year/Major: Sophomore; callen majors in something medical with minors in something to do with music/singing. his dream job is to be either a singer or a surgeon. he will quite literally Cut a Bitch (and like, save their life or whatever)

Physical description:  Korean, medium-length black hair that fades to purple tips (he did it for the Team Aesthetic), short and slim, looks generally cutesy and unthreatening

Fun Facts: Despite the last point, he will Cut A Bitch. He moved to America from South Korea when he was 14 years old and is fluent in both languages. Catch him cussing other players out in Korean

callen chose the #26 because that is the number of animals that he has rescued doing volunteer work prior to joining the team

Left Wing: Payton O’Shaughnessy (#18)

Year/Major: Sophomore, Sociology Major

Physical description: 6′0″, stawberry blond hair that has been slicked back and pale blue eyes. has freckles across his face and shoulders.

Fun Facts: payton never lived in ireland himself, but his parents are Very Irish, so has a learned accent. 

Line #3:

Right Wing: Peter Sullivan (#20) 

Year/Major: Junior, History Major

Physical Descripton: light brown hair with an undercut, hazel eyes. tall and lanky – 6′2″, with Chicken Legs 

Fun Facts: Peter is the bearer of Logan’s Sins. (Sorry Peter). he’s honestly not too bothered by it, though. 

Center: David Santos (#16)

Year/Major: Sophomore, Psych Major, English Minor

Physical description: warm, beige skin. dark,curly brown hair and light brown eyes.

Fun Facts: David has an identical twin named Gabriel, but Gabe doesn’t play hockey. David also once changed Roman’s icon so that it was one of the horrible faces that he made while he was on the ice. it took Roman two weeks to figure out how to change it back. 

Left Wing: Julian Beauregard (#27)

Year/Major: Sophomore, Women and Genders Studies and Sociology Double Major, German Minor

Physical description: 5′7, black hair, dark brown eyes

Fun Facts: julian has idolized logan ever since logan threatened the hell out of a shitty yale player that attacked julian for having rainbow tape on his stick. 

julian chose the #27 because it is his boyfriend’s favorite number.

Line #4

Right Wing (submitted by @sotakeabitofcalpol): Myles Nye (#45)

Year/Major: Freshman, Philosophy Major, failing pre-med

Physical Description: blue hair, blue eyes, scar across right cheek

Fun Facts: Myles is British and was a part of the ACF (it’s where he got the scar). He is one of a set of triplets, and he says fuck all philosophy except what Diogenes is teaching. (he’s a philosophy major, he knows what he’s talking about.)

Center (submitted by @brownie-aunt): Holly Dean (#42)

Year/Major: Freshman, double major in art and political science

Physical Description:  purple hair, hazel eyes, lots of facial piercings (although he has to take them out each time the team plays)

Fun Facts:  loves getting into fist fights, can outdrink pretty much anyone, outgrew the foster care system, favorite movie is fight club

Left Wing (submitted by @ilovepeter3000): Alex Jones (#9)

Year/Major: Freshman, Chemical Engineering Major; he eventually wants to join the army Corp of engineers

Physical Description: slightly above average height, brown hair, brown mediterranean complexion

Fun Facts: alex has congenital nystagmus, meaning that his eyes twitch. he is bullied for this a lot in middle and elementary school

alex chose #9 because his little brother was born in ‘09, and his little brother is an angel

Defenseman Pair #1

Virgil (#13) and D. Ethan Escarra (#3): both juniors

Defenseman Pair #2: 

Emile Picani (#6) – Senior

Theodore “Teddy” (#71)

Year/Major: Senior, Environmental Science Major (wants to go into horticulture)

Physical Description: teddy is 6′7″ and Very Physically Intimidating 

Fun Facts: teddy is patton’s roommate. he has a cat named Peony that patton adores (even though he is Very Allergic. patton takes allergy meds daily)

teddy chose the #71 because that’s how many breeds of cat there are

Defenseman Pair #3

Bo Anderson (#19)

Year/Major: Sophomore, Statistics Major, Math Minor

Physical Description: scandinavian, mid-length blonde hair and blue eyes

Fun Facts: Bo can understand german, french, swedish, and english. 

Jamie Bratcher (submitted by @enby-ralsei) – (#23)

Year/Major: Freshman, Food Science Major

Physical Description: medium length curly hair, horrible eyesight (glasses 24/7), will never be seen without his necklace from his younger sibling (its just some pearler beads, but they made it just for him after coming out as nb)

Fun Facts: Moved far away from family to go to college, hasn’t seen them since summer break. Will probably cry if he cant find his necklace. would love to work in a restaurant in a major city

Goalies: 

Remy Belmonte (#8) – Senior

Alex Richardson (#36) – Senior

***no one knows whether or not logan will return. not even logan.