#remus: you taste like flesh patton: well..! no surprises there.!!! ^_^

[orbch]

you like me best when i’m off my rocker

[darkboysroadtrip]

[this was supposed to be a part of the last ask so it is not drawn.]

"I can listen to almost anything" Remus says, "but the noiser, experimental, trash music is the best" he's shoving the rolled up tent into its bag, "I like loud, wonky, weird, shredding music the best!

"A lot of grunge and any and all other genres of punk can be found in my playlist, you'll also get the random musical, EDM, straight up horror noises" he windmills his hand, "y'know the usual."

"I don't think most people listen to actual screams of terror with flesh ripping, squelching and blood gurgling sounds" Virgil says.

"You don't know that, besides you listen to Doki Doki Literature Club soundtrack stuff, it's the same."

"That's totally different."

"How so My Little Nightmare?"

"That has music to accompany it."

"You... got me there" Remus agrees, "it is a pretty banging soundtrack."

Remus has finally finagled the tent back in its bag and hands it off to Virgil who hauls it on top of the car.

"No surprise to my music taste here but, any kind of emo, punk, rock, you know the stuff."

"You like jazz" Dee says, he's now sitting on the ground with Thomas and Marcy.

"I've come to like jazz because of you."

"True, but you still like it."

Virgil sits down with them, Marcy immediately goes to sit on his shoulder; Thomas in turn goes to sit in his lap to continue playing with her.

"My music taste is hard to pin point" Dee says, "I guess along with the jazz, I like whatever my boyfriends play and some classical in a movie villain type of way."

Virgil snickers, "yeah, sometimes it's scary how accurate that is."

"How do you figure?"

"Dude, sometimes I'll come into the office and you'll be standing at a window with a book in your hands, a glass of wine on the sill with low classical music playing" he laughs, "sometimes I think you're not even reading, it just looks like you're plotting something."

"Maybe I am" Dee wiggles his eyebrows.

"Oooh I love plots!" Remus butts in, "what are we plotting?"

Virgil pats Remus' head, "sorry babe, nothing."

"As far as you know" Dee mutters.

~~~

"As a Broadway Star" Roman starts with a hand fanned to his chest, "I can't see myself loving musicals."

There's a beat of silence.

"Less! I physically can not not love them, they are part of my passion, my very being."

There it is.

"I mean c'mon how can you not love musicals, they're just so enchanting!" he enthuses.

"Fun fact!" Patton pipes up, "Roman has his own recordings from his shows on his phone, so we tend to listen to them quite a bit."

"I can't help it, I'm just so talented" Roman says.

"I don't quite understand musicals, however I do enjoy listening to Roman sing" Logan says.

"Everyone does!" Patton agrees.

Roman, puffed up with all the praise is absolutely beaming.

"Eh, I've heard better" Remus teases.

Roman makes a high pitched and very offended 'ugh', "how dare you!, I can't believe my own broth- actually I can, that's so sad, you make me sad go away."

Remus gets right up next to Roman, his nose practically touching Roman's cheek.

"You'll never be rid of me" he whispers hoarsely.

Roman smacks Remus' forehead when he places it there to shove him away.

"Go finish your packing you gremlin."

Logan stops and looks off like he's looking at a camera in The Office.

"Music of all kinds are wonderful" Roman continues answering the question, "if you have the energy and/or an extensive friend circle-"

"You have other friends?" Virgil yells over.

Roman ignores him.

"-you can find something good in any genre."

"I agree" Patton says and sits next to Roman, "there's so many good music choices out there! And finding new things are always fun!"

He makes a face, "mmm well... there are some things I can't quite listen to, but that's more of a sensory issue."

Logan stops his packing to stand with his partners, "I have an appreciation for rap and I have a soft spot for nerdy educational but funny songs - I don't listen to much music honestly, I do enjoy whatever my partners put on though.

It's not that I don't like music it's just I don't go searching for it" he adjusts his glasses, "besides I like listening to podcasts so that takes up most of my listening to things time."

"You listen to uuuuus" Patton says in a lovey tone.

"I like listening to you, and I would very much like it if you would listen to me."

Patton and Roman glance at each other.

"We - we do though?" Patton says, his head cocked like a confused puppy.

"We've gotten really good at that" Roman agrees.

Logan purses his lips, "yes you have, and it is appreciated greatly"-

"I hear a 'but' coming" Roman stage whispers.

"Mm, yes" Logan says, "your butt specifically Roman, to help pack."

"But I am helping."

Logan blinks slowly just once.

"I'm looking for our next digs" Roman explains waving Logan's phone as added evidence, "and may I add: I am very graciously and humbly taking care of said digs."

"So gracious, so humble" Logan blankly remarks, "can you at least pack your personals?"

"Of course."

"Thank you."

"After I book these hotel suites."

"Fine, I suppose we do need to know where we're going before leaving."

[percimmonhellyeah]

I Care - Moceit Vore

One night, Janus is awoken to the sound of crying, and he knew he just needed to help.

Ship: Pred!Janus x Prey!Patton

Word Count: 2.1k

tw: detailed vore

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

A small cry echoed through the mindscape, making Janus wake up. He retired to his room with the other sides just like every night, the dark sides going to their part of the house while the light sides went to theirs. They had dinner together as usual, and everyone seemed busy with their own things to do, though he did pick up on a strange energy. It almost sounded like a cry for help, but it seemed so small that he thought it would simply pass. Plus, the amount of energy everyone had during dinner time made it hard for him to pick up on such things. Logan was doing an experiment nearby with Remus, Roman and Virgil were watching Disney movies nonstop, and Patton was of course cooking for the rest of them. He wanted to help though Patton was adamant they could cook by themself. Of course, he wasn’t one to intrude much, so he simply left them to cook.

Another wale echoed through Janus’ dark room, now louder than before. Something about the energy he picked up made his heart sink. It made him want to curl up and cry too. The energy was just depressing all around and stung at his chest. He tried to listen in more, trying to see if he could pick out who was crying. As he listened, his mind wandered. If one of the sides completely broke, the rest could collapse, and he couldn’t let that happen to Thomas. He didn’t even want to imagine what the mindscape would look like if they all broke. Certainly, he knew it wasn’t anything good.

Their cries were soft, so Janus knew it was one of the light sides crying, but once he finally recognized the voice, his eyes widened, and his heart sank. He knocked his head with the palm of his hand. It was now so obvious who he picked up the energy from when he was eating dinner with all the sides. Though, he shook his head. It wasn’t the time to berate himself for not talking with Patton earlier. He yawned as he got up from his bed and went over to the light sides’ part of the mindscape. As he walked, the wales grew louder and louder, and he could pick up on Patton’s energy more. Their energy weighed him down, making him move more sluggish. Once he was at their room, he gently knocked on the door. He took a deep breath in before he spoke.

“Patton, are you alright?”

There was no response and the crying started softening.

“May I come in?” Janus knocked on the door once more, it opening by itself. He blinked as it cracked open, surprised, but when he peeked into the room, he almost didn’t see the tiny crying Patton laying on their bed that was now much too big for them. With a slow step, he walked into the room and closed the door behind him. He looked over to Patton with concern in his eyes as he walked over to the bed and crouched down, so he wouldn’t intimidate the tiny side who seemed to be now a mere two inches tall. A frown formed on his face as they cried in front of him. Instinct told him to hold them on the spot and coddle them with all his love, but he didn’t want to frighten them anymore than he already did. He turned away, making sure they didn’t feel stared down at, and he covered the snake half of his face with his hat the best he could. There he sat as he waited for them to say something. It felt like an eternity in the silence until they spoke.

“I’m sorry…” Patton’s voice was so weak and soft that Janus almost didn’t hear it.

“What are you sorry for?” He tried to hide his sarcastic tone as much as he could.

“I’m… sorry you saw me like this. I- I just feel like- like…”

“… a mess?”

A silence filled the room, as Janus waited for a reply. He was now sitting down on the floor as he looked at the ground.

“Could you face me, please?”

Janus turned to face Patton as he kept covering the snake half of his face.

“You don’t have to hide your- your face for me…” Patton’s voice was wobbly as some tears still ran down his face.

“Are you sure?”

Patton gave Janus a nod, and with some hesitance, he placed his bowler hat on the ground, revealing his scales and yellow eye. He looked over to them, tiny tears dripping off their face and on to their bed. His heart was dying to just hold them and tell them it’s going to be okay. It was a hard thing to believe, but he knew it was true even if it sounded like a fat lie. All of a sudden, their tiny eyes widened, filling with even more tears as they reached up to him. With a gentle hand, he scooped them up, cupping their tiny form into their hands as they started to sob again. He sat on their bed as he held them to his chest. In an instant, they cried into him and he petted them with one finger hoping to sooth them. After a good few minutes, Patton spoke.

“I know I have to take care of everyone, but… I- I just… I feel so exhausted sometimes… And then I feel terrible when I can’t- can’t…”

“It’s okay…” Janus started, “It’s okay to take breaks when you don’t feel well and it’s okay if you feel tired.”

“I know… but whenever I relax, I just feel so guilty…”

At that, Janus’ heart grew so heavy it felt like it’d fall out his chest at any second. He tried to muster out some words, but for once, he had none. Instead, he hugged Patton closer, but still being careful with their fragile form. They both stayed silent, enjoying each other’s company. He wished he could do more to comfort them, but he didn’t want to push any boundaries. Suddenly, Patton spoke.

“Could you vore me… please?”

Janus sat there stunned at Patton’s words. Never in his life did he ever think someone like them would ever consider doing such a thing. He knew it was a common thing for all the sides to do, but he never once saw them ever try it. It was a bit of a taboo thing everyone did, but he never expected them to ever want something like this, let alone him of all people do this for them.

“You’re sure about it?” Janus asked.

“I’m sure… I just really need to snuggle with someone right now…”

Janus hummed and nodded as he brought them up to their mouth. He saw them gasp, now so close to his lips.

“Whenever you’re ready…”

There was a silence between them, Patton looking down at Janus’ palm as he sat there. Soon, their tiny hands went to the face and they shook as tears dripped down.

“I’m sorry! I-”

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Janus started, “I… I want you to know that you are loved… Sometimes it might not seem like it, but I promise, we care, I care about you. I love you, Patton… Please remember that…”

Janus waited in silence, his mind racing whether he did the right thing or not.

“I love you, too, Janus…” Patton said as they planted a small kiss on Janus’ lips.

Janus soon went beady eyed, in complete shock at the small side. His heart raced as he tried to comprehend what just happened. He heard Patton chuckle, confused why they would until he touched his face with his free hand. His face was burning up from the sheer amount of emotions that flooded through him.

“I’m ready…” Patton said as they rubbed at his lips that were so big in comparison to their entire body. Janus’ face burned even more as he soon opened his mouth wide for them and laid his tongue over his teeth, so they could climb in. A small hand pressed on his tongue for a moment until they finally climbed in all the way, and, as gentle as possible, he closed his mouth.

Janus hummed at Patton’s flavor, rolling their tiny body around all over his mouth. A rich chocolate chip cookie flavor coated all over his mouth, making him salivate a bit. He pressed them up against the roof of his mouth, hearing them hum. He pinned them there, making sure to lick every nook and cranny of their body. Goodness, they tasted heavenly. It rivaled the cookies they’d make for all the sides, he’d even say they tasted better. His eyes widened as they soon hugged his tongue, kissing and rubbing the slimy flesh. Another loud hum came out from him as he felt their tiny kisses on his tongue. Soon, he licked them one last time as he now tilted his head, and, with one strong gulp, they went down his throat.

A small lump formed in Janus’ neck and he pressed at it, feeling Patton squirm down a bit. He hummed at the lovely sensation in his throat, following the lump until it fully disappeared down his chest. To be honest, it felt weird feeling them squirm down his throat, but it was most likely because it was his first time voring Patton and he was a bit flustered at the beginning. He was amazed how clear their movements were, and he could pinpoint exactly where they were in his body. His heart raced at the feeling, fingers tracing down his chest, following Patton in his mind. He wondered what it felt like for them, being squished down deeper and deeper into his core. Soon, they plopped into his stomach and he hummed now at them weighing him down.

“Are you good in there? Need anything?” Janus asked.

“No, I’m good! It’s so comfy in here!” Patton’s voice was a bit muffled, but he could overall hear them fine.

Janus hummed at the weird sensation he now felt in his stomach. With a gentle hand, he pressed to where Patton was, making him hum and melt into their tiny touch. Their tiny hands rubbed his stomach walls in a circular motion, making him lie down and curl up, desperately wanting their loving touch. He hummed as he saw the tiny dent their hands made from the outside. A thought soon came to him as he slowly laid on his back.

“Hey, Patton?”

“Yeah, kiddo?”

There was a bit of hesitation before Janus spoke. “Could I- uh… massage my stomach? If you don’t mind, of course.”

“Go ahead!”

Janus looked down at his stomach, feeling Patton start to settle down. Soon, he pressed down on his stomach until he saw the small silhouette of them. Awe shot through him as he looked at it, showing their tiny form. With a careful hand, he started to massage the little form, humming as he felt them get pushed into his stomach walls. In an instant, he melted, pure bliss pulsing all through him as he massaged their little form. Soon, their tiny hands started rubbing again, making him hum even louder. He heard them laugh in delight as he pressed them in more. His heart raced, loving every single rub Patton gave him, and he made sure to massage them back in return. Something about voring Patton felt so nice, something he hadn’t gotten from any other side. He wasn’t actually sure what it was, but he knew it was amazing.

After a couple of minutes, Janus stopped as he yawned. He soon pulled a blanket over his body, thinking about how precious it was to have Patton in his stomach. Of course, they could always teleport out if they wanted to, but the fact that they let him hold their life in his hands and let him protect them from the outside made him smile. He curled up, about to say something until he felt a peck at his stomach walls, his face going hot. His mind raced at that fact that they kissed his walls. Patton had kissed his stomach walls.

“Good night, I love you…”

“I love you, too…”

Janus yawned once more, and he closed his eyes, falling asleep in bliss with Patton.

[sootygoggles]

Parent!Paranoia Sanders Sides AU!

No explanation, but I'll probably give the backstory later. For now: memes of Paranoia being an A-class parent and a chaos gremlin. (okay it started as memes but then just ended up as fleshing the AU out)

~~

Paranoia, worried abt his kids: I'm uhhhh gonna go to my room see ya later light sides

Paranoia, sneaking back into the subconscious to check on his now teenaged children: I'm gonna leave duke a r a t that I found and thought looked cool

Duke, waking up the next morning and yelling for 'Nesty bc "HOLY CRAP NESTY LOOK AT THIS RAT ISN'T SHE ADORABLE I WANNA HANG HER ON THE WALL": !!!!!!!!!!

~~

Paranoia gets a habit of sitting on the fridge because his children were wild as kids and sometimes duke comin at you with a knife warrants jumping onto counters

~~

Nesty, who doesnt get paid to deal with duke: I'm raiding dads liquor cabinet it's my due for putting up with this

Paranoia, physically manifesting: put the key to the liquor cabinet D O W N, Honesty

~~

The lights are confused as to why he disappears at random times of the day and night and he just "leave me TF alone before I leave you a goshdarn diddly P R E S E N T while youre sleeping I'm tired"

~~

patton: my child! my dark strange son!!

paranoia, who has children: ,,,,yea ok

~~

Patton ticks him off so he leaves a big halloween decor spider on his bed and nobody sleeps for weeks after that bc pattons too scared to touch it and paranoia maybeperhaps glued it onto his cover

~~

He's like one of those people you know might mean well but ooooooo boy theyre pushin buttons

~~

Paranoia, whos fav animal/insect is spiders and whose children have tarantulas and snakes on the regular: hes not even realistic!! You need to learn to get along with mr sparkles patton!! look at him. he's fluffy!

~~

He has googly eyes and glitter on him at all times of course hes named mr sparkles

~~

paranoia gets to be a little petty. as a treat

~~

Paranoia just carries bags of glitter around and whenever mr sparkles gets duller he takes mr sparkles to the kitchen counter and he dumps glitter on him

Logan and patton are tired of cleaning up bc paranoias just petty enough to make their counters eternally sparkly

~~

"why is there glitter all over the kitchen?"

paranoia, holding mr sparkles: :)

~~

Paranoia, after AA: I hate purple but they dont know that now do they

Paranoia is actually orange the last side is purple lol

~~

Chaos Gremlin dark sides and nobody is surprised bc paranoia raised them

~~

paranoia, going back to see his teen children after acting like a teen all day: what is up, fellow kids

honesty: i am going to lose it

~~

Wrath, coming to yell at them to keep it down: why are you purple I'm purple

Paranoia, cackling bc finally I can get out of this horrible color: *snaps fingers * I'M PARANOIA MOTHERTRUCKERS HAVE FUUUNNNNN I'M GONNA BE MAKING YOUR LIVES LIVING HELL FROM THIS POINT FORWARDS

~~

duke and nesty, pumped for halloween bc u l t i m a t e s p o o k: :D

paranoia, coming out in a traffic cone costume with a shit eating grin on his face: :D

~~

Paranoia, decorating for halloween bc "oh I'm sorry it's just the *sniffles * homesickness and we a l w a y s decorated for halloween" knowing full well all of his decorations are spider and witch themed bc they all like the salem witch trials

~~

He leaves ONE fake snake in romans cereal and the lights just. Lose it. Hes kicked back into the subconscious to be chaotic with his kids, no new side, just the hours upon hours of film hes gotten from the bugs hed placed around the unconscious and a plan for the next several movie nights

He gets back and honesty is w h e e z i n g bc he was watching through the cracks and they make a fail compilation of the light sides

It takes like two months for the lights to just go insane with him around not due to yknow paranoia but bc hes such a gremlin

~~

Patton asks if he was raised by wolves and he shoves mr sparkles at patton saying "take the issue of how I was raised up with my father, a-hole!!"

He doesnt actually curse he just yells "A-HOLE" so loud his kids can hear

~~

They dont find out he's a dad until hes summoned and hes making cookies or smt with the kids and hes in a bright orange stereotypical witch outfit,,, corset and all and an apron that says "worlds most chaotic dad" on the front

And hes talking to one of the kids like "duke you can only put dish soap in your batch nesty cant digest it like you can"

~~

Patton has an apron that says worlds least chaotic 'dad' courtesy of paranoia he made it himself(read: he stole pattons good apron and scribbled over it in sharpie)

~~

Paranoia is always close to cackling when around the lights bc theyre newbs to any chaos

~~

Roman and remus are twins but roman is the kind of kid to promptly forget abt anyone and logan n patton knew remus less than a day before he "disappeared" aka ran to the subconscious to explore and theyve just kinda blocked him out

~~

Logans fine with it and actually likes the decorations tho he has asked if they had to be so brightly coloured and if there had to be so much glitter

I say decorations but hes a secret gremlin at heart and is super close to snickering at all times bc of the pranks

~~

Also yes paranoia mildly dads roman it's great but he dads in an older sibling type way

~~

So pat and logan are all "hes fitting in as an older brother well" and they tell him abt their approval of his older brother chaos and hes just like "no this is how I am deal with it nothing to do with brothers" bc hes not telling them abt his kids he doesnt trust them

~~

Hes up at like midnight complaining with logan abt how patton doesnt let him be full chaos gremlin and logan says "mmmhmm did your parents in the dark side let you go wild with the chaos" and paranoia just,,,,, looks at him, dead in the eyes, and says "I dont have parents"

Cue logan being confusion

Paranoia, who genuinely didn't have parents: my parents are mr sparkles and the cat we've had for my entire life

Logan, who doesnt know they had a cat and is now worried bc "are you taking care of it???": ???

Paranoia: it's great for keeping the Others in line tho I just say "do your chores or no snuggle time with ms peregrin" and they do their chores while I'm making dinner

logan, incredibly confused: i don't know what you mean but ok

Paranoia: yeah theyre dumb but it's the level of dumb youd expect from my idiots

~~

Or he slips up and refers to them as his children/kids and logan, not realizing they have an Actual Father/Sons relationship/age difference(paranoias abt.late 20s early 30s, remus defies all logic and has been about 9-10 for a few years now, and dees like early teens) just says "huh how.interesting would it be to have to deal with people your age that immature" and paranoias just. "Y e a h t h e y r e t o t a l l y t h e s a m e a g e a s I a m"

~~

Duke is very much baby and upon seeing duke eating glue paranoia and honesty the idiots decided to try it too

theyre so dumb dsdhdhdhjsdh

They AREEE and paranoia, after discovering that duke has the h a r d i e s t immune system they decide to test exactly what he can and cannot safely eat bc he may be dumb but hes also def a Dad and he just wants to take care of his kids and if that includes making sure that duke can safely consume toilet bleach then so be it

Duke can eat almost anything short of actual cyanide but cyanide just makes him sick like stomach bug sick

He somehow gets a fever,,,,, he has it for like half an hour and paranoia is amazed

Hes in bed,,,,, paranoia makes him soup,,,,,, hes all better and running around again

~~

Paranoias parenting rules:

Dont murder your brothers pls

Do your chores or no snuggle time with ms peregrin

Glitter is always a yes

Insults are fine just make sure you dont overstep and make your brothers insecure

all of them are printed and then the last one is scrawled at the bottom in

If you get sick, tell him immediately bc he will find out and he will be the most obsessive parent to make sure you feel better ASAP

If your pronouns/name/function change, tell him immediately, he'll make sure you dont feel uncomfortable as well as he can

Duke dont put dish soap in honestys baked goods you know he cant digest it

It's a nice system for making chaos but keeping it manageable

They're all printed then the last one's scrawled in glitter gel pen and duke wrote a reply that said (I'm sorry yall dont have as good an immune system as I do)

There was a whole passive aggressive arguement on the bulletin for the next week before it got taken down to make room for dukes art

They eventually started just putting them up over each other and using magnets instead of thumbtacks

The entire bottom portion of the walls are painted in chalkboard paint so theres no unerasable drawing on the walls and the rest of the paint is magnetic so they can hang pieces everywhere

Dukes improving rapidly tho and doesnt like looking at his old art all the time so paranoia holds onto the drawings in several filing cabinets in case he ever wants to do redraws or needs his original prints to make something in the Imagination

also bc,,, sentimental

jus a little

Yeah bc "yes my child draws nothing but blood gore and new animals but hes a creative genius and I love all of his art"

~~

Roman: anxiety I can see why you left

Paranoia: ??? What?? It's spoopy season??

Roman: there was BLOOD on the WALLS

Paranoia, internally: oh!!!! Duke perfected his blood recipe!!!!

Paranoia, externally: how did it taste?

Roman: WHO TASTES THE BLOOD ON THE WALLS?!?!

Paranoia: if it tasted like lemons or citrus you need to stay off of most foods, stick to crackers and broth- don't eat anything heavy until you're sure you wont throw it up

Patton, who was making cereal: ????

~~

Also!!!! @iliveinprocrasti-nation Thanks for helping me flesh this AU out!!!

[sentient-stove]

Midsummer’s Song

Fandoms: Sanders Sides

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

Relationships: Logan & Roman & Remus, Virgil/Roman, Virgil & Janus, Remus & Janus, Patton & Virgil

Additional Tags: Fae Au, seelie and unseelie, NB Virgil, NB Janus, Changeling!Logan, Unseelie!Janus, Seelie!Virgil, slightly U!Janus

Summary: Roman knows of the fae.  His mother leaves out cream for them in exchange for protection and his brother Logan is a changeling.  What happens when he makes a deal in exchange for Remus back?

Word count: 2023

Notes: I actually wrote this in a sort of ‘choose the next plot point’ on my discord with the help of @ohlookanotherdumbfanboy and @astrozones  Anyway, enjoy!

AO3

Do you believe the fae walk among us?

Little Roman listens with wide eyes as his mama pours cream into a bowl, her singing softly filling the air as she sets the bowl out on the window sill, mixing it with a tiny bit of nutmeg before turning to her son.

“Come Little Prince, it’s long past your bedtime.”  She scoops him into her arms, still singing as she carries him upstairs.

“Mama, I wanna see the fairy pleases?”

“Not tonight.  They come when they please, and it does us mortals well to not look.”

Roman begrudgingly lets her tuck him in.

But when she’s out of the room, he throws off his covers and goes to the window.  Roman watches for a long time, but the shadows never melt to show a Faery and after a few hours, he falls asleep with his fists pressed against the glass.

In the morning, the cream is gone, replaced by a shimmery pendant on a silver chain.

His mother says that they’ve been blessed by an Unseelie as she puts it on her son.

Roman isn’t so sure.

…

Roman is ten when his mother comes home with a boy made of fae blood and human flesh.  

A changeling, abandoned when his family discovered that he was not one of them.  Logan holds himself differently than Roman and he wears a wood and resin amulet that makes it so he can touch things that fae normally couldn’t.

“This is your brother now.”

Roman doesn’t fight with her, he instead grabs Logan by the hand the way that only children do and he asks him if he’s ever seen one.

“Of course I haven’t.  I’ve been with mortals for as long as I can remember.”  Logan is usually solemn for a ten year old, but Roman shrugs it off and drags him outside to look at the pixie garden that he’s been building.

…

Roman is fifteen when the Unseelie attempts to take him.  It’s almost midnight and he was camping in the backyard with Logan and Mama.  They were both sound asleep, but Roman got up and snuck out of the tent, standing just inside the salt ring that surrounds the small canvas tent.

“Hello child.”

Roman turns to see the Fae, who has golden eyes and scales down one side of his face.

They’re breathtaking.

And devastatingly beautiful.   Roman feels his breath catch as he bows.

“Tell me your name, child.”  The Fae’s eyes flash as Roman watches.

“My Mama told me that I should never give a Faery my name.”

“Very well.  But you do have a something I can call you, no?”

Roman nods, throat dry.  “You may call me Prince.”

“Hmmm, your mother calls you that sometimes, doesn’t she?  She leaves out the sweetest offerings…  Are you tonight's snack?”  The fae bares fangs and Roman takes a delicate step back.

“No, it’s on the window sill.”

“Hmm, come with me?”

“No thank you.”

The fae laughed.  “Clever Prince!  I suppose I should leave you a gift?”

“Not if you don’t want to.”  Roman shifted back and forth on his feet as the fae pulled off a glove and scooped up some of the salt from the ring.

“Here’s my gift child.  Salt only works on the Seelie.”

And with that, they were gone, leaving Roman to stand alone in shock as the wind whispered in laughter at him.

Needless to say, he didn’t get that much sleep once he crawled into the tent.

…

It’s summer when the singing lures him outside of the house, despite Logan hearing it too and telling him that he should most certainly NOT go and try to find who is the cause of the sound.  He packs his bag with salt and iron, knowing that as dangerous as the Unseelie are during the winter, the Seelie are almost worse during the summer.

Roman did not realize that it was in fact, Midsummer’s.

He followed the song into the woods, walking carefully as he delved into the growing shadows.  It was warm, almost too warm as he avoided a fae circle and the song grew the tiniest bit louder.

It was smooth, the song, and Roman can barely keep himself from staying out of a thall as he enters a clearing where he can see footprints in the grass, it’s obvious that there was a revel at somepoint here.

Now it is empty, for the sole exception if a boy Roman’s age, singing as Roman comes closer.

The song stops and the boy looks up at Roman.  “Hello mortal.”

Roman freezes.  “Faery.”

“You sound surprised.”  The fae stands in a fluid motion, walking over to Roman and running a hand along Roman’s jaw.   “You’re pretty.”

“Thank you?”  Roman reaches for the salt in his pocket, but the fae beats him to it, wrapping a cool hand around his wrist.

“What’s your name?”

“You may call me Prince.”   Roman swallows as the fae looks up at him with bright purple and blue eyes, amusement sparking across his lips.

“Clever mortal.  You may call me V.”

Roman nods and the fae stands on their tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.  The kiss burns and he feels slightly dizzy as magic sparks across his skin.

“Wow.”

“You came to make a deal?  All mortals do.”  The fae backs up, and Roman feels like the air has cooled a thousand degrees.

“I just followed the song.”

“The song attracts fools who need deals.  What is yours my Prince?”

Roman blinked.  “I had a brother once.”

“Hmmm, Remus, I know him well.”  The fae smirks and twirls in a circle before sitting down.  “You should sit Princey.”

Roman sat.

“Now, do you want your brother back?  I do believe the Snake has him currently, he does like the Unseelie during the summer, my kind can be a bit… overwhelming.”  V picks some grass from the ground and begins to weave it together as Roman processes the information.

“He’s alive?”

“As alive as that silly changeling you also call a brother.  Now, a deal so you can see him?” “What do you want?” “How much are you willing to lose?”

The question hangs heavy in the air as Roman removes the pendant that he was gifted almost ten years ago.  He’s worn it every day since the fae that his mother had given cream to had left it there and V’s eyes widen when they see the thing.

“This.”

V reaches for it, pauses and looks at Roman.  “What do you want?”

“My brother.”

V stares and then they’re kissing Roman, one hand wrapped around the back of his neck as the fae makes and seals the deal.  They taste of honey and magic, something dark and bitter, and Roman feels breathless when they part.

“You have him until the Autumn Equinox.”

“What?”  Roman mumbled, still feeling dazed as the fae pushes them further apart.

“Go.” The fae commanded and Roman could see the tiniest bit of panic on their face as he stood and ran back to his home.

…

“Ro?”

“Remus!”

…

Logan can feel the Winter that is coming.

He knows that Roman is about to lose his biological brother.

So after Mama puts out the cream and chases her three sons to bed, he waits outside once he is sure she is gone, until the fae that Roman made a deal with melts out of the shadows.

“Salutations.”

The fae tilts their head.  “Hello changeling.”

“I wish to make a deal.”

The fae, with their bright purple and blue eyes, smiles nervously.  “Many fail.”

“I wish to give you my name in exchange for Remus’ freedom.”  Logan squares his shoulders and the fae pauses.

“Selflessness is unbecoming Logan.”

Logan looked away.  “How do you know my name?”

“The Snake was the one to give it to you, and they are my older sibling.”  The fae shrugs and takes the cream from the window sill, drinking it quickly.   “But we do not deal with changelings.  If there was to be a deal for Remus’ freedom, it would have to be made with Princey.  Farewell.”

Logan would never admit that he cried.

…

Roman was waiting next to Remus as the shadows lengthened as the Snake and V melted out of them.

“Prince.”  V looked mournful and Roman held back a snarl.   Remus was practically shaking from next to him and he knew how much his brother hated the fae.

“Remus, come here.”  The Snake held out a gloved hand and Remus took an unwilling step forward.

“Stop.  I’m here to make a deal.”

The Snake held up their hand., stopping Remus in his tracks.  “Oh?”

“My name for his freedom.”  Roman said solemnly.

The Snake gave a sharp smile.  “Accepted.”

Remus gave Roman a panicked look.  “Can I talk to him privately before you seal it?” V nodded.

Remus pulled Roman out of earshot and pulled his brother into a hug.  “You’re a fucking idiot.”

“I know.”

“Stay with V.  They’re your best chance at lasting longer than a few days.”

The brothers broke apart and Roman gently punched Remus.  “Keep Lo safe while I’m gone, okay?” “Okay.”

Roman turned and walked up to V.  “My deal is with you.”

V’s eyes widened and they gently placed a hand on Roman’s face.  “I release Remus in exchange for your name.”

Roman sighed as he felt the magic wind itself around his lungs and heart.  “My name is Roman.”

V kissed him, and again Roman tasted honey and bitterness.

“Come.”

The last thing Roman saw before the shadows covered his eyes was Remus, turning his face as he couldn’t bear to watch his brother get taken.

…

The Snake was the worst.  Luckily Roman only spent a few days with him before V took him to meet the Seelie King.

The Seelie King liked puns.  Mostly because they were as close as a fae could get to lying.   Roman didn’t blame him for that.

Autumn melted into Winter, which changed into Spring, all while he was the pet of the fae.  V never treated him like an animal, but the fear was always there.

Until one night, when Roman got drunk off of elderberry wine and he kissed V again.

“I love you.”

“You jest.”

“Hmmm.  Maybe.  But I wouldn’t’ve drank if I knew that you didn’t care for me.”  Roman hiccuped and kissed V again, tangling his hands in the fae’s hair as they fell to the soft ground.

“Please Ro, you’re drunk.”  V’s face was flush with embarrassment as they pulled back from the kiss.

“A man becomes honest when drunk.  I should know.”  Roman insisted, but the fae was pushing him away.

“I will not when you are inhibited.  I am no snake.”

…

Summer comes.  

Roman listens while V sings, trying to attract unwary mortals to the ring to make deals.

The fae is one of the rare ones that Roman has interacted with in his eight months of being owned, how his deals are always straightforward, how he doesn’t twist his words like the Snake and the King do.

“Why aren’t you like them?”

V stops their singing.  “Like who mortal?” “Like… you know.”

“I am younger and more burned by the actions of mortals.  Sue me.”

“Hmm.”

…

“Virgil.”  V says one day as they pull away from Roman’s kiss, pupils blown wide from the rush.

“Virgil?” “My name.  Do with it what you must.  You can leave if you want, you haven’t consumed fae cursed food, you can leave and break the deal.”

Roman kisses the fae again.  “I won’t.”

“Why?”

Roman opens his mouth to respond but then closes it.  There’s a moment of silence.

“I don’t know.  I might go visit, but I don’t have any desire to leave you…Virgil.”

Virgil looks as if they’ve been shocked and then they’re kissing Roman again, all passion and honey.

Roman will go back, to Logan and Remus, but that’s a problem for another day.  Right now he kisses the Seelie with unsaid words, hoping that every emotion that he’s feeling is conveyed. 

It probably is, considering fae consume emotion.

[always-anxious612]

Magic in the Air: Chapter 5

Description: Patton offers to help. That’s all he’s really ever wanted to do. Help his friends. But will that eventually lead to a mess that he wasn’t prepared for?

Pairings: roceit, analogical, intruality, platonic DRLAMP

Warnings: food mention, blood mention, slightly gorey image mention  (please let me know if I missed anything or if you want something tagged)

Word Count: 1,746

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8,  Chapter 9

“Watch out!”

The yell came from the living room and at the sound, Patton instinctively ducked (quack), biting his lip as a book slammed into the kitchen wall behind him. He had been doing a lot of that recently…ducking that is. With Roman, Virgil, and Dee all working on their magic over the past few weeks, the household had become a bit of a chaotic mess.

“Sorry, Padre.” Roman apologized coming into the kitchen to grab the book. “You ok?”

“Perfectly dandy, Ro.” Patton grinned, standing up and patting Roman on the back. Roman returned the smile and hurried back to the living room when Logan called his name.

“Hello, Patton.” A smooth voice greeted from the front doorway. Dee made his way into the kitchen to stand next to Patton and sighed gazing int the living room. “How is our favorite prince doing today?”

After Roman had gained a little more confidence, he had started having his lessons separate from Dee once again in order to make the best of all of their schedules. Needless to say, their schedules had become a bit hectic ever since everybody started gaining magic all of a sudden. Even Remus and Patton were swamped with trying to help Logan in his experiments, keep up with their own class schedules and being there for the three struggling with controlling their magic.

“I think he’s doing great. Only one book flew in here today, so that’s a bonus!” Patton cheered, smiling at Dee.

“Oh?” Dee purred letting a soft grin inch its way onto his face. “How marvelous.” Patton nodded in agreement, looking toward the living room where Roman had six things hovering in the air.

“That’s the most he’s gotten to, right?” Patton asked as Roman started moving the things in a circle in the air. It looked like he was juggling without actually touching anything. He’d been working really hard to get that part right. Since he had had his magic a bit longer than the others and now knew a bit more about his limits thanks to…what had happened, he had really mastered just floating the objects and had moved on to rotating them, moving them, and adding more objects. It was amazing to see him improving rather fast, even if he sometimes still lost control of an object or two. After he had set the objects down, he glanced into the kitchen and spotted Dee. With a quick word to Logan, he ran over and jumped at his boyfriend. Dee let out a little oomph as he caught Roman and supported his weight while the actor wrapped his legs around Dee’s waist.

“Did you see, Dee?” He gasped, like an excited child. “I got six objects up this time.”

“I saw, my prince. You did amazing!” Dee encouraged, pecking Roman on the nose.

“I’d say you’re actually improving quite quickly Roman.” Logan chimed in from where he’d come to stand at the doorway of the kitchen. Roman smiled gratefully at him as he finally released Dee.

“Thanks, Lo.”

“I’m only speaking the truth.” Logan replied, smirking softly as Roman blushed at the compliment. As Logan opened his mouth to continue, a heavy thumping on the staircase drew all of their attention.

“Logan, we’re gonna be late for class! You said you’d come get me ten minutes before we had to leave.” Virgil panicked as he rushed suddenly downstairs and headed toward the door. Surprised, Logan checked his watch and cursed under his breath.

“Great job today Roman. Don’t forget that you and Dee have tomorrow off because I have to help Virgil make one of the backgrounds for the play.” Logan reminded as he grabbed his bag and quickly followed Virgil to the door. Patton smiled after them, giggling at how obvious it was that they were dating. They hadn’t outright said it yet, but it wasn’t hard to tell. He knew that Dee knew as well from the knowing looks he kept giving the two. It was great that they got to work in at least one of the same classes together. With Logan being in Theater Design and Technology and Virgil being in Stagecraft, they often worked together on projects for the school’s major productions too. In fact, all of the others were also pursuing careers in theatre: Dee in costume designing, Remus in stage makeup, and Roman in acting. However, Patton himself was majoring in Dance. Sometimes he was a bit sad that he was the only one that never got to help in the production of the plays, but he at least got to help Roman when he was auditioning for a musical and needed help with the dances. Plus, Remus often helped him practice his partnered dances since he had always been interested in the subject. Speaking of Remus…  

“Has anyone seen Remus? I have something he needs for his makeup class.” Patton remembered.

“I think he was in his room last I saw him.” Roman answered as he began to get the ingredients to make himself a sandwich.

“Would you like a sandwich Pat?” he offered, looking up.

“Aw, thanks kiddo! That’d be great! Could you make one for Remus too? I don’t think he’s come out of his room all day, so he probably hasn’t eaten.”

“Sure, but I am not adding sardines to his ham sandwich this time. He wants those he can get them himself.”

Patton giggled softly before heading upstairs to get the makeup brushes he had for Remus. He had borrowed them to do his makeup for a costumed dance routine he had to do for class last week and kept forgetting to give them back, but Remus could only last so long making up excuses for why he didn’t have his makeup brushes in a makeup class. He was getting ready to knock on Remus’s door when he heard angry muttering from the other side. Slightly worried, he hesitantly knocked on the door anyway.

“Remus? Kiddo? Roman made some sandwiches for lunch if you want to come and eat” he called. The muttering fell silent but there was no answer.

“Um, Are you ok?” Patton asked hesitantly.

“’M fine.” Remus responded, sounding unconvincing. His answer was much quieter than usual and there was a slight waver to his voice.

“I’m coming in, ok?”

When there was no answer, Patton took that as an ok and cautiously opened the door.

Remus was slumped over at his desk, his head resting on a piece of artwork of a girl with half of her face completely covered in tiny cracks that branched out and bled into the rest of her face and down into her neck…like a china doll that had been dropped and shattered, just on the verge of breaking completely. It was haunting but still beautiful, and though it wasn’t Patton’s type of art, he could still admire the talent and work that went into it.

“That’s beautiful, Remus.” He complimented, still gazing at how intricate the cracks were drawn. Remus snapped his head up and stared at Patton then looked back to his drawing.

“You think?” he asked, chewing his lip as he studied the picture.

“Yeah, of course! The cracks in the face are so intricate and you did her hair so nicely and the way the fractures kinda start to bleed into the rest of her face but fade off. It’s really great. You did amazing.”

“It was gonna be my project for my makeup class. I was gonna add some blood seeping from the cracks and not paint her face so it’d look like an actual fractured human face instead of just a cracked doll and everything! I mean, a cracked china doll is so overdone, right? This way, it’ll look much cooler and probably be a lot creepier. And a bit more gory, with the blood and flesh and stuff.” Remus ranted, smiling at the thought. Patton tried not to grimace at the concept. It really was very cool…just not his type of thing.

“What changed? Did you find a better project to do?” Patton asked noticing that Remus’s smile faded at the question.

“My professor said that it wasn’t possible for someone with my skillset to get it perfected in time and recommended I pick an easier design.”

“What? But that doesn’t make any sense. You’re not going to learn new skills if you don’t challenge yourself. I mean you are in the class to improve your skillset.”  

Remus was silent for a minute before speaking again.

“So…you don’t think I have the skillset either?” he asked quietly.

“Wh—No, Remus. That’s not what I meant. Not at all. I actually think this is right up your alley. I’m sure you’d do amazing. I’m just saying even if that’s what he believes, he should still let you do the project. So what if its challenging? You’re there to learn aren’t you? And if you want to push yourself so you can grow, I think he should encourage that not turn you away from it.” Patton pointed out. Remus smiled, but it still seemed too sad for Patton’s taste.

“What if you did it anyway?” he suggested. Remus’s grin suddenly turned mischievous as he raised an eyebrow.

“Patton are you suggesting that I disobey authority? I never thought I’d see the day.” He gasped dramatically. Patton flushed bright red as he slapped Remus’s shoulder playfully.

“I-I just think that if you do it and perfect it anyway, then you can prove it to him that he was wrong.” Patton defended “But this isn’t worth a lot of your grade or anything right? Because it might be best if you don’t test your professor when you can fail the whole class because of it.”

“No, of course not. It’s just a little project.” Remus replied, waving it off and looking away. Patton raised an eyebrow at his suspicious reaction but shrugged it off as Remus continued.

“I need a subject to practice it on though. None of my classmates like to be my subject anymore.” He pouted.

“Well, I could be your subject if you like.” Patton offered.

“You—You will? But this—I mean, this isn’t usually your thing.”

“It’s not but it still looks really cool, and you always help me with my dance routines. It’s the least I could do.”

“Ok, then. Thanks Patty Cakes!” Remus grinned. Patton nodded, hiding a blush.

“Anytime. Now let’s go get those sandwiches.”

Taglist: @catolicabuena @look-ma-im-on-tv @its-always-the-witching-hour @sure-i-exist @wellhellothere09 @star-crossed-shipper @cemmy 

[98prilla]

Abductions, Past and Present

Next

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AO3

...

He knocks on the door softly, wincing at the startled yelp he hears from the other side, but he hears a ‘come in’ before he can apologize. He peeks open the door, and it takes him a moment to find Remus, who is sitting in the corner of the room, knees pulled to his chest, to the left of the door.

 “I brought you some pancakes.” He starts simply. “Would you like the door open, or closed if I intend on staying in here with you?” He asks, not missing Remus’s surprised consideration at the question. He knows well enough the importance of choices.

 “closed is fine.” Remus says after a moment, and he nods, closing the door softly. He slides the plate of pancakes across the floor to Remus, grabbing a spare blanket and wrapping it around his shoulders as he settles in the corner opposite Remus, idly looking around the room, careful not to make Remus feel stared at or watched.

 “They taste great, by the way. The pancakes. And I know Patton enjoyed the company.” He comments, noticing how Remus’s shoulders tense a bit, though he does take a bite of food, savoring the fluffiness and heavenly sweetness of syrup. In only a few minutes, the plate is slid back across the room to Janus, who sets it aside.

 “you didn’t need to come check on me.” Remus mumbles, and he hums for a moment, thinking.

 “I didn’t. And I will leave if you want. Tell the others you’re just resting, and to leave you alone, if you like.” Remus considers for a moment, before shaking his head, resting it atop his knees. He relaxes back against the wall, stretching out his legs and looking up at the ceiling, letting Remus set the pace.

 “I was excited. And I yelled. And I asked for something.” Janus tilts his head to show he’s listening, but still doesn’t look away from the ceiling, knowing the weight of a gaze is not welcome.

 “you did. And while it did startle everyone, it made all of us happy, to see you happy about something.” He replies evenly.

 “I’m not allowed to be loud. It gets me in trouble. Which really means it gets Roman in trouble. It means… it means he gets hurt. I know… I know it’s not like that anymore, but… but I still expect it, I can’t… I can’t not.” He lets out a low breath, nodding, finally tilting his head so he’s looking at Remus.

“I know. I was younger, and alone, but I can imagine, if they’d stolen one of my nest mates along with me, how hard I would cling to them as my life line, how hard I would fight to keep them safe. I learned obedience quickly, with the help of their tools” he spits the word, “though pain was unavoidable.” He can still feel the needle sharp jolts of pain over every inch of what was once scales, his flesh torn and raw and red, each one meticulously plucked from his skin for some fine lady’s jewelry or a rich man’s fancy cape, the type of pain that didn’t even hurt after a day, just made his stomach roil and his balance lopsided, ill and feverish and weak from it.

 “I suppose they took better care of me than they did you. I wasn’t a lab rat, and they couldn’t afford to lose me. They fed me well so my scales would stay shining and bright, would always tend to my injuries carefully so they would grow back in well after every pluck. Lots of IV’s, to keep me hydrated and get nutrients in me.”

 “how often?”

 “Once every month, month and a half. I was eight, when they grabbed me. I was 21 when they got me out.” Remus lets out a low whistle at that, the silence lingering for a moment, and he can feel Remus studying him, debating something in the silence.

 “how… did you stop? Forgetting where you are, I mean. Or… knowing where you are and just… not being able to believe it?” He sighs, letting his eyes meet Remus’s, a small, bitter smile on his lips.

 “you don’t, really. I’m still expecting something to go to hell, and somedays I can’t leave my room, convinced for some reason that if I walk out I’ll see the hospital white halls. Some nights I still wake up, thrashing and screaming, and some nights I don’t sleep at all, and some days I cannot stand to have anyone touch me. It comes and it goes. It just… comes less and stays for shorter amounts of time, the longer I’m here with people I trust.”

 “that fucking sucks.” Remus mumbles softly, picking at his shirt. He shrugs.

 “yeah. But it’s still better than the real thing. And everyone knows to respect whatever boundaries I lay down, no matter how often they shift and change from day to day. You won’t get in trouble for allowing someone the privilege of touching you one day, then saying no touch the next. Or allowing one person touch, but denying another. I know me saying it doesn’t just magically let you believe it, but they’ll show it to you, over time. Because every time you say something, or ask for something, or get loud and excited, and expect that punishment? It won’t come. Until you start to believe them when they say it won’t ever.”

 Remus meets his eyes again, for longer this time, once again on the brink of saying something, but unsure if he can cross that precipice. He knows that feeling, hell, he probably knows all the exact things going through Remus’s mind right now, because they’ve sped through his own a thousand times.

 “so if… if I wanted touch now… you wouldn’t just pat me on the back or something later, when… when I’m not expecting it?” Remus finally asks, though he can tell it’s a precursor to what he really wants. Still, he’ll never push. He just nods.

 “Yes. And if you did want touch it would also be ok if you only wanted a specific kind of touch. Hand holding, arm around the shoulders, full on cuddling, that kind of thing. It is always open and up to you to decide what you are and are not ok with. You can always ask for more. Likewise, you can always ask for less, if you decide something is too much.” He answers, trying to keep his voice soft and purely informational, trying to make this easier.

 He's surprised when Remus nods decisively once, takes a deep breath, then scoots across the floor to him, carefully settling against him so that their sides are touching. Somehow he expected to be the one to go to Remus, not the other way around. He’s almost afraid to move, afraid to scare Remus away.

 “have… have you ever gone back? To your home planet?”

 “Once. Just to see. It was strange, being there. It felt right but… empty. So much of who you are as a Naga is built on what nest you’re from, what family in that nest you belong to, and I don’t have any of that. I was an outsider in my own home. It… hurt, but I think I needed it to. I had already planned on staying aboard, I just had to make sure.” Remus nods.

 “I miss home. I wonder what movies have come out, what my friends grew up to be, what my parents are doing now. If they stayed together or got divorced, or maybe had more kids, or maybe adopted. I could see that. They always wanted to foster. But we can’t even check, can we? That’s not the rules for Earth.”

 “no. they aren’t.” He replies. Earth is just starting to open up to aliens, just starting its space exploration, just a baby in the grand scheme of space, and thus heavily regulated, both by the planet itself and other universal aid to keep other planets from interfering in Earth’s development. No, returning home for the brothers is impossible, at least for the foreseeable future.

 Remus rests his head on his shoulder with a sigh, and he is once again terrified to move, to scare the skittish human away.

  “Logan said we’ll be touching down somewhere in a few days. I’m going to lose it as soon I step outside, I know it. I’m trying to brace myself already, trying to remember what real sun feels like, what wind or grass or trees even look like, what solid ground feels like, and I can’t. How pathetic is that? Ten years of my life, I spent outside every second I could, and now I can barely remember what outside is.”

 “Lose it, then. Scream and cry and pound the ground and punch a tree and laugh while sobbing like a maniac. It’ll make you feel better, extremely satisfying, really.” He replies, remembering his first time off ship. He’d just sat on the ground in the sun, just crying. Just endlessly crying. Remus lets out a small snort, gently bumping his shoulder against him.

 “I’m sure that would go over well with the locals. ‘Oh that? That’s just the human, losing his shit, don’t worry, he probably won’t break your shit or kill any of you, though he is half feral.’ I’m sure that would put their minds right at ease.” He simply shrugs again.

 “Fuck ‘em. I can move faster than nearly any other species, and I’ll bite whoever wants to even think of trying something. It’s a small planet, yes, but a common way fair point for smaller ships like ours. Smuggling isn’t uncommon in the galaxies, Remus, and they’ve seen their fair share of refugees. We wouldn’t be taking you somewhere you wouldn’t be safe.” He softens, feeling Remus sigh.

 “I… know. That’s what’s hardest. Is knowing that I somehow trust all of you because it terrifies me, all the extra ways I could hurt cause of it. All the different ways any… any of you could hurt me.” He doesn’t say anything to that. There’s nothing he can say, that will ease Remus’s mind. Only time can do that, as painful as it is to see that doubt creep in, he knows it can’t be vanquished so easily. “could… could you… hold me?” Remus asks, voice small, and instantly he shifts, allowing Remus to slip onto his lap, wrapping the blanket around them both, one hand resting on Remus’s waist, the other gently stroking up and down his back.

 “Is this alright?” He murmurs softly, and Remus lets out a small, content hum, eyes drifting closed where his head rests against his chest. He smiles smally, humming softly, that lilting lullaby from his memories, watching Remus’s face finally relax as he fell fully asleep.

 Of course, now he couldn’t move, stuck as he was with a human on his lap, not that he minded, really. It felt… nice, having someone curled against him, his own temperature rising to cozily warm as Remus’s supplied extra to compensate for his colder body temp, it felt… natural.

 This is how Naga were supposed to sleep. Curled up together, piled on top of each other, tangled around each other, and it had been a long, long time since he let anyone hold him, not even Patton, despite his intrinsic need for touch. He avoided it like the plague most of the time, because he couldn’t stand to have a taste of it, only to lose it again.

 But now, Remus is curled in his lap, and his senses are on fire, and he feels warm, and whole, and full, in an aching, needy sort of way, and he knows that plan is out the window, hurtling into the dark abyss of space, because this is absolutely pure bliss, and he finds himself snuggling closer to Remus, resting his head in Remus’s hair with a soft sigh.

 Yes. Remus reminds him far, far too much of himself, for either of their own goods.

[cacowhistle]

a grim(ms’) fairytale (chapter 1)

fandom: sanders sides chapters: 2/? characters: roman “creativity” sanders, logan “logic” sanders, patton “morality” sanders, virgil “anxiety” sanders, “deceit” sanders, remus “creativity” sanders

summary: Roman creates a fantasy world for his friends to enjoy, and is truly, truly thrilled to share it with them! Unfortunately for them, Remus seems to have different plans with the Imagination, and things don't quite go as planned for Roman.

And, interestingly enough, they don't quite go as planned for Remus, either.

ao3 link | chapter masterlist

Don't let anyone say that Roman didn't have the best of intentions with this surprise.

He had great intentions! Really good ones! He didn't like unpleasant surprises - it was too Remus-like for his taste, and he knew damn well that any sort of unpleasant surprise would sit terribly with Virgil, who already hated Remus - he didn't need a reason to go back to being wary and hostile towards Roman, and acting anything like Remus was probably enough for that.

Not only that, but it would upset Patton, which was never good! They all hated it when Patton was upset - even Logan, though he wouldn't admit that it wasn't just for practical reasons.

And Logan would be disconcerted and more annoyed with Roman, and that just got irritating and frustrating and really, Roman would rather avoid it.

To be fair, it wasn't like Roman was really capable of creating such unpleasant things. As the lighter half of Creativity, he sort of… lacked the creative drive to create those sorts of things, while creating wondrous fantasy realms came to him as easily as breathing.

He wasn't too concerned about their reactions to this surprise. It was going to be great, he was sure.

He had meant for this to be an exciting adventure! He was genuinely excited to share this fantasy world he'd created with the others, after a couple of weeks of slaving away over the world and all of the characters within it. He'd had to enlist Remus' help to give all of the NPCs sentience, since one half of Creativity wouldn't be able to do it on his own, but together they'd managed it. Roman, of course, set aside a few NPCs for Remus to play with as a sort of payment. He… didn't want all of the NPCs to turn into terrifying, horrible things when Remus focused on them, so he'd had to sacrifice a few, but it had worked out nicely enough. It was a standard Dungeons & Dragons-esque fantasy world, and Roman had to say, he was quite proud of it.

He'd crafted things with the other sides especially in mind - a giant library in the capital and a vast solar system for Logan to enjoy, multiple bakeries and animal-themed gifts for Patton, dark and sinister aesthetics in some places for Virgil - along with the assurance that it was perfectly safe, and danger was practically nonexistent.

The other sides had enjoyed it! Virgil and Logan had both been intrigued, much to Roman's surprise - not that he was complaining. Patton loved it, though it was hard to expect Patton to hate much of anything, so…

Regardless, it was off to a good start! A great start! An absolutely fantastic, wonderful fantasy experience seemed to be ahead of them.

They had been having a good time, and then…

Roman isn't quite sure. All he knows is that it's horribly dark and cold now, and there's something living and breathing that smells of blood and rot in front of him, when just a moment ago he could've sworn he'd been walking with the others down the Millwalk, away from Caudilcor, and now…

He doesn't know where he is, and he doesn't know where any of the others are. Fear, icy and awful, crawls along his spine as whatever's in front of him moves, its breathing ragged and labored as if it were wounded.

Roman steps back, and there's the sound of a boot hitting stone. He pats his arms, surprised to find leather armor, and his hand travels to where the hilt of his sword usually is and-

He grips his blade with trembling hands, still staring ahead of him into the inky darkness. He's fought dragons before, this is nothing, he's the Gryffindor, the prince, the knight, he can do this. Maybe it's not even a threat, maybe he's just on edge after being thrown somewhere else, this is fine. He just has no idea what's happening, in a place where he's supposed to be aware of everything that's happening.

Is this Remus' doing? It certainly seems up his alley, throwing his brother into a cold, dark cellar, face to face with some awful monster. He swallows thickly, biting back any fear. If this is the Imagination, he has to still be in charge. He has to still have some sort of power, here. Right? At the very least, it won't let him die, or get too horribly injured. There can't be any real threat.

There's a guttural rasping noise that quickly distracts him, and an awful, grating voice sounds from the darkness, two red eyes blinking open and staring Roman down. He can practically see its grin split its face, in the faint light the eyes let off.

Only… after a moment, the dark lets up a bit, and suddenly things are easier to see. It's dim, but Roman can see, which would have been a relief if not for the horrible sight before him.

A large, worm-like creature with a human face stares him down, eyes glowing red, jagged yet still human teeth splitting its face in a terrible, bloody grin. Several arms protrude from its flesh in awkward, unnatural angles, pale and sickly looking. It strikes fear that Roman's never really felt before into his heart, and immediately he knows this has to be Remus' doing. This horrible creature… he wouldn't have been able to come up with this.

"Creator."

Roman's breath catches in his throat - he couldn't have made this - and he continues to back away, drawing his sword and holding it in front of him. "What are you, you… you foul fiend?"

It laughs, a terrible noise, and the hair on the back of Roman's neck rises. He freezes as a finger, cold and clawed, trails along his spine, crawling up the back of his neck. Moving on autopilot, he swings his sword behind him, whirling to face the hand, throwing a panicked glance over his shoulder.

It laughs again, and then there's a hand pressing against the back of his neck and a burning pain overwhelms his senses. Roman lets out an agonized cry, stumbling forward, knees hitting the ground and sword clattering to the floor, the pain only getting worse and worse as he gasps for breath. He slumps forward, tears burning behind his eyes as he hits the ground, fingers curling into the stone floor as the pain overwhelms him, and Roman screams, a bloodcurdling sound that tears from his throat and leaves him gasping on the floor.

"Go on, champion," The voice sneers, and Roman can barely register the words through the haze of pain, "show your friends just what this world can be."

Roman awakes with a start, a dull ache in the back of his neck, soft daylight streaming in through the window, faced with a small medieval bedroom. A table stands in the corner with two wooden chairs on either side, along with a bedside table next to the bed. The bed itself is barely any good, with a wooden frame and a seemingly hay-stuffed mattress, the blankets a bit scratchy. He sits up, a twinge of pain running down his back from his neck, and one hand reaches up to rub the seemingly burn-scarred skin on the back of his neck.

What, he stares at the pack of his usual Imagination-adventuring gear strewn across the small table in the corner, the Hell is going on?

After he allows himself a brief moment of panic and freaking out, it doesn't take much time to put on his gear and get himself ready to go. Judging by a quick glance out the window, he's in Retilja, which means the capital is only a couple days' travel away. If the others have any common sense, they'll go there, too. He wants to find them as quickly as possible, leaving them alone and without guidance in this world probably isn't the best idea. Especially if they've also been downgraded to citizens - or, well, adventurers, Roman supposes. He can't help the small smile at the thought, though. The idea of the rest of them, especially no-nonsense, reality-loving Logan, thrown into a fantasy adventure is a bit amusing.

It's still annoying - and the… dream… vision… thing on the edge of his thoughts is still terrifying, but Roman isn't going to dwell on that. He's also pointedly ignoring the fact that something overrode his control over the Imagination.

He takes a deep breath, then pushes the door open and glances around. An empty hallway, lined by three other doors - one next to his, and two across the hall, and then what looks to be an office door at one end of the hall, and a staircase on the other end. Just a tavern, it seems.

He makes his way down the stairs, the main dining hall rather empty - it seems to be just after sunrise, so it's a bit strange that there's nobody running about down here. A young woman leans against the bar, flipping through a book, brown hair messily tied back in a haphazard bun, a stained apron thrown over her clothes. She looks… incredibly real, and sentient, and Roman can't help the thrill of pride in his chest. He made this.

"Can I help you?"

Roman is knocked out of his excited, prideful haze by the girl's voice, and he blinks a few times. "Er - not just yet, thank you. Actually-" he pauses, frowning slightly, "do you have coffee?"

She quirks an eyebrow. "We might. I'll go check."

"My sincerest gratitude." Roman grins, and the girl snorts as she turns and makes her way back into the kitchen.

Roman settles at a table by one of the windows, gazing out at the street outside. Not exactly bustling with activity, but still rather busy, with all sorts of people going back and forth. Rotilja isn't the biggest town, but he knows there are plenty of people and businesses. A farming town, mainly focuses on trade in and out of the Empire…

He's snapped out of that train of thought as the girl places a mug of coffee in front of him. "One gold."

"Oh!" He has to dig around to find the pouch filled with coins, but it's easy enough to figure out which is which. He hands her two gold coins. "Keep the change. Er - say, what's your name?"

She frowns at him. Roman manages a small smile, as thrown off as he is right now. 

"... Matilda." She finally says, rapping her knuckles against the table twice before saying, "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, thank you, Matilda. I appreciate it." He's still incredibly tired and confused and stressed, but the conversation has assured him that this is still a real thing happening. This isn't some illusion from Remus, this is still his world and the work of the Imagination. So at least he knows there isn't any real danger.

She merely nods and returns to the bar, going back to her reading, and Roman takes the next few minutes to go through his things and see what he has. A cloth backpack and a bedroll, an extra set of regular clothes (well, as regular as you can get in a medieval fantasy world), a… handaxe? He's not sure why he has that. A mess kit, painting supplies - he's excited about those - some rations, some rope, a tinderbox… a few other general adventuring things, it seems. And about… 20 gold pieces, about 30 silver pieces, and around 15 copper pieces. He has no idea if that's anywhere near enough to get by. The coffee had only been one gold piece, so… he's probably pretty well off. Hopefully everyone else is, too. He'd rather not have left them all stranded without money or any belongings at all.

But - if the same thing had happened to them, with that… that vision or dream or whatever it was...

He's starting to understand how Virgil can be so stressed all of the time.

"Okay," Roman mumbles to himself, taking a sip of not-great coffee, and gazing out the window once more, "this is fine."

Things seem to have quieted down outside, though Roman doesn't make any move to leave just yet.

"... this is fine," he mumbles again, gaze dropping to the mug in his hands.

After another few minutes of sitting in the tavern (the Tell-tale Inn, the sign out front says), Roman finally takes his leave, slinging his pack of adventuring gear over his shoulder and making sure he's got easy access to his sword. Just in case. He's still not sure what's going on, so it's probably better for him to be prepared.

Hopefully they were all dropped in the same area, it would make things so much easier. He starts searching by making his way into the center of town.

A gallows stands in the middle of the cobblestone square, a short, bearded man with pointed ears - a dwarf, probably - seemingly in the process of finishing setting it up, and Roman has to stop and look again.

That doesn't seem like something he would've let happen in one of his worlds. Roman frowns, snapping his fingers with the intent to get rid of the gallows and any intention to use them.

Nothing happens.

Roman's shoulders tense, and he takes a step back, still staring at the wooden structure and the noose hanging from it. That should have worked. He snaps his fingers again, focusing as much as he can on getting rid of the structure, and still… nothing.

No, he takes a deep breath, no no no, we're not panicking yet.

This is fine! Maybe he's just worn out, after weeks of creating an entire world. He just needs some time to recharge. He's just tired, probably. He can at least scold Remus for adding this sort of thing to Roman's creation. He can make his own world if he wants to make things horrible and messed up. Roman would much rather avoid any executions, thank you very much.

He'll focus on finding the others first, and then they can figure out what's going on and get out of here. This doesn't seem like something he'll be able to do on his own, if there's something wrong with his powers.

Roman takes a deep breath, glancing around the town square.

This is going to take forever.

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Elsewhere, Logan awakes with a start, a dull, throbbing ache in his leg and the thought that something has probably gone terribly wrong.

One hand flails out and grabs the glasses sitting on the table beside him.

… Those aren't his glasses. The usual thick frames are replaced with smaller wire-framed ones. They're… tasteful, he supposes, but it's odd and he's not sure he likes what's happened here.

A glance around the room tells him one thing: he's definitely not in his room. His gaze lands on the brown and white cat stretched out at the end of the bed he's in, and his confusion only mounts further.

The cat blinks back at him, and despite how ridiculous it seems to talk at a cat as if he were a programmer working out his problems by talking at a rubber duck, he figures he's alone and there's no harm to it as he sits up, absentmindedly running a hand over the burn-scarred symbol on his leg with a grimace.

"What in the world is going on?"

The cat doesn't respond, obviously, as it's a cat, though Logan supposes that if they're still in the Imagination, anything is possible. He frowns slightly, finally taking in the medieval room around him.

What did Roman do this time?