Reviving this sideblog for a hot sec because pieces verse Logan is The Best Boy and every time @tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors writes anything I scream, but this scene from Chipped Tea Sets? Incredible. Showstopping. 10/10.
[Image Description: a messy sketch of Logan Fitzroy from Pieces by @tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors . Logan is a man with short red hair, green eyes, glasses, a dark blue overcoat and lighter blue shirt. His hands are in fists at his sides, and he has an angrily determined look on his face. Around his head are speech bubbles that read, "No. It is my house." End image description.]
a little bit old art, I started drawing them in July but finally finished just now 😌 Anyway can u guess who I drew first and who last? I'm curious if my style even changed for this time
I am S CR E A M I N G I love this so much!!! Especially Roman and Remus’s designs, they’re both so cute and their eyeshadow is so good. All of their hearts are so in character it’s perfect
These are SO CUTE. I love the art style and all the cute little character design choices! (especially the heart on Roman’s cheek omg it’s adorable I can’t)
Just had the sudden exciting realization that with Thomas and Nico, we’ll (probably) have an actual canonical idea of who’s taller in the relationship. After so many years of picking heights at whim for the sides...this is new territory for us, fanders
I wrote this like two weeks ago in a fit of nostalgia for the Just After Accepting Anxiety era of Prinxiety, and then THIS happened, so...Enjoy?
Crash!
Virgil freezes, wide eyed. At his feet, the glass shards of what used to be an elegant flower vase, filled with roses and peonies and ferns, glitter ominously up at him. The water from the vase starts to seep into the hardwood floor, and Virgil already knows that the wood will be warped and discolored from this mistake. The anxiety that wells up in him should be familiar by now, but it still takes him wholly by surprise, the same way it always does. Fuck. Fuck. And if things weren’t bad enough, this wasn’t one of Patton’s projects that he’d broken, or even something of Logan’s. Of all sides, why did he have to break something that belonged to—
“Virgil?” Comes Roman’s voice from the other room. “What was that?”
“Nothing!” Virgil shouts, panic forcing him to respond. “Everything’s fine, don’t worry about it!”
“...I’ll be right there,” Roman calls, and Virgil realizes, belatedly, that his voice had distorted, giving him soundly away. Roman’s footsteps make their way down the stairs, and Virgil frantically tries to think of some excuse, any excuse, for how he could have been so clumsy. How he could possibly have knocked Roman’s lovely bouquet over, the ones he had picked specially to brighten the room, and broken his favorite vase.
It’s a lost cause. Roman’s in the room before Virgil can think of anything, one hand on the doorway and the other on the hilt of his sword. Virgil watches as he takes in the situation, the glass and the water and the bent flowers on the hardwood floor, and Virgil in the middle of it all.
“See, this is why we can’t have nice things,” Roman says dryly, looking at the mess. His hand falls from his sword, and he takes a step back. “Hang on, I’ll rescue you in a sec.” He dashes off, leaving Virgil alone with his raising heart. A minute later, he’s back, red running shoes protecting his feet. Stepping deliberately over the glass, he makes his way to Virgil in two steps, then deftly scoops the smaller side into his arms. Virgil, who’s anxiety is apparently skipping over fight and flight and opting for freeze today, lets himself be carried princess style over the glass, one of Roman’s strong arms wrapped under his knees, the other holding up his back. Carefully avoiding the worst of the glass, Roman deposits Virgil on the couch, on the other side of the room.
“Did you get cut?” He asks, looking down at Virgil’s purple bat socks as if examining them for blood. Virgil shakes his head.
“Okay,” Roman says. He doesn’t smile, but the relieved expression on his face is closer to one than Virgil expects. “Well that’s one good thing, at least. Stay here, I’ll go grab the broom.”
Virgil watches as he heads off toward the kitchen.
Roman doesn’t seem angry. If he’s hiding it, he’s doing a good job. Virgil sits quietly as he sweeps up the glass, throws away the ruined flowers, and wipes the water from the floor. He talks a bit as he works, not seeming to notice Virgil’s lack of response, but he’s saying things like you gotta put glass in paper, right and it’s such a shame, this really was a nice vase and geez, this is why I told Logan we should put carpets down, then the water would just dry up by itself, although I guess the glass would get stuck in it, that wouldn’t be good, never mind. He isn’t shouting, or ranting, or telling Virgil off. He isn’t even making Virgil clean up by himself.
It’s only once Roman’s done cleaning up that he notices how quiet Virgil’s being. “Are you sure you didn’t get hurt? You look a bit… pale.”
Like ripping off the bandaid, Virgil thinks.
“Are you mad at me?”
Roman blinks. “What?”
“If you are, just tell me,” Virgil says, eyes jumping everywhere but Roman’s face. “I just—please.”
“I’m not mad at you,” Roman says, and he sounds honest, if a bit confused. “Virgil, I promise, I’m not. It was an accident.”
“I still broke it,” Virgil whispers. “It was my fault.”
“Okay, maybe it was,” Roman says. Virgil winces. “But things happen, okay? Virgil. Look at me.”
When he doesn’t, Roman reaches out to gently tilt his chin up himself. Virgil tentatively meets Roman’s eyes; brown eyes so similar and yet so unlike his own. Right now, the brilliant, fiery passion in them is something gentler, and they’re wide and earnest.
“You’re not in trouble,” Roman says. “No one’s mad at you. You’re allowed to make mistakes. And some old vase is not worth more to us—” he swallows. “More to me, than you are. Okay?”
Virgil blinks at him. Patton probably would have given him a hug and told him not to worry about it. Logan most likely would have explained how the vase was inconsequential; this was a trivial mistake. And Roman, blunt, impulsive Roman, had simply been honest.
Against all of the odds, Virgil’s panic loosens its grip on his chest. Looking into Roman’s eyes, he can’t help but believe him.
“Okay,” he responds, quietly, and Roman smiles.
“That being said,” the prince says, standing up. “We could always go flower picking in the imagination, if you wanted to help me replace the bouquet. I mean, only if you want! But truthfully, I’d welcome the company.”
He reaches a hand to Virgil, not expectant, but hopeful.
So, I just had a thought that could be a headcanon, or idea, just something small?? What if whenever the other three sides picked Virgil up, it's just his off switch? Kinda like a kitten reacts to being picked up by the scruff. Virgil maybe denying liking being in their arms but it's totally a lie? (Like I said, random?? But maybe it's silly enough to brighten your day! ^_^)
Yassss! Virgil loves being carried, okay? I’m totally behind this. (Hope you don’t mind if I take off running with this idea but like)
Roman is the first one to do it. He does it as a joke (like that Storytime vine where the guy sweeps the girl off her feet and spins her around?) and Virgil’s mind just kinda shuts down for a second because he’s suddenly surrounded by warmth and solidity and Roman’s scent and it’s all so much at once but so great at the same time because he feels so protected and safe. (Roman notices Virgil being a blushing and stammering mess when Roman sets him back on his feet and secretly thinks its kind of adorable and can tell that Virgil actually doesn’t mind at all and starts doing it more)
Patton does it next. Virgil is mostly asleep on the couch about halfway through a movie marathon and his neck is at an awkward angle and Patton doesn’t even really think about it. He picks Virgil up and carries him to his room/bed and Virgil doesn’t know What to Do™ because like. He didn’t know Patton was that strong but he’s also so warm and soft and familiar and that’s all his brain can really process. (Virgil hopes that Patton just assumes he’s asleep but Patton totally feels the way Virgil just relaxes into him after a moment still not sure what to say, and makes a mental note to find discreet reasons for Virgil to be in his arms more because he knows the Anxious Side will never ask)
Logan does it last. Virgil slips or something and twists his ankle. Virgil tries to like hobble over to a chair but there isn’t one in any immediate distance and Logan thinks is illogical to risk further injury and picks him up. Virgil is groaning about it until he’s actually in Logan’s arms and then like. he just kinda abruptly stops. He thought Logan would be bony and awkward but he’s actually not?? There’s something just very… grounding and calming about being in Logan’s arms and Virgil is so surprised that he just kinda stops functioning for a moment? Logan finds it odd that he stopped in the middle of a sentence but its not until he’s set Virgil down and is inspecting his injury that he begins to hypothesize about the reasons for Virgil’s behavior (and comes to the correct conclusion after conducting some “experiments” that Virgil does indeed find enjoyment out of being in his and the other Sides’ arms).
(Okay so I SUPER ran with this idea but I just really loved it so thank you for sharing and sorry for the long response haha)
So I saw @/mackezuerc ‘s dark sides cosplays a bit ago on Instagram aND I IMMEDIATELY FELL IN LOVE- so ofc I got ✨Inspired✨ and decided to draw from their video!! This was fun~ ok that’s it!
Logan stans: I like him bc I relate to the not understanding feelings thing and I know lots of facts about niche subjects
Patton stans: I like him bc I'm sad a lot but I'm also really bubbly and i like seeing the good in the world
Virgil stans: I like him bc his character arc is really good and I relate to being anxious and I like seeing anxiety as something that isnt inherently bad
Day 2: There is a timer that counts down to when you will meet your soulmate
Content warning: vague neglectful/bad home life mentions, liquor store mention (no drinking), implied past parental death.
Word count: 2.6k
When they first met, they didn’t like each other. Would they go so far as to say they hated each other? Probably not. But it was no secret that Roman and Janus didn’t get along, even if they traveled in a mutual friend group. If the two interacted at all, it was in snide remarks and gripes that had everyone else in the group groaning in annoyance. They just wanted five minutes of peace, that’s all. Just five minutes.
Roman was too preppy, Janus said. He was loud and abrasive and presumptuous and arrogant, an annoying theatre boy with too much energy. Other’s feelings came second to his dramatic and overplayed grievances.
Janus was too self centered, Roman retorted. He was untrustworthy and creepy and a compulsive liar, a loner with a mysterious backstory. Everything about him was kept hidden under a mask of indifference.
re: your last ask about the time travel shenanigans—holy fuck yes please more of this. like, not only is it funny as hell, which i appreciate, but it's also a. more c!thomas and b. points to just how interestingly both the plot and characters of this series have grown over the years and i am ALL for it
"Janus!" is the first thing Thomas exclaims when he sees the Side Formerly Known Exclusively As Deceit rise up where Logan would usually stand. Which just might be a mistake, if Janus’s expression is anything to go by.
Okay, in Thomas's defence -
This is a really, really weird day, even by his standards. Because, like, Logan's currently standing in front of the stairs, and that's not where Logan's supposed to be, and his shirt and tie are all wrong. And had had been grinning. Openly. He had been openly grinning when Thomas had first woken up and looked in his wardrobe and realized that his favorite t-shirt apparently doesn't exist anymore and all his clothes are a half-size smaller than he's used to but also they still fit and - okay, no, back to Logan. He'd gone downstairs and tripped over a chair that wasn't supposed to be there and called out Logic. And he'd been about to ask him what's going on and why everything feels so off and also why Logan's standing in Virgil's usual spot instead of over to the right of the stairs. But then he'd noticed all the aforementioned Very Weird Clothing Things. And he'd stopped and said, "Uh, Logan?" and Logan's grin had dropped and he'd stared at Thomas for a full ten seconds then whispered, "what the fuck," with great emotion.
And then Patton had shown up with a ridiculous amount of pun-riddled cheerfulness that Thomas had been able to clock as sixty-percent fake within about half a second. And his clothes had been all wrong, too, and after a lot of confused, borderline-incomprehensible yelling at each other, Roman had showed up and added to the chaos.
"I am scared and confused and on the verge of completely losing it!" Thomas had declared at some point, which had been the cue for an ominous music sting somewhere to Thomas's right that made everybody jolt in terrified unison.
"Did somebody say scared and confused and on the verge of completely losing it?"
"Virgil, thank god!" Thomas had practically yelled, and just about thrown himself across the room to get to him - before pausing midway and allowing his brain to process... wrong hoodie. Wrong amount of eyeshadow. "Wait. No, hang on, is this - "
"FUCKING WHO," Virgil shrieked, leaping backwards half a flight of stairs, which had led to another round of confused yelling, with Thomas trying to assure them all that he's fine he hasn't had some sort of strange head injury or whatever, he's just really happy to see Virgil and no of course that's not weird, what do you mean who's Virgil, that's Virgil right over there, Roman please put down that sword things are already out of hand -
And at some point Thomas had got it into his head that the most reasonable course of events was to summon the one person who always seems to know everything that everybody else doesn't, which brings everything up to speed, more or less. Roman had gone, "Thomas, what are you doing," and Thomas, feeling slightly manic at this point, had said, "I'm trying to summon a demon, obviously," because the best way to get hold of a certain someone probably is blatant lying, and boom, instant Janus.
"Jeee-sus Christ on a cookie-shaped canoe, what is he doing here?!"
"Janus!"
So, Janus pops up, he looks literally the same as he always has (except maybe with shorter hair? Wait, they all have shorter hair, including Thomas, wait a second -) with his half-snake-face and his hat and gloves that cosy-looking capelet of his. And although his expression reflects faint bewilderment and that very particular 'wait, what' emotion that results in being pulled abruptly away from something you were busy with, he looks so normal that Thomas thinks for a moment he might be the only sane person left.
But then Janus makes a series of start-and-stop noises of incomprehension, and gestures wildly towards Virgil, who's crouched midway up on the stairs behind Logan, looking like a cornered wild animal, and snaps, "Why for the love of everything that's holy would you tell him my name?"
"You think this is me?" Virgil retorts, hands going up to grab desperately at the bars lining the side of the staircase. "I don't understand anything that's going on! He somehow knows my name! He's - he's being nice to me!"
It suddenly occurs to Thomas that this might just possibly be a time travel sort of thing. It would explain the clothes shift. And the altered layout of his house. And the fact that when he'd checked his phone this morning it had told him it was 2016, and also it hadn't been his phone, it had been the one he'd broken a few years ago in a tragic piano-moving-related accident.
...Okay, yeah, this is absolutely a time travel thing.
"Is somebody going to explain why Thomas ruined all of our heartfelt name reveal moments in one fell swoop?" Roman demands. "I thought we agreed we were going to do them gradually and draw them out as long as possible for dramatic effect!"
"I agreed to none of that," Virgil snaps from his position halfway up the stairs.
"Yes," says Logan, "yes, I think we all would like to know what's going on. Thomas? What's going on?"
"Uh - " Thomas, who has just come to a rather startling realization about time travel and also about how shitty his Sides' taste in costumes were pre-wardrobe change, doesn't really have a prepared answer for this. "I have... I am - I just - "
Thomas struggles for words. Really struggles. And everyone's just standing there, watching him with expressions that range from terror to confusion to suspicion, and they all look so weirdly young in a way that's hard to pin down. It's the clothes. It's probably the clothes, or maybe it's the way they hold themselves. Roman, carelessly confident, without a doubt in the world. Patton, still wearing a fixed dad-grin, politely baffled and looking back and forth. Logan, who hasn't been systematically beaten down and pushed back over the course of many, many years. Virgil, who's basically just a ball of grey-and-black anger and acerbic anger at this point. Janus, who's... Janus. Who's looking at him in a way that Janus has never looked at him before.
And Remus is probably lurking somewhere in the back of his mind, too, doing whatever Remus does, and - would Remus be any different now, four years prior? Thomas hadn't had any significant problems with intrusive thoughts, not back then... or, well, back now. Maybe he's calmer, maybe Thomas could actually talk with him. Try to work something out, try to understand.
But wait, he's still got to give the Sides right here and right now an answer.
Hm.
...Thomas has been through a lot in the past four years. Not, like, fantasy protagonist a lot, but more like a extended psychological journey of self-discovery and mental health crises. Now, he wouldn't trade any of this for the world, because he's learned a hell of a lot about himself in the process - but also? The Sides have put him through a lot of horrifying realization-type things.
Which is why he absolutely one hundred percent deserves to do what he's about to do next.
"I," says Thomas, with an extraordinary amount of confidence and self-assuredness, "am psychic."
And the dead silence holds. Now even Patton is staring at him in disbelief. Janus has graduated into outright horror, his face twisted up into a oh god no I am somehow responsible for letting him delude himself this far expression.
"Thomas!" Roman gasps, almost instantly lighting up with genuine enthusiasm. "Oh, Thomas, I'm so proud, we've been working on this for years. Tell me, does this extend to telekinesis, or just somehow knowing all our names and nothing else?"
"What?" Janus says. "What - no. No, you can't seriously be going along with this - what? That... what? That doesn't even make any sense?" He turns wildly from left to right, and - okay, it's very enjoyable to see him out of his depth, to be perfectly honest. Thomas likes Janus a lot, knows he has his best interests at heart, but the whole courtroom thing had been a major dick move. This is satisfying. "Are any of you getting this? Does anyone here understand what's going on?"
"I'm psychic," Thomas repeats doggedly. "I acquired magical psychic powers and now I know all of your names and tragic backstories. Surprise! I unlocked my full potential and the ninety-percent of my brain power that I wasn't using."
"That's - that's a widely-perpetuated and wildly incorrect myth," Logan says weakly.
"Nope. Turns out it's true, and I was only using ten percent of it, and now that I've gone full big-brain, I know that Patton's repressing all his bad feelings because he doesn't want to bother anyone with them, Virgil acts all scary and menacing because he thinks it's the only way that I'll ever listen to him, and Janus is secretly a huge dork with a heart of gold - uh, yellow, I guess."
"Also, Roman, you're my hero; Logan, please never stop smiling like that ever again, it's literally my favorite thing in the world and if you ever stop being enthusiastic about teaching me things I will cry - and Virgil, I love you."
Virgil lets out a choked little noise like he's just been punched directly in the stomach.
"I love all of you," Thomas adds, an afterthought. "I never say that enough. Janus, that goes for you as well. You're right, I need to take care of myself more."
"I'm - " Janus is still looking around at everyone in complete disbelief, but now his gaze fixes onto Thomas, his eyes wide. "I'm what?"
Thomas is now on a roll. An extremely cathartic sort of roll. "And Remus -"
Everybody immediately panics. Virgil and Logan's hands both immediately leap up to clasp over their mouths, which seems to be a reflexive reaction on Janus's behalf. Patton lets out a deranged-sounding high pitched giggle that edges into genuine hysteria.
"Brother? What brother? I don't know what a brother is!" Roman says loudly. "I've never had a brother in my life! Thomas, your glorious psychic powers are malfunctioning. Have you tried turning them off and turning them on again?"
" - I'm not going to lie and say I love him, but -" Thomas stops abruptly, and staggers backwards to catch himself on the couch as a thought strikes him out of literally nowhere. "Son of a bitch -"
"Does being psychic make you swear a lot?" Patton asks weakly. "Because, uh. Not sure I like this side of you, kiddo - "
"Logan," says Thomas. "Logan, what's the date today? This is so, so important, what's the date."
"It's... October," Logan says, very slowly. "October twentieth. 2016?"
"Holy shit," Thomas whispers, and then says it louder, "holy shit. Okay, listen. I was going to sort out all of our collective psychological issues in one impressive emotional speedrun, but I've realized we have something much more important to do." He pauses, and takes in a very deep, shuddering breath. "Guys. We can save Vine. Excuse me. I've just realized I’ve got to make a lot of calls."
This is the best thing I’ve ever read omg. When Thomas said he was psychic I burst out laughing. I love the way you’ve characterized him in this story!
It’s utterly wild to me that I was instantly able to tell who was who, despite the hoodie being on Roman, not Virgil. That’s some good character design and body language, OP!!
Okay, okay, Janus reading a story like that to the dark sides is a very Janus thing to do, and Remus being like ‘yes, yessss, give me MORE’ is a very Remus thing to do, but can we talk about Virgil crying and then Janus holding his hand?? I’m sorry, that’s too adorable and I love it
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