Wiat, in the Iskall and Etho au there HAS to be at least one other person who knows right? Like, they're just hangin out and some just makes dead eye contact with Etho and it's just, "Oh hey, I remember you, from how long ago though"
:D
Etho knew most of what his engineering classes taught about. Hell, every once in a while he’d hear his professor talk and think “wait, didnt I make that?” and the next test will confirm it. Yes, the god of inventions did indeed help Nikola Tesla, despite the man being an absolute prick. Seriously, how was a man so smart such a jerk?
And now he was learning, well, hearing, something about circuits. Whatever, he could build one with his eyes closed. He wondered if Iskall ever got this board in his classes. He began to doze off, boredom taking over.
“This stuff is complicated for new learners, shouldn’t you be paying attention?”
Etho slowly turned around to glare at whoever gave him that snide comment. He stopped in his tracks. no way. “Doc?”
Doc grinned. “Fancy meeting you here, Mr. Slab. Back to earth again?”
Etho rolled his eyes. “The pantheon is so stuck up, they keep telling me there’s no room for something new. They’re so…”
“Boring? Stuffy?” Doc suggested. “Why do you think I’m here. It’s always ‘No Doc, stop creating a death machine. The humans will kill each other more. Well, Beef can have more to do!”
“I mean, you’re not wrong, but also let’s not purposefully try to cause war. Last time you did that Russia and America almost went nuclear.”
Doc slouched. “That was Cleo’s fault and you know it.”
Etho shook his head. “You can’t blame the goddess of death everytime people almost die. You know this.”
Doc waved his hand. “Whatever, you wanna ditch this? Ren is working at the café right now and it’s fun to mess with him.”
“Sure, whose Ren?”
“Roommate.” Doc explained. “Hes my favorite so far. Honestly, the only one whose grown on me in a while.”
Etho side eyed him. “You better not-“
Doc pushed him. “I won’t, X would murder me. Come on, I want a blueberry danish.
I'm seeing a lot of freakout about the name reveal and that Roman Angst(tm) but I have yet to see any post about the thumbnail of the video, because that 4th slot has me on top of the fridge, screeching.
Oh yeah I’ve seen some talk about that thumbnail, orange side confirmed!!
Favorite thing about them: Where do I start with this boy??? He can be super smooth and calm but also super silly (ex: flipping the bird with both hands, that little “ngyah” after Thomas said “no steps,” “you’re just stuck with a snake boy”). He’s complex and flawed and I love himmmm.
Least favorite thing about them: I guess how he manipulated Roman in both “Can Lying Be Good” and “Selfishness vs Selflessness.” He’s not afraid of using someone to get what he wants and I think in the future he’s going to have to apologize to Roman and fix this issue.
Favorite Line: I can’t piiiick he’s awesome. I think right now it’s “mental health should be regarded with the same life or death attitude as physical health” just because of how important it is, especially for me.
brOTP: I think he and Logan would make for pretty good friends. They’re both into debating and I think Logan could teach Janus a thing or two about how to make good arguments, without the whole manipulation thing. Also he and Remus I imagine have a good Bob and Larry relationship (the serious one and the silly one).
OTP: This changes pretty much everyday for me tbh. Right now it’s moceit, but demus and intrulogiceit are all good. Give the snake some love.
nOTP: Hm, maybe anxceit? Right now in canon I don’t see this as happening and even when they become friends again I don’t feel very shippy with them.
Random headcanon: I personally see him as having issues with being in control, especially after Virgil left. He feels like he needs to be in charge of everything in his life, like his image, situations he’s in, etc. I kinda thought this after he took control of the courtroom situation in SvS (like putting Logan in the back of the room and setting up everyone’s roles).
Unpopular opinion: I guess...I’ve never liked the unsympathetic Janus headcanons? I don’t like unsympathetic sides in general, but I especially didn’t like it when people jumped on Janus being a super bad person. I think some of the fandom takes mistakes and flaws in the characters and immediately turns it into them being a bad person.
Song I associate with them: Definitely “Allies or Enemies” by The Crane Wives and “Monster” by Dodie. “Allies or Enemies” makes me think of how the Sides have split themselves into Dark vs. Light, even though they’re all part of Thomas and they all care about him. “Monster” makes me think of how Janus is viewed as the villain since Virgil is a “Light Side” now and how Janus may point out that the Light Sides have made mistakes as well.
Favorite picture of them: So many but especially this one
I want to say thank you. If it wasn't for ALiP and Impractical I don't think I would be where my art is today. You're blog and story were the one reason I started drawing. You are an amazing person and a awesome writer.
Your talent and skill are your own. I’m glad I have been a motivator but be proud of what you’ve accomplished!!
6. “Of course you’re not perfect. No one expects you to be.” With Deceit and Roman?
oooo time for roman angst
goin under a readmore because how did this get so long is it good? who knows! is it 1500 words long and full of roman angst? yes
prompt list
Roman returns to his room after the latest, not-exactly-greatest, brainstorming session with the other sides. It wasn’t all bad, of course- some of his ideas were liked, or at least liked enough to be kept for further revision. But the problem is that he’s having to remind himself it wasn’t all bad in the first place, because it means the vast majority of what he brought to the table was… not good. Rejected, unworthy of even considering any further. All the optimism and false confidence in the world can’t truly convince Roman he’s anything but a failure, if so much of what he’d originally thought to be good turns out to be hot garbage in the harsh light of reality. Sure, he can’t expect everything to be the best idea ever, but Thomas deserves better than this from him- he ought to be perfect for him. Roman knows everyone is disappointed with him, even if they’re mostly too nice to let him see it- but he sees the little glances when they think he’s looked away, and he knows what they mean.
He sighs heavily and falls into the chair in front of his vanity. He should take off his makeup before he falls asleep with it still on. Bright lipgloss and glittery red eyeshadow- applied this morning, when he felt ready to take on the day and wanted everyone’s eyes on him. Now, he wishes he could disappear. He doesn’t even get half the makeup off before he breaks at the sight of his miserable self in the mirror, tears streaming down his face as he squeezes his eyes shut. He knows he’ll only feel worse if he’s watching himself cry.
There are hands on Roman’s shoulders, squeezing lightly to announce their presence, and he doesn’t startle or open his eyes. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s subconsciously created an imaginary person in his room to provide himself comfort. He sits there trying to pull himself together while the hands gently remove the rest of the makeup for him, wiping away tears at the same time. He shivers at the soft touches. So badly Roman wishes he could have this for real, another actual person here for him in his vulnerable moment, but no- if anyone real were here, they would see how weak he truly is. He can’t ever have that. In any case, his imagination has outdone itself this time: the hands, now moving down to massage the tension from his shoulders, feel very realistic- if just a little too cold to be real.
And oh, Roman’s imaginary companion of the day is very good at giving him a massage. He leans back into it, keeping just enough restraint to avoid falling out of his chair should they suddenly vanish. The little sounds of relief he’s making are almost embarrassing. He smiles and tilts his head back, finally feeling like he’s not going to be sitting here crying forever, and opens his eyes- an action which should dismiss the imaginary person.
Which is why he freezes, letting out a very undignified shriek in the moment before his mouth is covered, when the first thing he sees is Deceit standing over him and looking almost as panicked as Roman himself.
“Would you mind not screaming like that, someone is going to think you’re being murdered!”
Roman considers asking how he’d prefer him to scream instead, but he doesn’t have the energy to start any banter. “What do you want?” he asks wearily, once Deceit sees he’s done freaking out and takes his hand away. He can already feel himself plummeting back into self-hatred, thinking about everything the other must have seen. Maybe that’s what he wants, to exploit Roman’s weakness. Well, let him try, he certainly can’t get any more pathetic than he is right-
“That,” Deceit snaps. “That, right there. Is why I’m here.”
Roman looks at him for another moment, then lets his head fall with a quiet sigh. He must have read the direction of his thoughts in his expression. “Get on with it, then.”
“Pardon?”
A hand is flapped in his general direction. “Mocking me, or whatever else it is you came to do.” His eyes are fixed on the frame around the mirror, his face resigned. “Tell me what a sorry excuse for a side I am and get it over with.”
“Oh…” Deceit starts to move, and Roman closes his eyes, bracing for harsher words than even his own thoughts can come up with. The next thing he knows, Deceit’s hands are cupping his face- no gloves, he notices distantly- and he looks at him in silent confusion. There’s an unreadable expression on Deceit’s face. “Oh, Roman, no. I’m not here to be cruel to you.”
“Then what?” Roman asks desperately. He can feel the tears building up again, hot and humiliating, and there’s nothing he can do to stop them. He squeezes his eyes shut once more as those cool hands, comforting despite everything, wipe them away. He doesn’t want to see Deceit pretending to care anymore.
“Roman, look at me, come on,” he says, trying to tilt Roman’s face up towards him.
Roman shakes his head silently.
“I’m only trying to help.”
He bites his lip. “I’m not stupid enough to believe that.”
“You’re not stupid, no,” Deceit agrees smoothly. “But perhaps a little too stubborn to see that it’s the truth. I do want to see Thomas succeed, after all, and that’s going to be difficult if his creativity is too busy being miserable and lying to himself to do anything.”
Roman’s breath catches, and he curls in on himself, halfheartedly trying to shake off Deceit’s hands. “I know, I’m only making things worse, it’s all I ever do anymore,” he chokes out. “Leave me alone, I- I’ll try harder, okay, I’ll be better.”
“Roman!”
Somehow, the note of stern command in Deceit’s voice has him freezing in place.
“Look at me.”
He opens his eyes reluctantly, and is rewarded with a small, encouraging smile.
“Of course you’re not perfect,” Deceit tells him, somehow immediately cutting to the heart of the problem. “No one expects you to be.”
Roman can’t keep up eye contact for long. He shakes his head again, more harshly this time, and isn’t quite sure himself what he means by it. “I…”
“Don’t argue, Roman. The only one with such high expectations for you is yourself.” He softens after a moment. “...Get some rest, okay? You’ll feel better in the morning.”
He returns to himself a little at that. “What? No, I can’t, need to… work.” He gets up, ignoring the tired, dizzy feeling to turn in the direction of his desk. If he doesn’t get to work, how is he going to make the next session any better than today’s?
“No, you need to sleep.” Roman isn’t sure how it happens, but Deceit takes his hand lightly and the next thing he knows he’s sitting on his bed, blinking in confusion. How tired is he right now? (Can’t he even do this right?)
Seemingly out of nowhere, Roman bursts into tears.
“Oh- shoot, um- please don’t cry, why are you crying? Should I- get someone? One of the others?”
“No!” Roman’s hand shoots out to grab his wrist. “I can’t- they can’t… see me like this,” he pleads haltingly.
“Okay, I won’t,” Deceit assures him, secretly more than a little relieved that he won’t have to talk to anyone.
Roman takes a breath and releases him, staring at his own hands as he tries to calm down. After a moment of hesitation, Deceit sits on the bed and tries rubbing his shoulders. It worked before, and it seems to be working again- Roman practically melts into him with a small noise.
“I just… I just- can’t do anything,” he finally says, “a-and if I can’t do anything then what am I even supposed to do?!” He punctuates the end of his sentence by throwing his hands up in the air, so at least he’s got some energy back. Not enough to be trying to work, though.
“You can go to sleep,” Deceit reminds him. He places a hand on Roman’s chest and, not unkindly, pushes him back until he’s flat against his pillows. “You had a long day. It will be better in the morning.”
Despite all his whining, Roman puts up very little actual resistance, snapping himself into pajamas and sinking into the softness of his bed. Deceit lets out a soft sigh of relief that his work here is done and turns to go, but Roman catches his sleeve.
“Thanks,” he mumbles, already half-asleep, and then, “Stay?”
And, well, it’s very hard to resist the puppy-eyes he’s making, especially when he was so recently distraught. Deceit mutters something under his breath along the lines of “oh, all right,” and sits back down beside him, pressing a sneaky kiss to Roman’s temple on impulse. He’s too sleepy by now to remember that in the morning, right? Before long, he’s somehow wound up under the covers and dozing off alongside Roman, despite his best intentions.
Hey, it's been a while since I've sent in an ask. Just wanted to pop in and say hey and I hope you're doing ok.
oh hi! I’m doing pretty good actually. I’ve lost some of my interest in sanders sides but i’m still planning on doing more art. But!! i have a boyfriend now and we’re very gay for each other
i think the best form of self-care depends on the person, but i always find that napping next to the window while it’s raining is a great form of self-care. that and reading good quality fluff fics
stargaze: celebrity crush?
thomas sanders even though i know he’s gay he’s just really pretty okay
