So, @secretglittersauce made this post talking about tiny saltwater mermen sanders sides being put in separate containers in a pet store. It’s absolutely adorable and heartbreaking and it inspired me to write this!
(I’ll link the original post in my reblog because tumblr = dumb with links)
It was hard to remember where it all went wrong. Patton had been swimming along with his brothers in the reef, patiently waiting for Virgil. The youngest had always had a bad fin.
Of course they heard the boat coming. From time to time a human vessel would disturb their waters, but the brothers knew what to do. They hid amongst the rocks, waiting for it to pass.
Except instead of passing the mermen by, the ship stopped. A toxic cloud was squirted into the water, causing Patton to gasp as his breath was forcibly taken away. He tried to escape, but everything around him suddenly seemed so blurry. What was happening? Where were his brothers?
Patton was forcibly yanked out of the water, one quick movement and the tiny merman was ripped from everything he had known. From there it was just a series of various cages, often kept in the dark as Patton shuddered in his corner. It was hard for Patton’s gills to work properly. Patton tried to call out to his brothers, but it seemed he was alone in his prison. He hugged his tailfin tightly to his chest, praying the others had escaped. Logan was smart, he could get away. Roman was fast, he’d outrun any human. But Virgil… well, Patton gulped, a fresh set of tears coming to his eyes as he realized the youngest merman had never really stood a chance.
Patton was torn. He wanted to see his brothers more than anything, hug them one last time. Why couldn’t he just be with them? At least if they were together, they could survive. That’s how they had always done things, ever since their parents were taken in a similar incident.
Patton gave a startled cry, shivering slightly as he was dumped into a new container.
“Whelp, last one.” Patton looked up, seeing the distorted human figure before him. He looked out through the glass, trying to figure out where the humans had taken him. There seemed to be rows upon rows of similar containers as far as the merman could see. Patton looked to his left and right, realizing he had a neighbor.
“Virgil!” Patton cried happily in his mermaid tongue, spotting his little brother. Quickly Patton swam over to him, only to be stopped as Patton ran into a very hard wall. He groaned, cradling his head slightly before patting at the glass.
Virgil swam up to the other side, his mouth moving as though he were trying to frantically speak, but Patton couldn’t hear what he was saying.
“Virgil, it’s alright.” Patton tried to press himself even closer, noticing how much his brother was panicking. “Virgil, please, it’s okay-”
It was no use. The more Patton tried to communicate, the more frightened Virgil seemed to get. Already the isolation was getting to him. Patton frowned, desperately looking around for any way to help.
A series of thuds shook Patton’s container. He glanced up, realizing it was a set of human footsteps. Patton’s eyes widened, getting an idea.
“EXCUSE ME!” Patton yelled as loud as his lungs could manage, waving his arms desperately to get the human’s attention. “PLEASE, HELP!”
“Look at this one, honey!” A human woman stopped, staring in at Patton. Patton froze briefly, before realizing this might be his only chance.
“You have to help me.” Patton pleaded, trying to gesture between his own cage and Virgil’s by swimming back and forth. “Please, there’s been a mistake, we need to be together.-”
“Aww, it’s like it’s trying to talk.” The woman cooed. Why couldn’t she understand how desperate this situation was?!
“Please, he’s my brother!” Patton insisted, getting as close as he dared to the human’s face. “Don’t do this! He needs me!”
“C’mon, Harley.” The human male next to her pulled at her arm, tugging Patton’s chance away.
“NO!” Patton chirped desperately, swimming around frantically in little circles. “No no no no no-”
“Oh, alright Brian.” She wasn’t even paying attention to him anymore. All she did was give Patton a condescending smile. “Bye, cutie.” She tapped harshly on the glass as if to say farewell, but all this did was produce a booming sensation that shook Patton to his core. Patton let out a small screech, desperately clamping his hands to his ears.
By the time the pounding in his head stopped, Patton opened his eyes to see both humans had left. Looking across the aisle, Patton’s eyes widened as he saw another familiar face.
“Roman!” Patton called out, hitting his palms against the glass to try and get his brother’s attention. “Roman, over here!” But Roman seemed preoccupied with his own escape tactic. The red and gold merman was ramming into the wall relentlessly, as if trying to break the glass with his shoulder alone.
Patton’s eyes wandered over to the cage next to Roman. “Logan!” It seemed both his older brothers hadn’t escaped after all. Logan also didn’t see his frantic hand waving. Instead, the dark blue colored merman was busy ripping apart his enclosure to shreds. Every so often a piece was tossed out entirely, splashing water down onto the floor far below.
It wasn’t long before the first human returned, muttering about ruined Starbucks breaks as he mopped up Logan’s mess. With a heavy thud, a cover was placed over the top of Logan’s cage. The dark blue merman winced, as did Patton in sympathy. Even though there was several feet of open air between them, Patton couldn’t fight the rising urge to go and comfort his brother.
A loud splashing noise caught Patton’s attention. He looked over in Virgil’s direction again, eyes widening when he saw what the youngest was attempting to do.
“VIRGIL!” Patton rushed back over to that side of the glass, chattering at about 100 words a second. “VirgilWhatAreYouThinkingOhPosideonGetBackInTheWater-”
For indeed, Virgil was currently caught up on the lip of the cage after having launched himself out of the water. Virgil looked over at Patton, eyes wide with both determination and fear as he seemed to be prepping himself to try and jump further. Patton frantically shook his head, desperately trying to communicate for Virgil not to do it.
Of course, Virgil still couldn’t hear him. Virgil pushed himself fully out of the water, but failed to make it the remaining distance into Patton’s cage. Instead Virgil fell to the hard surface below with a thud, already panting slightly from the lack of water.
“Virgil!” Patton swam desperately back and forth in front of him, tail twitching nervously as he watched Virgil gasp for breath. Roman and Logan seemed to have taken note as well, both of their cries muffled by glass. Tears sprung to Patton’s eyes. “Virgil, please, no, don’t do this, we can’t lose you!”
“Hey!” The human seemed to have finally noticed the commotion, coming over and directly grabbing Virgil up in his huge hands. “Gurl, what are you trying to do, get yourself killed?” A second later Virgil was dropped back into his own container. The youngest merman sat at the bottom of the tank, panting as he filled his gills with saltwater again.
Patton almost felt relieved when he watched the human put a roof on Virgil’s container, not wanting to sit back and watch his little brother get killed. In fact, the human put a roof on all of their containers for good measure. It seemed the human was done taking chances.
Summary: In the left brain hallway, Logan lived alone. Which was fine, he supposed. Of course, all that changed when Anxiety moved in. Analogical.
(Heads up this ain’t G/t but it is Sanders Sides)
Everyone knows that the human brain is divided into two sides, but perhaps Thomas Sanders was more aware of this fact than others. The aspects of his personality were clearly sorted into categories that indicated the placement of their rooms within Thomas’ subconscious. On the right side of the brain there lived two sides, one right next to the other. First was Patton, the embodiment of morality and emotions. His neighbor was Roman, who personified Thomas’ imagination and fascination with the arts. It was clear why the two of them would be right brain individuals; after all, neither were particularly orderly, analytical, or factual. These were left brain traits solely possessed by Logan, the logical side.
Logan didn’t particularly mind living alone. Or rather, he tried not to dwell on the fact. He loved when Thomas summoned him because Logan wanted to be helpful. Logan yearned to teach others all the knowledge he had acquired in Thomas’ lifetime. When he returned to his room, Logan was just reminded of the fact that there was no one around to listen. Logan let this fuel his motivation to come prepared to the next summoning, determined to be useful and knowledgeable.
And then Anxiety moved in.
Thomas’ Anxiety had always resided in the darker parts of the brain, so naturally Logan was confused when a new door manifested itself in the hallway. Cautiously Logan knocked on the door, not actually sure if the dark side would answer. When there was no response, Logan’s knocks became louder and more frequent until he heard an annoyed sigh on the other side.
“What.” Anxiety barely opened the door, glaring at him. Logan took a step back, frowning at Anxiety’s attitude. After all, Anxiety was the one invading his space.
“What are you doing here?” Logan got straight to the point.
“I live here.” Anxiety sneered. “Duh.”
“You have not resided here before.” Logan inspected the door. “How did you manifest this here? I did not know it was possible to move rooms around the subconscious.”
“Oh wow, would you look at that.” Anxiety said sarcastically. “Looks like you don’t know everything after all.”
Anxiety shut the door in his face, and Logan felt his annoyance increasing as he realized the emo side was correct. Logan didn’t know what was going on, and in fact he was a bit concerned. Was this a sign of Thomas’ stress levels getting more powerful? Did this mean Anxiety intended to take away some of Logan’s power over the left side of Thomas’ brain? The thought was troubling.
Of course, Anxiety proved to be all sorts of trouble. It was clear that Anxiety wasn’t used to having neighbors either, as he would blast that abominable emo music at all hours of the night.
One night Logan tried to address the problem, knocking on Anxiety’s door. The music stopped for a moment but the door didn’t open.
“Keep the music down.” Logan said sternly. “Some of us are actually trying to sleep at 2 in the morning.”
“...K.” The response Logan received wasn’t entirely convincing. In fact, the second Logan was back in bed the music returned, now turned up even louder as if to punish the logical side for daring to speak up. Logan groaned into his pillow.
“Anxiety!” Logan yelled through the wall. He could practically see the smirk on Anxiety’s face as he heard a chuckle, before the music was turned down to a reasonable volume.
As time went on, however, Logan began to notice that Anxiety did bring certain...better traits to the table as well. Anxiety possessed far more reasoning skills than the right brain sides. Though his arguments were often emotionally charged, Anxiety was very observant of possible dangers and often analyzed (well, over-analyzed) the different negative outcomes or facts of social events.
After the famous debate about negative thinking, there was a notable change in the left brain. Now Logan occasionally caught glimpses of Anxiety in the hall, like some late night internet cryptid. He was beginning to feel drawn to Anxiety in a way that was...illogical. It was though Logan felt the need to engage in companionship now that an opportunity had presented itself. Perhaps that was what drew him to Anxiety’s door a third time.
“Yeah?” Anxiety opened the door, more fully than before. Logan glanced past him into the room, having always been curious what another side’s room looked like. He had never had the chance to travel into Patton or Roman’s rooms in the past.
“Are those...spider curtains?” Logan observed, peering in. Anxiety frowned, closing the door a little so Logan was unable to see any more.
“What do you want, nerd?” Anxiety asked.
“Ah…” Logan paused, having not actually thought this far ahead. He cleared his throat, feeling nervous. “Well, I came here to propose we...get to know each other better.”
…
“What.” Anxiety deadpanned.
“Since it seems you plan on sticking around, I figured it would be beneficial if we gathered more information on each other in order to formulate a-” Logan’s explanation was interrupted by his darker neighbor.
“I’m gonna stop you right there.” Anxiety put his hand up. “I chose this side because I didn’t want to be bothered. I’m not here to make friendship bracelets, I’m just here to do my job.” Logan paused at this new information. Anxiety had chosen to be a left brain individual? Was that even possible? It would make sense, given the fact that anxiety was also closely tied to negative emotions and imagination as well as reasoning and observation.
“I certainly didn’t mean to suggest anything so frivolous.” Logan corrected. “I’m not Roman or Patton, I have no interest in wasting time. But, I must admit there are still some pestering questions that I wish to address. For example, I still do not know your name.”
“Huh.” Anxiety looked almost contemplative for a moment before turning back to Logan with a smirk. “Guess it’s too bad I like keeping you in suspense.”
The door closed in Logan’s face. With an irritated huff he tried knocking again, but soon his knocking was drowned out by the familiar blaring music. “Stubborn as ever.” Logan muttered to himself, walking back to his own room.
Fine. He didn’t need to know Anxiety’s name. He didn’t need to know anything about Anxiety. If Anxiety felt uncomfortable sharing, it wasn’t Logan’s business. It had no relation to his purpose and it was illogical for Logan to be concerned in the first place.
Thankfully, for Logan’s sanity, it wasn’t long before Anxiety- or rather, Virgil- shared his name with the group.
“So, Virgil.” Logan struck up a conversation as the two walked back to their hall, trying out the new name. “That wasn’t so difficult, now was it?”
“Yeah yeah.” Virgil rolled his eyes. “I get it, you’re just trying to shame me for not telling you sooner.”
“Well, unfortunately, thanks to years of dealing with Roman I do understand how some of you have a need to stay...dramatic.” Logan did a little flamboyant hand gesture to emphasize his point.
“Ugh, don’t go comparing me to princey.” Virgil winced, earning a small chuckle out of Logan. The anxious side went to open his door, but as his hand rested on the doorknob he was paused by Logan clearing his throat.
“Ah, there is...something I would prefer to clear up.” Logan put his hands behind his back. “I just wanted to make it clear that though your presence here has been surprising, it has not been...unwelcome.”
Virgil turned back to him, giving him a small smile. “Thanks, Logan.”
Unfortunately, with Virgil being accepted as a true left side to Thomas, new problems arose. Just as Logan originally feared, the logical side seemed to hold less sway over Thomas than before. Virgil quickly was becoming one of both the fans and Thomas’ favorites.
Logan gritted his teeth, trying to focus on studying as that music continued to blare. In the past he hadn’t minded it, as Virgil nowadays kept it to a reasonable volume. It had also served as a nice reminder that Logan wasn’t alone. Now, though, it just served as a distraction.
Logan crumpled up some of his notes as he realized all he had written was gibberish. He groaned, getting up to pace back and forth. Lately it seemed every other side was out to get him. No one listened to his input. Roman was constantly shouting nonsense about dream chasing and trying to drive Thomas off course. It was infuriating. Logan pressed his hands to his ears, trying to ignore the overwhelming bass hurting his skull.
“TURN IT DOWN!” Logan yelled, finally fed up with everything as he banged on the wall. Instantly the music ceased, and Logan was filled with a brief sense of regret. Why had he done that? This silence was worse. It was suffocating, reminding Logan of when there was only one occupant in this hall. One occupant who desperately wanted to be heard yet couldn’t stop silencing others.
A soft knocking came from Logan’s door.
“Logan?” Virgil sounded unsure on the other side. “Are you...okay?”
This was a first. Virgil had never approached Logan’s room, and only ever snuck in to borrower Logan’s books on a single occasion. Logan was still not sure how the anxious side had managed that.
Logan opened the door, looking at Virgil. The two stared at each other for a long minute.
“Woah.” Virgil finally broke the silence. “You look like crap.”
“Thanks.” Logan deadpanned, but he held the door open further as if to invite Virgil inside. Virgil stood in the threshold for a moment longer, peering around at Logan’s room uncertainly. Logan understood his hesitation. Both of them weren’t emotions. They didn’t do things like this, inviting each other into their bedrooms for mere conversation.
“I’m sorry about the music.” Virgil apologized, stepping into the room. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I had no idea it bothered you so much.”
“It usually doesn’t.” Logan admitted, taking a seat on the bed. “It’s just, for some reason, today it all just feels so... overwhelming.” Virgil awkwardly sat down on the opposite end of the bed, which Logan took as a sign to continue talking. “But that’s just it! I’m not an emotion, I shouldn’t be feeling anything. I don’t understand what’s happening.”
“What exactly are you feeling?” Virgil frowned.
“I don’t see how that could be relevant.” Logan looked at Virgil quizzically.
“I’m trying to help here.” Virgil sighed. “Look just...try talking about your feelings, and maybe we can, I dunno, reason through them.”
“Alright.” Logan thought about it for a moment. “I feel frustrated.”
“Frustrated.” Virgil nodded. “Why?”
“I feel frustrated because I feel as though... Thomas doesn’t listen to me anymore.” Logan adjusted his glasses, looking over at the corner of the room. “I feel frustrated because I don’t understand my place. I feel frustrated because ever since you’ve come along, my role has diminished and I miss being the only analytical side.”
“Oh.” Virgil winced. “Uh…”
“I feel frustrated because I don’t blame you.” Logan looked over at Virgil. “And I feel frustrated because despite it being logical for me to hold any ill will against you, I don’t. Quite the contrary, in fact. I find your presence quite enjoyable.”
“Wait, really?” Virgil seemed surprised by this.
“Yes.” Logan gave a nod. “Though I enjoy peace and quiet at times, I have observed that there is a noticeable difference between quiet and silence.”
“Well, yeah.” Virgil agreed. “When it’s silent you’re alone with your negative thoughts. I should know, it’s kinda my thing. Why do you think I listen to music so much?”
“Wait a moment,” Logan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “do you mean to tell me that there’s a purpose to your constant, uh, ‘jamming’?”
“Well it’s not just meant to annoy you.” Virgil snorted. “Here, just wait right here.” Virgil left, only to return with his iPod in tow. A pair of headphones was plugged in.
“Do you play your music that loudly from your headphones?” Logan asked, concerned.
“Nah, usually I play it from some speakers.” Virgil explained, sitting down next to Logan. “The speaker part is meant to annoy you. Okay, now put this in your ear.” Logan put the earbud into his left ear, while Virgil did the same to the opposite. “I want you to really listen to the lyrics, okay?” Logan glanced briefly at the title of the song, “I’m not okay (I promise)”, by My Chemical Romance.
Well if you wanted honesty that’s all you had to say; I never want to let you down or have you go, it’s better off this way!
Logan frowned. Though this was not his usual music genre, there was something odd about the lyrics, as though they could offer some sort of empathetic comfort. All too soon the music faded out.
“I feel like I did not learn anything.” Logan admitted. “There were too many variables to account for in that song.”
“Well, we can play it again.” Virgil offered.
Logan nodded, and the song began to play again. What was the logical reason behind this activity? Why had Virgil deemed it necessary for Logan to hear this song?
“I’m not okay...” Virgil had begun quietly singing. When Logan looked at him quizzically, Virgil looked a bit sheepish. “Um, sometimes it helps to sing along.”
“Why?” Logan raised an eyebrow.
“It feels better.” Virgil shrugged.
Logan didn’t fully understand, but when Virgil began to sing again Logan joined in. He slowly gained more confidence, and as the song began to play a third time Logan hadn’t even realized they had both stood up. He found solace in the words, letting all his confounded emotions out in a passionate bout of chaotic nonsense.
“But you really need to listen to me!” Logan was practically screaming the lyrics. “Because i’m telling you the truth, I mean this, I’m okay!”
“Trust me.” Virgil grinned at him, supplying the background voice. The two turned to each other, belting out the final chorus of “i’m not okay”’s in unison. As the song faded out, Logan realized he was panting.
“...” Logan slowly took the earbud out, handing it back to Virgil.
“Well?” Virgil prompted.
“I think I get it now.” Logan said thoughtfully. “The purpose of the exercise is to serve as an outlet for negative emotions, and the lines that you recite help to convey the exact troubles that you are struggling to understand. Knowing there are other individuals who listen to the same music helps alleviate the feeling of isolation.”
“You got it, buddy.” Virgil finger gunned.
“Thank you, Virgil.” Logan offered Virgil a small smile. “This has been far more enlightening than I anticipated.”
“No problem.” Virgil shrugged. “And uh...if you ever get overwhelmed again, don’t hesitate to come over, okay?”
“I will keep that in mind.” Logan’s eyes glanced over at his desk and he sighed. “Unfortunately, I do have to get back to work.”
“Oh, yeah, okay.” Virgil gave him a small wave. “See ya later.”
Virgil left, and for a moment Logan worried that those overwhelming feelings would return now that he was once again companion-less. However, Logan needn’t have worried. That familiar emo tune began to blast as soon as Virgil was back in his own room, serving as a reminder that Logan wasn’t truly alone.
Well if you wanted honesty that’s all you had to say…
Logan smiled fondly, getting back to work.
(Wowza that got long, this is that idea I was talking about yesterday. What’d you think? I hope it comes across as cute as I was hoping. I’m thinking of maybe doing a right side of the brain fic if people are interested in that sooo please let me know!)
Lol, I guess happy Valentine’s day, even though this has nothing to do with that. Part 4 to a story based on @secretglittersauce‘s tiny mer!sides angst prompt. This is where we start to deviate from the prompt to have any chance at a happy ending. :p
Check my reblog for links to the previous parts.
"Welcome to your new home!” The human had announced, pouring Patton into an unfamiliar tank.
Home. Patton was familiar with the word, but as he gazed around at his surroundings he knew this was not it. Home meant beautiful sea glass windows and kelp-based furniture and outcroppings of coral arranged in varying pinks. Home meant the ocean; home meant his family.
Of course, it was nearly impossible to communicate this to the human. Their language was harsh on the merman’s vocal cords, and speaking above the water often proved painful. It was a long time before Patton figured out the correct ways to move his mouth so that his words could be heard in the air.
The first attempt at this came as quite a shock to poor Thomas. He had been sat there, minding his own business while he pondered names for the merman aloud, when a garbled noise sounded from the tank. Thomas looked over, seeing the tiny person had propped their arms up on the edge of the tank and seemed to be pointing to itself.
Thomas’ eyes widened. “You...you can talk?”
It’s little eyes seemed to light up, chittering excitedly and gesturing with its arms so widely that it lost its grip and fell back in the water. Thomas leaned forwards to see if it was okay, only to watch it pop back out of the water a moment later.
“I’m sorry, I...can’t understand you.” Thomas admitted. The merman frowned for a moment, pointing to himself again and making the same slow garbled noise from before. When Thomas strained his ears, it almost sounded like actual words.
“...Dad?” Thomas frowned, now completely confused. Did he truly just hear a merman say ‘dad’?
Patton shook his head and tried to reiterate his point. “Pat.” He repeated, forcing his tongue to move in unfamiliar patterns. It felt so strange to open his mouth above water.
“Pat.” Thomas repeated, and the mer nodded frantically. “That’s your name?” Another nod. “Oh! It’s nice to meet you, Pat!”
From there, things got a lot easier for Patton and he actually found he was beginning to like the human. Thomas had many questions, but it was impossible for Patton to speak more than a few words at a time. Even just giving his name had forced him to rest a couple days before he had the energy to do it again. Every attempt at using a human tongue left a strange bitter taste in his mouth, and Patton’s lungs almost constantly felt on fire.
Thomas seemed pleased with his attempts though. He didn’t pressure Patton, and now would take into account Patton’s opinions on many things. With a shake of his head Pat could chose what was in his tank. Thomas let him play with many human artifacts. Patton would bend them to and fro, watching their movements. What’s this do? What’s it for? He always had so many questions, and occasionally he even got answers when Thomas noticed his curiosity. It was wonderful to learn about these new trinkets.
...Logan would have loved this.
Thomas wasn’t blind to Pat’s fluctuating behavior. Whenever he was around it seemed as though the mer was all smiley and bubbly and ready for games. Pat would often gift him shiny pebbles from the bottom of the tank, a sure sign that the mer was grateful for his presence and was trying to thank him. Still...whenever Pat didn’t think he was looking, Thomas noticed how glum the merman looked. He would sulk in the corner, gazing at the ground for a very long time. Was Thomas doing something wrong?
To test Pat’s strange mood swings, Thomas tried putting on Pat’s favorite song. The second Baby Shark started playing Pat gave a happy twirl, beginning to dance around the tank. Thomas smiled slightly, then left the room but kept the song playing. He peeked his head around the corner, only to see that his fears were confirmed. As soon as he was out of the room Pat had stopped dancing.
Thomas sighed, stepping back into the room. Pat frantically tried to restart his movements, but Thomas reached over and turned the speaker off.
“What’s wrong, Pat?” Thomas asked.
Patton sat in silence for a long while, not meeting Thomas’ gaze. This was it, his chance to express what he had been feeling this entire time. Sure Thomas wasn’t so bad, sometimes Patton even enjoyed being here. But...he missed his brothers terribly. Patton could never truly be happy here.
He surfaced slowly, knowing Thomas was watching him. It wasn’t often that Patton came to the surface to talk. Usually their communication was only through head nods now.
“Home.” The tiny spoke in broken english. “Go home.”
Thomas frowned. “We are home.”
Pat shook his head, frustrated tears in his eyes. “Go home.” He repeated.
It was too many words that needed to be said. Patton rubbed at his eyes, sniffling slightly. No matter how many times he repeated the phrase, Thomas didn’t seem to get it. Patton kept saying it over and over, rendering his voice sore and useless for a day. Why wouldn’t Thomas just take him home? Patton wanted nothing more than to curl up in his familiar algae bed with his brothers by his side.
When Patton finally got his strength back, he forced himself to be brave. Roman wouldn’t quit; neither could he. He needed to get back to his brothers. Thomas was his only chance. Patton looked over at the human, sat in front of the couch watching cartoons. Patton loved cartoons. Was Thomas watching them in here just so Pat could watch, too? He smiled at the thought, plucking a turquoise shiny rock out of the tank to show his appreciation.
At the sound of the gravel hitting the table, Thomas turned around. He gave Patton a small smile. “Hey buddy, are you feeling better?”
Patton nodded, swimming up to the top. Thomas’ eyes widened.
“Oh, you don’t have to talk.” Thomas assured him, coming over to the table. “I don’t want you to get hurt again.”
It had been a scary experience for Thomas, watching the merman suffer after he wore himself out. Though Thomas loved to talk to Pat, it always seemed to hurt the little guy.
Patton gave him a grateful smile, but this was something he had to do. Not just for himself, but his brothers as well.
“...alone.” Patton chose his words carefully, his voice quiet as he was still in recovery. Patton looked sadly around the tank. “Bad.”
“Alone bad.” Thomas tried to piece together what Pat meant. He looked down at him with sympathy. “Oh, Pat, are you lonely?”
Patton nodded, having never heard the human equivalent of the word before. “Lonely.” The mer spoke softly in his native tongue, feeling the tears start to form again. He rested his chin on his arms, crossed over the edge of the tank. “I miss them.”
"You're freezing. Come here." With Human Patton and Tiny Virgil pls?
Look I made a thing! It’s p. cute I think. Maybe. 100% wrote it and haven’t reread it since so I hope it’s good (also I’m sick rn) ENJOY
It was the cough that got him caught.
Virgil had been fine, ready to go to school when his father heard him coughing. Immediately Logan began checking his temperature, asking enough questions to make his head spin.
“Dad, I’m fine.” Virgil insisted, but the way his body shivered gave away his lie.
“You’re freezing.” Logan’s eyes widened in realization. “Come here.” He scooped up Virgil, ignoring his son’s protests as he brought the borrower up to his face for further inspection.
“I’m gonna be late for school.” Virgil huffed.
“No, you’re not going to school.” Logan shook his head, already pulling out his phone to inform the office. “I’ll see if Patton can take the day off.”
“Logan, don’t-” Virgil interrupted himself with another cough. “-don’t tell Patton. I don’t want to burden him.”
“Virgil, you’re not being a burden.” Logan insisted, heading back upstairs. “We love you and want you to take the proper time to heal. Indeed, Patton will probably be excited at the prospect of helping you feel better.”
“Logan, please don’t make me miss school.” Virgil pleaded, looking up at Logan.
Logan paused, looking down at Virgil. “Your behavior is unexpected. I was under the assumption that children and teens enjoyed missing school.”
“If I miss class I’m gonna fall behind.” Virgil voiced his fears, looking down at his lap. “…and then you’ll be disappointed in me.”
“Virgil, no.” Logan lifted Virgil higher, meeting his eye. “I will do no such thing. I’ll be proud of you for taking the proper time to recuperate, and if you truly feel as though you have trouble making up the material I would happily assist you in getting back on track.”
Virgil sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve.
“In the meantime, it’s time for you to get some rest.” Logan instructed, setting Virgil down into his bed. “Patton will be home soon.”
“Okay.” Virgil pulled up his covers, smiling up at Logan. “Thanks Dad.”
Virgil fell back asleep for a while, drifting in and out of consciousness when he heard a soft knocking at his door.
“Hey kiddo.” Patton spoke softly, smiling when he saw the borrower was awake. “Are you feeling any better?”
Virgil tried to answer but only broke into another fit of coughing. Patton winced.
“I’ll make you some soup.” Patton offered, receiving a thumbs-up. He returned a little while later, balancing a tray with a big bowl of soup and a bottle cap next to it.
“Careful!” Patton warned, looking anxious as he handed the half-filled cap over. “It’s hot, don’t spill it on yourself.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Virgil took it, sitting up. He gave it a cautious sip, sighing happily as the warm liquid warmed his insides.
“Family recipe.” Patton explained. “Nothing quite like chicken noodle soup to drive away those pesky viruses.”
“Thanks, Pap.” Virgil smiled up at him. “I’m feeling better already.”
Once again, inspired by @secretglittersauce‘s tiny sanders sides mer!angst...thing. Here’s Chapter 2!
Roman coughed, the poison affecting his systems. He swam through the murky water, feeling a disturbance in the wave patterns as human hands descended from above. Roman dashed around, narrowly avoid their grasp.
“Did you find Virgil?” Roman asked, spotting his brother. Logan covered a cough of his own, swimming up next to Roman.
“I thought he was with you!” Logan’s eyes widened. Both brother’s paled as the two heard a familiar scream.
“PATTON!” Roman dashed in the direction of the noise, feeling the effects start to take a hold on him as his fins began to waver. His vision began to get hazy, his reflexes slowing. By the time a giant hand began to wrap around his form, Roman was unconscious.
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Roman winced at the memory, looking around at their current predicament. Patton still kept waving at the human customers as if they would listen. Roman rammed himself into the wall again, grunting at the impact.
“Hey!” Roman winced as a loud rumbling surrounded him on all sides, a side effect of the rude human customer rapping on the glass. “Knock it off in there.”
Roman glared up at the man, but he had already gone back to checking out his phone.
“No tapping on the glass.” The shopkeeper, Remy, sounded almost bored as sat behind the counter. The man only grunted in acknowledgement. His companion milled about the shop, assessing Roman and his brothers as if they were no more than mere wares.
“Brian, look at this one!” The female companion stopped in front of Logan’s cage. “It’s so cute.”
If the situation were less bleak, Roman would have snorted at the implication of Logan being ‘cute’. Logan paused his dismantlement of a plastic kelp toy to glare at her.
“Uh huh.” The human named Brian didn’t look up from his phone. “Whatever you say, Harley.”
Harley kept staring at Logan, almost transfixed. “I want this one.”
At this, all four mermen froze. This time Logan looked up at the humans more hesitantly.
“That one?” Remy came over, raising an eyebrow. “He’s kind of a pest. Too smart for his own good, likes to destroy your stuff.” Remy should know, considering the amount of times Logan had aimed jets of water at his face.
“It’s a fish.” Brian reminded him, placing an arm around Harley to show his support. “It’s brain is the size of a pea.”
“...Fine, whatever.” Remy rolled his eyes, grabbing the net. “Not my problem, I just work here, what do I know.” Remy lowered the net into the tank.
“Let him go!” Roman yelled. Logan tried to dash away, but all the debris cluttering his tank made it hard to dodge. Virgil pressed himself against the glass on the other side of the room, trying to see what was happening as Logan was shoved into a plastic bag like a common goldfish.
Remy began to explain the various methods of fish care, Harley barely paying attention as she held the bag with Logan inside. Patton was frantically swimming back and forth, trying to get the human’s attention.
“I said, LET. HIM. GO.” Roman rammed himself even harder into the glass wall, but it was no use. The mermen were helpless to do anything but observe from a distance as Logan was the first to go.
Roman twitched nervously, rubbing at his sore shoulder. Patton began to cry, still pressed against the corner and staring at the door. There was a soft thump, and Roman looked over to see Virgil was hitting against his roof as if trying to jump out again. It was no use. There was nothing the brothers could do to bring Logan back.
...but much to everyone’s surprise, Logan wasn’t gone long. The next day Harley returned, her eyes seething.
“What the hell!” She screeched, all but slamming the plastic bag with Logan inside down on the counter. Roman let out a growl, wanting to claw the woman’s face off for mishandling his brother.
“...Can I help you?” Remy took a sip from his Starbucks.
“This one is defective!” Harley pushed the bag towards Remy. “It completely destroyed the beautiful tank I set up, and it kept splashing water everywhere. It even destroyed my phone!” Harley pulled out a very waterlogged cell phone from her back pocket, a limp heart charm attached by a wet thread.
“Oh, no.” Remy looked unimpressed, taking another slow sip. “If only someone had warned you that he’s trouble.”
“I will not be disrespected like this!” Harley started to sob, looking overwhelmed. “You need to do something about this.”
“Gurl, I just work here.” Remy sighed. “All I can do is take him back. You want another one or something?”
Roman tensed, sharing an anxious glance with Patton and Virgil.
“No I do not want another one.” Harley sneered, causing the mermen to sigh in relief. “I want to reimbursed for my emotional trauma.”
“Oh my god.” Remy rolled his eyes far back into his head. He pulled a piece of paper out from under the counter, handing it over. “Look, I will give you this $10 voucher if you just shut up and leave. Right now.”
Harley narrowed her gaze, staring at him for a moment. “...fine.” She snatched up the paper, storming out of the building.
“Geez.” Remy grabbed up the plastic bag, bringing it over to the merman section. He opened it up, and Roman watched Logan dive into the water quickly as if afraid Remy would change his mind.
“What? No thank you?” Remy smirked. A jet of water to the face was his only answer. Remy cursed slightly, rubbing the saltwater out of his eyes as he returned to the desk.
Patton looked ecstatic to have Logan back, swimming around in little tight circles.
“Are you hurt?” Roman pressed himself up against the glass, checking Logan for injuries. Logan caught him staring and did a slow turn for Roman’s benefit. The dark blue merman looked uninjured, although he did seem exhausted.
“...I’m glad you’re okay.” Roman sighed, giving Logan a smile despite the fact that Logan couldn’t hear him. Logan gave him a small smile back. Of course, both of them couldn’t ignore the reality of what had happened. Logan had been bought. Sure, he came back, but it was only a matter of time before it happened again.
Roman looked around at his brothers uneasily, wondering which one of them would be next.
“you’re my best friend. you’re supposed to deal with the second-hand embarrassment.” Logan to Virgil
Yeah I’m a little loose with my prompt/pairing usage now, heh. Anyways this is a world where borrowers are kept as pets, logince included.
It was supposed to be a simple ‘playdate’, as Patton called it. Patton thought bringing the two tinies together would be fun and help them let off steam. Virgil should have known better than to put these particular pets together. Logan and Roman had been bickering almost non-stop since they got here, and while Patton may find it almost cute Virgil was nervous that it would turn into something more serious.
“Patton, your borrower’s being cringey again.” Virgil groaned, rubbing a hand down his face.
“You’re my best friend, you’re supposed to deal with the second-hand embarrassment.” Patton giggled, looking excited.
“Patton, my sword.” Roman gave a snap of his fingers, and Patton handed the borrower his makeshift weapon that was actually a plastic sword found stuck through fruit in fancy drinks. It had been sharpened to a point, and he pointed the tip of it in Logan’s direction. “En guarde.”
“Surely you’re joking.” Logan deadpanned, looking unfazed. “I thought for once you were going to be capable of holding an intelligent conversation.”
“What, are you a coward?” Roman took a step forward, gently nudging the front of Logan’s shirt with the blade. “Too scared to face me?”
Logan glared at Roman, taking a step back and drawing the weapon that sat at his hip. It was a sewing needle, the blade much slimmer and sharper than Roman’s own.
“Wanna take bets?” Virgil muttered as Logan and Roman began to circle each other. “I’m trying to figure out who loses an arm first.”
“Uh…” Patton’s smile fell, beginning to look a bit nervous. “Hey kiddos, play nice, alright?”
“I’ll play as nice as he does.” Roman replied, his concentration fierce like a lion on the prowl.
“Likewise.” Logan murmured.
Roman finally took a lunge at Logan, the nerd dodging easily and clanging his metal blade against Roman’s.
“Poor form.” Logan observed, with a flick of his wrist pushing Roman’s weapon back.
“You should talk.” Roman hit Logan’s needle away as Logan made a jab at him. “Have you practiced at all?”
“I’ve had more pressing matters on my mind as of late.” Logan replied, sending a brief glance in the human’s direction. “Or perhaps you’ve lost sight of the objective.”
“I’ve forgotten nothing.” Roman parried his blade again, the two exchanging a few more jabs. Logan lunged at him and Roman easily sidestepped, shaking his head. “You’re weak, Logan.”
“At least I haven’t submitted myself to becoming a lapdog.” Logan’s comment clearly struck a nerve, as Roman’s next blow had enough force behind it to send Logan stumbling back a few steps.
“Roman!” Patton gasped, but Roman’s anger only seemed to grow.
“As if being a tool is much better, mr. pocket calculator.” Roman huffed.
“I adapted.” Logan insisted, coming back to take another swing at Roman.
“So did I!” Roman’s weapon clanged against his as he blocked.
Virgil and Patton glanced at each other, confused and worried. This was certainly new information to them. What were their borrowers talking about?
“You don’t even keep yourself armed.” Logan noted. “You had your weapon handed over; have you really become so dependent?”
“I crafted my weapon.” Roman huffed, twirling backwards to doge a blow. “Yours has no altercations. What, did your human buy it for you?”
“None of your business.” Logan felt the needle become a bit heavier in his hand, knowing Roman’s guess was correct.
“Seems I’m not the only one taking pity gifts.” Roman had begun to pant slightly from the exertion.
“I only take what I need.” Logan insisted, his breaths becoming shallow as well as he pressed on. “Or have you really forgotten the rules already?”
“As if the rules even still apply!” Roman swung his sword with such strength he nearly knocked Logan’s weapon out of his hand, bringing the hilt of it up and hitting Logan in the side.
Logan winced, the fire of determination in his eyes reignited by the pain. “The rules don’t apply? You’re a disgrace to borrower kind.” Swiftly the needle whisked through the air, nicking Roman in the arm enough to draw blood.
Roman let out a hiss as his arm burned, spurring him on. “At least I didn’t get us caught!” He used Logan’s moment of hesitation to knock Logan’s weapon off to the side, shoving the borrower to the ground and holding his sword to Logan’s chest.
“HEY!” Virgil pounded his hand on the table, immediately gaining both borrowers attention as they looked up at him in fear. “Knock it off.”
The tinies looked almost embarrassed, nervous even, as though they had forgotten they had an audience. Roman offered his hand, helping Logan stand before the two walked off to opposite ends of the table.
“Roman, are you alright?” Patton immediately leaned in, looking down at Roman with worry.
“I’m fine, Pat.” Roman’s tone was subdued, gently clutching his injured arm while his weapon hung limply at his side.
“…what the hell was that about?” Virgil asked, watching Logan walk over and morosely retrieve his sewing needle.
“Nothing.” Logan lied, cleaning off the blade and attaching it to his hip.
“That wasn’t nothing.” Virgil frowned. He nudged Logan’s side, but the borrower only flinched away from Virgil’s touch. Logan’s reaction only increased Virgil’s worry. “What’s gotten into you?”
“I do not wish to discuss it, Virgil.” Logan insisted, turning away from him.
“Roman, you’re hurt.” Patton lifted Roman’s arm gently, only for Roman to tug it out of his grasp.
“I said I’m fine.” Roman cradled his arm to his chest. “It’s just a scratch; why won’t you listen to me?”
“I- I’m sorry.” Patton looked unsure of himself, pulling his hands back to his chest. “Can I at least get you a band-aid?”
Roman looked to Logan, almost as if searching to see if the other borrower was going to judge him for accepting aid, but Logan gave him no response.
“…fine.” Roman relented.
Patton and Virgil shared a look, both wondering what had happened to their borrowers.
"I'm dying without you, when are you coming back?" with Virgil and Roman for the platonic starter prompts!
So this is lowkey a sequel to this answered prompt. But it’s not necessary to read that first, just if you want to.
send me sentences from here with a sanders sides pairing and I’ll write a gt drabble!
“Virgil?” Roman knocked lightly on the wall under his nightstand. He knew from previous experience that this was where Virgil’s home resided. The borrower had disappeared in this exact spot enough times for even Roman to figure it out.
“C’mon, I’m dying without you.” Roman groaned, flopping dramatically to lay on the ground. “When are you coming back?”
There was a quiet, muffled ‘never’ in response.
“Well now look who’s being a drama queen.” Roman pointed out, considering Virgil always called him out on being overdramatic. “…are you still mad about the thing at Patton’s party?”
There was a long, drawn out silence.
“So that’s a yes.” Roman sighed. “Virgil, how many times do I need to apologize? You were right, I never should have forced you to go with me. I had no idea it was going to get so chaotic and dangerous and I’m sorry I ever put you in that situation. But I’ve already said I’m sorry, there’s not much else I can do! Do you want me to promise not to do that again? Fine, I promise. Happily.”
Roman stared at the wall anxiously, his face falling slightly.
“Virgil, please.” Roman began to pick at one of the carpet fibers, feeling a bit nervous. “I just… I feel bad, alright? There, I said it. I feel guilty that I put you in that situation and I wasn’t thinking and I’m sorry. I don’t-” Roman sighed, laying his head down, “-…I don’t want to lose my best friend over this.”
“I’m your best friend?” Roman lifted his head to see Virgil standing several feet to his left, near what appeared to be an open secret passageway into the wall. With just a twinge of embarrassment, Roman realized his guess about where Virgil lived had been slightly off.
“Well, yeah.” Roman propped himself up onto his elbows. “Why wouldn’t you be?”
“I mean, I guess I just figured that you had a human best friend.” Virgil admitted, shutting the door in the wall so that the entrance was once again invisible to the human eye. “Like Logan or Patton.”
“Logan’s a nerd.” Roman stuck out his tongue with distaste at the thought. “And Patton is just friends with everyone, it’s what he does.”
“Well, then someone else.” Virgil’s shoulders’ rose slightly with his unease. “There has to be somebody.”
“Virgil, you live here.” Roman raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think if I had a best friend you would have seen them before?” Virgil looked slightly more relaxed.
“Well,” Virgil said with a smirk. “I did forget you’re actually a loser.” Roman let out a slightly offended huff, but he didn’t mean it. Especially because he could still tell Virgil was upset about something.
“Why would there have to be somebody else?” Roman asked, frowned. “Do you…not want to be my best friend?”
“No, not exactly?” Virgil shrugged. “I mean it just…it feels weird to think about. Like, why would you possibly pick me as you best friend when there’s all those other incredibly loud, actually useful humans in your life?”
“So this is still about the party?” Roman guessed. Virgil slowly nodded in confirmation. “Virgil- okay, yes, sometimes I like to go partying, and it’s clearly safer if I do that with my other human friends. But! When it comes to debating the themes of disney films, which is obviously the most important trait to find in a best friend, there is no one I’d chose over you.”
Virgil scuffed his foot amongst the carpet fibers, looking contemplative.
“You keep me honest.” Roman continued. “You call me out when I’m being too much, and help me not to take things too seriously. You help make this tiny apartment a little paradise because I get to share it with you. I treasure your company; ergo, you’re best friend material.”
There was a pause. Virgil mumbled something, and Roman had to lean closer. “…come again?”
“I said you’re my best friend too!” Virgil’s face scrunched up as if it pained him to say. “Ugh, this sappy stuff is too much. Can we just…move on?”
“Of course, sour plum fairy.” Roman teased, putting his hand next to Virgil.
Okay so rather than keep my nonexistent publishing schedule, I’m thinking of posting ~something~ at least once a week. So basically, every...pfft, Idk, Wednesday? Sure let’s go with that. Every Wednesday I will be posting 1 random piece of writing, be it a new prompt or a chapter to one of my fics or something.
And then I’m gonna try NOT posting writing other days, just so that I can try to stop stressing myself out to write a bunch 24/7 as well as making sure my schedule actually means something and isn’t just another random post date.
(Eventually I wanna do more days of the Week but I wanna stockpile rn. Also once I get more of secret project done that’ll regularly be posted on Fridays.)
Also I may not have fully thought this through when I chose Wednesday...since that’s today... but I’m sticking to that, so I guess something will be up soon.
Anyways sorry if this feels disappointing to any of y’all but I think overall this will be a better system both for my own sanity and so that people actually know when my stuff goes up (and don’t just have to wildly guess, heh.) Toodles! ~
