Summary: Thomas has a difficult day dealing with Remus interrupting constantly with disturbing ideas.
Authors Note: According to 'An Emotional Dictionary' Froward means 'Perverse and hard to please'. This was the definitiion in my head while writing. The definition at the end literally is what came up when I searched 'define froward' but thankfully still fits
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Thomas was getting more tired by the minute and it was entirely because of Remus and his need to contradict everything today.
First he'd had plans to meet his friends in the morning and had Remus and Virgil talking about all the ways he could die the entire time he was out. Remus had gone so far as to give him a nightmarish daydream over getting into a car crash with a bus and all the injuries, blood and damage that would be caused by it.
He'd honestly felt like kissing the ground after parking his car and only part of that was from Virgil cheering that they'd left the mobile death trap as Remus had convinced him the car was.
It hadn't gotten better from there.
One of his friends had mentioned something they were struggling with which of course left Thomas and Patton beyond ready to help, but gave Remus the chance to imagine how said friend could die either doing it alone or by Thomas murdering them under the pretense of helping. Patton's lecture on how that's wrong still hadn't really ended having changed to fit the rest of the things Remus had been putting into Thomas's mind since getting home.
Eventually something in Thomas just snapped, "Fine, Remus! Let's entertain you for a while. What is going on that you're so desperate for attention?"
"I'm just froward, Thomas. Nothings going on, yet at least. But how about we set a challenge hunger games style for your fans; survivor gets to decide the next video to be posted on the channel and it has to be up within a month of posting. Losers are dead so we can attend their funerals acting like the spurned loved ones who'd vowed revenge when rejected." Remus grinned offering the suggestion instead.
Logan popped up then, at the same time as Thomas threw his hands up in exasperation so he wasn't certain if he'd accidentally summoned him or his logical side had just decided it was time to intervene. "I believe you mean you are forward, Remus, which we've all known for a while and doesn't explain your behaviour."
"I said what I said and if you don't know what my words mean I don't need to tell you." Remus countered, laughing at the confusion of sticking to his words caused. "Actually let's go matilda style. Thomas you've gotta eat your dictionary right now! Logan is missing knowledge of words."
Thomas blinked between his sides now, glancing over to where Patton was currently still muttering over how the competition Remus had suggested was wrong in so many ways, not including giving inviable timescales. He could see Logan preparing to say something more, perhaps elaborate on how being forward doesn't mean someone shares all their ideas to upset others and Remus already smug at having a counter to whatever could be said and that made Thomas's decision.
He went and pulled down the dictionary, setting his phone beside it. "I'm not going to eat any books but I will look up whatever you think Logan has misunderstood. You said froward, right?"
"Yup freaks roaming over willys after radiation disaster." Remus cheerfully nodded, blinking each eye individually when he got a side glance aimed at him.
Thomas turned through the f section of the dictionary for a few thankfully quiet moments. "It isn't in this dictionary so I'll Google it, but after this, you can sit down and get all your ideas out while I write some fanfiction. Okay?"
"Look the word up first, Thomathy." Remus goaded, agreeing to nothing.
Thomas read the first definition and decided now was the time to follow Logan's advice from the first time he met Remus and convince Patton, Virgil and Roman to stop reacting to him
froward
ˈfrəʊəd
adjective archaic (of a person) difficult to deal with; contrary.
Fuck it, my new favorite head canon is the Janus Hate Club Trio.
-It’s Virgil, Roman, and Remus
-Virgil and Roman kinda start it, not really on purpose. But after POF Virgil let Roman vent to him and now the two of them hang out a lot more. And if venting about Janus becomes a reoccurring topic, then so be it
-Janus was distancing himself from Remus after he got ‘accepted.’ Sure, Virgil looked like he was out for Janus’s blood, Roman avoided him at all costs, and Logan barely trusted him. But he had an in with Patton and Thomas.
-Plus, it was funny to watch a divide grow between Patton and the other light sides
-Remus tries to keep his attention for awhile, doing increasingly crazy and attention-seeking things. But Janus is rarely around him to notice it, and when he does he just scoffs or rolls his eyes
-Remus confronts him about it, asks how he got Thomas to trust him, and Janus explains his side of the story
-It’s basically watered down to, “I just messed with them for awhile, and after the wedding I solved his problem.” but with more details and a little bit more Virgi, Roman, and Logan slander.
-Remus is angry about Janus distancing himself from the dark sides. And now he’s more angry because Roman is still his brother, even if the two of them don’t get along at all
-Roman overhears Janus laughing about how Remus has stopped talking to him. It almost sounds like that bothers him, but when Patton asks Janus say’s it’s no big deal
-Roman is curious, and goes after Remus
-Just for dramatics, they have a talk while bashing each other with sharp objects
-Remus hears Roman’s side..or most of it, because Roman refuses to admit some of the impact. And Roman hears what’s happened to Remus and janus’s relationship
-After that, the twins meet up in the imagination more to sort their shit out. They’re nowhere *near* as close as they were before the whole dark side/light side drama, but they’re getting better
-Eventually, Roman lets it slip he’s been talking to Remus again during one of his and Virgil’s vent sessions
-Virgil is mad, and they get into a small fight
-Remus finds out about the fight, and decides to apologize to Virgil for whatever happened between them. Mostly he apologizes for pushing Virgil’s boundaries and constantly attacking him.
-Remus now sometimes joins their vent sessions. Not all of them, though
-They start an official hate club, but they only tell Logan because they don’t know what Patton or Thomas would say/do
-Logan sometimes joins them, but mostly he just sits and nods and doesn’t add anything of his own
-They are by no means a functional friend group, and plenty of the sessions end in screaming matches and a wrecked room that have nothing to do with Janus. But they’re getting better
Prompt: Roman always wanted Anxiety gone. Now the thought frightens him. (for @3-has-charm )
Roman-centric angst
Word count: about 700?
Read on Ao3
If Anxiety is gone, what do we have to lose?
It's been ages since the Accepting Anxiety double episode and Roman still heard every mean thing he'd said. It kept going and going, echoing in his mind.
And every time his mind went down that particular spiral the memories got louder and louder.
A raisin-oatmeal cookie. No one wants that!
No one wanted Anxiety. Least of all Roman. He'd always been vocal about it. He was never shy to insult the villain, his antagonist.
For that was all he was to Roman. An antagonist. A nuisance.
All Roman ever wanted, more than anything in the world, was to get rid of Anxiety so Thomas finally wouldn't be held back by him anymore.
You find what is burdening their life and you kill it.
Roman had said it about the imaginary Dragon-Witch but he did indeed have Anxiety in mind when he thought of it. Anxiety made Thomas's life so hard. He made their host constantly worried and Roman hated it. The constant fear interfered with Roman's work, hindering Thomas from reaching goals and making his dreams come true. And like a true disney prince, he wanted their dreams to come true. And if he had to get rid of Anxiety to do so first, then so be it. He'd find a way to make him stop.
Roman didn't care how he had to do it. He just wanted Anxiety to be out of the picture.
He couldn't be struggling because of me. Why not sunshine over there?
Blame him, his mind had told him. Everything was always Anxiety's fault anyways! Even Logan had agreed at the time!
"Anxiety is the antagonist." The logical side had insisted back then.
And Roman had always agreed. He hated Anxiety. He hated him so much.
I can't stand that guy.
Still don't like you.
I don't like him.
Roman used to be so vocal at the time. But now-
They had gotten to know Virgil.
And now the mere thought of him being gone frightens Roman. It frightens him more than he ever thought possible.
Virgil. Scared, caring, thoughtful Virgil.
Roman had put him through so much over the years.
Sweet Virgil, always trying to protect them. So different now from the front of Anxiety. So different from the callous, sometimes even cruel side.
It tore Roman apart, knowing what he had done to the side he now called one of his best friends.
If your only goal is to protect, then why do you act like the embodiment of a dark and stormy night all the time?
Truthfully, Roman had been afraid of Anxiety. He didn't like to admit it but he was. A tiny, primal part deep inside his chest screamed at him whenever Anxiety was close.
Danger. Danger! It would chant and Roman had reacted accordingly.
He never let his guard down.
Now he knew better. He knew he was unfair. He knew the way he acted was irrational.
But he was blinded by hate. He never stopped.
It took Virgil ducking out for him to see how important his role was in keeping Thomas safe. He had pushed and teased and hurt Virgil until it was almost too late.
It was almost too late for Virgil.
It was almost too late for them to get Virgil back.
We got along just fine without him in the first two Sanders Sides videos.
They didn't. They really didn't get along fine without Virgil.
And roman couldn't help but blame himself for Virgil leaving. They weren't just fine without him. They may have managed the first two videos but Virgil had still been there. He was not on screen but he still influenced Thomas.
It was Roman's fault. It must have been.
Patton had never said a bad thing about anyone. Patton always made everyone feel welcome.
Logan may have had his moments of disagreement with Virgil but he was still… civil. As civil as Logic could be.
But he was not. Not at all. Roman just couldn't look past his own distaste for the anxious side. And as such it was his fault that they had nearly lost their protector.
It was Roman's fault Virgil saw no other way but to leave.
And roman would spend every single day for the rest of Thomas's life making up for it.
