Remus sanders headcannon that when he was a kid, the only way Janus and Virgil could get him to do things he didn't want to do was by putting the word 'evil' in front of it. Like 'evil' bath, or 'evil' eating actual food that isn't dirt. And it got to the point that that was just what things were called in the darkside now.
At some point in season one Virgil tells Logan, Patton, and Roman he's going to be late for 'evil' dinner and then doesn't harass Thomas for three straight weeks out of embarrassment alone.
pre aa virgil saying "i know your limits" is actually kind of big
hear me out
anxiety is such an inhibiting(limiting) thing for a lot of people, and virgil knows that. he knows he wasn't wanted around and he knows the things he can do(like scaring c!thomas)
but he said "i know your limits" not "i am your limits"
granted, it would not entirely have made sense in the situation, but think on it. knowing everything he does and how the others feel about him, his inner motives and personality slipped out a bit. and then he immediately sank out afterwards
just aksjwkjfms this man should be shook in a jar and observed for scientific purposes
I think it’s just so amazing how Logan was able to communicate at the beginning of the show. In MNT when Virgil talks over him, he cuts Virgil off and politely yet firmly says “I waited for my turn to speak.” Then something about the rules. It’s kind of my biggest analogical root because they have so many nonverbal interactions. They’re so special. I love them
There was this old pre accepting anxiety fic where Virgil was protecting the others in secrets from something, and it often killed him, but he always came back. The others didn't know about it or that they could die and come back, until they saw Virgil die.
If anyone can help me find the fic, I'd be grateful!
Based on this post which I would highly recommend looking at first because I will not be providing you the context
Word Count: 1850
Rating: Teen (for exactly 1 innuendo)
Pairing: none
Warning: none
~~~START~~~
As the logical Side, Logan was, well, logical.
That being said, he was really not sure what the logical explanation for this would be.
For months now — perhaps even years — tally marks had been appearing in Logan’s hands, arms, and sometimes even his face. Due to the manner in which the tally marks appear, Logan was pretty sure he was the one making them, but he couldn’t remember ever doing it. It reminded him of the Silence in Doctor Who, but the Silence weren’t real — and even if they were, he certainly wouldn’t be encountering them inside Thomas’s mind. Still, the marks remained unexplained.
<(^.^)>
Logan was awoken by a knocking at his door. It was the middle of the night, and while he was irritated at the interruption of his sleep cycle, he understood that sometimes Patton or Roman had nightmares, and as the logical Side, he was the logical choice to dispel any lingering fear.
He did not find Patton or Roman on the other side of his door.
“Logic,” the unknown Side wheezed. He was shaking as badly as Patton usually did after a nightmare, hunched in on himself and clutching a black hoodie around himself tightly.
Without even thinking about it, Logan pulled out a pen and made a mark on his hand.
“Did you have a nightmare?” Logan asked, making the decision to act as though he had found Patton behind the door. He could learn more about this new Side once he’d calmed down.
The Side nodded, lifting his head for the first time and allowing Logan a glance at a pair of mismatched eyes and tear tracks of eyeshadow running down his face.
“Would it help you to tell me about it?” Logan asked.
“T-Thomas,” the Side gasped, barely managing to get the one word out. “Thomas was- he was in the middle-” the Side did a full body shutter which seemed to cause more tears to stream down his face. “He was lost in th-the middle of a-a city and he couldn’t h-hear me, a-and he got h-hurt.”
Logan nodded. He wasn’t entirely sure of the identity of the Side, but Patton’s nightmares often centered around having an inability to help Thomas — or worse, be a hindrance to him — so Logan could assume that this Side was meant to protect Thomas in some way from the imagined situation. Roman’s nightmares — as creativity — featured many more monstered and imagined things.
“Thomas is not lost,” Logan assured the Side. “He is at home. He is safe. His doors are locked. And when he needs you, he will hear you.”
The Side sobbed again before launching himself into Logan’s arms.
Physical affection did not come naturally to Logan, but living with Patton and Roman certainly gave him plenty of time to study it and gain hands-on experience. He wrapped one arm securely around the Side’s back, and allowed his free hand to card slowly through the Side’s hair — this usually calmed Roman down, Patton on the other hand preferred two-armed hugs, as tightly as Logan could manage. The Side seemed content with Roman’s method as Logan felt him slowly but surely relax under his ministrations.
“Thanks, Logic,” the Side pulled away after a few minutes, looking infinitely calmer than when Logan had opened the door.
“Of course,” Logan acknowledged. “Though I don’t believe we’ve met before.”
“I know you don’t,” the other Side chuckled sadly. Logan did not get it. “My name is Anxiety. I’ll see ya later, teach.”
Anxiety turned and left down the hallway. Logan watched him for a moment, considering how the Side’s function as Anxiety probably left him vulnerable to many nightmares.
When Logan finally closed the door and turned to head back to bed, he’d completely forgotten why he’d opened the door in the first place.
Perhaps he had heard a noise coming from the hall? Yes, that was probably it; he’d heard a noise and thought it might be Patton or Roman with another nightmare.
He didn’t notice the tally mark until the next morning. By then, he’d forgotten about getting up in the middle of the night.
^(^.^)^
“Oh Logan!” An unfamiliar — but distinctly Thomas-like — voice called from behind the logical Side.
Logan turned to find a Side with snake scales covering half of his face holding a bowler hat in his hands and staring at Logan questioningly from farther down the hall.
“Can I help you?” Logan asked, adding another tally mark.
“What do you think about bowler hats?” The Side asked, lifting the hat a little in emphasis.
“Bowler hats — also known as derby hats — originated in the mid nineteenth century as a way to protect gamekeepers in England from overhead tree branches,” Logan recited tonelessly.
“Yes, but what do you think of bowler hats?” The Side stressed.
“Bowler hats were particularly popular in early twentieth century pop culture and thus are an effective accessory to make an outfit seem more old-fashioned.”
The Side chuckled.
“You’re very bad at fashion advice,” he said. “But I think I’ll keep the hat.”
The Side placed the hat on his head and stared at Logan expectantly. A bowler hat is a perfectly respectable style of hat. Logan told the Side as much; the Side only laughed a bit more.
“You are an absolute delight, Logan, but I suppose you’re my only option, after all, you won’t remember this later.”
Logan stared down the empty hallway towards his room. That was odd, he was trying to get to the kitchen. He turned around and continued on.
The common space was empty, but Logan expected as much. Patton was out helping Thomas with an issue, Roman would be in his room for hours yet, working on the script for Thomas’ next video and there weren’t any other Sides in the mindscape.
Logan decided on a sandwich for lunch, and resolved to make a couple extra for Patton and Roman. He was just getting the Crofters out when an unfamiliar — but distinctly Thomas-like — voice suddenly spoke behind him, nearly causing him to drop the precious jam.
“What do you think about the name ‘Janus’?”
Logan set the jam down on the counter before turning around. To his surprise, there was another Side standing behind him, one with snake-like features covering half his face, and a bowler hat resting on his head.
“Who are you?” Logan asked. Another mark. “I wasn’t aware that there were any other Sides.”
“I’m shocked,” the Side smirked. “I’m thinking of going by the name ‘Janus’, but I wanted your opinion first.”
“Have we met before?” Logan asked, unsure why an unfamiliar Side would want his opinion.
“No.”
The Side’s tone and smirk gave Logan the distinct feeling that he was being made fun of, but he couldn’t even begin to fathom how.
“Well, Janus is a Roman god, often attributed to beginnings, gateways, doorways, transitions, passages, frames, time, duality, and endings, so if you feel that any of those things describe your function then I suppose it would be an appropriate name.”
The Side nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, I think Janus would be a perfect name, thank you Logan.”
Logan finished making sandwiches, and while he had not thought the task had taken him too long, he was surprised to find that making the three sandwiches had taken him half an hour. He shook the doubts out of his head, sometimes he got lost in thought, it wasn’t uncommon. He left one sandwich in the kitchen with a note for Patton, and took the other two with him upstairs for himself and Roman.
<(^.^<)
“~Loooogaaaaan~”
A tally mark.
An empty room
Green.
Tally.
A mustache.
Tally.
“Logan, you never pay attention to me!”
“I am unsure who you are.”
Tally.
An empty room.
Logan was feeling untethered. He’d been trying to work in the common room for over two hours, but he had nothing to show for it. No work done, no notes written, no memory of what he’d even been thinking for all this time.
The only thing he did have was sixty-four more tally marks than he’d had earlier; his arms were covered with the lines.
Sixty-five.
Strange.
“What if Thomas just straight up set his apartment on fire?”
Logan’s gaze snapped up from his arm to find an unfamiliar Side. The Side rivaled Roman in terms of “extra”-ness, he had a curly mustache, a white streak in his hair, and a green tulle sash. But the real concern was the unhinged and manic look in his eyes when Logan met his gaze.
Tally mark.
“Excuse me?”
“Begone, thot!” Roman yelled from the stairs, charging at the Side with his katana drawn.
“No fun,” the Side pouted, sinking out right before the katana reached him.
“Oh, Roman,” Logan startled at the sudden appearance of the creative Side. “I didn’t hear you come in. Forgive me, I have been… unfocused today.”
“No worries, specs!” Roman responded jovially, though his cheer seemed slightly forced. “I have just the thing to help!”
Roman vanished his katana — which he had had drawn for some reason — and replaced it with a box. He was holding out the board game Stratego for Logan’s consideration.
Roman was right. The task really did help Logan focus, and he didn’t find himself drifting at any point during the game.
By the time Logan and Roman had each won one round of Stratego each, Patton had joined them and insisted on playing Trivial Pursuit next. No new marks appeared during their games.
(>^.^)>
“Logic!” A voice called.
Logan turned around to find a strange Side in a black hoodie with dark eyeshadow smeared under his eyes nervously hovering about halfway down the hall. Tally.
“Can I help you?” Logan asked, thoroughly confused by the presence of a new Side.
“No, I-” the Side hesitated for a moment. “Just, are you okay?”
“Of course I am,” Logan said, a little taken aback. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Just… after Remus I thought maybe…” the Side looked around nervously. “Never mind. I’m glad you’re okay.”
Logan stared at the empty hall, he’d thought he heard something… but no, just an empty hall.
Once inside his room, Logan pulled out the notebook he kept track of the tally marks in.
Hmm, seventy today. He didn’t remember seeing the seventieth one earlier, it must have shown up between when he’d left Patton and Roman in the common room and when he’d reached his bedroom. He recorded the number in his notebook along with the day’s date, then set about washing the marks off before bed.
Seventy wasn’t the most he’d ever had in one day, but it was certainly more than usual. He wondered if it had anything to do with his lack of focus earlier…
^(^.^)v
Remus was waiting for Virgil in his room.
“No fair, emo!” He pouted. “I had him at sixty-nine! You did that on purpose!”
“Oops,” Virgil deadpanned, unsympathetically.
Remus sank back to his own room where continued pouting for about an hour, before resolving to try and get Logan up to four-twenty the next day.
~~~END~~~
I found the beginning of this in my WIPs yesterday and finished it today. I completely forgot about starting it the first time, but now I’m completely in love
In case it wasn’t obvious, as soon as Logan can’t see the Dark Side anymore, he completely forgets about the interaction, including any interaction that involved another Light Side (like Roman)
General Taglist: @royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple
