#willowkeyes writes

Pffft loved your snippet @bromeliadslove . Do texts count as a sentence? Imma just go with yes.

Raphie: Might be bad to go outside!

He seems like a bit of a worrywart, but it’s nice to have someone worry about me for once. Although, now I have a hunch as to why I’m feeling eyes on me.

Me: Raph... Me: Are you watching me from the rooftops?

For a few moments there’s no answer, but as I look up a smile breaks across my face when Mikey waves enthusiastically down at me from the rooftop across the street before he’s pulled from sight. I can’t help but giggle a little at the thought of having real friends looking down at me, looking out for me.

Warnings: Swearing, self-deprecation, near-death sorta?, Remus making an innuendo Set after Redux.

@hufflepuff-deceit ------------------------------------------------------------ Roman

I’ve been losing my touch for years now; it shouldn’t hurt this much to know that Thomas has finally figured it out. I’m not his hero. I was once, back when we began making short videos on Vine, maybe again when that failed and we stuck to YouTube… But I’ve just been lying to everyone for ages now.

I’m no Prince.

I’m not good.

There’s… little difference between Remus and I if you look close enough.

I’m no one’s hero. 

With a heavy sigh that fails to dislodge the lump in my throat, I collapse against the soft grass of the Imagination and let the cold rain wash over me. The cliff I’ve decided to sit on has a view over the ocean that, before all of this, I would love to just stare at and take it in for an hour or two. I’ve been in here for a week, maybe two if I’ve paid less attention then I think I have, but I can’t bring myself to show my face to anyone yet. Or, I can’t bring myself to look at the others and not feel so much that my chest wants to explode with emotions I can’t control.

Anger, frustration, confusion, betrayal, guilt- there’s so much guilt. So much for so many things that I don’t know what to do with it. Hiding it away and pretending that it doesn’t exist doesn’t help anymore. Lying doesn’t help me anymore.

Maybe Dece-... Maybe Janus knows me better than I thought. Maybe he should be one of the Light Sides; a Side that helps Thomas with his issues. Because he’s been doing a better job than I have. I just stood there as Patton hurt Thomas! I let him tell me what I should be doing- I let him tell me to go to that stupid, fucking wedding instead of what could have been the best opportunity of Thomas’ life!

My hands tangle themselves in my hair as I scream at the rain. As I scream at Patton, at Deceit, Janus, Patton- at Thomas. Myself. Everything and everyone. I just scream until something starts to hurt, then scream some more. I just want all of this to go away.

Instead, I scream until I’m too tired to scream anymore. I just lay an arm lengths away from the edge of a cliff, stare at what I guess to be a nice sunset, and just… do nothing. I don’t want to do anything anymore. I’m so tired. So sore. Thomas can last a while without me; and even more if Remus decides to take the spotlight now that I’m not around.

I should get out of the rain though; it’s starting to get really heavy. With a grunt of effort, I haul myself to my feet and throw my hoodie on despite every part of me being drenched already. My first step causes something below me to crack and I freeze to hear a second and third to follow suit. I frown down at my feet as I take another step, only for it to slip against something and send me back onto my back with a heavy thump. And a loud crack.

There’s a second of weightlessness as the ground falls out from beneath me. The sky seems to get so far away from me so quickly, with my hand reaching out as if a cloud will catch me as I fall. But what is now the edge of the cliff passes by me, I shut my eyes tight and wait for the pain of hitting the crashing waves below. For the possible breaking of my bones, for the head trauma, for the relief of not having to think while I’m unconscious-

Something wraps around my wrist and every part of me screams at me to hold onto it. Both hands grab onto the… arm of whoever caught me.

“Seriously!? I thought I was the crazy twin!” My eyes shoot open at the all-too-familiar voice to see Remus smiling down at me. It’s… a relieved smile, for some reason. 

Then I see what’s behind him. Remus is nowhere near the edge of the cliff and has both of his legs being held onto with a hand each, while two other hands hold the three of us up. Out of all the Sides to have come here, I didn’t expect these two.

“Ro. Hey.” With a couple of blinks I focus back on Remus’ face, while the lump that was once in my chest now sits up in my throat. He needs to stop looking at me like that. They’re both looking at me... “You alright there?”

“I-... N-No.”

“Remus, I don’t believe you know this, but the three of us are hanging off a cliff right now. Of course he’s not bloody alright!”

“Okay, okay! You gonna pull us up then, or what!?” 

One moment I’m watching the two argue as my legs dangle over the dangerous ocean, the next I’m back on solid ground and I can feel tears building up as I realise what just happened. They rescued me. They’re heroes…

“Roman?” Remus’ voice is too soft, too filled with worry over such a useless Side. In a world of my own creation, where I rule, I still can’t be anyone’s hero because I’m too busy needing saving myself. I was saved by those I called villains. “Fuck- Jan, he’s crying! Did he hit his head?”

I shake my head and curl my legs up to my chest; the lump in my throat now painful and starving me of air. It’s all too much. Everything is so much while I can do so little. Like an ant in a rainstorm without shelter. Like a mortal trading places with Atlas to hold up the sky. Like a stupid Prince who’s been thinking so much of himself, when he actually just insults others and makes everything worse!

So when I feel fingers in my hair, I push them away only for arms to wrap around me and hold me close to someone’s chest. Even as I keep struggling, two more sets of arms wrap around me and feel so warm against how damp and cold my skin is. I feel fingers in my hair again- gloved fingers. With another gloved hand holding my own and rubbing their thumb across the back of my hand.

“Ro? You sane now?” I attempt to swallow the suffocating lump, but fail as it feels even bigger than before. What am I supposed to say? I am sane- I always have been sane. I’m just no longer blind.

“... I guess so…”

“Good, ‘cause I gotta tell you off for scaring me. Do you know how hard that is to do? You big-headed… butt-head.”

“Not the time for insults...” I guess the extra arms are coming from Janus. He shouldn’t be comforting me; not after what I said. Not after I hurt him after he showed us something so… terrifying… And I fucked it up. I destroyed so much with so few words. 

“So, you gonna thrash around again? I can let go if you want. I doubt I smell like roses and honey or whatever...” A set of arms goes to release me and in that moment, I decide to be selfish and quickly grab hold of them. Then move to grab hold of him. Both of them. And I just cry. 

“I-I’m sorry… For your name, and ignoring you, and calling you villains, a-and threatening you- I threatened you so much… Fuck…” I can smell them both and it’s such a weird scent, even more so with the scent of rain mixed with them. There’s honey and lavender, but also Thomas’ deodorant and something close to when Patton forgets to put the lid of the trash bin back on. It’s gross, but comforting.

I shouldn’t be comforted. 

“Roman, it’s-”

“No!” I pull back to see them both, again hating the look in their eyes. Janus’ heterochromatic ones and the bright red ones of my brother, both looking at me with looks like so much worry. “Stop looking at me like that! I don’t deserve it! Or this! Or to be saved-”

“Stop it, Roman-” I swat the reaching gloved hand away and fall backwards, out of their arms, before digging my palms into my eyes to see the dancing spots instead of seeing the kindness I don’t deserve. 

“I screwed up so much! I ignored you, Em! I pretended that you didn’t exist! What so-called ‘good guy’ ignores his own twin!? None! Because I’m not fucking good! I never was! I’ve never been a hero!”

“Roman!” “And I knew that your name was important to you, Dec- Janus! God, I don’t deserve to call you by your name! I laughed! I… I fucking laughed! After you saved Thomas, while I just made shit worse! I made fun of it!”

“And I compared you to Remus while you were in a vulnerable state- Stop apologising and look at us!” 

It’s something in the way Janus says it, it could be how his ‘s’ are starting to be held longer or the actual desperation from him that I’ve never heard before, but I take my hands away from my eyes and look up at them. 

Remus is grinning brightly and without any of his usual craziness behind it. He looks happy as he stretches his arms out towards me- now making grabby hands at me as if he wants a hug from me. It’s… weird to see him so happy. Is he usually straining his smile? Or this is a different kind of happy then when he pops up to give one of us a fright?

Janus has a soft smile on his face as he fixes the hat atop his head with one of his six arms. He holds another hand out and motions me to come to them. “We both said some harsh things; and I sincerely apologise for hurting you after so much had happened to you and Thomas. And we’ll talk this through- but later. You look exhausted, Roman…”

“So come here, hug us, and let me carry you to our side of the Mindscape for some microwaved leftovers so that we can be best bros for two minutes before you regret saying that mushy shit to me.” 

The lump in my throat doesn’t hurt as much- but is still very much there. We do have a lot to talk through, but I am also so tired. And cold. And I nearly just fell into bone-shattering waves. Remus’ open arms and Janus’ inviting look warms something inside me and pushes me into my brother's arms. He holds on tightly with fistfulls of my shirt, as if I’ll disappear. I did this to him… I made him scared that I would leave him again.

“No, Rem…” I have to fix this. I have to become better, instead of sulking away in my Imagination. Doing nothing, solves nothing. If I want to be a hero, I have to work for it again. From the bottom up. Which starts with Remus. “More than two minutes…”

“Sixty-nine minutes?” 

“Sixty-nine years sounds better. Especially with an infinity on the end.”

“Sixty-nine infinities? What legendary stamina…”

“You’re gross and insane.” Yet I only hold onto him tighter. His hugs have always felt like I’m not missing a part of myself, as if everything will be okay and nothing will be bad again. It’s a huge lie, but no one else’s hugs can make me feel this kind of safe. 

“Come on. I love standing in drenched clothing and I totally don’t want Roman to try the lasagne that we made yesterday.” Holy crap. The leftovers is lasagne!? 

“Oooh! You’ll love it, Ro! The cheese on top is scrunchy, like an exo-skeleton.” Too tired to get grossed out at that rather terrifying image, I just give him a hum to make him know that I heard as he picks me up without issue. Now he just smells like strong deodorant with a hint of trashiness; which is dealable enough to get comfortable against him. 

“You better not be sleeping. You know how I wake people up.”

“With a scream two inches from their face?”

“I was gonna put slime in your shirt- but that works too! Maybe with some blood…”

“Fake blood please, Remus.” I open my eyes and catch Janus’ gaze for a moment. He gives me another smile before bapping the back of Remus’ head since he was making his nose drip blood. “I wasn’t lying! Clean that up before we enter the Mindscape or you’ll stain the carpets again!”

“Those carpets are already stained from last week!”

“I will hide your copy of Betelgeuse! In my room no less- don’t test me!”

Remus’ Puzzle Temple Of Friendship And Chaos

Warnings: Baby eldritch thing, tentacles, one eye, vague sexual reference that’s from a song

Platonic Logince, brotherly-and-on-good-terms Creativitwins and Intrulogical of whatever relationship interpretation that you want.

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Roman

“Remind me to thank your brother at dinner tonight.”

“That’s if we make it to dinner. And you all call me extra; he made an entire temple for us to explore within a week!” He spent a lot of energy on it too. I still remember the shaky finger he pointed at me after the second day of working on this Incan-like temple; slurring tiredly about not going into the space between our Kingdoms and ruining the surprise. He also forced me to carry him to his room as he dangerously swayed on his feet. I’ll have to thank him by working just as hard for his and Logan’s adventure after the two of us finish this one.

Out Of A Bad Home

Warnings: homophobia, kicked out of home, crying

“What are you-... Logan?” The last person I expected to see out the front of my place was sitting beside my front door, legs up to his chest and glasses askew. If the backpack and suitcase beside him wasn’t worrying enough, his red eyes and bruised cheek certainly scares me.

“They kicked me out. They overheard me speaking to Remy about my plans to ask Remus out, broke my phone, and gave me an hour to get what I needed. Janus isn’t home until next week and I knew that you’re mother wouldn’t mind… m-me being here....” Those homophobic bastards. I shake my head and kneel beside him, watching as he wipes his teary eyes and fixes his glasses. “I didn’t want to wake you, so I didn’t knock…”

“I went for a walk to the park and back because I couldn’t sleep- That doesn’t matter. Come on, let’s get you inside, Lo.” I help him to his feet, noticing how he winces as he stands, then unlock the front door before carrying his bags in for him. Seeing him so lost and tired looking helps the flames in my chest grow, making me want to walk back to his place just to knock his dad out and tell the both of them how shit people they are. First they cuss out Patton, and now this? They’ll still be expecting him to talk to them too after this; and that he keeps his grades up.

With a sigh, I dump his stuff by the kitchen and lead Logan down the hallway and into my dimly lit room. Dark bat-themed curtains, dark purple walls, dark blanket covers over a tiny ass bed. Not much to write home about but the wall-mounted TV makes the small amount of space liveable. “You’re taking the bed.”

“Virgil-” Silencing him with throwing a spare set of pyjamas at his face, I give him a short smile as I drag out my bean bag from the closet.

“It’s midnight, Lo and I doubt either of us can sleep. We can watch some Buzzfeed Unsolved and call your boyfriend in the morning. Probably Janus too to keep him from doing something stupid. You take the bed and get comfy, I’ll take the bean bag. And if you fall asleep; bonus.”

I collapse into the black beanbag as the nerd look at his watch with the clothes still in his hands. The sheepish look on his face is usually followed by a question, and it makes me madder that I know that. “It’s actually almost two am and… they show late Doctor Who episodes in ten minutes. Could we watch those, please? If that’s okay?”

“Of course it is. You gotta reteach me though, since the only baddies I remember are the Silence.”

He smiles a little and I smile back; happy that I seem to be distracting him from what happened earlier. I may not be good at solving the problem, but I sure as hell help keep him smiling through the rough times. “Those are newer villains. And I believe the Weeping Angels will be on tonight…”

“Change before it gets on then! I wanna add one more thing to look out for at night to the list!”

Part One of an Animal Soulmates AU. I liked the idea of Soulmates that weren’t romantic/qpr and I liked making Roman cry. I tried out 3rd person for this as well so if it’s a little weirdly worded, it’s because I’m more practised in 1st person. Part two will be in 1st person because this was hard.

Pairings: Platonic Moxiety, Platonic Creativitwins, Eventual Roceit

Warnings: Parental neglect, harsh parenting, Roman’s parents just suck, crying

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Helping Dad Out

Warning: hypothermia, swearing, Remus being Remus (kinda milder then usual), me not knowing how to end this

I sigh as I take the familiar, yellow gloves off the dead tree branch before continuing to follow after my smart-yet-also-a-dumbass of friend’s footprints that he left in the snow. I told him that I was gonna make part of the Imagination snow today, but did he listen? No! He still wanders off into Dragonbone Forest alone and not even in the winter gear I made him.

I mean, I guess I didn’t tell him which part I was going to make snow, but he still could have asked first! Or had gone to the Burning Lake or the witch village near my castle or even the Enchanted Forest that actually houses a snake or two- but nope! The one place that was getting freezing cold snow.

“Fucker even took his dumb gloves off the… the dumb-dumby head. Probably already not thinking straight or gay anymore, the dumbass.” I growl and kick a fallen log, walking through the explosion of bugs that were using it as shelter as I continue following the Sides footprints. “Stupid worry making my insults sound like shit!”

A loud thump from over a snow mound sends me into a run. The sight of the black clothing with yellow accents sends relief through me- even though Self-Preservation himself is face first in a pile of snow. 

I quickly roll him onto his back and snap my fingers, replacing his wet clothes with some warm pyjamas and fluffy socks that have googly eyes on each toe. He shivers at the sudden change and opens his eyes, his human one looking glazed over while his snakey one has issues keeping it’s focus.

“R-Remus? … Cold.”

“No shit. You gave me a heart attack, dumbass.” Once he’s safely in my arms, a blanket appears and wraps around him as I make a few creatures, some squishy cocoon things that I haven’t named yet, that sit under his armpits to warm him up. Usually he’s not okay with my creatures touching him in any way, but now he hisses in delight and flops against me to steal more warmth. “Hey! You better not be falling asleep, Jan.”

“Warm though... “

“Yeah, I don’t care. Your lips are still blue; so you can wait until we get back to the castle.”

“Don’t… Don’t tell me… what to do…”

“Fuck you too, Dad.” I look down at him and sigh, knowing that he’ll be all embarrassed for how he’s acting once he’s coherent again. Just got to keep him awake until then. If he sleeps while cold, who knows how long it’ll take before he wakes? The longest was two months, back when Virge and I were kids, and… I’d rather not see him sleep for that long again. “Hey, who made the guillotine again? Sure helped out the revolution. Plus, all of those heads would be cool decorations.”

“No… heads in the… the uh…”

“Lounge room?”

“Yeah. Don’t wreck the… room… Just cleaned it…”

“Pfft, liar. You made me clean it.”

“Same…”

He’ll be alright; he’s a tough bastard. Just gotta keep him talking, keep him close so that he steals my warmth like some heat mosquito, and give him some water once he’s coherent. Then tell him that he’s a moron for not listening to me, but that’s only if I remember to. I’m sure he’ll distract me by saying some stupid shit.

“No arms…”

“Huh? What has no arms?”

“Snakes… I’m- I’m one… Got no arms…”

“Uh huh. Sure thing, Jan-Jan Binks.”

“It’s true..! Like… Patton frog…”

I laugh and hold him closer, smiling at his drowsy chuckle. “I’d totally make you cold more often if it didn’t involve you getting hypothermia.”

Before Remus and Roman left their hometown to go on their adventure, Remus had taken in a seemingly newly-hatched Alolan Rattata. He found it in their pantry after it had made a hole in their cereal box and was willing to share breakfast with him. So he took it in and even made a bits-and-pieces-that-he-found bed for it in his room.

His parents didn’t like his new friend though. It would gnaw on the door frames, chair legs, bed posts, Roman’s old rocking Mudbray; everything. Remus managed to keep it from ruining anything from his and Roman’s shared bedroom, but his parents still told him to release it.

It soon turned into an argument which caused Remus to run into the woods with Rattata during a storm. He and Roman went there all the time and they were usually lucky enough to not get too injured by wild Pokemon, but he was too upset to know where he was going and gotten himself lost.

He kept Rattata in his coat to keep them as warm as possible while he tried finding a landmark to find his way home. He eventually did; an old sewer pipe that was filling quickly with rainwater and was loud in his ears. He also heard something crying from inside.

He took his jacket off and hid it inside of an old stump, keeping Rattata inside so that it stays safe. He climbed into the sewer pipe and had to dig his nails into the cracks of the old walls to keep himself from being pulled away in the current. It was up to his knees, but the Pokemon ahead of him seemed to be half submerged and being pushed against the metal bars of the pipe.

It was too dark to see what it was, but he grabbed hold of it anyway just as he heard Roman calling out to him. He made sure that his grip on the plastic-y texture was tight as he called back, letting his brother help pull him out of the sewer pipe.

The Pokemon in his arms smelled like dead fish and week-old egg yolks, but Remus couldn’t care less as it shivered twice as much as he was. Roman grabbed Rattata and they both ran back home, where their parents drove them to the Poke Centre mid-storm.

Remus was happy to see Rattata riding the front of the hospital cart, pushed by a happy Blissey. He hugged his little friend and looked over at the other Pokemon that he didn’t recognise. It looked similar to a bag of garbage that had exploded open. It explained the smell at least.

“It’s a Trubbish. It’s the Trash Bag Pokemon. He has a slight fever, but he’ll be alright after having something to eat and some rest. They often like to eat things out of people’s garbage bins.” 

Remus has never fallen in love faster.

His parents couldn’t bare to separate him from his Pokemon after trying so hard to keep them safe; so they asked the Nurse Joy for tips in looking after the two Pokemon and went home.

Up until their tenth birthday; Remus did everything to look after his Pokemon. He went to the forest with Rattata to let him chew on broken branches and anything else he could find. While Roman and Remus gave Trubbish their rubbish from home and whatever Remus could grab from Trainers School. 

He eventually found an old, green floaty that he fixed up and gave to Trubbish so that he could practice swimming. Even afterwards, he wears it like a sash across his trash-bag of a body.

On their tenth birthday, he was given two Luxury Balls by Roman after he had gotten his Charmander. He said; “If your all going to be gross all he time, at least let those two travel in comfort.”

It was the best day of his life.