Work Text:
“A long time ago, before even you fully existed, existed Paranoia. Paranoia was generally disliked by everyone around him, always so scared and always crying he was. Nobody talked to Paranoia, as he stood in the way of everything, nothing calmed him down and panic attacks happened every five minutes for him. Those who were fully there at the time, decided it would be best to lock Paranoia up, that way he wouldn’t bother anyone again, and cause no harm to the Host. Paranoia was only a child, it wasn’t his fault he was the way he was, truly even you can see that.”
“Oh how terribly lonely Paranoia was, locked up in his room all day. He just wanted someone to play with him, that was all, surly that wasn’t too much to ask for, was it?”
“It stayed that way for the first few years of Paranoia’s life, all alone in his room with only the voices in his head as company. And then one day, it happened.”
“Paranoia laid his head down to sleep, with one final thought to himself ‘I wish I had a sibling, at least then I wouldn’t be so lonely all the time.’ He had mumbled to himself before drifting off to sleep.”
“That night, Paranoia had fallen asleep as one, and woke up as two.”
“When the remnants of Paranoia woke, they had looked at each other in wonder. The two grew close, playing together as siblings, making up stories to entertain themselves. They even gained a world all to themselves! Both brothers were oh so happy, and needed nothing else.”
“The first brother gained Paranoia’s fear and panic, the second gained his ability to control shadows, and the ability to ignite cause fear and terror in others.”
“The world they gained to play in was dark and creepy, full of all the monsters and things that go bump in the night, so they decided to call it the Nightmare Realm, fitting yes?”
“For a few more years they were happy, until something tore them apart. The Mindscape wrapped itself around the two brothers, who desperately tried to reach one another, before being dragged to vastly different places.”
“The first brother was dragged back to those who had locked Paranoia up and a few others, no one recognized him so he refrained from telling them exactly who and what he was, for fear of being locked up all alone again. There were so many new people! They played with him and helped calm him down when he got the occasional panic attack, but he wasn’t happy. He dressed himself in dark clothing and put on a strong front, but inside he was crying, he wanted his brother back.”
“The second brother had been dragged down to the subconscious, where the Mindscape hoped he would be forgotten. But he represented something that could never truly be forgotten, or fade. So he was simply weakened to the point where he couldn’t leave without help, screaming for his brother. He spent his years in terror, begging for someone, anyone, to help him, to save him.”
“The second brother could feel every time his brother was hurt, and the first could feel the second’s pain and terror. The first brother had tried everything to find the second brother, but he only found the name of the place his brother was, but never how to get there. And he tried everything, sometimes even hurting himself to try and get there.”
“Oh, I never gave you their names did I? What a terrible story teller I am..”
“The first brother found his purpose to be the Host’s Anxiety, and called himself Virgil.”
“The second brother, he found his purpose to be the Host’s Nightmares, and called himself Varian.”