#implied/referenced child neglect | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

flyawaymind · 1 year

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Encanto AU idea

Notes: Yes, I am still thinking about Encanto. It is a big comfort movie for me, and the characters (especially Bruno) are good for projecting onto, and I don’t think I will ever stop thinking about any of them.

You should know that this is nothing like what I usually write for this fandom, even though this is the only thing I feel is ready to post. I believe that all of the characters are flawed, and that even though Alma loves her family, her trauma influences her actions and that leads to her making many mistakes. I don’t believe for even a second that any of the adults in the movie are abusive or bad parents/tíos, and none of what I’ve written here is actually part of my headcanon for them. This idea was just too much to stay in my head, so I’m dropping it here. It’s also on AO3.

READ THE WARNINGS. This isn’t a happy one, folks.

Content warnings and tags: angst; so much angst; implied/referenced child neglect; implied referenced child abuse; good dad Agustín Madrigal; good tío Bruno Madrigal; bad tío Félix Madrigal; bad tía Pepa Madrigal; bad mom Julieta Madrigal; bad abuela Alma Madrigal; traumatized Alma Madrigal; traumatized Julieta Madrigal; traumatized Bruno Madrigal; black and white thinking; insecure Julieta Madrigal; insecure Bruno Madrigal; Bruno Madrigal leaves after Mirabel’s gift ceremony, Alma Madrigal Bashing, angry Bruno Madrigal, angry Agustín Madrigal

Mirabel’s ceremony stays the same. She touches the doorknob, the magic door disappears, the candle flickers, making Alma panic and ask Bruno for a vision. He sees Casita crumbling, his family in danger, and Mirabel at the center of it all, and the only thing he can think of to keep her safe is to go hide in the walls to watch his family from afar.

This is where things go wrong. Maybe he makes too much noise, or doesn't close the painting all the way, or gets caught getting food at night. Maybe he does everything right, but Dolores tells the family about how she’s been hearing something in the walls, something bigger than a rat.

Whatever happens, Bruno is found not long after the failed ceremony, and subsequently the family learns what he saw in the vision. It goes even worse than he had expected it to, starting with this: Alma takes the fact that Bruno tried to hide this from her as proof that Mirabel is already tearing the family apart.

Bruno tries to tell her that she’s wrong, but Alma is scared, traumatized, and she has been spending forty years protecting her home and her family. She isn’t about to risk losing it all again. Instead, she doubles down, saying that Mirabel is dangerous, that she can no longer be trusted.

Agustín thinks that the whole idea is ridiculous. He can’t believe that they were even having this discussion. His youngest daughter has been absolutely distraught about everything that’s happened, and Agustín can’t make himself believe that she would ever hurt her family. He fully expects Julieta to back him on this; after all, she’s been right there with him comforting Mirabel in the aftermath of her ceremony. He’s more than shocked when she quietly tells him that her mother might be right.

Julieta has always carried a huge weight, and it was placed on her shoulders when she was the same age Mirabel is right now. No doctors had followed Alma and Pedro into the jungle. Before the triplets got their Gifts, the town just made do. For thirty-five years Julieta has been the only thing standing between the entire Encanto and medical disaster. She has spent all of her life around the sick and dying, has seen all sorts of horrific injuries. If something happened to the miracle, if she isn’t able to heal everyone anymore, how long will it take for them all to just die off? Part of her knows her reasoning is illogical at best, but fear and shame are powerful motivators, and her mother has been wielding them against Julieta her whole life.

Stunned, Agustín turns to Félix, believing that surely the other Madrigal in-law would see that this was wrong—but Félix shakes his head.

“The Encanto needs the magic,” he tells his cuñado, “It’s the foundation of the whole area. Who knows if the land will even hold up without it?”

He sounds so sad as he says it, like he’s already mourning the loss of the youngest Madrigal. As though there is no avoiding what is about to happen.

Pepa is practically tearing her hair out as she runs her hands down her braid, trying to keep the hail and freezing rain that is buffeting her shoulders from affecting the rest of the room. She doesn’t want to lose any of her family, but she has known Bruno for longer than Mirabel has been alive. He and Julieta are her triplets, three parts of a whole, and if she has to choose between them and her niece, her siblings will always come out on top. Still, she thinks of her little Camilo, not even a year older than Mirabel.

“Maybe there’s a way to change the prophecy, change the future,” she says, “Maybe there’s something less extreme that we can do to stop Mirabel from destroying everything.”

She can’t meet anyone’s eyes, and voice is weak and shaky. It’s clear that she doesn’t believe what she’s saying. Not even Félix can bring himself to support her argument, though he wraps a comforting arm around her waist.

“No,” Alma says, voice sharp and cold as a blade. “All of Bruno’s visions come true. All of them. We must deal with this problem now, before it can take root.”

It’s two against four. Desperate, Agustín turns again to Bruno, pleading with him to find a solution. “Hermano, I know your visions aren’t always clear. There must be some loophole, maybe some detail that you missed?”

Here’s the thing: although the stakes have never been this personal, this argument isn’t new to Bruno. In the past his mamá has used his visions to dole out punishments well before any crime was committed, and Bruno knows word for word how the fight will go, so he tries a different approach. If he can’t change their minds, maybe he can at least make sure his sobrina isn’t punished too harshly for what he had seen. Maybe he can still keep her safe, or at least, safer.

“What are you even planning to do?” he asks his mother, “You can’t just kick a little girl out on the streets, especially not your own granddaughter. Even aside from how cruel that would be, there’s no way she would be able to survive on her own, and none of the villagers would be willing to help her, not if it meant going against you.”

This is what finally makes Julieta speak up.

“Surely Mamá isn’t thinking about kicking Mirabel out entirely,” she says. “Maybe we can just keep her isolated until the danger is past. Casita can make a new room for her. The Mirabel in the vision was a teenager, no more than sixteen at the most. I would rather spend a decade or so with my daughter locked away under the same roof than a lifetime without knowing where she is.”

Alma rests a gentle hand on Julieta’s shoulder. “I understand your concerns,” she tells her. “The love of a mother is a powerful thing. But you cannot allow your own selfishness to bring harm upon the miracle. As Félix said, there are many more lives at risk here than just our family. The needs of the many must outweigh the needs of the one. This is no different than separating a contagious person from others to keep the disease from spreading.”

Julieta doesn’t have a counter argument for that, and the tiny spark of rebellion in her eyes goes out before it can catch flame. She closes in on herself and cries quietly, muffling the sobs in one hand and using the other to grip Agustín too tightly for him to pull away. She doesn’t notice that he isn’t holding her hand in return.

“This isn’t a disease they’re talking about,” Bruno says, desperate to make his family see sense. “She’s a little girl, barely five years old, who is just as scared as we are. It was her door that faded away, after all, and she isn’t even old enough to comprehend the potential ramifications, let alone bring down the whole Encanto.” His voice is shaking with barely contained rage and old hurt as he continues. “Mirabel isn’t some kind of curse. She isn’t bad luck and shouldn’t be shunned because of a bad vision. She’s just a child, just a kid. She’s done nothing to deserve any of this. It’s not like she can create the future.”

The argument goes on as emotions become more and more fraught, each person trying to speak over the others. Each person except Alma, that is. She hasn’t taken her eyes off of her son, and after a few moments she raises her hand. The gesture is enough to make everyone fall silent once more.

“Bruno is right,” she says, and Agustin lets out a sob of relief. “The jungle is too dangerous for a young child, and although the future is unavoidable, Mirabel isn’t the one who set it in stone. That is why Bruno will go with her.”

The response is immediate and loud. Pepa and Julieta argue that there has to be another way, that they can’t lose their little brother again. The short time he spent in the walls was painful enough.

Agustín is yelling, swearing, asking how Alma can banish two members of her own family, her own son and granddaughter, based on something that won’t even happen for another ten years.

Félix is quiet, but he has turned to glare at Bruno, as though this was just a repeat of his and Pepa’s wedding, as though the prophet wasn’t one of the only people trying to stop this in the first place.

Bruno has gone pale, his breath knocked out of him by his mother’s words and the clear message between the lines. His mother believed that he was to blame for his niece’s future, for the potential downfall of the family and the miracle, and so he would be punished along with Mirabel. Somewhere under the shock and hurt, Bruno feels a little bit of relief. At least he knew what she thought of him, now. At least she wasn’t pretending to care for him anymore. No more masks, no more condemnation thinly disguised as encouragement. He hears himself speak as though through a long tunnel.

“Fine,” he says, the single word cutting through the noise. “If all of you are willing to let your fear rule your actions, then Mirabel is no longer safe in Casita. I always swore I’d never let any of the kids turn out like me, and if I have to protect Mirabel from our own family, then I will. Clearly neither of us are welcome in Encanto anymore, but I’ll be damned if I let Mirabel go out there on her own.”

Agustín tears himself away from Julieta and clings to Bruno, pleading with him not to take his daughter away, to wait a day, to give everyone a chance to come to their senses, or to at least let Agustín leave with them. Bruno’s ceyes are sad as he brushes off his cuñado’s hands.

“You have to stay here,” he says.

He doesn’t tell Agustín that the others could turn on any of the other kids just as quickly as they have turned on him and Mirabel. He doesn’t say that they can’t take them all, that they’ll never make it past the mountains with so many children and so few adults. He doesn’t say that the rest of the kids need at least one person in their corner, should something like this ever happen again. He doesn’t need to say any of it. Under the shock and panic and heartache, Agustín already knows that he has to let this happen, to let the man he thinks of as a brother leave with his youngest daughter. He knows, and it hurts him all the more.

There are a few more weak protests from Julieta and Pepa, but the decision has been made. Bruno and Agustín go to Dolores’s room, where all of the children had been sent so they wouldn’t hear the arguing. Agustín begins to cry when he takes in the way they’re all curled up together, with Mirabel right in the middle of the pile. The sound wakes Dolores from her light sleep, and her movement wakes the other kids, like a little line of sleepy dominoes.

Bruno isn’t doing much better than his cuñado, but he gives a watery smile as he informs the kids that he and Mirabel need to leave the Encanto. No, he isn’t sure how long. No, no one else is going with them. No, this isn’t because of anything that any of the kids had done. No, he isn’t sure when they’re coming back.

“Sometimes grown-ups make bad choices,” he tells them, barely disguising the bitterness in his voice. “It’s better for me and Mirabel if we go, to put some space between us and the Encanto.”

Dolores speaks up for the first time that night, even before she had been sent to bed with the others. “Will you be careful, Tío?” she asks, “Will you protect her?”

Bruno swallows against the lump in his throat, wonders if her room is as soundproof for her as it is for everyone else. “Lola, I swear that I’m going to do everything I can to keep her safe. To keep us both safe.”

By now all of the kids are crying, confused and scared. They’ve never seen Agustín so upset, have never seen him cry like this, no matter how badly he’s gotten hurt. Isabela, Luisa, and Mirabel are clinging to each other, and even though Camilo is held tight in Dolores’s lap, he has one little fist clenched in Mirabel’s dress. Agustín kneels down to detangle his daughter and pull her away, giving her one last tight hug and a kiss. For a long moment he just keeps her close, breathing her in, petting her hair, feeling her weight in his arms, trying to cement everything about his little girl in his memory. She is trying so hard to be brave, but he can see the way tears are rolling down her cheeks and how her bottom lip is trembling. Through it all, she pats his cheek.

“Don’t be scared,” she tells him, “Tio Bruno is really nice, and we’ll be back home before you know it, okay?”

It’s the same thing that he and Julieta tell their daughters whenever they don’t want to go to school, to reassure them that their teachers are kind and that at the end of the day the girls would come back home. Agustín clutches Mirabel to his chest and sobs into her hair, his whole frame shaking. He feels a hand on his shoulder and desperately turns away, but Bruno moves with him and gently lifts Mirabel from his arms. The prophet is crying now, too, but for Mirabel’s sake he still clings to a brittle smile.

“I’ll take good care of her, Gus,” he says, “And hey, Mira and I will try to write as soon as we get settled, okay? Let you know all the news from our new place.”

Agustín nods and does his best to paste on a smile, but both men know that even if they found a way to get a letter back to Encanto, Alma would never allow it to reach the rest of the family.

They make sure each of the other kids says goodbye to Mirabel before leaving the room to find Julieta and Alma in the courtyard with two old suitcases. Agustín ignores them, instead going straight into the kitchen for the strongest bottle of alcohol he can find. It doesn’t escape his notice that although Julieta looks worried and upset, neither of the women are crying.

Bruno won’t let go of Mirabel, so Julieta has to awkwardly hug them both goodbye at once, her brother tense and angry in her arms. He refuses to let Alma come anywhere near them, even to say goodbye, and rejects Julieta’s help as he uses an old blanket to tie a still-sleepy Mirabel to his back so he can pick up the suitcases. Leaving his mother and sister with one last withering glare, Bruno walks out the door, forcing himself not to look back as he and Mirabel leave the warmth of Casita and go out into the night.

He hopes that by leaving the valley, he can break the prophecy and change the future. He hopes that Mirabel never has to step into this town again, but if the vision holds, he hopes the death of the miracle tears this place to the ground. If she does come back at some point, he will make sure he’s right beside her, keeping her safe.

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aftgficrec · 16 days

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heyy i’m looking for this fic that i haven’t been able to find in forever. i read it in 2020 i think so it’s probably deleted, but it was basically about andrew’s time in foster care and how he ended up in jail, how he met aaron, how he met higgins, all the stuff. it had 2/4 chapters completed or something like that and it was titled something like “the before and the after”. like before he met neil and after. yeah. tyyyy!!

I’ve had a good look around, but I haven’t been able to find a fic that exactly meets your criteria, this one is the closest I could find. Hope it’ll do for now, but maybe our followers have a better idea. You could also search our tags theme: juvie and theme: foster care. This fic is locked, so you need to be logged into an AO3 account to access it. - S

Doe by FoxyAtlas [Rated M, 12068 words, incomplete, last updated Jan 2022, locked]

Andrew Doe wasn't worth a goddamn thing. He did everything he could to make his foster parents want him, but he was a lost cause. He would never have a family, and he would never be wanted. Nothing he could do would change that. Or so he thought. --- The story of Andrew Minyard's life, starting at 6 and going through to the end of the AFTG series. Includes: shitty foster situations, Cass and Drake, meeting Aaron for the first time, juvie, Tilda, working at Sweetie's, hooking up with Roland, getting the offer to join the Ravens, joining the Foxes, becoming Kevin's protector, and having Neil Josten absolutely turn his life upside down.

tw: depression, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: child neglect, tw: suicidal thoughts

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wangxianficrecs · 4 months

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💙 The Men They Became by pinky_b

💙 The Men They Became

by pinky_b

G, 3k, Wangxian & Nielan

Summary: When he looks at A-Yuan, he sees everything he wishes his nephews could have been: happy. Or: Lan Qiren looks back on how he raised his nephews. Kind of a character study. Kay's comments: This story is the epitome of "Lan Qiren tries". Sometimes, just doing what you do is best, is not enough. He thinks things are going well for a while after he had to take in his nephews, but the house of cards collapses at some point, both boys having to deal with severe mental health issues that have been untreated for too long. Still, he tries his best at least until Wei Wuxian enters the mix. Then, he almost loses his nephews for good... This story is just very lovely in its own heartbreaking way and everyone who grew up having complicated relationships with their parents will probably recognize some part of it in this story. Still, there's hope in this too and a happy ending after some much needed communication! I also really like how this mirrored canon. Excerpt: When he looks at A-Yuan, he sees everything he wishes his nephews could have been: happy. As he watches his grand-nephew talk with his friends and smile, laugh, he feels this weight settle in his chest, reminding him of everything he failed to do. He tries to not be too hard on himself, but he knows he failed both his nephews in so many ways it physically hurts him. He tried. He truly honestly tried to do right by them in everything he did. He sees the unrestrained grin that seems to live on Lan Yuan’s face and the crowd of friends around him, and in those things, he sees everything his boys never had. He wants to be able to give himself some grace. He was never an affectionate man, and children were never anything he saw for his future, but he thought he was doing his best with what life gave him. He wants to be able to say that he did them well. Both his nephews are smart, capable, respectable men, but he thinks they became all those things in spite of how they were raised. Sometimes he feels like the boys had to overcome growing up in his home to become the men they are now. They say hindsight is always 20/20 and he can see now that there was too much on Xichen’s young shoulders.

pov lan qiren, modern setting, modern no powers, implied/referenced child abuse, child neglect, implief/referenced self-harm, grief/mourning, parent-child relationship, mental healh issues, panic attacks, musician lan wangji, lan xichen/nie mingjue, nielan, journalist wei wuxian, complicated relationships, coming out, character study

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

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arenjix · 8 months

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Baby Birds and Bat Caves

By IzzyMRDB

Complete

Summary:

Gotham was built on a cave system. Batman has referenced a Bat Cave before. Tim is currently in the cave system. He is in the cave system that he entered from Drake Manor. Drake Manor is right next door to where Batman- The Bruce Wayne- lives. Holy Cavern, Batman! Tim had just accidentally wandered into the Bat Cave’s cave system. OR Tim, having found a weird hole after a storm, decides to go exploring ignoring the fact that This Is Gotham and They Probably Have Cursed Stuff Down There. Luckily, it was just a cave system that spans the entire Gotham underground. Unluckily, Tim is a very curious child.

(Stats/Tags are under the cut)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics)

Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Edward Nygma

Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Original Non-Human Character(s), Alfred Pennyworth, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Edward Nygma

Language: English

Additional Tags: Caves, Fluff, Weird Gotham City, Tim Drake-centric, BAMF Tim Drake, Kid Tim Drake, the Bat Cave, Kids are so curious, Smart Tim Drake, Tim please stop running around in gothams cave systems, Stalker Tim Drake, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, no beta we die like robin, Tiny Tim Drake, Tim Drake has the survival instincts of a wet paper bag, Crack Treated Seriously, Humor, Tim looking at the cave system under the city: you know this might as well happen, Bruce please stop him, Child Neglect, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Inspired by Welcome to Night Vale, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Magic shennanigans, BAMF Stephanie Brown, BAMF Cassandra Cain, Edward Nygma Tries, Cryptid Tim Drake, Tim Drake is Crow, Tim Drake is Not Robin, Kid Fic, Stephanie Brown is Starling, Cassandra Cain is Black Bat, Cassandra Cain is Black Bird

Series: Part 1 of Gotham Caves and Reality Aberrations

Published: 2022-03-20

Completed: 2022-06-30

Words: 30,113

Chapters: 20/20

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somefanficrecomendations · 4 months

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Common Cents

Author: Ghoststar Fandom: Stranger Things

Summary: Making a will at eighteen seems incredibly morbid. The lawyer stares at him long and hard the entire time. She acts like he's contagious, like she might catch her death from him or maybe he'll ruin her rug by dropping dead in her office. Steve figures she has nothing to worry about. If anything's going to kill him, it's probably going to be a monster from the Upside Down. - In which Steve hunts monsters, becomes a deputy, makes a will, and finds a family. Among other things.

Readers Notes: This was the first Stranger Things fic I ever read and it’s the one that really made me fall in love with Steve as a character. The way Ghoststar writes these characters is a perfect encapsulation of both cannon and fanon characterizations. They’ve managed to capture character dynamics so perfectly that it solidified my own understanding of Steve and the way he interacts with other characters. If you’ve been looking to get into Stranger Things fic but you’re not sure where to start, this is the fic!

Rating: Teen Warning: None Apply Words: 13,354k Characters: Steve Harrington, Jim Hopper, The Party, Joyce Byers, Nancy Wheeler Additional tags: Steve Harrington & The Party, Steve Harrington & Jim Hopper, Season 2, Post-Season 2, Past Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Cop Steve Harrington, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Angst, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Child Neglect, POV Steve Harrington

#Stranger Things fic rec #steve harrington fic rec #Stranger Things #steve harrington #hopper #fic rec #the party #Season 2 #Post Season 2 #hurt/comfort #cop steve harrington #implied/referenced child abuse #child neglect #grief #words: 10-20k #complete #fic

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snowdice · 2 years

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Best Laid Plans (Part 8/8: Breaking News) [Sometimes Labels Shift Series]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Virgil & Logan, Virgil & Patton, Virgil & Roman, Logan/Patton

Characters:

Main: Virgil, Roman

Appear: Logan, Patton

Mentioned: Remy, Emile, Janus, Remus

Summary:

Virgil (now) Sanders was once a villain vigilante kid down on his luck. After being injured helping the superhero Bluebird, he ended up being adopted by him and his husband. Logan and Patton Sanders helped Virgil in ways he didn’t even know he needed. Since then, he’s put away his persona of Shadow Caster, the strange, hard to label, super who haunted the city for a few years. Instead he’s opted for being a normal teenager and university student.

But while Logan and Patton often forgot in the midst of ice cream and movie nights and arguments about silly little things who he had been, he never had. And when worst comes to worst, Virgil will be willing to reach for a mask once again despite his fathers’ wishes and expectations.

Sometimes even the best laid plans fail.

Thanks to @bilgisticallykosher, @kiapet2, and ASmallForest (on discord) for being betas!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

Virgil had not expected Prince to pull off his mask and reveal the face of Roman Sylvia underneath. Honestly, could this night get any weirder?

“But you’re the son of the mayor,” he blurted, not knowing what else to say.

“Yeah, and?” Roman said. “Bluebird’s a math teacher of all things.”

“Yes, but, you’re the mayor’s kid. Why would you need to go out being a secret hero?”

“Well, why were you out being a secret vigilante at…” Roman paused to think for a few seconds. “Wait, we fought for the first time when you were 14?!” He looked horrified by this fact.

“Yeah…” Virgil said awkwardly.

“I beat up a baby?!”

Virgil scowled at him. “I was not a baby… you did not beat me up!”

“Did so!”

“Did not! I always got away, easy.”

“Yeah, well, that’s because I let you,” Roman sniffed. It was the same way he always said he let Virgil win games of Mario Kart.

“Bullshit!” Virgil returned, just like he always did in those moments too.

“I could have used my superstrength on you, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone, so I didn’t.”

“Yeah, so, that was you not being able to control your powers enough to catch me,” Virgil said, folding his arms, “not you purposefully letting me go!”

“Oh, whatever,” Roman replied flippantly. “Why were you even out and about fighting me? You couldn’t even drive. What were you doing robbing banks?”

“You think I don’t realize you were 17 when you started?” Virgil asked.

“Yeah,” Roman said, smugly. “Old enough to drive.”

“You’re the son of the mayor. I was poor. At least I had an excuse!” Virgil exclaimed.

“You’re burning the spam!” Roman exclaimed back.

“Fuck,” Virgil said, whipping back around to remove the frying pan from the stovetop. The slices looked a little crunchy, but that would be fine.

He’d also forgotten to start the water for the ramen, distracted by that whole conversation, so he grabbed a saucepan now and filled it up with enough water to make all of the Ramen at once. It was only after he’d finished with that that he turned back to Roman.

“So…” Virgil said.

“So.”

Virgil crossed his arms and leaned against the counter to study him. “I never pegged you for the superhero type.”

Roman frowned. “Is that an insult, or…?”

Virgil shrugged with a slight teasing smile on his face. “Take it however you want.”

Roman scowled, but then rolled his eyes. “So, what exactly happened then?” Roman asked. “Back then, I mean. How did you end up getting adopted by Bluebird?”

“Uh,” Virgil said. “When I got shot, Logan didn’t want to take me to a hospital since I’d just saved his life. He didn’t want to risk people unmasking me, so he took me home to Patton. Patton fixed me up and then pretty much emotionally adopted me as soon as I woke up because he’s, you know, Patton.”

Roman nodded in understanding.

“I let it slip that I was a foster kid and that my foster father wasn’t a particularly good one. From there they figured out my exact age and why I’d become a vigilante. They had Remy document injuries from my foster father and sent them to the police. Patton pulled some strings,” Virgil gestured towards Roman, since said strings had been his mother, “and the next thing I knew, I was living with them. The rest, you pretty much know. They were good to me; they adopted me, and here we are.”

“Huh,” Roman said.

Virgil turned off the heat once the noodles had finished cooking and started dishing them out into two bowls. He then topped them with the slightly-too-crunchy spam and slid one over to Roman.

“So,” Roman said as he pulled the bowl to himself. “You got to train with Bluebird.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Of course, that’s what you focus on.”

Roman’s nose scrunched up. “And Bluebird is… Mr. Dr. Sanders? That’s wild. I’d never expect it. No wonder no one’s ever figured out his secret identity…”

Roman trailed off, remembering the events of today. There was an awkward silence in which they were clearly both thinking the same thing. No one had ever figured out his secret identity until today. He hadn’t been wearing a mask when they’d found him.

Roman stared into his bowl of noodles. “You know,” he said after a few moments, “it… it actually does kind of fit in a weird way. Your dad being Bluebird.”

“How so?” Virgil asked curiously. Logan Sanders had always been Bluebird to Virgil. He’d never had to put the two identities together; they’d always just been the same person.

“Well, when I look at Bluebird, I don’t really think of Logan Sanders the math and physics nerd, but if I think about what Logan Sanders would be if he ended up a superhero… yeah, that tracks.”

Virgil snorted. “How does that even make any sense, Princey?”

“I don’t know,” said Roman. “Just… yeah, no, your dad would 1000% just roll his eyes at villains monologuing at him and then throw them into a wall so he could get back home to grade a calculus exam. I can’t believe no one’s ever figured it out.”

“Well, a few people have to be fair,” Virgil said with a laugh.

“Dr. Patton?”

“Well, he got a pretty big hint from what I understand, but yeah, he put it together. So did Remy, actually.”

“Remy knows?” Roman asked.

“Pretty much since Patton has,” Virgil confirmed. “Logan told me when he started fostering me, not that he had a choice because he’d already shown me his house as Bluebird. He told Emile after that because, I, uh, needed therapy with someone he trusted. It’s… it was a pretty closely guarded secret.”

They descended into silence again after that, going back to eating their food. They eventually migrated to the couch once finished, waiting on Patton to be done with whatever he was doing to help Logan. Clearly growing bored after a bit, Roman leaned over and flipped on the television. They watched the end of some sitcom rerun before the channel switched over to the early morning news at 4am.

They listened to the main story that most people were going to wake up to today, and which was likely going to be blasted all over the news, all day.

“What the hell did he do?” Virgil breathed.

There had been a blackout across a good 1/8th of the city, centered exactly at the old factory they’d invaded earlier in the night. That wasn’t much of a surprise to Virgil and Roman since they’d both noticed the lack of lights when they’d left the building. What did surprise them was reports of people having memory loss. The police had even ended up finding the factory as it appeared to be the epicenter of whatever had happened. They weren’t sure what had happened yet as it was breaking news and the police hadn’t had time to investigate, but the news clearly thought it must have been some villain attack.

“Does your dad have mental powers?” Roman asked.

“I…” Virgil said. “He did allude to having something once or twice, but I never thought...” Had Logan… erased everyone’s memories? There were no fatalities reported yet. Everyone who’d been in the factory was still unconscious, but people who’d been outside of the factory but within a mile of it pretty much had no recollection of the past 12 hours. Who knew what had happened to the people in the factory. Virgil wondered if Logan even knew.

“Well,” Roman commented, “Bluebird just became even more terrifying.”

They continued to watch the newscast, and Roman ended up scrolling through twitter to see if there was any more news breaking that hadn’t gotten to the mainstream.

It was pretty much all the newscasters talked about besides the weather for the next hour. It was an evolving story. The police had found prisoners in cells in a different part of the facility than Roman and Virgil had been in. They were also unconscious and hadn’t been identified yet. So far, nothing could be recovered from the computers despite their generators not having let the computers be cut from power for too long. They’d seemingly been completely wiped somehow.

Just like everyone's minds.

The news went on a small break before promising to start up again at 5. That’s when Patton finally came out of the bedroom.

Roman and Virgil both looked back at him when they heard the door open. He paused and blinked at their maskless faces.

Virgil just shrugged. “He figured us out,” he explained.

“Hi, Dr. Patton,” Roman said.

“Hello, Roman. I didn’t realize you were a superhero.” Virgil would give him a couple of hours before he did the math on Prince’s first appearance and Roman’s age, but for now he seemed too tired and distracted to notice anything amiss. Or even to really react to Roman being Prince at all.

Patton turned to Virgil. “Lo’s fixed up now,” he said. “He’d like to see you. I’m just getting him some soup.”

Relief crashed over Virgil. He’d felt fairly confident that Logan would be okay once Patton had his hands on him, but still, it was a relief to know he was bandaged up with no unforeseen issues.

“Yeah, I’ll go check in with him,” Virgil said.

“Why don’t you sit down for a second, Dr. Patton,” Roman suggested, hopping to his feet. “I’ll prepare the soup. You’ve been standing and worrying for a while.”

Patton flashed him a half smile that was a bit brittle around the edges. “If I sit down, I might crash.”

“Well, that’s okay too!” Roman said. “You deserve to rest a bit.”

Virgil highly doubted the type of crash Patton meant was the physical kind, and that was only emphasized by the tight-lipped smile he gave Roman in response. He did, however, sit on the couch. Virgil handed Patton the remote while getting to his feet.

“You might want to… change to a non-news station,” he suggested.

“Mmm,” Patton acknowledged.

Virgil then turned to the bedroom door. It was closed but cracked open, and Virgil pushed it the rest of the way open to slip inside before closing it completely behind him.

Logan was no longer in his ripped superhero suit. Patton had at some point helped him change into pajamas and had left him propped up on the bed for eating. He looked rather normal except for a bandage on his neck and a couple of bruises disappearing behind the mask on his face, but Virgil knew very well that he was a lot worse for wear underneath his clothes.

He glanced up when Virgil came in.

“Did Prince leave?” he asked, curiously.

Virgil was confused for a moment before he remembered that he was no longer wearing a mask. “Oh, uh, no,” Virgil said. “Prince turned out to be Roman and tonight was all he needed to figure all of us out, so there’s no point to the masks anymore.”

“Roman as in Rhea’s child, Roman?” Logan asked.

“That’d be the one,” Virgil said with a shrug.

He hummed in acknowledgment, contemplating the information for a long moment. Then, he patted the bed next to him.

Virgil was rounding the bed in an instant to climb up into the empty space next to him. He was careful while settling down near him, moving close but not quite touching him since he wasn’t sure where exactly all of his injuries were. He turned on his side to face him, cheek laying on the same pillow as Logan’s head.

“Hey there,” Logan said softly once Virgil had stopped moving.

“Hi, Dad.”

Logan didn’t move to turn onto his side for obvious reasons, but he did shift a bit so he could reach over and pet the back of Virgil’s head for a couple of seconds before just letting his arm flop down onto the bed, curled half around his son.

“Thank you, I suppose I should say,” Logan said after a few seconds. “Though I am not a fan of your methods of saving me.”

Virgil scowled slightly, not that Logan could see it with the way his face was staring at the ceiling. He hoped his dad senses allowed him to feel Virgil’s discontent with that statement anyway. “You don’t even know my methods.”

Logan glanced over at him briefly, an eyebrow raised. “I was informed there was something about a decoy shadow under a pile of blankets and observed you in costume in a secured facility.”

“And what of it?” Virgil asked.

“You were impatient,” Logan scolded. “You could have gotten yourself hurt.”

“Of course, I was impatient,” Virgil argued. “I wasn’t just going to sit around and do nothing.”

“You should have sat around and thought through a plan.”

“Sometimes plans are fucking stupid,” Virgil shot back. “Like yours. My plan worked.”

“And my plan likely would have worked as well, eventually,” Logan said.

“Well, we know mine worked, and quicker, so what’s the problem?”

Logan huffed. “Just because someone manages not to get hurt doing something reckless like jumping from a two-story building doesn’t mean jumping from a two-story building was a good idea.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well your plan was like jumping from a three-story building.”

“My plan was perfectly well thought out,” Logan insisted, a stubborn tilt to his eyebrows.

“Yeah?” Virgil asked. “And what exactly did you think I was going to do when you made your plan? Because it’s not a good plan when I was always going to do what I did.”

Logan sighed. “Good point,” he conceded, shutting his eyes. He apparently was willing to let the argument die there for the moment at least. He was clearly exhausted. Virgil was sure he’d hear more about it when the man was feeling better though.

There was a long pause in which Virgil pressed his face against Logan’s shoulder. He’d honestly thought that Logan had fallen asleep, with his eyes closed and his breathing leveling out. Yet after a few minutes, Logan spoke again.

“You have a hero’s soul, you know,” he said conversationally.

“What?” Virgil asked, not quite sure what he was talking about, but still saying, “No, I don’t.”

“You do,” Logan corrected easily. “It’s admirable, but I fear it’s also liable to drive you towards stupidity.”

“I do not, and it does not,” Virgil argued back.

“The last time you threw yourself into danger for me, it was in front of a bullet.”

Virgil was silent.

“I was very much hoping there wouldn’t be a repeat performance.”

They were silent again, because of course there had been a repeat performance. How could there not have been? When Logan was Bluebird and Logan was Logan. Virgil would have literally thrown himself in front of a bullet again if the circumstances had necessitated it.

Logan sighed, knowing what Virgil was saying with his silence.

“I’m fine,” said Virgil.

“I know.”

“You’re not.”

“I will recover.”

“Will you?”

Silence, and Virgil knew what Logan was saying in his.

There was a knock at the door then. “I come bearing soup,” Roman’s voice declared.

“Come in,” said Logan.

Roman shouldered the door open, a tray of soup in his arms. “Hey, Mr. Dr. Sanders,” he said with a small smile.

“Hello, Roman,” Logan replied. “I suppose I can take my mask off.”

“Here, I’ll do it,” offered Virgil, reaching up to carefully pull the black mask off of Logan’s face. He tried not to wince at the purpling bruises covering it.

Roman came fully into the room, and Patton followed closely behind. Roman settled the tray on Logan’s lap while Patton perched on the edge of the bed. Patton’s hand reached back to touch Virgil’s ankle briefly.

“Thank you,” Logan said as Roman sat down in one of the chairs in the room. It was awkward and quiet while Logan started eating his soup.

“So,” Roman eventually said, breaking the silence, “I never would have guessed Bluebird was a nerd.”

Logan scoffed immediately and rolled his eyes. He pointed his spoon threateningly at Roman. “Enough out of you.”

“No, seriously, great secret identity. You could walk into class still in the Bluebird suit and everyone would wonder why Professor Sanders was cosplaying Bluebird that day.”

“Honestly, I should have been able to guess with you,” Logan grumbled. Roman smiled slightly, and Virgil was glad Roman was here to lighten the mood and make Logan act a bit like normal.

“You know, I have so many questions for you!”

Logan arched an eyebrow, looking tired, but in a different way than he already was tired. “Like what?”

“If you think too hard about a math equation, do you accidently explode your chalkboard?”

Logan stared at him for a moment and then Roman yelped, shooting off of his seat. “Hey!”

Virgil snickered as Logan smirked into his soup.

“Yes,” Patton answered, with a soft smile.

Logan turned to him with a pout. “I haven’t done that since my dissertation.”

“And when you read the Dahlberg paper 3 years ago,” Patton reminded him.

They continued to argue about it then in that soft way that they always argued. That being, it wasn’t really an argument at all. If Virgil closed his eyes, he could pretend it was just a normal night at home with his parents and that Roman was visiting. That was enough for now.

Want to read more? Click below!

Labeled Master Post.

My Masterpost.

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #platonic moxiety #platonic analogical #platonic prinxiety #logicality #adriana writes #not pieces fic #labeled universe #sometimes labels shift #best laid plans #past child abuse #past child neglect #implied/referenced torture #blood and injury

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proudfreakmetarusonniku · 2 years

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Day 6: Proof of Life, with inspiration from the extra prompt Ransom Video.

Superpowered AU where the SBI are a team of heroes (tenuously) and Dream is a villain. After the seeming death of Tommy, Wilbur is grieving, but it turns out what Dream did to him was far worse. Warnings for grief, referenced child death (didn’t happen, but it’s believed to have), parental neglect, substance abuse, abuse, threats to a child, child endangerment, eye injury, mutilation, dehumanisation, and implied/referenced torture.

Quackity using she/her pronouns isn’t a mistake, by the way. I headcanon c!Quackity as transfem.

AO3 link, if you’d prefer. Whoever said it gets easier was a fucking liar, Wilbur Soot decided.

A month. It had been a month since Tommy was gone. It hurt to even say it in such vague terms. Tommy, the boy who smiled with bloody teeth even when everything seemed the darkest, who was always the last to give up, who was always there, wasn’t anymore.

Gone. Just like that.

Philza gave his hand a squeeze, and he realised he must have been trembling again. Or maybe Philza had that weird dad-sense thing where he just knew. Maybe if Wilbur had been a better father, not handed his son off to his wife so he could continue on in the hero business without him getting those he loved in danger, he’d be able to do the same. Fat lot of good that did, really.

He could really use a ciggie right now.

He’d quit last year or so, after Tommy had an awful coughing fit due to it. They’d always known his powers left him pretty weak for a while after using them, but seeing it first hand was frightening enough he’d thrown all his packets straight in the bin and suffered through the horrible shakes and urges that came. It still felt like ignoring a roast meal while dying of hunger, but he could do that for his little brother. But what was the point if Tommy was gone?

Wilbur should have died instead.

It was a routine assignment. It was meant to have been a routine assignment. Patrolling the streets, mostly just a PR gig. The SBI didn’t rise to the top without making a name for themselves, and Wilbur had learnt from the best. Phil and Tech might have been leery of it at first- the two were natural-born vigilantes really only in the hero department because they couldn’t risk that when Wilbur and later Tommy were young- but even they had to admit it gave them way more influence than being a disorganised duo of anarchistic bomb-throwers could.

There were sacrifices that had to be made to really change the world, that was Wilbur’s philosophy, but honestly, he could hardly call getting to beat up the idiots who tried to fight them for some lame street cred a sacrifice. In the big leagues, everyone knew you just didn’t do that. The real rules were a formality, and the actual rules were the ones negotiated between heroes, villains and vigilantes alike by Quackity. Her deals were the de facto law, and number one was that fights had to be organised, so she could rake it in on betting money.

It was just a bit of fun, the four of them dressing up and experimenting with their powers. Philza always yearned for the chance to spread his wings, fly as The Angel, even if he grumbled about having to lose the “of Death” part for marketing reasons. Tech- well, quite honestly, Wilbur hadn’t even learnt his real name despite growing up with him as permanent a fixture in his life as his father, always clad in his pink mask and practising incessantly even when the four of them were meant to be relaxing. As for Wilbur himself, being Phantom felt like such a relief. For some reason, being able to just disappear made him feel so much freer, like a weight had been taken off his shoulders.

And Tommy… God, all he wanted was to be included.

Wilbur was already eighteen and finished the mentorship program when they’d got the shivering form of a gangly, sickly child clad in rags dumped on their doorsteps by Mayor Schlatt himself. Wilbur had always hated the man- Quackity had admitted enough things about him when she was piss-drunk that he was able to know he was a snivelling abusive coward- but when he’d smugly informed them it was a government-captured rogue super, the most powerful of his young age, and they needed to tame him or else, well, Wilbur joined in on the secret plans to blow the city of L’Manberg sky high with his father and his godfather alike.

Brash and angry and scared and confused by the most basic of compassion, there was no fucking way that they were going to get Tommy involved in any of this. Not the Schlatt stuff, and not the crime-fighting either. He needed to be kept safe.

Tommy didn’t hold the same opinion.

He was twelve, chubby-cheeked with his once-matted hair in cascading curls, the only hints of his origins the manifold scars coating his body, when he first asked to join them. They’d laughed him off at first, until he insisted that they’d watch him, see how helpful he could be, how he could pay them back. Sceptically, they’d let him demonstrate, and something in the air shifted.

Wilbur didn’t know how it was for Phil, for Tech, but the feeling of power surging through him like a raging river was something he could never forget. Instinctively, he knew every last inch of his body, every last application to his power. Not just intangibility, invisibility, but something new. The muffling of his steps, the ability to mask his presence completely. And he knew the longer he stayed attached to this wellspring, the more it would grow. As long as Tommy was around, he’d be able to grow stronger, better in every way. It was addicting.

Selfishly, so fucking selfishly, they’d let Tommy join them, donning the mask as Prime. Whatever excuses they made about it, they’d exploited him. Put him in danger for their own sakes. And now he was dead because of them.

The only reason Wilbur still kept going, didn’t give into that sickening urge to join his brother, was that it was also because of Dream.

The most wanted villain in L’Manberg- hell, one of the most wanted in the world. Mysterious to a fault, no one even had a fucking clue what his powers were, just that they were powerful enough he was able to flaunt Quackity’s rules no matter how many goons she sent after him. Rumours abounded that he was in bed with the mayor- not literally, else Quackity might have actually had some fucking dirt on him- and Wilbur always had the sneaking suspicion he had something to do with Tommy’s arrival. He definitely did with his… departure.

It was so sudden. One second, everything was fine. The next, he was there, and the rest was a hazy blur until all that was left was blood on the pavement and the ache of broken bones. Wilbur didn’t realise what had happened until he saw a bloodied eye, the same electric blue as Tommy’s. Just an eye. That was all that was even left.

They’d buried it somewhere quiet and told no one about what happened. They couldn’t bear that. Wilbur knew Philza blamed himself as much as he did, Tech blamed himself as much as he did. Tech refused to ever stop training now, leaving his books in the dust in a desperate attempt to grow ever stronger. Philza spent days out in flight, cut off from the rest of the world. And Wilbur… well, he was running on pure anger. All he had left in him was to take Dream down, and then…

He focused his eyes onto the garish screens in the shopping district, flashing a million ads at once, just to ground himself on something. He’d cross that bridge when he got to it.

Suddenly, a loud, glitching sound rang out. Wilbur covered his ears, and squinted as the display on the screens- all of the screens- changed. The plaza turned to stunned silence as people turned and watched.

Crackling to life was a blurry image of a boy, one side of his face covered in so many bandages any features could barely be made out. Blond curls circled his face like a halo, immaculate braiding keeping it in place. Despite being dressed in expensive-looking clothing- a shirt with so many ruffles it threatened to consume him and a soft green cardigan- deep bruises covered what little parts of his skin were visible. His eye was trained anywhere but the camera, and on further inspection, he seemed to be tied to the velvet chair he was sitting on.

“Aren’t you going to smile for the camera?” It was distorted, but Wilbur could tell the tone of the voice anywhere. Dream. Of fucking course it was him. Taunting bastard enjoyed making people squirm. He’d seen what that fucking monster had done to Quackity when she’d gone after him (she’d always been quite fond of Tommy, despite herself). The fact that she even survived was a fucking miracle, and Wilbur had to be thankful that he didn’t have two dead friends on his conscience.

“M’ sorry, Mr. Dream,” said a groggy voice (an all too familiar groggy voice, but Wilbur heard Tommy in everything now). Weakly, the poor bastard lifted his head, forcing a weak smile on the side of his face visible, and he glanced at the camera with his singular eye.

His singular, electric blue eye.

It felt like all the air in Wilbur’s body had been knocked out, like he’d been kicked in the stomach again and again. Tommy. There was no doubt about that. Tommy was alive. He was there, on that screen, pale and looking a million times worse than the time he’d tried to use his powers for a whole day straight but alive. After all this time, Tommy was alive.

But Tommy was with Dream.

Tommy was with Dream, and that might have been worse. With what he’d done to Quackity…what had been happening to Tommy in the month he’d been captured? Why was he so unnaturally quiet, almost passive? The Tommy Wilbur knew would have kicked and screamed and spat, not just… give up. Obey.

Wilbur grabbed onto Philza’s hand tight enough he could feel blood pooling under his nails.

“There you go. That wasn’t too bad, was it?” The sickeningly soft tone of Dream’s voice there somehow hurt less than the genuine spark of satisfaction in Tommy’s eyes at that. “You can just sit still now, I promise.”

There was a pause as Tommy slunk back into the chair, looking like he hadn’t slept in days, before Dream started speaking again. “Phantom. Technoblade. The Angel. I know you’re watching this, and I know you want your little amplifier back. After all, you’ve been using him since before he hit his teens, right? Or does the public not know how old he was when you led him into danger? Who cares, who cares? You want him back; that’s the thing.”

Another pause, long enough Wilbur could hear his heart not beating. “Meet me at the ruins out past the outskirts in a week, and do exactly as I say, and I might consider letting you have the brat. He’s been growing on me though, and his power has been very useful when he’s been… motivated, so I might just change my mind if you’re not quick. And if you don’t?”

Dream’s laugh sounded almost innocent, cheerful, but it sent chills down Wilbur’s spine in this context. “I mean, I’ll send you a chunk of him as a keepsake. A sign of goodwill, y’know? I’ve been thinking… how about the other eye? Think about it.”

Everything faded to static, the video, the audio, the crowd around them in its panicked confusion. Everything but Philza, who still somehow felt solid.

“It’s a trap,” Wilbur murmured to him.

“I know.”

“We’re going anyway.”

Philza sighed. “I know.”

#whumptober2022 #no.6 #proof of life #dream smp #fic #grief #referenced child death #parental neglect #substance abuse #abuse #threats to a child #child endangerment #eye injury #mutilation #dehumanisation #referenced/implied torture #primeboys (derogatory)

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casper-perry · 7 months

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they've called me mad (yet I am only madly in love with you)

author: Jazer

summary:

Edgar has been through a lot of things - pain, loneliness, sadness, helplessness and overwhelming, crushing fear of never being good enough.

And even so, none of those things could have prepared him for Edogawa Ranpo.

(Or: Edgar gets unofficially "adopted" by the Agency and Ranpo thinks violet is the prettiest color).

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wangxianficfinder · 13 days

Text

In the mood for...

Apr 24th

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1. Hellooo! For the next itmf I was wondering If you had any fanfics that a) explored other adults finding Madame Yu's abuse and them trying to help him (especially if the adults are LQR or NMJ), If they are modern AUs better but if not that's okay ofc or b) a fanfic with focus on wwx's fear of dogs in a not so comedic way (preferably set during the CRA)

I'm okay with both os and multichapter ffs! Thank you ♡!!! @menimimimeni

1A)

Come Around and Stay by trippednfell (M, 160k, wangxian, modern, slow burn, kid fic, found family, it gets worse before it gets better, PTSD, blood and injury, dissociation, trauma, angst w happy ending, musicals, alternating pov, JC & WWX reconciliation, hurt/comfort, panic attacks)

Where is home? by SpicyRamen_10969 (M, 80k, WIP, WangXian, Modern AU, High School, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Coming Out, Not Jiang Family Friendly, Supportive LQR, Good Sibling LXC, Fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending, JC Being an Asshole, Possible Smut?)

🔒 To Speak Up by Vrishchika (M, 7k, WangXian, Modern, Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Not Jiang Clan Friendly, Not YZY Friendly, Not JC Friendly)

🔒 The Second Hand Unwinds by trulywicked (E, 56k, WangXian, JYL/JZX, WIP, Time Travel Fix-It, Not JC Friendly, Not Yunmeng Jiang Sect Friendly, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Not YZY Friendly, Time Travelling LWJ, Protective LWJ, Fluff, Minor Angst, Minor Character Death, JGS is his own warning, Wooing, LWJ is romantic af, Inventor WWX, Genius WWX, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective Gusu Lan Sect, Supportive LXC, Good Uncle LQR, WWX Protection Squad)

🔒 Warming up (to him) by barisan (T, 9k, LQR & WWX, WangXian, Hypothermia, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Temporary Character Death, Medical Inaccuracies, YZY Abuses WWX, JFM Bashing, pre-wangxian, Good Uncle LQR, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort)

🧡 To have and to hold by Moominmammashandbag (M, 78k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Major character injury, CQL verse, Happy Ending)

💙 Holding shreds by barisan (T, 5k, WangXian, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, No Sunshot Campaign, Body Swap, Not for sexy shenanigans, Chronic Pain, Hurt WWX, Hurt LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Abusive YZY, Bad Parent YZY, Bad Parent JFM, Good Uncle LQR, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Inaccuracies, POV WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Getting Together, Smart WWX)

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2. Hi, I'm ITMF juniors fics, I'm looking for mainly lsz x ljy fics that also contain jrl and ozz as characters. Most fics I don't include ozz so please help. Also I don't mind any relationship btw the juniors except lsz x jrl cos they're kinda cousins. I'd just prefer lsz x ljy. I've read all the junior fics by emmagrant01 already. Thanks! @purplefuzzypickle

Chosen Not Fated by useless_slytherclaw (E, 131k, LSZ/LJY, JL/OYZZ, WIP, Heavy Angst, Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Canon Universe, Minor canon divergence, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Angst with a Happy Ending, Trope Subversion/Inversion, Defied Trope, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, First Time, Making Love, Canon-Typical Violence, Politics, Night Hunts) this author is lsz/ljy focused in general if you want other works but this one definitely has the four playing major roles

Between the Candle and the Sun by Legume_Shadow (T, 304k, LSZ/LJY, WangXian, JL/OYZZ, JC/LXC, JYL/JZX, LJY & JL & OYZZ & LSZ, Angst, Friendship, Slow Burn, Falling In Love, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Only Endgame Pairings Tagged, Mian-Mian is a Badass, WN is a Badass, Protective WQ, Most people live, Ensemble Cast, Gūsū Lán Forehead Ribbon, Demonic Cultivation, Action/Adventure, Juniors on an Adventure, Alternate Universe, Inspired by “The Long Ballad | 长歌行”) is more plot-centric than shippy but the romances are there

anyway, here’s wuji by kakikaeru (T, 18k, ZhuiYi, WangXian, Post-Canon, Canon-Typical Violence)

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3. For the next itmf: Do you have any ff with wwx mourning his parents? Or talking about how he only knows the bad things and no one tells him the good things?

🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 786k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement) (link in #10) Has a bit early on where WWX comments to LQR how little he knows about his parents & LQR tells him stories about them

Melancholy by MissCellophane (G, 2k, WangXian, LWJ & WWX, Grief/Mourning, Melancholy, i guess this could be considered, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Pre-Relationship, Canon Compliant, In a way, Based on a Tumblr Post)

🔒 places under the sky by narie (T, 17k, WangXian, Background Relationships, Canonical Character Death, let WWX have some closure!, ,Family, Found Family, literally but also metaphorically, Funerary Rites, WWX has a family even if he doesn't like thinking about it, Post-Canon, Family Dynamics, Grief/Mourning)

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4. Hii!! for the next itmf can i please request fics with wwx/wq mad scientist duo besties vibes?? i just love them so much!! also, an additional request of yunmeng pride dynamics, and brotherly feels <33 thank u so muchhh!!! @flexibleracoon

💖 do not envy the roots that hold you down by eccentrick for rianitida (T, 12k, WangXian, Reincarnation, WQ is a Lan, Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort) Wei Wuxian doesn't show up until 2/3 of the way through but it has best friend vibes.

With Absolute Splendor by Lise (T, 43k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Post-Canon, Wedding planning, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, Complicated Relationships, Angst with a happy ending)

The Twin Blades of Yunmeng by GhostySword & ofmindelans (T, 89k, JC & WWX, wangxian, JC/NHS, canon divergence, JC & WWX, reconciliation, BAMF JC, protective LWJ, golden core reveal, angst w/ happy ending, slow burn, sect leader QS)

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5. not sure if you already answered this but is there a lwj yiling laozu au?

Until The World Embraces Me Home by azri (T, 5k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, YLLZ LWJ, LWJ Has No Golden Core, Role Reversal, Not LXC Friendly, Not JC Friendly, Not cultivation world friendly overall tbh, Sunshot Campaign, Friends to Lovers, Temporary Character Death, WangXian Get a Happy Ending)

stay, fury, your wrist wrapped in silk by spookykingdomstarlight (E, 228k, WangXian, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Canon Divergence, YLLZ LWJ, LWJ loses his golden core, yiling wei sect, Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, Major Character Injury, Injury Recovery, Temporary Character Death, War Crimes, Wen Remnant, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Revenge, LWJ goes dark for a while, WWX has a hard time with the bad shit going on around him, JGS is a bastard, Protracted Sunshot Campaign, War is war and hell is hell and of the two war is a lot worse, temporary impotence, growing intimacy, LWJ & WWX and the Wen Remnant live in the Burial Mounds together, WWX travels with LWJ and stays at his side post-Sunshot, Spanish Translation)

~*~

6. this is for itmf ^^ do u have any favorite long fics where cssr and wcz is alive? thank you!

We Meet at the Thousandth Step by Admiranda, Rynne (T, 288k, WangXian, CSSR/WCZ, WIP, Canon Divergence, No Sunshot Campaign, CSSR & WCZ Live, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Different First Meeting, Night Hunts, Genius WWX, Inventor WWX, Plot, Romance, Drama, Fluff, Strangers to married, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Everyone Lives AU, Developing Relationship, Minor Violence, Case Fic, Mystery, Flirting, WWX's Canon-Typical Flower Flirting, Arson, There Was Only One Bed, Getting Together, First Kiss, Meeting the Parents, Resolved Sexual Tension, Resolved Romantic Tension, WWX Is a Good Big Brother, New Relationship Bliss, Chinese Mythology & Folklore, Blood and Injury, Yiling siblings, Married WangXian, Honeymoon, Wangxian's Baby Fever)

Cartwheels In Cloud Recesses Series by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 23k, WangXian, CSSR/WCZ, CSSR and WCZ Live, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans)

Wújī by FairyTaleDreams (M, 43k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, WCZ & CSSR Lives, Rouge cultivator WWX)

Building a home by R95irth (T, 586k, WCZ/CS, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-it, Angst with a happy ending, Family fluff) Focuses on the "adults" of mdzs and has so much wcz and cssr! Explores their backstory and family history as well!!

🔒 the world wags on by justdoityoufucker (orphan_account) (T, 5k, WCZ & WWX, WCZ & LQR, LQR/WCZ, Canon Divergence, Pre-Canon, Not Everyone Dies AU, Not Jiang Clan Friendly, Past Child Abuse, Canon Jiang Family Relationships, Parent-Child Relationship, Pre-Relationship, Not for Madam Yu fans) wcz only

~*~

7. any jealous lan wangji fics? thanks for ur work!

Snow Burns and Fire Falls by Liebing (T, 12k, wangxian, Fluff, Fox WWX, fox LWJ, snow fox LWJ, red fox WWX, Childhood Friends, Orphans, LXC is 8 years older than LWJ, LWJ and WWX are besties, LXC is the best big brother, WWX is adopted by the Lan clan, Happy Ending, Sweet, soft, Cute, Fluffy, Jealous LWJ, WWX has the whole of cloud recesses in love with him… baby LWJ is pouty, LQR loves WWX, Literally everyone loves WWX, The entire Lan clan: we would die for little WWX, Thwarted dog attack, LQR trying to arrange marriages, Time jump forward, No one is harmed in the dog attack not even the dog, Clan leader LXC, Jealous WWX, Oblivious WWX, love at first kiss, Wangxian fox babies) link in #11

Unavoidable by diamondbruise (T, 18k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Amnesia, Jealousy, lwj just is like that idk what to tell you, Misunderstandings, Falling In Love, Again, Happy Ending, it’s that thing where they’re married but lwj can’t remember wwx and they meet again)

~*~

8. in the mood for any funny or crack fics of wangxian or even the juniors? thank you!

Losing My Mind by pupeez4eva (T, 6k, wangxian, JC & WWX, Humor, Protective JC, JC drinks a potion that lets him hear people’s lustful thoughts, Teenage LWJ has a lot of feelings, Canon Divergence, Cloud Recesses study arc) JC drinks a potion that allows him to hear people's horny thoughts & has to deal with Wangxian's whole deal

❤️ The One-Body Problem by metisket (T, 29k, LJY & WWX, LJY & LSZ, wangxian, possession, cohabitation, Mojo’s bookmark)

Jiang Cheng the Virgin by x_los (T, 2k, WangXian, JC & WWX, JC & WWX Reconciliation, Mpreg, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Crack, Galaxy Brain Shit)

Transcend by covalentbonds (Not Rated, 7k, WIP, WangXian, Post-Canon, Fluff and Humor, Smut)

Help, My Dad Is Fucking Someone My Age!! by sweetlolixo (T, 3k, WangXian, LSZ & LWJ, Canon Divergence, Humor, Crack, Fluff, Romance)

The Chase by JiangChengLotus (T, 2k, JC & LWJ, WangXian, LXC/JC, Humor, Chaos, Light-Hearted, Crack, Family Dynamics, LJY is JC & LXC's Child, LWJ and JC sharing one braincell, Bickering, LWJ is lazy)

只羡鸳鸯不羡仙 by RoseThorne (T, 1k, wangxian, animal transformation, ducks, crack)

ridiculous future bullshit Series by sami (T, 61k, WangXian, XiChengQing, Future Fic, in theory it follows on from an au, specifically The Same Moon Shines Series, in actuality I'm not committing to this that hard, Humour, immortals through history, Modern AU, Sort Of, University, outsider pov, Pride, Chaos Gremlin WWX)

~*~

9. ITMF - Do you have any fics where a modern AU Wangxian meets canon Wangxian? Or any AU meets canon, really.

Key Differences by pupeez4eva (T, 5k, WangXian, Humor, Dimension Travel, Crossover, Drama!WWX meets Novel!WWX, Public Confessions, Post-Canon) not modern AUs but some dimensional time travel ones

River Stones by littlesystems (M, 18k, WangXian, Time Travel, Post-Canon, Cloud Recesses Study arc, Junior Quartet, Oblivious WWX, Suffering LWJ, Voyeurism)

~*~

10. Hello, can you all recommend me some fanfic, long as possible (100k+) no modern pls I'm desperate 😭 @lanwuxian0725

🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 786k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement)

💖🔒 love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, YLLZ WWX, Arranged Marriage, political scheming, Gratuitous Domesticity, Mutual Pining, EXTREME SLOWBURN, the inherent eroticism of the forehead ribbon, The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known, neither wwx nor lwj want to be Perceived, but sorry kids! it’s gonna happen!, rated E but the the NSFW stuff doesn’t begin until chapter 19!, bottom LWJ in chapter 20 and 27)

💖 Magical Marriage Ribbons Series by starandrea (Varies, 1m, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Accidental Marriage, Fluff, Happy Ending, Telepathic bond, Kink Negotiation, Family Drama, Magical Pregnancy, Dual Cultivation, Shapeshifters, Modern with Magic, Immortality, Yilling Wei Sect) there's a modern part in part 20 and part 35 onwards according the tags but otherwise should be in the canon times, I think. It's been a while since I read this

The Scarlet Lotus by rainbowninja167 (M, 137k, WangXian, Marriage of Convenience, Secret Identity, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Canon-Typical Violence, canon-typical war crimes, Yunmeng Bros, the mortifying ordeal of getting seduced by your own husband, nonlinear chronology we die like cql, just kidding nobody dies in this fic, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication)

Teen Project to Change the World by animeloverhomura (Not rated, 810k, WangXian, watching the series, BAMF WWX, Fix-It, JGS is his own warning, Attractive WWX, Homophobia, disturbing imagery, WIP)

🔒 Share Your Silence by Terri Botta (Isilwath) (E, 138k, WangXian, Romance, Everybody Lives AU, Canon Divergence, LWJ Has Feelings, Protective LWJ, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, LWJ Stays at the Burial Mounds, Burial Mounds Ensemble as Family, WangXian in Love, YLLZ WWX, Lan Clan Elders are Assholes, Minor Transgender Character, Qiongqi Path Divergence, LWJ loves his bunnies, Explicit Sexual Content, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Burial Mounds, Original Character(s), Drama, NMJ Qi Deviation, Awesome WQ, The Wen Twins, Wen JunZhu | MinYue (OMC), Wen YanJeng | MinYi (OMC), Fluff and Humor, Fluff, WWX Has Feelings, Original Female Character(s), Lotus Pier, mention of non-con roleplay, Sexual Roleplay, NMJ Needs a Hug, Nie clan sabers, Unclean Realm, Protective NHS)

❤️ Tragedy is Not the End by Hobbsy3 (T, 358k, wangxian, Time Travel, Torture, Hurt/Comfort, Golden Core Reveal, Canon Divergence from Qiongqi Pass, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Yunmeng sibling bonding, good dad wwx, good dad lwj, JZX Lives, JYL Lives, Junior Quartet Dynamics)

the same moon shines series by sami (M, 799k, wangxian, time travel) check individual tags from the works

The most dangerous thing is to love by KatAnni (E, 113k, wangxian, JYL & WWX & JC, WWX & WQ, JYL/JZX, JC/WQ, golden core reveal, fix it, everyone lives au, angst w/ happy ending, hurt WWX, found family, implied/referenced torture, implied/referenced cannibalism, PTSD, golden core transfer Fix-It, major character injury, WWX has a new golden core, asexual JC, whump, marriage proposal, wedding night)

Cultivating immortality by KizuKatana (E, 231k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Mutual Pining, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, unreliable narrator, Found Family, First Time, novel canon relationship dynamics)

❤️ Gentians in bloom by teawater (M, 251k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, AU after cold spring, Political Marriage, Dysfunctional Family, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, LQR bashing (not really), POV Multiple, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Eventual Happy Ending, BAMF WWX, JC is actually a lot better than canon, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, YZY bashing (again not completely))

A Narrow Bridge by FrameofMind, Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle) (E, 700k, wangxian, time travel fix-it, slow burn, getting together, first time, pining, pining while fucking, burial mounds settlement days, angst w happy ending)

~*~

11. Y'all give me LIFE! Thank you for all your hard work! I saw a fanart on tumblr of bb!LWJ and it put me in the mood for any stories featuring the baby!Jades which are NOT de-aged stories. Just wee lil' boys being cute? Bite-y A'Zhan? 🙏 @kimboo-york

💖 An Unexpected Visitor by Hauntcats (G, 8k, QHJ/Madam Lan, wangxian, fix-it of sorts, not Jiang friendly, not jin friendly, happy ending)

When we were small by deliciousblizzardshark (T, 7k, LXC & LQR & LWJ, LQR & WWX, LQR & JFM, implied WangXian, Modern, Kid Fic, Good Uncle LQR, Neurodivergent LWJ, Baby LWJ, Baby WWX, Parenthood, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, POV LQR, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Grief/Mourning, Emotional Hurt/Comfort)

🔒 Life is Like a Stranger by through_shadows_falling (T, 69k, wangxian, Kid Fic, Child LWJ, Child WWX, First Meetings, Canon Divergence, Cute Kids, Orphan WWX, Autism Spectrum, Fix-It, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Canon, POV LWJ, Growing Up Together, WWX raised at Cloud Recesses, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Puberty, Growing Up, Coming Out, teenage angst, Wet Dream, Pining, This fic gets a little raunchier as the kids become teens, But it won't get too explicit, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Spanish Translation, Brief mentions/moments of WWX kissing others in chapter 22 but only on the cheek, also characters kiss WWX on the cheek in chapter 23, but his real first kiss is with LWJ, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian)

Tiny Little Boy by Dyapaya (G, 2k, Age Regression/De-Aging, Kid Fic, Cute, Fluff, No Plot/Plotless, just cute, LWJ bites people, Nobody is Dead, Everyone Lives AU)

🔒 Natural Communication by salakavala (G, 2k, LXC & WWX, Modern, LXC's pov, Kid LWJ and kid WWX, Fluff, Biting, LWJ bites)

藍色的花，紅色的蘭 {Lan se de hua, hongse de lan} by Admiranda, AshayaTReldai (M, 45k, WIP, WangXian, Orphan WWX, Friends to Lovers, Childhood Friends, wwx raised in the lan clan, softer lqr, Good Uncle LQR, Good lan clan, Good Older Sibling LXC)

A Baby Dragon’s Guide To Seducing Your Huli Jing by sweetlolixo (M, 102k, wangxian, Fantasy, But still in the Cultivation World, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWX, Younger LWJ, Older WWX, Fluff, Humor, Eventual mpreg, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Boy A-Yuan)

🔒 Hope series by RoseThorne (M, 61k, wangxian, WIP, Transmigration, Time Travel Fix-It, Illnesses, Family, Scars, Memory Loss, Angst, Crying, Music, Nosebleed, Fear, Recovery, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed, Flirting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Good Parent YZY, Referenced Sexual Slavery, Blood and Gore, Monsters, Sexual Tension, betrothal, Arranged Marriage, Adoption, POV Third Person, POV Alternating, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Good Parent LQR, Clairvoyance, Butterfly Effect, Kid Fic, Epistolary, Food, Secrets, Resentful Energy, Cultivation Sect Politics, Character Death, Resentment, Anger, Explosions, Yīn Iron, Grief/Mourning, POV WWX)

~*~

12. Do you guys know of any fics where Wei Wuxian gets to act a little insane, you know as a treat? (Like when he's pretending to be Mo Xuanyu) (Also thank you for all these posts, y'all are amazing!)

~*~

13. ITMF! I was wondering if anyone has something focused on how most adults in wwx's life have failed him? Like, it could be post canon or during cr study arc, I just want it to hurt but to have a good ending (the larger the word count the better!)

Thanks!

~*~

14. Hello! ITMF wangxian harry potter au fics please? 🥹 Thank you so much for your hard work!

Unheard Voices, Open Ears by vamprav (M, 50k, wangxian, HP Fusion, YLLZ WWX, Ghost Cedric Diggory, HP Gets Therapy, Trauma, Healing, Rituals, Horcrux Destruction, HP is a Horcrux, HP Has Nightmares, HP Has a Crush, Immortal LWJ, Immortal WWX, WWX Has No Golden Core, Sentient Burial Mounds, Nonbinary MXY, MXY Lives)

~*~

15. itmf for fics like the stone-filled sea? thanks <3

Not quite sure what #15* is specifically looking for, but if it’s juniors having feelings about wwx being demonized, I recommend:

Proximity To Knowledge by ChilianXianzi (T, 7k, wangxian, Post-Canon, Married Wangxian, Chief Cultivator LWJ, Teacher WWX, Inventor WWX, And his research assistant Lan ducklings, LQR is not a good educator, the kids are alright, WWX did online learning before it was cool)

Rotten Work by ShanaStoryteller (Not rated, 63k, wangxian, JL & WWX, post-canon, Protective WWX, Protective JL, POV JL, JC & WWX Reconciliation, eventually, Reluctant Matchmaker JL, this kid is doing his best, Pre-JL/LJY if you squint)

❤️ The One-Body Problem by metisket (T, 29k, LJY & WWX, LJY & LSZ, wangxian, possession, cohabitation, Mojo’s bookmark) link in #8

~*~

16. Do you know if there are any fics where JC and LWJ bond over looking for WWX while he is missing/dead. Then they break-up when WWX returns and hide their past relationship from WWX (end pairing LWJ/WWX) @bunnyanon

~*~

17. Hi wonderful people here! You are doing a stellar job with this blog so thank you very much! I'm in the mood for fluffy modern WangXian, just happy stuff. Especially if either WY or LZ are nannies, that would be great! Thanks so much in advance! @nebuluscharlie

spoke like we meant it by BlackWiresOnHerHead (T, 10k, WangXian, Modern, 5+1, Fluff, oh my god they were roommates, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Pining, Cuddling, Accidental Confession, Humor, Abandonment Issues, Light Angst) I don't have any nanny fics, but some great, fluffy modern fics

whiskey neat (you're too sweet) by mercurygirlwt (M, 1k, WangXian, Husbands, Established Relationship, Implied Sexual Content, Body Worship, Sort Of, No actual sex, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, WWX's general battle with insomnia, Teasing, date night :))

Contingency Plan by krispy_kream (M, 8k, WangXian, Fluff, Getting Together, Friends to Lovers, Friends to Husbands to Lovers, Hand Jobs, Mutual Pining, Marriage of Convenience, (the convenience is that they're in love), Podfic, Podfic Length: 1-1.5 Hours, Podfic Available)

Covered in Bees by ScarlettStorm (T, 8k, WangXian, Modern, Beekeeping AU, Meet-Cute, Comedy, Fluff, Bees, come for the flirting, stay for the bee facts, and the bee puns, kinkmeme fill, no actual kink)

without your new eyes by anaphoricae (E, 66k, WangXian, Modern, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Sexuality Discovery, Self-Discovery, Literal Sleeping Together, (there is so much sleeping in this fic), mentions of WWX/others and LWJ/others, Drunk LWJ, Teacher LWJ, WWX is a… throws dart… computer scientist, No Angst, Jealous WWX, Flirty WWX, Eventual Smut, Bottom LWJ, Fluff, Non-Sexual Intimacy, WXW's Love Language is Physical Touch, Guess what: even more non-sexual sleeping together, the plot of the fic is just… co-sleeping, call it the Nap Fic ™, Podfic Available, WWX isn't so much 'oblivious' as he is wilfully blocking some feelings subconsciously, WWX 'idk how I feel' to 'I'm gonna marry him' pipeline) no nannies but it so so warm and fluffy and well written !!!!

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic recs #i'm in the mood for a fic #the untamed #wangxian fic search #wangxianficfinder #long post

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steddieunderdogfics · 2 months

Text

start by pulling him out of the fire by pricklywhicket

@messessentialist

Rating: Explicit

85,554 words, 10/10 chapters

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Tags: Pre-Canon, Post-Canon, Friends to Lovers, Eddie Munson Lives, Eddie Munson Has a Crush on Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington Has a Crush on Eddie Munson, Gay Eddie Munson, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Coming Out, Injury Recovery, Good Uncle Wayne Munson, Supportive Wayne Munson, Protective Wayne Munson, Good Parent Wayne Munson, Seriously if you don't love Wayne Munson by the end of this fic then go back and read it again, Eddie Munson has a Bad Father, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Abuse, But we don't spend a lot of time on it don't worry, Implied/Referenced Neglect, That one is for both of them, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, Steve Harrington Has Bad Parents, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, Protective Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington's Gay Thoughts, Period-Typical Homophobia, steddiebang23, Post-Season/Series 04, Hair Washing, Masturbation, Hand Jobs, Shower Sex, Frottage

Summary:

Eddie Munson died on March 27th, 1986. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. No, wait. That’s not right. That’s Hitchhiker's Guide. Or was it Restaurant at the End of the Universe? Whatever, not important. Eddie Munson died on March 27th, 1986. Except…he didn’t. He couldn’t have. Because Eddie Munson is currently arguing with himself in his fucking head about sci-fi quotes, which doesn’t feel especially like something that a dead person would have the capacity to do. The bats had killed him. There had been pain, and the sick sensation of tearing flesh. He’d had to swallow past a mouthful of his own blood to tell Henderson he loved him. Surely those were symptoms of imminent death. And yet. On April 1st, 1986, Eddie Munson opens his eyes in a dim hospital room. There’s a gasp from his left, and he tries to turn his head towards the source. “Easy there, kid. They’ve got you trussed up pretty good.” Eddie doesn’t need to see him. He’d know that voice anywhere, in any universe, hell dimension or otherwise. “Uncle Wayne?” A story about the families we find and the love that finds us.

Thanks for the rec! This recommendation is apart of our Writer's Wednesday! All of the recs today are written by @messessentialist . Want to nominate an author? Fill out this form!

You can submit fic recs to our asks or the submission box!

#steddie #steddie fic recs #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #stranger things #writer's spotlight

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deancaspinefest · 2 months

Photo

All in Honesty | Teen | 24k

Author: @golby-moon | Artist: @twinone1221

It’s been years of watching Dean and Cas dance around their feelings and at this point, Sam’s losing hope that they’ll ever take that step and talk things out already. One well-placed spell from Rowena makes Dean and Cas incapable of not talking, but even that doesn’t get them together. Will Sam ever be able to help the morons he’s forced to live with get together already, or is he destined for a life of perpetually being stuck between them as some sort of bizarre marriage counselor that neither seems aware the other also talks to?

Link to fic | Link to art

Pairings: Dean/Cas

Warnings: Brief Implied/Referenced Child Neglect, Brief Implied/Referenced Rape (April), No Major Archive Warnings Apply

Tags: Oblivious Cas, Oblivious Dean, Matchmaker Sam, Sam POV, Truth Spells, Castiel and Dean Winchester Become Incapable of Not Using Their Words ™

#destiel #deancas #destiel fic #destiel art #deancas fic #deancas art #pinefest 2024 #2024 masterpost #masterpost #submission #author: golby-moon #artist: twinone

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ssouhekii · 8 months

Text

ʲᵉˡˡʸᶠⁱˢʰ ᵃⁿᵈ ˡⁱᵗᵗˡᵉ ᵇˡᵃᶜᵏ ᶜᵃᵗ - ☆ .° • . °

☆ ˢⁱᵍᵐᵃ & ᶜʰⁱˡᵈ!ᵒʳᵃᶜˡᵉ!ʸ/ⁿ - * ☆ . °

wc - 4.4k ☆

Sigma didn't go into this month's Decay meeting expecting for them to induct a new member. He really didn't expect this member to be a little kid. He really, really didn't expect this little kid to be staying with him.

warnings: implied/referenced child neglect & experimentation, nothing too serious though, yet, kind of uneventful because it's the first of a series, nobody will tell poor sigma y/n's name and there's lots of awkward pauses

a/n - I haven't written in a very long time, so sorry if it's a bit dry. i promise the next chapter will have more interesting interactions and dialogue. I only wanted the conversations to be stiff for this chapter so that you can feel the tension between sigma and the reader. also, i know the word oracle is used incorrectly. more on that later

The Decay of Angels sat around a white plastic table in white plastic chairs. Behind each of them lay a beige wall, and under their feet a tan carpet.

Fyodor had perhaps chosen the blandest room to ever exist for this meeting, and the worst part was he couldn't even complain.

Sigma had spent their last meeting at Nikolai's elegant Oakwood dining table, stepping over streamers and stray cards scattered everywhere. Each member had taken a seat in a wildly abstract chair, ranging from Fyodor in a bean-bag on wheels to Nikolai, in his dramatic red velvet throne at the center of the table. Sigma had taken his place at a plastic folding chair that he was sure had been taken from a wrestling gig.

So, he had felt a sick sort of relief walking into the most unsettlingly mild room known to man. He listened to a hung-over Fukuchi drone on about that month's objectives, their current business affairs, financing updates, and upcoming social events. Each member of the Decay stood and gave a rushed report of their activity for the previous month, Sigma noting his Casino's gains, Nikolai his undercover diplomatic efforts, and Fukuchi his outlook on the political environment. Bram had nothing to share, and closed his eyes once again in his coffin as Fyodor stood from his chair. He gave a calm glance around the room and closed his eyes, beginning his proposal.

"As you all know, news of a certain ability user affecting affairs with underground organizations have been circulating as of late."

Sigma cast a worried glance to Nikolai, who seemed invested in his dear friend's speech.

"It has come to my attention that this ability user is completely unaffiliated with any organization, and is quite out of control. Thus, we must take control of them before another group has a chance to do so."

The casino's manager set his elbow on the table and looked at his fingernails. They were glazed white and slightly pointed.

Sigma hadn't quite expected Fyodor to initiate inducting another member to the Decay. He had a habit of coercing Fukuchi to let talented people slip out of their hands and into the palms of the Rats. Despite the losses, Sigma could never help but be relieved at the Decay's stable member count. Four was enough for him.

Fyodor continued.

"While we already have this ability user in our grasp, it may be difficult to keep them in our hand, so to speak. It is confirmed that the subject has difficulty controlling their ability. However, that should not be a problem for Fukuchi and I to address."

Fyodor opened his eyes slowly and flicked his lashes while glancing to his side, making eye contact with Fukuchi before looking away.

"The difficulty in inducting this.. person into the Decay lies in controlling their temperament."

Sigma's calmness and relief shook itself off immediately. For Fyodor to express trouble with controlling someone meant they were stubborn as a stone, or even a genius on the same level as him.

"A discussion between Fukuchi and I has taken place, and we believe the best course of action should be for a member of the Decay to welcome them into their home. This would be convenient for surveillance, as the subject cannot be left alone for long. It would also benefit training."

The casino manager became even more nervous. It was precisely with his luck they'd announce it was him who had to take in a new member with behavioral issues.

"The subject may also not live alone as they are not... of age to do so. The ability user in question, a child of six years, cannot be trusted to manage their own household properly."

A lump formed in his throat. Deep down, there was a part of him that almost begged to recieve this child. That begged for that almost ill-concieved notion of a family. He pushed that notion down in favor of disdain, and to any unassuming citizen he would almost look sick at the thought of taking in a kid with behavioral issues.

Fyodor continued.

"It is known that some members-" Nikolai came to mind, and Sigma noticed Bram glance to the clown too. "-cannot sustain an environment suitable for a child either."

Sigma was nearly sure this would be him.

"Given Fukuchi's alcoholism, Bram's lack of... appendages, and Nikolai's.. preferred environment, that leaves two options out of the Decay," Fyodor and everyone else eyed Sigma, and he felt like this attack was premeditated. "However, given my circumstances involving myself and those currently living with me, I cannot guarantee the safety of a young child in my household."

"So, you'd want me to take the child in?"

Fukuchi rose from his chair and stood beside Fyodor.

"If you'd be willing to take on this job, it'd benefit the organization greatly. We're willing to use the Decay's funds to pay for any living costs for the subject, including recreation. You are not obligated, but the subject's safety is of utmost importance towards our future plans."

Sigma was pretty sure that "recreation" just meant toys.

"Paying for living costs is no problem. With all due respect, the casino allocates for about three-fifths of the Decay's income, while also sustaining itself. However," Sigma paused, searching for his words. "However, I am in no way prepared to handle a child. I have no prior experience."

"Well, Sig, you can learn! You got a hold of the casino in no time!" Nikolai had broken his silence, no longer entranced with Fyodor's little speech. His encouraging words only set Sigma off.

"Yes, Nikolai, the casino is a whole other issue! I cannot be expected to manage an entire business while watching over a superpowered child with supposed behaviour issues! While I am fine covering financial management for the Decay Of Angels, I was never in any way propositioned to join for babysitting. I do want to stay professional here, but you can't just spring a job like this on me!"

Sigma finished his little rant. The entire table remained still, exactly the same as they had been before. Sigma wasn't even sure when said child would arrive, but he was sure he required some sort of notice before they even mentioned it to him.

He should have known Fyodor would see through him.

"No, Sigma, you were never "propositioned for babysitting" or anything of the like. However, we may very well compensate you-" Nikolai cut in. "Yeah, yeah! We'll raise your paycheck and find more people to cover the casino! We've already got ya covered, Sig!!"

"Thank you, Nikolai," Fukuchi grumbled, clearly holding back a sigh. "We will indeed compensate you and cover both your costs and time lost. As for experience, none is needed."

"Fukuchi, I can't be expected to raise a child with no guidance or skills pertaining to.. to children."

Fyodor made eye contact with Sigma, chilling him to the bone. The rat's sickening smile curled upwards.

"You haven't got to raise any child, Sigma. Just make sure the subject is alive long enough to complete training. Once that is finished, they will sustain themself."

It wasn't until later, much later, that Sigma had realized why the idea of training a living weapon for the Decay made him so, so ill.

"So you expect me to, what, keep a six year old under lock and key?"

"Sure, as long as that works for you."

Sigma, much more unnerved but slightly less opposed to the idea, decided he'd need to shoot more questions. One, in particular, ached in his mind.

"Why is this child so important? What plan is so dire to you that it involves keeping a specific ability user so close?"

Fukuchi leaned forward, and Nikolai whipped his head towards him. "Again, this ability looks to be a danger if not controlled, and an even bigger danger if controlled by a group other than us. As for our plans with her in the future, those remain private."

"Well, what's this dangerous ability, then, and why am I subject to deal with it?"

"As said, you are the only one with a household safe enough to keep a child alive and healthy. As for the ability.." Fyodor narrowed his eyes as Fukuchi finished talking, taking this as his turn to convince Sigma.

"The subject's ability is called, quite simply, Oracles. It can be supposed that she is able to see any place and hear any word without actually being in the area. However, this ability may only view what is going on at the exact moment. In addition, it has been confirmed that the subject cannot control nor will a vision at any given moment, making them completely unprompted."

Sigma cut in as soon as Fyodor paused.

"So how is that dangerous?"

"You know very well how, Sigma."

He had only asked the question to stall a little further. This conversation, the way these people spoke about this child, made him sick. He didn't want to answer their question.

Nikolai tapped his feet, while Fukuchi and Fyodor eyed him cautiously. Bram was asleep. Quietly, Sigma uttered the only question he could think of.

"What will happen to her if I refuse?"

Fyodor's smile faded slightly, but there was no malice in his eyes. Fukuchi's gaze narrowed and Nikolai frowned.

"Sig, don't do that. We kinda need you to do this!"

"It's alright, Nikolai," Fyodor hummed. "I can keep the ability user myself. Though, Ivan hasn't reacted well to their arrival, I'm sure he can adjust. He may not trust their ability now, but he'll warm up as they.." Fyodor was tuned out as Sigma recalled what he knew about Ivan. The tall, unsettling man whom Fyodor had done brain surgery on, making him into some sort of passive servant. Sigma almost shuddered. The thin man had been almost violently obsessed with Fyodor, though not in the way Nikolai was. In fact, Ivan had outright threatened Nikolai more than once for even grazing against his beloved master.

Sigma was sure he understood now why Fyodor hadn't wanted to keep a child near someone like that.

Damn Sigma for being so mild.

He decided to use his last resort before declining the offer. The child would simply have to deal with Ivan's distrust.

"Would it be alright if I could... meet this girl first before allowing her into my home?"

Though Sigma had completely cut in, the room remained unresponsive for a passing moment before Nikolai jumped up onto Sigma and let out some sort of high-pitched squeal. "AHH! I KNEW you'd give her a chance! Thanks for doing us such a favor! I'll go grab her right now!!"

Nikolai disappeared before he could even hear Sigma mutter something about not having said yes.

☆ . ° • . ☆ * .°

The strange tall man with a white braid and striped pants unlocked the door to the room and strutted in, humming a tune. He, not even looking at you, grabbed your wrist tightly and began to drag you somewhere yet again. You'd been in that little beige room for almost twenty minutes now, but it'd felt like you had barely sat down.

"Time to go, kiddo!" He chirped as he almost lifted you out of your metal folding chair with a single tug to your wrist. You had tried not to budge, but the man proved to have incredible strength. So, you walked out with him, struggling against his grasp even though it was futile. In fact, he ignored your muttering and wriggling, continuing to almost skip down the hall.

At last you two arrived at a door, and the strange man squatted down to meet your eyes. You thought he was unsuccessful, as the card covering his own left eye prevented him from looking into both of yours at once. He compensated for this by quickly darting his right eye back and forth.

"You're gonna go meet the man who's gonna take care of you, okay? Yeah? Make sure to be re-e-eal nice, alright? Let's put on a big smile, okay?!"

You continued to stare blankly ahead as the excitable man pushed open the doors and again dragged you into the room. There were more tall men, and your blank stare dropped into a scowl.

While being pulled forwards, you stopped struggling in favor of analyzing the odd characters before you.

Your eyes were first drawn to the pale, grey-haired man, asleep to your far right in a large wooden box. It was lined with some sort of soft-looking red texture, which you were sure you could've fallen asleep in too. However, what caught your attention the most was the man's striking lack of appendages and a sword where his stomach should be. You were sure it must've hurt a lot, and were glad he was getting rest.

You still scowled as you looked to the left of the sleeping man, you spotted two other figures you'd seen before. The grey-haired man in the red coat and the eery black-haired man. The grey-haired man annoyed you. When he had first caught you, scampering around in a forest near the abandoned cottage you had made into your home, he had picked you up and slung you over his shoulder like a sort of package. You had been incredibly frustrated and screamed until your voice gave out, pounding your fists against his back. He hadn't ever responded, and only spoke in short commands like "Stop" and "quiet." Worst of all, his breath smelled sour and dry, like those fermented drinks that the adults always had on rough nights.

You disliked the black-haired man too, but for different reasons. Where his grey friend paid almost no attention to you at all, you could always feel the dark man's eyes on you. He spoke in a saccharine tone and called you things like mishka and little one. His gaze almost felt full of contempt, and he kept physical distance from you like you were some sort of beast.

Looking around, you didn't see the black-haired man's other friend, the one with the bandages around his head. You were glad, because you didn't like him. He had said if you spied on his master he'd throw you out, and then spied on you himself the whole night.

Finally, right in front of you, was a man with choppy hair in half-purple and half-white. The inside of his coat sparkled like the sky when it was dark, which caught your attention. Being speedily pulled towards him by the man with the striped pants, you noticed the half-and-half's gaze on you.

You weren't surprised at his stare, as that tended to be a common reaction to your appearance. You weren't sure why. Maybe it was because your hair hung in your face like vines on the fence of an overgrown house, abandoned for years with no care. Maybe it was because your nearly-empty eyes had deep bags under them from all the times you'd lost sleep after seeing a vision. Maybe it was because you had only ever wore a musty hospital gown, if only for lack of better clothing options. Or maybe, maybe it was just because everyone thought your visions were the most important thing about you, and that you were some mystical oracle that knew their fate.

You gazed up at Mister-two-tone, not noticing his friend mouth "introduce yourself" to him before he knelt down and looked into your eyes, and glanced to the floor briefly before slowly offering his hand to you.

"My name is Mister Sigma. What's your name..?"

His voice was deep and serious, but gentle. You looked at this strange Mister Sigma's hand. You weren't sure what he wanted you to do with it, so you ignored it and kept staring into his eyes. Silence overwhelmed the room. Over a minute passed without your response, and Mister Sigma retracted his hand while you continued to stare him down.

It wasn't that you were shy, or that you'd forgotten your own name, or even that you didn't ever have one. You had been little y/n in your town until the people in white coats took you away and started calling you Subject Oh Thirty Eight, or Zero Three Eight, or even just Thirty-Eight. Then, the sterile white building had been flooded and you had run into a nearby forest, and suddenly you hadn't got any name at all. Or maybe you had, but it didn't really matter that much.

You were drawn out of your thoughts by that Mister Sigma interjecting again.

"So, I uh.. What's your favorite animal, kiddo?"

You had often enjoyed the company of feral cats in your town, and had seen some strange, fat striped-tail ones in the woods you occupied. However, you didn't understand why he would need to know, so you kept silent.

After about fifteen seconds of still staring into his eyes (you counted yourself), you were brought back into focus by his voice breaking the room's silence a third time.

"Is it true that you can see anything, anywhere?"

Oh, you knew the answer to this! Everyone who met you had asked. You noticed the eery black-haired man behind Mister Sigma narrow his eyes at you.

"I can't see the visions you want at will. I'm sorry."

Your voice was scratchy, both from the screaming you'd done the day earlier when the grey-haired man caught you and the fact that you barely talked anyways. This response, however, was easy to say after dozens of live practice sessions.

The two-toned Mister Sigma's eyes softened and he glanced to the side with an almost nervous look before looking back at you and smiling.

"That's alright, I don't need anything. I just wanted to know."

You continued to stare at him as he stood up and motioned his colleagues to come near. Card-face dropped your arm and sped over to the two-toned man along with everyone else, and they huddled around you in a whisper.

You stood silently and continued to stare.

☆ . ° • . ☆ * .°

It was at that moment Sigma swore he wouldn't get attached.

Hearing the first words from a glassy-eyed child be "I'm sorry" formed a new feeling of contempt for the world around him. He almost felt angry, hearing someone so young apologize for being unable to be of use.

Damn Fyodor for picking a child he saw so much of himself in.

Though the little child had seemed a little cold and almost feral, they seemed considerably easier to handle than what Sigma had expected. He'd almost expected a younger Nikolai. However, he wasn't relieved to find that their preferred form of conversation was a cold glare.

"So, Sig? Whaddya think, whaddya think? Don't keep us waiting any longer!!"

Sigma felt his colleagues' eyes on him. He glanced at his feet, then at the child (who made eye contact with him through their messy, overgrown locks. Sigma almost shivered.) then finally moved his eyes across his coworkers.

"I will take in the child," Fyodor and Fukuchi smiled while Nikolai nearly burst into joyful laughter. "Provided that the Decay covers all costs, time lost on the casino, and training efforts. This is my only offer."

"Ah, Sig, we knew you'd take her! Great, great!!" Nikolai sprang onto Sigma and hugged him, while Fyodor clapped politely. Fukuchi gave an almost half-hearted bow, clearly tired from this indecision.

"Thank you for doing this, Sigma. Route me your receipts every month and you'll be compensated. I'll have any documents needed for a front mailed to you soon."

Fukuchi took his leave soon after. Bram was carried out with him. Sigma pushed Nikolai off of him and looked to Fyodor.

"I'm glad I could convince you. Good evening, Sigma." Fyodor also left quickly, clearly wanting out before Sigma changed his mind.

Sigma turned to Nikolai, who had made his way to the little child and was shaking their hand furiously. They squirmed and grumbled.

"Bye bye, kiddo!! Have fun with Sig, okay? I'll drop by soon!"

He leaped up and trotted to Sigma, grasping his hands and staring into his face almost excitedly.

"Hey, Sig, good luck!! Congrats on your first kid!" Nikolai skipped out like some sort of madman, leaving Sigma and the child alone, watching each other.

He couldn't believe what he'd just agreed to.

☆ . ° • . ☆ * .°

As the strange white-haired man finally left, you were left alone in front of the table with Mister Sigma. He turned and stared at you. You kept watching him as you had. The way his hair moved was interesting to you. Every time he turned his head, it made a swishing motion. It was like some sort of fish you'd seen in the aquarium a long, long time ago. You couldn't remember its name.

"Well, it's getting late. I guess we'd, uh, better get going, yeah?" He asked, seeming slightly unsure of himself. He stepped towards you, and you instinctively stepped back.

He held out a hand to you slowly. You weren't quite sure what to make of it. Did he want you to take it? You weren't sure whether he knew that he could just take your hand himself, but you didn't tell him that. You'd had enough manhandling for two days.

He retracted his hand and let out a slight huff, glancing toward you before turning away towards the door.

"Come on, let's go home."

Mister Sigma walked towards the door, and you passively followed behind him. Leading you down the hallway, the only sound he made was the soft clack, clack, clack of his shoes on the floor. The two of you twisted and turned down the halls past several bland brown doors before exiting the building through a set of large glass sliders.

The twilight glistened, though not as beautifully as the inner liming of his coat that swayed along with his hair as he walked. The man pulled out a ring decorated by a large plastic button and a few metal keys. He clicked the button and one of the cars in the lot lit up and let out a quick honk. He turned to his car, a small white Toyota with sleek lights on the front and the back. Its interior consisted of grey leather seats, and a pair of red plush dice hanging from the mirror.

You followed him to the left side of the car, and he opened the front door before looking at you in confusion.

"You can sit on the other side, unless you'd like to sit in the back. This is the driver's seat, though, and I have to sit here."

He spoke cautiously for some reason, stepping over each word as if simply telling you to go sit on the other side was a mortal offense. It wasn't that important to you, but you did appreciate the explanation. You hadn't been told why you had to do something in a very long time, so it was a breath of fresh air.

You paced to the other side of the car, and mimicking how he did it, took the door handle in one hand and pulled it. The door barely budged, and you pulled again. On your third try, you set both palms on the handle and heaved it open.

You stepped into the car proudly, and sat down.

"Could you close the door, please?" Mister Sigma interjected, interrupting your sense of accomplishment. You pulled the door shut with both hands and glared at him. His eyebrows raised slightly, and he squinted a little at you.

"Are you okay?"

"Mhm."

Your mild frustration was dissolving quickly, and you relaxed your gaze. He looked down beside you and raised his pointer finger.

"Could you, uh, buckle your seatbelt?"

You weren't quite sure what that meant. You'd seen cars before, but any memory of being in one was hazy. Lightly tilting your head, you opened your mouth a bit.

"Do you need help?"

You shifted in your seat and nodded. He slowly reached over, watching you all the while, and dragged a large grey belt out of the seat and reached over you, placing it into a button on your other side. It made a little click, and he retracted his hands.

"Now we're ready to go."

Mister Sigma set his keys down beside him and started the car. It made a hum as he pulled out of the parking spot. You watched him closely, paying special attention to how his hair moved as he looked around. You could only see the white side right now, but it didn't matter that much to you.

You continued to watch him, his reactions, his movements as he drove. Whenever another car got in front of him, he seemed to purse his lips. Whenever the big light on the road turned red before he passed it, he'd let out a little sigh before relaxing his grip on the wheel. Whenever he stopped, he nervously glanced to the side. As soon as he met your eyes, he turned away, his hair swishing after him.

About halfway through your little drive and almost a dozen awkward glances, he parted his lips while looking forward towards the road.

"Why are you watching me so closely? Do you need something?"

You continued to watch him.

"No."

"Alright.. if you do, please let me know."

"I don't need anything, thank you."

He kept driving and looking ahead. You kept watching him, and at the next stop he turned to you and met your eyes in an uneasy gaze.

"I'm sorry, it's just... it's a little unsettling to have you watching my every move and I..." he trailed off.

"I'm sorry. I'll stop."

"It's alright, you're not in trouble, it's just that.. I'm just a little confused about why you're watching me so much. We've passed plenty of interesting things on the road, but you haven't taken your eyes off me since we started driving." He looked intently at you.

"Your hair."

"What about my hair? Is it the color?" He seemed to grow a little more nervous.

"It moves. It goes swish, swish when you move."

"Yes, I suppose it does..."

"Are there many people with long hair where you're from?" He seemed to pause at the end, searching for what to call you. The space in his words was filled with another long glance. The car continued moving.

"There aren't many people at all."

"Oh, I see."

The long drive continued in silence.

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs x reader #bungou stray dogs x you #bsd sigma #sigma bungou stray dogs #sigma x reader #sigma x you #sigma x y/n #strictly platonic but you get the idea #fyodor dostoevsky #bsd fyodor #nikolai gogol #bsd nikolai #bsd fanfic #x y/n #my writing ☆

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wangxianficrecs · 1 year

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maybe together we can get somewhere (any place is better) by AlfAlfAlfAlfAlf, tardigradeschool

maybe together we can get somewhere (any place is better)

by AlfAlfAlfAlfAlf, tardigradeschool

T, 49k, wangxian, nielan, lwj & lxc

Summary: Lan Zhan is six years old. He lost a baby tooth three weeks ago, his favorite toy is a plush rabbit named Didi, and he makes his bed every morning when he wakes up. Mother used to tuck him in at night after putting Lan Huan to bed. She’d come into his room with a storybook in hand and read to him until his eyes drooped, her warm voice and gentle smile lulling him to sleep. He misses her comforting smell, like cookies. He doesn’t know why she went away, and when Lan Huan explains it doesn’t make sense. He says Mother is gone and she still loves them very much, but they can’t see her again. Lan Zhan tries to understand, he waits outside her bedroom door in the east wing of their home, but she never opens the door. He tries to enter the attic where Father sent her, but he can’t reach the top rung of the pull down ladder, and Lan Huan shakes his head when he asks for his brother’s help. She can’t come down, A-Zhan, Father said we’re not allowed. . A modern au where Qingheng-jun raises his children. He is not the father they need.

Mojo's comments: A lovely story that begins with the Lan boys as children growing up in a neglectful, borderline frightening environment. That comes to a head a number of years later, necessitating a big change in their lives. The focus shifts equally between lwj and lxc. The story explores the relationships that they form with each other, their uncle, their boyfriends and the outside world as they slowly heal.

modern setting, coming of age, qingheng-jun raises his sons, eventual wangxian, eventual nielan, child neglect, implied/referenced child abuse, teen romance, angst with a happy ending, first kiss, coming out, implied/referenced suicide, implied/referenced self-harm, cats, rabbits, neurodivergent wangxian, autistic lan wangji, adhd wei wuxian, pov alternating, good uncle lan qiren, @wishthatiwasnessiesgirl

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for these hard-working authors if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

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five-and-dimes · 2 months

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Unsung Lullabies (Prologue)

The day has finally come- here is my piece for @the-centennial-husbands-bigbang!

An attack on the Dreaming leaves Dream wounded and weakened in an unexpected way- physically, mentally, and emotionally, Dream is temporarily left as a child. Hob is given the task of watching over him until he heals, which seems simple enough, but slowly through their time together he learns more about the things his love struggles with and why. He learns more about Dream’s family, and the ways he’s been hurt that he won’t admit. But with Hob’s help, he may begin to heal some of his ancient hurts.

Warnings: Implied/referenced Child Neglect, Implied/referenced Emotional Abuse

Read the whole thing on AO3

I got so lucky and was paired up with @elliotsissues who did the most beautiful and adorable illustration for my fic!

For context, well, keep reading ;)

~~~

Hob is bored and misses his boyfriend.

There’s nothing unusual about that, and while in the past he may have held some embarrassment at the idea of missing his partner after a single day of not seeing them, Hob has grown well past such shame. Yes, he saw Dream at breakfast yesterday morning and that does not stop him from missing him now.

Even after over a year of dating, Hob still sometimes finds himself in awe that he ever managed to survive a whole century between meetings with his stranger- though he is certainly not a stranger anymore.

Hob remembers how much of his life was spent assuming he would never see his mysterious stranger outside of the White Horse. Even after Dream returned to him, a part of him assumed that he would only see Dream in the New Inn. And for a while, that was true. After receiving a name, and a declaration of friendship, and an agreement to meet more than once a century, Hob hadn’t felt like pushing his luck. So they had met at the New Inn twice a month, and Hob would drink and speak of his experiences since their last meeting, and Dream would keep a hand around a full glass that was never lifted from the table and stiltedly spoke of his own life.

It had happened by chance that Dream came to meet him during an unexpected dinner rush, the Inn packed with groups waiting for tables or a space at the bar. Dream had been so blatantly uncomfortable with the crowd that Hob hadn’t even though much before suggesting they head somewhere else.

Suddenly they were outside and Hob was blindsided by the fact that he was seeing his stranger- seeing Dream- in the hues of a fading twilight. Not low burning candles, not lanterns, not harsh light bulbs (not dark, unforgiving rain). Just the slowly fading light of the sun as it sunk to make way for moonlight.

And Dream was standing beside him, bathed in oranges and blues, blinking slowly and waiting. Waiting for Hob to show him where to go, waiting to follow Hob because he chose to trust that Hob would not lead him astray. And Hob thought “Oh, I love him so,” and was quietly grateful that it was not a daydream. It was just a fact.

After that they began to meet in other places, other cafes or bars, sometimes just walking winding paths through the city, and Dream began to visit even more frequently and Hob fell even more in love, which he hadn’t thought possible after 600 years. He supposed before he had only been in love with an outline, a paper-cutout that Hob could only see the shadows of. Now he sees so much more of him, sees him, knows the things that make him smile and the things that make him flinch and the things that make him slam shut like an iron gate and the things that coax him out again.

It was outside, in the dark of night when Dream was accompanying Hob back to his flat, when it finally happened. They were just outside Hob’s door, darkness hiding much of Dream’s face and figure, and maybe that was what allowed him the strength to reach out and take Hob’s hand before he could pull his keys out.

“Hob,” he said his name on a breath, and there was something sad there that Hob couldn’t wrap his head around, “You are. My friend.”

He said it as a statement, but Hob nodded in answer anyway, “Of course.”

Dream nodded in return, “And…” his voice dropped and his gaze lowered, “I love you.”

Hob’s only regret from that night is that he took so long to answer.

Dream had just begun to pull away, shadows shifting along his neck as he swallowed thickly, and then it all caught up to Hob and he was grabbing Dream’s other hand, tugging him close and placing a clumsy kiss against his lips.

“I love you too,” he whispered against his lips, and he wanted to say more but all he felt capable of in the moment was kissing Dream harder.

Now he has been spoiled, and Hob has become greedy for his lover’s time. Any moment he can spare Hob will grasp with both hands and still want for more.

But, he sighs to himself, Dream had been pulled away pretty suddenly during breakfast. Matthew had arrived looking ruffled and speaking of strange earthquakes, and Dream had of course departed swiftly to ensure his realm’s safety, giving Hob a chaste kiss before vanishing in a swirl of sand.

Well into the afternoon of the next day now, and still with no word from Dream, Hob figures it was probably a more complex problem that Dream will need to take some time to sort out. Hob understands his boyfriend has a great responsibility.

He still misses him though.

Nothing for it but to distract himself he supposes. He had done a light cleaning of the kitchen after lunch, and he didn’t feel like working, so instead he sat on his couch with an old paperback that had been recommended to him by one of the New Inn’s bartenders and figured it was a nice day for reading by the window, letting the sun illuminate the pages. The hours pass peacefully, just tea and reading, the sounds of the city a pleasant, muffled white noise through the window, and the book actually is quite fun- cheesy action and romance but in the best way.

Hob is just getting to the good part when there’s a knock on his door.

Whipping his head up, Hob narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Dream always just appeared in his flat, and his mortal friends always call or text before coming over. Door-to-door salesmen aren’t really a thing anymore, so that’s crossed off the list of possibilities. Standing slowly, he steeled himself to answer, trying to appear normal while also bracing himself for any sort of danger that might have found its way to him.

When he finally opens the door, he sighs in relief when he sees Death.

“Christ, I was nervous there for a second,” he chuckled, “What brings you here, Death? I certainly didn’t call for you,” he quipped.

But the joke fell flat, and he suddenly became aware of the tight, strained look on Death’s face, her smile clearly fake, “Hello Hob. Sorry to barge in like this, but. I was hoping you could help us out.”

Hob opens his mouth to say ‘anything, whatever you need,’ but the words die in his mouth as Death steps to the side, revealing a small figure behind her.

It is clearly a child.

And that child is clearly Dream.

(Read the rest on AO3)

#the sanmdan #dreamling #my writing #other people's art #centennial husbands #centennial husbands big bang

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aftgficrec · 19 days

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My favorite fics are soft andriel, and teen andriel.

Here’s my recs:

Raised on little light by maqicien

Falling is a lot like drowning by chaoticas_hell

This wasn’t in the prophecy (series) by Arirmis

(Account locked) Raise me up so you can watch me fall by Yes_No_ofcourse

And this last one is angst and dark but I do love it

Hiding scars under exy gear By rinz

Wow, that’s a lot of recs in one submission! Usually we just get one or two 🤣. - S

You can find some of those fics here:

‘Raised on Little Light’ here (since updated)

‘Falling Is A Lot Like Drowning’ here (since updated)

‘Raise me up so you can watch me fall’ here (locked, now complete)

This wasn’t in the prophecy by Arirmis [Rated T/M, 73294 words, incomplete, last updated Feb 2024]

Percy Jackson AU where all of the foxes are demigods, Andrew meets Neil shortly after his mom dies, and joins him on the run instead of going back to camp. Part one spans from their first meeting to their first kiss; Part two will take place a few years later, when certain circumstances force them to return to camp, and Andrew has to deal with what he left behind, on top of their current problem. While both fics should be able to be read individually, it does make more sense if you read them in order :)

Part 1: Cross your fingers, here we go (T, 25037 words, complete)

Millport is a horrible, dry as fuck little town in the vast nothingness of the dust hole that is Arizona, and Andrew hates it with vigor. He has been tracking a horde of Manticores for weeks now, and isn’t that something? A half-blood having to chase after the monsters. He is starting to feel like one of Renee’s hunters, when Andrew is pretty sure the nasty scorpion-cats should want to kill him more then he wants to kill them. Or, Andrew expected to find all sorts of things on his first quest. He didn’t expect a twitchy, blue-eyed half-blood with monsters on his heels, and he surely didn’t expect to fall in love with him.

tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced rape/non-con, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: child neglect, tw: assumed character death

Part 2: Mortal Bodies, Timeless Souls (M, 48257 words, incomplete)

„Minyard! Get your ass up and put some armor on! Abby, Greene, get the infirmary in shape, border control just spotted a motherfucking Drakon in the woods!“ As if Wymack’s order triggered it, a ear grating screech echoes all the way to the big house. The camp counselor curses. „Move it people, there are half-bloods out there that need to get to safety!“ Or, for two and a half years, Aaron has been grieving the brother he buried, only to learn now, that Andrew is very much alive. He also has a scarred little shithead in tow, that Aaron wants to punch in the face regularily. Life is fun like that.

tw: blood, tw: violence, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced rape/non-con, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: child neglect, tw: assumed character death, tw: vomit

Hiding scars (under exy gear) by rinz [Rated M, 34309 words, incomplete, last updated March 2024]

Juggling a mobster serial killer household and high school is harder than Neil had anticipated. and that goth kid on the roof really needs to mind his own business. OR a high school AU where neil and mary never run from nathan and neil meets the foxes in private high school instead.

tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: imlied/referenced torture, tw: graphic violence

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snowdice · 2 years

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Best Laid Plans (Part 3/8: An Old Enemy) [Sometimes Labels Shift Series]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Virgil & Logan, Virgil & Patton, Virgil & Roman, Logan/Patton

Characters:

Main: Virgil, Roman

Appear: Logan, Patton

Mentioned: Remy, Emile, Janus, Remus

Summary:

Sometimes even the best laid plans fail.

Also I keep forgetting to put it on here, but thanks to @bilgisticallykosher, @kiapet2, and ASmallForest (on discord) for being betas!

Part 1 Part 2

Roman was unsure why something in the air felt off that night, but it did. Usually, he’d be off roving through the city as the well-renowned, spectacular, rivaled only by the likes of Bluebird himself, the glorious superhero, Prince. However, this night, urged on by some strange feeling, he decided to be a bit more discreet.

Nadir was the name he’d given the persona he was currently using, not that anyone knew that. The public didn’t know Nadir; that was rather the point. Still, it was nice to have something to separate who he was as Nadir from Prince and from Roman. Nadir would probably be classified as a vigilante (if anyone knew of him) as he acted from the shadows and as a rule didn’t cooperate with anyone let alone with the police. Though people who knew Prince might have been surprised by this fact, Roman was fine with being classed as a vigilante.

Prince often denounced vigilantes publicly and vigorously. He thought they should all stand in the light if they wanted to go against the dark mostly because he, himself, enjoyed the limelight.

Roman had always known vigilantes could be good. They could be better than heroes in many cases.

And Nadir was one.

And he was not the only vigilante out and about tonight. In fact, that might have been contributing to the off feeling that Roman had. Deceit had been out tonight, and he was out out. He was in full costume and everything.

The old vigilante wasn’t big on being seen by the public. He mostly worked silently, striking like a snake from the grass. He used to be a bit more put together in his youth, but these days when he did end up in the public eye, it was usually clearly an unplanned appearance.

90% of these fights he did in pajamas and simply used his powers to make everyone around him think he was wearing his normal costume. He was good at it too. It used to work on even Roman, until Remus had pointed out the edges to the illusion.

Remus had always been better at the Seeing power. As twins, they shared powers, but Remus had been the one to develop that power first and had taught it to Roman. So, he’d been the one to first spot that the intimidating, hardened, famous vigilante Deceit was wearing pajama pants with little cartoon lemons sporting sunglasses on them while fighting a shapeshifter.

Honestly, considering what Roman’s grandfather and mom had told them about the man (which went directly against the general public consensus regarding the vigilante), that about tracked. It was still hilarious though.

Tonight however, Deceit was not in his pajamas. He’d been making his presence known, and everyone had pretty much stayed clear of him. It was probably why the streets were so utterly quiet. Citizens in general liked Deceit these days, but they also knew to stay out of his way if he was doing something, if not because it was important then because he was prickly. Nadir had silently followed him for a bit but hadn’t been able to figure out what he was doing.

Now Roman was in a park. He thought about going back to his apartment and going to bed. Usually, he would have by now. He didn’t have any early, early classes, but he still had to be up at some point tomorrow morning. Yet, he didn’t. He continued to sit in the park in his Prince costume, but as Nadir instead of Prince.

The difference between Nadir and Prince was not a costume. In fact, Nadir had no costume, as no one ever saw him. The difference between the two was primarily which power Roman was leaning on the most at the time, though he obviously would use all of his powers when necessary, in any form.

Roman had three fairly distinct powers. There was Seeing which Roman honestly left to his brother most of the time except to give himself an edge in certain fights, superstrength which was what the public knew Prince for, and Nadir’s power: the power to not be perceived.

The first time Roman ceased to exist was the day the world almost ended three times. The first in the way that a child thinks the world is ending because they didn��t get their way; the second because it almost actually did, and the third because Roman’s own personal world got right to the edge of shattering.

The last thing Roman had ever said to his mom before she went into work as the chief of police for the last time was that he’d never forgive her. He’d gotten a wad of gum stuck in his hair and Mom had been forced to cut it out. Roman had liked his hair long because it was pretty, and Mama would always help him style it in the mornings. Roman had been lying face down on the kitchen floor, face beet red and bawling when Mom had kissed Mama and Remus goodbye and walked out of the door for the last time. Roman had refused her offered kiss.

Later that day, an organized, ruthless group of villains had attacked strategic locations across the city and the world; this attack would later be referred to as The Onslaught. It was one of the most devastating villain attacks in recent history. Their city was one of the main targets.

Three separate villains took part in the attack. From what the authorities had been able to guess afterwards, they had been trying to get something from the university. Presumably, they had not gotten whatever it was before being taken down because nothing horrible had happened from it. Bluebird had somehow figured out the attack on the city was a distraction because he’d gotten into a fight with one of the attackers at the university.

Bluebird, along with the vigilante Deceit, the police force, and a few less notable heroes and vigilantes from the time did their best to stop the attack and protect civilian lives, but it was a vicious attack and they were spread thin. A lot of people died, and a lot of people got hurt.

Including Mom.

Mom got pushed off a building.

In the hospital, Mama had been inconsolable, and the people tasked with watching her two sons had had their hands full with Remus who’d been set on destroying the hospital with his super strength in his ill-handled childhood grief. Roman had crawled under a table, curled up into a little ball, and promptly decided he wasn’t there anymore.

The universe had been cruel that day, but it had seemed to see fit to allow him that wish.

He’d watched with interest once his caretakers had finally managed to calm Remus enough so they could direct him to just tearing up paper and stuffed animals instead of walls and pipes. Then, they’d realized they didn’t know where the other twin with superstrength was. He’d listened to them panic saying again and again that he couldn’t have snuck out of the room because the door was still locked. They’d looked everywhere in the private waiting room… except under the table.

Remus had told them he’d seen Roman climb under the table, but they still hadn’t looked under the table. They’d called someone else in to look for him too, but that person had not looked under the table either. Roman hadn’t called out to them to tell them where he was.

He hadn’t wanted to come out. He hadn’t wanted them to find him. He hadn’t wanted them to even look in his direction.

So, nobody had.

Nobody had even after they’d moved Remus to a different room. Nobody had even when they’d started searching the hospital. Nobody had when there was a hospital-wide announcement on the intercom about him being missing. That had been fine with Roman.

It wasn’t until a man in a doctor’s coat had come into the room and walked over to the coffee machine in the waiting room that anything had changed. The man had looked how Roman felt in that moment. He’d looked tired and sad and a whole bunch of other jumbled things Roman couldn’t parse enough to put a name to.

He hadn’t been looking for Roman, but when he’d leaned against the counter while waiting for his coffee, he’d looked down and their eyes had met.

He’d seemed to forget about his coffee the moment he saw Roman, walking over to kneel in front of the table. He’d sat there for a long couple of moments. “Hey there, kiddo,” the man had said gently. “I’m guessing you’re the Mr. Roman Silvia everyone’s been looking for.”

Roman had nodded, hugging his knees miserably.

“Well, what are you doing under there?” the man had asked. “Doesn’t look very comfy.”

“My mom’s not okay,” he’d said instead of answering, though perhaps that was an answer on its own.

“I…” the man had said, sucking in a breath. “I know, honey.”

“I didn’t kiss her goodbye this morning, because I was mad she’d cut gum out of my hair,” Roman had divulged, sniffling, “and now she’s gonna die.”

The man had paused for a long moment, something intense flashing across his face. “I’m going to make you a deal, Roman,” he’d said after a moment. “If you can hope your mom’s going to live, then I will too. How about that?”

He hadn’t understood what the man had been promising him then. “Okay,” Roman had said.

“Okay,” the man had repeated. “Now, let’s get you back to where you need to be, and I’ll get back where I need to be.” He’d reached out a hand and Roman had taken it. He’d crawled out from under the table and let the man take him to the people who were looking for him.

He’d learned later that that man had been Dr. Sanders.

Dr. Sanders had been the one to save his mom’s life.

He hadn’t saved his mom’s legs, and she’d been asleep for almost 6 months, but he’d saved her.

Roman had learned how to use a new power that day. It had risen up inside him from a place he still didn’t quite understand. He hadn’t realized it was a power until later, but after a while he’d been able to figure out what it was and learn to control it. In truth, he was better at using it than the superstrength he and Remus had been using since before they could even walk.

It was a mental power, he would later understand, and a rare one at that because of its complexity and subtlety. He could basically put out a mental field around himself that made anyone perceiving him either pay absolute and complete attention to him or none at all. With work, he’d managed to turn it from an on and off switch to a gradient. He could make it so his teachers didn’t notice him checking his phone during class but didn’t forget he was there or make sure people paid just a bit more attention to his monologues on stage. He’d even gotten to the point where he could pick and choose who was affected and could extend his power to one or two other people as well.

When he’d started going out as Prince, the power had been useful. It was easy to sneak up on villains when their eyes slid right over him and with a couple of superstrength taps, it was all over. Or when he was helping Bluebird, he could shout ‘I’m a distraction’ and completely pull the attention of the villains they were fighting away from the other superhero so Bluebird could defeat them easier. Roman would always get a lecture about how that was not a good distraction and how it was very dangerous to draw fire like that. Roman would just shrug and say “it worked, didn’t it?” which never failed to send the man fuming.

And yet, Prince wasn’t Roman’s only alter ego who helped Bluebird with perception powers. Nadir was good at getting information. He could walk into a villain’s base, make himself a sandwich, and walk back out without any issues most of the time. Roman would often slip anything he learned to Bluebird in some way.

He wasn’t gathering or slipping Bluebird information tonight, however. In fact, he hadn’t even seen the hero today. It wasn’t unordinary to not run into him, either because they were in different places or one of them simply wasn’t out. There was nothing wrong and yet there he sat. There Nadir sat.

At least, until a human shaped mass of shadows swiftly began to pass through the park. At first, Roman ignored it, figuring it was just some normal person taking a shortcut, but he was startled when the figure moved closer and under a streetlight and the shadows remained just as thick as they had been in the dark.

It took Roman an embarrassingly long time to figure out who he was seeing. Though, to be fair to him, he was not exactly expecting to see his old nemesis taking a stroll through the park.

Yet there was no question in Roman’s mind as he stood up and started following the figure that he was looking at Shadow Caster. Roman had looked into Shadow Caster’s power after he’d first shown up on the scene 5 years ago, before Roman had even met him face to face. It was something he still did to this day when a new player appeared. He always wanted a leg up on the new villain in case he ever came face to face with them.

Shadow Caster’s powers were unique. Roman had not been able to find any accounts of someone using a shadow manipulation power other than him. Usually even with rare powers you could find something similar being used by someone, but Shadow Caster’s powers simply didn’t exist in any record Roman could find.

Yet he and his power had disappeared, seemingly for good, 3 years ago. It wasn’t strange for villains, heroes, and vigilantes to stop after a certain amount of time; most didn’t last more than a year or two. Bluebird and Deceit were exceptions to this rule. Roman himself was nearing the 5-year mark of being a hero and people were starting to take note that he might be planning to actually stick around.

Shadow Caster hadn’t left like that. He hadn’t mysteriously disappeared back into the darkness he’d come from. He'd been shot in full view of the city cameras. The last anyone had seen of him, Bluebird had been flying away with him in his arms.

It had sparked a lot of media attention and rumors. Most people had assumed he’d died; some people had assumed he’d been silently turned over to the authorities, though Roman knew for sure that had not been the case. Bluebird had come out a few months later and said the man was alive and recovering but wouldn’t be coming back onto the superhero/villain scene. He’d refused to say why. It had spurned a bit of conversation in the public, but Bluebird had ignored all of the questions posed to him about the issue. Most people trusted Bluebird enough to eventually let it go, though the question of where Shadow Caster was still cropped up every so often.

Roman hadn’t expected to ever get the answer to that question, let alone for that answer to be right here, right now.

So, Roman followed him silently out of the park and onto the mostly abandoned city streets. To his surprise, the man slowed after a while and looked around, almost like he could tell someone was following him. He turned back around and continued walking but was still going much slower and seemed twitchy. Roman decided Shadow Caster probably wasn’t going to lead him anywhere important if the villain was being this twitchy. So, Roman chose to reveal himself.

“Where did you come from?” Roman asked, making himself suddenly perceivable.

He was entertained for the first half a second by the way the man jumped and whipped around to face him. During the second half of that second, Roman was suddenly grabbed by surprisingly solid shadows and lifted off the ground. What was even more surprising was the sudden burst of light that lit up the fingertips of the man and Roman’s masked face, but nothing else.

…When did Shadow Caster get light manipulation powers? What?

After blinking, Roman took a moment to study him. The shadows still obscured his entire face despite the new light, but Roman could make out the folds of thick black fabric on his arms and what looked like jeans. He also seemed… taller? It was always hard to tell the man’s dimensions with his shadows constantly flowing every which way around him, but Roman had been up close with him in fights before and he’d always been rather short. Perhaps it was just different shoes.

“Prince?” Shadow Caster asked after a moment. His voice was different too, Roman thought. Though in truth Shadow Caster had always been rather quiet… except for when he was telling Roman to ‘fuck off.’ Speaking of, there was a strange lack of animosity in his voice considering the last time they’d seen one another, they’d been wrestling in a sand pit on a playground. Roman hadn’t gotten the sand out of his costume for months. Then again, that had been 3 years ago.

“Release me, fiend,” Roman demanded.

Shadow Caster cocked his shadow-cloaked head to the side, and the shadows slithered a bit around his waist like particularly chilly snakes. “Why?”

Roman jerked his arm with all of the strength he could muster, but the shadows simply moved with him, letting him punch the air like an idiot but not get down or anywhere near Shadow Caster. They didn’t pull taunt even when he started pulling at them and squirming with all of his might.

“Are you finished?” Shadow Caster asked after a minute.

“What the hell even is this stuff?” Roman asked. “It’s cold!”

“Want me to set you on fire?” he offered, snapping his fingers and making a flame appear for a moment.

“You have shadow manipulation, light manipulation, and fire-starting powers now?” Roman asked.

“I’m a prodigy,” he replied lazily.

“You’re not a prodigy; I’m a prodigy!”

“Say that again when your feet are on the ground.”

“Say that again when my fist hits your face.” Roman stuck out his tongue.

Shadow Caster let the shadows around his lips disperse enough so Roman could see him stick his tongue out at Roman in return. Roman stuck his tongue out harder.

Shadow Caster had the audacity to scoff. “Welp, anyway,” he drawled. “This has been fun, but I’m actually in the middle of something right now. So, see you later.” He gave Roman a two-finger salute and turned to walk away.

“You’re just going to leave me hanging in mid-air?!” Roman asked, aghast.

He waved him off over his shoulder. “They’ll fade once I’m out of range.”

“Villain,” Roman spat, though even he could acknowledge that the insult was just out of his own pettiness. The venom in his tone had more to do with keeping up appearances as Prince than any actual strong ire. Keeping him restrained until Shadow Caster was gone wasn’t exactly the epitome of evil. Yet, something about the word did make the man pause.

“I’m not actually,” he said and turned back to look at Roman. “Not tonight especially.”

“What?” Roman asked. After a couple more seconds of consideration, Shadow Caster slowly lowered Roman to his feet and the shadows retreated. Roman watched him in confusion.

“I’m not a villain anymore,” he said, “and I’m also not stupid.” He squared his shoulders, and he was… he was definitely taller, wasn’t he? “You’re allies with Bluebird, and I need all of the help I can get tonight.”

The Prince part of Roman wanted to scoff at the idea of helping Shadow Caster of all people, but Prince wasn’t all he was, and the way Shadow Caster said it gave Roman pause. The fact that he was here at all after 3 years gave Roman pause. The fact that the reason he was out was connected with Bluebird, who was the last person seen with him, gave Roman pause.

“What happened?” Roman asked.

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Part 4

Labeled Master Post.

My Masterpost.

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