#modern magic whump

[starboy-whump]

I am a normal person who likes whump and hurt/comfort a normal amount

...I am a normal person who likes whump and hurt/comfort a normal amount, buying tea-grade rosepetals to make rose tea & rosewater bc exactly ONE line in a Fall Out Boy song from over a decade ago convinced me that rosewater is an intoxicant and/or sedative for angels, in the sense that it could b useful in field medicine, and the entire idea of rosewater gives me whumperflies now

but im rly rly normal i swear

[crash-bump-bring-the-whump]

Whumpril 2024 - Day 9 - Self-Doubt

Rex is still @cyberwhumper's boy and Vic still belongs to @bxtterflystxtches !! Vic also still has self-worth issues, oops c: This takes place in a fun little military au we have going on!

TWs: self-depreciation, self-worth issues, gun mention, military setting, nightmares, near death experiences referenced, magical exhaustion/overload mentioned

Click click click

They were at it again. Rex and Mariano were doing weapon maintenance. Victory's jaw tensed, looking back at his own gun. It didn't matter, he could still see them. He could see Mariano say something. He could see Rex laugh.

That made something in his gut twist.

It didn't matter. Mariano was Rex's spotter, they needed to do weapon maintenance together. He knew that. It didn't mean anything.

Click click click

It could mean everything. His own hands slowed and his eyes drifted back to the pair as he watched Mariano take the sniper rifle from Rex--Rex's baby, and start disassembling and reassembling it.

It was fluid, and smooth, and deliberate, like everything else the kid did. He made it look effortless. He made it look as easy as breathing. Just like his magic. He could summon plasma that rivaled the sun, clean and pure and brilliant, without so much as a stutter. He could jog miles and miles casually, before morning formation. He could handle Big Dog's big gun as effortlessly as the man himself did.

Click click click

Mariano was good. Good enough to be the wolf's eyes on the field, good enough to be a war mage, to bear those scars from training. He was barely nineteen. Victory's jaw ached.

His hands were scarred, too. Maybe not as deep or as dark, but he had them. His arms still bore the marks of blade training, and torch training. He wondered if they'd ever fade--the dreams sure hadn't. He could still feel Luis' careful touch as clearly as if he'd just left the training room. The hand that slid along his back as he knelt over the metal table, eighteen and furious and terrified.

Click click click

Luis' voice never felt that far away, either, as Mariano's low voice drifted through the open air. Luis had more of a lilt to his voice, he was more emotive overall, but Victory could still hear the similarities. It leached into his nightmares, that calm, even voice of Mariano's and his impassive dark eyes boring into Vic's very soul as his magic shorted and overwhelmed him, as he underwent a nearly-lethal internal meltdown.

Mariano watched him, in those dreams. He watched Victory Montez die on the bloodied training room floor with hardly a whisper of concern. He judged him as he faded, lightning still crackling hot at his fingertips and vision blurry. He watched as Victory Montez washed out of the war mage program, and began to wash out of life itself.

He watched as Victory proved to everyone that he'd never be enough.

The kid was watching him now, Victory realized with a start. Rex was, too. Both of them had stopped what they were doing, and it took a moment longer for Victory to realize that the shitty light bulb above his head was flickering. Face burning, he waved a hand dismissively and started packing his own things away.

The weight of their eyes was just too much to bear. He felt his chest aching, felt the crackle of his own magic racing around in his blood. He couldn't be Mariano. Not as he was, anyway.

He just needed to train more, is all. A few more hours at the shooting range. Going on more runs.

He could be good.

He could be brilliant, even.

He would show everyone just how brilliant he could be.

@lektricwhump @cyberwhumper @bxtterflystxtches @inscrutable-shadow @honeybees-125 @whumperofworlds

[wangxianficrecs]

💙the soft animal of your body by sysrae

💙 the soft animal of your body

by sysrae

T, 15k, Wangxian

Summary: “This is slightly embarrassing,” Lan Xichen says, “but I urgently need a pet-sitter."

Mojo's comments: In which wwx is at the end of his rope, coreless, homesless, hurt and hungry, when he gets an offer to pet-sit lxc's suddenly-acquired rabbit. And of course, once wwx is FINALLY somewhere warm and safe, he might just unburden himself of a few secrets, no matter how judgemental this bunny may seem.

Kay's comments: Ah, my heart breaks for Wei Wuxian in this story! It hurt, it hurt so good and I loved every moment of it. In which Wei Wuxian, who's been living in his car and is going through a rough time, receives a late-night call by Lan Xichen who asks him to be an emergency pet-sitter, because he leaves and somebody needs to watch his bunny. Wei Wuxian agrees and looks forward to sleeping on a bed and enjoying a hot shower for once and then he spends a week with the rabbit, who's lovely company, especially considering how lonely Wei Wuxian has been feeling. I loved the modern with cultivation aspect in this story, loved how Wangxian's relationship and misunderstandings were mirrored and how it all got resolved. Prepare for lots of angst and whump though!

Excerpt: “This is… Baozi,” says Lan Xichen, almost apologetically. “Baozi, Wei Ying is going to watch you while I’m away.” “Baozi!” says Wei Ying, sufficiently delighted that he forgets to be self-conscious. Who knew the First Jade of Lan owned an adorable, whimsically-named bunny! “Does he like to be picked up?” “We’re still establishing boundaries in that regard,” says Lan Xichen dryly. “Baozi is a… a new acquisition. He is generally very well-behaved –” he shoots the rabbit a look of fond exasperation which, being a rabbit, it is presumably incapable of interpreting, “– but I’m not sure how he’ll react to others.” Nodding, Wei Ying crouches down, wincing slightly at the pain in his hip, and extends his fingers for Baozi’s inspection. Despite its stern expression, the rabbit deigns to give him a single polite sniff. Wei Ying laughs and slowly pats him, head to haunch, marveling at the soft fur; he does this twice before Baozi shoots him an affronted look and hops pointedly out of reach, hiding beneath Lan Xichen’s bedside table. “Does he have a hutch?” Wei Ying asks, straightening. He doesn’t know much about rabbit ownership, but he has a nebulous idea that hay is involved somehow. “Ah,” says Lan Xichen, seeming slightly embarrassed. “That is – no.” He hesitates, then says, “Baozi is – was – the spiritual animal companion of my great-aunt, Lan Yi, who recently passed away. She lived a very long life, and Baozi was with her for most of it; with his master dead, his spiritual faculties are significantly diminished, but he’s far from being an ordinary rabbit.” His brow furrows. “Truthfully, we don’t know why he survived her death – as tightly bonded as they were, it doesn’t make any sense. And yet –” He gestures helplessly towards Baozi, whose ears are now laid flat.

pov wei wuxian, homelessness, modern setting, modern with magic, shapeshifting, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, animal transformation, golden core reveal, getting together, whump, confession, @fozmeadows

~*~

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

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

Go To Sleep Little Baby

Summary: Written for AI-less Whumptober 2023 Day 26. Set in a Modern Magic AU. Hiccup’s uncontrollable magic has been with him since birth. As a baby, his parents were at a loss.

Warning: /

Rating: General

Characters: Hiccup, Stoick, Valka, Gothi

Pairing: Stalka

Words: 2 275

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: Magical exhaustion or injury, Curse

Whumpee: Hiccup, Stoick, Valka

Author’s Notes: Went through a lot of ideas for Day 26, which all had to do with the same AU, but I eventually ended up settling on this one. Can't wait to finally share the main fic soon. :)

Also this fic originally ended at a little over 1,7k words. Now it's a little over 2,2k, lol.

Enjoy!

@ailesswhumptober

XOXOX

Ever since the day he was born, Hiccup has been a difficult child. At 3 months old, all the boy has done is cry. Cry, cry, cry and hysterically so. Even with his belly full, his diaper clean, and after a nap, the screams would still erupt from his tiny lungs and his tears would fall. He’s not well.

Stoick and Valka took him to every doctor they could find with the same list of symptoms. He barely eats, he's almost constantly running a fever, and he's always crying. But no matter where they go, whether the clinic is on Berk or on the mainland, every visit ends with the same conclusion.

"He is as healthy as they come."

His ears are fine, his throat is fine, his belly isn’t tender, … Beyond a fever, there’s nothing physically wrong with him. Yet as fresh parents worrying about their first and stumbling through parenthood, it's a slap in the face each and every time.

Valka stomps to the car in a huff, Hiccup held securely to her bosom. It's one of the very few places where he might be persuaded not to cry. Even now he still sniffles, his lip trembling, and seeking solace in his mother’s embrace.

“Valka, wait!” Stoick hurries after her. His wife stormed out of the seventh or eighth doctor’s office with their son, she wouldn't even wait for him as she left.

She stops in the middle of the street to face him, a storm rages in her eyes. Stoick takes her arm and gently pulls her towards the parked car. He can see the tears she's struggling to blink away.

"I have to put him in the car seat, Stoick," she tells him, deciding against talking about the disappointing doctor's appointment. He knows why she tells him this. She's hesitating because the second she puts him down…

Stoick's gaze brings him to his son. Hiccup sleeps now, dressed in a baby blue onesie and tiny winter coat. It's been a cold and wet spring so far. Though it’s May, the warmer days still seem far away.

“Why can’t any of them help us, Stoick?” Facing the dread of putting their son down, Valka asks. “This doctor didn’t even want to look at our boy!”

The reminder makes Stoick clench his fists. It’s true. They had to beg for an appointment when they tried to deny them, simply stating “Babies cry!” And then, after they finally got one, the doctor barely examined Hiccup before declaring him perfectly healthy and sending them on their way. “First time parents, right?”

Valka wipes the tears from her eyes. They’re both exhausted after three months of literal hell. Hiccup isn’t the only one kept from his sleep by his crying. Not that a good night’s sleep would be a cure for just how draining listening to a constantly crying child can be. An infant can’t be reasoned with either. There’s a reason why he’s like this.

And now she’s stalling for time, not wanting to put Hiccup down. Because if they did…

He would simply erupt.

It’s like the world is just too much for the boy.

Stoick places a strong hand on his wife’s shoulder and she gazes up at him.

“Gothi.”

She blinks in confusion.

“What if our problem isn’t physical at all, lass?” He asks. “What if it’s magical?”

Valk stares down at Hiccup, flashes of his birth run to the forefront of her mind.

Her pregnancy had been strange. Not unexpected with two parents in possession of mystical abilities, though one underdeveloped. But even so, it was strange. She got,visions, remarkable dreams, her powers surged… And still, his birthday stands out like a sore thumb.

With every contraction, glass from windows and screens broke. She screamed, the lights overhead would flicker. She pushed, equipment would spark. It was like a scene out of a horror movie as the room descended into chaos. At least two nurses suddenly became unwell and the doctor came close to passing out. There was a power outage on the entire floor.

And then Hiccup arrived after nine long months. He cried and hasn’t stopped since. The only way to make him stop is if his parents cradle him. His parents and no one else. The nurses came to call him “devil spawn” when they thought his parents weren’t listening.

“Maybe you’re right,” Valka agrees. Maybe they never should’ve left Berk in the first place.

-XOXOX-

Elder Gothi was the oldest woman on Berk at the young age of 500 years old.

Or that is what they think her age is. She could be much older than that, she never gives a specific number when asked.

She is a witch, the wisest their tribe has ever seen. She is capable of a great many things, impossible things. So perhaps, she’s the best person to help these troubled parents with their bundle of joy.

Hiccup is once again a hysterical wreck. Lying on Gothi’s table in just his diaper now. He uses every ounce of his little lungs to scream. His face is a deep red and a mess of tears and snot. His fists and toes are clenched and his limbs still as if tensed stiff.

Almost unbothered, Gothi examines him while his parents cower, even Stoick. There’s a deep grimace on his face. The elder witch checks his eyes, his tongue, his liver, but it aren’t physical symptoms that she’s searching for. She’s not looking for the same things that a pediatrician would be looking for.

As her final step, she grabs his tiny fist and makes him uncurl his fingers, reading his tiny palm. Her eyes widen and she gasps.

Stoick and Valka both straighten, worry etched on their faces as she backs away from Hiccup.

Quickly retreating, she hurries to one side of her hut. The entire place is decorated in things of mystical origins. Amulets are pinned to a beam, chicken feet and other animal feet hang from the ceiling in bundles, rocks with certain properties hide in every corner, … anything the mind can think of, Gothi has. But she passes it all to go to the very back. Shoving things aside with her staff, she reaches a cabinet that hasn’t seen a decent dusting since the 1800s at least.

She’s mute, but her lips still utter a spell and the cabinet’s doors unlock audibly. Peeking inside, a web stretches along with the door she swings open. Gothi wipes it away with her bare hand before reaching inside and grabbing a small and black clay pot.

Her visitors can’t see it, her back faces them, but a thoughtful expression crosses her features. She wonders if she really has need for what’s inside. She hasn’t needed ithis in literal centuries for it only works on a select few people.

It’s worth a shot.

Opening the pot, she finds scales as black as the night within. She takes a few, concealing them in her hand and returns the pot to its original resting place. Never to be disturbed again.

With no clue as to what the old woman is doing, the desperate Stoick and Valka watch as she runs from one place to the next, surprisingly fast in her old age. She crushes something with a mortar and pestle, then runs to the other side of her hut to grab something else and crush that as well. She grabs several ingredients and the parents can’t keep up. It’s almost like Hiccup’s crying is a physical barrier, they can’t pay attention.

Finally, Gothi returns, hands clasped together and some of her concoction held within. She blows into her hands, the dust-like material falls gently above the crying child like a cloud of dust, fluttering down without a care in the world. Hiccup sneezes twice, his crying reaches a higher volume.

“Gothi…” Stoick speaks her name, fingers rubbing his temple.

Gothi reaches into the mortar again and with blackened fingers returns a second time to draw a rune on Hiccup’s forehead.

“Gothi?” Valka’s brows frown. Despite their age, she recognizes these mystical runes quickly as the witch places a second on his heart, a third on the back of his left hand, a fourth on his right.

“Stoick, she’s stunting him!”

“What?!” Stoick rises to his feet.

“She’s stunting his magic!”

Gothi finishes with a fifth rune on his belly. They all say “protect” and “contain.”

“Gothi, what’s the meaning of this?” Stoick is immediately perturbed. They came here to help their son, not hurt him!

With the slightest bit of magic touching his skin, something inside of the three month old lashes out. An orange glow like fire erupts from his underweight frame. His parents have to step back, taken off guard by the heat filling this tiny space. Gothi tries to draw the same runes around the boy on the table, drawing a perfect circle, but she’s thrown back and hits a chair behind her.

Stoick tries to come to her rescue, but finds himself frozen in place. There’s an impossible weight filling this room, choking them. It’s like several spells are used all at once. A buzzing drums in their ears, it almost overshadows Hiccup’s crying.

Gothi manages to finish the circle of runes. Glass shatters explosively, destroying her windows, breaking jars, things fly off the shelf as if thrown, the hearth is set ablaze.

The elder witch begins a wordless incantation. The buzzing grows louder, the heat hotter, her posessions levitate. She, Stoick, and Valka’s feet are lifted off the ground.

And suddenly all is quiet.

The ashy runes sear into the babe’s flesh without a single howl of pain and leaving not a trace. Everything floating in the air falls to the ground, the glow disappears, that suffocating weight is lifted. The three drop to the floor.

And Hiccup’s crying has stopped. Relaxing, curling up, and suckling on his fist, he’s suddenly sound asleep.

Valka and Stoick rise to their feet, staring in utter shock at the power displayed by their son. This was ten times worse than his birth at the hospital. They’re both shaken to their core.

Gothi hobbles to find her staff and then throws a thick layer of sand over the ground to begin her explanation.

Stoick can’t read it, but his partner can.

A hand to her beating drum of a heart, she soaks up every word.

“His own magic was hurting him?!” Valka repeats in shock and her husband shares that sentiment. Gothi nods before continuing.

She tells them how out of control his abilities are, how his little baby self had no idea what to do with them, that every second he wanted his magic to leave him alone and to stop hurting him. As a result, all he could do was cry. Cry and cry and cry and cry.

His parents were his sole comfort in his personal little hell.

“You stunted him…” Valka repeats, giving the elder witch a look. Gothi nods, it was for the boy’s own good. He may be okay now, but his abilties would’ve torn his little body apart before long. He wouldn’t have made it to his first birthday if they hadn’t come to her.

Telling his parents this makes the two grow cold inside.

“Gothi, what did we just see?” Stoick finally asks, uncertain how to describe what just happened inside her hut.

“A temper tantrum,” she starts. But rather, his powers were throwing one. Hiccup sensed the slightest bit of ‘hostile’ magic touch his skin and instinct bound to his abilities sought to protect him from it. By any means necessary.

“What now, Gothi?” Valka asks.

“Raise him like any boy on Berk would be raised. His magic is still there, simply mostly repressed. But watch out, this containment spell will erode over time. The older he gets, the weaker the spell becomes.”

With no more words to share, Valka picks the sleeping Hiccup up from Gothi’s table. The two thank her, Stoick makes sure she knows of his gratitude. As far as he’s concerned, the three of them are indebted to her.

They leave and Gothi retreats to the darkest corners of her hut, diving into her many books. She didn’t want Hiccup’s parents to know, but she’s left with questions herself.

Without a doubt, Valka is talented and Stoick contains a might that is sorely neglected. The man doesn’t know a single spell. But two powerful parents don’t mean a powerful child and certainly not one of this caliber.

The elder witch finds herself filling with concern. In her long life, she’s had the displeasure of knowing magic users of extraordinary strength and sometimes that kind of might is a curse. It certainly is for Hiccup, whose powers needed to be repressed, lest they slowly tear him apart cell by cell over the course of months. There is not a shadow of a doubt in her mind, he was in terrible pain.

She settles with a single book. It’s ancient, it practically falls apart in her hands. She skims through the pages to find the right one and dread settles in her old bones.

She feels sorry for the 3 month old. His life won’t be an easy one. Great and terrible things lie in his future.

For now, he and his parents are blissfully ignorant of it all.

Stoick and Valka bring a different child home that night. They put him to bed, he hasn’t stirred once on the way home. Both crash onto their bed, exhausted beyond believe and falling asleep in each other’s arms.

The next morning a happy child greets them.

[whumpingisfun]

Respect and Responsibility | 1 | Doorstep

TWs: dehumanization, pet whump (of the human variety), modern institutionalized slavery, fantasy whump, overuse of magical abilities, offscreen beating

Theo is a thief. He’s had sticky fingers since he was little. Shiny things hoarded away in his room. Silverware, coins found under the couch, chocolate. His mother had teased him about being a little dragon, and he supposes it’s true in a way. 

As he’d grown older, the shiny things he collected grew in value. 

But he’d never stolen a person before.

Okay. Back up, rewind. 

Theodoric de La Rosa is a thief. But even a thief has morals.

Theo had come to Rynthem’s capitol Zale for a heist. It was a simple one, something, something, wrongful inheritance, stolen from natives,something, something, the usual shit that a rich schmuck would do for something shiny, blah, blah, hoarding away relics that deserved to be with their culture and people where it would be properly used and kept safe, etcetera, etcetera.  

This time it was a painting. And a few statues. Masks? Lots of shit. 

Anyways, Theo had gone in for a painting. 

He’d done all the proper paperwork, gotten all the visas squared away. Juniper had done an amazing job giving him a proper cover as someone well off and in good standing. 

But the check in for Rynthem was… weird. The vibes were off. It made all of his long honed instincts rise up. 

Maybe it was the person who was also behind the checkpoint desk with the chipper customs agent who signed his passport. The blue collar cinched tightly around their pale neck, the artful way their bright sunshine yellow hair swooped over their bright blue eyes, looking like they had just stepped off a movie set. The way their smile was just, this side of fake. Almost plastic. Different from the cheerful customer service smile in that there was a sense if Theo tried to get them to have any expression other than the one painted on their face… it would crack their face wide open. 

“...I like your collar.” he compliments the person. “It’s a very pretty shade of blue.”

“Thank you, Mr. de La Rosa.” the customs agent smiles, widely, all teeth,  instead of the person Theo had addressed. 

It’s clear, in the flashing of the customs agent’s eyes, how the person standing at attention behind the customs agent looks down briefly, that Theo had misstepped. “I hope you enjoy your stay at Rynthem~” their voice is cold.

Theo clears his throat awkwardly, taking off his glasses and cleaning them. “You, uh. You have a nice day?” 

Theo didn’t know it at the time, but that was the first time he’d interacted with a Pet. It wouldn’t be the last, either. 

That vaguely off-putting sense just grew stronger as Theo entered Zale proper, leaving the hustle and bustle of the Transportation Hub Station. 

It wasn’t obvious. Of course it wouldn’t be obvious. It just was. 

It was the small things. How certain people followed others at just the shortest clip behind and to the right or left - presumably the dominant hand. The collars that Theo had first thought was just a fashion statement tightly cinched around certain people’s throats. Some even had leashes. 

Hybrids, people with brightly colored hair that would have looked unnatural on other people’s faces, all with collars, all of them just slightly off, too perfect. Uncannily so. 

Places in the restaurants with spots for a leash to be attached to, pillows to kneel on. 

Signs in shop windows saying ‘NO PETS ALLOWED’, and places where you would tie the leash to a post. All of them human, kneeling or standing in the designated area. Waiting. Some of them drinking out of small dishes as they waited in the dry Rynthian summer heat. 

What was horrible about it was that it was so normal.

It was so casual, that it took Theo ten minutes to realize that those were people that the signs referred to. It took someone exiting a store, with a collared person in tow, staggering under the immense weight of all the bags and boxes and totes. 

Too perfect, too shiny, too artificial. 

These people were slaves. 

These people were Pets.

Theo was sick in the next public trashcan and had to go find a medical mask in a convenience store after he’d been stared at for too long for doing something so ‘unseemly’. 

And then he spent the next ten to thirty minutes hyperventilating in an alleyway, because Pets were everywhere, tagging along with their owners, seemingly happy with their lives of servitude, eyes always plastered adoringly on their owners’ faces. 

He dials Juniper, despite the long distance charge and the risk factor.

“Juni I can’t do this.” 

“WHAT?!?? After all the extra effort it took to get you the proper clearance and identification?!” Juniper’s tinny voice echoes in Theo’s ears. 

“Juni, there are literal slaves here!” Theo’s voice shakes as he tries to keep his voice down. “There are slaves, and I can’t save any of them, and I get the feeling if I try anything, they’re going to make ME disappear.” 

He’d gotten the feeling from how he’d addressed the customs agent’s Pet. How he had misstepped and was on thin ice. The realization of the danger he was in was like a cold ice cube melding with the sweat prickling his body, dousing him in a terribly horrid polar plunge.

He was shivering. 

“--eo, Theo, my boy, listen to me.” The calm, assured voice of Theo’s dear mentor, Professor Hale, rolled deep into his ear. “Take a deep breath.” 

Oh. Right. Breathing. Breathing was a thing. 

Theo sucked in a deep shuddery breath and held it, counting to five.

“There’s a good lad.” Professor Hale murmurs. “Now, let me know when you’ve calmed down. You won’t retain anything if you panic.”

Right. Right. Panic was the archnemesis of a proper thief. 

Okay. Okay… shit it wasn’t okay -- but breathe. Breathe. Exhale for five… Inhale… hold, two, three, four, five… Cycling air in and out of the lungs in a measured fashion. 

Stinky trashcan. 

Theo’s eyes flicker around the alleyway, nose wrinkling under his glasses. 

Brick wall.

Really noisy neon sign.

Gravel and rocks poking me in the ass.

…why do I feel like I’m forgetting something.

OH RIGHT AIR--

Theo coughs as he sucks in a deep lungful of air. 

“You know, when I told you to breathe, I meant it, young man.” Professor Hale’s voice rumbles in his ear, slightly tinny from the connection.

“R-right--” he coughs, wheezing slightly as he swallows spit wrong. “Fuck!” 

“Swear jar.” 

“Damn it Hale, I’m in a situation!”

That gets a bark of laughter from the other side of the phone. It makes Theo smile, but it quickly fades.

“Professor, what am I going to do?” he asks helplessly. 

There’s a pause on the other side of the phone, and Theo can’t help but picture the concentrated look on the old man’s face as he considers his words carefully. 

“Theodoric, I want you to listen to me carefully.”

Theo straightens. Oh shit, full name coming out. “Yes sir.”

The smile is audible but strained in Professor Hale’s voice. “I want you to document everything you see carefully.” 

Theo swallows. “...you mean…”

“Yes. I believe the situation calls for it. I know it will leave you exhausted every day, but if you take some over the counter pain management, you should be fine.”

“You mean not debilitated by migraines and able to get the goal you sent me here for.” Theo cuts in.

Another pause. “...well, yes.” 

Theo sighs, rubbing his forehead as he sets his head back on the wall. “Okay.” 

There’s an audible scuffle of the phone being argued over quietly before Juniper audibly wins by elbowing Professor Hale in the gut.

“Theo I’m sorry, I should have looked harder at where you were going, I would have NEVER sent you there alone if I’d known--”

Theo sighs, eyes sliding shut. “And have you and the Professor at risk too?” he wearily asks. “No, its better if I’m the only one here. I’ll get in, and get out, and send the prize back to HQ as soon as I can. Just… if you guys don’t hear from me again, if things go wrong--”

“Don’t talk like that.” Juniper’s voice is breaking a little. “You’re gonna be fine, you’re gonna get home, and make us chili again. You hear me de La Rosa? You’re going to make me chili again, the really spicy one!” 

That gets a laugh out of Theo. “You just love me for my food, Juni.” he teases. He sucks in a steadying breath. “A-anyways. If I don’t make it back, make sure to look after Whiskers for me.” 

“I still can’t believe you named your cat Whiskers.” Juni sighs. “It’s like naming a baby Fingers.”

There’s a strangled choking noise on the other end of the line that doesn’t come from Juniper as Theo snorts and then starts to laugh hard enough tears begin to roll down his cheeks. 

“Sure, Juni. Next time I’ll let you name my cat.” Theo wheezes. “I love you guys. I’m so sorry about the bill.”

A soft sigh. “I’ll handle it, Theo.” the Professor’s voice is warm. Soothing. Theo can hear his shoulders loosen even oceans away just by hearing the old man’s voice. 

His eyes slide closed with a soft sigh. “Thank you, Professor. …I should get out of this alley.”

“Be safe, Larcine.” 

He straightens. 

“I will. Thank you Professor. You two stay safe, keep HQ running.” 

“Yes sir, Leader sir!” Juniper cackles and then the connection crackles shut. 

Leaving Theo alone, in a country run by the very thing he despised.

So, almost to present day. How about that heist. 

The target? Lord Harrison Carter’s summer mansion. 

Theo gets in as serving staff. New hire, sweet face, no one can resist his sweet face, and with the high pedigree and service record Juniper had forged, no one can resist his resume. 

He’s put in rotation. But there are whispers in the staff room after the noon tea is served. 

Lord Carter is getting a Pet.

Theo is practically invisible as he goes about the usual menial tasks the staff are wont to do. Cleaning. Tidying. Dusting. There’s a lot of dusting. Theo can’t see any spec of dust anytime he’s sent to do another round of dusting. 

If it weren’t for everyone doing the dusting, Theo would think he was being hazed. 

No, the hazing comes from a different angle. 

It’s his face that gets him in the most trouble. 

He’s pretty and he knows it. Flaunts it a little with the girls and the boys who swing that way, winking and generally getting a laugh out of everyone once it’s clear he’s just having fun and has no intentions to flirt his way into a bed. 

Despite him not having any intentions, it still gets him slammed up against one of the lockers in the changing rooms. 

Frankly, it gets him beat to hell and he staggers out of it, bleeding. He doesn’t remember much, after a certain point. There was the richly decorated hallway swimming in his eyes… and then nothing.

He wakes up in the hospital wing of the mansion. Bandaged and with a pounding headache he can feel through what must be a nice cocktail of pain medication because wow is he floaty. 

A man, who must be his temporary boss, sits at a chair by his bedside, reading a novel that Theo is too fucked up to read. Oh. Right. They broke his glasses. Damn. 

“Good morning Sir.” is what he tries to say. 

What comes out is a garbled, “Gurdmurnigir.” 

Larcine, one of the rising thieves in the underworld, reduced to incoherent mumbling. 

Great. 

“Mr. Rosa, you’re awake.” The man closes his book with a snap that makes Theo flinch. Ow. Motherfucker. 

Harrison Carter is a man who, in Theo’s drug addled and blunt mind, looks sick as fuck, and not in a good way. The man is frail, gaunt, with the same air of fragility that the Professor gets when it’s a bad day and the man feels all of his many years. Thinning brown hair frames his narrow, gaunt face and his cheekbones could cut glass. The only reason Carter isn’t as pale as a white sheet of paper, is because the man still has a healthy dose of melanin in him. 

His dark brown eyes are sharp, however. 

Sharp and cold. 

“Tell me, Mr. Rosa, who did this to you? I wish to have them… disciplined.” 

Theo swallows. “Hhhhow?” he chokes out.

A hand runs through his hair. It makes him shudder at the subtle intimacy of it. Like Theo is a kid sick at home. He doesn’t like it. This old man who’s probably in his fifties, maybe sixties is nowhere near his father. 

…despite having investigated Lord Harrison Carter on the outside, before heading in, the man doesn’t look a day over thirty, despite the sickness obviously ravaging the man’s body. 

Chills run up and down Theo’s spine. 

“Oh, you won’t have to worry about that, young man.” Carter says idly, playing with Theo’s hair. “Just let us good folk take care of it for you.” 

Theo stares blankly up at the man, and then just lets his eyes roll up in the back of his head. 

The next time he’s awake, he’s much more clear headed, and in much less pain. It’s a tiny little nurse on a large stool with big green owl-like eyes behind thick glasses who just stareeees at him quietly and makes notes in her little tablet before informing him that he is free to go home with two weeks of paid time off which - when she sees him about to refuse - is non-negotiable and the pay includes hazard compensation. 

“The culprits who have harmed you on Lord Carter’s property have been dealt with.” she informs him primly. “When you return from your rest, you will not have to worry.

Theo smiles a smile that’s only charming in how miserable and pathetic it is. “...thanks.”

He’s trying really hard not to think about what kind of punishment his current - temporary - employer had handed out.

She hands him his glasses. “Your eyeglasses have been repaired, free of charge.” she says. 

“...thanks.” He puts them on, instantly relaxing when his vision comes back into focus. No migraines. Thank Lupin.

He slowly sits himself up completely and limps out of the medical wing under his own power, and wishing that the generosity of the Lord he was working under didn’t come at a price.

There’s a box on the mansion’s doorstep. 

Theo stops, staring. 

There’s a box on the mansion’s doorstep.

It’s big. More of a crate than a simple package box. 

He turns back around. Hands fists by his side. He can’t risk the heist. The Lucine Guild had already promised the museums and families they would get their heritage back. He can’t. 

He can’t.

…

……

………

“Fucking damn it.” He turns around again, ripping off his glasses and this time, the world doesn’t go blurry, but instead sharpens. Every blade of neatly mowed grass stands out next to each other, sharpened into high definition as time unspools around him. It’s like walking through molasses. It’s like walking through air. The beat of his heart is his drum his drum his drum and he’s almost drunk from the heady beat it brings him. 

He watches himself move through time, a phantom. Separate from himself as he is now, decked in purple hues. He watches as he stops. He looks back. He looks forward again. And then time shatters in two. 

In blue hues, Theodoric de La Rosa goes on, never stopping. He nudges that timeline back into view as he grabs the box and wrestles it inside the haze. In that hazy, flickering timeline, the box disappears sometime later while the blue coated Theo is still walking, oblivious, visible on camera to be too far away to have even grabbed the gigantic box. 

Theo is sweating. 

His head is pounding. Vision swimming. 

He pulls and pulls the box even as his muscles burn.

He pulls and maneuvers this box, all the way through town, inch by grueling inch, his world completely coated in red hues. All the while, the specter of his blue self haunts him, blocks ahead, growing farther distant and as that distance grows, so does the pain in Theo’s head. 

The red world blurs until it is just Theo and the box. The box and Theo. Something warm and wet trickles down his neck. Down his chin. But he doesn’t have time to stop, and wipe away what must be blood from him overusing his Gift. 

If he lets go, time starts for the box, and Theo will lose his chance with so many people around to see the box suddenly appear. 

So inch by grueling inch, he pulls the box closer to that blue specter of a self that chose differently, of a self that Theo made real by forcing the timelines to behave as if only one choice had happened in a tree of choices. 

He gets the box into his apartment. His shielded and warded apartment. 

He lets go of the box, and with shaky fingers he shoves his glasses back on, sucking a deep ragged breath as he melds and slams into his other timeline’s self. The memories make him gag, as memories that are alien and foreign to him slide slick and oily into his mind. 

In another life Theodoric de La Rosa never stops to help another person. He steals and steals because of his own sense of greed. Alone--

 He collapses against the box, choking on bile, swallowing rapidly. His hands fumble with the mechanisms of the box, fumbling for the latch. 

The last thing he sees, as his blood soaked fingers hit the right mechanism, are wide gold eyes, rainbow hair and porcelain white skin, half in shadow as the box opens like unspooling origami. 

And then he is enveloped in darkness once again.

[scorpiondancing]

My favorite Wangxian fics:

Check the tags! I like all Wangxian dynamics 🖤 (I know it's not everyone's cup of tea)

(some of my favs sadly were hidden but these are the ones still up and ready to read)

Lan Never Kiss and Tell by FeelsForBreakfast

Explicit • Modern au

Wei Ying discovers Lan Zhan has kissed everyone in their friend group and decides he needs to remedy that IMMEDIATELY (more than kissing ensues)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

we don't need to talk about it by: vesna (mrsronweasley)

Explicit • Modern au (fake dating)

In order to get an apartment they pretend to be a couple and they just keep pretending even when they are alone.. and eventually fall in love for real

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Midnight, The Stars, And You by: Carrie25

Explicit • Modern au (coffee shop)

Lan Zhan works at a cafe while going to college and his new coworker Wei Ying turns his life into a bit of chaos. Only a lil bit of angst (like barely)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

your problem as a mountain. by: cupofwater

Explicit • Canon Divergence (no war)

Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian send each other letters about their desires and fantasies. Nie Huaisang's brother unknowingly sends off the ones he labeled "Lan Wangji" to the man himself

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

solstice: 那夏天的我们 by: auberjing

Explicit • canon divergence (cloud recesses arc, no war)

Wei Ying decides he needs to teach Lan Zhan how to please himself... as a good friend. It all spirals out of his control

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

The Sculptor by: Eleanor_Fenyx

Mature • Modern au (1970s)

Lan Zhan and Wen Qing are in a lavender marriage and when he sees an ad to be a model, he for some reason takes it. Who would've thought that the artist was just his type

(Such good pining + lil misunderstanding)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Punchline by: jiangnan

General Audience • Humor

“Sorry guys, I’ll only know love it if hits me in the face!” Wei Wuxian laughed....

And then Lan Wangji punches him

(It's so silly, I laughed so hard. Truly adore this one)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

i'm gonna drown when you wake up by: teenjiism

Explicit • Modern au

Neurodivergent Wangxian, getting together, slow burn, banter, PINING. It's just so good and I relate way too hard to adhd demisexual Wei Ying

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

in the blossom season (in the pouring rain) by: varnes

Mature • Modern with magic

Local florist, Wei Ying, seems to have a "magic touch" when it comes to plants. Lan Yuan meets someone he calls "Doctor Flowers" and Lan Zhan's apartment rooftop garden suddenly grows exponentially.

(I adore fics with A-yuan 😭)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

the soft animal of your body by: sysrae

Teen Audience • Modern with cultivation

BIG WHUMP WEI YING 😭 but it has a happy ending

Lan Huan needs a sitter for his newly acquired rabbit... and Wei Ying was in need of a warm bed and a shower.

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Going on charmingly by: scribbet

Teen Audience • Canon Divergence

Cloud recesses arc but Wei Wuxian was a disciple of Baoshan Sanren and he is better of for it.

Lan Wangji is a lil sassy in this one

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

breaking in soft fires and wildflowers by AhoyTheShipOfDreams

Explicit • canon divergence (set during sunshot campaign)

Lan Wangji gets cursed and he must have physical contact at all times or he will be in immense pain and eventually die. Thankfully Wei Wuxian is there to help

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Meet Me Friday At Seven by: craftyTrickster

Explicit • Modern au

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan meet when they both have a blind date with other people and decide to keep meeting before and after each date to commiserate.. it's slow burn but they work it out, lots of oblivious pining bc of miscommunication

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Traveling in shadows, chasing your light by: MusicMe_tc

Mature • Canon divergence (getting together)

Lan Zhan gets hurt protecting Wei Ying at Nightless City. He gets taken to the Burial Mounds where Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen both learn they may have misjudged the Yiling Patriarch while they all heal Lan Zhan

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

A Haunting Love by: omegas_m, Selenay

Explicit • Modern with cultivation

Lan Zhan moves into a house that seems to be haunted by a very talkative ghost.

This one is full of mystery, suspense, romance, ANGST but a very happy end

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

paint smears on sunny days by: SnowshadowAO3

Explicit • Modern au (getting together)

Lan Zhan is running late to pick up his son but thankfully his son's art teacher watches him. And Lan Zhan may or may not fall in love at first sight.

I love the softness and cute little A-Yuan.

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

it's a long road but we're not alone by: Stratisphyre

Mature • Canon Divergence

Jiang Yanli and Jin Ling "disappear" along with the Yiling Patriarch.

16 years later Lan Jingyi is on a night hunt and meets some rogue cultivators who remind Lan Wangji of a certain someone.

(Wangxian get together in the end)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

A More Practical Approach by: Elhana

Teen Audience • post canon

The Lan elders want to stop wangxian from doing it all the time so they make Wei Ying a teacher. He finds a way to teach the students with elaborate arrays and mazes in order to buy him and his husband some alone time

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Yearning for Miles by Murahi

Mature • Canon Divergence

Wei Ying finds an artifact in his dorm room at the Cloud Recesses. When him and Jiang Cheng test it out, they can see the future. With the help of Nie Huaisang they plan to change everything.

THIS IS THE BEST LONG FIC 🛐 I cried

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

The Light That Fails to Dim by: glowingreverie

Teen Audience • Canon Divergence

Wei Ying gets taken in by the Nie sect but still is able to learn the sword and not the sabre.

Really underestimated how angsty it would get but such a good happy end with brothers nhs and wwx along the way

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

inevitable everything by: isablightwood

Explicit • Canon Divergence

Wei Ying is Baoshan Sanren's adoptive grandson and still learns demon cultivation but differently. He offers his help with the Sunshot campaign but only if he can marry Lan Zhan

This one is angsty with unexpected twists + happy end

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Adventures in babysitting (or attempts at romance) by: Morgana_avalon

Mature • post canon

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan get turned into 5 year olds and Lan Xichen needs Jiang Chengs help

This might not be everyone's fav but I love baby Wangxian and secretly love the VERY rare pair. Unexpectedly fell in love with them (read the tags)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

The Golden Cutsleeve by: syrus_jones

Explicit • Canon divergence (Cloud Recesses arc)

Wei Ying saves a girl from being spiritually attached to an adult toy by attaching it to himself. Unfortunately he gets caught "just testing it out to make sure it's really attached to me" and in a dumb moment he gives it to Lan Wangji thinking he wouldn't actually use it right?

(Embarrassing but so funny, I love this one)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

A new found family by: MusicMe_tc

General Audience • Canon divergence (Cloud Recesses arc)

Lan Zhan gets turned into a baby and Lan Qiren has to take care of him while keeping it a secret. Unfortunately Wei Ying misses his buddy and sneaks into the Jingshi and finds a familiar looking child. He is given permission to help out and Lan Qiren gets a soft spot for the boy.

(Wangxian get together)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

The Simplest Way Forward by harriet_vane

Explicit • Modern au (accidental baby acquisition)

Wei Ying wakes up and finds a child in his apartment with a note from his cousin and no clear idea on how long this kid is gonna stay. Suddenly becoming a dad while in college is a lot. So he misses music rehearsal. Thankfully Lan Zhan comes over to check in on his classmate and ends up staying to help him out.

Acquaintances to lovers with a kid to speed things up

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

[aftercamlann]

We Are Bruised But Whole Together

words by tansyuduri, art by GYRHS Summary: 

Arthur wakes up in modern Glastonbury and to his unfathomable relief finds Merlin. But nothing is simple. Everything he knew is gone, for one. He wonders what of his achievements were actually his own, and not just Merlin's magic, for another. Arthur also has to face the fact that he kept the ban on magic going. Was he ever truly a good king?

There is also the “I love you” he mouthed to Merlin before dying. Something he cannot afford to focus on, because, as Merlin tells him, Albion’s time of greatest need is upon them.

Then comes the unthinkable. Merlin’s magic, which has been growing over the last thousand years, is suddenly too strong for the sorcerer's human body to handle. Faced with the prospect of losing Merlin, feelings suddenly come out and Arthur realizes that if he can save the man he loves and the land of Albion, he might be able to forgive himself for his mistakes and everything he is not.

The question is, can he?

Expect fluff, angst, humor, banter, hurt/comfort, whump, and lots of Merthur!

Click HERE for the story and HERE for the art!

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Nov 9th

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1. I'm looking for a fic that I swear I bookmarked！It's a modern AU where WWX has been dead for (13?) years in a world where people are starting to spontaneously resurrect from the dead (in a not zombie way). He finds his way back to LWJ and A-Yuan. I think near the end of the fic they get news that JYL has also been revived. @needleinthenonsense

FOUND!🔒💖 sudden nature series by everbrighter (M, 97k, wangxian, modern w/ magic, 5+1, family feels, parenthood, teenage rebellion, past character death, resurrection, pining, domestic fluff, angst, happy ending) 

NOT FOUND!🔒care by everbrighter (T, 35k, LSZ & WWX, wangxian, modern w/ magic, resurrection, family bonding, getting to know each other, past character death, pining)

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2. Hi!! This is my first time using Tumblr so I hope I’m doing this right… I read a fic (Ao3) where Lan Zhan was getting rid of a water spirit in the lake in Caiyi city (i think). Wei Yīng said something dirty and LWJ was going to retort when he was sucked underwater. He thought he was gonna die but soon got caught under like this wheel thingy where he was pulled up and his shoulder dislocated. He had wounds and was only saved thx to WWX using demonic cultivation. I have some screenshots if needed! @plumblossom-15339

FOUND? As Spring Will Surely Come by silver_sun (E, 38k, WangXian, Established Relationship, Lan Family Feels, Bottom LWJ, Hurt/Comfort, Hurt LWJ, depression - LXC, Near Drowning, Sick LWJ, sick LQR, LXC in Seclusion, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Bath Sex, Rimming, Blow Jobs, Anal Fingering, Post-Canon, Angst with a Happy Ending, everyone gets a happy/hopefully ending, Night Hunts, kind of slice of life vibes, Nightmares, Mental Health Issues, traumatic memory related flashback - LWJ, it's battle of nightless city related - warning will be on specific chapter)

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3. Hello, lovely people! I'm desperately looking for a fic I read in February, where lwj gets himself stuck as a bunny and iirc wwx is hired by lxc to bunnysit and because wwx had nowhere to live he was happy to accept. It might have been modern with cultivation. All I have is this quote I sent my friend: "And then Wei Ying had accepted! Lan Zhan was so overwhelmed that, just for a moment, his rabbit body took over, and he’d ended up doing a binky." Pls help!

NOT FOUND!🔒��� blue-ribbon bunny by cicer (G, 15k, wangxian, modern, shapeshifting, supernatural elements, fluff & humor)

FOUND! the soft animal of your body by sysrae (T, 15k, WangXian, modern cultivation, Golden Core Reveal, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Animal Transformation, Shapeshifting, Getting Together, Confessions)

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4. I'm looking for a fic where the lan and possibly the nie fought a war with the Jiang and jin and WY was one of the Jiang commanders. The Jiang lose and WY and LZ enter into a relationship. I remember a scene where the Jiang were on trial after the war and WY noted that JC looked shocked that he's being prosecuted possibly for war crimes @maryam25

FOUND? 🔒 Crossing Paths by Ilona22 (M, 21k, wangxian, shapeshifter au, graphic depictions of violence, war between sects, war crimes, not JC friendly, happy ending)

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5. Hello, thank you for your hard work 🙏 I'm looking for a fic where Wen Qing poisons Wen Ruohan, Wen Chao, Wen Zhuliu and Wang Lingjiao with berries that induce Qi deviation. Basically everyone but Wen Xu, who is in love with his brother's wife, because WRH punished him by having her marry WC. And I think instead of assuming leadership of the Wen sect he leaves with her. That's all I can remember. Thank you so much!

Hello, thank you for your hard work! For Nov 9th no. 5 was mine, sadly it's not the fic I was looking for. It might have been time travel? I'm not sure. Definitely no transmigration though. Thank you anyway for looking.

NOT FOUND! The Teenage Girl's Self-Saving System by mercyandmagic (T, 108k, WLJ/WC, WLJ/NMJ, wangxian, XiYao, XuanLi, ChengQing, OC main character, transmigration, everyone’s least fave characer gets character development!)

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6. hello! thankyou so much for you hard work. please help me find a fic that i've been looking for days now, in this fic wwx and lwj time went back to time as kids, as far as i remember they had their memories with them and both of their parents are alive in here. kid wwx told his parents to go to gusu, and when they went, he was greeted by kid lwj who remembered him and hugged him (lwj's family was shocked because their non affectionate boy was hugging someone) pls pls help me find it

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7. Hello! I was hoping you could help me find a fic, I don’t remember much of it. But i remember it took place during wei yings time in gusu in the cloud recess arc. i could be wrong on some details but from my memory it has the lans finding out about some negative aspect of wei yings life in yunmeng and the abusive treatment he dealt with. he is then welcome in cloud recesss bc they see how smart and kind he is. i remember specifically there was an oc that was a lan elder who was very un-lan like. he was very loud very much what u would expect from a character that’s similar to wei ying. he became wei yings shifu so to speak. they would invent things together. they were both known for blowing up things a lot. the lan healers mentioned once how the jiang healers definitely knew about the abuse wei ying was subjected to. and that they would be bringing up them not living up to their duties as healers at a conference or something. and that not helping wei ying in the abusive situation was a major taboo amongst all the healers and there would be repercussions for that. i think they mention that wei ying is often in the back of cloud recess where all the elders lives. like he’s just always around that general area. it’s kind of jiang bashing and then also positive/protective lans. that’s all i can remember so sorry if that’s vague i just really enjoyed reading it and can’t find it for the life of me. thanks for any help u can give me!! and as always thanks so much for all ur hard work 💕💕💕

FOUND?🔒in the shadow of moonlit flowers by Reverie (cl410) (T, 56k, wangxian, LXC/NMJ, Cloud Recesses, LWJ & NHS Friendship, Developing Relationship, POV LWJ, Minor Injuries, Autistic LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, aka the Madam Yu warning, Genius WWX, Light Angst And Hurt/Comfort, WWX Protection Squad, Gusu Lan Sect, Slow Burn, Protective LWJ, LWJ-centric) the eccentric lan elder that teaches wwx shows up in ch 11

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8. Hello! I'm looking for a fic in which wwx is summoned back by xue yang instead of mo xuanyu and wwx runs around pretending to be xue yang but he actually managed to change xue yang body into his own and just wear a fake face. I think Jiang yanli was summoned back too by Qin su and was the one to make xue yang summon wwx into his body

FOUND? the problem with authority by isabilightwood (M, 139k, wangxian, qingli, Canon Divergence, Sacrifice Summon, slightly dark!JYL, wq lives because i said so, Angst with a Happy Ending, Chronic Pain, Mild Sexual Content, Top/Bottom Versatile | Switch WangXian, manipulative relationship (background xiyao))

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9. Hey!! It's been a while. I hope all of you are doing great.

I'm looking for this fic where Wei Wuxian is in an arranged marriage with Lan Wangji and the only significant thing I remember about it is that Wei Wuxian breaks something that belonged to Lan Wangji's mother and he gets angry I think (?) Also, Wei Wuxian goes to Caiyi Town and comes back to apologize.

I'm so sorry. I know this isn't enough to go by, but this is all I recall. If you can find it, that would be great.

Thank you in advance. @poetic-writes

Hi! I'm number 9 on the latest fic finder. That fic rec is not the one I was looking for, but that fic is really good, and I'm thankful for whoever who assumed it was that particular one. As I mentioned in my ask is that Wei Wuxian breaks something that belongs to Lan Wangji and the latter is really sad and says something rude to Wei Wuxian I think on the lines of him being as bad as everyone had said and it kind of takes away the spirit entirely from Wei Wuxian and the light in his eyes dim. Thank you again.

NOT FOUND!🔒 Light of Stars (and the Destroyer) by Sanguis (T, 22k, WangXian, Legends, Arranged Marriage, Pining, Pining for your spouse, Adoption, Canon Divergence, Married Couple)

I've read number nine before but I don't remember the name! i have more details tho: lan wangji says that wei ying is as bad as jiang cheng says! wei ying locks himself in a room and cries a lot

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10. oh lovely folk- please can you help me? for the next fic finder- i’m remembering a WY sent to marry royal(i believe) LW. Madame Yu whips him before he travels to capitol. Meng Yao has suspicions and leaves him locked in a room not knowing WY is injured. does this ring a bell?

NOT FOUND The Bloodthirsty Prince and his Bride by moss_enthusiast (M, 27k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending Violence, Anxiety, Royalty, Strangers to Lovers, Arranged Marriage, Self-Worth Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Whipping, Blood and Gore, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Past Abuse, Child Abuse, Physical Abuse, Blood and Violence, Dark LWJ, Fluff, Angst and Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Shock, Anxiety Attacks) i am really unsure cause there is no Meng Yao as far as i remember, but this contains arranged marriage (where WY is sent instead of JYL ro marry prince LWJ) and highly abusive Madam Yu who whips WY a lot, and LWJ finds him hurt and passed out in the wedding bedroom after the ceremony. Recovery abd revenge included later.

FOUND!🔒The Imperial Compromise by shiroakuma (E, 61k, WIP, WangXian, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Royalty, YLLZ WWX, Concubine WWX, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Emperor LXC, everyone but LXC thinks WWX is to be his concubine, LXC Ships WangXian, Mutual Pining, Light Angst, Happy Ending, Bonding, Claiming Bites, Intersex Omegas, Intersex Alphas, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, Injury Recovery, Hurt/Comfort)

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11. I am back once again asking for your excellent help in finding a fic. It's an AU, where a previous emperor ordered Lan Zhan & Wei Ying to marry. Lan Zhan is an imperial official (in the tax department i think). There is a war with the Wen going on and Wei Ying is ordered off to fight. Everyone thinks WY is either dead or MIA, but when the war is won, LZ goes to oversees a prisoner exchange and finds WY who has been on a work gang in a mine all this time (with A-Yuan who he's adopted & Mo Xuanyu). I remember MianMian is the brilliant general on the winning side. You find out that LZ & WY basically fell in love right before WY got shipped off to war, so it's a happy reunion. Oh! Also, LZ writes very popular poetry under a pseudonym! Um...i remember that LZ bought WY a goat they called Amethyst because before he was disappeared WY wrote LZ expressing the wish for such a goat (LZ buys the whole herd in the end). Jiang Yanli and the Peacock are married and are the new empress and emperor. There's an epilogue or end note where the author gives info about how their life turned out - this is all in the 500s CE. As always, i can't remember the title or who the writer is, so HELP! Thank you so much!

FOUND! ❤️ Where the nightingales are singing, and a white moon beams. by Moominmammashandbag (M, 52k, wangixan, jin zixuan & lan wangji, no powers au, grief/mourning, aftermath of war, angst w/ happy ending, reunions, fluff & smut)

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12. I don't know if you still help finding fics about wanxian... but just in case, I would like to ask your help... I'm looking for a fic where wei wuxian and lan wangji are divorced, I think? and that lan wangji is a doctor and wei wuxian is like a secret agent or undercover agent with wein qing and wen ning. But then wei wuxian got shot at one of his undercover missions and as he was delirius and thought he was going to die anyway, he went to his ex husband's house and lan wangji, being a doctor fixes or provided first aid to wei wuxian. Turned out that lan wangji is still in love with him and they talk... it was not finished when I read it. But it was a good story full of angst... I hope you would bw able to help me find it.thank you in advance @etutb

FOUND? empty space beside me by scarletmoontears. I have a link but it doesn't work so I'm guessing the work was removed or locked. (I think it's removed, I logged in and clicked the link but still got the error message - Mod C)

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13. Hello! I've been pulling my hair out trying to find a wangxian fic. Unfortunately, I can't remember too much about it, but I believe it's a modern/university setting. The only scene I can remember is WWX going with LWJ to visit his uncle and brother. They live rather far and on a hill. LWJ doesn't visit often, and this visit is very tense between WWX and LQR. Something about past WWX doing to LWJ, or causing LWJ to get into trouble when they were younger. Anyway, LWJ then gets angry with his uncle about the treatment directed towards WWX. I also can't remember if baby a-yuan is in this fic and present during the visit, as sometimes fics blend together. I apologize if this isn't enough to go by, but I just randomly recalled this fic, and apparently, I did not bookmark it.

FOUND? ❤️ save a sword, ride a socialist by sysrae (E, 33k, wangxian, modern w magic, college/university au, fake/pretend relationship, single parent WWX, homophobia, light angst w/ happy ending, idiots to lovers, fluff)

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14. Hi. Im looking for a wangxian fic, where Wuxian had openly confessed to Wangji persistently until he dies in the seige. And then when he comes back in Mo Xuanyu's body, its wangji whose doing the confessing. Wuxian is sad sometimes, I think. @thatpantasticbitch

FOUND? When the Words Stop Coming by mrcformoso (T, 7k, WangXian, Canon Compliant, POV WWX, POV LWJ, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Pre-Sunshot Campaign, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Canonical Character Death, Love Confessions, Rejection, LWJ is a Panicked Gay, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Trauma, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, WWX confesses early on, But canon still happens, LWJ starts confessing after, but the tables have turned, Angst with a Happy Ending, LWJ rejects WWX, Then gets rejected by WWX after, "Get Lost", Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian)

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15. For fic finder, there was one specific fic - it may have been part of a series? - and I believe it was likely on the longer end, and may have involved time travel? The part I’m looking for is that in either WQ or WY’s POV, it explicitly acknowledges that wq and wy coparented LSZ while in the BM. If it helps, I solely read canon dynamics! @lovelyiknow

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16. hello for fic finder im looking for a fic where jyl married wq's mom i think? it's also time travel iirc. ive tried finding it in my history but alas. id really appreciate the help, thank you!

FOUND! 死而无悔 (To Die Without Regret) series by liverbiver9 (T, 26k, JYL & WWX, JYL/OC, WN & WWX & WQ, WangXian, JYL & WN, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, JYL-centric, POV JYL, Genderqueer WWX, Trans Male Character, Kid Fic, Child WWX, Fluff and Angst, Family Feels, Found Family, WWX is a Wen technically, Demonic Cultivation, Falling In Love, Assassination Attempt(s), WWX Isn't Adopted by the Jiangs, teen wangxian feature in the epilogue!, No Sunshot Campaign, No Golden Core Transfer, Everybody Lives, except for WRH and his children, mentioned minor character death, Gender Non-Conforming WWX, Trans WWX, Canonical Character Death, Time Travel Not A Fix-It, I make it kind of worse but kind of better?, YLLZ JYL, Demonic Cultivator JYL, Sect Leader JYL, Short & Sweet, Angst implied happy ending, Ambiguous/Open Ending)

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17. Hi! I'm looking for a fic where wangxian is in a zombie or apocalyptic setting. Wwx gets bitted and lwj is desperate to find a cure of some kind in a hospital but in the lwj has to kill wwx of smth like that. Thanksss!

FOUND? 🔒 when the sun goes out by travelingneuritis (E, 176k, WangXian, Modern Cultivation, tech cultivation, Necromancy, Angst with a Happy Ending, insecurity around adoption, Dad!WWX, dad!lwj, Grief/Mourning, Mistaken Identity, Mood Whiplash, Body Swap, sex tears!, Falling In Love, Consensual Somnophilia, apocalypse (localized), Smut, unrealistic sexual stamina, Flashbacks, Time Skips, Illustrations)

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18. Hi, I forgot to bookmark this one but I remember that Wei wuxian lived but his soul was shattered like he was a lived but he wasn't acting like himself before and eventually he starts committing suicide and lan wangji was protecting him and caring for him until he successfully kill himself, lan wangji takes care of him for 13 years(it's and happy ending) @lanwuxian0725

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19. hi i was hoping u could find a fix for me i’m p sure it was like a dark!lz fic. i think he may have traveled back in time to protect wwx and stop his death. when he travels back he is in his own body as a child. and lan qiren is like freaked out by him bc lwj remembers how badly lan qiren treated wwx in the past so he’s like not rly trying to hard to seem normal or that he likes his family. but i think they take in wwx before jfm can and lan qiren in this environment rly likes wwx treats him rly well but bc lz freaks him out and is weirdly possessive of wwx lan qiren is like constantly scared for wwx and is like always keeping an eye on them. like kind of the opposite of canon he looks at lan zhen like he’s corrupting his favorite student (wwx). the whole fic lan zhan is like obsessed with wei ying in a way that is like scary to everyone else (except wwx). i don’t rly remember more then that. hopefully someone can help me out i keep thinking about this and can’t find it. i rly need to learn to bookmark things. pretty sure it was from lan zhans perspective but i could be wrong. thank u sm hope everyone’s having a good day today!! 💕

NOT FOUND A Matter of Time series by mrcformoso (E, 84k, wangxian, time travel fix-it, graphic depictions of violence, underage, LWJ pov, JC pov, dark LWJ, manipulation, grooming, teen body adult mind for LWJ, happy ending for wangxian, problematic consensual underage sex, blood & violence, insane LWJ, manic LWJ)

FOUND! 🔒Something is wrong with A-Zhan! by HeloSoph (M, 15k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Sort Of, Dark LWJ, Morally Gray WWX, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, WWX Isn't Adopted by the Jiangs, WWX is a Lan, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, JC Bashing, Smitten LWJ, Possessive LWJ, Engaged WangXian, Blood and Violence, a lot of people die, LQR Metaphorically Qi-Deviates, because of, Shameless LWJ, LQR Tries, to fit into the following tag, Good Uncle LQR, Semi-Public Sex, or at least wangxian's version of it, Scheming NHS, POV NHS)

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20. hi i’m trying to find a fic i read once where wwx stays in all the different sects for like a season or something on behalf of his sect to prove he isn’t like a danger to the cultivation world. it may have been multiple chapters but he goes to all of them and helps in various ways. i believe it was after the war in his first life. back when everyone was scared of him. sorry if that’s not enough info i can’t remember anything else tbh thanks for ur help 🥺

FOUND? Field Trips with Wei Wuxian by antebunny (G, 42k, WangXian, WQ & WWX, NMJ & WWX, JZX & WWX, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Found Family, Angst with a Happy Ending, Misunderstandings, Miscommunication, protective Jiang siblings, Unreliable Narrator, due to WWX assuming ppl hate him, JYL is gonna dropkick her baby bro into having friends)

FOUND? The "Patriarch" Was Supposed to be Ironic (or, Wei Wuxian, Chief Cultivator) by groignequi (E, 51k, WangXian, JC & WWX & JYL, JC/NHS/WQ, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, jiang friendly, Not Everyone Dies, Really Most People Live (Except JGS), Chief Cultivator WWX, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Anal Sex, Consensual Non-Consent, sort of (at a canon-typical wangxian level), Dom/sub Undertones, Protective Siblings, Nonbinary NHS, POV Multiple)

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[regulusrules]

Guide for: What Tags to Add to Your Fic

Do you guys have the same problem of how when you're about to post a fic and reach to the tags section you're like .. what r werds 🫠

It's also why some works don't get any visibility even though we're blessed by god almighty for no algorithm in ao3

And I kid you not, I found some of the best goddamn fics out there by sheer coincidence because they weren't tagged right and they remain overlooked because of this fact

So here's a small classified guide for you!

This post is solely based on observation, the ao3 tag search, and my own personal system for tagging! I am not, by any means or sorts, an ao3 fandom moderator, but someone who's read nearly 30 thousand of the fics out there and struggles to read the rest

General tags for any fic

For fic forms: Art - Fanart - Digital Art - Drabble - Short - Complete - One shot - 5+1 Things - Poetry - Podfic - Songfic - Text Fic - Prompt Fic - Case Fic - Ficlet - RPF

For plot: Fix-it - Pre-Canon - Canon Era - Post-Canon - Canon Compliant - Not Canon Compliant - Everybody Lives/Nobody dies - Everybody dies/Nobody lives - Alternate Universe: Modern / Canon Divergence / Historical / College / Fantasy / Soulmates / Royalty / Powers / No Powers / Roommates - Kid Fic - Sickfic - Future Fic - Reincarnation - Time Travel - Plot What Plot (PWP) - Epilogue What Epilogue (EWE) - Slow Build - Missing Scene - Flashbacks - Crossover - ANY triggering topic you are writing about (eg: death, rape, violence, suicide, etc)

For vibes: Hurt/Comfort - Comfort - Hurt No Comfort - Humour - Fluff - Domestic Fluff - Fluff and Angst - Angst - Light Angst - Heavy Angst - Angst with a Happy Ending - No Happy Ending - Happy Ending - Whump - Crack - Cute - Humour - Dark - Sweet

For relationships: Slow burn - Romance - First Kiss - No/Mild/Explicit Sexual Content - Specific kinks (eg: Praise Kink) - Smut - No Smut - Feels - Getting Together - First Time - Pre-Relationship - Developing Relationship - Established Relationship - Mutual Pining - Pining - Friends to Lovers - Enemies to Lovers - Friends With Benefits - Love Confessions - Unrequited Love - True Love - Forbidden Love - Falling in Love

For characters: POV (insert character name) - Pining (character) - Hurt (character) - Jealous (character) - Worried (character) - Protective (character) - Dark (character) - BAMF (character) - Possessive (character) - Caring (character) - Top/Bottom (character) - Good/Evil (character) - Oblivious (character) - Manipulative (character) - Soft (character) - (character) lives - (character) dies

For tropes: Christmas - Sharing a bed - Weddings - Jealousy - Misunderstandings - Secret Relationship - First Meetings - Scars - Aftercare - Arranged Marriage - Kidnapping - Blood - Blood and Injury - Injury - Magic - Panic Attacks - Amnesia - Bathing/Washing - Soul-Identifying Marks - Touch-Starved

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

This fits Hiccup in my Magic AU to a T!

i will never EVER get sick of whumpees with special powers that they haven't mastered so they frequently overexert/hurt themselves from using their powers and nobody knows how to fix it <333

[oh-nostalgiaa]

Writing Prompt Masterlist, Part Five

Masterlist of Writing Prompt Masterlists

The Prompts

28 Days of Smut Prompts

50 Dialogue Prompts, Part Two

50 Vague Angsty + Hurt / Comfort Dialogue Prompts

50 Ways to Say I Hate You Prompts

79 Dialogue Prompts

After the Kiss Response Prompts

And They Were Roommates Prompts

Angst Prompts for All Your Heartbreak Needs

Angsty Dialogue Prompts

Angsty Sentence Starter Prompts

Arranged Matrimony for Royalty Prompts

Baby, It's Cold Outside Prompts

Best Friends to Lovers Prompts

Bubbly + Reserved Romance Dialogue Prompts

Childhood Exes to Lovers Prompts

Childhood Friends to Lovers (Reuniting & Reigniting) Prompts

Chilly Winter Prompts

Christmas Pick-Up Lines Sentence Starter Prompts

Comforting Sentence Starter Prompts

Confrontation Prompts

Dancing in the Rain Prompts

Death Prompts That Tore My Heart Apart

December Prompts

Defending the Right to Not Say Prompts

Dire Situations Prompts

Emotional Hurt / Comfort Prompts

Emotional Starters to Kick You in the Feelings Prompts

Extremely Self-Indulgent Prompts

Fan x Celebrity Prompts

Fluffy Moments Prompts

Gestures to Get You on Your Knees Prompts

Hand Touching Prompts

Heartbreak Sentence Starter Prompts

Hurt / Comfort Dialogue Prompts

Hurt / Comfort Dialogue Prompts, Part II

Hurt / Comfort Dialogue Prompts, Part III

Hurt and Comfort Dialogue Prompts

I Love You Prompts

Injured & Healers Prompts

January Prompts

Kiss Sentence Starter Prompts

Love Languages - Quality Time Prompts

Magic Fatigue / Exhaustion / Overuse Prompts

Meaningful Gestures Prompts

Modern Royalty AU Prompts

More Break-Up Dialogue Prompts

More Sick Prompts

More Teasing Dialogue Prompts

Mostly Angsty Drabble Prompts

Non-verbal Starter Prompts

Noticing / Being Noticed Prompts

One True Pairing Moments Prompts

Other Ways to Say I Love You Starter Prompts

Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body Prompts

Physical Contact Starter Prompts

Pillow Thoughts Prompts

Post-Breakup AU Prompts

Prompt List #1

Prompt List #2

Prompt List #3

Prompt Set 2

Prompt Set 3

Prompt Set 7

Prompt Set 8

Prompt Set 10

Prompt Set 18

Prompt Set 25

Prompts for Angsty Conversations

Prompts for Characters Who Are Slowly Falling in Love

Question Sentence Starter Prompts

Random Angsty Sentence Starter Prompts

Reunion After Physical Trauma Prompts

Romantic Date Dialogue Prompts

Roommates to Lovers (Who Are Scared to Confess) Prompts

Royal Arranged Marriage Dialogue Prompts

Royalty Dialogue Prompts

Royalty Forced Marriage to Actual Lovers Prompts

Scenarios with Undertones of Tension Prompts

Seduction Starter Prompts

Send a Number to Do X With Prompts

Set the Scene Prompts

Sexy / Suggestive Dialogue Prompts

Sinful Sentence Prompts

Six Word Sentence Starter Prompts

Softer Shippy Prompts

Spending Time Together Prompts

Super Soft Intimacy Prompts

Symbol Meme Starter Prompts

Tearful Goodbye Prompts

Teasing Prompts

Tired / Exhausted / Feeling Very Weak Starter Prompts

Tol & Smol Prompts

Valentine Interactions Prompts

Valentine's Day Prompts

Where to Land Prompts

Whump Dialogue Prompts

Words of Love Prompts

Worried Sentence Starter Prompts

Year of the OTP 2023 Prompts

[tansyuduri]

We Are Bruised But Whole Together

Arthur wakes up in modern Glastonbury and to his unfathomable relief finds Merlin. But nothing is simple. Everything he knew is gone, for one. He wonders what of his achievements were actually his own, and not just Merlin's magic, for another. Arthur also has to face the fact that he kept the ban on magic going. Was he ever truly a good king?

There is also the “I love you” he mouthed to Merlin before dying. Something he cannot afford to focus on, because, as Merlin tells him, Albion’s time of greatest need is upon them.

Then comes the unthinkable. Merlin’s magic, which has been growing over the last thousand years, is suddenly too strong for the sorcerer's human body to handle. Faced with the prospect of losing Merlin, feelings suddenly come out and Arthur realizes that if he can save the man he loves and the land of Albion, he might be able to forgive himself for his mistakes and everything he is not.

The question is, can he?

Expect fluff, angst, humor, banter, hurt/comfort, whump, and lots of Merthur!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Merlin held Arthur as the sun began to set. He rubbed a hand up and down the other man’s back as Arthur gripped him tightly. He could hear Arthur slowly working to pull himself together. 

Finally, Merlin heard a whisper. 

“Sorry.” 

“You’re apologizing to me?” Merlin said incredulously. “For having emotions?”

Arthur raised his head slowly, letting go of Merlin. “Seems so.”

Merlin could not let that stand. 

“Of all the… Arthur, don’t you dare try to apologize to me for crying after learning what you did just now,” Merlin told him. “Don’t you dare. You emotionally repressed, impossible, dollophead of a king! Don’t you dare apologize for being human.”

Arthur met Merlin’s gaze with his red-rimmed blue eyes slightly wide. Then a smile started to grow on his face. “You still can’t address me like that.”

“What? The dollophead bit? Or the emotionally repressed, impossible, idiot bit?” Merlin crossed his arms. 

“Both… Wait, did you just add ‘idiot’ to the insults, Merlin?”

“Yes. Seems I did. Problem, Your Majesty? ”

Merlin saw Arthur open his mouth to retort, then let out a slight laugh and shake his head. “I’m glad you didn’t change, Merlin.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Art By @gyrhs Army of Betas: Sleepygecko, Joyale, Anne Exception, vandalyssm, Sage_Owl, Loki_Lover_1234, @kadenemrys ____________________________________________________________

Read it and It's Sequal on A03 HERE

[daydreamwhumpinc]

You know what time it is...... It's Poll Time!!

Honestly, for me it's Fantasy genre. I just love the implication of different magical wounds, diseases, suffering and healing. I mean I love every setting, but like, where else can you have a blorbo heal another blorbo and collapse from magical exhaustion??!! 😩 😪

[nivasichakano]

✶ BG3 Fic Roundup ✶

Here's a rundown of my BG3 stories on AO3:

Driven: My current, ongoing Bloodweave modern AU where Gale and Astarion are rival Formula 1 drivers who get paired up on the same team. Read if you like: bloodweave :), angst, enemies to friends, enemies to friends to lovers, slow burn, Formula 1 Hustle: A completed Bloodweave fic set in a modern magic AU, where Gale and Astarion are rival YouTubers and (unbeknownst to Astarion) also internet besties on the subreddit r/galehaters.

Read if you like: bloodweave :), internet troll Astarion, cringegale, professor Gale, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, humor, eventual smut, eventual fluff

What Friends Are For: A completed Bloodweave fic that sees a post-game Gale going through a difficult divorce and an Astarion who's reluctantly agreed to keep an eye on him.

Read if you like: bloodweave :) , ADHDAstarion, sweet Gale but also a bit naughty Gale, humor, light smut, angst, hurt/comfort, eventual fluff

Hiraeth: A completed isekai long fic about Kish, a BG3 player who gets sucked into the events of the game. As she meets all the characters she knows so well, she finds herself in the middle of a complicated triangle involving a wizard and a vampire — and learns that this might not be the first time she's been in Baldur's Gate.

Read if you like: soft Astarion, traditional fantasy, romance, angst, fluff, humor, bittersweet endings

Bring Me To Heal: A completed medium-length fic that follows Fiain, a widow of the Battle of Baldur's Gate, and the irritating vampire who keeps seducing his clients in her tavern.

Read if you like: little shit Astarion, humor, hurt/comfort, angst, a bit of whump and trauma, fluff, tooth-rottingly happy endings

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

Focus

Summary: Written for AI-less Whumptober 2023 Day 28. Set in my Magic AU. A successful spell of any kind requires concentration, something Hiccup lacks. Unfortunately, when he finds his focus, it’s on the wrong thing entirely.

Warning: /

Rating: Teen and Up

Characters: Hiccup, Snotlout, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, Viggo

Pairing: Slight Hiccstrid, Slight Vigcup

Words: 1 708

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: Oxygen Deprivation, Sweating

Whumpee: Snotlout, Hiccup

Author’s Notes: Honestly love writing for this AU. And glad to add some Snotlout whump to this year's AI-less Whumptober!

Enjoy!

@ailesswhumptober

XOXOX

For as long as he’s been here, Viggo has been a mystery to Hiccup and he figures he always will be. One moment, the man has all the patience in the world for him and seeks to tutor him personally. The next, Hiccup is a stain on his existence. It’s a confusing dynamic that they have, one he doesn’t appear to have with anyone else in this castle.

“Take something and focus your magic for once in your life. Try the spinning top, maybe a child’s toy will finally help you grasp the basics!

Clearly, Viggo has never met an actual child before. But it is the reason why he had to go all the way down into the dungeon- now a place where artifacts and other nick-nacks are stored- to grab a child’s toy that hasn’t seen the light since the 1800s to practice his focus on. Because the key to a successful enchantment is focus, something Hiccup severely lacks. He blames the neurodivergency.

It’s lunchtime, but instead of taking a break, he’s taken the toy with him to the dining hall, where he sits at the table and, in every sense of the word, embarrasses himself in front of his newfound friend group.

“Oh, come on! Work with me here!” Hiccup moans in annoyance as he spins it only to watch it come to a slow stop, dashing whatever little hope he has. The point is to keep it spinning. Spinning, spinning, spinning, and spinning, for however long his concentration lasts. Endless motion.

Snotlout snickers. “This is just painful.”

Astrid kicks him underneath the table, he jumps and spills his soup. Ruffnut protests loudly when some of it splashes onto her pile of sandwiches.

“Maybe you’re not saying it correctly?” Fishlegs gently offers.

“Uh, Mr. Amazing over there? Mr. I’m-Awesome-At-Everything-I-Do? I thought he didn’t need to incant stuff?” Snotlout comes again as he uses his one napkin to clean it up. “No magic outside of class,” Viggo always says, but he’s pretty sure that rule only applies to him and the twins.

“Maybe you lack intent?” Astrid offers.

“I’m not sure what other intent besides “spin you stupid thing!” I can give it. I’m intenting the crap out of it! I’m going to be stuck at the basics forever,” Hiccup deflates.

Snotlout snickers again. “All the power in the world, still sucks.”

“Don’t you have soup to clean up?!” Astrid asks him, arms crossing.

“Uh, and who’s the reason I have soup to clean up?”

“Just go grab more napkins. Maybe it’s your unbelievably loud slurping that keeps distracting him,” she crosses her arms and Snotlout sends her a glare.

But it’s true. Partially. Hiccup can’t focus in the dining hall, but he couldn’t focus in the classroom either. There was this fly that kept buzzing around the room, coming close and then flying out of reach. His senses have always felt like they’re dialed up to 11, that’s just how his brain works, but it’s ten times worse when he’s trying to focus his magic on anything.

Hiccup brings his attention back on the top. Instead of spinning it beforehand, he lets it lie and tries to make it move that way. His fingers press against his temples, elbows on the table, as he glares at it as if it’ll help.

But the table doesn’t remain quiet, Snotlout gives him a glare and snickers before Astrid kicks him.

“Maybe it’s your nagging.”

“Maybe it’s your face!”

“Maybe it’s your face!”

“Maybe you should just shut up, Snotlout! As a matter of fact, stop breathing! Just stop breathing in my general direction so I can finally concentrate!” Hiccup snaps at only one arguing half. It’s true that Snotlout’s constant slurping was also throwing him off. He knows he was doing it on purpose, he likes to make things hard for him.

Hiccup focuses back on the top, willing it to spin, but still nothing happens. He doesn’t understand why. He can feel the magic in his veins thrilling, reacting to his command, so why won’t the top just do as he asks?

“Hey-” Astrid comes.

“Astrid, not now,” what if he just glares really hard? Maybe that will help.

“No, seriously, you need to stop.”

“And I need every noise in the world to stop.”

“H-man, look at what you’re doing!” Tuffnut comes, sitting directly across from Snotlout.

“No, look!” Fishlegs yells and Hiccup just barely avoids a soup bowl thrown at his head.

Now standing, he looks at Snotlout to find his hands around his throat in a struggle. He makes no sound as he’s not getting any air. He’s not even choking, he’s simply not breathing.

“Hey, come on, man! Stop!” Ruffnut yells at him, also rising to her feet.

“I-I-I’m- I’m not-”

“Yes, you are!” Astrid states as she stands and grabs Hiccup’s hands. “Come on, you can do this. Just break your hold on him.”

“What do you mean “just break my hold on him?” I have no idea how I’m even doing this!” Comes Hiccup’s panicked reply.

In a frenzy, Snotlout jumps up from his seat and slams a fist on the table. He looks like he’s trying to make his lungs work, but it’s as if they’ve forgotten how to. Others in the dining hall watch them, whispering.

“Come on, Snotlout, breathe. Just breathe,” Fishlegs comes over and throws an arm around him. Ruffnut stands on his other side while Tuffnut kneels in front.

“Just do what we do!” He says as he and his sister breathe in and out in an exaggerated manner.

“None of that will help! The spell needs to be broken!”

Hiccup looks at each of his friends, panic causing his heart to race. He can’t focus, he can’t break anything.

And there Astrid goes, out the door. Saying something about Viggo, she bolts as fast as her athletic legs can carry her.

“Come on, man! You’re the one doing this!” One knows they’ve messed up when even Tuffnut is seriously mad.

“I don’t know what I’m doing!” He yells, hands in his hair.

Snotlout’s face turns a deep blue, he pounds on his own chest, but still his lungs won’t work. In Fishlegs’ arms he goes limp.

“Snotlout, no!” he yells, holding him up. All Hiccup can do is watch on in horror. “Hiccup, just stop!”

Hurried footsteps enter the dining hall. A large hand settles on Hiccup’s forehead from behind, the owner mutters an incantation about sleep, and his consciousness fades. Eyes rolling back, legs going limp, Viggo catches the young man and gently lowers him to the floor.

A dramatic gasp fills the dining hall, Snotlout finally takes his first breathe in what feels like an eternity. Without the strength to stand on his own two feet, he hangs onto Fishlegs sluggishly, barely conscious himself. Relief sweeps through the hall.

“Now would someone be so willing to tell me what in the Hell happened here?” Viggo is beyond angry, as he usually is whenever something of this magnitude goes wrong.

No one answers simply because they don’t know how to. They were eating, there was some banter and arguing, and the next thing they know Hiccup was passively choking the life out of Snotlout.

Viggo breathes through his teeth, realizing that his students don’t quite know how to answer that.

“Fools, all of you,” he mutters before taking off his dark blue vest to fold up and place beneath Hiccup’s head. It shouldn’t take too long for him to wake up.

Fishlegs helps Snotlout sit on a chair as he catches his breath. His lungs are burning, his body is weak, and the most terrible headache he’s ever experienced pounds inside his skull.

“He was… trying to kill me!” He gasps, a hand still on his chest.

“He wasn’t trying to kill you,” Viggo bites back at him. He was nose deep in a book when Astrid came bursting into his room and disturbed his peace.

“Sir, what did happen?” Astrid asks. She figures they’re all dying to know. How could Hiccup just enchant Snotlout like that and how did his hold on him not break? He was panicking just as much as the rest of them, probably even more so.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Viggo asks. “Our dear friend focused his magic on the wrong target. And instead of breaking his hold, his panic strengthened it.”

In a way, it makes sense, or so they suppose. Heavy emotions can make or break a spell.

“Take Snotlout to the infirmary. I’ll wait for him to awaken,” their mentor orders, referring to Hiccup, and they listen. While Fishlegs and Tuffnut take their shaken friend away, Astrid and Ruffnut are urged to follow. Astrid shoots a glance at Hiccup behind her.

In time, the entire dining hall runs empty of guests, leaving just the two of them.

It takes a couple of minutes longer, but Hiccup eventually comes to. He’s understandably sluggish as he awakens from a brief sleep put upon him by magical means.

“Viggo?” He’s confused to see him at first, but as the events preceding his passing out return to him, he sits up in a hurry.

“Snotlout! What-what happened to him? Is he- is he okay?!” He asks his mentor, who raises a hand to silence him.

“Snotlout was taken to the infirmary, but I suspect he’ll make a full recovery. You have nothing to worry about,” he assures him.

Hiccup sighs and pulls his knees up, settling his elbows on them and a hand in his hair. He wouldn’t exactly say that he has nothing to worry about. He almost killed Snotlout! By accident!

Viggo lays a hand on his shoulder and once again he’s showing a side to him that the others don’t get to see much. Or at all.

“You’ll learn to control it,” there’s almost confidence in his statement, but Hiccup isn’t sure how that will ever happen.

“Sure, like I haven’t been trying to learn my entire life,” he mutters as he rises to his feet. Viggo watches him leave, expression unreadable. The dining hall behind him, Hiccup retreats to his room, unsure how he’s going to face anyone ever again.

[whumpingisfun]

Respect and Responsibility | 2 | S4MM0715640

TWs: dehumanization, pet whump (of the human variety), modern institutionalized slavery, fantasy whump, overuse of magical abilities, heavily conditioned whumpee, injured caretaker

Pet S4MM0715640 has been awake for 24 hours and 59 minutes and 30…31…32… seconds! 

It was dark. Noisy. But that’s okay! Because S4MM0715640 is a good Pet! He’s good and quiet and curled up nice and cozy and everything is okay, because soon S4MM0715640 will be seeing his Master!! 

He’s very excited to meet his Master. His Master needs him!! He is a good boy, and good boys do whatever their Master needs them to do! 

And right now, Master needed him to be patient and good and curled up in his safe little box. 

He can feel movement and shuffling around, and he’s slid side to side as his box is moved. It’s like being on a ship!! Woah… So cool. Not that S4MM0715640 would know what a ship is like, that’s from Before Times. But S4MM0715640 had been told that ships rock back and forth and that’s what it had been like except the movement was jerky and suddenly stopped. 

Now S4MM0715640 and his box are buzzing, a strange vibration and bump, the sound of something whirring past every so often.

And then someone honks!!!

It makes S4MM0715640 startle so hard he bonks his head against the wall of his box above the nice soft cushioning and tears spark in the Pet’s gold eyes. But… but S4MM0715640 is good! So… so the ache in the Pet’s head must be what Master wants, yes! So the little bit of pain is good and S4MM0715640 can bear it, because it will make Master happy! 

He buries his head into the softness below him, and tries not to cry too loud, because S4MM0715640 is a good Pet, and he’s supposed to be pretty and loudly sobbing isn’t pretty.

But his head really hurts…

He cries himself to sleep, curled up safe and warm in his box to the rumbling and distant whooshes of bigger things than himself passing him and his box by. 

S4MM0715640 wakes up slowly. He had been asleep for three hours. S4MM0715640 doesn’t know how he knows that, he just does! Time is a very familiar friend to the pet. It keeps moving and moving and yet he’s always aware of the trajectory. 

And then… something strange happens. 

Time doesn’t feel like time anymore. 

It feels weird and stuttery and strange, and S4MM0715640 doesn’t know what to think about the way the feelings buzz and stutter inside him like he’s full of angry bees. 

The feeling settles just slightly, just in time for his box to start moving again. It’s not as smooth as the way S4MM0715640’s box had been moving before. It’s full of starts and stops and it makes S4MM0715640 dizzy in a way that he’s not sure he’s supposed to feel! But S4MM0715640 is just a pet and maybe this is just how his Master is getting S4MM0715640’s box home after it’s been delivered. Maybe Master is just getting his box juuuust right before unboxing S4MM0715640 like the package he is! 

Oh! Oh, the bee feeling is gone. 

S4MM0715640 perks up as he hears the sound of fingers fumbling for the latch (his box was very sturdy, to keep him safe while heading to his Master!). He hears the Click!

He’s still left to blink-blink-blink his gold eyes (custom! Made just to order and to be extra pretty and shimmery) up as his Master stares down with pain hazed brown eyes -- and then collapses entirely.

“Oh! Oh no, Master--” he gasps, stiff muscles still letting him spring immediately into action (he was made for this he was made for this he was made to care--) and he catches the dark skinned man before he can fully hit the floor, cradling his Master’s head in his lap.

Pets are special. 

Pets are special, and are not human, no matter how pretty and similar their Master wishes them to look. Pets are biomachines, made up of tiny nanites that shift into whatever a Pet needs to be in order to serve their master. 

S4MM0715640’s hand transforms into a cloth, the familiar buzz-shift sending a subtle shiver down the Pet’s spine. But S4MM0715640 is a good pet, and S4MM0715640 was trained and made for this sort of purpose. 

S4MM0715640’s Master was sick. This is why S4MM0715640 was purchased. 

This is why S4MM0715640 exists. 

T̶͕̙̈́͂h̸͓̳̾ì̷̤̂s̶͚̉ ̷̱͔̒i̶̥̊s̸̖̋ ̵̬͗ẁ̴͇̔h̴̟͊ͅỳ̴̺̗̃ ̴̜͕́͋h̷̪̝͛e̷͈̯͌ ̷͉͛̔ǵ̴̢̥̊a̸͇̠͊̍v̷͈̼͐ė̷͕ ̴̰̉ị̸̰̿n̷̗͗͝.̵̟̓

He wipes the blood off from his Master’s face, quietly making a soft concerned buzzy-chirrup noise as he notes where the blood was coming from. 

Master was very sick. Had something bad happened to Master? Was the blood from when time had made S4MM0715640 feel like he was full of bees? S4MM0715640 hoped not, he didn’t want the bees to have hurt his Master. :(

Regardless of whoever had hurt his Master, S4MM0715640 was here now! He would help his Master recover! Because S4MM0715640 was a good Pet. 

He finishes cleaning his Master’s face and gently scoops the unconscious man up in his arms and brings the man to the couch. That’s cozy! A good piece of cozy furniture wonderfully suited for his Master. He gently lays his Master on his back, propping up his feet with a few pillows. That’s what you do when someone is in shock. 

He carefully puts his Master’s glasses on the table and gently tucks his Master in. He kneels on the floor at his Master’s side. Staaaaaring at his Master’s chest, just watching it rise and fall as a warm bubbly sort of relief floats in and around his chest. 

Like bees! But better. Nice and fuzzy and warm. 

S4MM0715640 is so happy when his master blinks open pretty brown eyes with a soft groan. 

“Master!!! You’re awake!!! Did the bees make you sick?” he chirrups in rapid succession. 

S4MM0715640’s Master looks confused for just a second as he takes in S4MM0715640’s customized appearance. S4MM0715640 can’t help but shyly wiggle in place where he’s still kneeling, blushing. 

“...I think I’m gonna throw up.” S4MM0715640’s Master says faintly.

S4MM0715640 only has that as his warning before his Master does, in fact, loose the contents of his stomach. But it’s okay!!! ‘Cause S4MM0715640 can catch it!! His hands turn into a little bucket even as he tries so, so, so, sososososo hard not to squirm and make little retching noises himself, nanites whirrrring in his skin as they decontaminate S4MM0715640’s surface and incinerates the bile with nary a whiff of the scent. It smells like roses instead. Eeeuuuuuuugghhhhh yuck yuck -- his white porcelain skin is turning darker pink as the nanites heat up and do their job. 

Master sinks back down on the couch with a shaky groan, covering his eyes. 

S4MM0715640 morphs his hands - now clean!! - back into hands and plunges his right hand into his own side, pulling out a chunk of shifting jittery nanites (it hurts it hurts it hurts) and morphing them into a silky smooth sleep mask. “Here Master! For your headache!” 

Master peeks out from his fingers, brown eyes fixating on the sleep mask. Something rolls through the man’s expression, something ugly and raw and it makes S4MM0715640 wonder if he had misstepped before the expression is gone and all that remains is a soft, tired smile. 

“Thank you.” he murmurs and that’s all S4MM0715640 needs before he’s gently slipping it over his Master’s head and watching with relief as Master relaxes completely with a shaky sigh, like his bones had turned to jelly. 

S4MM0715640 thought only Pets could get that limp, but it was amazing to see Master get so, so, so, close too! 

“Tell me, what is your name?” S4MM0715640’s master asks. 

S4MM0715640 squirms. 

“Pets don’t have names, Master.” he says sweetly. 

Master must be new to having a pet. Gaaaasp -- did that mean S4MM0715640 was Master’s… FIRST????

There may or may not be a little tiny nanite pitched squeal that S4MM0715640 will forever deny if asked. 

“Your designation then. What is your serial number.” Master’s voice is very flat. That’s okay, S4MM0715640 knows Master is in pain.

S4MM0715640 straightens, moving to pull away from the sleep mask. “Oh!! I’m S4MM0715640, Master! I am so very happy to help and serve you!!!” 

Master’s hand catches S4MM0715640’s wrist with unerring accuracy despite the sleep mask S4MM0715640 had crafted, stilling the Pet from pulling away completely. 

Master stays silent.

“...Master?” S4MM0715640 squeaks. 

“A string of letters and numbers will be difficult for me to remember every time I want your attention. I will refer to you as Sam, no… I… Sammy. That is who you are. You’re Sammy.” The hand trails up the stunned Pet’s arm to eventually cup his cheek. “Every incarnation of you is the same.”

S4MM0715640 - no, Master wants him to be Sammy - stareeees. Mouth open. 

He doesn’t know what that means. Did Master order Sammy to echo someone Master had known? 

Sammy is honored. (He feels sick.)

Master smiles, oblivious to the Pet’s inner turmoil. “You’re rather constant, you know. I wasn’t expecting…” he trails off, a frown on his lips, eyebrows twisting and knotting just above the sleep mask. 

“Thank you, Master.” Sammy says sweetly. 

It sounds like a compliment. 

Master shakes his head. “No. No, no, don’t call me that, you don’t get to call me that, I’m Theo. I’m just Theo.”

Sammy blinks, taken aback even as his head begins to pound a little as his programming screams. “O-okay Mas-Theo. M-Mister Theo.” 

The screaming, raging, rending horrible buzzing in his mind settles as Sammy appends a title. 

He can see Master’s mouth twist, but he wasn’t programed that way, he wasn’t! He can’t! He wasn’t made to be a casual companion! He was made to be a Pet!

He’s close to tears as he shoves all his effort into a sweet smile sounding chirrup that buzzes just subtly at the edges. 

He only relaxes as he sees Master relax. “Your voice is so kind.” Master murmurs. 

That makes Sammy happy. “I’m glad! I was made to be the kindest of all the MM class Pets!” 

Master gently tugs Sammy close, and like a good Pet, Sammy is very happy to oblige, snuggling up to Mister Theo’s side with a soft happy chirrup that is far more genuine than his first one. 

Master’s lips press against Sammy’s forehead, unerringly accurate once again.  “I will protect you,” he promises against Sammy’s skin. 

It makes Sammy buzz with joy. His Master wants to protect him??? A simple medical-companion Pet??? 

“And I wanna make you happy, Mister Theo!” 

“You are.” Mister Theo’s voice is quiet. Choked. It doesn’t sound happy at all. It makes Sammy confused. “You already are. I’m so glad I chose you.” 

Ohhhhh, emotions. Emotions can make Masters cry. He wiggles, snuggling even closer even though he’s only a Pet and not allowed on the furniture unless Master says so. He gives kiss!!! To cheek!! 

“I’m happy you did so, Master!! I was made for you!” 

Master just holds Sammy tighter and cries harder, but that’s okay. Master is happy. They’re happy tears! 

Sammy keeps gently pressing kisses to Master’s cheeks, chasing away the tears until he realizes that Master had fallen asleep again. That’s fine. Master needs his rest.

Sammy puts his cheek down on Master’s chest, eyes sliding closed as he relishes the fact that Master’s chest rises and falls without stuttering. 

Everything was going to be okay.  Taglist: @painsandconfusion @pigeonwhumps