That Desolate Road Blog

Mother Hen (Word Count: 4,315)

-Virgil and Janus are supposedly rivals, so why does Janus use Virgil being sick as a chance to test out his chicken noodle soup recipe?

Cowritten with @hoppingjunebugs for  @virgeandhis-pocket-protector during @tss-camp-and-coffee's 2026 Dynamic Duos Camp Cartoon event

Virgil Bakes Cookies (Chapter 28 of Featherless wings but it is 5,141 words long and honestly can be a stand alone fic.)

Dreaming of a Time Long Gone (Word Count: 713)

-Roman and Remus occasionally share a dream, but their memory diverges once they wake up

Negotiations (1,525)

- Virgil and Logan try to negotiate with Remy since they are desperate for some sleep. They are awful negotiators.

For Better or For Worse (7,173)

-Intrulogical enemies to lover soulmate au. They meet on the battlefield.

Self Discovery (Word Count 1,106)

-King Creativity takes Virgil into the Imagination for the first time, and Virgil gains spider traits. Then they have fun playing together <3

(Not So) Killer Instincts (Word Count 2,254)

-Anxceit fic where Janus hosts a surprise party for his boyfriend! Unfortunately, his boyfriend is a detective who specializes in hunting down serial killer and he may be just a tad bit stuck in work mode even once he goes home..

Meow You're Late (Word Count 1,248)

-Virgil and Roman were planning on going to a concert together, but will Virgil mysteriously turning into a cat ruin their plans?

Fluffy Wings (Word Count 1,902).

-A fluffy prinxiety story about Roman soothing Virgil's fluffy wings. The title pretty much says it all

The Selkie Au

-The Loss of Song (Word Count 4,739)

-The Baby Seal Mutiny (Word Count 2,485)

It Had To Be This Way (Word Count 1,216)

-King Creativity is the most famous superhero in the city! Desperate to keep his identity secret, Romulus is willing to keep his wounds, no matter how grievous, hidden.

Fault (Word Count 2,381)

-Thomas can't sleep, and Virgil tries not to panic. But this isn't Virgil's fault... Right?

Here's The Plan (Word Count 1,075)

-Virgil has a scheme that is sure to work! Janus thinks it would be easier if he just went to bed. (Made for anxceit week, day 2: schemes)

Hellos (Goodbyes Continuation featuring Janus' perspective) (858 words)

When There's No Tomorrow (4,637 words, but I'll create a master post for this once I have multiple chapters up.

The Hunt For Remy (1,151 words)

-Thomas can't sleep. Virgil thinks he can fix that. Chaos unfolds.

Last Shot (594 words)

-Roman lacks braincells; Logan has a gun. Not a good combo.

Octopus Fic (working title. I can't come up wit ha better one tho sooo yeah) (1,137 words)

-Remus had a pet octopus. It escapes and bothers Roman.

Goodbyes (3,500ish words)

-Virgil and Janus have a late night conversation over some tea. Soon, they will have to confront just what the word goodbye can mean.

May 2025 Drabble Challenge Master Post (15 works, all 100 words)

-Some of these are good ig. Some went on to inspire longer fics.

Camp Cartoon 2025 Master Post (8 works)

It shouldn't have be a shock. All of the Sides shared some of Thomas' features. However, in the mindscape one of Virgil's eyes tended to have a sheen of green or purple reminiscent of his puppet form. In this moment, past his wide pupils, Virgil's irises were a chocolate brown that sent a sunburst of fondness alight in his chest that Virgil felt any time he thought of Thomas.

Virgil paused, and drew closer to the mirror.

After mere moments, there was a shine of purple that took over his right eye, but the shape remained the same. He drew his hand up to lightly touch the corner of his eye, as if shocked by the familiarity he found with the shape. After all, for all of Virgil's thoughts that swarmed with self disgust at his state, he had forgotten that the ones he cared about so deeply shared many features with him.

Virgil smiled softly and drew away from the mirror. He took a breath, one for once that wasn't marred by the pressing panic he had been pressing down for so long at this point. And yes, at the moment he still had greasy hair and probably stunk worse than Remus beneath all of his layers and deodorant, but that could all be fixed.

With determination, Virgil stripped himself from the rest of his clothes and turned the water on.

His wing covers remained on, the cloth against him slightly with his movements.

Self compassion was easier when he was reminded of the others because he liked resembling the others. And Thomas took such pride in his own wings. It was a pride that reflected in all of the others. to some degree for another. So, for all of his previous bravery, Virgil's confidence flickered like the meager candle of hope it was.

He stuck his hand into the water, but it was still cold. He checked the water knobs, and the hot water had been turned on, but just wasn't ready for Virgil to hop in yet. Was this a sign? The anxious side took in a deep breath that filled the bottom of his lungs. Even if he didn't deal with his neglected wings, the covers getting water logged would only make things worse. Either he would be exposed in front of the others, or the extended wet on his feathers might make things worse. He knew that sometimes damp towels were used during preening, but for everyday moments? That sounded like a nightmare that had the potential to damage his feathers even further than they currently were. Could his feathers mold? Mildew? Grow mushrooms?

Prolonged dampness would do him no good.

Virgil's fingers began fumbling with the straps to his cover. The top strap popped loose, and Virgil tugged the second one free as well. Instantly, the fabric lifted from the base of his wings. With a couple of wiggles, the fabric fell to a clump on the ground in a cloud of feathers and stench that set Virgil's mouth agape.

Shedding a couple feathers every so often was normal. Collecting those normal sheds in one place while at the same time irritating his already messed up wings was not.

The worst part was that some of the feathers had collected inside of the wing covers instead of floating into the air or scattering across the ground. What feathers he could see were dulled from dirt and grease and little strings from the black and gray cotton. Said fabric seemed to be darkened by grease at the fabric that rested on the base of his wings, which was a spot he didn't often see considering it's awkward position. Had it bled through and he hadn't noticed? Virgil could only be thankful for Patton's foresight of using a dark fabric to make his wing covers. With just one glance at his actual wings, he noticed how his feathers were so clumpy, they bordered on mats where his wings bent and at the base of his wings—all places where the fabric would muss the feathers the most.

In all honestly? Virgil's sugar inspired mania was not enough to deal with this.

Still, it was refreshing for his feathers to finally have some breathing room. Across his chest, there were red indents from where the straps had dug into his skin in a fit that he thought was comfortable. His ribs ached slightly now that they were free from their binding. He didn't think had been wearing the covers for that long, Virgil grumbled internally. Still, he longed to stretch in a way impossible to manage in the small bathroom to relieve the ache Virgil had misattributed to solely his wings.

Virgil was tempted to examine his wings more deeply, but he stopped himself. At this point, he would rather start fresh than properly deal with the mats, so it would be better to not touch his wings at all for the moment.

Probably.

Maybe.

Truthfully, Virgil really didn't know anymore. It wasn't like anyone gave him a handbook on what to do if things got too far. And to get one would invite too many questions. His mind swirled with all of the possibilities that could go wrong and suddenly the task seemed so huge but—baby steps.

He could do baby steps.

Virgil reached his hand into the shower's stream and felt the warmth. Virgil stepped into the soothing spray while purposefully keeping his wings outside of the water. He could have borrowed the plastic covers Roman created just for this, but he didn't want to dirty it. Still, even with the extra work he was finally showering. His eyes closed and tried to let his muscles relax, because isn't that what happened when people showered with water so hot it turned their skin red? Of course, Virgil's water was only a comfortable warmth instead of a searing heat, but he found it relaxing all the same.

He lathered ample shampoo in his hair once, and dirt and flaking skin came free beneath his scratching nails. He shampooed his hair again, making sure that all of the grease was truly out. Virgil put a dab of conditioner in the end of his hairs, and he imagined what it would be like for his hair to finally be soft instead of slick. He grabbed a puff ball and pulled it towards him to get it wet. Onto the wet puff ball, he squeezed body wash that smelled vaguely like citrus. He worked it into a lather against his palm despite knowing it would do that regardless on its own. He scrubbed his body vigorously once, twice, three times. He even borrowed some of Roman's fancy face wash.

Once he finally finished, he just stood there, basking in the water.

He thought he would feel victorious at this point. He did the big scary task that he had been putting off, and everyone said that would give him a sense of triumph. Unfortunately, Virgil knew that there were even bigger tasks he was still neglecting. Besides, who considered showering as an accomplishment?

As Virgil dried off, he couldn't help but realize that despite it all, he did feel clean. He finally felt fresh and like he could lie in bed without dirtying his own sheets. So maybe he didn't feel the rush of a task complete, but the relief was still rather nice. Maybe he could be proud of himself for this afterall, even if this wasn't something that he would brag about.

Nodding as he slipped on his fuzzy pajamas, Virgil walked back to his room while carrying his wing covers in his arms. This was a good way to end a day, Virgil thought.

A very good way indeed.

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