“I'm sorry,” Juan babbles, panic rising once more. “I'm sorry I hurt you. I keep hurting you, and—”
Gently, Lincoln cradles his friend’s face. He leans forward until their foreheads knocked together. Wan's rapid pulse beat against his fingertips, two-toned eyes wide with shock. “Juan, you're not hurting anyone. Just... stay with me. I won't let anything happen to you.”
- A Shadow's Lament
i commissioned the fantabulous @nmvord for this scene in my qpr lincwan fic 🥹🩷🖤
bonus close up because look at all those stunning details !! <33
what if in this timeline, coping! wan has feelings for lincoln but he's repressing it REAL BAD bc he doesn't think he's good enough <///3 (and he has a mission to hunt down every monster)
so they're hardcore pushing the abelinc mcflint agenda because abel is everyone's type wonderful and has some kind of history with lincoln, so they're meant to be right?
then what if lincoln likes wan too, but he's pushing his feelings down because he ALSO thinks he's not good enough (and he's has a mission to hunt down his mother's killer.)
AND WHAT IF HE THINKS JUAN LIKES ABEL BECAUSE ABEL IS KIND AND AMAZING and he and juan get along so well
(meanwhile abel is just sitting there, reading his book and wondering why these two are throwing lingering glances at each other every time he looks up from the page)
A Shadow's Lament [Queerplatonic Lincoln & Wan Angst]
Fandom: It Lives Within (visual novel) @itlivesproject 💜
Summary: “Maybe once this is all over, we can spend a day where I shut up and let you talk to me about your issues.”
"Ha, don't know about that… but thanks for the offer.”
A training session turns emotional when Juan and Lincoln find it hard to let go of the past.
Characters | Ships: Lincoln McQuoid & Main Character | Lincoln McQuoid & Juan "Wan" Capili
Notes: CW for suicidal ideation, major survivor’s guilt, slight unintentional self harm, allusions to violence.
Set during the CH10 time-skip. I expanded on my sarcastic self-destructive low nerve mc & lincoln besties+ concept. hours of crying and pain later, here we are <3
tldr of the context: juan aka wan (they/he) is my mc on shadow path who hides their self-loathing with snark and a shitton of glossy lipgloss <3
---
Usually, combat training with Juan in the forest went something like this:
“Ugh, come on, Teach! Can't… you… stand… still!?”
Eyes still closed, Lincoln cocked his head to the left and narrowly avoided a flaming fist of Wan's fury. The sound of another, high-pitched shriek tugged Lincoln’s lips into a smirk.
“Focus, Juan. The monsters aren't going to stop trying to kill you if you say please.”
“Shuta ka, girl,” Juan deadpanned, even as another Lincoln swerved to the fight, yet another punch deflected. Power singed the space where he’d been; it flared in Juan’s tightly coiled fingers, pulsing to the beat of their frustration.
“Calling them a bitch isn’t gonna stop them eith—ow!” Lincoln’s eyes flew open at the small, sharp burst of pain on his nose. “Did you just flick me?”
“Yes. I might not be the best at controlling the Power, but do not underestimate the element of surprise,” Juan huffed. He leaned across a nearby tree trunk, wiping the sweat off his perfectly arched brow.
