Currently in stock, we have two divorced dads, two chaotic twins, a snake enthusiast, and his neurodivergent ten year old son. There might be a polycule in the back, I can check if you’d like? We also have a shipment of familial bonding, mild emotional angst, and enemies to family trope on its way if you’re patient! [au run by @januceit]
This is the blog for the Cinderella Complex AU! It is the story of Roman Woods and his family. His fathers, Logan and Patton, divorced when he and his brother Remus were ten. Now, at age fifteen, he has learned that Patton is seeing someone new, a dad named Janus Audley who is raising a ten year old named Virgil — both of whom Roman despise. The AU tackles both the process of Roman coming to terms with this development and the sort of relationship he has with his family!
Here’s some content to be mindful of and some tags to follow:
• Ships
Moceit - Obviously since Patton and Janus are dating in this AU, there will be moceit, and it will be tagged with the main moceit tag. If moceit makes you uncomfortable, this AU may not be for you since it’s the primary ship of the AU, but regardless, if you’re truly determined and possibly stubborn, you can just block the moceit tag!
Logicality - Logan and Patton were once together and were married (of course) and some posts may discuss their former romantic relationship. These posts will be tagged with #logicality mention and possibly #former logicality which you can block if you’re interested in the AU but either don’t want to think about them having been in a relationship if you don’t like the ship, or no longer being in a relationship if you’re particularly attached to the ship (though if the latter applies to you, you might find it harder to enjoy the AU, since there is the rampant moceit)
Thomsleepco - In the background, there is a ship I’ve dubbed “thomsleepco” which is the ship with C!Thomas, Remy, and Nico Flores (Thomas is dating Remy and Nico, but Remy and Nico aren’t dating each other). If this ship makes you uncomfortable but you’re still interested in the AU just block the tag #thomsleepco [note: some posts will be tagged with #thomsleep and #pintroverts if there’s more focus on those particular dynamics in the polycule]
These are the only romantic relationships involved in the AU so far, but the platonic ships will be creativitwins, platonic (somewhat brotherly?) prinxiety + dukexiety, familial anxceit, familial intrulogical + logince, and familial intruality + royality. If these make you uncomfortable then it might be best to steer clear of this AU since these platonic bonds are important to the story, but they will be tagged as #creativitwins, either #brotherly prinxiety or #platonic prinxiety, and either #brotherly dukexiety or #platonic dukexiety (depending on the progression of their respective relationships), and #familial [other ships i mentioned]
That being said, for this particular AU, I will not tolerate romantic prinxiety, dukexiety, logince, royality, intrulogical, intruality, or anxceit, and in general I will not tolerate r*mr*m (if you ship the twins in any context ever, stay away from me). If you ship any of the other mentioned ships romantically in general, fine, but they’re not romantic in this AU and I want to make that very clear before y’all go “omg virgil and remus/roman should smooch 👁👄👁” and stuff so just don’t. Patton and Janus will smooch, Thomas and Remy will smooch, and Thomas and Nico will smooch, but that is it
So if any of this makes you uncomfortable you’re more than welcome to block this blog! I won’t take it personally; cultivate your most ideal tumblr experience 🖤
• Tags
- #ccau general: this tag is used for any posts that discuss the AU at length, whether it’s deeper plot points or random character facts
-#cc [character]: for posts that primarily feature any of the AU characters. For instance, posts about Janus will be tagged with #cc janus
- #ccau art: for art I make of the AU
- #ccau story: for the main Cinderella Complex story I pray to gods I actually write it
- #ccau asides: for short (or not so short) ficlets that are not central to the main plot but do take place in this universe (whether it’s considered canon or not)
- #ccau memes: exactly what it sounds like
- #ccau music: for character playlists and random songs that remind me of one of the characters!
- #ccau incorrect quotes: incorrect quotes that the characters would say that are specific to this au!
- #the great meme exchange: logan and janus are at some point known to send each other memes that make them think of the other person. these memes tend to be especially niche and somewhat nerdy
he’s got a silver 2003 toyota camry that he’s been clinging to for like 17 years. it’s old, beaten up, practically on its last legs (wheels?). logan named her tina
he clings to this old ass musty car cos it’s one of the only things that hasn’t changed. tina was the first car he ever had. he had his first kiss with patton in that car. he brought roman and remus to school in that car. that car has seen so much, and she’s been with logan for so long, and logan can’t let go of what that car stands for
so when she finally breaks down, logan does too ;-;
Warnings: discussion of prescription medication, mild argument at the end, and i think that’s it but lemme know if I missed anything!
Word count: 2220
~
Roman was rudely awoken by a paw swatting his face.
He jerked his head up, caught quite off guard by consciousness. Mittens put her paw on his nose again. Roman relaxed into the mattress, content to lay there a few more minutes.
"Mittens, I don't know what time it is, but I guarantee it's too early for this." he said amusedly, his voice a bit thick with sleep.
She began grooming herself, which Roman interfered with by ruffling the fur on the top of her head. She actually shot him an offended look, which made him laugh.
He yawned and glanced over at Remus's bed; his brother was still asleep, though Dog was nowhere to be found. She must have been hiding under his bed as that was a favorite hiding place of hers.
Roman held his rabbit plushie, Mrs. Fluffybottom, close and attempted to go back to sleep, though this proved to be a challenge. Perhaps because he knew it was Sunday.
Sundays always excited him to some degree. Sunday was always the day he would trade parents.
This past week he had stayed with his Pa, and today he would be going to stay with his Dad until next Sunday, when he would come back here for another week. This was the process, and had been for the past five years. It had taken him some time to adjust, but nowadays he tended to look at it optimistically.
If he ever got sick of the dad he was staying with at any given week, he could look forward to Sunday when the swap commenced. If he forgot to do his homework he could tell the teacher that he left it at his Pa's house and he was currently staying at his Dad's house, which bought him an extra day nine times out of ten. Every week was like an exciting new adventure with amazing opportunities waiting just around the riverbend.
It had downsides, but at least his parents seemed happy.
He started smelling pancakes and his stomach growled. It had to have been close to eight in the morning. Pa was always on time for Sunday breakfast.
"Damn, Daniel, where'd you get those?" Remus suddenly muttered in his sleep. Roman couldn't help but roll his eyes.
After a few more minutes of Roman attempting to get some extra sleep, there was a sharp knock at the bedroom door. Roman loudly sighed, not surprised at his failure but nonetheless disappointed.
Pa opened the door just a bit and popped his head in. "You boys awake?"
"Regretfully," Roman replied. "Well, I don't know about Remus." He grabbed his pillow and chucked it at his brother, who jerked awake with a sharp inhale. "Hey Remus, you up?"
"Roman—"
Before Pa could reprimand Roman, Remus whined and threw the pillow back at him. It almost hit Mittens, who darted off the bed and out the door.
Roman scoffed offendedly. "You tried to murder my cat!"
"She was in the way!" Remus replied groggily, sounding rather annoyed.
"Boys," Pa spoke up again, mild amusement in his tone. "Breakfast is ready."
"I'm gonna astral project into the kitchen," Remus mumbled.
"I'm not sure how you'll eat without a physical form, but good luck with that," Pa pointed out. "I'll let you two get ready, just try not to murder each other while I'm not looking."
"If I do murder Roman, I want it to be on record that he started it."
Roman scoffed. "And if I murder you, I want it on the record that... nuh uh!"
"No deaths today, please," Pa insisted. "If I have to explain to Patton why he's only getting one of you today, I would honestly rather flee the country."
Roman stuck his tongue out at Remus, who mirrored the gesture. Typical morning routine.
Pa went back to the kitchen and let them get ready. Roman got out of bed first, grabbing the outfit he'd laid out on the ottoman at the foot of his bed. He was ready for today.
"Can't we just do breakfast in bed today?" Remus complained, Roman scoffing.
"That's a birthday exclusive and you know it."
"Well, it's almost our birthday."
Roman looked at him in confusion. "It's September."
"Your point being?"
"Our birthday's in June."
Remus scoffed. "Time is a construct, sheep."
Roman went to the bathroom to get dressed and brush his hair. He saw his reflection and unconsciously picked at his acne, which was a habit he had no control over. It was almost compulsive, something he had to do if he wanted to be at peace.
He put on his black jeans, white Mickey Mouse shirt, and red flannel. He smiled at his reflection, his braces glinting in the fluorescent light. He loved this flannel almost as much as Mrs. Fluffybottom.
He went to the kitchen table and saw the pancakes were blueberry. Blueberry pancakes were Roman's favorite, so he was especially happy with this.
He got a plate and piled on some pancakes and scrambled eggs and Pa sat down with him.
"Morning, Roman," he greeted. "Is your brother coming?"
Roman shrugged. "He was awake when I went to get ready."
As though summoned, Remus came into the room and plopped into a chair. He grabbed a pancake and tiredly shoved it in his mouth.
"Did you party all night or something?" Roman joked.
Remus grumbled as he chewed his pancake and swallowed it. "You kept me up all night with your snoring, jerkhead."
Roman scoffed. "I don't snore."
"How would you know? You're asleep when it happens."
Roman rolled his eyes. "I just know I don't."
Pa hummed. "Ah, well, you're not usually loud, but...."
Roman's heart dropped. "I hate it here."
"Oh, did you boys take your meds?"
Roman sighed. "I forgot. How many sticky notes do I need to put on that mirror?"
"I'm gonna," Remus murmured.
"Set reminders on your phones for nine, you can take them after breakfast. And remember to pack them for your stay at Patton's."
Roman nodded. "Got it. Did you take your meds?" he asked lightheartedly.
Pa grinned. "I did, yes. Oh, we need to stop by CVS before going to Patton's; Remus's Vyvanse refill is gonna be ready soon."
"Nice, can't wait to go to the drug deal," Remus joked.
Pa sighed. "You always call it that."
They all ate breakfast in relative peace. Today was going to be a good day.
The twins got their stuff packed and took their medication. They said goodbye to the cats as always, and they went with Pa to the car.
After the trip to CVS, Pa drove the twins to their Dad's house. Roman excitedly fidgeted to the sound of Pink Floyd and Pa's ancient car, affectionately named Tina, bumbling along. He flipped the sides of his Rubik's cube as a stim, recounting everything he packed and making sure he didn't forget anything.
They pulled up the driveway and Roman almost dove out of the car in his excitement. Once the car was in park behind Dad's minivan, Roman threw his seatbelt off and scrambled out of the car as Dad came to greet them.
"Hey, kiddos!" he exclaimed excitedly, Roman giving him a tight hug.
"Hi, Dad!"
Remus casually left the car, backpack lazily slung over his shoulder. "It's too early for me to express fondness."
Dad chuckled. "I get it, not everyone is into mornings every day. You stay up late?"
"Not by choice. I'll be more bushy tailed with some Mountain Dew."
"That stuff is so unhealthy," Pa commented as he stood by his door.
"Me too."
"Logan, you gonna come in for coffee?" Dad asked.
"I'd love to, but I still have to figure out what autumn themed projects to have my students do. Not to mention I'm sure you have things you need to get to."
Dad sighed softly. "Ah, yeah. Do you have any ideas for the kids so far?"
"Well, I could have them do something simple, some autumn themed crosswords and word association games. I wanna challenge them, though. Make it fun."
Roman thought of something. "You could maybe play a word association game involving autumn words, and like... so everyone makes a paper leaf in colors like red and orange and yellow, and you have them write words on them associated with autumn. Then they can put the leaves on the door."
"Ooh, I like that!" Dad praised.
Pa nodded his head. "That's actually a really good idea. Thank you, Roman."
Roman smiled, scratching the back of his head. "I mean... yeah, uh, thanks, I just... yeah."
"I should get going. See you boys next week."
This was Roman's least favorite part about Sunday's.
He ran up to Pa and gave him a big hug. "Love you, Pa."
"Love you too, little prince."
"I don't feel like hugs right now, but I'll regret it if I don't, ugh," Remus complained.
Pa turned to Remus. "You don't have to give me a hug if you don't want to. I understand you're not feeling your best at the moment."
Remus whined and wrapped his arms around Pa. "It's fine."
Pa got the boys' things out of the trunk, the two of them taking their respective suitcases. Dad gave him a hug before he left and the three of them went inside.
Dad's dog, Colin, was at the door to greet them. Roman smiled widely as he gave Colin lots of love.
"Hi, Colin! You miss me?"
"He sure did," Dad confirmed. "He slept in you guys' rooms all week, going back and forth every night."
"Aw, poor buddy," Roman cooed as he rubbed Colin's belly. "It's okay, Collie boy, we're here now. Oh, hey, Dad, can Thomas come over today? He's writing a song and he needed a bit of help, so I thought if he came over, we could figure it out."
Dad thought for a moment. "Uh, after lunch, sure."
Roman furrowed his brows. "Why after lunch? Just... curious."
"Oh, just... it would be nice if he got to eat lunch with his family, ya know? Plus it's still pretty early."
Roman thought that was a weird reason but hesitantly accepted it.
He brought his suitcase up to his room and sat on his bed, sending Thomas a text.
R: he said it was cool, just after lunch for some reason (he said it was because he wanted you to be able to have lunch with your family but it still feels weird)
T: I mean I'm cool with waiting! You guys have lunch at noon right?
R: yeah
R: am i overthinking
T: I have no way of knowing but knowing you I wouldn't be surprised 😂
R: ha ha, i just feel like he's acting weird that's all
R: i feel like somethings gonna happen but idk what
T: I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. Pattons a good dad, what's the worst he can do? Make a cringey pun? 🤣
R: lol true. maybe im looking into it too much. see u at like noonish or later ksjdk
T: Lol see you then 💜
Roman spent the next three hours playing Kingdom Hearts in the living room, Remus napping on the couch for about half that time. Once he woke up he was feeling more like himself, making dumb jokes about the game as usual.
Dad made some quesadillas for lunch, making them look like shark faces using black olives for eyes and cutting out a shark mouth and filling it with guacamole.
This worried Roman a little. Dad tended to make fun looking foods when he had to say something the twins wouldn't like.
As they ate, Dad spoke up. "So, I have something to tell you kiddos."
Roman knew it.
"What's up, Dadtron?" Remus asked around a mouthful of quesadilla.
Dad cleared his throat. "Well... I guess I'll just get it out of the way. I'm... uh, seeing someone."
A cold pit filled Roman's stomach.
"You are?" Remus asked in shock. "Who is it?"
"His name is Janus, we're both on the school board. He's a really nice guy, we've been hitting it off. It's still... a little early to say anything for sure, but... I really like him. It felt right to tell you two before we went any further, though."
Roman couldn't process this. Dad was seeing someone? Someone who wasn't Pa? This was unacceptable. He couldn't take this.
"That's so cool!" Remus declared. "Ro, we have three dads now! We're collecting them like Pokémon!"
"He's not our dad," Roman snapped. "I... I won't let him."
"Roman, I know this comes as a shock, but—"
"No! I don't want a... a stepdad!"
"Look, I get it, you're surprised, and maybe I could've... found a better way of telling you, but listen, kiddo. You do not have to think of him as anything you don't want to. If you just wanna think of him as... someone in my life that makes me happy, then that's all he has to be. We don't have to rush into anything."
"Yeah, Ro, give him a chance at least," Remus added.
Roman took a deep breath. "I need to... do something." He couldn't even think of a good excuse to get up and leave the kitchen.
he uses a cane to help get around and has used it since he was 22. the only one who didn’t give him shit for it was his sister Mal (the dragon witch) and his now ex wife. everyone else in his family made fun of him for it
(just as a reminder janus is gay but didn’t know until he was married)
