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skyward-floored · 1 year

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Four Swords Adventures - oneshot

Crossposted from ao3 :) This one has mostly influence from the manga, but it’s supposed to be able to fit into the game too. Anyways poor Link is not dealing well with aftereffects of using a magic sword for several months.

Ao3

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Zelda poked her head into the library, sighing as she finally found the object of her morning-long search.

Link sat at one of the smaller tables by a window, an open book in front of him he wasn’t paying attention to. His gaze was on the drizzly clouds outside, and there was a weird look on his face. When Zelda came up to his side he didn’t even seem to notice her, merely continued to stare almost blankly at the rain.

“Link?”

He startled and whipped around towards her, eyes wobbling with color.

Ever since Link had returned the Four Sword to its resting place, his irises had no longer been solid blue like they’d been before he pulled the blade. The left one was half blue still, but had red painting the other side, and his right eye was half-green half-violet. The colors never mixed, but moved around a lot, swirling and rippling like the water in the castle moat.

Zelda thought they were beautiful, even if they were a physical reminder of the trouble Link had had ever since returning the sword.

Trouble he’d been exhibiting more and more as of late.

Which is why Zelda had been looking for him, and why she was pleased to have finally located her missing hero after searching for him all morning.

They needed to talk.

“Oh. Hi Zelda,” Link said, closing the book in front of him. Something about shadows and light. “Did you need me?”

Zelda hesitated. “Sort of. I was surprised to find you here, I thought your father had you helping with that training exercise thing today?”

The blue in Link’s eye increased a bit.

“I was. Father gave me the day off.”

He looked back out the window, and Zelda sat down across from him, wincing as her chair squeaked when she scooted it in.

“Your father doesn’t usually give you days off without reason,” she commented gently, “are you feeling okay?”

Link nodded his head. “Yes. I mean, I was...”

He cleared his throat, and the violet increased. “...I wasn’t able to perform my duties to the length I needed to and he thought it best for me to rest instead of impede progress.”

Zelda frowned again. “Did he really say that?”

The blue came back.

“No but he meant it. I could see it in his eyes, he just wants me out of the way so I won’t mess anything up,” Link muttered, and Zelda eyed him, watching as the blue was pushed back as the red opposite it tried to make headway.

He sighed.

“But I don’t know for sure,” Link continued, slumping a little, “it sounded like he meant it that way though, but Father wouldn’t do that, would he?“

Zelda dredged up a smile for him, trying not to act too concerned. Link seemed particularly... unsteady today.

“No, he wouldn’t. I think he’s just worried about you Link,” she said gently. ��We all are.”

Link shrugged, the violet coming back, and looked down at the floor.

It had been barely a month since everything with Vaati and Shadow and Ganon. Zelda didn’t usually wake up in the middle of the night too much anymore, (even if she still kept a light on as she slept) but Link had been affected much more differently than she had.

He may have been one person again, but his emotions were still a bit... split, swinging one way and then the other, his eyes sloshing with color. They’d been gradually getting worse as time went on, an extra stern voice here, a snarky comment when it was inappropriate there. Just a few days ago he’d gone from openly sobbing to blank indifference within the space of a few seconds when he’d stubbed his toe.

And Zelda knew it was troubling him more then he let on.

“Link?” she asked gently.

Her hero kept staring at the ground, his eyes flickering a bit.

“Link.”

He continued to stare at the floor.

“Link!”

The hero seated across from her startled, pulling his gaze from the ground up to her face.

“Are you all right? You’re not... did you even hear me?” she asked, concern welling back up in her when Link didn’t immediately reply. He blinked once, then after a minute nodded, sitting up straighter in his seat.

“Yes Zelda, I’m fine. My apologies,” he said, the purple in his one eye wavering over the green.

Zelda gave him a look. Enough was enough.

“I called you three times before you answered Link,” she accused, leaning over the table at him. “And you’ve been avoiding me, and all the knights of Hyrule, and barely been eating too. I’ve seen you at dinner, you’re not okay. That’s why your father keeps giving you days off and why I was looking for you and why we’ve both been keeping an extra eye on you, everyone has. You’re not okay.”

She squinted at him, arms crossed. “And you haven’t been for a while.”

Link stared at her, looking like he was about to protest.

Then he obviously reconsidered, drooping in his seat. The purple in his eye wavered, and Zelda watched in interest as the green won out again, almost completely obscuring the violet.

He suddenly groaned, burying his head in his arms.

“I’m sorry,” Link murmured.

Zelda patted his wrist, a worried look on her face. “Link you don’t need to apologize, I know it’s not—“

“It’s just so frustrating!” Link suddenly yelled, making her jump as he lifted his head up. “I never know what to feel anymore! My emotions are all over the place my memories are in four, I can’t pick what color clothes to wear and it’s like I have to shuffle through twenty different emotions before I can do anything, it’s so stupid and I hate it!”

Zelda kept her hand on his arm and met his eyes, still sloshing with color.

Link glared at her, then his eyes suddenly filled with tears and he let his head fall to the table again, sniffling as he dropped his gaze.

“I’m sorry Zelda,” he said thickly. “I know you’re busy, and I’m sorry you had to come find me. And that you have to deal with me when I’m such a wreck because I know you have your own stuff you’re dealing with and you’re busy and now I’m yelling at you and—“

He cut off into a hiccup, and Zelda marched herself around the table and pulled him into a hug.

“It’s okay Link,” she repeated, and he looked up at her in surprise, cheeks damp. “You’ve yelled at me plenty of times before, this is nothing new. Leftover magic like this is tricky, you’ll get better at managing it.”

“B-but what if I don’t?” he sobbed, the red in his one eye almost completely obscuring the blue. “There’s already rumors going around about how my quest m-made me crazy, what if they— they’re right? I can barely do anything anymore without o-offending someone! I can’t even just hang out w-with you without yelling! It’d just be easier for everyone to stop trying to deal with me!” he wailed, and Zelda squeezed him tighter.

“Stop talking like that Link, like it or not we’re not leaving you, I’m not leaving you. Some mood swings are hardly enough to make me leave my best friend, no less ridiculous rumors,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’d never leave you to deal with something like that alone, nobody decent would.”

She smiled at him, pulling back just a bit so she could see his face, red still the brightest color in his eye.

“We can get through this okay? And even if it doesn’t ever get better, even if it gets worse, I’m not just going to leave you. And neither is your father. We love you Link, and emotional problems don’t change that.”

Link’s tears didn’t slow, but the red in his eye receded a bit, the other colors slowly flowing back into less frantic swirls.

“But what if it does get worse?” he whispered, sounding afraid of the answer.

Zelda clasped his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. “Then we’ll make it work. I already told you I’m your best friend and I’m not going to leave you over this. And I will say it as many times as it takes to get it through your thick skull.”

Link sniffled and nodded, his tears finally beginning to slow.

“Okay,” he said after a minute, voice thick. “Thank you Zelda.”

She hugged him again before pulling back, seeing how the colors in his eyes seemed to have evened out and were no longer wobbling around uncertainly.

They were calm, like the surface of a still lake.

Zelda smiled to herself, giving Link’s hand that was still in her own a happy squeeze. They sat there in silence for a bit as Link’s tears gradually dried, ignoring the looks the librarian at the desk kept sending them from across the room.

“Soooo,” Zelda asked, breaking the silence. “That big oak in front of the castle hasn’t been climbed in a while. Since you’ve got the day off, would you like to go for a climb?”

“You know it’s raining, right?” Link replied, voice still a little stuffy sounding. “We’ll get all wet.”

Zelda grinned at him.

“Since when did that stop us?”

Link returned her smile and wiped the last of the tears from his eyes as he stood up. “That’s true. Damp tree climbing it is.”

Zelda let out a laugh, and they left the library together, hands still clasped.

#legend of zelda #four swords #four swords manga #four swords adventures #loz fsa #loz fic #legend of zelda fanfiction #courage of ages #coa Light #zelink #but can be read as platonic #writing from the floor #I like playing around with mental effects of the four sword in different ways than are usually done

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creationofacentury · 2 years

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Falling, p1.

Summary: Grian has had the same recurring dream for two weeks now.

Relationship: Mumbo & Grian, platonic? (This part is, but I can’t guarantee the next part would be.)

Character: Mumbo Jumbo, Grian (Also mentioned the Boatem Crew.)

Note: This is strictly about their MC personas, DO NOT take this seriously!

The wind whizzes past his face. He is plummeting down into an obscure fog, his consciousness getting more and more distant. There are screams, far from where he is and- and it's getting closer.

He tries to open his eyes.

Nothing.

Blackness.

The screams are louder and clearer now. They sounds like...

He can't recognize the voices, but they are very very familiar.

A sly and crooked smile, a broad shoulder, a pair of blue eyes. Suit. A tie. A pair of leather shoes. They are screaming, so loud, so loud so loud he feels like he’s losing his hearing. He screams, too, but no sound comes out. Why is there no- why can’t he- what is going on?

Now the people in front of him are in a space suit.

He watches his own visor cracks open and suddenly he couldn’t breath. The wind is still wizzing past him.

He is in tears, he can’t see them now- they are blobs in his vision. He raises his hand to wipe the tear, and realize he couldn’t move.

“Guys-” He wheezes out. “Guys! I am here! I am-”

He loses his voice again. Don’t go! Please, guys, someone, grab me, I-

The person with the broad shoulder visors cracks, and he suddenly plummet into the void underneath them, then the sly smile, and the blue eyes- he feels like his heart gets ripped out from his chest, torn apart and pieced back then ripped out and torn apart again. He wants to shout and wail, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t shout, couldn’t do anything-

The one in the suit is staring at him- where’s is his helmet? He looks at the man desperately and the man smile. An apologetic smile. He has a bad feeling.

“Sorry.”

The man also falls into the void.

“-Mumbo!”

Giran sits up, gasping for air. He stares at the chest he placed around the bed last night, and he sigh.

Well. Surrounds himself with things doesn’t seem to work. He checked the clock. It’s only 4 in the morning. He doesn’t feel like going back to sleep (it’s the same anyway), so he get out of the bed, gets his gear on and starts the day.

Four in the morning. It’s not getting better.

It’s not getting better.

Clank!

Mumbo’s hands stop at the buttons of his shirt. There’s someone in his base. “Is anyone there?”

The sound of closing chest can be heard. Not long after that, sound of more things that get dropped on the floor can also be heard.

Mumbo sigh. He gets around the corner that he hides, “Grian-”

And he stops. For a second, he thought Grian was a ghost. The pale face in front of him looks too lifeless to be Grian’s.

“Mum-Mumbo! What a coincidence! I didn’t expect to see you here wow! Weird isn’t it!” Grian blurts out. He tries to hide the things behind his back and fails miserably.

“Dude, you looks awful! It’s- it's six-thirty in the morning, why are you stealing my things at six-thirty in the morning?!”

“What? Pffffft noooo- I am just here to admire your vault, you know, what a beautiful, beautiful vault-”

“I can see you holding my iron!”

“These can be my iron, you never know.”

“Gosh, it’s too early for this.”Mumbo drags a hand over his face but he is chuckling, “Grian, it's so early, did you stay up all night doing project again?”

Grian not-so-subtly puts the items into his inventory and mutters, “Yeah, that would have bean the wise thing to do.” He picks up the gold on the ground, stares at it for a second before opening the chest to put it back.

Mumbo opens his mouth to say something, but he doesn’t know what to say. Grian is strangely quiet today, something doesn’t feel right.

“I think you should go back to sleep, Grian, you looks like you might collapse.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine.”

“ Are you sure?”

“Yep.”

“...Okay. If you say so. Just, don’t overwork yourself.”

“Will do, thanks Mom.”

“GRIAN!”

Grian smiles then takes off. Mumbo huffs, a little bit too fondly, though he notices he has yet to button up his shirt. Well that’s embarrassing. He quickly does the buttons.

The next day, Mumbo is working on his new slime farm when his communicator goes off.

<Grian: mumbo can you come to xb’s dropper thing now>

<Grian: ?>

<Mumbo: okay>

He flies there and lands on the top of XB’s Octodrop. Grian is nowhere to be seen. “Grian?”

“I am here, in the middle!”

Grian’s voice comes from somewhere below. Mumbo see his name tag showing in the middle of the dropper, so he glides down to the bottom and gets in the bubble-vator.

“Hi, Mumbo. I didn’t interrupt something, did I?”

“I was just building a new slime farm, it’s fine.”

“You haven’t had one?”

“I have. It’s not as efficient as I would like, so I am building a new one.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Mumbo waits for Grian to talk. Grian doesn’t.

“Grian? Why do you call me here?”

“Oh, I just...I can’t get out.”

“Do you not have your elytra?”

“I have.” Grian looks uncomfortable.

“I can give you some rockets,”

“It’s not that. I just. I can’t. It’s too high.” Grian says, almost troubled, “There’s no other way to get out either.”

“...You are afraid of height? Since when?”

“I don’t know! I am not- I am not scared, of height, I just-! It’s- I fell. You saw it in the chat, right?”

“You fell from the dropper? But what about the feather-falling potion?”

“I- forgot about the potion and jumped.”

Mumbo laughs. Grian is so reckless sometimes, and Mumbo is loving this. After a second or two, he notices Grian’s silence, and he stops laughing immediately. Is Grian mad?

“Are you...” He watches Grian shifting on his feet, and he decides to ask another question. “...Grian, are you okay?”

“I am fine.”

That’s- that didn’t sound like Grian at all. Grian brushing off concerns is a normal thing, sure, everybody does that. Grian being visibly dejected is a whole different thing, still, everyone has bad days. This time though, Grian sounded strangely defensive and at the same time, very tired and restless.

Mumbo knows Grian. Maybe not very well, or he does know Grian very well...? Those don’t matter, because sometimes Grian is just hard to communicate with words, like how Grian uses pranks as a way of showing he cares- that’s Grian, somehow both affectionate and shy, also complicated and simple all at the same time. He stands next to Grian and gives him a side hug, hoping that it would help.

Grian doesn’t protest or back away. They just stand there. After a little while, Grian’s shoulder starts shaking slightly, so Mumbo looks away. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asks quietly.

Grian buries his head in Mumbo’s shoulder. Mumbo is a little bit surprised; he was about to back away but caught himself at the last second. Grian needs this, and he can give him that.

After a moment of silence, “Is this a bird thing?”

Grian snorts. “I dunno know what you’re talking about.”

Mumbo is feeling rebellious today, so he ventures, “The burying.”

Grian was silent for a while before he speaks. “That’s ostrich. I am not an ostrich-hybrid, Mumbo. Is all the Redstone circuits finally drive you crazy? ”

Mumbo pretends to be offended and huff angrily, but he is relief. Grian can crack jokes- that’s a good sign. “I mean ostriches are big birds, and you are also a big bird, Grian. Ostrich Grian?”

Grian slaps one of Mumbo’s upper arm without lifting his head. “I can’t believe you.” Mumbo laughs.

Yet a moment of silence.

“Grian, can you tell me what happened?”

Grian sighs into Mumbo’s suit before he backs away. He hangs his head, seeming reluctant to raise his gaze, “I...the fall, it’s messing with my head.”

“Oh. That must have been awful.” Sometimes respawn doesn’t really fix all the pain, that Mumbo knows. But Grian shakes his head.

“It’s the fall from season eight, Mumbo. I have been stuck with the same nightmare for two weeks, I- when I looked down on the dropper tower I panicked and I just jumped without thinking and everything went dark after that and I- I-”

“Wait, the fall from season eight?”

Grian shuts his mouth tight. He nods, sit down on the bed. He looks exhausted just like yesterday, his pale face almost ghost-like. The fall that made Grian panic so much that he called Mumbo here. The fall from season eight...ah. Must be the ‘rocket’ they took to get to season nine.

“Did...did you sleep yesterday, Grian?”

“I didn’t.” Grian sighs.

“The nightmare’s that bad, huh?” Mumbo says. “I mean Scar’s traveling method did feel like a nightmare, if I am being completely honest.”

Grian lets out a weak laugh, but doesn’t say anything.

“Can I- can I help?

Grian shrugs. Mumbo deflates. “Maybe- do you want me to be there when you sleep? Would that help? I mean it doesn’t have to be me! Uh- who do you- like maybe Scar? Or Pearl? I know you and Pearl has known each other for a very long time-”

Grian actually laughs this time. Mumbo would take that as a win.

“No, just you would be fine, Mumbo. Maybe it would actually help.”

Mumbo wonders why the way his name rolls off Grian’s tongue always feels deliberate.

Falling, p2 (not out yet) (This is another chapter that you guys have to wait forever tbh)

My rant:

I have been working on this for three or four days now, but I just realize this is getting out of hand. This was meant to be a one-shot gosh darn it. But the way Grian reacts to the fall is not something I can deal with in a one-shot, I am not at that level yet, so bear with me, folks!

Thank you for reading this. And just like every time, this fic probably has way too much spelling mistakes or whatever. If you see one, SHOUT THEM OUT and I would really appreciate it! Thank you! Though please shout gently

#hermitcraft fanfic #grumbo #grian #mumbo jumbo #platonic #or not really #but can be read as platonic #or something else if you want #why do I do this to myself again #hermitcraft

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blorbosinmyheadcentral · 6 months

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Supervised Machine Learning

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petite-phthora · 3 months

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Dp x Dc prompt #1

Danny doesn’t know how Vlad managed to convince his parents to let him take Danny with him to some fancy gala in Gotham, but he does know he’s gonna be the biggest menace he can be to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

The moment they entered the place the gala was held, Danny’s eyes landed on the chandelier on the ceiling in de middle of the room.

Bingo.

What Danny had been expecting was something along the lines of him embarrassing Vlad, making Vlad angry, and/or getting kicked out when the chandelier inevitably crashed to the ground cause they weren’t made to hold his weight.

What Danny hadn’t been expecting was for the chandelier to be heavily reinforced and not move an inch when he hung on there upside down, nor had he expected to be joined up there by a guy his age that seemed to be bursting with excitement as he stared at Danny from his place upside down on the chandelier.

#dp x dc #dc x dp #dpxdc #dcxdp #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc prompt #death defying #death defying ship #tbf can be read as either platonic or romantic #don’t know the platonic ship name if it exists or i wouldve added it #so if anyone knows if theres a platonic ship name please let me know :)

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scintillatingshortgirl19 · 5 months

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damn i've seen the infamous "i love you" in gifs and such but i. was not prepared for the deep unbridled sincerity with which hugh laurie delivered that line

#this is literally just house taking an opportunity to confess how much he loves wilson #idk how else to interpret this #even if you read it platonically it's still a love confession #one that house is able to make for the sole reason #that he can pass it off as a joke #house md #hilson #videos - house #house season 4 #house 4x3 #op

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greykolla-art · 26 days

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Quick Radiorose doodle.❤️

I accidentally went two days without drawing anything and that is a federal crime.

#grey art #fan art #hazbin hotel #alastor #hazbin rosie #radiorose #it’s getting less and less platonic for me guys #I haven’t shipped something so mutually respectful in forever #queer platonic relationship #qpr #can be read both ways #vintage poses #they are saving my mental wellbeing

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moshaeu · 1 month

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the night before d-day

#can be read romantically or platonically #honkai star rail #hsr #aventurine #hsr aventurine #dr ratio #hsr dr ratio #hsr topaz #topaz #aventio #ratiorine #avenpaz #touch starved aventurine..

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isjasz · 2 months

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[Day 238]

💤💤💤

---

ME WHEN I GET A FULL BLOWN FIC INSPIRED BY MY ART AND MAKE A FULL PAGE COMIC OUT OF IT HOW WE FEELING💥💥💥💥💥

Explodes this still feels like a fever dream hi so @definitelynotshouting this absolutely batshit insane guy wrote "honey it's starting to storm" INSPIRED BY THIS ART FROM CHRISTMAS. I need to yell about it more istg this is the W of the century. Guys please it's so good go read it go read go rea

Emphasis GO READ IT👉

#dddaily4sherin #desert duo #scarian #hermitshipping #<- for tems fic #bc this comic itself can be read platonically too ig LOL #the fic is. def not tho. /pos bro went ham on the love description its so URGRHHRHRHRJRHE #listen i WANTED TO DRAW THE KISSIES BUT IT NEEDED A SECOND PAGE😔#but anyways tem i have not yelled at you enough about this this gen so cool UEJEJKAKHAKAS RAHHHHHDHEHEJ #ENJOY THE ART 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥#my art

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spoopdeedoop · 9 months

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real friends have weird greetings that usually involve hitting each other

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miicycle · 3 months

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platonic or not, these two should dance to old classics to settle their differences

#hazbin hotel art #hazbin alastor #lucifer hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel ship #alastor x lucifer #appleradio #im in love with lucifer and alastor seperately #together? ascends #i also just love their electroswing vibes #can be read platonic fjnfgdhj #my art #mii draws #fanart #duckiedeer

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petricorah · 1 year

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sometimes you just need a little break 😴 [ID in alt]

#zuko #sokka #zuko fanart #firelord zuko #sokka fanart #atla #atla fanart #avatar the last airbender fanart #myart #atla comics #zuko comics #zukka #zukka fanart #although not really. you can read this platonically or romantically if you wish #AHHHH im done with this at long last

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unclewaynemunson · 6 months

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Pt2 to this post

'Is something wrong?' Nancy asks, not long after the two of them have taken their familiar spots on the hood of Steve's car. They're basking in what might be the last warm sunlight of the year, looking out over the quarry, at a safe distance from the edge.

It's become a tradition the two of them share, ever since they reconnected back in March. It calms them both, to just sit here and take in the view, no one around but each other. Nancy is one of the few people Steve can share a comfortable silence with: sometimes they sit here quietly for what feels like hours, side by side, listening to music or to nothing but the birds singing around them. But they also have their best conversations here: it's the place where Nancy entrusted him she wanted to break up with Jonathan; it's the place where they talked about their shared past and decided they would always love each other as friends; it's the place where they finally talked about Barbara in a way they couldn't when they were younger. It's where Nancy talked about the ghosts still haunting her and Steve talked about how lonely he sometimes felt.

Steve huffs. 'How did you guess?'

'When you frown, you always do it with your whole face,' Nancy notes. 'So it's hard to miss, really.'

Steve glances at her side profile. There's a serenity to her features that's still relatively new. It means she's healing, slowly learning how to be happy again. It means she stopped waiting for the end of the world and started believing in a real future again. It makes Steve proud of how far they both have come.

'I had a fight with Eddie,' he confesses. 'And with Dustin, I guess.'

'What happened?'

He sighs. 'It's complicated.'

'Wanna tell me about it?'

The look in her eyes is kind and inviting. Steve hesitates. He wants to, but he doesn't know if he can. It's a risk. It's scary.

But he can't imagine Nancy Wheeler ever being careless with his secrets. He can't imagine her judging him, can't imagine her being as small-minded as most people in this town.

He was planning on telling her anyway, because things had been going so well with Eddie lately and – no, he shouldn't think about that right now. But maybe it would actually be nice to talk about it with Nancy.

'So, um...' His throat feels tight and his hands are sweaty. 'I recently discovered some things about myself. I-' The words get stuck somewhere on the way to his mouth, and he clears his throat.

Nancy doesn't push, but only gives him an encouraging nod, waiting for him to find his voice again.

'I found out I like boys,' he finally manages to confess. 'And I need you to know that – that that doesn't mean that what I felt for you wasn't real. It was. I loved you, and now I fell in love with a boy. And-'

'Steve.' Nancy's hand suddenly covers his, causing him to finally jerk his head away from the view over the quarry, to focus on her face again instead.

Her eyes are wide, and she squeezes his hand.

'You don't have to explain yourself to me,' she tells him. 'We're good. But thank you for telling me. For trusting me with this.'

Steve heaves out a relieved sigh, and Nancy smiles; it's that genuine kind of smile which reveals all kinds of dimples and soft lines across her face.

'We might be more similar than you thought,' she tells him, a faint blush spreading over her cheeks.

'Really?' Her words make his breath catch in his throat. He squints at her, trying to see her in this new light. 'Are you saying what I think you're saying?'

She shrugs. 'I don't know. I'm not sure yet,' she admits. 'Still figuring things out.'

'Take your time, there's no rush,' he tells her. 'But...' He bumps his shoulder against hers. 'When you're done figuring it out, talk to me, okay?'

She nods. 'Okay.'

For a while, it's quiet between the two of them. Some kind of raptor circles high above them in the sky. They both follow it with their eyes until it disappears among the tree tops west of the quarry.

'Is it Eddie?'

Steve blinks dumbly a couple of times.

'Wha- what?'

'The guy you were talking about. The one you fell in love with. It's Eddie, isn't it?'

'Jesus, Wheeler, what kind of sorceress are you?' Steve exclaims.

Nancy laughs again. 'You're not being as subtle as you think,' she tells him. 'The two of you have been hooking up for a while now, haven't you?'

Steve huffs dramatically. 'This is unfair. You know everything; I can't even tell you my own secrets anymore!'

'So what happened?' Nancy asks. 'You said you had a fight with him?'

'It's fucking stupid,' he sighs. 'Dustin was getting way too excited about the fact that I was gonna be hanging out with you, so I told him I was seeing someone. Next thing I knew, he was telling Eddie all about how I was seeing a girl.' He waves his hands around to make annoyed air quotations. 'I wanted to tell Eddie it was a misunderstanding, but Dustin was there, so I couldn't out us just like that, and he looked so betrayed and heartbroken... He didn't wanna listen to me.'

Steve sighs; he still can't manage to forget that look in Eddie's eyes when Dustin delivered the big news. 'I wish I would've talked about what I felt for him earlier. I should've been honest when I had the chance, y'know. But I was afraid he wouldn't wanna label what we had, that he wouldn't feel the same way – and now we're in this whole mess. God, he must hate me right now, Nance.'

To his surprise, Nancy gives him an unexpected slap against his arm.

'Ouch, what the hell was that for?!'

'What are you even doing here with me, Steve? You should've gone after him, tell him how you feel!'

'I tried, obviously, but he didn't wanna listen to me!'

'So make him listen! You're in love with him, he obviously feels the same way about you, and you let him leave to wallow in a broken heart he doesn't even need to have!' She rolls her eyes and slides off the car, adding something under her breath that sounds suspiciously like an exasperated 'Boys!' before she pulls Steve off the car as well. 'C'mon, time to get your ass over to the trailer park. Right. Now,' she says through gritted teeth. And, well, Steve knows better than to argue with a determined - and truthfully quite terrifying - Nancy Wheeler.

Read the last part here Taglist: @withacapitalp @ultimatedreamer104 @irregular-child @jcmadgirl @estrellami-1 @myguiltyartpleasure @hallucinatedjosten @jaybren @thew1ldblueyonder @melodymeddler @alycatavatar @zoeweee @lolawonsstuff @fairy-princette @saramelaniemoon @phirex22 @krazyperson @xxsky-shockxx (I only put people on this list who explicitly asked to be tagged. That's really no problem, I love to do that so dw about asking, but I got a lot of relatively vague reactions to the previous post that i'm not gonna dissect and interpret, bc I don't wanna clog anyone's notes unwanted. So just to be clear: i consider it a huge compliment if anyone asks for a tag but please do it clearly if you do!)

#look i can and i will exploit the miscommunication trope until yall are sick and tired of it #bc steddie is actually the perfect couple for keeping that trope believable #they're idiots with terrible communication skills it's canon #they WOULD #“can't you just talk to him?” “wait what i can????” IT'S SO THEM OKAY #nancy is the only sane person here i don't make the rules #don't mind me rambling about stranger things #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #nancy wheeler #platonic stancy #(i love platonic stancy they mean the world to me)#(i truly didn't mean to trick anyone into reading about them this just kinda. happened. idk)#this is making me wanna write more about their friendship actually they deserve their own fic #stranger things #fruity ficlet

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br3adtoasty · 29 days

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This event has me in a chokehold…

#azujami #jamiazu #azul x jamil #ig??#can read as platonic as well theyre just posing for da magazine #would like to fully render this someday…..#also guess what one of my interests is based on how i draw azul (very hard /j)#tapis rouge #twst #twisted wonderland #twst fanart #twst azul #azul ashengrotto #twst jamil #jamil viper #my art

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sp0o0kylights · 7 months

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Part One

The drive's short one.

Steve gets out of his car, opening the passenger door for Chrissy and escorting her up to the house, quietly envisioning what Jason would look like if a real monster got him.

What would he say, staring down the crazy, five-starred head, filled with teeth and drool? Would he turn back? Or run?

(Steve swears he doesn't take great pleasure in imagining Carver getting eaten, but he'll admit to taking a little.)

"Chrissy do you have any idea--oh." Mrs. Cunningham startles, grasping her robe at the front as she spots Steve standing next to her daughter.

"Hi Miss Cunningham." He says.

"Hello." She says suspiciously. "And who are you?"

"I'm Steve Harrington, ma'am." He watches as her mother straightens immediately at his name, and sinks right into the ol' Harrington charm, knowing instantly it will work. "I know you were expecting Jason, but I'm afraid he wasn't able to drive Chrissy home."

"Oh, Steve! It's so late I almost didn't recognize you." She titters, suspicion gone. "Your mother and I are on the same charity board."

Of course they were.

"I thought you were dating that nice Nancy girl." She says with a squint that mimics Chrissy's, because even in the midst of a crisis he can't escape the gossip that is Hawkins upper echelon.

"Nance is waiting in the car." Steve lies smoothly. "I just wanted to make sure Chrissy got home safe."

"What happened?" Chrissy's father appears, ushering them both in while blatantly peering around them, eyes sweeping the street before closing the door.

Steve recognizes the move. He's checking for nosy neighbors.

"Jason and I broke up." Chrissy admits.

"What?"

"We..." She falters in front of her parents.

"What happened to Jason?" Her father asks, tuning back in once they're safely away from peering eyes.

"I'm afraid Jason and some of his friends brought beer to the party." Steve steps in to explain.

"Oh Chrissy, it's a high school party. That's no reason to break up with him." Her mother fusses, face flushing in embarrassment. Her eyes dart from her daughter to Steve and back, and Steve knows he needs to start damage control.

If he plays it right he can burn Jason while he's at it.

"He was horrible, mom. Just awful." Chrissy says, but Steve can tell she's shrinking under her mothers gaze.

"He drank quite a lot, Miss Cunningham." With a theatrical wince, Steve turns to face Chrissy's dad, lowers his voice and says "I'm going to have to talk to Coach about it."

He gets the intended response, which is a raised eyebrow. "That bad, huh?"

Steve nods once, painting a pained smile on his face. "He made a real fool of himself tonight, Sir. The basketball team has a reputation to uphold."

"Oh." Mrs. Cunningham says, hand fluttering in front of her face. "I never would have thought…"

"He's normally a good guy. I don't know what got into him." Steve has them both eating out of the palm of his hand, attention neatly off Chrissy and onto the story he's feeding them.

Its worth it to see her shoulders relax.

"I couldn't let him take Chrissy home in the state he was in Sir, and he got very…"

Steve pauses.

Fills his voice with tempered disappointment, channeling his dad. "Belligerent. Said some nasty things."

"Really?" Mr. Cunningham says, with a low whistle, and Steve knows by his tone alone that he's bought in.

Hook, line, sinker.

Steve nods once. "I have to get back to my girlfriend, but Chrissy'" He turns earnestly here, to let her know he's not faking this next bit. "Let me know if Jason bothers you at school. I'll set him straight again if I have to."

"Thank you Steve." Mr. Cunningham says, as Chrissy's mom hustles her daughter towards the kitchen.

Steve shakes his hand, then waves at Crissy as she calls her own thank you over her shoulder, before disappearing out the door and back to his car.

The same one where Nancy very much isn't.

That's a problem for tomorrow Steve.

xXx

Tomorrow Steve gets into an argument with Nancy.

She can't recall that Jonathan took her home, or that he's bullshit, their whole relationship, bullshit--

But she also can't tell him she loves him.

So Steve snaps at her. Storms off.

Play’s more basketball.

It takes less than two hours for him to get mopey and another three for him to spiral into deciding he was wrong somehow.

That's what his mom said all the time anyway, wasn't it? The man's always wrong Steven, and he's the man here so…

He gets flowers, chocolates, and fucking waylaid (by Dustin Henderson with his Grow a Monster) and things go sideways from there.

Train tracks and a junkyard and demodogs make time speed up. An encounter with Billy and a dinner plate causes Steve's recollection of the evening to be fuzzy.

He just knows that in the middle of dodging death, he has the realization that Nance wants to break up with him.

That he should let her.

Even if it hurts, even if he doesn't want to.

She wants to be let go.

So Steve does. He respects her, and when he has a moment after its all over, he tells her to go with Jonathan.

(At least he permanently gets the squirts out if this. Or at least everyone but Mike.

Even if most of them are shitheads and one of them's Hargrove's step sister.

It's--something.

But when Dustin keeps pestering him, demanding Steve drive him all over Hawkins and then drags him to the movies, well.

It might be the best something Steve's had in his life so far. )

xXx

"Oh shit. Is that from Caver?" Eddie asks, popping up near Steve's car like the clown in a jack in the box.

"Carver can't hit for shit. This was Hargrove." Steve replies, attempting an eyeroll before remembering that his entire face is a bruise.

One, giant, never ending bruise.

"I guess his step sister gave him the slip to come hang out with these kids I watch sometimes. I didn't know she wasn't supposed to be there." Steve shrugs, because it's the technical truth.

If you turn it sideways and squint anyway.

"Asshole tried to threaten the kid Max is into by slamming him into a wall and screaming shit, so I stepped in, and--" He waves at his face.

The same one he's already getting looks for.

"I was winning." Steve sighs theatrically. "He broke a plate over my head."

The story seemed to freeze Eddie but he recovers with a quick shake of his head.

"You poor thing." He tuts. "Let me guess--you were more worried about the hair than the wound?"

Eddie's hands flutter like he's going to touch Steve's head but he seems to contain himself at the last minute.

The hospital threatened to buzz it for stitches." Steve says darkly, playing into the bit.

(He had not gone to a hospital.

None of them had.)

"What would our King be without his crown of hair?" Eddie laments, in a falsetto that was half insult half oddly sincere. It was jarring in that it was hard to get a read on, but the more Steve was around the guy the less it seemed malicious and the more it came off as just….goofy.

Eddie Munson, Steve decided, was not a freak.

He was a dorky little weirdo, just like all the other kids Steve now hung out with.

Just older, and with slightly better hair.

"Hey Eddie." Another boy calls out, approaching cautiously.

He's got a leather jacket on, and if Steve thinks hard enough he can sort of conjure up a memory of the guy at Eddie's lunch table, throwing a piece of bread at a pale sophomore decked out in plaid. "You good man?"

"Yeah Jeff, just checkin' in on the Hair here." Eddie sticks a thumb towards Steve, who raises his hand and waves.

The falsetto comes back, somehow higher as the older boy swoons over Steves arm. "Soothing his poor soul after that brute Hargrove almost killed him."

"Has anyone ever told you you're a lot like Bugs Bunny?" Steve asks, the thought leaving his mouth the instant he had it.

(He doesn't care, it's a legitimate question.)

It has the effect of making Munson look downright chuffed. "I have actually, but only by my Uncle."

"Why are you checking in?" Jeff interrupts, before seeming to realize he said it out loud. " Ah, I mean--"

"Oh he didn't tell you?" Steve says, as casually as he can muster. "Eddie claimed me and Chrissy at a party last weekend."

See Munson? Two people could play the weird bit game.

They've attracted more of Eddie's friends now, two more boys in leather jackets edging closer like frightened deer.

(One of which is the aforementioned younger man Jeff threw bread at, and Steve vaguely thinks the guy's name starts with a g.)

"Apparently we're his minions now." Steve tells Jeff in a rather put upon manner.

"It was just you, the fair maiden chose otherwise." Eddie counters dismissively, voice dropping down low.

Steve snorts. Hums a sarcastic; "Like you'd let us choose."

Eddie finally abandons whatever voice that was supposed to be (a villain, Steve thinks, and wonders if it hurts Eddies throat to drop from a false high to a deep low that quickly.) to say:

"Mock me all you like, Harrington, but you can't deny the bit worked."

Steve automatically went for another eye roll, and gets a flash of pain for it. "Who said I was mocking you, you dork? Just stating facts."

Yet again, Eddie reacts weird to the comment. He looks almost bashful for a second, before he recovers, tugging his hair in front of his face as he plays with it.

The bell rings once in warning, and Steve makes a face towards the doors.

"I gotta go, Mrs Clicks out to fail me. See you around, Eddie. Jeff." The way his eyes are bruised up he can't quite make out the face Jeff makes at that, but Steve's pretty sure the guys mouth was open.

"She's a nasty one, my minion, best stay on your toes around her." Eddie calls, and Steve waves a hand in the air to show he heard.

"What just happened?" Jeff asks, far too loudly for how close Steve still is.

It makes him chuckle a bit, even as one of the other guys says something in a far quieter voice that has Munson squawking and flapping his arms like a bird.

The winding little feelings in his chest squeeze his heart, and Steve shakes his head, refusing to be fond of Eddie Munson.

xXx

College rejection letters come in, one after the another.

Steve could have made it into a few schools he's certain, except he hadn't really applied to any.

Not that any college other than Penn Hurst mattered. His dad wanted him to be a legacy, come hell or high water.

Steve's punishment was hand picked by his parents, and he gets the sailor outfit his new minimum wage job requires is supposed to be a part of it--that his dad made him apply because it was the most embarrassing thing he could think to subject Steve too-- but honestly?

It's not that bad.

Not even with Robin, the manager he met yesterday, and who positively, completely and totally, hates Steve’s guts.

He figures he has time to win her over.

All the time in the world, now that demons aren't trying to eat his, or any of the kid's, faces. He can focus on the small things. Build himself back up.

Figure out the person he wants to be, now that he's no longer King Steve.

It’s the thought that kept him from attending any graduation parties. To go felt like backsliding into old habits.

‘If the kids--if it comes back again--’

Getting drunk at night in a random house seemed almost irresponsible.

Particularly not with people Steve has history with, without anyone he really cares about being present. Certainly not Nance and Jonathan, who he wishes he didn’t know are at some end-of-year game night one of Nancy’s friends is hosting.

(Steve can’t think about that for a number of reasons.

When he does--because of course he does-- he makes sure to focus on the weirdness that is Jonathan Byers being someone he cares about, instead of the fact he can’t seem to kill his love for Nancy.

Or that he's horrifically jealous of their relationship.

That the best sleep he had ever had was between them, two nights after the lab, when they crammed themselves into Jonathan's bed because they all couldn't quite believe it was over.

That night had been so incredibly weird, but grouping together felt safer. Smarter.

Better.

Not in a way Steve wants to put into words.

Not in a way he wants to confront at all.)

His parents hadn’t been able to make it home to watch him walk at his graduation--his father landing a last minute meeting with some important person or other.

Faked apologies were given, money transferred, and Steve, not wanting to sit in his too-huge house, had meandered to Family Video.

Tried to forget his father’s cold voice in the background of his mother’s call, loudly announcing he’d have made it a priority to see Steve graduate-- if he’d gotten into Penn Hurst.

Steve just shakes his head. Pushes those thoughts into the back of his head, into the same place all his other weird thoughts live.

The glare he gets from the tall, pimple-ridden guy working the rental counter was expected.

Chrissy Cunningham, was not.

"I thought you’d be at one of the parties.” He tells her, when he turns down the romance aisle and finds her staring blankly at a shelf.

She startles, before recognition flits over her face and a warm smile is directed his way.

“I'm honestly not a fan of parties." She confides in him, hand clutching a tape in her hands."Not those kinds, anyway.”

"More slumber parties, less keg stands your speed?" Steve guessed, blatantly turning his head sideways in order to read the title.

She awards him with a wider smile. "Exactly."

"Chrissy Cunningham. Are you renting Jaws?" He teases, leaning in just a touch.

She flushes, but turns and squares up to him. Steve's delighted to see it.

"Why yes I am. I'll do you one better and even admit it's one of my favorite movies."

Steve grins at her, and sees the way she lights up on response, eyes bright.

This is the Chrissy that Carver had tried to kill. The strength and pure fun that radiates off her enhances the beauty she has to something almost otherworldly.

Steve has seen enough beauty in his life to recognize when it will stay. That Chrissy wil one day be 80 years old, with gray hair and knit sweaters, and she'll still be able to light up a room.

"Like sharks killing people that much huh?” He teases. And it’s easy, slipping into this part of himself around her. The part he’s been trying to get back.

The confidence that he walked with, before monsters crawled out of the ground, and Nancy put a hole in his heart.

"I'll let you in on a secret. ." Chrissy leans in, dropping her voice low enough that Steve has to lean in a bit too to hear. "My favorite character is the shark."

Steve playfully gapes at her, and for the first time in a long time, feels like things will be okay.

He’ll be okay.

He won’t be King Steve. He’s not Nancy's Boyfriend Steve either--but someone else. Himself.

A Steve who exists outside of Hawkins High, outside his family name.

He likes it.

"I told you that was his car. Steve!" A too familiar voice calls and Steve can't mask the despair that hits him as he turns to his (now least) favorite shithead, whose storming through Family Video’s doors.

"Dustin." He identifies, with an edge to his voice he can only pray Chrissy doesn't pick up on. "Other brats. What are you doing?"

Mike stands stubbornly at Dustin's right, Lucas nervous at his left.

Will Byers is situated next to Mike but Steve's not as familiar with him, and has no idea how to interpret the kid.

If he had to guess based on the face he’s being sent, Will’s more nervous then the rest--but equally determined.

(This does not make Steve feel better. It in fact, somewhat convinces them they’ve run headfirst back into trouble.)

"Well we were going to go to Lucas’s, but now, we're bumming a ride from you!"

"I'm busy." He says flatly.

"Ste~eeeve!"

"I didn't know you had a brother." Chrissy says, hand covering her mouth.

Looking back at her, Steve's pretty sure she's trying to physically hold back laughter.

If one could shoot lasers with their eyes, Steve would be nailing Dustin for ruining--whatever it was that was happening here.

"He's a rescue" Steve says flatly. "It’s not working out though. We're planning on returning him to the shelter.”

"Wow Steve." Dustin returns, offended. "First of all, if anyone's rescuing anyone I rescued you, or did you suddenly forget that you show up to family dinner every Thursday at my house like a sad orpha--mmpphh!"

‘Mmpphh’ because Steve had taken several long strides across the store to smack his hand over Dustin's mouth.

"Sorry Chrissy, it would appear the asshole children I am paid to babysit escaped whoever is supposed to be watching them." He shakes Dustins head, in lue of strangling him. “Hit me up later we’ll discuss the shark’s best kills.”

“Will do.” Chrissy says, as Steve begins the process of shoving his four smaller friends out the door. “Drive safe!”

“No you don’t, and you’re gonna prove it by swinging through McDonalds for us.” Dustin sing-songs, swinging himself into the passenger side of the Beemer.

“You assholes owe me, big time.” Steve hisses, as Lucas and Mike instantly begin making kissy faces the second they’re out into the parking lot. "I had plans tonight!"

“Do you have McDonalds money?” Steve asks, only to immediately wince at himself because fuck did he just sound like a soccer mom.

“I have money I took out of my mom’s wallet.” Mike says as he settles into the car with his friends.

“Fine.” Steve sighs in defeat, starting the car.

He determinedly does not ask if the idiots walked here, because there is a suspicious lack of bicycles, if only because he hit his mom quota for the day and Steve refuses to say anything else that might edge out his cool persona.

The one he swears he still has.

Supposedly.

("Does my mom really pay you to watch me?" Dustin asks a while later, when the other brats are distracted. His voice is painfully honest, and softer than it normally is.

"In food, yes." Steve says, because he’s not that much of an asshole--and maybe, because Dustin is truly his only friend right now.

Steve honestly looks forward to those Thursday dinners, helping Ma Henderson and having her fuss over him in a way his parents never had.

In a way no one ever had.

Dustin lands a solid kick to his ankle, making Steve curse. "That's not payment you ass!"

"Ow, God Dustin--"

"Just admit you're my actual friend, you dick!"

"Language! I swear your mom stole you from wolves, you animal--" Steve swatted at him.

Maybe, possibly later, he will go on to admit that yes, Dustin is his friend.

He will even agree to making up a stupid handshake for it.

It involves lightsabers and gore at least, which Steve insists is very cool.)

#BB is coming down to the wire #my date to post is Halloween #bc its me lol #so our regularly scheduled programing will be back shortly #steddissy #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #0o0 fanfics #steve/chrissy/eddie #for those weirdies who kept insisting this was platonic in the tags you can read this part too and be happily delusional about the endgame #its a slowburn #my calling card lmao #this fic was meant to weave around the canon plot until s4 wherein we go off the rails #this is an everyone lives fiiiiic #theyre all equally dorky with crushes #Steve has some Im Just Ken issues #angst

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