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#post canon fics
fangruninsimp · 2 years
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Post Canon Fics
⚠️Spoilers ahead⚠️
my heart is buried on speer by miyawaki (Chaghan/Altan, 195)
once, chaghan found altan's body.
when it's cold i'd like to die by miyawaki (Chaghan&Qara, 240)
chaghan can't stand the cold.
your faith walks on broken glass by agnes_writes (Rin/Nezha, T, 1k)
Nezha ponders the Hesperians' idea of Heaven and Hell, and his mind only conjures up her name.
necropolis by Anonymous (Rin/Nezha, T, 318)
There was probably love there, but it didn't really matter.
i'd meet you where the spirit meets the bones (in a faith-forgotten land) by agnes_writes (Rin & Altan, M, 7.3k)
When she dies, Rin is faced with the one person she'd wished she'd never see again.
But when the dust settles, she finds that Altan Trengsin may have the answers she's searching for.
a shame, you seemed an honest man by toddxnderson (Rin/Nezha, G, 2.6k)
ashes are not the strongest of foundations, but they will do.
or: nezha, after.
some things were tend to be forgotten due to old age by chiru_trash (Rin/Nezha, T, 1k)
Nezha after The Burning God, need I explain more?
i'd end up too hungry to sleep by tellmeyoursecrets (Rin/Nezha, M, 505)
years after the events of the burning god, nezha is married to a hesperian bride.
years later, she ponders.
Beside you always by muchswag (Rin/Nezha, N/A, 162)
After perhaps a year or two after Rin's death, Nezha was married. And as the years passed, he missed her more than ever. But perhaps she was right beside him all of this time.
first love / late spring (my heart seems to burst) by isola13 (Rin/Nezha, T, 4.6k)
First love is supposed to be sweet, innocent, and hopeful. When it blossoms on late spring however, harsher realities render every piece of it into shreds, as it falls and withers and dies.
It’ll always be you by Runin_reads (Rin/Nezha, G, 544)
Nezha tells his daughter about his first love.
Small by UnapologeticallyMeatwad (Rin&Kitay, T, 2.7k) *incomplete*
Rin wakes up one year later, but doesn't know why she's still alive.
nothing new by sagittariusmoon (Rin/Nezha, G, 414)
"How can a person know everything at 18, but nothing at 22?
Will you still want me, when I’m nothing new?"
Nezha turns 22, and then he thinks about Rin, like he always does.
these characters all need therapy so I gave it to them by chenkitays (G, 6.6k)
Rin, Nezha, Kitay, Vaisra and Jiang attend a group therapy session led by one (1) exhausted Strategy master. spoilers for the entire trilogy.
Break the Cycle by queenkatharine (M, 10.2k)
Every time she’d thought about the Federation and what she’d done, she told herself that she’d do it again if she had the chance. She insisted upon it until her dying day.
This time would be different.
Or, what if Rin did get the chance to do it all over again and made different decisions? M rating for themes related to war.
i want him (but we're not right) by tellmeyoursecrets (Rin/Nezha, N/A, 1.1k)
She looks him in the eyes. “I hated you for what you did. With all my heart.”
“I know.”
“I still missed you. I still wanted you to—Gods.”
The truth is always ugly. Some people will make it out as some golden thread, ramrod straight and unquestionable in its existence, but it’s not. When what you fought for becomes history, sometimes it forgets that the winner was the one who had lost the most. Survival of the body is not always survival of the mind. There is always, always, a cost larger than what is said in the books.
they hold onto things. they let things go. by sourpistachios (T, 1.5k)
In the aftermath, Nezha looks at his hands.
haunted by the look in my eyes by isola13 (Rin/Nezha, T, 7.1k)
that would've loved you for a lifetime
When Rin haunts him, Nezha screams, shouts, curses, and begs.
When Rin haunts him, Nezha screams, shouts, curses, and begs her to leave.
When Rin haunts him, Nezha screams, shouts, curses, and begs her to stay.
if I'm dead to you by isola13 (Rin/Nezha, G, 1.8k)
why are you at the wake?
The first year is the hardest.
Rin simply doesn't know how to be dead.
When I was young and dreamed of glory by Knightowl019 (Nezha/Original Character, T, 12.4k)
After the aftermath of Fang Runin's death, Nezha kept his word. He had to fix the country that barely existed.
Nezha's life changed into something that was different from before. Even when the ghosts of the dead haunted him, he knew he had to make things right. But will he ever find peace? Will he manage to unite the country from the rift the Republic created? Will the people ever accept Nezha as their leader or will it spark another rebellion?
reminiscence by paldogangsaan (Rin/Nezha, Nezha&Kitay, T, 1.4k)
It didn’t feel fair that Rin and Kitay could leave this world together whilst Nezha was forced to live, to survive them both.
the dreaming faith by byeoleil (Rin/Nezha, Nezha&Kitay, T, 6.2k) *incomplete*
Something is wrong with the Pantheon and it is, of course, Yin Nezha's fault. He accepts mysterious psychedelic drugs from a very cryptic Chaghan Suren with no instructions other than "lol you suck."
In his slumber, Nezha sees them. A short collection of Nezha's dreams starring Rin, Mingzha, Venka, Kitay, and more.
peace by isola13 (Rin/Nezha, G, 1k)
When Nezha dies, Rin is waiting for him.
Queen of Ashes by CyclonicJet (M, 3.1k)
“Fire is passion. It knows neither friend nor foe. In its wake, it leaves no victory. No conquest. No people. Only ashes.”
Rin reflects on her life, and considers what her legacy will be, and what she must do to ensure that legacy.
Or “A brief literary analysis of what Nikara might have looked like had Rin won, as viewed from her own perspective and memories, some thirty years after the end of The Burning God.”
to drown in your ashes by chenkitays (Rin/Nezha, G, 2k)
His Rin, whose laugh was louder and more explosive than her rage, whose eyes were sadder and darker than the world she left behind, whose smile was brighter than the hottest flames she could conjure.
idk its just a post tbg fix-it you already know the drill
there's a hollow in this house by tidesong (Rin/Nezha, T, 7k)
What Nezha has, it’s an absence. He was raised next to the river, in a city that knew the ebb and flow of the tide. The flood would come in the summer, a wet and hungry thing, swallowing shorelines before breaching the city. He feels the same way now, when the water had receded suddenly, violently; left only the traces of what once was. Nezha did not need the Dragon to teach him that lesson—he’d lived it all on his own.
Water, he says to Kitay, doesn’t know how to let go. It only drowns.
This time, the living haunt the dead.
you'd come back to me by isola13 (Rin/Nezha, T, 13.8k)
“I knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss, I knew you’d haunt all of my what ifs, the smell of smoke would hang around this long”
A burden of a country is one that a single person shouldn’t handle.
But Nezha takes it. Until one day, he breaks.
The Unwinding Clock of Fate by Secret_Keeper_AO3 (M, 6.6k) *incomplete*
5 years after the end of The Burning God, Yin Nezha, president of the Republic of Nikan, has saved Nikan-and its people from starvation and war and further atrocity by giving Hesparia the corpse of Fang Runin. Yin Nezha has had to throw open Nikan's gates to Hesparia in order to continue its survival, and Hesparian assimilation, racism, segregation, and discrimination has already rooted itself deep into the continent. But Nezha wants to put a stop to it, and as the Dragon grows restless and the bracelets on his hands tighten the Dragon's only access to the world, it only increases the want to rise, to claim, to sink, to drown.
Tomorrow is Brighter Than Yesterday by queenkatharine (T, 3.7k)
Understanding strikes Nezha. Here, now, after everything they’d gone through and with Rin buried next to Kitay on Speer, Nezha finally understands.
-
In which Kesegi survives the war and he sheds some light on a few things.
take what you want by chenkitays (Rin&Kitay, G, 1.4k)
MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BURNING GOD
Chapter 34 of the Burning God rewritten from Kitay's point of view. Why did I do this? I physically don't know but I was in the mood to cause pain today
your smile, my ghost, i fell to my knees by agnes_writes (Rin/Nezha, T, 3.1k)
“Nezha couldn’t register the choking gurgles in her throat, the glassy panic in her eyes, or the warmth of her blood as it spilled down his hands. He couldn’t, or he would shatter.”
And so he did.
Tears of the Phoenix by CyclonicJet (M, 1.7k)
Nezha has succeeded in destroying the Gray Towers. He has waged his war against the Hesperian faith, against the maker itself, and won. And now he must face one final challenge. The final demon controlling him. The final shadow still lying thick over Nikara. Fang Runin is dead. But her spirit...her spirit still burns.
anywhere you go by chenkitays (Rin/Nezha, G, 3.6k)
MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BURNING GOD
"She would tell Pipaji and Dulin that they had done well. She would tell Suni, Baji and Ramsa that she was sorry. She would tell Altan that he was right. She would tell Master Jiang thank you." (p534 of TBG)
Rin visits her dead loved ones, and tries to make sense of the afterlife with her friends.
sunset by chenkitays (Rin&Kitay, G, 931)
MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BURNING GOD
Rin and Kitay meet and talk in the afterlife. that's it but I wrote this because im still in pain even though it's been 3 months. the pain will never stop.
hoax by moonlightjjk (Rin/Nezha, G, 1.7k)
forty years after nezha becomes the ruler of nikara, an old friend visits him.
if i'm on fire, you'll be made of ashes too by sagittariusmoon (Rin/Nezha, G, 1.7k)
While they wait, they try to make sense of each other and a life of no good choices.
evermore by isola13 (Rin/Nezha, T, 1.1k)
Nezha lives on. Rin's ghost haunts him.
Reunion by peachtofu (Rin/Nezha, G, 1k)
THE BURNING GOD SPOILERS. The story takes place a decade after the ending of The Burning God.
Fire and water, though elements from the same earth, were never meant to be. For one to survive, it must extinguish the other.
aim for my heart (go for blood) by ssukis (Rin/Nezha, T, 6.9k)
Nezha finds that it is impossible to let go after finding Rin again.
After the Storm by toocleverfox (Rin/Nehza, T, 1.4k)
MAJOR THE BURNING GOD SPOILERS
Nezha goes to find Chaghan after the events of The Burning God.
the finish line by tidesong (Rin/Nezha, G, 2.9k)
So this was how it felt to be burned by the sun.
-
Nezha is haunted by someone who's not very good at staying away.
The Wailing Prince by yinsnezha (Rin/Nezha, G, 1k)
Nezha likes to talk to the stars when he can’t sleep.
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retellingthehobbit · 5 months
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Retelling The Hobbit Chapter 16: The Song of the Lonely Mountain First chapter / Previous / Next
To view full comic: Webtoon/A03 / Tumblr post with links to all chapters
Other blogs: TikTok/Instagram/Tumblr Sideblog
*crumbles into dust after finishing this* Thank you for reading! This The Hobbit webcomic adaptation thing takes a lot of effort to put together and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate every comment. I also really appreciate the people who’ve spread the word of this comic to their friends! <3
And finally, we’re at the Song of the Lonely Mountain! Within Tolkien’s canon, The Hobbit is an in-universe book that was “written” by Bilbo Baggins, who occasionally lies/embellishes/exaggerates things. The tonal differences between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are explained by Bilbo and Frodo/Sam being different kinds of storytellers, with different relationships to “the truth.” This idea is the core of how I’m adapting the novel!  Bilbo is an unreliable narrator who is literally ‘drawing’ from his own limited experiences;  the different art styles reflect the different perspectives of other characters.   The “dwarf art style” in this chapter is inspired by stonework/metalwork in general— but especially by a mix of art deco, Celtic art, and European folk art. 
The central tension of the comic is between Bilbo and Thorin, who each have wildly different ideas about what kind of  story they’re in. Thorin is in a grand fantasy epic, while Bilbo is in a lighthearted children’s book adventure.  The tragedy is, obviously, that only one side of the story ever gets to be fully told.
On a sillier note, a few years ago I had my first gay crush on a lesbian who sang while playing the piano. This chapter is dedicated to the piano lesbian. I hope they’re doing well, wherever they are. XD
I think I might need a bit of a break but I’m hoping for the next chapter, titled “Dawn,” to arrive on January 13th. And your comments/support really do help motivate me to get more done! ^_^
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iamnmbr3 · 8 days
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7 most unhinged canon drarry moments
Harry calling Draco his arch nemesis just a few months after Lord Voldemort tried to murder him for the second time but also immediately thinking that he kinda misses him
Harry getting hit in the head by a piece of luggage because he got so distracted by the sight of Draco changing that he didn’t notice someone swinging a large object at his face
Harry lying to the Order and Magical Law Enforcement to obfuscate Draco’s crimes at the end of sixth year
Voldemort immediately assuming Draco has gone looking for Harry when he goes missing during the Battle of Hogwarts…and being right
Narcissa assuming Harry will know where Draco is and if he’s still alive…and being right
Lucius getting mad at Draco in book 2 because he has spent the entire summer talking nonstop about Harry Potter
Harry forgetting about the time Voldemort possessed and nearly murdered Ginny but remembering every item he saw Draco look at in Borgin and Burkes 4 years previously
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coffeecatcraze · 2 months
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The fact that Vaggie knew it was a HORRIBLE idea for her to go to Heaven because there were so many things that could go wrong and so many bad memories there, but her girlfriend needed her and she couldn't say no to her cute face; the fact that the headstrong, optimistic, determined, powerful Princess of Hell knew she couldn't handle taking this huge step alone and the only one person she could imagine being by her side in that critical moment was Vaggie.
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The fact that even when she felt so hurt, heartbroken, and betrayed and tried for a second to deny it, Charlie never stopped loving Vaggie, still referred to her as her girlfriend, and had full faith that she was completely succeeding in her task (getting detailed sensitive information from a weapons-dealing Overlord) while Charlie herself was struggling and failing with her own.
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The fact that even with Charlie so upset that she intentionally threw a painful commentbat her (a comment with a subtle double meaning, though Charlie herself was definitely NOT thinking clearly enough to realize that implication and only meant to make a jab at the secret-keeping), Vaggie still wanted so desperately to protect Charlie out of love that she regrew angelic wings despite having been in Hell for years.
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The fact that one gesture from Charlie told Vaggie everything she wanted to say to her, and that mutual understanding was so complete that she didn't hesitate to run to her knowing she would be accepted because her girlfriend still loved her and forgave her.
The support, love, and intimate understanding these two share even when things are hard and painful is so beautiful. They've been together for years; they've been through so much; and it's wonderful to have that respected and portrayed canonically instead of dipping into that easy, fan-craved trope of dramatically heavy relationship angst. I'm glad they left that angst itch to be scratched by fanworks instead, because these ladies aren't that type.
They are powerful; they are determined; they balance and complete each other; and most importantly, they are so head-over-heels and experienced in their love for each other that it took one day for Charlie to deeply consider everything and fully reconcile with Vaggie, who never doubted her even for a second. Their relationship isn't just established; it's stable, and I love to see that for a wlw couple. <3
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starrystevie · 3 months
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"what are you doing," eddie mumbles in confusion, hair fanned out on steve's pillow, the moonlight streaming in giving him a hazy halo.
there's a hand on the side of his face and it's cupping his cheek, thumb stroking over his skin. it's soft, so soft, too soft. another hand is trapping his against the mattress, fingers trailing over his forearm before tangling into his own and squeezing tight. it's gentle, so gentle, too gentle.
eddie isn't soft, eddie isn't gentle. eddie isn't making love in a full size bed with wallpaper that matches the drapes. he isn't fluttering kisses in time with fluttering heartbeats and the fluttering wings of butterflies trapped in his stomach like the most lovely cage.
eddie is fucking at 2am when there's enough intoxication to make him look like he's worth it. he's rough and wild, quick and easy. a means to a barely wanted end because he's there and willing and with long enough hair to let people imagine he's someone else.
he should be caged instead of the damn butterflies. he bares his teeth and thrashes his limbs just to fight and see what he can get away with. he laughs loud and brash in the face of sweetness just to see anger, just to see hurt.
he has half a mind to think he's a feral animal that's hardly been trained, performing in some fucked up circus that charges two bucks to see him snarl and hurl insults at anyone who passes by. he bites at the hands that try to touch, try to feed, proving to the onlookers that he's only worth the pocket change they pay to see him.
but steve. he's holding his face like he wants to, holding his hand like it's the most important thing in the world. he's pressing kisses along eddie's jaw without any hurry, without any rush, kissing just to kiss. feeling just to feel. he's like a ray of goddamn sunshine even in the darkness that midnight provides, warming eddie from the inside out.
eddie wants to run. he wants to scream. he wants to feel like he's allowed steve's soft and gentle but he's-
"is this not okay?" and now steve's looking at him with all of whatever he's trying to give him lacing into his face, his eyes and spit slick lips sparkling in the moonlight like a shiny new toy. "do you not like it?"
concern and care are different sides of the same steve shaped coin and if eddie looks hard enough, he can see them blurring together in his frustratingly beautiful sparkling eyes and those damn butterflies start to come back.
"no, it's-" he let's out a sigh, relaxing his tight muscles and sinking into the bed, sinking into whatever steve is willing to give him. "just different, is all. good different, i think."
steve smiles and eddie shakily mirrors it back, before he's ducking his head again and slotting their lips together, fingers still holding tight to eddie's, still cupping his face like it's something precious.
eddie's come to terms with the taste of the metal bars of his cage, teeth wearing down as he tries to bite his way to freedom. maybe this time he'll let himself get used to the taste of soft and gentle smiles if it means loving steve.
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buggachat · 5 months
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Open My Eyes
AO3, 1/15 chapters, post season 5 finale, angst (with a happy ending), Adrien discovers the truth
Adrien smiles as he eats breakfast with Nathalie, smiles as he walks through the halls of his new lycée, smiles as people stop him on the street and tell him time and time again what a "hero" his father was. (Adrien wishes he could've been a hero, too. He should've been. Maybe then his father would still be alive.) (But he's surviving. Everyone may be treating him as though he were made of glass, but he can still go through the motions, he can prove them wrong, he can still smile.) “And you’re… happy,” Marinette spoke carefully, a nervous tilt to her voice, “... right?” (Adrien has some things to find out.)
Hey guys, deciding to force myself to finally start uploading my post-season 5 finale fic! It's already complete and will be updated Mondays and Thursdays.
Basically, it's lots of Adrien angst and reveals dealing with the fallout of the season 5 finale. It was a lot of fun to write.
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magpie-trinkets · 10 days
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continuing that "maya tries to contact claire" post, i present you the post-Spirit of Justice follow-up
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hothammies · 13 days
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two guys arguing at the aquarium? must be lovers (fic)
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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.)
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frostedpuffs · 1 year
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every time someone makes a point to say that "Marinette doesn't wear makeup, she isn't like other girls" I want to SIGH because not only does Marinette Actually Wear Makeup in canon, it is exhausting that it is 2023 and people are still doing the "not like other girls" thing
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myimaginationplain · 6 months
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On one hand, I think that Kiyi is actually a wonderful idea for a character; you can get a lot of interesting stories out of inserting this innocent, guiless little girl into such a fraught & complex pre-existing family dynamic.
However, some mind-numbingly bad storytelling decisions surround Kiyi's existence in canon. Ursa's magical amnesia chief among them; it is so goddamm boring to take a character with as much baggage to chew on as Ursa has, only to make it so she has to grapple with literally none of it.
No Ursa looking at baby Kiyi & mourning for the two babies she was forced to leave behind, grieving children who are still alive. No Ursa looking at Kiyi grow up & seeing Zuko & Azula in her, equally as happy as she is afraid for her. No Ursa trying to give Kiyi as normal & happy a childhood as she can, while constantly looking over her own shoulder, praying that she won't be recognized. No Ursa hearing wild rumors about her older children's whereabouts & actions, not knowing what to believe.
No, instead of any of that, we just get Ursa becoming a blank slate who can now go off & live a blissfully ignorant happily ever after with her (equally blank) high school sweetheart, forgetting the very children whom she risked everything for in the first place. And that sucks.
Also, if I were writing Kiyi, I'd just say fuck it & make her Ozai's kid. That's a thousand times more interesting.
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p4nishers · 7 months
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there's something i need to say and yall can boo me for it but deep in my heart i'll always know i'm correct: crowley already forgave aziraphale. like already would take him back at one flutter of his eyelashes. that's all.
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iamnmbr3 · 3 months
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Harry really got so distracted by the mere sight of Draco Malfoy's name that he just completely stopped paying attention to Sirius. Even though all he's wanted for months is to be able to spend time with him. Wow.
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atimeofyourlife · 11 months
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30 or so years post-canon, Steve is a teacher, elementary or middle school.
One day, the principal knocks on the door to his classroom, frazzled, stressed, anything but the put-together appearance she always pulled off no matter the situation. "Steve-" That's another sign that something was wrong, she had never, in the twenty years Steve had known her, called another teacher by their first name in front of students, "I mean, Mr Harrington. You have a visitor. A very important visitor."
By this point, the class had all stopped what they were doing, totally interested in what was happening, none of them had seen their principal behave anything like this before.
"Send them in." Steve looked up from his marking as someone else entered the room. "Oh, hey, Erica."
The principal made a strangled sound at that. One of her longest-serving teachers greeting his guest as if she was another teacher, or a visiting former student, and not the President of the United States.
Just a little fic idea that I've had bouncing around my head. If the mood hits right, I might develop it into a real fic
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snurtle · 4 months
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I've been thinking about the templars lately. they were promised honor, virtue, told that they would be charged with protection of the innocent... And then those same people are systemically exploited and abused, abuse others because they're taught to regard everyone else as either sheep who need to be lead or potential threats. Never equals, except in their brothers/sisters-in-arms. They act as the guard-dogs and military arm of an entirely different organization that they're only a functionary member of but have no governing say in. Even the chantry aren't their equals- they function as the templar order's supervisors! And all this isolation and closing of ranks ends in disability, addiction, death, and abandonment by the system they spent their bodies in service of.
To top that off, retaliations against them just confirm the paranoia they were taught to embrace. It's probably a long hard road to get out of that hole.
Like, listen. the dichotomy of mage vs templars is a satisfying and easy one, but the system is tearing them apart too. have you ever heard of a retired templar?
at the end of it, mages and templars need to unite against the real threat. the chantry.
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lokisprettygirl · 1 year
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Series Masterlist
Under his influence (Post Avengers! Loki x female reader) (Series)
Summary : The year is 2012, Loki picks up the tesseract in an attempt to escape from the clutches of Avengers and his brother Thor only to end up in a tiny studio appartment in Minesotta, the occupant being none other than you. You reluctantly agree to hide and help the crazy god of mischief and terrorism wondering why you were even thinking about helping a fugitive?
Warning: 18+ This series will contain smut in the later chapters, Soft loki alert, Read the warning in every chapter
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6
Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9
Chapter 10, Chapter 11 Chapter 12
Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15
Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18
Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21
Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24
Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27
Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30
Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33
Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36
Chapter 37
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