#my fanfiction guides

[poussacha]

My 2023 Fanfiction Wrapped

Hi everyone! It's ya boi spreadsheets back with another fanfiction wrapped! This time I actually took the time to make it look really pretty (see: I half assed this in Google Slides for my discord server's swampmas wrapped event lmao).

Without further ado, here's what I read this year.

2023 Fanfiction Mini Guide

These are fics I rated 7/7 stars on my guide that I would FULLY recommend everyone read if you're into these fandoms or ships.

Stranger Things

Gen (Steve & Robin)

As He Sinks Just Like A Stone by saintmares | Rated T | 5k

The words "Steve Harrington is sooo strong" had always made Robin Buckley roll her eyes. After all, what did it matter if some stupid jock just so happened to use his muscles a bit more than other people? But when her life comes crashing down inside a secret underground Russian elevator, Robin finds a new appreciation for the strengths of Steve Harrington... at least until she has a startling realization about her best friend and his fleeting mortality as the Party patches up his demo-bat bites.

Steddie (Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson)

Black Out Days (Fairground Nights) by OonionChiver | Rated E | 140k (background Ronance)

‘I think,’ Steve says slowly, reaches for Eddie’s abandoned, untouched beers. ‘You don’t know me very well.’

‘I don’t know you at all, man. I don’t really want to.’

Steve’s throat works. It’s subtle, but Eddie sees it. He hides it with a swig of beer, but when he sets it down, his smile isn’t quite so bright. Twice as sharp, though.

‘The self-centred asshole who can only be decent to a single human being, I get it. It works for you.’ Then he takes a thick, heavy breath. The alcohol is hitting him, Eddie can tell. ‘And I am being civil. I’m here, aren’t I? You have any idea how hard it is for me to be here?’

‘In a bar?’

Steve doesn’t answer.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil

Stomco (Star/Tom/Marco)

Monster Carvers by Raikim4Never | Not Rated | 70k (unfinished, but I think about it every day of my fucking life)

Fourteen years after Princess Star Butterfly is kidnapped from her cradle, a terrorist attack on The Underworld results in Prince Tom Lucitor being sent to stay on Earth. Meanwhile, the Monster Carvers plot to bring an end to all non-Mewmans, and Ludo learns of rumors that Tom was given the Butterfly wand for safekeeping…

High School Musical

Chyan (Chad/Ryan)

I Still Don't Dance by Rozavie | Rated G | 20k

Chad Danforth never thought that he would find himself here—washed up, past thirty, teaching at a high school, and divorced. Basically, everything in his life has gone up in flames. No longer being able to play his favorite sport, and coming off of an exhausting (although amicable) separation, Chad decides that it's time to focus on what he can control. Primarily, raising his daughter. As long as she's happy and healthy, Chad thinks that he can manage to be as well.

But when an old friend from high school stumbles back into his life, Chad's world gets just a little more interesting.

Boy Meets World

Cory/Shawn/Topanga

For a good time, call by feyrelay | Rated M | 3k

This headcanon lives rent-free in my head, constantly, and I was so disappointed in how GMW handled a lot of the adult relationships and stickier topics, that I just had to write this. It just might rot your teeth.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Zukka (Sokka/Zuko)

like the sun inside you by ofherlionheart | Rated M | 200k (Unfinished)

Sokka's expression is caught somewhere between determined and pissed off when he says, “I know you think this is your responsibility. But you’re not going to be alone in this. This is why we’re building you a council.”

“I know,” Zuko says.

“And the only way you’re going to die having done nothing but sit in meetings is if you let yourself do that. You’re not a bad leader if you take a break now and then.”

Zuko scowls. “What, so people can then say at least my father wasn’t lazy?”

Sokka tilts his head. “Don’t you think there’s a difference between laziness and, I don’t know, choosing life and happiness in spite of a terrible dad who tried to take both from you?”

----------

Zuko is sixteen years old when he’s handed a crown, a throne, and a hundred-year ancestral legacy of colonial imperialism. He’s not scared of the work; he’s scared of being consumed by the responsibilities and burdens he’s claimed. What Zuko doesn’t quite realize, yet, is that he’s not alone in this.

(do you take this jerk to be) your one and only by jatersade | Rated T | 55k

Under the leadership of Fire Lord Iroh, the Fire Nation has made every attempt to restore peace and make amends for the harm they inflicted during the Seventy-Year War. Their newest proposal is a literal proposal: a marriage to unite the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes.

The Fire Nation offers Prince Zuko’s hand.

The Water Tribes offer Princess Yue’s.

Sokka is apparently the only person in the world who has a problem with any of this.

Will We Last the Night by CSHfic | Rated T | 144k

Chief Arnook never assigns Sokka to protect Princess Yue, so he goes to fight the Fire Nation with the other men. When the moon dies, and the ocean spirit takes its revenge, Sokka is caught standing on the deck of a Fire Nation ship. Sokka should have drowned… and he would have drowned, if not for a certain Fire Nation raft fleeing the North Pole.

[An enemies-to-lovers season 2 rewrite, where Sokka is separated from the gaang during the Siege of the North, and travels the Earth Kingdom with Zuko instead].

War Crimes by Lovely_Elbow_Leech | Rated M | 90k (MAJOR CONTENT WARNING FOR SA, CHILD SA, TORTURE, MURDER, AND VIOLENCE - PLEASE READ THE TAGS AND CONTENT WARNINGS)

Book one ends with two major diffrences: 1. Sokka went on the mission with Hahn (it did not go well) 2. Zhao survives the North Pole and that proves unfortunate for everybody (except Zhao, obviously) 

Imprisoned on Zhao’s war ship, Sokka and Zuko have to work together to survive. They are not very enthusiastic about this prospect. 

And they argue. 

A lot. 

War games by Lovely_Elbow_Leech | Rated M | 428k (MAJOR CONTENT WARNING, TORTURE, VIOLENCE, MURDER - Unfinished)

After the events of War Crimes, Sokka and Zuko have escaped Zhao’s warship and are fleeing across the Earth Kingdom. As well as unfamiliar terrain, they have to navigate their shared trauma, work out where they fit into the war, and their place in each others lives.

Sokka is aware that being friends with the enemy is going to bring complications, but he probably should have guessed that being friends with Zuko in particular, was going to be a bit like dunking your head repeatedly into a bucket of angry Fire Ferrets.

Katara is also grappling with the confusion of befriending an enemy, something that doesn’t prove as difficult as she had expected with the bond of shared, furious grief bridging old wounds. (Learning a new way to look at her bending doesn't hurt either)

Azula, struggling with the Fire Lord’s mistrust, encounters a few nasty surprises and has to make some difficult decisions. Luckily, she is a great deal better at making sensible choices than her brother.

Her father may have made a slight tactical error.

In the Soft Light by CHSfic | Rated T | 84k

As the newly appointed cultural liaison to Northern Water Tribe, Zuko is the first Fire Nation Citizen to step foot inside the city's walls in nearly a century. He's determined to prove himself—to the Fire Lord and to his father—even if the Water Tribe's spirit-touched prince seems to want nothing to do with him.

or

Moon Spirit Sokka AU

These Things Written by Erisenyo | Rated E (Underage) | 222k

The letter was never supposed to be read, least of all by Sokka. But then, things happen every day that aren’t supposed to, in war.

Or,

On a particularly hopeless night, Zuko sends out a messenger hawk to nowhere. He didn’t realize that his messenger hawk is deeply committed to completing the job. And that Sokka happens to be traveling straight through nowhere, at the time.

These Things Known by Erisenyo | Rated E (Underage) | 400k (Third in series! There is a second one between These Things Written and These Things Known)

[Aang cuts him a quick, guilty look. “I didn’t mean to imply that you…”

Sokka raises his eyebrows. “That I…Focus on the present to the point of blindly committing to enormously questionable courses of action with significant long-term ramifications because they’re gratifying in the immediate moment, which is particularly concerning as our chief Maker of Plans?”

“Uh—That’s basically…Yeah.”]

Surrounded by danger and doubts, separated by war and one irrevocable decision—after the world of just-Sokka-and-Zuko crashes into the world of everything else, what comes next?

Or,

What happens when trusting someone suddenly means something far different out in the world than it did in the space of a Ba Sing Se teashop?

I'll Share the Moon, if You'll Share the Sun by anarchycox | Rated M | 400k

An alternate world where Iroh leads a coup against Ozai on the eclipse and wins the throne for Zuko. The southern water tribe hadn't sent men to fight in thirty years, instead protecting their home, laying traps, using guerilla tactics so the fire nation gave up fighting them.

Sokka and Katara found Aang, but being frozen in ice for a hundred years has ramifications and for almost four years the tribe focuses on healing the avatar.

Zuko is advised for continued peace to have an arranged marriage outside the fire nation. The best option is a the child of the chief of the southern tribe. Katara is in love with Aang and is heartbroken, but will do her duty for her people. Sokka finds a loophole that they can carefully and craftily exploit.

Aka they lie. They lie so hard and Sokka becomes the one betrothed to Fire Lord Zuko. He is sure there will be no consequences to the plan. Certainly not going to fall in love with the man he is lying to. At all. Nope indeedy, no love on the menu. Dang it.

Everything That I Am Not by Benedick | Rated T | 85k (Unfinished)

Sokka isn’t stupid. Not that his sister is, mind you (at least, he’d never call her that to her face now that she’s honed her waterbending), or any of the rest of Team Avatar, although sometimes it feels like he’s living in a different world from the rest of them — a world where running out of food means starving, and walking into a town full of firebenders with the Avatar in tow will get you killed, rather than help you free a beaten-down Earthbender colony.

Anyways.

Sokka isn’t stupid, which is why he laughs directly in Aunt Wu’s face when she tells him that he will marry the Fire Lord.

As always, if you're curious how I get my data or how to do this yourself, shoot me a DM or come bother me in my Discord Server (It's called The Swamp, we're all queer and neurodiverse with various interests and are currently having a pokemon themed Swampmas)

[stump-not-found]

AND IT'S POSTED!

Stan and the kids fall through the portal, and find themselves stranded in the Nightmare Realm, with some d-bag named Bill Cipher. Thank god Ford comes to save them, right?

...Right?

[kozukenbsf]

I can read a 500 page book or 100k word fanfiction in one sitting, but the moment I have to do a required reading for uni I suddenly don't know how to read

[fairyhaos]

How To Fucking Write: a guide by fairyhaos

[masterlist]

this post details:

STARTING A STORY

PACING A STORY

hi gays and gals and welcome to "how to fucking write", a post (series) where i talk about how i brainstorm for writing, plan for writing, write the writing, and everything in between. nothing too serious here lmao, but i'm definitely planning on making at least a couple posts on this bc a) it's fun and b) i wanna help! so if you find this useful then pls lmk by reblogging + drop an ask if there are any specific things u want me to give my two cents on ^^

okok and now without further ado,,, let's look at the topics i'll talk about in today's post!

#1 - HOW TO START A STORY.

.. bullet point one : have an idea

the first big thing is that you need an idea. doesn't matter if you're a pantser and don't plan out your writing before you start. that's totally fine! but before you begin, you need at least an idea: maybe it's a vibe, a character personality, a specific journey you want the characters to go on. maybe it's a piece of dialogue. maybe it's the ending- the point you want to end up at after however many thousand words.

whatever it is, it's best to have some inspiration, some idea of what you wanna do. no point in writing if you don't know what you're writing, you know?

(of course, that brings up the issue of Having An Idea in the first place, but finding inspiration to write is a whole other can of worms we can open in another post.)

.. bullet point two : practice

okay, so now you have an idea. how do you put that idea to paper? how should you actually start your story?

it’s all to do with practice.

it’s the most annoying piece of advice in the world, but it helps so much. you just have to write lots and lots and lots, to find the way that works for you. whether you wanna start your stories with pretty scene descriptions, with dialogue, with dramatic one-liners. finding your voice, your style, what’s most comfortable for you, is really really important. and takes practice.

an example, though: for me, i prefer either a line of dialogue, or one-liners that a) help immediately establish a character’s personality or can b) introduce an interesting setting.

[chan + swingset] — one-liner example

[hoshi + silly] — dialogue example 

but of course, everyone’s style is different. so i’d recommend playing around! find a list of one-word prompts and just write a few that inspire you, writing the beginnings. it’s important, also, that you’re having fun, because if you’re already struggling with starting to write, it’ll be even harder if you’re doing it while feeling stressed.

.. bullet point three (mostly just for longer fics)

maybe you don’t find a style, in the end. maybe you’re comfortable with all of them, which is totally fine! but then you look at your writing, and you think, “oh… this isn’t as good as i thought.” 

and it makes you want to give up. what do you do, then? how do you carry on with your start?

just put words to paper. it doesn’t matter if the words are terrible, if you’re making up shit and using placeholders for description words or whatever. just carry on, get to a place you’re happy with, like the end of a scene, or maybe a dialogue exchange you really like.

because now, guess what? you’ve successfully created a first draft.

making first drafts is actually so important. seriously. first drafts allow you to fuck up, allow you to write terribly. they help you fumble and trip your way to the finish line (or at least a rest point) so that you can go back and do better.

even if your first draft is terrible, it’s helped you make your way to a point you’re happy with. now you have a vague idea of what you want, even if the description or characterisation or something is way off. because now, you can edit it, or even scrap it and use only a few words from that draft in your next one. or maybe, if you look back at it, maybe it’s even decent enough for you to use. 

whatever it is, when you first start writing that story, think of it as ‘The Worst Draft’. because it probably won’t be as good as you want it, and it’s okay. just write, with no fears of it being bad, because that’s literally fine. it’s not set in stone. the backspace button exists. after your first draft is made, make another. and another, and another, because i promise, after that first draft, it only gets better from there.

#2 - PACING A STORY.

.. bullet point one : adding things

pacing is always really tricky. however, i do think that slowing a story down is easier than speeding it up, so here we go,,,,

finding out the exact way to slow down a story really depends on what type of story you're writing, but there are a few all-round things you can do which can help pretty much any setting.

if it's a scene with loads of dialogue, and things feel like they're jumping to the end topic too quickly, add descriptions. your readers are blind, writers, and they depend on you to be able to see what's going on. are your characters having a conversation on the street? take a break to describe what they see. are they in a coffee shop? maybe someone comes in with a huge noise, or their coffee arrives at their table. are they hanging in midair with nothing around them? well, describe the actions of the character they're talking to, then.

example: (from my seoksoo fic bc it's the only long fic i'm working on rn)

by adding character descriptions, movement, thoughts, instantly everything seems to have slowed down. it thickens time, allowing you to move at a more leisurely pace.

if it's a scene full of action, you can do the exact same thing. maybe there's a high-tension moment and something significant happens. slow down time there, describe something small in great detail. talk about the thoughts they're having.

and even if it's just an ordinary scene, describing is important. the setting, the characters' actions, their thoughts. it's okay to write too much. then you can delete things which make things feel like they're moving too slowly.

.. bullet point two : delete

not gonna lie, finding out how to speed up the pacing of the story can often be really specifically tailored to the setting of the story.

with stories that have loads of action (spy, apocalypse, etc) i'd recommend adjusting sentence length. you'll want short, punchy sentences, without loads of commas and clauses, but you'll also want to experiment with having those short sentences gradually get longer. it helps with tension and suspense.

it has to be short. running fast. something to elevate fear. quick, but also desperate, before they then spill over each other, picking up pace, all of the thoughts blurring together and going faster, and faster, and faster, and then-

then the penny drops.

people use the metaphor of music a lot, and it really does work that way. it needs to ascend to its climax: gently, cautiously, before sprinting upwards and only describing things like the barest emotions (the fear they feel, the panic, anger, anything) before everything reaches its peak and comes crashing down in a flurry of action descriptions.

but of course, the easiest way to speed up something is to delete. delete swathes of setting description. delete unnecessary dialogue. delete an entire scene and rewrite with only the things you remember (which can help make sure you only have the essentials in your scene, btw. very helpful).

it might take a bit of adjusting, rewriting, moving things around, but ultimately, quickening the pace of the story depends on the way in which you write things. be concise, be dramatic, and don't dawdle.

... and that's it ! if anyone has anything else they want advice on (how to structure, how to write dialogue, how to plan etc) then just shoot me an ask, because i'd love to help however i can :)

tagging: @selenicives who asked for this in the first place hehe ^^

[alicelufenia]

Killing The Grove But Not Killing Your Friendship With Karlach And Wyll - A Patch 7 Guide

Friendship ended with Halsin and the druids, but not with the two good-aligned companions. As a dark mirror to the KO Method for recruiting Minthara on a good playthrough, this is what has been dubbed the "Murder Method" to recruit Karlach and Wyll on an evil (or at least very chaotic if at one time well meaning) playthrough.

Pictured above: Kagha giving even a good-aligned Tav a reason to side with Minthara, probably.

This is a follow up to my original guide [x], so I will only give the highlights here. The general gist is this: So long as a civil war between the druids and the tieflings at the grove is triggered, AND the tieflings die (completing the Save the Refugees quest), the Raid the Grove quest can be completed without a raid battle.

To explain, there seems to be only two things that cause Karlach and Wyll to leave:

Triggering the raid battle against the tieflings, no matter how many remain from the druids attacking, triggers Wyll to leave and Karlach to lose so much approval she's likely to leave just from that alone.

Speaking with Minthara in the Secluded Chamber and proceeding to the goblin party causes both Wyll and Karlach to leave, but only if they are currently alive when the transition happens.

EDIT: I've gotten reports of people losing Wyll and Karlach upon moving to the goblin party, even if they're dead before hand. So I need to clarify, for this to work they need to be both dead and not in the party. This can be done by getting them killed (by enemy attacks, damage over time like fire, or jumping to their death), then instead of Withers resurrecting them, ask him to collect your fallen companions. This will spawn their corpses in camp (all their loot and gear will stay on them) and remove them from the party list. This will be how you know they are now in his care, and can proceed.

This also means that you don't need them dead before the fighting starts. They can steal the idol, fight Kagha, whatever you want to do to kick off the druids attacking the tieflings. As long as they are dead and in Wither's care before proceeding to the goblin after-raid party, this should work (but as always, have a backup save, and attempt this in Honor Mode at your own risk).

For this test, I had two objectives: Steal the idol without my party members getting caught (so as not to slow down the druids and give the tieflings a fighting chance) and returning it to Mol for the "Steal the Idol" quest reward, and, on the chance Kagha is still alive after the fighting, TAKE THE IDOL BACK FROM MOL. This is critical I think, as every time it's not been in my inventory when Kagha is still alive, the grove seals as soon as we leave.

Once again, because Alice sucks at pickpocketing, I just paid through the nose (800 gold) to buy it back from Mol. I'm sure she's satisfied with the results. It is possible to pickpocket it from her though. I then shapeshifted into a halfling and escaped out the secret exit and waited out the fight.

And that's when I saw Arabella again!

I swear she came running out the secret hole right past me!

She was too fast for me to keep up with Shovel, the druids all ignored her, and she doesn't stop moving in turn-based mode. Still, there she goes.

It's a shame I'm going to have to redo this whole sequence for my main save (I skipped a lot of things I did previously to get this done fast), however now that I know where she appears from I may be able to trigger it consistently. If so, I will report back on whether Arabella shows up later!

Despite Kagha surviving, the grove doesn't seal when we leave the area, and the Emerald Grove Environs waypoint remains. So holding onto the idol was the key here.

Minthy is upset that we started the slaughter without her, but she prepares her raiding party all the same. One long rest later:

Here's something new for patch 7, Karlach has something to say upon finding Dammon's body.

It's genuinely pretty sad, and you've got a couple things you can say in response. Honestly it's been a long time coming.

I'm curious whether this triggers if he dies at Last Light too. Something for others to investigate (I do not guarantee the safety of the inn either on my playthrough :p)

Looks like Minthara took care of Kagha for us. She was even nice enough to leave the loot. No sign of Rath though, so no getting the Sorrow glaive. Just pickpocket the rune off him first, I guess.

For the record, nothing happens when we investigate her secret stash and notes at this point. Oh well!

All the animals are dead except for Topaz! I guess that was his lucky coin after all.

Also something I forgot to confirm last time, the kids' hideout is still empty. So I still say Mol and the others got out. Another point in the favor of doing things like this.

The game still is treating it like you killed the tieflings. Strange, the patch notes said Minthara would have something to say if there were no tieflings left, but it's all the same here. Wow, Larian saying something was added for Minthara, only for it to just not be there? What a wild concept.

Also you can barely see it but Karlach and Wyll here also have their eyes closed, implying Minthara's sharing her mental snuff film and porn movie with them too. Yikes, that's awkward, sorry guys this is. Like, a Durge and Minthy thing, just for the two of us? Didn't mean to involve you, just lie down in fire a bit for me.

Thanks guys, you're the best!

I swear they're both some of my favorite characters! I do this because I love them.

So yeah, make sure Karlach and Wyll are dead and entrusted to Withers before talking to Minthara, as finishing her dialogue moves you to the goblin party, and they'll both ditch if they're alive for it.

You can bring them back once you're actually at the party though.

Also they changed Withers' resurrection animation to be much faster! They were revived before he was done speaking!

They're both chill! And Wyll has new greetings dialogue for higher approval! This is apparently his "Very High" greeting. EDIT: Actually it's his low approval greeting, because the only companion Larian hates more than Minthara is Wyll, sadly. It's a bug that should get fixed soon, but who knows when.

Once again, you probably don't need their approval this high, but it doesn't hurt. Plus hey, I honestly think they'd get along with Alice, so I'm glad they're here this time.

We roll in the hay with Minthara, have a civil discussion over drawn knives, and she gives me her lyre so we can take the mountain pass way to Moonrise. And the camp is just how it should be: Karlach and Wyll still with us, and a huge ritual circle painted in tiefling blood in the middle of camp (because of Durge things, not the goblins).

Keeping Wyll and Karlach post goblin party in patch 7 - Success!

I hope everyone enjoyed this, and it helped you make the most of your evil playthrough. Now you can have all origin characters along for the horrible, horrible ride.

[roses-descendants-hub]

We the Anti-Heroes (chapter guide)

Chapter guide for We the Anti-Heroes so the story is easy to find/chapters can be found if you’re looking for a specific one.

—

Prologue/Chapter 1 (Audrey)

Chapter 2: Move-In Day (Hadie)

Chapter 3: Roommates (Ariana)

Chapter 4: Auradonian Ethics (Hadie)

Chapter 5: Ex’s (Ariana)

Chapter 6: Aggression (Hadie)

Chapter 7: Lesson (Ariana)

Chapter 8: Mornings (Hadie)

Chapter 9: Fights (Ariana)

Chapter 10: Names (Hadie)

Chapter 11: Appointment (Ariana)

[imliterallysnakejaguar]

THE NEXT CHAP OF MY FIC IS OUT FINALLY YAYAYAYAY !!!

i actually cannot wait to get to the other characters' perspectives of this,, like,,,

jay realising that he could have prevented something if he'd actually listened to zane when he was freaking out about his nightmare,,, kai's whole losing his fire (and probably feeling guilty about feeling bad for himself after he found out what was happening to zane, and how he could have ALSO prevented something if only he was stronger) AND LLOYD OH MY LORD !!, imagine how terrifying it would have been seeing the brother that was the gentlest soul he'd known, someone who smiled or laughed so rarely it was considered a treasure END UP LAUGHING MANIACALLY AT HIM AS HE TRIED TO KILL HIM ???

ough i'm so business casual about them

ALSO ICE EMPEROR ART I FORGOT TO POST HERE (MINOR BLOOD WARNING)

[wanderingjedihistorian]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi Characters: CC-2224 | Cody, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Clone Trooper Waxer (Star Wars), Jocasta Nu Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Sentinel/Guide, Force Dyad (Star Wars), First Meetings, Bonding, Instincts are hard, Enhanced senses are harder, Sentinel CC-2224 | Cody, Guide Obi-Wan Kenobi Series: Part 1 of Here Comes the Sun, Part 9 of 212th Bingo 2023 Summary: As soon as Obi-Wan stepped off the shuttle, anticipation started to buzz under his skin. The very Force around him seemed to hum soonsoonsoon. Obi-Wan had no idea what it could possibly mean. Then he heard a voice.

For the "Sentinel AU" square of @clonefandomevents​ 212th Bingo!

Featuring at commissioned from the lovely @amikoroyaiart​!

[poussacha]

Steddie Guide: A (Study) Guide for Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson Fanfiction (Part 2)

Okay I'm back with PART TWO of this Steddie Guide. If you'd like to read PART ONE, please click here. You can also view all of these in an airtable (as one part).

Again, just reiterating that this guide is LONG and I've been working on it for over a year. If I'm missing some of your favourites please understand that I follow a stict criteria for guides. I don't read anything with less than 10k or more than 500k. I ONLY read complete works (this includes series). And for this guide specifically, I didn't include fics with Billy Hargrove in them and didn't read many Modern AUs.

Without futher ado, here's the second part.

BEST OF AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES

Doing Nothing With You

by redoaktree | Rated M | 106,402

Steve and Robin get a two bedroom in Hawkins. It's perfect, except for all the ways it isn't. Drafty windows, clogged drains, shitty landlord. But it's got a couch. A couch that's often occupied by Eddie Munson. Home isn't really the kind of thing Eddie has much of anymore, ever since his trailer became the primary source for all his nightmares. Luckily, he knows of a semi-comfortable couch where he's always welcome.

Despite all it's problem, the house has perks. Primarily, it's somewhere Steve can actually call home. Secondarily, it's somewhere he can share with the people he loves.

AKA: The fruity four live in a convoluted roommate situation, and romance happens along the way.

Bookmark Comments: No notes.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 slow burns that ruined my life 𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 stories that made me cry so hard i threw up 𝗑 best of the best slow burns 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 BEST OF TAG 𝗑 100k+

-

BEST OF VOL 4 (and 5?) REWRITES

Sanctuary

by SpicedSage | Rated E | 47,584

After Steve Harrington goes missing, Eddie Munson gets exposed to the secret dangers of Hawkins, Indiana in 1985 instead of 1986.

Will a different first meeting lead to a change in his fate?

Bookmark Comments: How can something be so horny and so soft at the same time? God I love dirty talk. Why am I always the Steve in every scenario sfjsdlk (bc i’m stupid and submissive lbr)

Bookmark tags

𝗑 steddie guide to being super horny but also like in love and shit 𝗑 Domestic 𝗑 Fluff 𝗑 Kink 𝗑 Eddie’s POV 𝗑 25k+

Not Fade Away (A Cover)

by dorcas_gustine | Rated E | 37,591

Vecna is dead, Eddie is cleared of all charges, Robin shakes on a bet and Steve Harrington has got game.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: This is what I imagine it's like to be loved.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Found Family 𝗑 Vol 4 Rewrite 𝗑 this is the canon ending if you ask me 𝗑 stories that made me cry so hard i threw up 𝗑 Fluff 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 25k+

Just a rhyme without a reason

by doriangrayscale | Rated M | 78,139

The mall is destroyed. El’s lost her powers. Billy’s dead. So is Hopper. Steve is probably fucked up mentally for life, but what else is new? Steve has a pretty good thing going. He has kids to take care of, an awkward lesbian to advise. Max needs a big brother. Hawkins is his home, and Steve can’t just leave. Not while he’s still needed. He knows one day he won’t be. But for now, it’s enough.

Or: the Harringtons sell their house before the real estate market goes belly-up. Hawkins has been going downhill for years, anyway. His parents give Steve a choice: move with them and finally take that job at his dad’s company or get left behind. For Steve, it wasn’t much of a choice at all. He may not have a house anymore, but his BMW’s backseat has served as a bed plenty of times already. No one has to know. The party has enough problems to worry about.

Or: Eddie Munson worms his way into Steve’s sorry little life months before Vecna rears his ugly head.

Or: Steve Harrington, a character study.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 7/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: What do you mean this isn't how series 4 went? Fuck off.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Found Family 𝗑 Vol 4 Rewrite 𝗑 Steve and Eddie fall in love before series 4 𝗑 stories that made me cry so hard i threw up 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 75k+

Weakened Like Achilles, with You Always at My Heels

by HMSLusitania | Rated M | 53,696

The graduating classes of 1985 and 1986 invite YOU back to West Hawkins! Welcome reception Friday, May 24th at 7:30pm. School and town tour to follow on Saturday morning. Memorial service Sunday. * If you are a graduate of the class of 1985 and need driving directions to West Hawkins, please RSVP * Due to current government restrictions, we are not currently able to offer a site visit to the Hawkins Exclusion Zone -- Steve Harrington goes home for his ten (well, eleven) year reunion with a nagging secret that's slowly ruining his life.

In the ten years between, he finds the family he always wanted and, unfortunately, the person he wanted to share it with.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: If this isn't how series 5 goes i will actually riot.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 Stranger Things Vol 5 Canon Fuck Off 𝗑 Stranger Things Fix-Its 𝗑 Found Family 𝗑 Falling in love with a ghost…sorta 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 50k+

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BEST OF SLOW BURNS & ROMANCE STORIES

Fade Into You

by annabeeus | Rated M | 52,204

Steve Harrington doesn't need help. He just needs to get through this summer without completely falling apart. Unfortunately, it seems like Eddie Munson has other ideas.

(or: the one where they fall in love with each other, bit by little bit)

Bookmark Comments: Goddddd of all the fics with domestic fluff and slow burns this is the only one that Gets It djfjdjjf

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 Domestic 𝗑 Fluff 𝗑 Stranger Things AUs Done Right 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 50k+

The Worst Mixtape Ever Made

by nbfutureboy | Rated M | 17,999

“It’s a gift, so you gotta listen to the whole thing, okay? I think-- I think it’s got what it takes.”

There’s an art to making a mixtape - and Steve Harrington has decidedly ignored all semblance of art in creating a mixtape for Eddie Munson. Too bad Eddie’s fascinated with how impressively terrible his song choices are.

[Written Post Vol. 1, Pre Vol. 2. Now an 'Eddie Lives' fic.]

Bookmark Comments: I love when people use music to tell stories especially when it feels right.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 excellent use of music 𝗑 Fluff 𝗑 Eddie’s POV 𝗑 10k+

STRIKE TEN.

by oaseas | Rated T | 16.075

Steve’s striking out. It’s the summer after his graduation, he’s working 9-5 at Scoops Ahoy, and hey, did you hear? He’s striking out. Enter Robin, her ‘you rule/you suck’ board, and a promise to romance the next girl through the door. Except, that’s no girl. That’s Eddie Munson.

Or: One double scoop of pining, please!

Bookmark Comments: Dammit i love stupid fluffy Eddie and Steve parent Max i just--

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Found Family 𝗑 Fluff 𝗑 Steve is an idiot 𝗑 No Upside Down AUs 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 10k+

A Sign of the Morning

by ToEdenandBackAgain | Rated M | 86,804

Vecna is dead. The Upside Down is cut off from Hawkins yet again. Steve is trying to go back to normal, whatever that is. He's also trying to figure out exactly how Eddie Munson has managed to fit so easily into his life.

Bookmark Comments: These boys deserve every happiness and so does Robin.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Domestic 𝗑 fluff 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 75k+

Not So Bad

by outofmygourd | Rated M | 43,409

Vecna is dead. It's the summer after the party's freshman year. Steve Harrington spends it in the Family Video Store, and Eddie Munson is spending post-graduate life bothering him. And maybe Steve isn't as bothered as he used to be.

Bookmark Comments: I just love this story so much

Bookmark tags

𝗑 companion fics 𝗑 fluff 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 25k+

Keep it Steady, Eddie

by outofmygourd | Rated E | 104,812

Eddie Munson doesn't mind working at the Family Video Store. It's a nice sense of normalcy (not to mention money) and he gets to see Robin more because of it. However, between working together and sharing the same best friend, he's also been seeing a lot more of Steve Harrington.

He wants nothing more than to enjoy mindless fun with his friends now that everything with Vecna is over, but Eddie's finding it hard to move on from what happened. Even if the strangest thing in his life right now was simply the fact he and Steve Harrington might actually be friends.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 7/5 Stars (I'm ignoring that only half of these have a star rating, some of them just got deleted and idk why)

Bookmark Comments: This is the slow burn long fic I was so fucking desperate for for like my whole fucking life.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 romance done right 𝗑 slow burn 𝗑 best of the best slow burns 𝗑 stories i can’t stop thinking about 𝗑 Eddie’s POV 𝗑 BEST OF TAG 𝗑 100k+

take my hand

by actuallymaxie | Rated M | 17,056

Eddie Munson doesn't mind working at the Family Video Store. It's a nice sense of normalcy (not to mention money) and he gets to see Robin more because of it. However, between working together and sharing the same best friend, he's also been seeing a lot more of Steve Harrington.

He wants nothing more than to enjoy mindless fun with his friends now that everything with Vecna is over, but Eddie's finding it hard to move on from what happened. Even if the strangest thing in his life right now was simply the fact he and Steve Harrington might actually be friends.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: How many of these am i even gonna bookmark god help me i am GAY, fellas. (Future talls: it was SO many)

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 the real gay agenda 𝗑 just queer things 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 10k+

to live my own way

by Macellarius | Rated E | 21,491

Under a much different circumstance, Eddie would have loved to have Steve’s eyes looking over him like that, would love to have that determination focused on him, but Eddie is very much dying, he knows it, so he smiles at Steve’s misplaced confidence instead, “High expectations, Stevie. Where’d you learn to swing like that anyway?”

“I’ll tell you,” Steve’s voice is a bit shaky, his tone wavering, even as he puts on a brave face, “but you have to stay alive, Munson.”

If he had more strength, he’d consider testing his luck one last time, tease Steve by asking if he swings for Eddie’s team, but- he’s tired.

Dying young. What a fucking nightmare.

Or, what if the Party defeats Vecna in time, and Eddie lives?

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: What do you mean this isn't canon?

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Fluff 𝗑 happy endings 𝗑 Eddie’s POV 𝗑 10k+

We’ll Know for the First Time

by KikiZ | Rated E | 41,993

“Hey,” Steve’s smile is soft, tentative. “Heard you were having a party over here.”

“What are you…” Eddie swallows hard, mouth dry. He wishes every teacher that ever told him he talked too much could see him now.

“I was hoping that invitation still stood,” his eyes are drilling into Eddie’s and he can’t explain why he needs this so much, but he does. Every beat of his heart is begging Eddie to open the door, to let him in.

There’s a beat, a catch of their eyes and Eddie shifts, pushes the door open wide, whispers, “of course,” whispers, “always.” His heart is in his throat, he can’t pull his eyes away as Steve steps in, crowding him so close they share a breath. He can feel Steve’s gravity pulling him in and he’s never wanted to collapse so badly.

OR: Eddie gets to have a good life.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: Here i am bookmarking another Steddie Fic that ripped my beating right directly out of my chest.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 happy endings 𝗑 Eddie’s POV 𝗑 25k+

Home By Now

by thegreenwitch98 | Rated G | 10,812

By far, the strangest thing about the last two days was not the little twerps from Hellfire that spouted off about something called ‘the Upside Down’, it was not Nancy Wheeler with a gun, or the idea of the town going on a deranged hunt for his head.

The weirdest thing, that he couldn't seem to wrap his brain around, was the presence of Steve Harrington.

***

Eddie Munson wasn’t used to people wanting him around, but now it seemed like no matter where he turned there was someone who cared about him.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: Back on my Steddie bullshit. Wish this was way way WAYYYY longer because it was so fucking good 😭.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Sweet 𝗑 Eddie’s POV 𝗑 10k+

Learning to Fly

by actuallymaxie | Rated G | 16,595

When Steve was six years old, he told his mother he wanted to fly. When he was twenty, he learned what that really meant.

This is a reimagining of the end of Season 4 Vol 2 because I wanted to see a little bit of a happy ending in there. Alternative title: Steve Harrington’s Big Gay Crisis

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: Sup people who check my bookmarks for recs. I've got the stranger things steddie brain rot too. This one was so good i wept real tears ...for like an hour. Read it!

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 fics with happy endings that still ruined me emotionally 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 10k+

we are the lighthouse and the storm

by hydrangea_bush | Rated M | 30,229

Steve meets Eddie again after two years and remembers the affectionate relationship he'd tried to forget.

// A story of young love, teenage rebellion, and rekindled romance with a happy ending

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: Honestly this tore me to pieces emotionally and I loved every second of it.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 self soothing 𝗑 Being Perceived 𝗑 stories that made me cry so hard i threw up 𝗑 Love isn’t enough 𝗑 no upside down 𝗑 the terrifying ordeal of being known 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 25k+

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BEST OF LARPING

The Shire is NOT on Fire

by kissesforcas | Rated E | 54,148

The kids convince Steve to take them all to a Renaissance Faire and LARP event.

Steve has more fun than he admits.

And then Steve has a LOT more fun than he admits.

Bookmark Comments: Oh my god??? Oh my GOD????

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Kink 𝗑 Renaissance Faires 𝗑 Fluff 𝗑 Stranger Things AUs Done Right 𝗑 Multi POV 𝗑 BEST OF TAG 𝗑 PERSONAL TOP TEN 𝗑 50k+

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BEST OF STEVE & EDDIE FALL IN LOVE BEFORE VOL 4

Positive Touch & Hangin’ On (Series)

by SheWritesDirty | Rated E & E | 7,908 & 11,128

Positive Touch: Steve, who recently lost his friend (but more importantly his gopher) Tommy, found himself in dire need of getting well and truly high. A problem that found him standing in the middle of Hawkin's trailer park at night, hesitating on the stoop of one particular trailer that he'd usually never risk getting caught dead at.

Still... weed. The weed was gonna be worth it.

Hangin’ On: Steve is freaking out about the fact that Eddie Munson gave him a hand job his graduating year, and how he sort of returned it.

Things escalate.

Bookmark Comments: Sometimes you just. Gotta write horny porn series for your faves and this is probably the only one I'll ever care about. & I am such a sucker for good porn and this is the good eat good shit.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Kink 𝗑 hot hot hot 𝗑 Idiots in love 𝗑 queer shit 𝗑 porn that definitely didn’t call out my own personal porniness 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 10k+

darlin’ you give love (a bad name)

by Thorinoakentwing | Rated E | 24,426

The first time he hears Dustin and Mike mention the name Eddie Munson he almost walks into a VHS display at work.

Steve wants to ask them how Eddie’s doing but then his face from that last party flashes into his head and he always clams up. If he was Eddie he’d want nothing to do with him and rightly so.

Instead Steve teasingly complains about how much time they spend with Eddie and that’s as far as it goes.

Bookmark Comments: God i am a sucker for these AUs

Bookmark tags

𝗑 queer agenda 𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 10k+

stereoscope

by seraphy | Rated E | 60,893

Here's Steve Harrington's biggest secret, though: It's not the alternate dimension brimming with monsters or the impossible girl with powers. It's the fact that he and Eddie Munson have been friends all along. In an on-and-off, tangential, fucked up kind of way. Never on his own terms. But still friends.

Bookmark Comments: This has got to be one of the best and most personal stories I've ever read. It fucking gutted me in the best way. I want to eternally thank you for writing this.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 trauma like mine 𝗑 stories that made me cry so hard i threw up 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 BEST OF TAG 𝗑 personal top ten 𝗑 50k+

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BEST OF EMOTIONAL INTIMACY & PLATONIC INTIMACY

a goddamn blaze in the dark

by jolt | Rated T | 20,355

Eddie doesn’t know how to act around Steve, doesn’t know how to reciprocate the openness. Truthfully, he doesn’t think he’s done anything to deserve it.

But there’s something in Steve’s eyes, gears that are shifting and turning behind them, like he’s trying to deduce something. And Eddie wants to tap into it, wants to take a chisel to his skull and excavate it. Why are you always looking at me like that? he wants to ask. Tap tap tap. Why are you still giving me the time of day?

Or, Eddie's never had a friend like Steve before.

Bookmark Comments: This shit was so good I don't even know what to fucking SAY. Like I'm SPEECHLESS.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 Hurt/Comfort 𝗑 Eddie’s POV 𝗑 10k+

Steve Harrington’s Guide to Touch

by how_about_no | Rated M | 18,863

Eddie won't stop touching anyone and everyone, except for Steve. He has a plan to change that.

--

“You can touch me.” That was not how Steve intended for it to come out. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times.

Eddie had frozen with his fingers halfway to his mouth. Smoke curled from his cigarette between them. He raised his eyebrows, then frowned, then bit his lip.

“I can-” Eddie said slowly, his face still rolling through several emotions without landing on one- “touch you?”

Bookmark Comments: Listen I'm ace this is everything to me somehow.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 platonic intimacy 𝗑 fluff 𝗑 ace shit 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 10k+

it’s called freefall

by barelyjoyous | Rated M | 11,633

Steve reached a hand out until Eddie passed the beer back, and leaned forward, looking carefully at the notebook Eddie had left open on the table.

“So, what story are you telling then?”

Eddie smiled then, eyes bright. Steve smiled back, ducked his head down and grabbed the notebook from the table to flip through it.

Eddie talked for hours, and Steve had tried to keep up until he finally understood most of what he was saying, and when he finally cleaned everything up and tucked it back into a box in his room, Steve had followed him in.

Eddie had changed the tape to Motley Crue, Steve’s least favorite, and he’d finished the six pack he’d brought while Eddie rolled a joint.

When he woke in the morning, Eddie’s legs were crossed over his, and Steve’s hand was on his arm.

----

Steve can't sleep. Eddie can't sleep. They unpack a trailer together.

Bookmark Comments: God this is insanely beautiful. I don't even really mind that the ending felt kind of rushed because Eddie saying "You wanted a family, Steve" destroyed me so thoroughly I will never fucking recover.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 Found Family 𝗑 stories that made me cry so hard i threw up 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 10k+

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BEST OF EDDIE RUNS AN ADVICE COLUMN BC WHY NOT (I loved this fic ok)

Lovesick in Loch Nora

by redoaktree | Rated M | 62,603

Even though Eddie's name has been cleared legally, he's still very much on trial in the court of public opinion. Dealing drugs isn't a lucrative occupation anymore, and getting a legitimate job in a town who still considers him a killer isn't much of an option, either. Eddie is beginning to think skipping town and starting over somewhere no one knows his name is the only chance he has left. Steve has another idea.

AKA: Steve gets Eddie a job as an anonymous columnist at a local newspaper.

Bookmark Comments: Fanfictions that made me gayer somehow. But also i am so serious that i screenshotted so many of the paragraphs for this one because it Hurt Me In My Soul.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 fluff 𝗑 journalisme 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 BEST OF TAG 𝗑 50k+

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BEST OF FUCKIN WITH THE TIME AND SPACE CONTINUUM

I’ve seen your face before, my friend, but I don’t know if you know who I am

by HMSLustiania | Rated M | 26,952

At the end of it all, to fix everything, the Hawkins crew had to go back to 1983 and prevent the first gate from ever opening.

After that, they've got a chance to lead normal lives -- from November 1983 onward.

OR

Waking up to find out the government had busted a bunch of experimented-on kids out of Hawkins Lab over the weekend is somehow not the strangest thing that happens in Eddie Munson's junior year.

No, that's a toss up between being reverse-adopted by a party of middle schoolers and the fact Steve Harrington won't stop staring at him.

Bookmark Comments: Oh my god i love found family and bisexual crisis Steve Harrington.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 Found Family 𝗑 AUs 𝗑 Eddie’s POV 𝗑 25k+

the lathe

by palmviolet | Rated M | 82,574

"This time, do it right. This time Eddie won’t bleed out in his arms, in anyone’s arms. This time, Steve will do it right."

— or, steve relives the day they try to kill vecna over and over, and eddie just can't seem to stop dying. steve finds this totally unacceptable.

Bookmark Comments: This is everything to me.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 Found Family 𝗑 Time Loop AUs 𝗑 motherfucking gUTwRENCHING 𝗑 stories that made me cry so hard i threw up 𝗑 Multi POV (Mostly Steve) 𝗑 BEST OF TAG 𝗑 personal top ten 𝗑 75k+

The One in Which a Time Loop is Fucking Exhausting

by badpancake | Rated T | 41,496

It’s the first time in a while that he doesn’t know what comes next. He’s dove into the water hundreds of times. Screamed as his flesh was torn apart, heard Master of Puppets in the distance and held back tears. Felt Max’s cold, small hand in his as she laid in the hospital bed. There are things that always happen, no matter how hard he tries: El doesn’t arrive in time. Eddie dies. Max is put in a coma.

Steve fails. They lose.

“Steve, how many loops have you been through?”

His head is nodding, and his eyes are watery, and Eddie has approached him like a spooked animal.

“I lost count.”

AKA: The one where Steve Harrington is stuck in a time loop, and Eddie Munson is really fucking hard to save, or: fuck Volume 2, these bitches are in love.

🌟✨⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐✨🌟 10/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: Okay this fucking destroyed me emotionally and I'm sobbing at 3am lmao. (Future talls: this fic basically started the whole obsession of me reading nothing but Steddie fics for an entire year, so definitely read this one)

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Best of time loops 𝗑 time loops 𝗑 stories that made me cry so hard i threw up 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 BEST OF TAG 𝗑 25k+

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BEST OF EDDIE LIVES AND BECOMES FAMOUS

Thank I’ll Go Inside

by nobetterlove | Rated E | 13,833

Steve and Eddie share a night before Eddie leaves Hawkins to chase his rock star dreams with Corroded Coffin. That singular moment in time changes them. Twelve years pass where both Eddie and Steve feel each other's absence as life and careers move on around them. Read to see what happens when Eddie's first solo single brings the two of them back together. Does distance and time truly make the heart grow fonder?

Or - a sorry excuse for a future fic!

Bookmark Comments: Oh thank God i thought this got deleted i will now be bookmarking it for the rest of my fucking life ❤️❤️❤️❤️ (Technically I broke AO3 rules for this fic)

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 Fluff 𝗑 stories that made me blush down to my bones 𝗑 Multi POV 𝗑 BEST OF TAG 𝗑 personal top ten 𝗑 10k+

my way, your way (anything goes)

by rogersharrington | Rated E | 25,472

A guitar riff came out over top of all the other instruments and Steve froze in place, the smile on his face disappearing.

He knew that riff. He had heard it enough times over the summer of ‘86 to know it as soon as it started. Hell, Steve was there when it was written.

“Indianapolis, how are we fucking feeling?!”

The guitarist had run out from the side of the stage, wide smile on his face, strumming the riff over and over on his cherry red electric guitar as he spoke to the crowd. Eddie fucking Munson.

or;

Rockstar!Eddie Munson au set in the summer of 1988 where Corroded Coffin opens for Guns N’ Roses after Eddie ran away from Hawkins. Steve sees him for the first time in over a year and old feelings resurface.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: I literally took the entire day off work to read this it was so good. I physically could not move from my bed until i read the entire thing.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 25k+

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BEST OF MODERN AUs

Press Your Space Face Close to Mine

by DiscoSuperFly | Rated E | 12,255

Steve thinks Chicago is a gritty amazing city-filled with so many of his friends, but working for his dad can be soul crushing, until there's a new food truck near the office.

Steve tries a new food truck and is hooked the moment one of the kooky workers catches his eye.

Bookmark Comments: Fics that i wish were longer bc they destroyed my soul (affectionate).

Bookmark tags

𝗑 fics i wish were longer 𝗑 Fluff 𝗑 Modern AUs 𝗑 Food Truck AUs 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 10k+

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BEST OF FAKE DATING AUs

Date me instead

by Zhuletta | Rated E | 43,744

Every date Steve has gone to lately has been horrible. It’s impossible that there’s something wrong with the entire female population of Hawkins, so surely there must be something wrong with him.

“Why don’t you take me on a date then?”

“Wh— what?”

“Take me on a date, pretend, of course, and then I’ll tell you if there’s something wrong with you or not.”

Or: Eddie proposes a crazy idea to see if there's something wrong with him, Steve finds the fact that it works is even crazier.

🌟⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟 7/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: Augh yes the fluffy fake dating AU we all need 😭

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Fluff 𝗑 fake dating trope 𝗑 fellas is it GAY 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 BEST OF TAG 𝗑 25k+

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BEST OF KINK

We Should Just Kiss (Like Real People Do)

by Oonionchiver | Rated E+ (YOU’VE BEEN WARNED) | 88,428

‘Please?’

Eddie stops him again, this time by holding his face. Steve feels Eddie’s thumb moving over his cheek, he feels the cool metal of his rings. He feels everything except what he needs.

‘I’ve never loved anything the way I love you, Steve Harrington,’ Eddie says, dark brown eyes moving between Steve’s own. ‘This isn’t the moment, sweetheart.’

It’s not a rejection, but it’s not a kiss. Steve quietly cries, insides cut up on the broken shards of his stupid little heart and Eddie holds him, he holds him all night until they fall asleep together.

✨🌟⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟✨ 10/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: This one completely and utterly gutted me. It's kinky, it's precious, it's full of love and comfort and hurt and godddd i am inconsolable after reading it. I don't think anything ANYTHING has ever meant so much to me.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 kink treated with respect 𝗑 Kink 𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 greatest works I’ve ever read 𝗑 stories that made me cry so hard i threw up 𝗑 Kink done right 𝗑 BEST OF TAG 𝗑 PERSONAL TOP TEN FICS OF ALL TIME 𝗑 75k+

don’t go wastin your emotions

by kissesforcas | Rated M | 51,650

"Steve 'the Hair' Harrington, a rage-filled barbarian, who knew?" Eddie says, like its a compliment, like Steve has ANY idea what that means.

"Uh, I knew. Obviously." Steve says, wisely, even though he clearly didn't. "Anyway, do you think we could eat a demobat? Or would we turn into some kind of monstrous freak? I'm starving, and Dustin's cheese crackers are not enough to get me on my feet again."

"What difference does it make to me if I'm a human freak or a monster one?" Eddie shrugs, and Steve butts his shoulder up against Eddie. It's meant to be brotherly, maybe friendly, but it's too soft. Felt like something he might have done before slinging an arm around a girl's shoulders.

"You're not a freak." Steve says, and finds he means it.

Eddie's eyes, when he looks at Steve, are curious. "No?"

"No."

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: Honestly. I just. The fluff? The smut? Steve fully hitting on Eddie in the full light of god and everyone and Dustin and Lucas YELLING about it? This it Good Shit. It's GOOD SHIT.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Kink done right 𝗑 Kink 𝗑 Fluff 𝗑 Eddie’s POV 𝗑 50k+

Black Out Days (Fairground Nights)

by Oonionchiver | Rated E | 139,167

‘I think,’ Steve says slowly, reaches for Eddie’s abandoned, untouched beers. ‘You don’t know me very well.’

‘I don’t know you at all, man. I don’t really want to.’

Steve’s throat works. It’s subtle, but Eddie sees it. He hides it with a swig of beer, but when he sets it down, his smile isn’t quite so bright. Twice as sharp, though.

‘The self-centred asshole who can only be decent to a single human being, I get it. It works for you.’ Then he takes a thick, heavy breath. The alcohol is hitting him, Eddie can tell. ‘And I am being civil. I’m here, aren’t I? You have any idea how hard it is for me to be here?’

‘In a bar?’

Steve doesn’t answer.

✨🌟⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟✨ 10/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: You know why this is here I don't have to tell y'all anything

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Kink 𝗑 BDSM 𝗑 stories that made me cry so hard i threw up 𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 stories that stole my fucking breath 𝗑 no upside down 𝗑 Modern AUs 𝗑 Eddie’s POV 𝗑 BEST OF TAG 𝗑 100k+

-

THE BEST MOST TRANSFORMATIVE WORK IN THE STEDDIE TAG (ok I'm biased, but i'm also right)

the most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it’s you

by greatunironic | Rated E | 34,987

Sixteen years after the world didn't end for the last time, Max Mayfield showed up on Steve’s doorstep and said, “You gonna walk me down the aisle in May or what?” Or, it’s 2002 and Steve Harrington attends a wedding, a funeral, and a birth.

🌟✨✨🥤⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🥤✨✨🌟 44/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: THIS STORY MADE ME CRY SO HARD MY FUCKING CHEST RATTLED. Everybody else go home. Nothing will ever be as good as this. Nothing.

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 greatest works I’ve ever read 𝗑 stories that made me cry so hard i threw up 𝗑 stories that made me cry more than I’ve ever cried in my life 𝗑 stories that destroyed me 𝗑 found family 𝗑 Works that both destroyed and shaped me as a person 𝗑 the best and worst things to ever happen 𝗑 i am so serious i didn’t sleep for two days after reading this it fucked me up that bad 𝗑 BEST OF TAG 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 TOP TEN 𝗑 25k+

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BEST OF STEVE'S BISEXUAL AWAKENING

Broken House Behind Me and Good Things Ahead

by lichtbringer | Rated M | 33,139

“Steve… Stevie.” Eddie mumbles, shaking Steve's shoulder.

It takes Steve far too long to blink his eyes open, and when he does, it's to find Eddie, still rumpled from sleep, looking down at him with red cheeks and a sheepish smile.

“Huh?” Steve asks, raising his head from where it was nestled against Eddie.

“As much as I’m loving you all over me, sweetheart.” Eddie teases and Steve blinks at him, still struggling to process the words. “You’re gonna have to let me go for a minute.”

It takes Steve another moment, and then the realisation sinks in. Well, fuck. He fell back asleep, didn’t he? And now Eddie is awake and Steve is going to have to deal with the motifying ordeal of apologising for wrapping around the guy like a clingy octopus.

Even after Vecna's defeat and the charges against him being officially dropped, the people of Hawkins are far too willing to buy into the idea of the supposed satanic powers of Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson.

Tensions spike and Eddie finally does what he should have all along: he leaves Hawkins behind - he just didn't except to do so with Steve by his side.

Meanwhile, Steve finally gets the push he needs to understand what he is feeling.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: THE YEARNING!?!?!? THE EMOTIONS!?!?!? I'M SHOOK!!!!!!?

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Emotional Damage 𝗑 Yearning 𝗑 Pining 𝗑 best Steve realises he’s bisexual fic in the fucking tag actually 𝗑 just queer things 𝗑 the real queer agenda 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 25k+

The Edification of Steve Harrington

by ChronicRabbit | Rated E | 44,129

It had been two and a half months since the end of Spring Break.

Eddie had been cleared of all charges, The Byers were back in Hawkins like they’d never left, Vecna was dead and gone, and everything was back to normal; or rather as back to normal as Hawkins could get.

Unfortunately for one Steve Harrington, his new normal seemed to be not only his inability to get a date, but also his newfound proclivity towards staring at Eddie Munson’s mouth while he dramatically narrated during a five hour Hellfire session, or counting the freckles on the bridge of his nose, or memorizing the patterns in his honey coloured eyes.

What the fuck was wrong with him?

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Stars

Bookmark Comments: I really need to make a Steddie guide like my Dasey one and this will definitely be on there. (AND I DID! AND IT IS ON HERE! HI!)

Bookmark tags

𝗑 Steddie Guide 𝗑 like study guide 𝗑 Get it? 𝗑 Steve’s POV 𝗑 25k+

Go to Steddie Guide Pt 1 →

[arsuns-ramblings]

What Tommy can’t say about his new book is that it’s called Tommyinnit’s guide to survival bc Tommyinnit’s survival guide was already taken /j

[nafohcnis]

More John dory freak out. there'll probably be a lot of this.

[max-nicoxfandom]

Some trauma/whump/abuse scenarios for you, because your character can be traumatized without having the literal joker for a parent. Like not all abuse is so outward, I would argue that most abuse looks more like this.

Feel free to add your own, this is just stuff I've experienced

Yelling. I don't mean being yelled at. I mean a child being in a household where their guardian is always stressed and always yelling. It puts your body in fight or flight mode for all of eternity, trust

Sex and other adult topics being discussed with or around a child before they can understand what they're talking about

In the same vein, adults talking about a child while right in front of their face, and not caring what they hear or believing that they don't understand what they're hearing (they always do)

Gaslighting. Phrases like "you dreamt that" "you're being too sensitive" "that never happened" "don't lie"(while telling the truth)

Guardians not supporting the child's interests, or even down right denouncing them, whether they do it by taking the interest away or insulting the child for participating or some secret third thing

Misplaced anger/adult taking out anger on the child

Food scarcity, specifically by refusing to buy food that a picky eater would eat, or not having enough money to keep food on the table

In a similar vein, buying luxury items like game systems, new clothes, TV's, etc, while not being able to afford to put food on the table (and if you want to be even cooler the guardian will make the child feel bad for complaining about not having basic needs met by pointing out all of their luxury items they've been bought, double points if the child didn't want or ask for any of it)

Being treated as a burden, or saying things like "you're too/so expensive" "you're so needy" "you're too spoiled"

Guardian A trying to turn their child against guardian B, making themselves look like the better caretaker or better person.

Guardian who treats their child as a friend, or overall not having enough boundaries between parent and child

Emotional absents. Being there, but never engaging with their child. On the flip side, forcing their kid to participate in something bc the guardian likes it, even if the child hates it

Parentifying their child or forcing them to take care of their household in an adult manner, like helping raise the other children, housework above their skill level, paying bills, etc

Lack of privacy. A guardian telling people about something the child doesn't want people to know about. It could be an embarrassing story, it could be about their sexuality, it could be something that sounds harmless

Physical abuse but only while inebriated, and being (what's at least perceived as) a good parent otherwise

Preventing a child from sleeping while they're tired/extreme sleep deprivation

Repeatedly breaking their trust, like not doing things they promised they would do, saying things they don't mean, bring people who don't like their child around their child, ect

Name calling

Feel free to add your own, or hop into my askbox !! It is always open !!

[pullbackandrelease]

Hey, have you guys ever heard of For The Want Of A Nail? It's a fanfiction series for My Hero Academia, and contains a bunch of branching possibilities for Izuku, all diverging from his first meeting with All Might! In one he becomes a quirkless vigilante (which this is fanart/cover art for), a quirkless hero, a villain, a support strategist... and others.

I also posted this in the art channel in their dedicated discord server.

[deathbyclown]

The Outfit Pairing: Crocodile/Buggy Rating: Explicit Words: 6000

Warnings: Mildly Dubious Consent, butt plug, anal sex, Buggy has nipple piercings and is a slut (affectionate).

Summary: Buggy is wearing The Outfit and everyone knows what that means, except for Crocodile, who will find out soon enough.

(Buggy’s horny and wears a specific outfit to announce it to potential suitors. He’s looking for sex and anyone will do. Crocodile incidentally volunteers)

A/N: The story starts from Buggy’s perspective and then switches to Crocodile’s.

Read on AO3 (for the fellow fanfic readers who want to keep scrolling tumblr, so they open it in a tab among 100 other unread fics, certain that they will read it later. This link is for u 💖)

🎪🐊🎪🐊🎪🐊 🎪🐊🎪🐊🎪🐊 🎪🐊🎪🐊

As soon as Buggy stepped into the bar, all eyes were on him. As they should be. He was dressed in The Outfit™. The crowd practically parted for him as he walked forward to the bar and he gave his admirers a dazzling smile. He could hear the buzz of whispers and murmurs and he knew every single person in this room was talking about him. Thinking about him. And it was exactly what he wanted.

He put both elbows on the bar and leaned forward, purposefully sticking out his ass as he waved down the bartender. A few people sidled up beside him, offering to buy him a drink. He flipped his hair over his shoulder and accepted their generosity with a sharp toothed smile.

Tonight was about sex. And if you were part of the Buggy crew, you knew that because of the what Buggy was wearing. He wore his most revealing clothes, thigh-high striped socks, tight shorts, and a silky, billowing, open buttoned shirt. And when the crew saw their captain wearing The Outfit™ they knew Buggy was looking to get laid. It was something that had been established years ago, by accident at first, and then it slowly became the norm, until the sight of Buggy’s clothes had a Pavlovian effect on the crew.

So, Buggy had quite the crowd surrounding him as he sipped from his beer bottle, legs spread as he sat back on the barstool, elbows resting on the bar behind him while he chatted with his groupies.

“Chairman! You look so good tonight!”

“Captain Buggy! Come sit next to me!”

“Let me buy you the next drink!”

They were clamoring for his attention. He smiled lazily at them, listening to their praises, indulgently nodding and sparing glances here and there, along with the lightest touch to hands and shoulders.

Internally Buggy was frantically trying to pick someone to take back to his tent because his dick was straining in his shorts. He had been horny all day and was at his wits end. It’s not like he was trying to make himself horny either! He woke up this morning hard as a rock so he jerked off, as any sensible person would. But by the time he cleaned up and finished getting dressed he could feel it again, the arousal. And he was half-hard despite taking care of himself earlier! But there was nothing he could do about that because he was late for his meeting and had absolutely no time to quickly rub one out. He used every trick in his book to will away his boner, but to no avail. No, this was something deeper than morning wood. It was the hot creeping tingle under his skin, the need to be touched, kissed, held, to cum because of someone else. And he realized he was craving a partner, but he couldn’t do anything about it! He would have to wait until after the stupid Cross Guild meeting was finished and then he’d actually take care of his problem.

He really did try to pay attention to what Crocodile and Mihawk were saying, because he knew they could turn to him at any moment. But try as he might, he spent most of the time daydreaming about his potential partner. And his fantasy was fueled by the dressed down sight of Crocodile, who was standing before Mihawk and Buggy sharing data or numbers about something. Buggy was instead fixated on Crocodile’s appearance; he had his jacket off, his sleeves rolled up, his finger pressing into a sheet of paper on the table, making his arms flex, a few strands of hair framing his face, his signature cigar wiggling between this teeth as he spoke. And whatever he was saying went totally unheard by Buggy, who could only think about how he wanted to be held down by someone with arms like his. Muscular, a little hairy, powerful.

Buggy was lost in his fantasy about some faceless, large man bending him over the meeting table and was shocked to see Mihawk leaving and Crocodile gathering his papers. They didn’t ask him a single question! Normally he’d feel a little offended that they didn’t even talk to him but not today! The meeting was over and he was finally free to be as horny as he wanted! He was grateful that he wore his baggy red outfit because he was rock hard by the time the meeting ended, so he hurried away before Crocodile could tell him to stick around.

As soon as he made it back to his room he tore off his clothes and flipped onto his bed, squeezing his cock. He slowly stroked himself, that hot pulse of arousal building before it plateaued, leaving him frustrated. He needed to be penetrated, and by a person if he wanted to cum. So he grabbed his largest butt plug and set it down beside him as he fingered himself open. He was generous with the lube, already lost in another fantasy of someone else’s fingers spreading and stretching him. His cock twitched and leaked, sweat gathered in the creases of his body as he pushed himself to the edge. But he just couldn’t go over, as if there was a roadblock. He growled in frustration, flopping onto his belly and rutting into the covers. He stopped after a few thrusts, knowing he wasn’t getting anywhere.

He grabbed the plug and got on his knees, lifting his ass in the air. He detached his torso and circled behind himself to push the plug in. He groaned as he watched and felt it spread him open and then sink into him. He had the fleeting thought of fucking himself with his own dick, but he had tried it several times before with unsatisfactory results. Unfortunately for him, he’d have to find a partner.

Buggy reattached and sat up, regretting it almost immediately. He squirmed and gripped his bedcovers, the plug pushing deliciously into his prostate. He took a steadying breath and stood up, his legs trembling slightly. The plug was a double-edged sword. It got him ready and helped to scratch the itch to be penetrated, but it stoked his arousal, making him feel like he wanted to burst out of his skin.

It took him a while to get dressed, too busy squeezing his eyes shut and taking deep breaths to try and calm his dick. He may or may not have rutted against his mattress a few more times to relieve the ache. And sitting at his vanity to do hair and makeup was a test of self-control, which Buggy lacked. He’d start lining his eyes or brushing on eyeshadow and shift a certain way, pleasure shooting up his spine, which meant he had to put down his tools and touch himself. And he couldn’t stop biting at his lips, so he had to redo his lipstick several times and scrub his teeth because he kept getting red on the inside of his mouth.

By the time he left his tent he felt frazzled, messier than what he would’ve liked, but good enough to seem put together in the dim lights of the bar. Each step he took felt like he was being shocked, like he was a live wire, sensitive and electric. It was frustrating but exhilarating, and he was grateful the tent that held the bar wasn’t too far away.

And when he walked in, all of that extra time and struggle was worth it. They couldn’t stop staring.

So now he had to decide who was the best candidate to give him what he wanted. He dismissed a lot of people who were the same size as him or shorter. He focused on the ones who towered over him; The bigger, the better (at least for tonight). He had two very tall thick people on either side of him, leaning toward him, paying him compliments, brushing their fingers through his hair, running their hands along the exposed fuzzy skin of his thighs. He was going to have a very hard time choosing tonight, but the pulse in his cock told him to make his decision sooner rather than later.

The person on his right, a huge dark haired man, with a broad chest, thick fingers and round belly had his hand on Buggy’s shoulder and leaned in close to speak softly in his ear.

“Captain, let me take care of you tonight. I can give you everything you want and more.”

The man’s hot breath sent a shiver through Buggy and he sent a hand to rest behind the man’s neck, keeping him close.

“Mmm, what do you think I want?” Buggy gave him a sly grin, his other hand sliding up the man’s thigh.

The man’s breath hitched, his large hand that was around Buggy’s waist moved to slide inside his shirt, his fingers playing with Buggy’s pierced nipple.

“I hope you’ll pardon my forwardness, Captain, but I think you want to get fucked.”

Buggy bit his lip, releasing it to moan softly as the man pulled at his piercing, the sensation going straight to his dick. Buggy nodded, turning his body so he had better access.

“I think I could sit you on my lap and fuck you right here in front of everyone.” He whispered huskily into Buggy’s ear.

Buggy moaned and then crashed their lips together, eagerly kissing the man, who kissed him back with the same fervor. The man’s words had Buggy feeling hot, his skin sensitive to every little touch. He wanted it so badly, to be taken, he didn’t care how or where, or even with who, just that he needed it now, and he was seriously considering crawling onto this man’s lap and sitting on his cock in front of everyone.

The man broke off the kiss and Buggy whined, needing to feel his tongue and heat.

“I’m a little busy here, mate-” The man started but froze when he saw who interrupted them. Crocodile had his hook on the man’s shoulder, his eyes sharp but his face neutral, almost easygoing.

“I need to speak with the…Chairman.” Crocodile looked pointedly at Buggy who was still draped across the man, body parts everywhere.

Inside Buggy was freaking out, gnashing his teeth and pulling his hair in frustration; on the outside he managed a whiny petulant tone instead.

“What?! Why????”

“Important business. Confidential.” He gave Buggy’s suitor a look, who stood immediately, forcing Buggy to pull himself together to maintain his balance on the stool.

“I’ll be taking Buggy with me. Come on.” Crocodile walked away and Buggy sat there for a moment weighing his options. Stay here and ride this nice gentleman but face the wrath of Crocodile; or wait another day to get off but avoid upsetting Crocodile.

Buggy twirled a finger in his hair, leaning over to the man he was flirting with but he already left. Buggy looked to his other side and it seemed the rest of his suitors turned tail and ran. Fine! He’d follow Crocodile for now, but he was coming right back when he was done!

…

Now he had done it. When had he become so impulsive when it came to that clown? He used to be so methodical; everything had a place and a plan, and three more to follow. But ever since he formed Cross Guild everything felt so chaotic. As organized as he tried to make it, as efficient and straightforward as he planned it to be, he could never account for Buggy. Somehow he would always throw a wrench in his plans, even when Crocodile thought he had a read on him. Without fail, Buggy managed to do the unexpected.

Crocodile sat in a corner of the bar, needing get away from his office. He had been wanting to get a feel for Buggy’s crew so he came to the most popular bar on the island. But shortly after he sat down he began to regret even coming here. The alcohol was cheap, the people loud and rowdy, and it reeked of weed and body odor. He was ready to leave when someone walked into the tent that drew everyone’s attention.

Crocodile sat up and he saw Buggy and… what the hell was he wearing? He looked like he belonged in a clown strip club, showing more skin than he’s ever seen from Buggy. He’s worn that stupid red blanket nearly every day since he arrived, but this? This was unprecedented. He looked so stupid and ridiculous and… Crocodile lost his train of thought as he watched Buggy stick out his ass when he reached the bar. The exposed skin of his thighs bulged slightly around his tight shorts and socks. And his ass looked thick, round, like it was begging to be grabbed or smacked.

What the hell did he think he was doing, waving his ass around like he was in heat. It was unbecoming of the unintentional face of Cross Guild and an Emperor. He didn’t want to stick around and watch this clown embarrass himself or the organization. He sat back in his seat, knocked back the rest of his shitty whiskey and sat a few berry under the glass, ready to leave once again, but he heard something that made him pause.

The people at the booth in front of him chatted loudly about Buggy and his outfit. One of them recounted the last time Buggy wore his ‘horny clothes’ and how they had nearly slept with Buggy but lost out to some lady with huge tits. Crocodile chewed on the information, the scowl deepening on his face as he thought over what he heard and what he was watching. Buggy had clothes he wore to announce that he wanted sex? How absurd and disgusting. And how had Crocodile never seen or heard about this? Was this a common occurrence? He rarely came to the bar so it would make sense that he never would’ve seen Buggy’s sex clothes. Was he that desperate for sex that he had to use his subordinates? He really was pathetic and shameless.

And he was acting shameless, too, spreading his legs, his erection obvious in his tight shorts, leaning into his admirers, letting them touch him. It wasn’t right. But technically Buggy wasn’t doing anything wrong or against Crocodile’s rules, his behavior was just distasteful.

And that’s why Crocodile was so frustrated, because Buggy was just being annoying. Surely that was why he couldn’t pull his eyes away from the clown. Or why he suddenly found himself on his feet when he saw that man pull Buggy close, whisper in his ear, and touch his chest. Or why he moved toward them when he saw Buggy crash their lips together.

Before he knew it he had his hook on the man’s shoulder, with absolutely no idea why he was here or what he was going to say. All he knew was he felt relief when Buggy stopped kissing that stranger. So he told him the first thing that came to mind: business. Which was so stupid not even a clown like Buggy would fall for it. He told Buggy to follow, but he really didn’t expect him to listen.

He left the bar and lit a cigar to re-center himself. What the hell was that? Why did he walk over and stop Buggy? He thought about Buggy’s outfit and his behavior and the man who kissed him. He grimaced at the images and sucked in a large mouthful of smoke before letting it out slowly. He could admit, begrudgingly, that maybe Buggy was a little attractive in his outfit. So what? He wasn’t some unruly teen getting worked up over a flash of skin. So why would it bother him? The answer flitted through his mind and he sneered at his own thoughts.

Jealousy? He scoffed aloud. Please.

Buggy burst from the tent flaps turning to Crocodile who was standing beside the entrance, chewing on his cigar with his hand in his pocket and his hook held to his chest. Buggy separated himself to be eye level with Crocodile and got in his face.

“What the hell was that!? Why did you interrupt me!? I was kinda busy, in case you hadn’t noticed!”

Crocodile grimaced and blew smoke in Buggy’s face, making him cough, his eyes tearing up, forcing him to retreat.

Why the hell did the clown follow? He looked over Buggy’s body and he felt that annoyance again. And, unfortunately, he had a name for it: Jealousy. He let out a huff.

“Emergency meeting. We’re going to my office to discuss it.” Crocodile lied, once again leaving Buggy behind, walking in the direction of his office.

What the hell was he going to make the emergency meeting about? He’d have to find something to seem important enough to interrupt both of their evenings. Or think of something to distract Buggy until he forgot that he pulled him from the bar.

He felt a little spark of pleasure at the idea of stealing Buggy away for himself and frowned deeper, biting into his cigar.

Buggy made a sound of disbelief, high pitched and grating, and he zoomed forward to catch up to Crocodile.

“Whaaatt!? That’s such bullshit!” Buggy tugged at Crocodile’s shoulders to try and get him to slow down but it didn’t do a thing. Buggy’s hands felt searing on his shoulders, his heat sinking through the layers of Crocodile’s clothing. He had to keep moving, not wanting to let his thoughts catch up to him.

“C’mon, do you really need me? You’re so much smarter, I’ll just hold you back! So just let me go and you can-“

Crocodile stopped abruptly and Buggy slammed into his back with a honk from his nose before dropping down to meet his feet. He was definitely smarter than Buggy, stronger too. So why was he even entertaining this?

“Why the hell did you do that, you flashy idiot!” Buggy rubbed at his nose, glaring up at Crocodile, who turned and gave him a much more dangerous look. Buggy recoiled, holding up his hands, already trying to right his wrong. And as he looked over Buggy he remembered exactly why he was doing this. He couldn’t let Buggy go back to that bar with his shirt open so wide he could see one of his pierced nipples looking so pink and pert, begging to be touched, his shorts riding so high the tip of his dick peeked out. He took a step forward, drawn by the sight of Buggy’s skin

“W-wait, it was just a slip of the tongue!”

How could this clown be so oblivious and obvious at the same time? He was clearly looking for sex, and yet how could he not realize the effect he was having on Crocodile? The taller man looked over him and took another step forward and Buggy let out a little shriek and took a step back.

“Croccy! Baby! I was just being silly! I’m a clown, just a silly little clown! No need to take me seriously!”

He bent forward and lifted his hook, and Buggy squeaked and scrunched his face ready for pain, but he tapped the underside of his chin, making him look up at Crocodile.

“You say you’re a clown, so why are you dressed like a whore?”

Buggy’s eyes widened in surprise and his face turned bright red. “I- I am not dressed like-” but as he glanced down at himself he changed course.

“Well! If you have to know!..I was looking for a-a date tonight! Y’know someone to…” Buggy made a motion with his hand like he wanted Crocodile to fill in the blank, but he just stared down at Buggy, keeping his face impassive. Buggy huffed in frustration and dipped his chin down, bringing a hand to cover his forehead and his eyes.

“I was looking for sex tonight, ok! You happy? I’m wearing this outfit that makes me look like a “whore” because I want to get fucked. Is that what you wanted to hear? Fucking hell!” Buggy turned his back to Crocodile clearly uncomfortable and working himself into a rage.

“Do you need dick that badly?” Crocodile asked derisively, but his tone sounded a little too earnest for his ears. Because inside he was feeling an irritating combination of jealousy and lust.

Buggy whipped around and detached his torso to grab Crocodile by the front of his jacket. “Yes! Yes I do need it that badly! So please let me go back. I’ll do anything!” Buggy’s face was pleading, eyes shining and large, lips in a soft pout.

Crocodile grit his teeth, crunching into his cigar. How? How could he look so pathetic and cute at the same time? He was shameless, asking to be let go for sex, but hearing him say it out loud, begging him so earnestly, it sent his blood south.

Buggy let go of Crocodile’s shirt in fear when he saw his face, mistaking the dangerous look in his eyes and the vein pulsing in his forehead as anger.

They were stopped close to the little building that held Crocodile’s office. He had enough self control not to push Buggy into the nearest tent or into the ground and take him right there, but he was still a man. He’d take care of this problem for Buggy (and make him forget about going back to that stupid bar to find someone that didn’t deserve to sleep with an Emperor).

He grabbed Buggy around the middle and threw him over his shoulder. He’d take Buggy to his bed and give him dick so good he’d never wear that ridiculous outfit in public again. He redirected them toward his personal tent.

“H-hey! Crocodile! C’mon, I know you don’t need my help that badly! How about this, I’ll go do my thing at the bar really quick and then I’ll meet you back at your office. How does that sound?” Buggy babbled, clearly trying to dig himself out of this situation.

“Shut up.” Crocodile growled, becoming hornier and more annoyed by the minute.

Buggy broke in half, his arms wrapping around Crocodile’s neck, burying his face in his exposed skin.

“I’m sorry! I don’t know what I did wrong but I’m really really sorry! Please don’t punish me.” He whined, nearly in Crocodile’s ear, which was uncomfortably loud.

“I’m not punishing you, idiot.” He grit out, trying to suppress the full body shiver that was building under his skin at the feeling of Buggy’s lips and nose on the sensitive skin of his neck.

“R-really?” Buggy asked timidly, his warm breath tickling the hairs on Crocodile’s neck, making him want to swat at Buggy.

“Yes. But I should punish you because you won’t stop annoying me.” He threatened. Buggy shut up but continued to hold onto his neck. Unfortunately, any punishments he tried to think of for Buggy at this moment had Buggy on his knees.

He lifted the flap of the tent and ducked inside, carrying Buggy to the bed and dropped each half of him down with a thump.

“Wait. This isn’t your office.” Buggy put himself together and sat on his knees, looking up at Crocodile in confusion.

He smoothed back his hair, put out his cigar and hung his jacket on the little rack next to his dresser. He stood in front of Buggy and undid the belt of his pants, sliding it off and letting it fall to the floor with a thunk.

Buggy watched with his mouth slightly agape, eyes unable to pull away from Crocodile’s hand working at the buttons of his vest.

“Get undressed.” Crocodile told him, pulling Buggy out of his trance.

“Wait what? Why?” He looked throughly confused.

“You said you needed dick.” Crocodile answered, unbuttoning his shirt, removing his hook and sliding it off.

Buggy’s jaw dropped and he let out a sort of wheezing sound. “Y-yours?”

Crocodile’s hand stilled on the buttons of his pants and he felt a flash of self-doubt which just made him angry. He fixed Buggy with a cold stare.

“Is that a problem?” He asked lowly, his voice dangerously calm.

Buggy’s face flushed with color. “N-no! Not a problem!” He eagerly removed his clothes, writhing on the bed as he struggled with his shorts.

“Tsk.” Crocodile felt frustrated with himself for giving Buggy something he so clearly wanted and for indulging himself like this. When did he become so weak-willed?

Buggy’s attention was drawn by the sound Crocodile made. His eyes flicked up to Crocodile’s and then moved downward, tracing over the exposed skin of his chest before settling on Crocodile’s half-hard erection pushing against the fabric of his underwear.

Crocodile smirked, the feeling of Buggy’s obvious appreciation of his body gave him a heady feeling, helping to ease his previous self-doubts. He stepped closer to Buggy, whose eyes did not move to meet his. Crocodile grabbed at his hardening cock and stroked it through his underwear.

“Is this what you want? Beg for it.”

Buggy whimpered and nodded, abandoning his shorts in favor of moving to the edge of the bed to get his hands on Crocodile’s dick.

Crocodile held him back, grabbing him under his chin and tilting his face up.

“What did I just say?” He asked, annoyance in his voice.

“Y-yes! Please, Croccy, I want it. I want your dick! Please give it to me.” Buggy begged, his hands sliding over Crocodile’s hips, pushing down his underwear. As soon as his cock was free Buggy’s hands were on it, touching and pulling and squeezing him. The hot feeling of Buggy’s hands on him, his desperation, it made his cock harden and grow under his touch.

Crocodile pushed him away, making him fall backwards onto the bed. He pushed down on Buggy’s chest with his handless forearm and hooked his fingers in Buggy’s shorts, ripping them down, his cock springing free. Crocodile wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t wearing underwear, but he was surprised to see a large sparkly pink jewel between his cheeks. Crocodile flipped Buggy onto his belly and pulled up his hips to get a better look. Buggy moaned and clawed at the blankets, loving the manhandling, but his squirming was not enough to distract from Crocodile’s discovery.

A butt plug. This fucking clown had in a butt plug the whole time. Crocodile’s cock twitched at the thought, his whole body felt hot, molten lust curling in his belly.

“You’re a disgusting little slut.” Crocodile husked, pulling at the plug, making Buggy gasp. The urge to rip the plug from his body and replace it with his dick was powerful. But he had patience. He wanted to savor this.

“B-be nice!” Buggy rushed out before groaning as Crocodile pulled out the plug to its thickest point, letting it sit at his rim, stretching him.

Be nice? He didn’t seem to realize that Crocodile could be much much crueler than this. He pushed the plug back in sharply, making Buggy moan and clench. Crocodile smacked his ass, hard. Buggy yelped and squirmed and Crocodile smacked him again.

“Don’t forget that I’m doing you a favor, clown.”

“Yes, please, I’m sorry!” Buggy whined, his hands twisting in the blankets.

Crocodile leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to the reddened skin of Buggy’s ass. Buggy sighed and then Crocodile bit down on the supple tender flesh.

“Ye-ouch!!” Buggy split apart and tried to move away but Crocodile held his hips still. He dragged his tongue over his bite, soothing it before moving inward. Buggy tensed, and Crocodile could feel him holding his breath. He pulled at the plug and ran his tongue over his pink stretched rim. Buggy quickly let out his breath, shaky with a quiet whine.

He pulled it out further, licking and sucking at his rim and the skin around it, making Buggy whine, the muscles in his thighs twitching with every pass of Crocodile’s tongue.

“Pleeease.” Buggy’s voice was strained, trembling and Crocodile pulled away to glance at Buggy. He looked back at him, his lip quivering, tears in his eyes.

“Crocodile, I need you. Pleeease. I can’t take it anymore.”

Crocodile’s breath caught in his throat. He looked pitiful, and unbelievably alluring. He reached over to his nightstand and rooted through the drawer to retrieve lube and condoms. Buggy watched him with eager eyes, his whole body trembling.

Crocodile kept eye contact with Buggy as he slowly pulled out the plug. His expressions were addictive, brows furrowed, eyes fluttering, mouth open, his face as red as his nose. Crocodile let the plug fall to the bed and his eyes zeroed onto Buggy’s slightly gaping hole which was puffy, and twitching.

“Shit” he said under his breath, squeezing lube between Buggy’s cheeks, pushing two fingers easily into him. Buggy gasped loudly, pushing back onto Crocodile’s fingers. He was already so slick from his own preparations, his fingers gliding easily in and out.

“Mooore!” Buggy whined, hips swirling.

Normally Buggy’s whining would annoy him but right now it was sending arousal straight down, making his dick ache. Any patience he was trying to maintain was thrown to the wayside. He needed to be inside of Buggy. Now.

He rolled the condom on with a practiced hand and positioned his head against Buggy’s hole. Buggy let out a keening sound as Crocodile’s head pushed past his rim. He didn’t let up, slowly but steadily sinking into him.

He was so tight, it made Crocodile grit his teeth. He wanted to be balls deep, to slam into Buggy, but he wasn’t a beast. At least, not unless asked to be, and he prided himself on his self-control. But Buggy certainly wasn’t helping, groaning and panting, trying to push himself back onto Crocodile’s dick, forcing him to go faster. Crocodile maintained a firm grip on Buggy’s hip, making him go at Crocodile’s pace.

Finally, he pushed in all the way, groaning as he was fully enveloping by Buggy’s tight heat. Buggy was sweating, his head laying on the bed, his face pressed against the covers, drool oozing from the corner of his mouth.

“So good, taking all of me like this.” Crocodile thrust shallowly into Buggy, who moaned at the praise, lifting himself onto his forearms to push himself onto Crocodile’s cock. This clown was really testing his patience.

He grabbed Buggy by the hips and pushed in as deep as he could, making him moan and writhe. He covered Buggy with his body, dipping his head to speak closely to his ear.

“I think you’re forgetting who’s in control.” He pushed Buggy’s chest further into the bed, making him hold his body weight. Buggy moaned loudly, clawing at the blankets underneath of him.

“I’m the one fucking you.” He pulled out and slammed into him. Buggy tensed up suddenly and let out a broken moan, cumming onto the blankets underneath of him.

He came, already? What, is he sensitive or was he that worked up.

“Is my dick that good?” He mocked, feeling frustrated with Buggy and unsure how to take his quick orgasm.

“Yesssss” he hissed, his body twitching with aftershocks.

Absolutely shameless. Crocodile leaned back, pulling out of him.

“Don’t stop, pleeease!” Buggy whined, rolling his hips, his ass jiggling.

Crocodile flipped Buggy onto his back, pushing him further onto the bed and followed after him to sit between his legs. He bent Buggy’s knees back and rubbed his dick against his ass.

“You thought I was done with you?” Crocodile smiled cruelly at Buggy, positioning his head against his entrance once again. He pushed in sharply, bottoming out and Buggy nearly shrieked, hands shooting forward to grip Crocodile’s shoulders.

“You’re not finished until I say so.”

He set a brutal pace, hips slapping into Buggy fiercely, leaving him gasping and clawing at Crocodile’s skin. It was intoxicating, the sight of him, hair fanned out behind him, body shiny with sweat, his makeup smeared.

Crocodile leaned over Buggy, resting on his forearm and using his hand to slide under the back of Buggy’s head, pressed their lips together. His hips slowed as he licked into Buggy’s mouth, the both of them breathing heavily through their noses. Buggy constantly made little sounds as they kissed, whines and moans in the back of his throat, all swallowed by Crocodile.

He kissed Buggy’s cheek and jaw, down to his neck but the difference in their height made it hard for him to bend further down. Buggy split in half, moving upward so Crocodile could continue kissing down his chest. It was a strange sensation for Crocodile, to be comfortably positioned while eye level with another person’s chest. He was so used to having lovers smaller than himself, but now he could easily bite and lick at Buggy’s chest while he kept fucking him.

Crocodile licked Buggy’s hard nipple, his tongue flicking over the metal barbell of his piercing. He could feel Buggy’s hands threading through his hair, his high pitched whines increasing in volume as he tugged on the metal with his teeth. He switched to the other nipple, giving it a similar treatment. His hips moved faster, spurred on by Buggy’s sounds and the feeling of his hands tugging at his hair.

“Fuck!fuck!fuck!” Buggy swore with every thrust Crocodile made. He moved up to suck at Buggy’s neck, his own pleasure mounting.

“Crocodile!” Buggy cried, body twitching as he came again, a warm wet spurt reaching Crocodile’s stomach. Crocodile groaned into Buggy’s moist skin as Buggy clenched around his dick. He smashed their lips together, stealing Buggy’s breath and whimpers. He moved his hips quickly, skin slapping against Buggy’s, riding the tight clenching of Buggy’s ass.

“Shit” he panted against Buggy’s lips, gritting his teeth and groaning, pushing deeply into Buggy as he came, the pulses of his orgasm intense.

He laid over Buggy for a few moments, crushing him with his body weight, making Buggy wheeze. When Buggy started frantically patting his arm, that’s when Crocodile lifted off of Buggy. He pulled out and sat back on the bed, tying off the condom as Buggy lay panting and sweaty on the bed. He had his eyes closed, his body still split in half and his legs spread wide open. Crocodile had a fleeting thought that he would’ve liked to see his cum leaking out of Buggy while he was like this. Maybe next time he would forgo the condom.

Crocodile himself was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, his hair sticking to the sides of his face. He pushed his damp hair out of his face and slid back to the pillows, grabbing a cigar and a lighter from his nightstand. Buggy still lay there panting heavily, still trying to catch his breath. The lazy fuck.

Crocodile leaned back on the pillows, taking a few puffs from his cigar, the smoke always more delicious after an orgasm. Maybe now that he had sex he’d able to think more clearly about why he had found Buggy so arousing.

He glanced down at said clown, who slowly hovered up to Crocodile and flopped onto his chest, hugging him close, pressing scattered kisses over his pecs. This man was a literal fool and his earnest shows of emotion should’ve gotten him killed long ago. But his affection made Crocodile’s heart squeeze. Buggy nuzzled a stubbled cheek into Crocodile’s skin, leaving a smear of muddied makeup on his chest. Crocodile didn’t want to think about what his own face looked like right now.

He put out his cigar and turned off the light, already feeling annoyance dampening his nice post-orgasm mood. He pulled Buggy close and let him snuggle into his neck, throwing the covers over the both of them. The twinge of annoyance he felt wasn’t aimed at Buggy. He sighed softly and pet the clown’s hair. No, Crocodile was annoyed with himself because he didn’t want to let Buggy go.

[ramblingsfromthytruly]

guyss quick question: what do you headcanon mary's ethnic origins to be?? i'm currently writing a marylily-centric fic but since there's no information about mary i want to know what i should make her origins to be. currently my idea for her is to have a single dad and a mom who died by suicide when she was still a baby. she's obivously going to be african-descent but i need specifics. i literally know nothing about african culture & traditions (since i'm indian) but i want to properly incorporate it in the story. i've seen popular headcanons of her being jamaican so should i go with that and research it properly?

[anticidic]

ONE DAY I WILL RETURN TO YOUR SIDE

Musings of what becomes of broken-hearted Beast!Chuuya, as told by museum guide!Dazai. 512 words. Minor mentions of blood. And your usual BEAST angst.

A man's eternal madness. A tale of grief and how hateful of a beast it can be, shredding the very soul.

He cleared his throat and fixed his bowtie. A crowd stood before him, waiting with bated breath.

"And this—the last piece—this is a man who knew little tenderness in life. Life can be cruel; bad things happen to good people all the time, but sometimes the cruelest thing is to be left alive, and no one is there to see what remains of you."

Dazai removed his earpiece and stepped back, glancing at the painting from the corner of his eye. Blood drizzled down the canvas. Silvery shining shackles bound the subject to his eternal fate, and here he laid to rest in a museum for others to tilt their heads at and speculate what became of this poor man and how long it would take until his life, too, had been snuffed out like all the ones before.

A story remembered in snapshots by all but the one who suffered through its past, present, and future: steel that was cold to the touch burning on the inside with a mixture of hope and fear. Hope that the cold of the metal pressed against one's temple would bring solace. Fear that, though the heart would stop beating, the soul would continue to suffer. And it did, so the story went. The painting screamed about an attempt into a void that did not respond. Then, silence. There was desperation there—in that silence. A cornered animal looking for a way out. In some kind of strange, semi-catatonic state. What remained of the man glared back at Dazai with a mouthful of blood ready to be spat at the foot.

Remained. Because this man had eaten himself alive after being cast away to a forgotten cell once he grew tired of all the screaming. He screamed for hours, days, from night to dawn, and no one came. He willed away the dread, even as the shadows grew around him and danced in his vision, seeking the last shred of his humanity to lay claim upon and leave behind a wailing ghost of a man who sobbed and knew not why. Just that the pain in his heart would not cease.

Eyes once blue and crystal clear no longer held anyone inside. No one was home in that look.

The subject was a confused young man and a death in the heart eating his mind. There were no stars. There was no light. There would be no future. Only this, frozen in time, where he remained, incessantly, brutally—utterly without redemption or hope.

“Excuse me,” a young woman spoke up, timid, biting her lip, unsure whether to continue gazing at the painting because doing so seemed disrespectful.

“Yes?”

“What became of this man?”

Smiling to himself, Dazai closed his eyes briefly and turned to face the painting. He could withstand the subject’s glorious assault even if it, too, made him ache with an unknown feeling. Silly. He made himself sick over paintings lost to time and it was all just part of the job.

“Love did him in. It was love all along.”