Best Short Post-Canon Fanfics
Post-Canon novellas — 10k to 50k words, polished and contained. Curated from AO3, ranked by kudos.
Top 20 Short Post-Canon Fanfics
Ranked by AO3 kudos. Each fic is tagged with post-canon and falls in the 10,000–50,000 words range.
grow
by cafecliche
“Okay,” Jingyi says, as Sizhui puzzles this out aloud. “Okay! So the demon has been turning its victims into children.”“I think so,” Sizhui says.“To make them easier prey,” Jingyi says.“Yes,” Sizhui says.“So—” Jingyi’s voice cracks here, “this kid is Senior Wei.”Wei Wuxian, still tangled in his own
we all have a hunger (tell me what you need)
by papenathy
“Looks like I bit you.” Will tilts his head to get a better look. All Mike can do is stare at him. His fluffy hair at the front, clumped pieces at the back where he’d slid his fingers in a mere few minutes before. His pretty green eyes that look hazel or even brown in this light, the dark circles he
Real Slow
by surveycorpsjean
“I see.” Zuko closes the scroll. “Is the Water Tribe sending a replacement?” “Uh yeah,” Sokka gestures to himself dramatically. “You’re looking at him.”
the beginning of a new and brighter birth
by aloneintherain
“I’m so proud of you, my nephew.” Uncle cups Zuko’s face in his lined hand. The gesture is so tender, his palm so warm, that Zuko has to take a fortifying breath against the sudden swell of emotion in his chest.“I want to be a good leader, Uncle,” Zuko says. “I want to look after my people.”“You wil
A New Knife
by surveycorpsjean
The rune chews them up and spits them out.Jayce takes Viktor and runs.
beneath six layers of silk
by darkredloveknot (enheduane)
While exorcising a haunting, Lan Wangji gets cursed with a brand of honesty, and is forced to speak his every thought out loud.
the most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it’s you
by greatunironic
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.
Not Nothing
by TheRainbowElectric
“Have you considered the possibility that Neil has chosen you, but believes you have not chosen him?” Renee says. "Have you ever explicitly told him what you want?”“Neil knows what I want,” Andrew snaps. This is not Andrew’s fault.“How do you know?”Because Neil always knows. He is as fluent in Andre
if we make it through december
by overnights
There’s a pause, and then Wednesday speaks again. “I admit that I do have one ulterior motive in asking you to visit for the holidays.” Enid laughs, unsurprised; there’s the Wednesday she knows, even a phone line and a coast away. “Yeah? What is it?” “I told my parents that I’m in a relationship,”
Linger in the Sun
by etymologyplayground
"Tell Lan Zhan that I'm weeping uncontrollably," Wei Wuxian says to the juniors. "Tell him I'm truly pitiful and he needs to do everything I say until I'm well again."Lan Congyi is in the middle of carefully holding his eyelids open to check his pupils, but he still obeys, bless him. "Hanguang-Jun,
cottonmouth
by lightsflicker
“Just saying, if you’re taking another hit, you should share it with me,” Mike says, and Will slowly tilts his head, drinking in every word. “It just makes sense. Like, mathematically.” Will’s reddened eyes narrow, bewildered. “Mathematically?” “If there’s two hits left, we’d each only get one,” Mik
This Lantern Shines For You
by apollonie
“Young Master Wèi,” the healer tells him, “I’m afraid to say that you’ve been cursed.” He laughs, it’s not exactly the first time that has happened, “Is that it? What kind of curse is it?”“It’s a lover’s curse.”“A lover’s curse? That’s ridiculous! It’s not like I’ve ever...” He falters a bit, “I mea
a safe pair of hands
by occultings (microcomets)
Lan Wangji gets hit with a touch-starving curse. Wei Wuxian helps.
The Guests of Cloud Recesses
by cafecliche
“We’re in this together, you know,” Wei Wuxian says. “You’re dead. I used to be dead. We're both tolerated and incredibly unwelcome here. We both annoy the same people, as far as I can tell. I’ve built relationships on less. Let’s work this out.”But again, there’s no response.(Or: there's a ghost in
i blinked (and there you were)
by Della19
The Weeping Angels, Eggsy reads on the stolen Torchwood intel. Aliens that pose as statues, and kill their victims by sending them back in time and feeding off their years not lived in the present. The politest psychopaths in the universe, a note reads, scrawled in what looks like a doctor’s chick
learning curve
by Yuu_chi
“While sexual activity is not my default purpose, I do possess the capability,” Connor says without so much as batting an eye, unaware that he’s completely shattered Hank’s world view in one single sentence.
guardians of a rare thing
by ShowMeAHero
“You,” Ed starts to interrupt him, then stops, clearing his throat. His voice is almost— gritting, cracking in the middle. When he starts again, he’s stronger, but still— shaky. “You made me this? I mean— You made this? For me?”Stede’s not entirely sure what he means by that, but he has that little
The Smallest Favor
by emanthony
A sequel to the Longest Job, another HisoIllu fanfiction.Hisoka and Illumi have been living together for six months now without much trouble. But when Illumi's youngest brother goes missing, Hisoka manages to make the situation just a bit too complicated and much more fun.
homeland
by scarletaire
| Complete. |Cardan’s eyes flash open. “Why?” he repeats, and Jude feels the power shift between them. “Don’t you remember, wife?” he croons. “It was the Undersea that stole you away from me.” And Jude has only enough time to think, danger, before he lunges at her. or: Cardan and Jude work on remov
If I Were Easy To Kill, You Would Have Done It Already
by TrenchcoatGecko
Sonic Movie 3 Spoilers! Sonic is struck with grief in the wake of Shadow's sacrifice. Shadow, in his truest form—his pain, his honor, the good in his heart—is Sonic's little secret. The world isn't ready. Nobody would understand, not even his own family. Sonic is more than ready to shoulder the bu
More Short Post-Canon Fics on AO3
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About Post-Canon
Set after the source material's final page or episode, these stories answer the question every finale leaves behind: and then what? Post-canon fic ranges from epilogue-adjacent vignettes to decades-spanning continuations that become fandom canon themselves.
Endings are where canon stops and fandom refuses to; readers want the wedding after the war, the rebuilding after the finale, and the proof that the characters' lives kept going.
Common scenarios: The crew's first peaceful year after the final battle, or a twenty-years-later check-in on characters last seen as teenagers.
About This List
This list of 20short Post-Canon fanfics spans 436,427 total words. Kudos range from 4,998 on the newest entries to 42,127 on the most established. Nearly all (85%) are complete, so you can start any of them without WIP anxiety. The most common rating is Explicit (9 of 20 fics).
Recurring tags across this list: Post-Canon · Canon Compliant · Getting Together · Romance · Hurt/Comfort.
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