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[cotofeya]

Hi friends! Here are some fic recs that absolutely no one asked for! 

- “didn’t know my heart” by babyfairy on ao3. Zutara, multi-chapter, 100+k, rated E. So beautiful. So amazing. So much comfort with just the right amount of angst. I have read it at least three times and will be reading it again. 

- “half in the shadows, half burned in flames” by r_astra on ao3. Zuko-centric, one shot. So poignant. So much angst. Did cry. Would read again. 

- “Racing Heart” by Smediterranea on ao3. Zutara, high school au, 18k+ one shot, rated T. So, so cute. Have read multiple times. I recommend anything and everything written by this author. 

- “i’m still here” by owedbetter on ao3. Zutara, 77k+, rated T. Look, I know that everyone has this fic in their back pocket when it comes to the “must read” list of the zutara fandom, but that’s just because it’s good. It’s so, so, incredibly good. I cry every time I read it. Which is a lot. 

- “The Color of the Stars” by bluenebulae on ao3. Zutara, 172k+, rated T. Another common fic rec, but that doesn’t stop it from being amazing and one of my favorites. So well written, so well thought out. 

- “Hopeless” by tullyblue12 on ao3. Zutara, 56k, rated M. I hardly ever see this brought up and it makes me so sad. it’s so beautiful. it has everything you could ever want or ever need. domestic!zutara, pining, angst. I’ve read it so many times and would and will happily read it again. A very slept on zutara fic. 

- “Once Around the Sun” by eleventy7 on ao3. Zutara, 146+k, slow burn, rated T. Look, I know that this is another “back pocket” zutara fic, but that doesn’t stop me from screaming about its glory from the rooftops. I mean, redemption arc Azula??? i cry every time. EVERY TIME. 

- “and you feel your heart (taking root in your body)” by raisindeatre on ao3. Zutara, 39k, slow burn. Yet another (in my opinion) heavily slept on Zutara fic. The writing is amazing and I love a good “post canon” tale. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll fall in love. 

- “Something Important” by OwlAway on ao3. Zutara, 95k, slow burn, rated T. I really don’t even have words for this one. Just, you just have to read it. You’ll be all the better for it I promise. 

- “Twist Me to the Left” by GrapefruitTwostep on ao3. Zutara, 91k, au (a rock band!au at that), rated T. I don’t know about y’all, but aus live in my head rent free. This is one of them. It’s so good. I mean, so good. Not to mention, the gaang? our favorite rag tag group of friends? THEY’RE IN A BAND!!! Also, if my memory serves me correctly, everything this author has written is pretty fantastic. (I just double checked, and yes everything is amazing. You have not lived until you have read “Moonlight and Sunshadow”). 

i’m going to cap the list off there and maybe make a separate post with some of my other favorites, but I now humbly ask @lordmomohismomoness, @hugs4zuko, @aprilmayship, and @babytreehugger for their favorite fics while also encouraging them to tag some folks asking about their favorites as well! 

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Does anyone else have an list of 10-15 untouchable thoughts that if you let yourself remeber or think about them for even a second it’s excruciating or is this a me thing

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these days the one and only social media where I don't feel like shit after scrolling is pinterest

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But why did the writers feel the need to shot the Yaman too? Why? What's the point?

No, I get that - he's the main character, but why does they need to put him in the middle of every fucking situation?

So we can again watch how Neslihan crying over him and doesn't give a shit about her other son? Who was talking the whole episode (just as 46 episodes before that) that no one cares about him?

So we again won't see Asi worrying exclusively about Alaz?

So Yaman is a hero again and no one blames him for the shit he's gotten everyone else into?

Honestly, I'm so freaking mad.

If they want to accentuate this brotherhood story again, they could give us Yaman blaming himself for putting Alaz in this situation. But no. Yaman is shot. Again. Wtf.

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Me: *writes an amazing chapter*

Me: Ah yes. That is amazing. Can't wait to begin the next one. So many possibilities!

Me: *turns off my laptop and goes into a month-long depression*

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me when the devastating fanfic I chose to read is actually devastating

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This is me. Kinda jealous of all the writers who can write quickly because I can't.

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Maybe I'm wrong idk but

It doesn't feel like she's talking to Alaz in this scene. Like yeah "your love only kills" is something she could say to him, but in this case they would show his face in this scene too?

Also, what is this place? What's going on?

I'm so terribly anxious about ep.45, because we don't have any spoilers and I hate hate hate not being able to predict the future plot🫠🥲

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sounds like a horror movie

I'm in

Soulmates as a horror concept.

You WILL love this person. It doesn't matter who you loved before; any feelings you had, any promises you made, they will become inconsequential as soon as you lock eyes with the stranger Fate has picked for you.

There's no way to stop it.

There's no way to say "no."

You will meet someone and with a single glance, both of you will become someone new, someone who's now bound to this stranger whether you like it or not, want it or not.

Trapped in a dance together until the day you die.

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Past Lives works so well for me because I am so enamoured with pragmatism in fiction.

I read and watch a lot of stories about idealized love stories and I often enjoy them too! I spent my entire childhood believing that the teenagers who got together in the media I consumed would stay together forever. And then as I got older, I was naturally introduced to more stories about romances that didn’t work out. Still, it’s hard for me to think about those as pragmatic, most of them have this desire for sadness in them. They would make me feel as though the devastation was the point, that the narrative was forcefully bent toward the saddest outcome.

Past Lives doesn’t make me feel this way. Nora doesn’t stop talking to Hae Sung because of an unforeseen tragic circumstance. She makes a choice and goes through with it. Hae Sung puts it best during their conversation at the end of the film. She is the kind of person to leave. And he loves her because she is that kind of person. The “what-if” isn’t in wondering about if circumstances were different. No matter what, she would have chosen her plays over anything else. Her husband even notes that so much of how their relationship happened is because he fit so well into the life she wanted. The whole reason this film is called “Past Lives” is because that’s the only way to ponder about whether Nora and Hae Sung could be together.

It’s such a delightfully Asian perspective on it. “In another life” films are so common, but I always feel like Western movies do it in a kind of parallel universe kind of way. I love that in this one, Nora is so steadfast and consistent in her personality and desires, that there is no real contemplation and consideration of making her and Hae Sung’s relationship work. There is only a longing and a love.

[cotofeya]