#I simply exist off dad wu content

[bananaplayzz]

MORROTOBER SPRING SUBMISSION??

Yea, I've done it, My flower was the Queen Anne's Lace, which represents like a familial bond, which works a little with this, but I brought it sideways anyway. @morrotober It's also technically Autumn in Australia, but it's fineeee.

He was definitely dying, there was no doubt about it, part of his forearm had turned red and it had blown up like a balloon, and it hurt, it hurt so much, so Morro assumed he was dying. He couldn’t be the green ninja if he was dead though, so he couldn’t die, he was going to figure out how to stop dying and not tell Wu about it, but not right now, his arm hurt too much to even think, he could probably figure out how to un-die, after though. Morro didn’t want Wu’s help with whatever was happening because then he’d look weak, so he’d sit in the corner of the room he had been given and wallow in his misery and pain. “Morro?” The door creaked open, Wu stepped into the room and kneeled down in front of the boy. He grabbed his arm, lifting it to inspect the large red bump. “I told you not to trample through those flowers.�� In his defense, Morro’s defense, Wu didn’t say that, or he did and Morro didn’t hear, or he did and Morro ignored him. The third one, but the giant field of long stemmed, white flowered plants were almost as tall as he was! No one could really blame any seven year old for wanting to run through a field of what looked like thousands of little white snowflakes carefully balanced on giant green stalks. His arm jerked back when he felt something freezing poke his injury. Wu held a small metal clip looking thing, trying to pick something out of the center bump on Morro’s arm. “Please hold still, I can’t get the stinger out whole if you move so suddenly.” Oh, he wasn’t dying, it was a bee, a damn bee and he was so terrified of losing his life to a bee sting. The great, prophesied, all powerful, green ninja, his weakness? Bees. “I’m going to go get you some ice, do not touch your arm, I don't believe you want it to feel any worse.” The Preeminent was getting way too good at simulating memories, what did she even want to tell him with that one, make him angrier at the man he thought cared, maybe? It didn’t matter anyway, Morro despised his former Sensei even without the Empress taunting him with his own memories.

Memories of someone he thought cared about him, memories of someone who had made him believe, promised him he meant something, memories of someone who had saved him more than once, memories of a father who’s care for him disappeared the second he wasn’t what he thought he was.

[army-of-mai-lovers]

ATLA Fic Recs part 2!

part 1 (consider this link a re-rec of everything I recced in part 1, bc those fics are still amazing and at this point many of them that weren’t complete are finished now which is cool!) 

So I’m structuring this fic recs list a little differently than I did the first one. First one was just “fics I like” with no regard to how popular the fics were and a little bit of thought as to balancing gen fics with ship fics and trying to have a diversity of ships listed. This time, I am paying attention to how popular the fics are, and while I’m probably still going to rec popular fics/fic authors, I’m hoping to also expose people to some new authors with this list (as well as exposing people to work from their favorite authors that they may not have read)! Expanding your horizons is a really good thing, it’s how I’ve found basically every fic I love, and I hope y’all will love each of the fics I’m reccing as much as I do! In no particular order: 

1.  her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you by @aangsblush I said that I was going to rec this a couple days ago and here I am doing it because HOW ON EARTH IS THIS FIC AS BRILLIANT AS IT IS AND NOT LIGHTING THE FANDOM ON FIRE RIGHT NOW. I’ve genuinely never read a fic like this before. Never in my life. It’s a collection of vignettes, mostly dealing with Hakoda and Sokka’s various experiences of grief with Kya and Yue (and there’s a little bit of cute bakoda and sukka sprinkled in there as well). Like I said, the chapters were vignettes, some of them as short as two or three sentences, and yet somehow I was crying after every single chapter???? The author uses language so sparingly and so impactfully and I truly cannot get over how brilliant this is like bruh. who gave you the right. Who. Who. Tbh I could make a whole post about this fic (and I have!) but instead, I’m going to direct you to the fic, bc really, it speaks for itself. 

2. laughter lines by @bi-suki To be completely real, I tend not to read sad fics, or seek out sad media in general, but I read this fic and I’m so glad I did. It’s a modern au about Sokka and his family moving to Anchorage, separating him from his childhood best friend, Yue. Make sure you read the tags before you read this fic, please. It’s really sad. I started tearing up while writing out just that quick summary. Keep a box of tissues handy. I’ve read a lot of this author’s fics and they all have a habit of sticking in my head long after I’ve read them, but this one really packs a punch. Sokka’s grief and his friendship with Yue is written in such an intimate and beautiful way, and yes, I literally am crying right now thinking about it. I do think it’s hard to pull off writing yukka, especially in a modern au, while giving appropriate depth to both Sokka and Yue, but this fic really managed it so well. Even though this fic made me sad, I don’t regret reading it one bit.

3. call it fate by @bluberry-spicehead y’all are really converting me into a maiko shipper and honestly I’m so here for it. Mai’s one of my favorite characters in ATLA, and the care that the fic takes in portraying her perspective as well as her relationships with Zuko, Azula, and Ty Lee (despite the fact that Zuko isn’t even there when the fic takes place)--I mean, it’s honestly just incredible work. I’ve seen a lot of joke-y posts about “oh what if x happened with Aunt Wu instead of what happened in canon?” but never with Maiko and never quite the way this fic describes it. It’s really original and really carefully done, with all the complexity and nuance of their relationship infused into the details of the fic. And the way that Mai is written is both in character for her and expands on existing canon in a way that I really believe works for her. The writing is so immediate and really roots you in the world and in Mai’s head and I love it I love it I love it! 

4. i am your savior, your last serving daughter by @gays4korra *sokka voice* SUKI! Bruh. BRUH. The amount that I love both Suki and Kyoshi cannot be overstated, they’re both such fascinating and complex characters, and yet some people (*cough* the fandom *cough*) don’t want to see them in their full and complete brilliance. Enter this fic, which shows Suki and Kyoshi meeting, like someone saw my wildest dreams and was like “hey that’s a cool fic idea!” The TEARS I cried reading this fic (yes, I am aware that this is the fourth time I’ve mentioned crying over a fic in just this one post, these fic authors are incredibly talented and I have three planets in Cancer, fight me) Suki and Kyoshi, icons themselves, conversing across time???? iconic. simply iconic. And then the fact that Sokka orchestrated the whole thing because he wanted to make Suki happy? I love them, your honor. And Kyoshi being happy that Suki looks up to her because really Kyoshi’s a fluffy dork with self-esteem issues.... I’m crying again it’s so beautiful I’ve looked at it for five hours now. Gosh. read this fic. 

5. Balance My Heart in The Palm of Your Hands by @spookysukki ok while looking for this person’s tumblr I found out that this was their first work in the fandom and can I just say pal you POPPED OFF with this one fic and I hope that you write more because this was. This was awesome. Mailee is def in my top 5 (possibly top 2) ATLA ships but unfortunately I have a hard time finding content for it. Fortunately, every time I do find content for it it’s incredibly cute and this was absolutely no exception. It’s also the rare Mai & Sokka friendship fic which is not something I knew I needed in my life but is a concept that I am completely obsessed with having read this. Basically, Mai’s jealous of Sokka because Ty Lee keeps talking about Sokka being attractive, and shenanigans ensue. And you know me, I love shenanigans. This is also a Mai perspective fic which is awesome because as I said earlier, I love love LOVE Mai, and she’s so sweet and broody in this lsfjskdfjk I love her so much what an icon. 

5. earth system history by @pianjeong I have read this fic. So many times. I could honestly probably recite it from memory (jfdksjflsd ok that’s not true but at this rate I probably will be able to soon). It is an absolutely stunning fic. It’s like all my favorite parts of college condensed into one story (running around buildings you probably shouldn’t be in in the middle of the night with the person you have a crush on, coming out to your professor who is also gay, all iconic college moods). I’m simply obsessed with the way each character is written, and it’s so clear that the author knows what she’s talking about when it comes to geology, and that in general this fic was written with a lot of love for the characters of ATLA and also for rocks. It’s that love that keeps me coming back to this one. Cannot recommend it enough. 

6. the end is barely beginning by @katarahairloopies  gosh I don’t even know where to start with this one other than I cannot believe that it almost wasn’t posted and I’m so glad that it was because you truly can never have enough father/son moments between Hakoda and Sokka and I care them. I care them so much. Also can I just say Hakoda not remembering all of Sokka and Katara’s friends’ names and having to really think about it is such a dad mood. I can’t remember a single time in my life where my dad could remember all of my friends’ names (and there were points in my life where he would have only had to remember one name and yet. and yet.) I really love ATLA fics that are character studies because they tend to really retain the complexity of the characters as they’re depicted in the show (or make them more complex) and this one is no exception. There were so many lines of this that were just really poignant and beautiful. Again, cannot recommend it enough. 

[marshmallow-phd]

Memories Past

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Supernatural, Wolf Au

Pairing: Kris x Reader

Summary: The last thing Kris wanted was to move on. He was perfectly content wallowing in his misery while pretending everything was okay. But when you come walking into his shop with a broken down car, he realizes the thing he’d been avoiding the most just might be the cure he always needed. He just couldn’t believe that it’d been you all along. Kris had been your best friend when you were kids before he’d moved away without a word of goodbye. Now nearly fifteen years later, you run into him again by pure coincidence. The memories come rushing back to you, stirring something inside. A childhood crush shouldn’t upend your picture perfect life, but sometimes, destiny has other things in mind…

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I Final

**

You made it exactly one week to the day. It’d been a struggle to avoid the auto shop, to not go see Kris again. Over and over, you told yourself that you simply wanted to catch up, to see what his life had been like since he moved away. That was it. Pure curiosity. And a need for closure.

Yet, you found yourself absentmindedly playing with the necklace around your neck whenever your thoughts drifted in Kris’ direction, whether it was in class or at the table, even driving. Huan had noticed it at breakfast the next morning, which was nothing new. He usually noticed everything. 

“I just found it in a box and decided to start wearing it again,” you half-lied. You technically did find it in a box… purposefully. And you did decided to start wearing it again, but you couldn’t quite figure out why. It’d been years since the stone had even seen the light of day. So why did it now feel like a lifeline?

It was the catalyst that led to you giving in and going to see him.

The more you thought about the last time you saw Kris as children, the more steam that was coming out of your ears. It wasn’t fair. Neither he nor his parents had given any indication that they were leaving so you didn’t have time to prepare emotionally. That was a lot for a little kid to go through. 

One day, after calling the landline several times with no answer, you’d went over to the house, knocking and ringing the doorbell to the Wu residence an obnoxious amount of times, but no one ever answered. Standing up on your toes, you’d peaked in through the now curtain-less windows to find nothing but empty rooms. All the furniture was gone, none of the lights were on, and no sounds of possible life echoed off the ivory walls. They’d left without a single word of goodbye.

As a child, you’d been depressed, not understanding what had happened and why. Growing older, that sadness had evolved into anger and frustration. Eventually you made it to the last step and accepted that you might never find out the where’s and why’s and left that part of your past behind.

At least, you thought you’d left it behind, dead and buried.

But like a frog floating in a pot of water on a hot stove, the feelings you’d suppressed for so long slowly bubbled up until it was too late and you were boiling.

On many different occasions you’d opened your mouth to tell Ji Yeon. You saw her several times over the week, either studying together or grabbing a quick meal in between classes in the student center. Each time, you’d almost started to speak to get her opinion on the situation, but you always ended up stopping yourself or just bringing up something else entirely.

Maybe it was just the fact that you didn’t really know Ji Yeon yet. You knew her, but not enough to divulge all this deep rooted anguish that was trying it’s hardest to push itself up to the surface. If given a few months, you might be able to open up to her, but you needed to let these feelings out sooner rather than later.

You certainly couldn’t tell Huan. There was no reason for him to be jealous, but you didn’t want to worry him or make his mind go down the wrong path. It was simply an answer to a long standing question you were needing, that was all.

So, when you had about a two hour break in the afternoon before your next class, you hopped in the car – forgoing your nice parking spot – and drove to the auto shop.

On arrival, you didn’t see Kris. Only Brian and two other mechanics were around, talking and laughing with each other as they worked on the day’s vehicles. Brian was the first one to notice you, giving you a cheeky grin.

“Car messed up already?” he teased.

You shook your head. “No, I was actually looking for Kris. Is he here?”

“Oh, no, he left about an hour ago,” Brian informed you. “I don’t know where he went and he didn’t say when or if he’d be back. Is there anything that I can help you with?”

Great. Just what you needed. To drive all the way here just for it to be the one day the boss doesn’t stay the whole working hours. You guessed that you could just try again in a few days.

“No, that’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” Brian asked.

“I’m sure. I’ll just g-”

“Yeah, boss, that girl from the other day.” One of the other mechanics was on the phone, look at you and motioning for you to wait. “Okay.” Pause. “Yeah, I’ll let her know.” He hung up the cell phone and turned to you fully. “Kris said he’ll be here in ten minutes and that we’re not allowed to let you leave until he gets here.”

You scoffed. That was such a Kris way to phrase it. No asking to please wait for him or to hang tight. Weren’t the years between childhood and adulthood supposed to change at least small bits of one’s personality? Kris apparently never got that memo.

It was less than ten minutes – maybe even closer to five – when Kris came screeching into the small parking lot out front. He jumped out of the car and met you right outside the garage. His breathing was heavy, as if he’d ran here rather than drove.

“Hey,” he greeted.

Pulling your cardigan a little closer to you, even though it was warm out, and folding your arms, you greeted back, “Hey.”

There it was again. That strange feeling in your stomach. It was similar to the feeling you had when you first met Huan, but at the same time, it was different. Almost… more intense, but also undefinable. You didn’t understand what exactly was going on with you. If you were honest, it was frightening you a little bit.

You tried to focus on anything but his face. Bad idea. Gone were the gray, grease covered overalls. Now he was dressed in a plain black T-shirt, skinny jeans and a weathered jean jacket. The smirk you caught before avoiding your eyes just screamed bad boy. Not even an ounce of surprise filled you up.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” you asked suddenly.

Kris smiled a genuine, uncocky smile at you. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s go.”

He led you down the sidewalk, turning right from the garage and into a small business district of the city.

“So,” he said, keeping his eyes forward and hands stuffed in his pockets, “to what do I owe this random pleasure?”

You sighed, somewhat ending it on a laugh. “I don’t know.” That was a blatant lie, but you figured you’d throw him a few soft balls before hitting him with the fast pitch. “I guess to catch up? It’s been a few years since… since I’ve seen you.”

“Yeah, just a few,” he laughed. He kicked a small rock as if that would be an adequate distraction from whatever direction his thoughts were previously headed in.

“What have you been up to?” you asked. The air was thick with awkward tension and you hated it.

Kris shrugged. “Oh, just, you know, the typical stuff. Graduated high school, went to tech school, did some traveling, got my own shop. Nothing too exciting.”

“Really?” You looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Fifteen years and nothing even remotely exciting or interesting has happened to you?”

He still didn’t look at you. “Nope. My life is pretty boring.”

“Is it just you, then? By yourself? No… girlfriend or anything?”

That stopped him in his tracks. He glanced at you from the corner of his eye. “No. Not for a while. It’s just me and my brothers.”

You frowned. “You don’t have any brothers.”

Kris flinched before he continued walking. “Well, yeah, they’re not my real brothers. We just all live together. We’re like family.”

That made you smile. This was nice. This was a good direction for the conversation to go. Just two childhood friends catching up. “How many of you live together?”

Kris scrunched his face as he thought about it. “Minus me… eleven all together.”

Now it was your turn to screech to a stop. “Where the heck can twelve people live together?”

“Junmyeon has a house out a ways in the woods that has plenty of room,” Kris laughed. “His family has had it for generations. Still crowded sometimes, but it’d be lonely without them.”

“I get that. Huan is so quiet sometimes. Makes me miss my parents,” you admitted. It was the bad part about moving. You were now several hundred miles away from the two most important people in your life. Phone calls just weren’t the same as being in the same room as them.

“How are they?” Kris asked eagerly. They always loved it when Kris came over. Just like you were the daughter that Mrs. Wu never had, Kris was your dad’s surrogate son.

“They’re good. Still working in the school system. Dad made it to principal and Mom is still working with special needs kids.”

That really made him smile. “Good, good.”

As kids, you would tease Kris for having a crush on your mom. He always called her an angel. You mom would laugh and tell him that he’d find his own angel someday.

“What about yours?”

The grin immediately disappeared. “They, um – they died. In a car crash a little after I graduated high school.”

Neither of you were walking anymore. You weren’t entirely sure where you were, still surrounded by red brick buildings filled with goods to buy, but it felt like the whole world had been pulled out from under you.

“What?” You could hardly believe it. Kris’ parents were so full of life; generous and loving. For them not to be walking around, to no longer be existing, it was impossible.

“It’s okay,” Kris murmured. “It was long time ago.”

Shaking your head, you wrapped your arms around his waist and rested your cheek against his chest. “I’m sorry, Kris. They didn’t deserve that.”

At first, Kris didn’t move, just standing there stiffly, but you didn’t let go. It felt too nice, holding him like that. When he finally hugged you back, it felt even better. His head rested against your own while his arms encased you in his embrace.

When you were kids, he’d rarely let you hug him. Something about cooties or whatever dumb excuse he could come up with. But on the days that were really bad, the days that you cried because someone bullied you or because your cat died, he would hug you and never let you go. Just like this.

Whoa, (y/n). No. Bad (y/n). You should not be doing this.

Coming to your senses, you cleared your throat and stepped back, once again creating space between you two.

“Sorry,” you mumbled.

Kris shook his head. “Don’t be. I don’t talk about it, but I think I needed that.”

You nodded. “You’re welcome.”

A moment or two passed with neither of you speaking. You didn’t move or continue on the little walk through the neighborhood.

“So, you’ve got a fiance, huh?” Kris asked, changing the subject.

If he thought that he was lifting the sad atmosphere, he was wrong. You were feeling slightly guilty, being alone with a man who wasn’t Huan, one that making your face warm and your stomach flutter. This whole situation was bad, but you couldn't leave. You didn’t want to.

“Yeah, Huan.”

“You happy?”

You looked up Kris, unsure if you heard his question correctly. “Huh?”

“Are you happy?” he repeated.

“Yeah, I guess,” you answered honestly. “He makes me smile. Makes me comfortable.”

Kris scoffed, “That’s it?”

You frowned. “What do you mean?”

“He just makes you comfortable?” Kris mocked. “I don’t know, shouldn’t the love of your life be a little more exciting?”

“No,” you countered. “Sometimes, you get the wild and crazy adventure type love and then sometimes you get the meet, fall in love, be together type of love.”

“Wouldn’t you prefer the first?” Kris pushed.

Annoyed at the turn of the conversation, bravery finally hit you to ask the question you came here for. You crossed your arms and stood your ground before you could run away with your tail between your legs. “Why did you leave?”

Kris stared at you, confused at the direction you’d suddenly gone in. “What?”

“Back then,” you somewhat clarified. “You left without a word. Without saying goodbye. I didn’t know if you were ever coming back or if I’d ever see you again. That’s a lot for an eight-year-old to suddenly go through.”

Kris just shrugged, as if the pain you went through never mattered. “We just had to leave. It wasn’t anything big. My parents didn’t think it was a good place to be anymore.”

“But you just packed up and disappeared,” you argued. “If that was the case, why couldn’t you at least tell me where you were going or that I wouldn’t be able to see you anymore?”

“(y/n),” Kris said sternly, “it doesn’t matter. We just had to go.”

“It does matter, Kris!” you yelled. You could feel the frustration building inside, ready to explode. How could he not care like you did? Were you forcing the issue too much? Were you too desperate for an answer?

“WHY!”

You flinched at the sudden escalation. Obviously, you’d pushed too hard. You didn’t even know how or why. You still shouldn’t be this upset over it. But he was your best friend. Your little world practically revolved around him until you grew up and learned how to make friends on your own.

He backtracked quickly. “(y/n), I’m sorry, that was out of line. I- I can’t tell you exactly why we had to move, just that we did. I’m sorry I never got to tell you goodbye. You weren’t the only one upset by it. You should have seen the fit i threw in front of my parents. But we can’t change it. Maybe now, we can try to be friends again. Not like how we used to be, but… friends.”

By the tone of his voice, you had a strange feeling that he was trying to convince himself more than you on the “friends” part. Did he not want to be friends with you?

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, fiddling with stone around your neck.

“Don’t apologize,” he insisted. Noticing your fidgeting, he reached out, fingers brushing up against yours as he plucked the stone out of your grasp. “Is this what I think it is?”

You lifted your shoulders just drop them again. “Yeah. What about it?”

The corner of his mouth pulled up as he leaned forward just enough to be face to face with you. “Do you still think about me when you see it?”

Rolling your eyes, you told him, “Actually, I’d completely forgotten about it until last week. Don’t flatter yourself.”

“You’re the one who came to my shop, remember?” The cockiness that had taken a small break was back in full force.

“To see an old friend again,” you explained. And to get a very vague answer to your question, but that was okay. It was something, at least.

The look in his eye told you that he was taking that reply with a mountain of salt.

“I have to go.” Not really. You actually had a good half hour before you really needed to head back, but you figured that it was best to leave now.

Dropping your necklace, he sighed. “Okay. I’ll see you back to the shop.”

The walk back was shorter than you expected. Too short. Part of you was reluctant to say goodbye. There was no promise of seeing each other again. It looked like that would be left up to fate once again.

Or your own lack of willpower.

From your rear-view mirror, you could see Kris’ figure growing smaller as he watched you drive away.

**

Watching you drive down the road and then turn left, the buildings blocking you from view, without running after you was too difficult. Especially now that he’d been able to hold on to you.

He hadn’t talked about his parents in a long time, but he knew that you would want to know why they weren’t around anymore. He should have expected your reaction, but your arms around him - and the way he felt when you embraced him - was unexpected. And he hadn’t completely lied about what happened to them.

They did die in a crash, but it wasn’t an accident.

Kris could never find the hunters that stage the incident. Hardly surprising. Hunters were masters at hiding their dirty work and covering up their tracks. Someday, though, he would get his revenge.

The way you’d held on to him, trying to bring him comfort for something he’d learn to bury away had almost made his eyes water. His wolf had howled with delight, feeling your warmth against him. At first, he didn’t want to return the embrace. He didn’t want to give in. But resistance was futile.

And you were wearing that damn necklace.

The stone had come a long way since you’d found it as a kid. It was prettier now, more polished and oval shaped, a silver cap embedded on the top that looped it through the chain. It was a lot like you. As a child, you were always cute, but now you were beautiful, shining like the full moon in a clear sky.

Jumping into the car, Kris didn’t even tell his employees goodbye, trusting them to close up the shop without any hitches.

He didn’t really want to go home, but the race wouldn’t be for another few hours and he didn’t know what else to do. So, the long, lonely drive back up to the farmhouse it was.

No one seemed to be home when Kris walked inside. That was about right since most of them should be in school. Kris laughed to himself. Yes, they would be at school, including Junmyeon. Poor guy. Having a student be his mate was terrible luck.

Then Kris remembered his own.

On the way back to your car, he’d noticed you spinning the ring on your left hand. The wolf egged him on to take the ring and throw it away. It was just a flimsy piece of metal; it couldn’t keep him from his mate.

But it really could.

Up in the bathroom, Kris stared at his reflection in the mirror, fighting with himself. If he really tried to pursue you, to get you to choose him instead of your fiancé, he’d be disrupting the life you’d worked so hard to build. People typically didn’t get engaged on a whim. He didn’t know how long the two of you had been together and he’d feel a little guilty breaking that up.

The wolf growled at his conscious.

But you didn’t seem excited about your fiance. You didn’t light up when Kris brought him up and you didn’t talk about him first. That wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Just the very thought of the person you loved was supposed to make you smile. Not somewhat happy.

In the mirror, Kris’ face was replaced by yours. Those piercing eyes at looked at him so softly, so close to the real thing. Reaching out, Kris grazed his fingers along the glass.

And he gave in.

Yes, you were his mate. The one he was always meant to be with.

If you’d never came back to the shop or taken that walk with him or hugged him so close, he might have been able to hold his resolve. But now that he had a taste – a tiny, almost nonexistent taste – he couldn’t resist the urge to have more. To actually feel your lips against his, to keep your body against his, for him to hold you as the night went on. He needed to call you truly his, for him to be truly yours.

He just needed to come up with a plan.