#you will be reincarnated as a lotus flower I swear

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

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1. Does anybody know the name or have a copy of this fanfic where I believe lwj is a Lord and he has 5 wives. I believe wwx was the 2nd wife and lwj didn't really notice him until one day he saw him playing with the other wives children. And I think one of the wives either the 1st or 3rd tried to kill him for favor. @teamironman98

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2. hello! I’m looking for a certain wangxian fic that crosses over with the tgcf world i think? Anyways it’s an au where wei ying is a former prince turned calamity and lan wangji is continuously reincarnating but a piece of his soul isn’t with him. I think there was a saying in the fic that goes “If you see a path of spiderlilies you’ll meet someone again.”

Anyways thank you for your time!

FOUND? A Path of Red Spider Lillies by glowingreverie (M; 208k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, hualian, TGCF fusion, angst w happy ending, comedy, mild sexual content, gore, death, past child abuse, supernatural elements, slow burn, WIP)

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3. Hello, I'm trying to find a fix where WWX was raised by a family of prostitutes that eventually free themselves of their contract and made a living teaching their arts. One of them married a rogue cultivator that makes jewelry and taught it to WWX. Eventually he meets LWJ and they get together relatively quick. WWX never gets that much involved with the Jiang Sect other than saving it during the war and JC loses his core and never got involved in the war. @justscribblingnonsense​

FOUND? Flowers Blooming by Ilona22 (M, 35k, WangXian, Adoption, Prostitution, Family Fluff, Family Drama, Growing Up)

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4. Hi can you help me find a fic about wangxian.. is that wei ying want work shop for all his crazy idea.. and wangji said make a space place in his arm sleeve because wei ying will safe with him... and wangji put his head down there to make sure it was safe for wei ying. To breath.. And I think later wei ying head pop out and kiss.

FOUND? My heart in my sleeve by exmanhater (G, 2k, WangXian, Crack, Qiankun Sleeves, Sleeve Husband, LWJ's Fondest Dream, Let LWJ Spoil His Husband, Post-Canon)

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5. Hi! I'm hoping someone can help, please! I'm looking for a fic like The Yu Temper by madwriter223, where shortly after WWX frees the Wens from Qiongqi Path, JC decides instead to hell with it, flips, and promptly decides to start aggressively supporting WWX instead, along the lines of 'who are you to tell me what to do?!', resulting in the Wens being rehomed in Lotus Pier. This particular fic has JC swearing every sentence, even in his head, and potentially endgame Wangxian and Chenqing. I can't remember much more than that, I'm afraid but I'd be happy to receive any similar recs if you would rather make this a ITMF request instead! @katonahottinroof

Might be one of snowberryrose's 🤔

FOUND! With Such Impossible Conveyance by Comfect (T, 99k, JC & WWX, wangxian, JC/WQ, major character death, canon divergence, fix-it, angst w happy ending, anger management, canon-typical behavior, swearing, fluff, romance, everyone lives au, humor, podfic)

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6. Hello - I’m trying to find a fic on the archive where Lan Zhan has full memories as a child and leaves cloud recesses and takes his mother with him. Then succeeds at finding Wei ying as a street child.

Eventually there is an entire Wei sect and wangxian ends up with a ton of kids via several women including wen quin. @soconfuzed​

FOUND? The Dreams of Youth by sami (E, 86k, wangxian, time travel, fix-it, family, not lan sect friendly, canon typical violence & gore, childhood friends to lovers, hurt/comfort, mothers who live, some people live/not everyone dies)

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7. Hello! I’m hoping you can help me find this fic. I remember so much about it apart from the name and tore through my bookmarks with no luck. It was a modern AU where WWX was a celebrity of some sort (idol/actor) and LWJ was a pet store owner. The two end up crossing paths and end up falling in love. I vividly remember the two of them going out with A-Yuan & being swamped by paparazzi and another scene where WWX is at a modeling shoot and LWJ steps in to help. I think it came out around 2021-ish? @heedoyurims

FOUND? I think number 7 is off-key by geragrena, which I am perpetually sad that I never downloaded a copy of before it was hidden.

ittybittywwx: i have a pdf copy off-key by geragrena so they can message me if they want it!!

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8. Hello! Please help me find a fic/tell me if you remember it and it was deleted or something 🙏 My search through ao3 bookmarks and tags was unfortunate but the work was really interesting and I sudeenly remembered it some days ago and can't calm down still. Thank you!!

Possible but maybe not really used tags: arranged marriage, misunderstandings, political intrigues

As far as I remember, there was an arranged marriage between wwx and Iwj, but on the next day/a week after the wedding Iwj goes to see wen qing, which makes wwx miserable and yzy mad because of his "incompetence" as a spouse. Then there was a discussion between sect leaders, including wrh, where wrh announced that wq will become Iwj's concubine and their children will be considered Iwj's and wwx's. Wwx accepts the terms, but is shocked, mad and heartbroken beecause he concludes that it was planned in advance and Iwj is in love with wq. He does not try to listen to lwj, warns him not to touch him and runs away to a cottage in yiling (maybe? And maybe owned by jc or jyl) where he usually resides when mdm yu gets mad at him and kicks him out of the main sect territory

He takes in some homeless kids, including xy, as his little students?/adoptees? and i think mm is his servant, and he chills with them and makes talismans for common people maybe, remaking his reputation which suffered after the marriage fiasco. There was also a ghost of a woman who was in the house and was looking at wwx silently but in a very sad way (maybe possibly it could be madam lan or just undisclosed ghost lady)

There was a scene when wq comes to visit him. She has a lan ribbon on her arm which makes wwx heartbroken again. She somehow explains without apologising that everything is not as it seems and that it had to be done to save her family. It all makes wwx feel like he was outcasted by everyone in the knowledge of the situation for no real reason and with no care for his own reputation and life. Also I think mm who previously thought that she and wq were maybe friends says after the talk that it seems like they are not really friends because wq seems to treat her not as an equal but as a friendly servant instead

Then something something with wc and I remember a scene in a cave where wx and Iwj are trapped and somehow kiss, and then Iwj is like pulling himself away and mentioning wq, which makes wwx miserable because there is possibly a soulmate thingy? btw them and he feels awful

And then i remember jzx, who is maybe friends with Iwj, being mad at wwx for something and asking if he knew what Iwj did for him and wwx has absolutely no idea

The latest chapters I remember included some nsfw, more angst and misunderstandings, and possibly Iwj blaming wwx for pretending to ignore/knowingly hiding the fact that they are soulmates and wwx being scared that his kids will be taken away from him and given to the lans. And there was a heavy sence that there are lots of things happening wwx has no idea about, including (possibly) lwj's letters to him

Thank you for your work!! @shellennium

FOUND! No. 8 sounds like A Price to Pay by Wangxianist but it was deleted.

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9. Hello! Thank you do much for all your hard work

I was wondering if you or any if your followers could help me find the fic where wwx is the God of the new moon. I tried looking in the tags for diety wwx but either I missed it or it's not tagged that way. I'm pretty sure he turns into a human later on but I don't remember much else. Thank you!

FOUND? A Secret Never Shared by Vrishchika (T, 28k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, frankencanon, Pining, Soft LWJ, Deity WWX, BAMF WWX)

FOUND? Of Destruction and Rebirth by demoniqt (M, 77k, wangxian, slow burn, god wwx, bamf wwx, grieving lwj, angst, hurt/comfort, fix-it, happy ending, attempted non-con, blood & gore)

FOUND? Lying on the Edge of a Star by Suspicious_Popsicle (T, 75k, WIP, WangXian, Universe Alteration, Slow Burn)

FOUND? A Wish For The Moon by PixieLeader (G, 15k, WangXian, Fantasy, Soulmates)

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10. hihi! I had wanted to rec this for #1 on the previous itmf (March 25th) but I realized I never saved it to my read list so I can't find it anymore!! 😭 it was a 3zun fic where I'm pretty sure jgy was forced by jgs into marrying warlord nmj. the rest of the world believed that the nies, esp nmj, are barbarians and super evil. so when jgy gets sent to the nies, he's mentally preparing himself to be raped or killed by nmj, but turns out nmj is super nice! and when jgy meets lxc (who is already married to nmj), lxc is really kind to him. and slowly jgy opens up to both of them and I think at one point they all go on a picnic date at a mountain? and later they get attacked while they're riding on horseback? honestly it's been so long I'm having trouble remembering the details skdjskd. also btw even though the plot sounds somewhat similar to the nielan fic soaring, carried aloft on the wind, that's not the one! this one was definitely 3zun and also from jgy's pov. hopefully someone knows the one I'm talking about!😭 @cryiling

FOUND! Perhaps Plural by AlfAlfAlfAlfAlf and tardigradeschool (E, 77k, 3zun, historical, arranged marriage, established nielan, developing 3zun, romantic comedy, angst w happy ending, hurt/comfort, pining, slow burn, misunderstandings, smut)

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11. I'm looking for a fic where wwx died during some point in the burial mounds and became a god of death or something similar. In one part he figured out or was taught how to take a female form. He could visit people in their dreams as well. I swear I had it bookmarked, but can't find it. Thanks!

FOUND! Of Destruction and Rebirth by demoniqt (M, 77k, wangxian, slow burn, god wwx, bamf wwx, grieving lwj, angst, hurt/comfort, fix-it, happy ending, attempted non-con, blood & gore)

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12. hi! this my first time sending an ask to this blog so I'm a little unsure if I'm doing this correctly but I'm trying to find this fic where JC noticed an older disciple acting weird/inappropriate with WWX at Lotus Pier when they were kids so JC informs JFM and JFM gets super angry and kicks the older disciple out of the sect or something along those lines. I can't remember if JC had travelled back in time and that's why they were kids again or if it was just JC remembering something from his childhood. I unfortunately don't remember anything else about the plot 😔

thank you for your time! 🧡

FOUND! chapter 4 of Cotton Wool by incendir (M, 34k, WangXian, LJY/OMC, ZhuiLing, JC & WWX)

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13. Somewhere on AO3 there is a fic where LXC and NM threw the yin iron into the volcano and now the world is ending and they ask WWX about saving it and he's like yeah, we're doomed... @mreisse

FOUND! built by the fires of volcanoes by isabilightwood (T, 26k, wangxian, time travel, crack treated seriously, canon divergence, fluff & humor)

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14. Hey there! I’m having trouble finding this one specific fic. It is wangxian. Wei Ying sent Lán Wangji his drawing of a field of white bunnies (and I belief his donkey was in the picture as well?) and a letter. This was the last thing he sent to Lán Wangji before he disappeared. I remember Sizhui being with Lan Wangji and other junior disciples in the search for Wei Wuxian. Cut to them finding the white bunny field, they still don’t find him. As they return to Cloud Recesses, it turns out that Lan Sizhui took a bunny from that field. Specifically a non white bunny. That is all I can remember… thank you for the help!

FOUND! Yiling Patriarch Gone Missing, or: a series of missing person cases by oyan (T, 16k, wangxian, post-canon, case fics, fluff, humor, hurt/comfort, body dysphoria, mystery, slow burn, petty LWJ, protective LWJ, JC & WWX reconciliation, protective JC, rabbit & paperman shenanigans, eventual relationship, protective JL, WIP)

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15. Hello! I'm looking for a fic that I'd seen in a recent ITMF list but couldn't find it again. It was about lwj dealing with the aftermath of wwx's death and the discipline whip. Canon-compliant, and I believe it was an entire series of one-shots where the first fic focused of lwj and I believe the second one was about lsz

Hello! I'm #15 on the lastest fic finder. I'm afraid that's not the work I was looking for. The one I wanted wasn't a locked piece and I believe it dealt mainly with "chronic grief", but thank you for your efforts :)

NOT FOUND! The Price of Old Wishes by SoManyJacks (E, 67k, WangXian, Minor canon divergence, Angst, POV LWJ, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Slow Burn, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, semi-verbal!LWJ, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Suicide)

FOUND! no new age Series by everythingispoetry (M, 145k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Permanent Injury, Recovery, Disability, Parenthood, Character Study, Thirteen Years of WWX's Death, Growing Up, Family Dynamics, Character Study, Self-Discovery, Mental Health Issues, Developing Relationship) although this isn't one-shot

NOT FOUND! Velle: to will, to wish by Aerlalaith (T, 30k, wangxian, angst, hurt/comfort, blood & injury, injury recovery, canon temporary character death, single parent LWJ, family issues, character study, healing, grief/mourning, trauma, nightmares) could be mine: "Velle: to will, to wish" where the first one is LWJ grieving/healing after the discipline whip and the second one is a oneshot about LSZ's courtesy name.

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16. Hello, for fic finder I want to find a short story set post canon where Wei Wuxian is transformed into a cat and keeps Jin Ling company, I vaguely remember a scene where Wei Wuxian in cat form bapped Fairy on the nose with his paw and stared in wonder at his paws possibly realising he had claws or in wonder that he touched a dog without running away screaming. I think he later figured out how to transform into his cat form at will to nap in sunbeams. Finding this story has been driving me nuts any help is greatly appreciated. @sorathemasterofmasters

FOUND? deep and inscrutable by twigofwillow (T, 1k, WWX & JL, Post-Canon, LSZ & LJY show up briefly, poor JL suffers so much, WWX does not care for Fairy at any time, it is a beautiful morning in Lanling and you are a horrible cat, Humor) this sounds like "deep and inscrutable" by twigofwillow, it doesn't have him figuring it out but he's definitely thinking about it, and the other details match

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17. Hello, I recently remember this fic that ive read months ago and im not sure if i remember it correctly, i cant find it anymore so i hope u guys can help me with this.

- its a modern fic. wei ying is sick then he lives with the lans. i remember him going to the same school(?) with lan zhan. i think lqr told lz to take care of him smth like that. then there's a girl that is also sick(?) there's a scene where wy asked lz to stay with him but then lz left and chose the other girl (lz didnt know that wx is sick and he was like the girl needs me more than u) there's a confession on a radio station(?) then when lz found out that wy is sick he ran back to him. there's also jiang-wen family connections. wy is cousins to the jiangs and has a connection with wens, im not sure if rouhan is his grandfather or uncle or smth. then they found out there's a scene where madam yu slapped the girl because of what she did (hurt wy) and they cut off ties (business/job) with their family

im not sure if im talking about one story or two.

For #17 I'm sure I've read the fic but it was when I was early into fandom and new to AO3. Also the girl is engaged to LWJ or something. WWX already is in love with LWJ,  but he's sick and gonna die in a year

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18. hi, can u guys help me to find this: lwj is a doctor, lxc and nmj are i think cops(?) detectives(?) smth like that then wwx is a fox. they rescued wwx from the basement where someone cuts off his fox tails to sell. he was badly treated. lwj is his doctor and wwx somewhat attached to lwj. wwx also has a doll(?) or smth named wen qing. he's very protective of it. lwj is the one taking care of him. its not yet completed when i first read it.

FOUND! sounds like the deleted "Dragon's Nestling" by the deleted user "TheAcademy".

The work ID was /42035667.

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19. I’m looking for a wangxian modern with cultivation fic where WWX was kicked out of yunmeng for something that Jiang Cheng did. He wound up having most of his golden core removed but was able to recultivate one. Cultivators had to wear body cams when on assignment, and someone hacked into the files and released the film of what actually happened during the night hunt that WWX got kicked out for.

I didn’t actually read it, I saw the summary and tags and planned to go back and read it later…and now I can’t find it. 90% sure it was complete and it’s on Ao3.

Thanks for the help! @worthlessnepenthes​

FOUND! Hey hey I'm almost certain 19 of the very recent fic finder is Truth Will Out (when caught on video) by KizuKatana (E, 25k, wangxian, WN & WWX & WQ, modern cultivation, YZY abuses WWX, caught in camera, partial core removal, WWX expelled from Jiang sect, live streamer WWX, meet-ugly, dual cultivation, WIP) I was literally just reading the new chapter right before this. It's still a WIP.

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20. Hiya! I was wondering if you could help me find a fic where wwx tried to commit suicide and jc finds him in the bathtub and it's kinda about him recuperating, and lwj helps take care of him? Its a modern au and wwx initially lives with jc and jyl. I'm pretty sure I've seen it here, but I can't for the life of me remember the name. Thanks for your help!

FOUND? 总有一天; a place to hide (can’t find one near) by yiqie (E, 76k, WangXian, Modern AU, Pianist, Getting Together, Mental Health Issues, Suicide Attempt, Suicidal Thoughts, Depression, Hospitals, Overdosing, Eventual Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Additional Warnings In Author’s Note)

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[hannie-dul-set]

US, AGAIN | four.

SUMMARY. they say history repeats itself, but you’d like to disagree. you had to disagree. history changes, even if you had to force it. but when all your attempts to twist fate were met by nothing but the flashing recurrences of the past, what were you supposed to do?

or, wherein you try everything in your power to have nothing to do with na jaemin, but na jaemin wants nothing but you.

PAIRING. na jaemin x female! reader GENRE. college! au, historical! au, soulmate! au, past lives, forbidden love stuff, reincarnation, romance, drama, humor, angst, fluff, looots of flashbacks, this is an entire kdrama, very loosely inspired by the webtoon “see you in my 19th life” WARNINGS. (for this chapter only) swearing, night terrors, hospital mentions, passing out, the works hgdhjasf WORD COUNT. 5.1k

NOTE. I’M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG <///3 but life is life thank god we only have to go through this once unlike our dearest mc HJGASDJSF anyway!! lots of jaemin fluff here!! you’ll want to punch him in the face!! hope u enjoy <3

CHAPTER FOUR: why the sun sets and rises

(Running.

Through the winding branches that cut into the air, the silver lake, the jagged ground, the clouds in the wind at each and every shallow pant, you were running—

A gunshot.

—running until your legs gave away.)

You woke up in a cold sweat.

God.

Looking around, you noticed that it was far too early for you to be awake— the hazy light that barely slipped through the thin curtains, the desolate silence that seemed to have consumed your room whole, and the bedside digital clock down below you that said 6:21AM in big bold letters, indicating that you should be fast asleep especially after staying up at ungodly hours in the morning finishing up an assignment. But even after burying your head in between two of your pillows, you couldn’t even suffocate yourself into unconsciousness.

You groaned and jumped off of the top bunk.

When your feet landed on the floor, you had expected to see Seungah’s ghost of a face lying sideways on the bottom bunk, but all that met you was a small, neon orange sticky note laying soundly on her smoothed out pillow. ‘Had to leave early to the diner! Eat the breakfast I made you or else xoxo’, it said. You sighed.

There was no point mulling over the past when you had an entire future to take care of.

“Oh my gosh.”

Hong Nabi was in shock with what she saw when she arrived at the benches by the garden to work on your group assignment today. It was shocking to the point that she dropped all her binders and papers onto the pavement.

You sighed, sliding out of your seat to help her. She spared you a few, quick glances as the both of you were slouched on the floor, and he couldn’t help but bite her bottom lip in worry. The Y/N that was usually so cool, so put together, and so unbothered looked like she was casket ready. That, or ready to star in a Tim Burton animation.

“Is it Halloween today..?”

“Let’s just get this thing started,” you groaned, finally finished cleaning things up and you were now back onto your seat. Nabi sat right in front of you, organizing her now jumbled up material. She wanted to ask if you were okay— but would that be offensive considering that you were very clearly not? Still, she opened her mouth to speak, but was scared into silence when you suddenly cursed out loud. “Since when did this become a paired project? Where the hell are they?”

Nabi pressed her lips together, looking around. “I’m not sure.”

You still had around two weeks more until the presentation, but that didn’t mean that they could slack off as much as they wanted. In a fit, you grabbed your phone from your sling bag, exasperatedly tapping on the fragile screen that Nabi was almost sure that you were going to break it, but before you managed to burst a vein, an incoming sound of noises and laughter approached your ears.

Boys will be boys, but you weren’t having any of that shit.

“Yah,” the moment Jeno, Renjun, and Donghyuck showed up at your table as if nothing was wrong, you decided to smack the nearest head with a rolled up sheet of stapled paper. “Didn’t we agree to start at nine?”

“Yah,” Donghyuck snatched the weapon from you, his other hand focused on caressing the spot on his head that you’d just every so gently smacked. “Don’t you ‘yah yah’ me, missy. Did you forget that you’re younger than us?”

If only he knew.

“Is that so? You should grow a sense of responsibility, then. It doesn’t take fifty fucking years.”

With that, you let out a huff and swung your laptop open.

The rest of the people occupying the table exchanged concerned glances as they shuffled to find seats of their own. They haven’t known you for long, but this type of temperament from you was arguably out of the ordinary. Even when Donghyuck would strike a chord too dangerously, you wouldn’t snap at him— today, you weren’t your usual self, and they all mutually agreed in silence that they were going to tread carefully if they still wanted their heads attached to their necks.

When the sounds of your fingers clicking against the keyboard stopped, they felt their hearts stopping, as well.

You looked up from the laptop screen, proceeding to look around, closed your eyes, and then breathed out. “Where’s Jaemin?”

At that moment they all flipped their phones open, scrolling, clicking, and typing before they can taste any more of your unraveled temper. You had to admit, you were feeling a little guilty for being such a bitch. A part of it was yes, sleep deprivation, shitty nightmares, and a whole truck load of stress can really take a toll on your sanity, but the other part was voluntary.

Jeno looked up, the first person who managed to pinpoint Jaemin’s whereabouts. “He just texted. He says he’s running— oh, there he is.”

There he was indeed, a couple of feet away from where you all were. Once you confirmed that he wasn’t absent, you turned back to continue working, but the rest of them continued to stare at Jaemin, who was barely hanging onto his dear life, sweating and panting. And as they all watched the poor boy breathlessly running towards the table, they all thought of the same thing with one mind, heart, and soul.

Na Jaemin was a dead man.

He pulled up right in front of you, hunched over breathless with his hands on his knees. He stood up and promptly apologized. “Ahh, so sorry for being late. I had to stop by somewhere and there was traffic. I’m really—”

“I didn’t ask about your personal business,” you hummed, not even looking at him. Everyone, not only Jaemin, flinched at your explicit coldness. “Did you get the files that we need?”

He looked at you. You weren’t looking at him, but you knew he was looking at you.

“...Yeah. Hold on.”

As if the mood wasn’t already shit earlier, it actually turned into absolute horse crap after Jaemin arrived. It wasn’t his fault, really, but circumstance after circumstance didn’t exactly paint the prettiest picture of him. When the clock finally struck eleven in the morning, everyone except you all released a synchronous sigh. “We’re done today, right?” Renjun asked, and you responded with a quick nod, noticeably a lot more mellow than earlier.

Nabi stood up and started fixing her things. “I’ll send everything later to you tonight, Y/N,” she smiled at you.

“Yeah, sure,”’ you hummed, nodding. “Thank you.”

The four boys froze. Why were you being nice to her? Of course, their complaints were verbalized into nothing more than silent whines, groans, and grumbles that easily flew above your ears, Jaemin being a lot more quiet about voicing his complaints than the rest despite taking most of your attacks.

Still, even if you were being particularly thorny to him, he thought it would be a good idea to speak out just as you were about to leave. “Do the both of you have any classes after this? We were planning on getting lunch together,” he said. “Would you like to join? My treat.”

You looked at him. There was a polite smile on your face. Evidently forced.

“No, thanks.”

Donghyuck let out a genuine gasp.

“Did she just—” he stammered, switching his sight back and forth from Jaemin to you. “Did she just turn down a free meal offer?”

“She did,” you sighed, rolling your eyes as he continued to gawk at you. You picked up your heavy bag from the bench seat. “I gotta get going. Have fun, you guys.”

And you let them just like that, with five pairs of eyes trained at the back of your head until they finally lost sight of you.

For someone like you, the bulletin boards at the bus stops were like a gold mine. A gold mine of part-time jobs just waiting to be filled. There were flyers haphazardly plastered onto the board, all in different colors and different fonts. You bit a chunk off of the granola bar that served as your lunch for today, eyes meticulously scanning the available offers, a few flyers already wedged in between your armpit.

“Hair salon assistant— can’t do that. Diner waitress— a hard maybe. Already have a restaurant job pending, my shifts might clash. Library assistant? Alright, I need to check it out further, though. What about a movie— oh!— oh my god, you scared me.”

“What are you doing here, Y/N?”

Sooah suddenly appeared beside you, looking up as she clutched her backpack straps. You let out a sigh of relief upon the realization that it was just her.

“Fancy seeing you here, cadet,” you hummed, folding the neatly folding the few flyers that you had and shoving into your sling bag along with the emptied granola bar wrapper. “Are your classes over?”

“Mhm! I’m waiting for my mom to pick me up.”

“Aren’t you honored to spend time with me as you wait?”

You let out a chuckle, sitting down on the wooden seat, patting down the empty spot beside you, and Sooah happily hopped to sit down right away. Peeling off one of the flyers stuck onto the board, you decided to fold it— once, twice, countless more times until the flat, square piece of paper was now shaped into a lotus flower. Sooah beamed in amazement.

“Y/N,” she started, and you dropped the little paper flower onto her tiny hands. She placed it on her lap before looking up to you, large eyes hinted with curiosity. “The story you told us last time— was it a true story?”

You suddenly felt a chill in the air.

“...Why do you ask?”

“Oh, well,” she mused. “My mommy is a Korean Literature teacher at my school, but she teaches a grade above me. Sometimes, I’d go through her stuff to read some stories that I haven’t read in my class, and the other day—”

Uh oh.

After living for twelve whole lifetimes and currently going through your thirteenth, there was always this feeling that haunted you all throughout, a feeling that you were all too familiar with. It was gnawing, grinding, and chewing up the bottom most part of your gut. A warning sign for something bad to come.

You were definitely feeling that right now.

“—I found the same story as the one you told us, big sis.”

Yep. It was never wrong, and it never will be. You bit down your bottom lip.

“And I found something interesting!” oh, how much more must anxiety drown you, but Sooah seemed so excited that you didn’t have the heart to stop her. You raised a brow, urging her, and she smiled brightly. “You said you don’t remember the girl’s name, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Y/N! She has the same name as you!”

Of fucking course.

“The last name is different, though—” she added as an afterthought. “She was Song Y/N, and you’re not. Still. Isn’t it really cool?”

Not cool at all. You wanted to scream, maybe cry a little and lose a generous chunk of your mind, because as far as you knew, there had never been an instance where you had heard of this story being shared to the public— to an entire class, nonetheless. It shouldn’t matter, right? It wasn’t your life anymore. Just an old, tragic tale passed on from mothers to their children as a bedtime story.

But somehow, it made you feel vulnerable.

How many more people knew about this?

“But, sis. You’re kind of a dummy, though. How could you forget someone’s name when it’s the same as yours?”

Sooah questioned, tilting her head, but it eventually washed pon her that you weren’t looking all too well. You had your lips splayed into an evident frown, worry creasing your forehead, which she could not at all get. Were you okay?

“Did you finish reading all of it?”

You asked after a bout of silence. Sooah shook her head in response. “No, not yet,” she huffed. “My mom caught me making a mess out of her things and scolded me.”

That’s good, you thought. At least she didn’t make it to the end— that would only complicate things. After a second of deliberation, you figured that this would be the best move if you played your cards right.

“Sooah,” you started. “Do you think your mom will let me borrow that story?”

The next day, your classes were all condensed into the afternoon— a deliberate decision to allow yourself to recharge in bed for the entire first half of the day.

But right now it was eight in the morning, yet you were already busying yourself inside the campus.

No, you didn’t have a group meeting today, neither did you have any prior commitments needed to be accomplished here in school, but you figured after not having a single fucking blink of sleep last night thanks to Sooah’s revelations yesterday, you might as well head to school early to apply for the part-time job at the library. Only one problem— where was the library?

It was eight in the morning. You had been here since seven-thirty. Not a single bookshelf in sight. You opted to just give up and mold yourself into the floor because you couldn’t even ask anyone for directions because no one was there.

Well. Almost no one.

You had just passed by a single living soul earlier as you were trudging around the bottom floor like a zombie, but you completely missed him. Na Jaemin caught your disheveled figure marching through the hallways earlier, evidently lost, as he left the faculty office with a steaming hot cup of coffee in his hands. He immediately brightened upon seeing you— as if his bloodstream was directly charged with caffeine, but he didn’t come around to approaching you until now. He couldn’t get the timing.

Even now, as he discreetly tailed behind you without your knowledge, he didn’t know when was the appropriate time to give you a simple ‘hello’. He pressed his lips together, taking in a sharp breath through his nose, and decided screw it— you wouldn’t even be happy to see him no matter the timing.

He picked up his pace and sounded from right behind you.

“Morning, group leader.”

You stopped, swiveling your heels around, and he was met with your grimacing face.

As expected. He gave you a blinding smile.

“How are you?”

“My morning is shit, thank you very much,” you spat. “Even more now, after seeing you.”

Ouch.

Jaemin knew that you weren’t exactly fond of him, and he’d spent too many hours wondering why. Maybe you just disliked him without bearing much of a reason. Some people were like that, but he didn’t hold it against you. He still pressed on with a smile.

And it irritated you.

(You believed that it was irritation, or made yourself believe. Yeah, let’s go with irritation.)

“Now, what do you want?” you crossed your arms, shifting your weight to one leg as you looked at him with exasperation. “You’re definitely not here to ask me about our assignment, right? I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I might as well say it to your face for your own good.”

You roughly shoved a finger to his chest, mustering up not a glare— but a plain look of disinterest.

“I don’t like you.”

Jaemin simply looked at you.

“You don’t like me.”

“No matter what you try to do, that won’t ever—wait, what? What the fuck?” you had to double take, expression suddenly morphing into a comical confusion, which Jaemin found cute, but of course he couldn’t say that out loud. He settled with the same smile as earlier, which you found a little more irritating as much as it was conflicting this time around. Within a second of silence, you felt heat slowly rising and you felt it slowly getting to your head. “You’re just gonna take that...as that?”

He let out a hum, shrugging. “I can’t dictate how you feel, can I?”

You gawked at him.

“You’re not even gonna ask why? Not even gonna protest?”

“Do you want me to?” he leaned forward, face a little closer to yours, smile a little more irritating than before, the heat growing a little more prominent than ever, your grasp on your consciousness becoming a little more hard to hold than earlier. You felt yourself getting caught in a stammer. “I would, if you want me to.”

Fuck this shit and fuck it completely.

“Where are you going?”

“None of your business,” you stormed off before you could find yourself getting caught inside a heatwave, breathing out long, fervent breaths to calm yourself down, the dizzying heat slowly getting to your head making you woozy. It would be a bad idea to even turn around and look at him. “I’d appreciate it if you don't follow me.”

Jaemin frowned when he saw your back yet again. He felt like this was the only thing he’d seen from you— your back perpetually facing him without any hope of you even turning around to spare him a quick glance, but he didn’t want to go against your wishes. He wasn’t planning on following you. But when you suddenly collapse on the floor a few feet away from him—

Thud.

—what else was he supposed to do?

(“Your Highness.”

It was without question that he’d answer your call sparing not even a second to waste with those gentle eyes of his, and this time was no different. The only difference being the quirk of his lips— pursed, pouting. He stepped away from the bush of azaleas, and stepped closer to you.

“I thought I told you not to call me that anymore,” he huffed, languidly dropping beside you on the stone bench, taking your hands into his with an earnest glimmer. “Say it. I want to hear you. Please?”

It was impolite to laugh at the prince— a punishable crime by itself. You were fortunate that he liked you enough.

“Your Highness,” you hummed. His shoulders drooped down, visibly dampening, but he shook his head with a newfound resolve and instead lended all of his attention to you, instead. “It is without saying that the very breath you take is incomparable to any person on this land—”

Your gaze darted upwards, looking at him.

“—but why do you choose to come see me everyday in the garden? Even when I am not around?”

He was still for a moment, fazed and the littlest bit taken aback, but not a second too long for you to spare any worry. A newfound smile playing on his lips, he lifted up your hands that he was holding, pressing a tender kiss on your knuckles.

“Why does the sun rise in the east and set in the west every single day?”

He looked at you, continuing.

“Just because it was made that way.”)

“Daegang.”

The whisper that you sounded in your state of unconsciousness caught Jaemin’s ears as he carried you to a vacant room inside the campus hospital. He looked down at you, your voice as clear as day despite the hoarseness of it, peeling himself away from your closed eyes, lashes fluttering above your cheeks before he could stumble over his own feet.

When he gently dropped you on to the bed, the mattress sinking underneath your weight, his windpipes nearly closed, a choking noise escaping the moment he felt you tug him down by the sleeve of his shirt, but he maintained his composure. He dropped your sling bag onto the bedside table, taking notice on the colorful piece of paper peeking out of the bag’s zipper mouth, a huff of a smile when he closed it up. Even you can be a little disordered, sometimes, he wondered in amusement as he gazed down on you.

Jaemin let out a huff of breath, dropping down the chair placed beside your bed, and he pulled out his phone to send a few messages here and there. An hour passed. He noticed you stirring underneath the sheets.

“Ah, you’re awake!”

Maybe you were, maybe you weren’t. You couldn’t tell if the blurred out silhouette of the face you have grown to both hate and love was a mere figment of your memories, or if he was actually real. There was the temptation brought about by your disorientation— to stretch your arm out to his face just to make sure, but you were lucky that your flimsy consciousness came at just the right time before you were to do anything regretful.

“Ugh.”

“You’ve been out for over an hour. Maybe you should just skip your remaining classes today,” at that point you were sure he was real. Na Jaemin had worry laced all over his voice, expression, and posture. It wasn’t a sight welcome to your peace of mind when you had just woken up after passing the fuck out. “What happened? Did you not get enough sleep? Did you skip breakfast? I asked Jeno to buy some food just in case you wake up and I’m not here, but you were unconscious for longer than I expected.”

“I’m fine, I’ll just—”

A regretful action. You tried to stand up, but all that happened was you falling pathetically back onto the bed.

“...”

“Don’t push yourself, Y/N,” Jaemin sighed, tucking you back in and placing a hand on your forehead, and by god you could hear the alarm bells ringing in your ears. “I checked earlier. It doesn’t seem like you have a fever. Oh? You’re starting to heat up, maybe you actually do—”

“I don’t!”

Was it possible to voluntarily pass out?

You threw the blanket over your head.

It was fortunate that he didn’t decide to press on, and instead he just left you alone underneath your makeshift tent to calm the sudden blazing of your face. Did he know that you were embarrassed? Oh god, did he know that it was because of him? Not that it was, of course, but it wasn’t unlikely for him to assume that he was the cause of your sudden temperature rise. It would be much better for him to believe that you did have a fever. Fuck, you should have just told him that you were sick.

“Knock knock,” outside of your blanket shield, you felt something lightly pressed at the side of your head, prompting you to peek outside, just enough for your eyes to be exposed. When you turned around, you were met by a box of Orion Choco Pie, just one of the few snacks that he had brought for you. “Here, have this. Eat.”

You blankly stared at the red box.

“What are you waiting for?”

“Leave it. I’ll eat once you leave.”

“No can do, missy,” Jaemin clicked his tongue, and without your consent, grabbed your nearest hand and opened it into a palm, placing the far too large box on top of it. “I have to make sure that you actually finish it.”

He was resilient.

Much like someone else, you grumbled, opening the packaging and stealing one of the cakes nestled inside. He had a satisfied smile on his face— almost like a proud parent watching his four year old daughter writing her name for the first time. You wanted to throw the damned snack to his face, but voted against the act and took a bite from it instead. “Fine. But for your information, I might have passed out because I barely got any sleep last night, so stop wasting your worries.”

“That doesn’t make things any better,” he said. “How am I supposed to stop worrying after hearing that? You should take care of yourself, Y/N.”

“I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”

“I’m not buying it. I have to make sure that you’re getting enough sleep every day.”

“What the fuck? Do you think you’re my mom, or something?”

“No, what the hell? Don’t make things weird,” He grimaced, looking at you in disbelief. Holy fuck. You nearly broke out into a fit, if you were being honest. Na Jaemin who was usually all smiley and kind was looking at you with an expression that you were sure his facial muscles didn’t even have the knowledge to conjure. His next words were nothing more than a low grumble. “How can she think I want to be her mom when I like her? Jeez.”

The choco pie that you’d been eating threatened to climb back up your throat.

“Wh— What the fuck?”

“What?” Jaemin replied naively. “One more time? Should I repeat it? Y/N, I like—”

“Okay, okay, I got it the first time, please—!”

Dear lord, he was going to be the death of you. You took in a long, sharp, painful breath.

“I get it.”

Jaemin looked at you with a small smile. He didn’t seem like he was going to continue teasing, so you quickly scared down the remaining chocolate snake inside the box so that you could slip away from him as soon as possible. That wasn’t the best idea, though, because the choco pie almost ended up going down the wrong throat and the guy was sure to freak out over it. Luckily you managed to get away with forcing it down and having Jaemin only looking at you with a minimal amount of concern.

It was time to get the fuck out of here.

“Thank you for the food, Jaemin, but I need to get going,” he didn’t even get the chance to say anything, but you were already on your feet, ready to set out to the door. You looked back at his frozen stature before reaching out for the door handle. “I’ll pay you back some other time.”

You bowed politely. Jaemin had only gotten back to his senses once he’d realized that he couldn’t see your face anymore, only the back of your head— a sight that he’s used to seeing, a reminder of where he stood. He scrambled to his feet and took off after you.

“Wait, you should drink water first! And take these with you! Y/N—”

Shit. He didn’t want you to leave yet. Not when he’s finally had a proper conversation with you. The two of you were already out in the hallway, the glimpse of light from the heavily clouded sky leaking through the windows and coloring the white walls and floor with an out of place brightness and at one point the light stuck on you. It was difficult to match your pace— staying not too far behind, not right beside you, never ahead of you. He swallowed.

Jaemin felt bad about pulling this, but he couldn’t think of any other way to make you stay.

“Daegang.”

You froze on the spot.

There was a heavy weight anchoring Jaemin’s conscience, falling even heavier as you slowly turned around to face him. It fell to the bottom of his stomach the moment he caught your expression.

“How—” you stammered. “Where did you get that name?”

He pressed his lips together tightly, a considerable distance between the both of you as he averted his eyes. “You muttered it earlier while I was carrying you.”

“C—carrying?”

How else would he have hauled you over to the campus hospital? But an obvious fact such as that was still enough to dumb your IQ a couple of notches down. You would have been fine if he didn’t mention it and leave you in your blissful ignorance, but he just had to drill the existence of that fact that you were in his fucking arms when you had sworn to be a piece of shit to him.

The heat was rising to your head again just like earlier.

“Ah.”

You heard Jaemin utter a sound from a few steps in front of you— a light grumble, you’d assumed, but you weren’t entirely sure— and it was at that moment that you’d realized how freaking awkward the distance between the both of you was. Were you social distancing?

His hollow sigh and evident pout threw all of those meager thoughts out the window.

“Is he the reason why I can’t get close to you?

What the hell does he mean?

“An ex you can’t over?”

You broke into a coughing fit. Jaemin instantly ran over to you in panic, patting your back to help appease the violent coughs, but in reality he wasn’t of any help at all because his palm was barely touching you. “Holy fuck”—cough—“oh god. I guess— I guess you can say that...?”

“Sorry,” he mumbled from behind you. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. It must be a sensitive topic.”

“If you knew that it was touchy then why bring it up in the first place,” you shot him a glare, looking back, but it was less threatening and more questioning. You couldn’t bring yourself to get mad at him at this point. He stood there in blatant guilt, his expression, stature, and demeanor without any intention of hiding it all. This was why you couldn’t get mad at him. Jaemin was transparent.

You weren’t sure if it was just his nature or if it had something to do with you.

You wouldn’t know what to do if it was the latter.

His lips finally parted after a moment of silence to answer you— even if you hadn’t expected an answer in the first place.

“I didn’t know how else to make you talk to me a little longer.”

You didn’t know what to do, at all.

Jaemin’s cheeks were stained with a shade of pink and fuck— you could see in his eyes that were looking at you, trying not to look at you, that he was bearing all the sleeves of his heart to you without an ounce of regret, but a euphemism of the bright red color that he was trying to hide.

God.

Why did you have to meet him in this life?

“Why?” you voiced, quiet. “Why do you like me so much? You don’t even know me that well, and I’m not even in any way nice to you.”

He didn’t answer.

“So, why?”

For a moment, Jaemin kept quiet, as if waiting for the pink to fade from his cheeks before doing anything, but it never did. Even when his lips stretched into a closed smile, his eyes crinkling and showing the stars that weren’t in the sky, he was still tinged with that soft, powdery color.

He didn’t wait. He didn’t wait for you to speak when he left— when he left right after saying two words that stretched inside your mind until the sun set in the west and the skies turned pink.

“Just because.”

<prev | MASTERLIST | next>

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© hannie-dul-set, 2021

[theotherace]

Fic Recs: Taang

I’ve made two or three rec lists over the past few months, but I thought I’d make a proper, comprehensive one that’s easy to add to in the future. Not all of these are exclusively Taang, but they all feature the ship to some degree. I will only recommend one or two stories per author, but some profiles are definitely worth checking out further. So! Here goes.

Multi-Chapter, Complete

Whisper Into the Sky by damagectrl – Toph has two choices: Go home and get married or have the family fortune and her inheritance given to a stranger. Her problem: She wants to keep her ties to her family, but is quite content traveling with Aang. Her solution: Fight her way through suitors for her freedom. Literally. | General 

The Slow Path by Tazmainian Devil – Eight years after the fall of Ozai, Aang returns to the friends he left behind. | T

A Matter of Honor by Adridere – Almost 4 years after the war. Aang is engaged to Katara and is up to Zuko to teach him the facts of life. Yep, the bees and the birds. Crazy kings, bananas and the ultimate contest for the hand of a reluctant maiden. | M

Roommates by breeeliss – An unlikely tale of two unlikely people being forced to live together under unlikely circumstances.| Modern AU | T

Fall of the White Lotus by Boo-82 – Three years after the war Zuko is living a life of duty while Katara reluctantly travels the world with Aang. So, when General Iroh orders them to find Zuko’s mother and save his Order they seize the opportunity with both hands. It’s the beginning of an adventurous journey of discovery, but as time runs out a rising threat puts their bond to the test. | T

Half Asleep by The Crushinator – Five years after the Hundred-Year War, Fire Lord Zuko is hit with an assassin’s dart, and falls into a coma from which he cannot wake. A week passes, and his prognosis is grim. But Katara could swear she hears him in her dreams… | T

Yaaburnee by aviatordame – Avatars aren't meant to belong – that's as much as Aang can fathom. | M

Getting Lucky by roca-dos – Crazy things happen in college every day. | Modern AU | T 

All Fall Down by DJNS  – Aang copes with a tragic loss and finds renewed hope in an unexpected place. | M | Warning for Major Character Death

The Princess & the Badger-Cat by panaili – In a land never torn apart by the Hundred Year War, the sixteen-year-old Avatar Aang is trying his best to keep the balance between the four nations, including the increasingly antagonistic Fire Nation, which, despite his friendship with the Crown Prince Zuko, refuses to acknowledge him. Elsewhere, Sokka and Katara have been separated on their quest to find their missing father, and Sokka, pursued by the same bandits who kidnapped his sister, finds himself on the balcony of some rich girl’s house in Gaoling. Oh, and a sorcerer has turned him into a badger-cat. It’s just one of those days. | Teen and Up

Reborn by Jakia – Life. Death. Rebirth. This is the cycle that all spirits must abide to, even the Avatar. Aang and Toph face death and the reincarnation cycle. | T

New Girl by tiffaniesblews – After coming home early from a business trip, all Katara wanted to do was surprise her boyfriend, Jet. Imagine her surprise when she got home and Jet was in bed with another woman. Not wanting to live with her ex, and unable to live with her best friend, Suki, Katara takes her brother Sokka's offer to move into his loft with his two roommates. Aang is perky and sweet, the owner of a st. Bernard and a cat, who's often confused about his direction in life. Zuko, on the other hand, is a closed-off bartender, who takes some time opening up to others.The four could not be more different, and yet? They work out perfectly. Even if Katara's feelings for Zuko get a bit more complicated as time goes on. | Modern AU | Mature 

The Ties That Bind series by LdyKirin – An exploration of the ties that bind for good and ill. Toph and Zuko are both shaped by the family they were born to and the family they choose. Lots of found family feels. | T

What Happens In Kyoshi by BlackVelvetBand – Prince Zuko, and the GAang take a vacation on Kyoshi Island. Flirting, fighting, and embarrasment ensue as Sokka takes it upon himself to defend Katara's virtue...in a dress? A short,chaptered fic featuring Zutara, Sokki, and Taang. | T

Under the Night Sky by mycomfortblanket – Aang hears the chattering of teeth during a cold night. Was an AU that I found on tumblr that I made fit into this story. Orginal prompt: "We have to go camping together and share a sleeping bag even though we are complete strangers | General

On The Precipice by JoyDragon – They’re just best friends. Or maybe they’re teetering on the edge of being something more. | General

Oneshots, Complete

Air and Stone by Wolvenfire86 – A few Taang stories munched together. My first submissions. I hope everyone likes them. Please review, it makes me feel special. | K+

Taang Week 2020 series by teabagginses | Teen and Up & Mature

Our Little Secret by IrisPlumeria – Toph and Aang, sat next to one another dressed in their finest under paper lanterns and surrounded by copious amounts of food and friends, cringed at the disgusting noises coming out of Sokka’s nostrils as he blew his nose into Suki’s handkerchief. “I can’t believe two of my best friends are finally married!” Sokka sobbed, earning a supportive pat on the back from Suki, who didn’t flinch at the snot coming out of his nose. “I’m so happy for you guys!” Toph and Aang's family are happy for their nuptials, but will they be able to survive their wedding party without letting slip a big secret?Written for Taang Week 2020 - Tradition. | General 

All Roads Lead To Ba Sing Se by irisbleufic – "I was thinking," [Mai] said, tucking her last remaining dagger into her belt as she strode to meet him, "that it's about time I let Fire Lord Zuko know that I quit." When Kuei smiled at her, she could see the sunshine at which she once cringed."Notice that's six years overdue is better than none at all." "Indeed," said the Earth Queen, and grinned at him. | Teen And Up

Lady Fu’s Fortune Telling by Lady Cleo – Katara and Toph visit the local fortuneteller to get their fortunes told. Added a part two with Zuko and Aang. | T

The Perfect Companion by Morna – Aang seeks comfort outside of the arms of his wife, Katara. Taang, slightly lemony. | T

Box by JoeMerl – Written for Taang Week, one-shot. Toph ticks off Bumi, but Aang is willing to fight his old friend tooth and nail to get her out of trouble. Humor, light romance. | K+

2 am by shmulia – Whoever set off the fire alarm at 2 in the morning is on Katara's shit list. Even if he is hot and shirtless. | Modern AU | K

And its sequel, 11:45 – House parties aren't Katara's thing. Sokka's drunk, Suki's on a mission to set her up, and Toph is... well, Toph. But for every cloud there's a silver lining, and for Katara it comes in the form of a second chance with her neighbour... | Modern AU | T 

Treat by PsychEmpress – She felt the corners of her own lips quirk as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “Consider this my treat,” he said and Toph allowed a smile to break out. OR In which Toph is a stressed architecture student who gets a free cup of coffee from the handsome waiter after she helps his friend. Taang. Mentions of Sukka. | Modern AU | T

Sawaru by metacognitive – This love is simple. Non-Korra compliant. | K+

Newlyweds (and basically everything else) by PandaCookie – Everyone’s a bit hopeless right after they’ve been married. | K+

Rhythms by xcgirl08– For now, though, her child’s heartbeat was hers to contemplate. | K 

Tenderness by Adridere – He wanted to keep her, even though he was not supposed to. He promised her freedom, and she promised him sanity in his own household. She kept her part of the bargain, but he found a way not to keep his. | M

Holy Matrimony by Loopy – After their marriage, Zuko and Katara deal with conflicting religious beliefs, and look to the friends for advice. Between the Zutara and the religious satire, every single person who reads this should feel offended. | General

Blind Maiden’s Grace by Adara_Rose – You can learn a lot of things from a flower… | Not Rated (I’d say General) 

Etched in the Earth by Dance_Elle_Dance – She knows the feel of Aang’s footprints better than her own, and that reality scares her. | Teen and Up

No One Asks About The Scars by voleuse – Write about how you learned to curse in order not to be cursed. | General

When in Rome by dtmars – She wasn’t stupid. She knew what she was doing and what she was getting herself into. They both did. | Modern AU. | Explicit

Like Real People Do by DerAndere – The moon is full and bright when he falls out of bed, awake, asleep, inside a dream, and starts walking, driven by the feeling he does not understand, tugging on him relentlessly, and he is Aang, and he is not, and the world is cold. | General | Full Disclosure: This is my story.

Meet Me Under The Table by avatarfan16 – A story of how Toph and Aang find love, in the most unusual of places. TAANG | K+

Aftermath by Zaram'delar – In any celebration, there's always one or two people with a habit of disappearing. Taang drabbleish series. | T

I Choose Dare by for_darkness_shows_the_stars – An ode to how Aang, under the power of a mighty temptress, was forced to grow a beard. Oh, and the birth of his first child, too, he supposes. | General Audiences

Multi-Chapter, In Progress

Heartbeat by AngelicBee – Avatar Aang's soulmate probably died 100 years before, but he can't help but feel she's closer than he thinks. | Teen and Up

a mighty ocean (or a gentle kiss) by poweradequeen – no, the title doesn’t make sense but i don’t care. i couldn’t think of one so now you’re stuck with a cheesy line from two by sleeping at last.it’s a taang fine arts university au. because i said so. | Teen and Up

Neither is Love a Cage by cali-chan – Love is the freedom of flying accompanied. It is letting be without possessing. PG-13 (possibly M later on), drama/romance/angst, Zuko/Katara + Aang/Toph, post-finale but diverges before LoK canon.

Operation: Zutara (REVAMPED) by dtmars – Everyone could see that those two were in love with each other. Everyone except for them. So Toph takes the initiative and fills in for Cupid to give them a little push, while Aang just tags along for the ride. | Teen and Up

Taang One Shots by stitch1830 – A collection of short stories about Toph and Aang that I've had saved in my notes for a few months. Stories are in the ATLA/LOK universe (not canon compliant), and typically revolve around their relationship and family. | Teen and Up

[mcgrillzdumpinc]

To Satisfaction

Summary: In their first lives, they never meet.  Their second, third, fourth lives remain much the same.  Until, finally, they come to know each other as two cultivation sect heirs.  From there, they are inexorably tied together, to always reincarnate together. Written for SangCheng Month day 7 - Lotus!

ao3 link

Pairing: Sangcheng Rating: G Warnings: None apply Word count: 1107

In their first lives, they never meet.  One is a nomad, traversing the edges of what will one day be known as the Gobi Desert.  The other lives and dies in a settlement by the Yangtze River.  Their names and lives disappear to history.

Their second, third, fourth lives remain much the same.  Far apart, never to know the other.  But with each cycle, they come closer.  Deserts to mountains, rivers to plateaus.  They find many loves along the way, yet never find satisfaction in lives both short and long.  Yet still they go on, returning to the muck and rising anew.

Decades to centuries to millennia, they finally meet. Two cultivation sect heirs.  One from the mountains and unforgiving winters, the other from a river basin and unforgiving summers.  On the steps to a monk’s cultivation sect, they become acquaintances.  Between morning classes and nightly shenanigans, they become friends.  As the seasons change and they remain each other’s bastion of understanding and companionship, they grow closer and closer still until inevitable separation begets distress.  They return to their mountains and river basin, unsure and unready.  As the days away pass by, there is a restless anxiety which progresses to endless desire which progresses to letters upon letters. As ink meets parchment and correspondence changes hands, they know—down to the ache of their bones, to the light in their lungs, to the straying of their thoughts—that they have found the one for them. A soulmate.  Their satisfaction.

But then a fire occurs, a fire which destroys more than homes and lands.  One of them changes while the other remains the same.  Then there is death, endless death, wrought by a loved one until he finally meets his own end.  The soulmates drift apart, inevitably, as one closes his doors and builds his walls and lets nobody, save his only nephew, in.

Then music happens.  Music so deadly it steals both life and identity.  The other changes.  He does not think he knows his old self at all.  The rest of the world is inclined to agree.

In the end, they return to the mud, unhappy and unsatisfied.

In the next life, they are born to the same family, separated by lines and lines of marriage.  Distant cousins who still live in the same sprawling household. They do not fall in love this life. But still they are drawn to each other, sworn to each other’s sides with a friendship that remains unbroken. Their petals close to happy lives.

They know satisfaction again the next time they bloom.  This time they are born as women, both tied down to their families and desperate to escape. But they are both children of merchants.  When they inevitably meet on the road between their towns, it as though they have known each other their whole lives.  They swear mutual loyalty and escape together that night.  In their lives as runaways and businesswomen, they fall in love.  They know satisfaction.  And they would sooner burn the world to the ground than be parted.

In the next life, they meet as arranged spouses. One is a temperamental young woman, the other a calculating young man.  This time, the world does burn for their love.  Thus becomes the first bump in their cycle.

These bumps are not common, nor do they occur often. But every time they do, the ripples find their way into the couple’s souls.  A missed connection, an unexpected outcome, a rebirth that does not match the timing of the other half’s.  In time, it erodes at the barrier between life and death until—

“Excuse me, are you Jiang Wanyin?”

The man in question looks up from a particularly messy berthing plan to see a young man standing in his office doorway.  He raises an eyebrow.  Jiang Wanyin isn’t sure why his secretary let this young man interrupt him.  Sure, he’s plenty attractive, unfairly so, but beauty does not allow for an unscheduled appointment.  Still, Jiang Wanyin responds, “That’s the name on my plaque,” before taking a much needed sip of coffee.

The young man laughs awkwardly.  “Sorry, I know I’m unscheduled.  Oh!  I’m Nie Huaisang, by the way.  Uh, you have no way of knowing me, but—”

“Get to the point,” Jiang Wanyin interrupts.

“Right.”  Nie Huaisang sighs and grips his arm.  “Do you believe in reincarnation?”

Jiang Wanyin eyes his desk phone.  Considers calling security.  Instead says, “About as much as the next person.”

“That’s good to know,” Nie Huaisang replies. With a small nod to himself, Nie Huaisang opens his backpack and removes a flower.  It’s a lotus, in full bloom and perfectly kept in a closed glass vase. Holding the vase close to his chest, Nie Huaisang quickly approaches Jiang Wanyin’s desk.  “I know this is a weird thing to ask, but… can you smell this flower for me?”

“Why the fuck would I do that?” Jiang Wanyin nearly barks, his hand hovering over the phone receiver.  “Look, kid, I don’t have time for whatever weird shit you’re trying to pull on me.  Leave now before I have security drag you out.”

“Excuse you!” Nie Huaisang exclaims as he removes the lotus from its vase.  “I’m the same age as you!”

“Definitely don’t look like it.”

“Shut up!  I have a baby face!”  Nie Huaisang shoves the lotus in Jiang Wanyin’s face.  “Just sniff the flower!”

Deciding to humor him, Jiang Wanyin does as asked. It smells nice enough, sure, but there’s nothing special.  As Jiang Wanyin leans back in his chair, though, something hits him.  A bolt of lightening, straight to the brain, stealing all his breath as memories flood him.  A thousand different faces.  A thousand different voices.  A thousand different people.  But all the same soul.  All the same person as the one standing in front of him now.  His soulmate.

Nie Huaisang smiles.  “Do you recognize me now?”

“I do!” Jiang Wanyin stands up, towering over Nie Huaisang.  Gods, he looks the same as he did when they first truly met.  The same freckles, the same hair.  But so, so different.  Yet still so beautiful, as he always is, as he always has been, as he always will be. Jiang Wanyin touches his love’s cheek, is immeasurably happy to find it warm.  “I missed you, my love.”

“I missed you, too, my love,” Nie Huaisang says, a crack in his voice despite the teasing smirk on his lips.  “Be careful not to be so mean next time I find you.”

Jiang Wanyin sighs.  “I’ll do my best.”

With a shared laugh, they kiss.  It’s like knowing eternity.  It’s like knowing satisfaction.

[stiltonbasket]

In another life, Lan Xichen spent eighteen years atoning for his sworn brother’s crimes in an effort to grant him a better fate in his next reincarnation.  

Two decades later, Jin Yun wakes into a much kinder world than the one that made Jin Guangyao.

This is another accompaniment to Twelve Moons and a Fortnight (catch me procrastinating on Chapter 16, I swear…) but you don’t need to read that first to get what’s going on. This fic is from the POV of Jin Guangyao, reincarnated about ten years after his death as Jin Chan’s son, Jin Yun (courtesy name Jin Zhuanglin) and brought up with his parents and Jin Ling’s family in Koi Tower until he goes to study in Gusu. I also gave Jin Chan the courtesy name Rushen, because he needed one and he belongs to the same generation as Jin Ling.

Jin Guangyao was reincarnated into a better life because Lan Xichen tried his best to atone for some of his crimes (by nearly giving his life in an attempt to heal Nie Mingjue, trying and failing to save Jin Rusong, healing and adopting A-Qing--who ended up blinded and nearly dead because JGY didn’t let Xue Yang face justice--and something else that won’t be mentioned at this time because Spoilers) in the hope that any good fortune he earned in this life could be transferred to Jin Guangyao instead.

Re: names and original characters, Jin Hong (courtesy name Jin Zhuangchun) is Jin Ling’s son, and Jin Xiu is his younger sister. Xinhua-jun is Wei Wuxian's marital title, since LQR thought it was inappropriate for the Chief Cultivator's husband not to have a respectable title of his own; it (roughly) means Lord of Joyous Flowers, and refers to the lotus lake Wei Wuxian set up in the woods behind the jingshi.  

WWX and LWJ are shamelessly married, and have two more (named) children after Sizhui: Lan Yu (courtesy name Lan Xiaohui) introduced in Twelve Moons and a Fortnight as a toddler, and Wei Shuilan, introduced as a baby in every morning beside you.

[becomestorm]

HEADCANON DUMP #8.

wow it’s been a hot minute since i’ve done one of these. a few of these have been recycled, expanded on, and taken off the headcanon masterlist as individual hcs.

#1. PRONOUNS.

ren didn’t start going by neutral pronouns until they were around thirteen or fourteen years of age. until that time, it was always he / him. due to ren being mute for a majority of their childhood, and most of their teen years, having only reached their level of communication skills a year or so before beacon, they never bothered to correct someone when they were mistaken for female or male, which was easier to do prior to puberty. they still wouldn’t do this now. if ren were to be mistaken for a female at this current time they still wouldn’t correct someone, because how they identify is no business of a stranger. their favoured pronouns are normally caught on depending on if nora uses them or not.

#2. BIRTHDAY.

ren never has, and most likely never will tell someone the exact date of their birthday. the reason li was returning home to kuroyuri was to celebrate the occasion with ren, whose birthday also happened to fall on the start of the mistrali spring equinox. the town was getting ready for a small festival, and it used to be ren’s favourite time of the year. it now happens to be the most devastating. those who are close with ren might, might find out eventually that ren’s birthday falls on the pisces - aries cusp, fittingly called the cusp of rebirth, as the lotus is associated with many, many tales surrounding reincarnation. i’m still fiddling around with my interpretations, but i believe ren’s moon sign is scorpio, and their ascending sign is capricorn. as for the exact date, i think even ren’s forgotten.

#3. FAVOURITE DESSERT.

their favourite dessert is popsicles. i’ve always imagined central mistral to have a somewhat warm climate, and though while living with the extended family ren had access to a multitude of different desserts they never found comfort in them. they found they loved the ice candy their mother made more, when in kuroyuri and they had to live by simpler means. she would freeze milk, with a little sugar, and that would be a treat for ren. or calamanci, with sugar, and water, and they enjoyed it through summer time. ren has fond memories of those days. just like with their juice habits, they’ve upped the ante with popsicle making now, so their home made ice candies are elaborate: roasted blackberry with matcha and coconut, edible flower and elderflower, cucumber watermelon with lime, cherry rose tea popsicles, etc. ren normally hates sweets and cannot ingest a lot of sugar, so this is one of the few things they’ll make exceptions for. the only other one being their grandmother’s white chocolate taro cookies ( as ordinarily white chocolate will make them sick. )

#4. SWEARING.

ren doesn’t swear very often. especially in the common tongue. their swearing is limited to moments of extremely high distress, or shocking moments of comedic timing. sometimes, they even swear to prove a point. it doesn’t feel particularly wrong to him, even though as someone who grew up on behavioural lessons it should, ren can say words like “fuck” with ease it’s just that they rarely get angry or passionate enough to use it. just like their words, they feel that swear words are better used to illustrate a point, and they’re more effective if you use them sparingly. i can only think of one instance where ren has said “fucking” in a thread and it was due to unsolicited touching of their person ( “don’t fucking touch me.” ), as they are extremely wary of people touching them without permission. ren swears just a tad more when speaking in their mother tongue, but even still, it’s not by a lot. i’ve probably written this somewhere before, but the most common reasons they use foul language in the common tongue: 1. quoting someone / 2. adamantly fighting against the use of swear jars / 3. you darn fucked up, and now they’re furious / 4. sinning.

#5. DENTAL HYGIENE.

ren’s canines and fangs are pointier than normal human teeth, so they often carry around floss. the feeling of having something stuck in their teeth frustrates them to no end. on top of that, they were taught to take special care of their dragon faunus teeth, as not only was ren afraid of the dentist and wanted to limit their visits as much as possible, but it’s quite easy to go astray when taking care of dragon mouth parts, considering there are canine, fang, venom reservoir, spark pouch, tongue, gums, all parts which could be subject to bad diseases should something go wrong with one element. because of their dental hygiene, ren tends to avoid foods like fruit roll ups, things with seeds in them, most chewy candy, chips. they always have mints on them too, and are a fan of the cinnamon flavoured ones. it doesn’t matter if they’re chewy or hard, ren will crush them regardless. dragon teeth are worth a lot on the black market, another semi-magical aspect which made ren a target when they were younger.

#6. LEARNED BEHAVIOUR.

there are still a lot of tendencies that ren learned growing up from behavioural lessons, and observing their father. even though the actions sometimes aren’t noticed because of ren’s dismissive attitude, or maybe their sarcasm, or stand-off-ishness, and occasionally socially awkward tendencies, but ren still often conducts themselves as a gentleman. they carry a handkerchief, they open doors for other people, they’ll offer their jacket if they have one, they’re always on time, ren rises when who they’re expecting comes into the room, they will compliment bluntly and often, they pull out chairs, gives up their seat, they have impeccable manners, they’re observant, they dress well, take care of their things, remain humble, and kind. i know it’s often lost among ren’s hostilities, and strange habits, but there are some habits which are hard to break. it’s harder to notice these things when you’re a friend though, because they tend to loosen up around those closer. this is the kind of behaviour associated with strangers, and datemates.

#7. ARGUMENTATIVE.

it’s difficult to argue with ren. if you do, make sure you know what you’re talking about, because ren likes to be right about things, and they will literally keep arguing until you despise them. if you get them speaking about something they’re passionate about, or when they’re angry ( where they are more likely to play devil’s advocate, and still win ), whether it be about politics, religion, strategies, philosophies, morals, history, scenarios, it will be difficult to get them to shut up until the other party gives up or concedes defeat. although, it is somewhat difficult to get ren into this heated, argumentative state. not many know of ren’s ridiculous stubbornness. the circumstances are different if the fight is personal, but you’ll be hard pressed to get ren to admit they’re sorry, even when they do see an error in their ways.

#8. LACK OF LABELS.

because ren “mates for life”, they’re never really aware of their own sexuality. they choose one person, and then they’re done. i say mate for life because even if they leave ren, or if that partner happened to pass away at a relatively young age, ren will never fall in love again. i can’t see them doing it. i can’t see them healing from the one instance, and i can see them being content to remain alone from that point on. because of a lack of romantic or sexual experimentation, ren never really finds out what their sexual or romantic orientation is. they can make rough guesses, but when asked they’ll probably shrug. there are many that can tell what their orientation is whether they’ve had experience or not, but ren is not that kind of person. so even though i know that ren is ( probably ) grey - a / demipansexual demipanromantic / lithromantic / possibly aro ??? — so they’re somewhere on this spectrum okay ?! ( i know, i’m still not very sure myself, even after all this time ) ren never really knows themselves. they don’t care either. in verses besides main verse, when ren falls in love, they become wholly devoted, which also makes it hard to place ren in poly relationships because they need to feel the same level of trust and attraction to two people without their possessive, envious tendencies getting in the way.