People keep asking me for Soonwoo fic recommendations and I always end up leaving something out, so I'm here to bring you a comprehensive list of all the stuff I ended up really loving.

These are all AO3 recommendations, and some are locked only to registered users. Please note this.

Also even if I provide summaries and my personal opinions, kindly observe each individual fics' tags and warnings. I will not be able to list them all. Everything after the first category is in alphabetical order, personal absolute favorites are marked (★).

pioneers (classics you should never forget)

• wanna rumble, city boy? by idolrapper (wonwoo) // t, 2.6k, college au, 5 times soonyoung almost kills wonwoo // the first soonwoo fic ever; wonderful hilarious iconic, an must read for every soonwoo.
• stranger than earth by orphan_account // m, 6k, college au, soonyoung meets his new mailbox neighbor, and then some // this is just, so funny and so typical of the college experience please.
• two steps farther/one step closer by orphan_account // t, 2.4k, un(?)requited pining, soonyoung and wonwoo grow closer/grow apart // this is poignant and heartbreaking and thought-provoking, all at once. the format is so unique and tells so many stories beyond what you read.
• bloom&blossom by faerieHosh // g, 2.8k, high school and floral shop au, wonwoo works at his family's flower shop and soonyoung is a constant visitor // this is so quietly sweet and high school crushie and everything wonderful.
• ★ gymnopedie by aishiteita // t, 9.2k, friends to lovers au, soonyoung and wonwoo have issues, but they also have each other // this could be my favorite soonwoo fic ever, because at the core of it it's about how these two love each other, as friends and as more. this was the first longfic in the soonwoo tag, so it's a definite must-read for everyone.

real talk (it is what it is - slice of life, realism)

• all flowers in time bend towards the sun by markrenton // t, 3.7k, nine times wonwoo doesn't realize he's in love with soonyoung and one time he does // well i am always here for every 'x times' fic especially when it's soft and soonwoo like this.
• chroma by fruitcakes // t, 4.2k, friends to lovers au // the structure of wonwoo getting to know soonyoung and falling in love with him through various colors is just gorgeous.
• coquelicot by bwoozi // m, 7.8k, friends to lovers au, wonwoo has a chronic illness, but soonyoung is always by his side // this is not an easy thing to read about but it's beautiful and poignant and sweet and heartwrenching. i love this so very much.
• dots & lines by bwoozi // t, 7.4k, friends to lovers au // we might never get the lines part of this story but the dots part is just as wonderful and i love the way soonwoo circle around each other but ultimately draw the straight line between each other in the end.
• gestalt principles by minshuas // t, 16.1k, strangers to friends to lovers au // i love this twist on the artist and his muse trope, and the way soonie navigates through the murky waters of unrequited affections and discovering new love is just really moving.
• home by jungwoos // t, 2.2k, childhood friends and reuniting years later au // this is quiet and sweet and sad for a little bit, until it's not.
• if it ain't chickens, it's feathers by bwoozi // t, 6.6k, farmboys au // this is one of the most iconic soonwoos for good reason?? it's just so funny and quaint and heart-tugging and they're just tiny boys who raise animals and crops and love each other so much what is there not to love tbh?
• let's discuss: between the lines by fruitcakes // t, 2.9k, friends to lovers au // oh this is a great one, with all the metaphors that come with the realization of being in love with your best friend. the payoff is brilliant, even for those who don't get a person's love affair with books.
• meet me there by coupsd (cycloids) // e, 7.5k, road trip au, soonyoung and wonwoo are exes on a road trip // this is just everything -- the hurt, the denial, the delusion, the yearning, the history shared and the hope that they can start over. i love these two boys and i hope they worked things out ;; also the format of this is soooooo god damn good holy shit, the multimedia really gives it so much dimension.
• not a piece of cake by fruitcakes // t, 7k, friends to lovers au // this is soooooooo sweet and so good and all the indulgent and delectable cake mentions are only a part of what makes this fic so good.
• one two four by kokiri // m, 12k (ongoing), roommate au // this is tagged meanie and soonwoo but read it just for the brilliant writing AND because soonwoo are idiotic yet adoring best friends.
• our house (is a very, very, very fine house) by markrenton // e, 16.8k, record shop au, soonyoung loves classic rock, and he meets wonwoo, who does too // just the meld of music and soonwoo is so very good. i am LOVE it. (full disclosure: i beta'd this)
• peace & quiet by nikospyrr // t, 828w, thieves au // it's a juggernaut of a drabble, and the imagery and camaraderie and stories told in less than a thousand words are just testaments to the author's skill.
• rebound (v.) by bwoozi // t, 5.5k, past seoksoon/wonhui, soonyoung and wonwoo get over their respective breakups by moving in together // this just gets me in the gut, how these two help each other heal while nurturing something new. absolutely wonderful.
• ★ reinventing the flightless bird by triggerswaggiehavoc // t, 9.1k, high school au, soonyoung become friends and he teaches wonwoo how to make origami paper cranes // *screams* this is just a beautiful study in quietly but surely developing a strangers to friends to more dynamic that i am a huge sucker for. this is a gift to me, and i'm always so grateful for it.
• the river winding by nikospyrr // g, 3.3k, past wonshua, fake dating au, secret pining // there is so much unresolved and desperate yearning in this fic i'm just a mess about it. it's so so so so good, you just want them to kiss already. please kiss.
• stop me if you think you've heard this one before by kokiri // t, 1.1k, ambiguous relationships // just very good and very real and very them.
• tempest by egostorm // m, 17k, high school au, wonwoo yearns for freedom and then he meets soonyoung // this bad boy soonyoung is everything to me also all the interactions here???? i love??? wonwoo's thought process here is so good tho, please appreciate.
• ustumah by kokiri // t, 4k, small town childhood friends // the wistfulness of a bigger life and the nostalgia of a small town life lived are so good and so strong here; every word in this piece is just a gift and i love what little we have of this fic desperately.

all the soft and fluffy romcom things

• 12th place by takoyaki // t, 1.9k, idolverse au, svt is asked about first kisses // this is sweet and adorable, i love nerdy babies.
• baby you don't have to worry by saythefuckingname // g, 620w, wonwoo will do anything for soonyoung // this is just a really sweet and lovely little fic.
• blanket by cravatty (averyblue) // g, 1.2k, implied college bfs // god this is so sweet and so soft and i love the notion of wonwoo stressing out over an essay and soonie sticking by him to make sure he doesn't keel over.
• cold hands / warm heart by wandr // t, 2.9k, boyhood friends soonwoo // the sweetest little confession fic, done over koolaid and video games.
• dirty dirty by idolrapper (wonwoo) // m, 2.7k, idolverse au, soonyoung and wonwoo do laundry // this is just sheer BOY.
• the final mission by orphan_account // g, 1.7k, soonyoung loves dogs, and is dating wonwoo, who hates dogs // this is just cute and precious please i love a good fluff piece like this.
• floriography (you're my orange blossom) by itsnotgillian // t, 4.4k, floral shop/painter au, soonyoung speaks with flowers, wonwoo speaks with paint // this was a gift to me and it continues to be a gift to me because it's precious and adorable.
• i got to tell you (what's up) by herzen // t, 6k, friends to lovers au // this is just full of miscommunication and unspoken feelings and just BOYS specifically soonwoo being the best and the worst. so very funny, i love it so much.
• messier 31 (all of the above) by bwoozi // g, 4.7k, astrophotographer au // god this is so sweet and soft and the lines here are simply iconic i love this version of soonwoo so very much.
• ★ to write about love by jaekyu // t, 6.7k, bakery au, soonyoung owns a vegan bakery and wonwoo is a writer with writer's block // this category was invented for the level of soft this fic attains. it is my ultimate feel good read; i will never get over the soft kissing in this fic never ever ever.
• this one time at band camp (i finally got the guy) by woozdum // t, 12.4k, marching band au, soonyoung pines but wonwoo is oblivious... or is he? // oh my god this is truly one of my favorites it has teenage pining and angst and emotions and banter and there's lots of girls to join in on the shenanigans but the most important part of this is soonyoung being obsessed with wonwoo's abs because we all need that.
• way back home by seungsols // t, 5k, college au, wonwoo always meets soonyoung at night and always ends up giving him a ride home // this is... drag queen soonie and quietly enamored and non-judgy wonwoo it's just /everything to me/ i love soonie in drag ;;

magical realism, adventures, science, and stuff

• a thousand years' promise by tolmeanie // t, 13.7k, kitsune au // i have a soft spot for kitsune stuff and i just love the way they whole story and mythology of this piece unfolds it's just so very anime and i'm a sucker for it.
• ★ capita mortua by xumyuho // e, 12.5k, dystopia/cage fighting au, wonwoo is a cage fighter and soonyoung is a former child soldier // this is everything to me; one of the most well-developed and clever aus i've ever encountered, some of the most sophisticated and intricate worldbuilding and that's not even /touching/ the amazing and delicate soonwoo here. really, a must.
• ★ daucus carota by aishiteita // t, 4.3k, personification as nature au, soonyoung is the new forest and wonwoo is winter // there are no words for how much i love this fic, and how much i want to make this into a feature length animated film. i can't think of forests without bursting into tears, real talk. so good. so very good.
• hot and heavy by herzen // t, 555w, vampire!soonyoung // it's short but so good. soonyoung is a vampire. isn't that enough incentive??
• how to make an old-fashioned by coupsd (cycloids) // t, 8.6k, past wonhan, bartender au, wonwoo invites bad luck everywhere he goes // oh this is just wonderful and lyrical and pieced together beautifully also the magical realism is so subtle and poignant i'm in love. also please appreciate the /art/ thank you.
• the methods i do best by habitualwords // g, 3k, hogwarts au // this is just the cutest hogwarts au soonwoo and to top it all off they makeout in the astronomy tower isn't that just!!!!!! everything you ever wanted??
• shadowy flames by milkvan // t, 600w, villains!soonwoo // the imagery is just really wonderful.
• ★ these insistences by coupsd (cycloids) // e, 4k, little mermaid au // this is just a piece of art. just sheer art. i have never deserved anything this beautiful in my life but i'll take it.
• western sky by kwonsoonday //

bring on the sads or the dark (but with a happy ending please) (or not)

• alone / with you by minshuas // t, 10.5k, mentions of abuse and domestic violence // this is such a tender and moving story told through the years between two best friends who love each other deeply, and how one is hurt and how he recovers.
• boltzmann by aishiteita // t, 14k, sequel to gymnopedie // this feels like having your heart ripped out of your chest but in the best way possible. so very sad but also so very good.
• goodbye, my star in the sky by saythefuckingname // t, 4.1k, married!soonwoo, a look at their marriage through the eyes of wonwoo // this is part fluff but the minor character death here (tagged) makes me want to put it in the angst section.
• icarus / falling for the sun by minshuas // g, 6.7k, soonwoo meet at a community center // honestly the feelings of trying to get over someone are captured so well in this piece; it may be dramatic but it's real at least to me it is. i love the love story here.
• in every universe by aishiteita // t, 1.2k, unrequited fwb // this is so real but also so sad but ultimately so good i love feeling like i want to claw out my heart with a spoon.
• run when no one's looking by aishiteita // t, 5.5k, ambiguous relationships au // this is just so good but also frustrating because why can't you two just work out at the same time *shakes the both of them and cries* the way this is written though, classic ao3 user aishiteita, always breaking my heart in the best way possible.
• violent delights by peach25 // e, 3.4k, warning: please observe the tags // this is really really dark and really different from the usual soonwoo dynamic but it's very intriguing and well-written tbqh, but really. there's a lot of warnings in the tags for a reason. please observe them carefully.
• when cherry blossoms fade by saythefuckingname // t, 3.9k (ongoing), hanahaki disease au // this is quietly devastating.

the filth (pwp)

• few and far between by orphan_account // e, 1.3k, soonwoo+mingyu sort of // aptly entitled the cyber threesome from hell.
• play ball by aishiteita // e, 2.3k, friends to lovers au // this is chock-full of nsfw soonwoonet jokes and also ridiculousness that borders on crack and it's just the best thing ever i love everyone in this bar i love babe why do you taste salty 5ever.
• you know by saythefuckingname // e, 2.3k, teacher and t.a. au, wonwoo is a sexy professor and soonyoung is a mature consenting teaching assistant // yeah... what you're thinking. yeah.
• you nah mean? by saythefuckingname // e, 1.1k, wonwoo has a tattoo kink but only on soonyoung // this also feels self-explanatory.