Uffish Thought

August was too hot to live and weirdly stressful, so I've only got a handful of new stories plus a whole lot of my favorite tropes (so much amnesia!) and fic from fandoms I'm technically not in.

NEW STUFF

I Got My Head Checked by @frostbitebakery​ (Star Wars, Cody/Obi-Wan)

Below the observation deck, the Marshal Commander of the Third Systems Army is being divested of his armor and weapons, shackles heavy on his wrists. He doesn’t struggle, only a mulish stubborn twist to his jaw showing his displeasure at the situation.

Obi-Wan opens his eyes, steps back from the observation window. “I need a week.”

OR: In which Cody wasn’t trained for a Sith sliding into a moral dilemma because of him.

So apparently I AM weak for a Sith!AU when it's an amazing enemies-to-lovers with a redemption arc? Awesome story with beautiful art by the author. It's written in an unusual vignette format that might not be for everyone, but I thought it let the author cover a wide ensemble and scope of story and tonal shifts very effectively.

To the Letter by glimmerglanger (Star Wars, Cody/Obi-Wan)

“How you feeling, sir?” he asked, eyeing his General. They’d, at least, managed to all evac back to the shuttles without losing anyone, leaving the noxious-smelling laboratory where they’d found a pack of Seppy scientists working on new biological weapons behind.

“I’ll be fine, Commander,” Obi-Wan said, without opening his eyes, his voice thick and hoarse. “But comm ahead, would you, and make sure the medics are ready for me.”

OR, the one were Obi-Wan gets dosed with an especially nasty toxin, and Cody helps him survive the following hours.

The first chapter of this story was originally a standalone that I remember thinking was incredibly hot but emotionally unresolved, but glimmerglanger just posted a second chapter where Cody gets into a mirrored situation and it really balances out the whole piece.

Hear a song this deeply by so_shhy (The Untamed, Wangxian)

Lan Zhan’s new liaison at the Caiyi Municipal Cultivation Department is an enigma – ridiculously talented, yet somehow content with mopping up spiritual pests for barely above minimum wage. Wei Ying is slapdash and irresponsible, and Lan Zhan doesn’t like him at all… but then he meets A-Yuan, who loves music and longs for a piano his father can’t afford.

Forced into cautious friendship by a four-year-old's music lessons, Lan Zhan soon realises Wei Ying is more than he seems. The single father is a man of many secrets – including, perhaps, the key to Lan Zhan's life's work. And in the meantime, the background resentment in Caiyi Town is rising to dangerous levels…

I've already recced this by reblogging the fic notice, but it's so great! Plot and romance and feels all well-balanced and creative, with adorable kid content, plus I loved Lan Zhan's research into reconstructing musical cultivation, the modern cultivation worldbuilding generally, and the Lan brothers dynamic.

More tropey recs under the cut!

A bit late this month since I had to send my computer off for repairs (RIP my stickers, but at least it was mostly cosmetic damage), but I made it! I'm putting the 7 Star Wars fics of various pairings above the cut, and the 5 miscellaneous fandoms (Nirvana in Fire, Life 2005, Lord Peter, The Untamed, Our Flag Means Death) underneath.

STAR WARS

Cody/Obi-Wan

Worth a Thousand Words by @glimmerglanger

“You need to show him what you have to offer,” Fives said, which sounded shockingly like relevant advice. Cody blinked over at him.

“What?” he asked, because, honestly, he’d take any advice he could get, at this point. The war had been over for nearly six months, and he’d made no progress on his own.

Fives slammed back a shot of his own and then--kind of leered over. “You need to give him a look at the goods,” he said, and then, pointedly, dipped his gaze down.

OR, the one where Cody takes some very bad advice and has to deal with the consequences.

*wheezing with laughter* AKA the one where Cody sends a dick pic. Post-war, no Order 66, very funny and sweet. Also, it didn't really hit my embarrassment squick despite being tagged for that, because it's not mean-spirited about it, and has some good perspective about how there's a huge gap between the clones' life experience and their socialization for things outside of fighting a war.

Strong Bones by missmollyetc

We must all start as we mean to go on.

Triptych of stories about Obi-Wan and Cody set post-Order 66, with absolutely GORGEOUS prose. The first two will break your heart (especially #2, how DARE), but the last one will gently patch it.

Din/Luke

Blood Ties by scheidwrites

A few things are slightly different, which means everything is different. Boba and Fennec arrive just a bit later, Din takes his jetpack back up to the temple, and so he and the child are both taken prisoner by the Empire.

Fascinating AU and a lovely h/c series that deserves a lot more hits than it currently has.

Pragmatics by Derkish

Admittedly, this is not the first time Luke has wound up at someone else’s kitchen table in someone else’s clothes. But it’s not breakfast, Luke’s not an undergrad scarfing down bacon and eggs to cure the common hangover, and Din doesn’t strike him as the kind of guy he’d meet at a house party. The baby is definitely a first.

Luke is a grad student trying to finish his linguistics PhD after an unexpected leave of absence. His neighbor, Din, is a single dad and delivery guy at Pizza Parsec. (Actually, Pizza Parsec is just a front for the bounty hunters' guild. But Luke doesn't need to know that.)

Fantastic modernish AU that hit the sweet spot for me regarding Luke being a emotional mess with disaster family issues but ALSO a very smart and competent person in his field. I also really enjoyed how the Skywalker family drama was translated into this setting.

A Warrior Dance by twoseas

Luke reacts strangely to Din’s bared face and an overheard conversation leads the Mandalorian to believe the Jedi thinks he’s ugly. Things spiral out of control from there.

Featuring Mandalorian combat without armor, Han and Leia being a little into Din, and Luke being so much into Din he accidentally makes him think he’s unattractive.

This one has been widley recced already, but I finally read it and it's just as charming as promised without the secondhand-embarrassment I feared.

Obi-Wan/Anakin

if i only knew by wanderlove

Newly knighted Obi-Wan Kenobi and his padawan, Anakin Skywalker, have been sent to Ryloth on a simple diplomatic envoy. While there, an unsettling incident causes Obi-Wan to look at Anakin in a new light and re-evaluate...everything.

The Galaxy will never be the same.

aka: "come for the obikin, stay for the tzai and deep emotional discussions that dismantle every single misunderstanding in the prequels."

Very satisfying fix-it AU on many levels, with lots of time and detailed work on building their relationship in a healthier way.

More recs below!