#leia princess of alderaan is a fucking treasure

[graciecatfamilyband]

leia organa doesn’t go on dates, leia engages potential lovers in political subterfuge and what happens happens

#leia princess of alderaan is a fucking treasure #why did no one tell me?!??! #(they did tell me i just usually don't like star wars books so i ignored them) #leia organa

[atamascolily]

Extremely subjective opinions about Star Wars planets

Inspired by @carmarthenfan. I did my top ten faves, and then gave up trying to put these in order, so they're literally in the order they occurred to me.

(This is not conclusive; I left a bunch out. There are a lot of Star Wars planets, y’all.)

1. Tatooine.

Iconic. Terrible place to live. Great place for making your characters suffer. Who cares that the ecology makes no sense when you have wide open spaces, exposed rock layers and salt flats, and a rockin' aesthetic? Not to mention wretched hives of scum and villainy and also, like, ACTUAL DRAGONS.

(Thesis: literally half of what makes ANH so compelling is that it's set on Tatooine.)

2. Yavin IV (Legends)

AKA Jedi Jungle Friendship Camp or Space Guatemala. If I was going to live anywhere in the GFFA, it'd be here. Temple ruins (even if they are infested with Sith ghosts), hot springs, rainforests, biodiversity, awesome eclipses and a giant blood-red gas giant constantly overhead, not much in the way of development... what's not to like? (Okay, the Sith ghosts are a problem, but they got rid of those eventually.)

3. "Forest moon" of Endor, ROTJ

Redwood forests are awesome. I'd totally live in an Ewok treehouse. They're the only place in the galaxy with handrails!!

4. Coruscant

I'd probably hate to live there, but it's a great setting for fic. A surprisingly large amount of wildlife and plant life, despite the rampant development. Epic architecture, lots of culture, Luke has a cool retreat in the Manarai Mountains and Han and Kyp go skiing at the poles. Home of "the room where it happens".  

(most of my fics to date are set on Tatooine, Yavin or Coruscant, lol)

5. Alderaan

Too bad the Empire blew it up. :( IDK about the whole Killik business, but Space Switzerland seems great, and I'd live there in a heartbeat. An actual multi-biome world, wow! I should write more fics about this place.

6. Myrkr (Legends)

Jungle planet with metallic trees and furry, Force-repelling lizards. Also giant vornskrs that use the Force to hunt. Don't forget Talon Karrde's awesome tree base!

7. Dagobah

I love this place, even if living there would be a challenge. Actually kinda has a functioning ecology in canon. Love the sheer abundance of snakes, plus dragonsnakes and the mangrove-like gnarltrees, which are the adult form of giant white spiders (I love plant-animal weirdness like this).

8. Mulako Comet (Legends)

Not technically a planet, but how can you not love a resort carved out of a giant frozen comet HOW. 10/10, we stan. The perfect place for a romantic getaway, especially if you are a water nerd like Luke.

9. Vjun (Legends)

The Gothiest goth place ever to Goth. Has names like "River Weeping" and carnivorous moss that nibbles on Obi-wan. <3. Vader's Goth castle was originally here before the writers moved it to Mustafar.

10. Honoghr (Legends)

Another terrible place to live, thanks to the Empire's sabotage, but I love there's actually an attempt at an ecological plot line here (Timothy Zahn is surprisingly good at those). A single biome world, but for a legit (and sad) reason. I should write some fics about this place.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Corellia (Legends) - It's okay, I guess? I'm not sure how I feel about the Corellian trilogy in general, but there are some things with the Selonians and the Drall that could be interesting for fic? Also, Treasure Ship Row is cool.  

Kessel (Legends) - Hell-realm. Not sure if Kevin J. Anderson's "glitterstim" is the same as "spice," but Han and Kyp have to fight off giant spiders in the dark underground mine, which is certainly dramatic. Had a moon until a prototype Death Star blew it up.

Ithor (Legends) - JUNGLE PLANET POPULATED BY BOTANY NERDS, SIGN ME THE FUCK UP. But they won't let you actually explore the surface, because it's sacrilege. :(

Belsavis (Legends) - Hoth on the surface, Yavin in the rift valleys (but with, like, plantations), plus underground tunnels full of monsters and Jedi artifacts. Home of a secret Jedi botany master and his plant friends, so I'm in favor.

Chad (Legends) - Mostly ocean planet--I guess Space Earthsea, but with more geological activity? Callista makes it sound dreamy and idyllic in her flashbacks, but all the native Chadra-Fan are trying to GTFO, so I dunno.

Nam Chorios (Legends) -Like Tatooine, I would probably hate living there, but it's a great setting for a fic. The perpetual twilight would get old fast, but I love the terraformed ecology, the sentient rocks and the Force storms. Drochs are super creepy, though.

Hijarna (Legends) - There are ruins and sweeping vistas. What can I say, Karrde knows how to pick a secret base. :)

Dathomir (Legends) - Rancors have to be native to somewhere, so why not Dathomir? Courtship of Princess Leia is hokey and weird as all get-out, but it did give us Teneniel Djo, and I love her.

Hapes (Legends) -100% better at you than everything, and they know it. Leave them to it.

Yavin 8 (Legends) - Giant snakes and giant eagles... who literally eat children. Kinda weird being in a place where humanoids are on the bottom of the food chain. Love the Melodies' amphibious lifestyle, though.

Wayland (Legends) - Endor with the serial numbers filed off. Still love it, though. And Palpatine built a lair in a giant mountain! Props to him.

Ryloth (Legends) - sounds like an actual hell realm, but a desert planet? One half in perpetual sun, one half in perpetual darkness, and only a very narrow habitable zone? I’m game.

Msst (Legends) - Terrible, if accurate, name. All we ever see is the eponymous mist, plus giant pink creatures that numb you with poison and devour you alive.  Brakiss's home planet. No wonder he hates everything. On the plus side, his mom got to see Luke Skywalker naked, so good for her.

Kashyyyk - TREE WORLD, WE GO HARD (part II). Except I don't think the Wookiees have handrails, do they?

Hoth - Ice, ice, baby. Ecology makes no sense; it's a fucking glacier. I would hate living there, but I've read so many fluff fics about snowfall fights and sex in X-wings and supply closets that I feel a kind of fondness for it.

Byss (Legends) - Dark. Hidden. Secret. Goth as fuck. I like it. Exegol, but with more class.

Ahch-To - Skellig Michael is great, but too recognizable as itself to really be a good stand-in for somewhere else. Puffins are better than porgs. Great place to hide, but I stand by my claims that the Jedi order could not have arisen there. Love the aesthetic. The Caretakers deserved way better!  

Naboo - Space Italy. Would definitely live there. Closest thing we see to Dinotopia in the GFFA. (Tell me Theed isn't Waterfall City!)

Kef Bir - why not just let the original forest moon have multiple biomes? It's okay to have multiple-biome worlds, I promise, we wont get confused. Epic sweeping grasslands, steep cliffs, massive waves. I love what little we see of it.

Crait - you're going to film a Star War on the Bolivian salt flats and NOT make an epic dream sequence with the night sky reflected on the salt?? What. Hoth with red dust. Crystal foxes look like Vulpix from Pokemon, and I like them.

Ilum - cool ice planet gets turned into planet-destroying superweapon and blown up. Not a fan.

Bespin - I don't know about the ecology, but 10/10 for aesthetics.

Nal Hutta / Nar Shaddaa - Ecological disaster. Gross and full of Hutts.

Niraun (Legends) - I don't like caves and that's pretty much all we see. Especially if those caves are filled with carnivorous hordes of Space Army Ants.

Gamorr (Legends) - "Procedures programs for visiting Gamorr consist of a single line: DO NOT VISIT GAMORR. Really!” Especially do not visit in the season known as "slushtime".

Af'El (Legends) - I know very little about it, but it seems cool? "The Dark World". Home planet of the "wraiths" (Defel) and the homunculus wasps.  

Kijimi - "Disneyworld with space facism". Swirling snow and stone looks cool at night. Too bad that fight scene was such a mess. 

Takodana - it's the English Lake District, I'm never going to be able to suspend my disbelief to believe it's anything else.

D'Qar / Ajan Kloss - Yavin IV knockoffs. If you want me to care, you're gonna have to give me something better.

Exegol -  this “planet” is just a CGI soundstage with a floating pyramid/arena whatever, and lightning. Weather instantly improved when Palpatine died, which strongly suggested he liked it that way. Knockoff Byss.

Mustafar - Literal hell-realm. Lava does not work like that. And apparently, ROTS insists it also has snow and trees, which seems like a little too late.

Canto Bight - you'd think people with that much money would have a better-looking planet. ughhhh.

#star wars #ecology #fictional natural history #fic ideas

[pacificwanderer]

I was tagged by the wonderful @josskuhh (I love your SW edits to death).

Rules: Write your ten favourite female characters from ten different fandoms and tag ten different people. (HAHAHAHAHAHA I’m the worst for tagging, so like consider yourself tagged if you’re into this kind of thing).

In no particular order (literally as I think of them):

1. LEIA FUCKING ORGANA. - (Princess of Alderaan, Queen of Star Wars and my heart).

2. Bastila Shan - KotOR, Star Wars (wife)

3. Yennefer of Vengerberg - The Witcher (also my wife and soulmate).

4. Tifa Lockhart - Final Fantasy VII (the girlfriend I never forgot).

5. Usagi Tsukino - Sailor Moon (Goddess and savior).

6. Faye Valentine - Cowboy Bebop (ex that I’m still head over heels in love with).

7. Rosa Diaz - Brooklyn 99 (TLF).

8. Sophie Hatter - Howl’s Moving Castle (ME).

9. Sarah (Richards????? LOL OLD FANDOM HC) - Labyrinth (eternal heroine).

10. Molly Grue - The Last Unicorn (Molly. I love Molly so much. She makes me laugh and cry and cry and cry: “How dare you come to me now, when I am this?”)

This was fun! So many wonderful characters that I treasure! Thanks for the tag @josskuhh

#tag game #tag you're it #things I'm tagged in

[executeness]

I was wearing shimmery purple-silver lipstick called “Galaxy” yesterday but, while I did sleep in my clothes, I didn’t sleep in my lipstick. Cosmetic glitter on my face, craft glitter combed into my mohawk and buzz, “shimmer mist” on my arms that barely added shine but made me REEK of blackberry vanilla. I considered wearing my “If You Think I’m Crazy, You Should Meet My Friends” shirt w/ rainbow sparkly letters but ultimately settled on my treasured Baby-8 (glow in the dark, btw).

In honor of Star Wars but especially in honor of Carrie Fisher. Our Lady of Glitter and Resilience. Patron saint of all us mentally ill, fucked-up kids just trying to find hope and a way to be okay. Our flamethrower in the darkness.

And, though far be it from me to conflate an actress with her character, for a young ambassador from Alderaan, daring and determined and defiant. For Princess Leia, Huttslayer. For General Organa, leader of the resistance. For the daughter of a Sith lord who came face-to-face with the Dark Side and walked unswervingly into the Light.

For the woman who said “If it wasn’t funny, it’d just be true.” So I don’t know about you, but yesterday and today and tomorrow, I’m going to go out in the world and I’m going to glitter and I’m going to LAUGH. Do it for Space Mom. #DoItForCarrie.

And though I’m posting a day late, May the Fourth be with you.

( @thebibliosphere )

#nonnie 101: face the music #doitforcarrie #maythe4thbewithyou #glitter it up

[graciecatfamilyband]

Leia, Princess of Alderaaan Review*

*Really just a mixture of my thoughts/impressions/feelings. Way too long. 

Note: So, after almost a year of “defending” certain choices made in Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray, I decided to actually read the darn thing. It might surprise people to hear I hadn’t yet, since in some ways I was a very vocal “supporter.” The truth is, I usually don’t enjoy Star Wars books very much, and prefer whatever I or my fellow fans make up instead, so I was never particularly interested. When the “controversy” hit, I never “defended” it out of any attachment to the book or its author, but out of a belief that most of the storytelling choices that were decried as out-of-character were actually legitimate possibilities for Leia’s history either in this book or in fanfiction stories, regardless of whether or not they were a part of anyone’s personal canon. It was entirely possible that LPOA itself was out-of-character trash. Based on the excerpts and summaries and spoilers I’d read to engage with the criticisms of it, it did not seem to me that it was- but I hadn’t read it, so I couldn’t definitively say. If it were trash, though, the fact that Leia speaks to people her own age or had a boyfriend (also her own age) weren’t to me among the reasons why. And that in particular is what I was so vocal about.  

Finally, however, I figured if I was gonna go down in fandom history as one of the people who “supported” LPOA, I might as well actually read it and find out whether or not I actually liked it.

I’m so glad I did. I liked it *immensely.* Far beyond what I would have thought.

Here’s the TL;DR version, and then I’ll post a more detailed gushing review under the cut. Spoilers included. 

1. It is as much a political thriller as it was a coming of age novel. Which is exactly my jam. 🙏🏻 I knew every major plot point going into it, and it still somehow left me dying to know what would happen next. Sure, it’s written at a “young adult” level so it’s not incredibly “advanced” as a “political thriller” goes- but it got the job done much better than I thought it could have. (And for a YA political thriller, I think it is actually incredibly advanced.) I had SO MUCH FUN reading it. SO MUCH. 

2. It was practically perfect as a “prequel”. It managed to do its own thing without “stepping“ on the original trilogy at all. The backstory for Leia is good, plausible, in-character, and manages to allow her to grow (essential for a coming-of-age novel) while leaving tons of room for the character growth we see in the OT. It inevitably won’t be everyone’s personal backstory for Leia, and that’s okay. But I couldn’t find anything that wasn’t a legitimate, sensible possibility. 

3. It captured this stage of Leia’s development so well, which it turns out is something that’s really important to me. 

Leia was to me the perfect balance of intelligent/well-educated/innovative/tenacious and still learning the ropes as a political player. Navigating a tyrannical government and wrestling with how to respond in a way that is likely to be effective is something almost every character in this book wrestles with (save characters like Tarkin), and Leia engages with it on a level that is sophisticated even though it’s also age-appropriate. I knew a couple more things than the Leia of this book, but that’s understandable- I am much older than she is in this book, and if she knew everything already, there would be no development, no story, and indeed, there would have been no childhood for her. She is coming out of childhood in this book and learning as much as she can, and it’s just so…. appropriate, believable, wonderful. And she’s no fool; she knows a LOT, she was well and duly educated in her childhood, and she pieces together things very quickly. (I must say, she’s also much braver and more ballsy than I, which is also in-character.) 

I also loved the way the book handled the changing attachment/relationship to one’s parents and the anxiety and distress that comes with that (especially when one has had a close relationship to one’s parents) in adolescence. I loved how that resolves as both the young adult and their parents learn to have a new, more adult-to-adult relationship. (It also fit my headcanon of the Organas being a loving and close-knit family, which I deeply enjoyed.) 

I love how the book allowed Leia to start building much closer relationships with same-age peers, and that this was both a part of her learning to separate from her parents and define herself (not to become the same as any of her peers but to learn from them and accept certain ideas and reject others) as well as a part of her laying the foundations for the coming civil war (after all, they are going to need as many allies as they can get). 

This is probably my favorite thing about it, because I am a nerd interested in and care about adolescent development. I don’t think I’ve ever read a Star Wars book that cared as much about character, character development and growth, and psychological motivations, which is why I enjoyed it so thoroughly, especially as compared to other SW books.

5. I could not recommend it more highly. 

Spoiler-y unnecessary ramblings under the cut. 

More Things I Loved About It 

Leia loves storms. YAS.

We get to see Leia spearheading her first (legitimate) diplomatic missions!!!! And doing things on her own for the first time as an Apprentice Legislator (rather than simply as her father’s intern)!!!! And learning to exercise leadership with people who’ve known her since she was a kid! And fucking up in very understandable ways- ways that don’t infantalize her, but are normal for a young politician learning to navigate her way through this political terrain with limited information, and sometimes in ways that still trip up seasoned politicians because they are literally traps laid by the Empire. We need to see Leia make mistakes in a book like this / in any story of her adolescence, and to learn from them- and they need to be mistakes that don’t take away from her overall competence or character. This book does that very well. 

I loved reading about the ways Leia attempted to learn all her parents knew and to help them in their respective positions throughout her childhood. I love that Leia interned for her dad for several years in the Imperial Senate by this point! 😍😍😍 And all the little “her dad always told her”, “her mom always said” moments in this book are just beautiful and very in-character for both Bail and Breha. I love that as Princess of Alderaan and as a member of the Organa family, Leia has always looked to them for guidance on how to rule, who to be, what skills she needs, etc. and worked hard at those things. That all seemed very in-character to me. 

I love the familial and parent relationships, period. I’ve already said how much I adored the way this book represented the push-pull of the parent-adolescent relationship, and how much I love that this book nevertheless gives her loving familial relationships as her foundation. It was so wonderful to read these little moments of the Organa family, both when they were struggling and when they were finding more common ground. These relationships were also very “3D” to me, human, what I personally would “ideally” want for Leia without being “too” ideal or unreal. I didn’t know how much I needed to ready more of the Organa family all together until I read this book.

I love that this book was able to make me angry at Bail Organa (my bae 💚)- sometimes quite repeatedly- without making him out-of-character or an ass; that’s not easy to do. It was clear he had his own character struggle work through, and as difficult as that was for me as a Bail fan, it seemed in-character to me, came from a place of deep love, added layers to him, and made the intimate moments between him and Leia and the resolution between them that much more satisfying. 

Breha Organa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 💜🙏🏻😍🙌🏻👑🙌🏻😍🙏🏻💛💜 What a queen, what a leader, what a mother. I loved watching her differ in her opinions from Bail, and handling some of the differences between them including how to approach the Rebellion, and their daughter. I found it interesting and unexpected that she accepted the reality that the Rebellion would eventually mean civil war sooner than Bail did, but in a way that worked very well.  

Bail and Breha’s marriage. It’s so wonderful that they have such a beautiful partnership, in which they can wrestle with difficult questions, and disagree, and even need space from each other, and yet always come back to each other and support each other in their endeavors (and enjoy a bit of romance too). It’s exactly what I’ve always wanted and headcanoned between them. 

I thought it might be distracting to me that Bail and Breha and Alderaan might vary in small ways from the ways that I have headcanoned them. For example, the pulmonodes thing is kind of aesthetically cool, and it is nice to see someone in the GFFA with some robotic/mechanical parts who is described as the opposite of evil/ the embodiment of warmth, but is a major departure from how I’ve seen Breha for years, and that kind of thing is always a struggle for me. But it turns out it’s much more difficult for me to engage with when it’s an abstract post on Tumblr. In the book, it didn’t bother me almost at all? It was subtly and well-integrated, and the character was so well-done, that it didn’t matter that’s not how I had seen Breha and is not (as of now) part of my personal headcanon. 

 Candlewick flowers 🕯🌹 are such a gorgeous addition to the GFFA.

I think it’s great that there was a process for Leia declaring her intention to pursue the throne and at minimum a very challenging ceremonial way she had to earn it, even if it’s not the way I would have chosen. 

I’m going to go ahead and say on Alderaan they have basic guaranteed income. 👌🏻

It was so good to see the Captain Antilles of the Tantive IV and spend time on Alderaan itself (sad as it is too 😪). Like so many of the characters, I liked him and I’m incredibly sorry he’s dead within the first few minutes of ANH.

Lieutenant Res Batton is a treasure. 

Queen Dalné of Naboo is a character I’d actually love to see appear in later stories (including fics) that occur during the OT or afterward. Do she and Leia meet again? In what context? What is that like??? Although her reign has probably ended by then, Dalné help with the Rebellion in any way or with the rebuilding that comes after the Empire’s fall? I like the way they connected in this book, and I’d love for her and Leia to become friends. 

I had mixed feelings about Amilyn Holdo, but I appreciate that the inclusion of a female character who could be a peer to Leia and that she ultimately ended up being an important and foundational relationship both personally and “professionally.” @otterandterrier summed the good qualities of her character up to me nicely, saying, “I do appreciate [Amilyn] becomes closer to Leia, is a person who will inform her to not be set on her first impressions of people, and by TLJ is a long-time friend her age, rather than thinking all her childhood friends died.” Agreed. 

Mon Mothma 😍 🙌🏻. This book cemented Mon as a new fave of mine. Great to see her be such a positive and wise mentor to Leia, and to see her be able to see things that her parents (especially Bail) cannot yet. 

The cameos worked beautifully without being “too much.” Threepio’s was excellent, but Artoo’s was even better. Also, I was incredibly skeptical at the fact that there was a Millennium Falcon cameo, but it worked just perfectly. They succeeded at making the reader feel clever and “in on” it, which is 👌🏻. 

Thank the Alderaanian goddess that the romance was a side-plot and not the focus! 🙌���� It was great to see Leia have a book that allowed her to have so many different sides, and that her romance was one of those sides but not the exclusive or even the most important focus. The book could have survived without it, but Leia’s relationship seemed to me to add to the narrative rather than take away from it. 

It was such a great first romance, from a writing and story-telling standpoint. It absolutely did not threaten to overshadow the major romance of Leia’s life that most readers are so invested in, which is essential in a prequel story like this, but it was also a good experience for Leia even if it ended so sadly. I really like that the relationship was good and meaningful at the time, but it was also clearly not a relationship with longevity. This post on why Kier works so well as first love is a very good one. I also just really genuinely liked Kier as a character, even if ultimately I disagreed with him and of course don’t want him to end up with Leia “forever.” 

The Chalhuddan storyline was 😍😍😍. I loved that they insist that Leia require something of them before accepting her mercy mission donation and calling out her “wealthy saviorism.” I love that she exercises good diplomatic judgment in how she handles that, and that it ultimately turns into the beginning of a potentially lasting political alliance between her and them. Again, I just love the political elements of this book in general, and this was 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻. I’d love to see them again in fic or wherever. 

I had a list of things that I did not like. I’ve already spoken about some of these in other posts. But honestly, this book gets so much vitriol hurled at it, and I loved it so much, that I just don’t want to include those things at this time. 

#leia princess of alderaan #leia princess of alderaan is a fucking treasure #leia organa #bail organa #breha organa #the organa family #leia learning how to be a political and rebel badass #leia coming of age #i'd totally love to take asks about this book or chat about it #really sorry for what a mess the format of this post is on mobile #i enjoyed the movie Solo enough as a movie but it was much less satisfying to me as a backstory than LPOA was #like LPOA is much closer to possible 'canon' for me personally than Solo was #honestly thinking of rewriting Human Touch to include Kier

[atamascolily]

I've been reading a lot of Star Wars fic on A03 recently, and I discovered I have certain favorite subgenres. Here are a few of them, along with some fic recommendations in each category.

Subgenre: The Skywalkers Are Eldritch Horrors

-wonderterror, by peradi - Quite possibly my favorite Star Wars fic EVER. Well-written, zinging delightfully between humor and horror, with the best sex scene I've found yet in this fandom (SFW, too). Also: the premise really explains so much about the Skywalkers that canon leaves kinda vague. Brilliant! -Luke Skywalker, 19, Full Human, by samvelg - Similar premise as the above, but goes in a drastically different direction with emotional heart-to-hearts as Han tries to figure out WTF is so different about Luke and Leia and the implications for the galaxy.

Subgenre: Naive Luke Meets Water and Trees Fluff

Because watching a farmboy from a desert planet discover there's more to life is just... adoreable. And frequently hilarious. (Frequent overlaps with Post-Battle of Yavin Angst.)

-Green, by sparklight - Luke meets trees. Han is amused. -Blue, by sparklight - Luke meets water, shares a moment of grief with Leia. -Neither Is It Tears, by NikkiAgent - Luke meets rain, and Leia and Han get to share his joy. -Rain, by starlingjedi - Luke meets rain. Han and Leia have a moment. -Puddle Jumping, by justanorthernlight - What the title says.   -Ice Water, by Joysweeper - Luke's awkward and not used to ice water being served at restaurants. -Snowball's Chance on Hoth, by Sholio - Luke meets snow. -you can take the boy out of the desert, by Iorata. -More Luke water moments on Yavin.

Subgenre: Post-Battle of Yavin Angst and Other Shenanigans

-Hope is Bright Beautiful Thing, by Imaginary_Bomb - Luke and Leia hurt/comfort -Bravery, by gardnerhill - Medals don't mean to Han what they mean to Luke. -Homecoming, by Thistlerose - Luke and Leia grieve after the Battle of Yavin. -The Truth About Tatooine, by bethagain - A delightful subversion in which Luke is not as innocent and naive about life as everyone around him automatically assumes. -In Starships and Cups of Coffe, by Iorata - Han's birthday celebrations, or lack thereof. -Planning Session, by Guardian_of_Hope - The plan to rescue Han is put together... with the help of alcohol.

Subgenre: Han/Leia Hurt/Comfort

-shatter those cold bones, by philthestone -Soothing by MissRachelThalberg - Hurt/Comfort from the aftermath of Jabba's palace. Probably the most realistic post-Jabba fic I've seen thus far. -Pointy Things, by madame_alexandra - Leia has a phobia of needles after the Death star torture. Han is here to help.

Subgenre: Owen and Beru's Life on Tatooine/Obi-wan in Exile/Young!Luke fics/Luke's Pre-canon Life on Tatooine

I love, love, love this subgenre and all its various permutations to bits. Thank goodness there's a lot of fic for this. Also, Owen/Beru, Beru/Obi-wan and every possible variation of Owen/Beru/Obi-wan were the fic pairings I didn't know I needed, but I do.

-A Good Woman, by leavinghope - Beru's take on events.   -A Look Within, by iamfitzwilliamdarcy - It isn't easy being Owen Lars. -Dawn of Hope, by alexcat - Luke Skywalker's Childhood. -Family, by mosymoseys - Beru comes to terms with not having another child. -1:30, by ambiguously - Luke/Biggs fic, featuring an epic fly-through of Beggar's Canyon. -Flasback, by Elizabeth (anghraine) - The real reason why Owen refused to let Luke go to the Imperial Academy. -for when my chin is on the ground (i pick myself up), by Phosphorescent - Obi-wan gets adopted by a bantha. Hilarity ensues. -Kin, by mabel - Luke learns about family on Tatooine. -Madonna Under the Suns, by Vongchild - Beru deals with Owen, Luke and her complicated relationship with Obi-wan. -One Hundred Credits, by jedicallie (writergirlie) - Luke is injured in a farm accident, Owen is angry, Beru tells Luke about his grandmother -our shining hour, by rain_sleet_snow - Luke and Biggs have a fling and Obi-wan, Owen and Beru reflect on the implications. An Owen/Beru/Ben fic where Owen and Ben don't hate each other, wow! -Salvage, by celeste9 - Luke rescues droids and his guardians aren't sure what to think. -say hello, say hi, by ninemoons42 - Young!Luke meets Obi-wan with Beru's supervision. -Seas of Sand, by esper_aroon - Obi-wan exile angst. -Somewhere It Hides a Well, by dieplainlife - Obi-wan's watching out for Luke and keeping him out of trouble. -Split the Shroud by Desipio - Child-rearing, Tatooine-style. -The Boy from the Stars, by Lefaym -The Hermit's Son, by landsail0r - AU where Obi-wan raises Luke -The Last Cup by Acacieae -Truth, by ambiguously -what are we living for by Elizabeth (anghraine) -What I'm Afraid Of, by Beatrice_otter

Subgenre: Prequel-Era Character Studies

-a clean break, by wrennette - Obi-wan returns to Coruscant after a mission to discover that a treasured gift from Qui-Gon has... transformed. just leave me your stardust to remember you by, by stonefreak - Disney Princess Obi-wan Kenobi and all of the implications. -on the other side, by esama - Obi-wan goes into the AgriCorps, but still has to deal with Quin-Gon's Padawan.

Subgenre: Leia and Winter Friendship Fic

Okay, so Winter is a minor character from the EU/Legends canon - Leia's adopted sister/best friend on Alderaan who was off-planet when the Death Star destroyed it. She serves as Leia's aide and occasional decoy in New Republic books. She had long white hair and people frequently mistake her for Leia on account of her posture and bearing. Winter is great and more people should write fics with her in them.

-Astronomical Odds, by anonymous - Leia meets Winter again before the Battle of Endor.   -Still Here, by WinterSky101 - Han passes on a message that Leia is very happy to get.

Subgenre: Luke in Exile (Disney Canon)

I usually try to avoid the Disney canon, but apparently I'm a sucker for good angsty!Luke fics.

-Between Two Thieves, by Walutahanga - In the aftermath of the slaughter at the Jedi school, a character from the EU/Legends canon makes an offer of assistance to Luke. AWESOME ON SO MANY LEVELS. -Understanding, by ambiguously - Luke is grieving and a mess of self-pity. Obi-wan is having none of it. -Water, Water Everywhere (The Albatross Remix), by theladyscribe - Luke's past history with water means he responds to Rey's gesture at the end of TFA very differently than in canon.

Subgenre: Angsty/Grieving Luke

-Halfway Real, by Acacieae - Luke grieves for Owen and Beru, Obi-wan offers some comfort. -Holographic Blue, by sparklight - Luke stumbles across old wedding holos that Artoo still has in his data banks. -Homecoming, by Joysweeper - Luke grieves for Owen and Beru. -Only Forgotten, by treenahasthaal - Before going into Jabba's palace, Luke reflects on his early life on Tatooine. -Someplace You've Never Been Before, by jessebee - Luke grieves for Biggs and his old life. Han/Luke. -The Insolence of Office, by ATMachine - Luke has one regret about the Jabba's palace rescue. -Understanding Owen, by BeckyS -contradictory, by catbeans - Luke muses on the light/dark distinction. -for a hundred miles through the desert - wreckageofstars - Han has to go rescue Luke when Luke fucks up. Lots of angst.

Subgenre: Sedoretu

-Smugglers Make the Worst Matchmakers, by dreamiflame - An OT4 that solves every shipping problem in the entire Star Wars fandom. Talon Karrde approves. -The Invisible Corners, by Walutahanga - Padme is engaged, but Naboo marriage customs are such that that may not be an impediment to her relationship with Anakin. LOVE IT!

Miscellaneous:

-A Little Control, by Joysweeper - Or, why Luke is so good at getting out of handcuffs. Surprisingly SFW. -Always a Third Wheel, by wingsyouburn - Even in the New Republic era, Luke's still pretty good at ignoring hints from Han and Leia. -Homecoming, by GryfoTheGreat - Luke, Leia and Han fic, post-ROTJ/early New Republic. -It's Just Cake, by JediMordsith - A reconstruction of a famous Alderaanian desert gets the gang into a lot of trouble... Bonus: Luke/Mara. Fluffy as all get out. -Speak and Be Heard by ambiguously - Oola lives and the gang takes her with them when they leave Tatooine after the Jabba's palace rescue. -canis, by peradi - ANH AU where Vader realizes Leia is his daughter... and decides to rebel against the Empire in his own way. AMAZING.

There’s so much Star Wars fic out there that this is only the tip of the iceberg... but these are my favorites at the moment.

Happy reading!

#star wars #fanfiction #fanfic recommendation