Recent Reads #1

cosleia:

Here’s a sampling of fics I read and enjoyed between the dates of 2/1 and 2/18/2018. More about Recent Reads here.

[Tumblr ficlet] by @kyluxtrashpit, 1089 words, E, canonverse, complete, no warnings.

Look man, this is nothing but Emperor Hux exhibitionist porn and I am here for it. The outsider perspective adds a fun twist.

Germination by @thesunandoceanblue​, 2219 words, E, canon divergence, complete, no warnings.

Hux and Ren’s first time involves a surprising revelation. Ren doesn’t think it’s all that strange, but Hux has never seen anyone jizz flower petals before. (God, I love this fandom.)

Stranded by @minzimpression, 7371 words, E, modern AU, complete, author chose not to warn.

I read this before bed for reasons you can probably deduce, and was not disappointed. Strangers Kylo and Hux are stranded together at an airport. Kylo is an ass, Hux is a prick. Sniping to bantering to intimate encounter, just like I like my kylux.

Daddy Please by @letmeputitinyourbutt and @kyluxicle, 187,018 words, E, modern AU, WIP, daddy kink, humiliation kink, exhibitionism, BDSM, mentions of past abuse, no archive warnings.

I’ve been reading this one since it started and it is truly compelling. Hux, a relative neophyte when it comes to non-vanilla sex, becomes sugar baby to Ren, a powerful man ten years his senior who enjoys some really wild stuff. They navigate it together safely and respectfully, and OH NO is it starting to become more than just sex between them? (It is.)

clearest blue by @brawlite, 3482 words, T, modern AU, complete, author chose not to warn but there isn’t much to warn for beyond some blood.

This hilarious fic is the tale of Kylo Ren’s horrifically bad attempts to hit on lifeguard Armitage Hux. Kylo’s friends’ commentary is the best, especially Poe’s.

Nearly Missed by @agent-nemesis, 7163 words, E, modern AU, complete, no archive warnings apply. At one point you might think a secondary character is homophobic but that turns out not to be the issue.

This sweet fic is so much fun. Kylo has been traveling the world for two years trying to find himself. He comes home for his mother’s birthday, not intending to stay long. But he has to share his bedroom with Hux…and part of his leaving was so that he could forget the feelings he’d developed for his best friend. Has he forgotten? No. Does what you think is going to happen happen? Yes.

Tunnel of Love by Asher_Ephraim, 3139 words, E, modern AU, complete, no archive warnings apply, unsafe sex.

Ben hooks up with Armitage at a carnival via Grindr. This story is vividly rendered and has such a bittersweet ending; I absolutely loved it.

Lost Cat, Fat by @theweddingofthefoxes, 1592 words, G, modern AU, complete, no warnings.

Chance brings neighbors Hux and Kylo together. As you might imagine, this fic features Hux’s cat Millicent! It is cute and heartwarming and a great pick-me-up.

Reveille by @awwshuckshux, 3865 words, E, canonverse, complete, creator chose not to warn, jealousy, dubcon

This is a post-TLJ fic that hit all my buttons. Incredible rendering of believable canonverse Kylo Ren. The ending is just so satisfying. Loved this.

Where You Lead by @moonwalkingcrab, 9952 words, E, clydeland, complete, no warnings.

For those unfamiliar this is a kylux-adjacent ship (a ship involving other characters played by Adam Driver and Domhnall Gleeson) between Clyde Logan from Logan Lucky and Stensland from Crash Pad. It is my absolute favorite kylux-adjacent ship, at least for now. And this is absolutely beautiful, so sweet and so hot.

welcome to your life by storytellingape, 3031 words, E, clydeland, complete, no warnings.

Another clydeland! In this one Stensland mistakes Clyde for his blind date, but it all turns out just fine. I adore the continual Stensland running commentary.

The Ass and the Armoire by jellyfishsodapop and @gentleman-caller, 6717 words, E, modern AU, complete, no warnings.

This is part four of a series and I highly recommend reading all of the stories. A guy who doesn’t think of himself as particularly thoughtful and a guy with an unusual fetish find the perfect partners in each other. In a very unique way. This particular part of the story takes their relationship to a new and wonderful and romantic level.

Heart-Grams by @h3llcat, 1286 words, T, high school AU, complete, no warnings.

This is just adorable. Ben takes advantage of a school fundraiser to send Armitage romantic gifts in class. Armitage is not amused.

A Little Help by @redcole, 3287 words, M, modern AU, complete, no warnings.

I am obviously a fan of the Hux and/or Ren in lingerie genre, having written it myself. This is a lovely offering that also features public sex with the danger of discovery. (I think I might personally rate this one E because there is some description of sex acts.)

constellation by @irisparry, 874 words, M, clydeland, standalone, no warnings.

This is part of a series of ficlets but you don’t have to have read the others. I do recommend them, though! This is some utterly gorgeous clydeland, an exemplar of why we ship this ship.

Shuck by @stereobone, 4882 words, E, canonverse, complete, no warnings but there’s cruelty of the kylux classique persuasion.

This is glorious. I am a sucker for this dynamic—Ren needing Hux to rein him in and willfully giving over power to Hux, Hux happily taking the opportunity for control, but then the situation becoming more meaningful for both of them—and it is rendered here beautifully.

Summer Song by @robokittens, 20,353 words, M, modern AU, complete, no warnings.

A trope I am utterly weak for is fake relationship and here is an utterly gorgeous example of it. Mutual pining out the wazoo. So many sweet details, like communicating through photos instead of words. That heart-wrenching moment when you think they aren’t going to figure it out. Perfect.

Personal Staff by @verybadhedgehog, 5977 words, E, canonverse, complete, no warnings.

If there’s one thing I truly love it’s double entendres. Please join me in basking in the utter genius of this fic’s title. This fic also features jealous Ren, which delights me, and conniving Hux, which I always appreciate.

Impatience by @thesunandoceanblue, 4006 words, E, canon divergence, complete, no archive warnings but there is a lot of possessiveness/jealousy.

More jealous Ren! This fic is indulgently fun, Hux messing with Ren’s possessiveness and getting exactly what he wants (which is, naturally, a good fucking). I love it.

Worlds Collide by @ellstra, T, modern au, WIP, no archive warnings. There’s smoking and some brief allusions to emotional abuse.

This is a first-meeting and a trapped-together fic all in one. I love how they both have preconceived notions of each other that wind up being wrong, that they start off annoyed with each other and end up friendly and intrigued. Looking forward to more in this series!

Compulsion by @time-to-boldly-go, 3144, T, modern AU, complete, no archive warnings, character with anxiety and OCD.

This is a beautiful hurt/comfort fic in which Hux’s anxiety and OCD become overwhelming and Kylo does what he can to help. I really appreciate fics like this that don’t make it seem like romantic love can solve your problems, but that show healthy relationships where those involved do what they can to help each other. Additionally, I found Hux’s feelings and compulsions to be extremely well rendered.

A Rare Sith Artifact (Definitely Not a Butt Plug) by @gentleman-caller, 1826 words, E, canonverse, standalone, no archive warnings.

Okay look, I love cracky scenarios treated seriously and this is just an utter delight. Kylo propositions Hux by calling what he wants to do a Force ritual. Hux pretends he’s going along with it because it’s funny. They’re both idiots and I love them.

The Night Shift by kromeriffic, 1096 words, M, canonverse, complete, no archive warnings. There’s a bit of violence.

This is a perfect little nugget of classic kylux, that dynamic I crave of Hux being the guiding hand Ren needs. They discover it together and it is beautiful. Ren is really into it in this fic and I love it.

Thankless by @ezlebe, 879 words, T, canonverse, complete, no archive warnings. Mentions of canon violence.

Okay, this is one of the most intriguing interpretations of the TLJ choking scene I’ve seen. This possibility never occurred to me, but it is so much fun. And I love Hux and Ren’s dynamic here. Really well done.

a drop of absurdity by try_reset, 2287 words, not rated (I’d rate it T), canonverse, complete, no archive warnings. References to canon violence.

This is a lovely post-TLJ fic that shows Ren and Hux and the rest of the Order in vignettes. It’s not so much a resounding conclusion as a meditation on what happened and what it means for all of them. I really enjoyed it.

Like a Book by @h3llcat, 1017 words, M, canonverse, complete, creator chose not to warn. There’s violence and abuse.

This post-TLJ fic is hard and too real. Ren, abusive partner, blames Hux for the FO’s failures, takes it out on him verbally and physically, and then comes around crying for forgiveness after. It’s hard to read.