very rarely (read: just about never) do i find myself searching a specific additional tag and not immediately sorting by hits, BUT I FOUND SUCH A GEM OF A FIC THAT HAD ME HOOKED FOR DAYSSS
Approaching Balance by hardactofollow
125k, 23/?, last updated June 06, 2026
Jango Fett/Obi-Wan Kenobi
rated T, no archive warnings apply
When a vision on the eve of his knighting convinces him the Jedi Order cannot prevent the rising darkness, Obi-Wan Kenobi walks away. Operating as a mercenary while tracking Dark Side threats beyond the Council’s reach, he becomes entangled in Mandalorian clan rivalries and the ambitions of Jango Fett.
The Jedi taught him to preserve order. The Mandalorians trust in destruction to bring renewal. Caught between the influence of both, Obi-Wan must decide whether he is meant to prevent the coming war… or shape it.
RANT BELOW BREAK
i LOVE this fic, it's so good, and i've kept it in my tab of incomplete fics to check in on.
okay, so owk leaves the jedi order, BUT PEACEFULLY AND NOT ON BAD TERMS WITH ANYONE
i've seen a lot of fics where he leaves the jedi order and has an antagonistic relationship with qgj (occasionally one-sided, with qgj being the sole antagonist), which is fine. i'm generally ambiguous abt qgj, and i do greatly enjoy those fics too (literally, i rec'd one from a month ago, careless to let it all fall, and i ADORE that fic), but i mentioned it because i rarely find owk leaving the order without tension.
i found this by searching for the planet kamino, because i want more fics where an adult (usually owk, but on one memorable shortfic series, it was about a time-travelling fox) steps in and gives these babies a happier childhood, and i read the summary of the most recent fic (this one) before i sorted by hits. this is... not that. at least, not entirely. there IS a kamino arc, but it's like 4 or 5-ish chapters, and interacting with the clones wasn't really the focal point of that arc (i mean, it's mentioned a few times every chapter cs it's kamino, but it's more background than anything).
regardless, even if it's not EXACTLY what i was looking for, i still absolutely love this fic and i had read it at every available moment until i reached the most recent chapter (i am now looking through the author's other works, and have come across a fox/owk one. will keep you posted).
owk peacefully leaving the order purely to be a pain in the sith's ass? on-brand, respect, we love to see it. owk being a mercenary with a strict moral code? of course he is, we're rooting for you, get that ethical bag. owk befriending mandalorians? par for the course for one obi-wan kenobi, a treat to read. owk having his own bounty-hunting apprentice and foster-child (separate people)? amazing, of course they'd (the parent/guardian) trust owk with their futures. single line from a mando thinking the jedi are all crazy (specifically in terms of risk assessment)? LOVE to see it, i eat it up every time. owk going on sidequests for sidequests for the MAIN quest? be redirected you funky little mercenary. owk (once on kamino) complaining to mij nightly about how he just doesn't understand that man (fett) and why he's always so close to him? hilarious, obi-wan's in his girls' sleepover era. seemingly unrelated subplots being brought up as an analogy for a solution to a critical main plot issue? astounding, i thought that mission was mostly filler tbh, did NOT expect it to become plot-relevant. owk listening to mandalorian folk tales that become plot-relevant? beautiful, i always love reading little stories within a much bigger story (this can come across as sarcastic. it's not). owk taking it upon himself to personally befriend EVERY. SINGLE. CLAN LEADER. IN MANDALORE? so on-brand, respect, we love to see it!!
and i'm sure i've missed A LOT from the fic (didn't even get into the new plans for the clones, or the one time he boldly propositioned a random mandalorian within two hours of being on-planet. BY ACCIDENT. oh owk, never change), but this post is getting LONG, and i want to leave some for you to find out on your own!
again, i LOVE this fic sm, cannot recommend it enough, SO excited to see where hardactofollow takes it.
OH! and the jangobi is slow burn. like. SLOW burn. 125k words in and they haven't even kissed (though there were spars, and lingering looks, and one scene where jango purposefully flexes his forearms while cleaning his blaster because he noticed owk watching. he's such a smug asshole (fond)). so if you're expecting to be met with a whirlwind romance right off the bat that settles into reciprocated devotion, perhaps look for other fics. if you're find with romance not being the focal point, though, definitely give this a read!!
