The fics I’ve read and enjoyed for the month of July. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.
This round up is LONG. Much longer than usual. I have no idea how I managed to read so much fic considering I (almost) devoured an entire book series?
Fandoms included this month:
Superman (2025)
The Murderbot Diaries
DC (Batfamily)
The Sunshine Court (AFTG Series)
Original Works
Hands of the Emperor (HOTE) (Lays of the Hearth Fire series)
Clone Wars
Superman (2025)
SuperTwitter by 3xtomorrow
Twitter/X of the DCU reacts to the events of Superman (2025)
jen is on vacation @tennisgirllll
i’d join superman’s harem
MurderBot Diaries
STRUCTURE UNSTABLE by Killbothtwins
On a mining colony, SecUnit suffers through the daily tedium of life as a corporate murderbot. But all is not as it seems. And it has more friends than it knows.
Distress Call by e_va
Murderbot gets put in a box. This is totally fine, and it is coping really well. Thanks for asking.
*
692,876 seconds had passed since they'd shoved me in this box, if you were wondering.
Demo and Inspection by mensah
Part 1 of No Easy Distance
Dr. Mensah gets outclassed by the company in her attempt to get PreservationAux out of the standard rental of a company SecUnit. The live demonstration isn't as intimidating to her as the company executives think, however.
Or: Dr. Mensah "meets" Murderbot for the first time.
I Am Not Yet Born by quintessence_of_dust
The whole thing took 3.7 minutes. It was impersonal, efficient, and streamlined, just the way the corporates liked it. Oh, and the new construct was screaming the whole time.
Bharadwaj is sent a packet of video files from the Corporation Rim as part of her research for her documentary. When viewing one clip in particular, SecUnit's human friends learn something new about the lives of constructs.
Munch by Polyhexian
2.0, says Perihelion disapprovingly, you are nibbling at Three’s processor.
Only its tertiary motor systems, 2.0 pouts, it's not even using them.
You can't just start destroying things in Three’s brain, Perihelion admonishes. It needs that.
Threat as Greeting by FlipSpring
I pull close to it in the feed, and say, “You were lucky.”
The rogue SecUnit reacts, physically and in the feed. It sits bolt upright, and a wave of fear ripples off of it like a [cloud of micro-debris], or like an [emergency evasive maneuver that grinds a planet’s upper atmosphere]. It’s unpleasant. It’s unfamiliar. I capture the data, store it, and start chewing on it immediately.
~
ART meets Murderbot, from ART's POV
Construct, Social by kiwisson
Late-night human behavior discussions with your favorite deadly weapon.
Watch Party by scheidswrites (+ podfic)
A former employee of The Company arrives on Preservation.
layover by torpidgilliver (+ podfic)
When ART finally confirmed the PA credentials and cycled the lock, I was waiting in the foyer. I'd disabled my human behavioral code, so I didn't twitch when the whole group of humans all stopped in their tracks to stare at me.
I said, "You have boarded the Perihelion, registered teaching vessel of the Pansystem University of Mihira and New Tideland. Please state your business."
In my feed, ART whispered, You sound like a shuttle attendant.
I sound like a SecUnit.
(During a cargo run, ART is subjected to a random security sweep. Murderbot falls back into its old routine of supervising annoying humans.)
DC (Batfamily)
Natural Consequences by motleyfam
If at six years old, Tim chose to watch that scary movie with the alien ripping open the guy’s stomach that Jack told him he was too young for, then he could change his own sheets later that night when he wet the bed from nightmares. If at eight, Tim broke a window playing with his new slingshot too close to the house, then he could pick up all the shattered pieces of glass himself and pay to replace it from his birthday savings. If at twelve, he was irresponsible enough to forget to request more funds on his school lunch account before his parents traveled to the remote mountains of Nepal, then he could go hungry for a few days until they returned to cell service range.
His parents rarely ever punished him, per se, but they’ve always been big believers in letting him feel the full weight of his natural consequences.
Tim knows better than to expect any help.
–--
When Tim gets hurt doing something stupid, there are a few misconceptions that still need to be cleared up between him and his new family.
The Sunshine Court (All for the Game Series)
I held on as tightly as you held onto me by perchancetosleep
Instantly, Wymack knows that this is going to set off a bomb in their home. Elodie is a good kid, quiet and skittish as hell, but smart and polite and pretty receptive to the general structure of their house. This kid has defiance written all over his file, and he’s fifteen, which means that he can take however much belligerence he’s guessing and fucking multiply it by ten.
But it’s also clear that Jean needs somewhere safe. And that is something he and Abby can easily provide.
Original Works
A Long Journey Home by tuesday
"I'm afraid," and King Ric really did sound apologetic with Nils kneeling at his feet, "that no matter your intentions or willingness to be there, after everything that's happened, we can't let you go."
The Lays of the Hearth Fire Series By Victoria Goddard (i.e, HOTE)
Hazards of Duty by WerewolvesAreReal
Someone tries to kill Cliopher. And then someone else tries to kill Cliopher. And then a few (dozen) more people.
Also, Quintus chooses an awful time to visit.
Shrouded Sun by WerewolvesAreReal
His Radiancy is not well.
The Virtue of Being True by electropeach (+podfic)
"You're under an enchantment, Cliopher. The good news is that the protections his Radiancy has placed on you have shielded you; the bad news is that the protections that block the spell are also reflecting it, meaning that instead of you it affects everyone who comes near you. You may have noticed an unusual propensity for candor in your vicinity today?"
A reverse truth serum plot leads to Cliopher having a very strange day.
Clone Wars
mutual affection by z_eus
Obi-Wan Kenobi loves the men of the 212th, and will do whatever it takes to keep them happy and alive. Little does he realize how much they love him too.
OR, 5 times Obi-Wan took care of his men, and 1 time they took care of him.
The Sun Rising Slow by blueleafsky
They haven’t even been deployed for a month when they get new orders, new regulations, and suddenly the chain of command gets turned on its head.
It wasn’t supposed to work like that. The Jedi were supposed to be the ones doing the planning and the leading, but after the first few battles it became very obvious that none of them knew what they were doing. Half the Senate panicked and wanted to start negotiations with the Separatists. The other half did not, and somehow that led to both sides deciding that the lesser evil was declaring the clones were actually pretty competent at the thing they’ve literally been made for.
Cody probably got lucky with his Jedi; it doesn’t complain or try to outmaneuver him and it’s actually quite helpful. If it was a brother he’d be fond of it.
Or,
The clones were (wrongly) taught that the Jedi are immortal eldritch beings devoid of personhood, the Jedi are enslaved by the Republic within a few weeks of the war starting, and nobody knows how to ask the right questions until it's almost too late.
Cody's inability to interact with people without making spreadsheets to analyze their behavior saves the galaxy.
I finally got enough time for more doodles! So have these of the lovely fic from @mrs-luigi-vargas featuring the best line in all history. It never fails to send me. I love it so much.
Here’s a link to the fic again:
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
No I’m not literally gonna die Dw but I got shot in the heart bc Dollys factory just announced rn that they’re gonna stop developing the game at least it’s not gonna be deleted but like… (which is due to the lack of funds that’s why it’s not gonna get deleted)
THE LORE I WANNA LEARN MORE AND LIKE THE RECENT NEW MAP??? IT IMPLIES TRUE DOLLY LIKE MORE LORE LIKE ALSO WE DIDNT HAVE THE TRUE DOLLY BOSS LIKE💔
THE GAME IS GOOD??? LIKE ITS GENUINELY FUN YEH STILL REPETITIVE BUT ITS STILL LIKE GOD THO LIKE
YOU CANT DO THIS TO ME LET ME FREEEE
I just recently got addicted to it and now it won’t be updated forever
