#all from one silly little romcom about pirates

[edsbacktattoo]

can’t believe i missed it. happy belated birthday to my first born!

they grow up so fast 🥹

[beanghostprincess]

also thoughts on yamace now that you've seen them

Stabbing me in the esophagus would have hurt way less than watching these two interact. I want to give you a proper answer like I always do instead of incoherent screaming, but I watched the flashback so recently that I'm still fucking sobbing. I can't stand gay people and their daddy issues. They make me insane. But since I'm an annoying writer, I will try and explain why Yamace has suddenly made his way to my top 5 ships in only three episodes. I'm pretty sure everybody knows all of this already because I'm late to the boom of episode 1015, but damn, I really need to talk about this or I'll die.

Okay, first of all, their personalities are so good together. They're both silly and fun to watch and impulsive and they want to be free from the chains their fathers put them in (metaphorically and, well, also literally). Perhaps the animation and direction of the show (especially on episode 1015 because oh my fucking goodness) helped a little in setting the romantic mood, but the interactions were all them. These two are literally something else.

To me, it's the angst of falling in love in the span of a night with a stranger with whom you have a lot in common and then watching them go, hoping to see them again- Like, basically being the only thing you look forward to because you don't have anything else except them and the freedom they promised you. And then watching them drift away between your fingers without being able to do anything. It's the frustration and helplessness and the way Yamato's life was the best it could've been and then crumbled down to the point where he had to place his faith in a man who he only knows because Ace talked about him constantly without shutting the fuck up because he's the most annoying brother ever (I love him).

And- I don't know, man. The chemistry is unmatched. Like, I actually felt I was interrupting their romantic moment watching that shit. If I hadn't known anything about them I would have genuinely thought they would kiss.

The whole "You can't choose your parents" and "What do you really want to do?" left me crying and sobbing on the floor. I literally had to sit down on the floor and cry because I couldn't take the parallelisms between them, both being children of important pirates and feeling (a very valid) resentment towards them. It's so good. The way they bond and talk to each other,,, The way they look at each other? This is the type of thing you only see in a romcom. Because quite literally: What the fuck.

And it's not only the obvious parallelisms or the fact that their personalities match perfectly (and also that, aesthetically, they look amazing together. But I think that's what happens when both boyfriends are hot af) but the fact that in the span of a night... Their feelings were so genuine. Ace wanted to come back, he just wasn't strong enough at the time and he was so positive and determined to become stronger so he would go back to Tama and Yamato,,, And Yamato? Waiting for Ace? Yamato waiting for his only friend to come back but knowing he will never do it? Yamato was so cute and excited to meet Ace, and seeing him hurt but it hurt less knowing that he would come back. The fact that he's dead takes that away from him. It just makes him have more faith in Luffy because he carries Ace with him.

How can a ship be so fucking good in only three episodes???? Going fucking wild. Ace taught him the meaning of living freely. Ace made him want to fight to be free. Ace changed his life and, honestly, Yamato changed his life too because it was the second biggest promise (first one being with Luffy, about not dying) he made and he had to actually train and fight to fulfill it. And he wasn't able to do it, but the whole "Luffy carrying Ace's promise" thing makes me go fucking wild.

Well, basically, to finish this: Expect a lot of posts from me about Yamace from now on and also a lot of edits to Taylor Swift songs.

This is so,,, God. It's so romantic. The lightning. The smiles. The fact that they're literally two intersecting lines that will never meet again. It makes me sick.

[nightshift-clocking-in]

10 books

Thank you to @wanderingdonut for the tag, I love any excuse to talk about books. 🖤(These are in no particular order)

PET by Akwaeke Emezi

I read this book in summer of 2021 and I think about it all the time. Something in this book rewired my brain, I cried so much that I left stains on the pages. It poses the question if there was a utopia, a perfect society, would there still be monsters? Honestly its fantastic, but please check the trigger warning because it discusses a lot of hard topics.

What if its us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli

Words cannot describe how funny this book is to me. Chaotic and completely ridiculous, but this book made me fall in love with audio books, I listen to it once a year and still laugh out loud.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyers

This is the book and author that made me fall in love with stories. Its why I love retellings and fanfics (Marissa Meyer was a fanfic author before she was published hehe). If you knew me around the age of 15-16 there is a good chance that I read at least the first book out loud to you. But this story is what inspired me to start writing when I was younger and for that reason, it will always hold a special place in you heart.

One last stop by Casey Mcquiston

A lot of people apparently don't like this book, I don't care I do. I love this book, the mystery, the side characters, the trauma? Amazing. There is so much going on, and I say that as a good thing, so many little things to keep you on your toes to try and figure it out before the end. Honestly it's amazing, and made me feel seen in a way I never had in books before. Also a light sprinkling of smut and mommy issues.

Gender Queer by Maia Kebabe

I'm a firm believer that you should read banned books. So I read this only for it to give me a gender crisis (I know the irony) and I realized so many things I assumed were universal experiences where in fact not. Honestly, it's super funny to think about now but I did have a breakdown while read this on my friends broken couch while they played sims. Truly iconic.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

This book breaths summer to me, a very important person in my life read it to me while on camping trips over an entire summer. It has everything you could want in a book; adventure, sword fighting, pirates, death and true love. If you have not at least watched the movie, you should.

The Guardians of Childhood Series by William Joyce

It's been years since I read this, but the world building, imagery and the lessons at the heart of the stories where beautiful. I read this to the kids in my life when they were younger, and its just a beautiful story full of whimsy and hope.

So this is Ever After by F.T Lukens

This book poses the question of what happened after your question end, you beat the evil king but how do you repair a kingdom that's been cursed for 100 years? Honestly the first page of this made me laugh so hard I had to put it down, its just fantastic.

Heartless by Marissa Meyers

I know I already listed a book by this author but I'm sorry I just love it so much. Alice in wonderland is my favorite classic story of all time, so retelling are hit or miss with me, and this is perfect. I love how its a prequel, to the world and you meet the character in much different circumstances. The Queen before she was a queen, the hatter before he when mad, and new characters too. It fills me with childlike wonder. I have a complete annotated and dissected copy of this book going into all the details of the world. I read it at least once a year. And this is what got me back into writing as an adult, which seems silly to say out loud but it's true.

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

Just chaotic all the time. I have not read all of this authors works, but from the ones I have they are hilarious. While this is a silly little romcom with some of the funniest details (Like a dung beetle ball) it also goes over a lot of harder topics; complicated relationships with parents, guilt, OCD, ignoring your own need so you can "be better", ect. Sometimes you just have to stop caring about what others think, and realize that its okay to be a mess, because everyone is a mess all the time.

No pressure tags:@crying-lightningx , @jegulusofwesper, @underburningstars,

[ladyluscinia]

Ouch.

Another unfortunate addition to my pile, I guess.

I noticed that OFMD was struggling to trend on tumblr as the season aired. It usually wasn't on the trending page by the time I unfiltered the show each Thursday, despite the fact I watched every episode within 24 hours of it dropping. It didn't super concern me - there were possible explanations, after all. People who had stepped back from the toxic fandom but still wanted to watch the show, or people waiting until the whole thing was out to watch it in one go (or waiting to get into posting). More important, if you had an eye toward renewal, was that it certainly seemed like people were watching.

Yesterday, though, S2 dropped out of MAX's Top Ten shows despite the finale only being 3 weeks ago, and while I very much doubt it's doing poorly, it still feels markedly different than S1 getting article after article about being the most in-demand for yet another week and "HBO would be insane not to renew!" I know those 2022 numbers were buoyed by a dedicated fanbase that certainly isn't gone - both of those links are from Renew as a Crew - but it certainly feels weaker.

And now this.

We are in the most active window of fandom for basically anything - immediately after a season concludes. First you get the quick hit fics in the first day or two, then oneshots that took a little longer, early starts of chapter fics, fix-its, continuations, missing scenes, etc. Everyone is generally in the mood to write and read (and rewatch!), and their attentions haven't been pulled away by the next big thing. I don't think we were going to match the S1 spike - new canon gay romance ending on a cliffhanger can do that - but where is the spike at all???

I've already seen accusations it's bitter Izzy fans, which frankly "Izzy Canyon" 1) did not have the numbers to account for any of these observations in the first place, and 2) has not been staging a collective protest regardless. I've been watching Izzy fans post, and write fix-its, and even rewatching the show that just killed their little guy.

Nah. If the show is losing viewers and fan engagement, that means it has lost significant ground with the same people that boosted it last season - more casual, predominantly BlackBonnet loving fans who exploded with joy at the thought of a silly pirate romcom that wasn't going to put their little guys through hell and was going to make them talk through their problems and kiss. 🤷‍♀️ Maybe they lost some of those fans by getting them attached to Izzy before killing him. Maybe they lost some with Edward's arc. Maybe they lost some with the sudden and rather forced happy ending, or the second breakup arc instead of development, or the focus on the plot created by Ricky vs Zheng in the finale.

They definitely appear to have lost them, though, and that's not great if the only hope of renewal (and maybe getting those fans back) rests on replicating the fandom push from after S1 😬

Turns out the final update on daily number of new single chapter fics under the OFMD tag on AO3 wasn’t the final update after all! Here's the current situation, 3 weeks after the finale of S2.

Currently the total number of new fics during the observation period in 2023 is 2.3% more than the previous year.

The highest daily number is 102 fics on the day the finale of S2 aired (26 Oct 2023).

[bugsbutch]

ok but stumbling into ofmd not expecting any of this was such an Experience. i saw one (1) person on my dash post a couple memes and a gifset on march 11th (that was the day after eps 4-6 dropped) and all i got from them was that there was a stupid fop trying to be a pirate, and this taika pirate with whom he has a romantic moonlit scene, but of course i was like yeah i'm sure it's queerbait as usual, but i still wanted to see a silly fop on a ship, so i just told myself i wouldn't get my hopes up, and so

when Lucius said he's gay i was like well, there's the gay character, there probably won't be any more apart from a love interest for him

when i saw that fucking moonlit scene with the almost-kiss, i was like yeah they'll pretend that it was never meant to look like going in for a kiss or something, they always do

i was also aware that Rhys and Taika were friends, which for me was another reason why a romance wouldn't happen, cause they probably thought kissing their friend of however many years would be too weird

nevertheless, i was enjoying it, i was hooked, so between eps 1-6 and 7-8 i started going into the tag, and i read all those excerpts from interviews with the creator about romcom beats and stuff but i was still like hmmmm idk... i don't trust like that...

i had seen that the title of ep 7 was This Is Happening, but i didn't expect it to literally refer to their relationship clearly hurtling towards Something! wow, they acknowledged it in the actual show, now it would be a really dick move not to follow through with it, right?

and then ep 8 had more romcom tropes and that silly little foot nudge that drove us all insane

by that time i had already given up trying to pretend like i was totally casual about this ship

but then the show actually started gaining popularity, and i started seeing people ask "ok but are they really gay or is it like those other shows?" and that made me unreasonably stressed because i could say that the show is gay, possibly even gayer than those other shows, but were they canon? well, no, but the chances were looking good... or were they? maybe i was just deluded?

and so on the first watch of ep 9, only a part of my brain was able to actually enjoy the story, cause the other part was like "have we just been clowns honking our noses like people seem to think? ok, we weren't, phew!"

so yeah, what years of queerbaiting does to a mofo etc.

[simssprout]

sims 4 holiday legacy!

i wanted to make a fun legacy with some silly rules to shake up the traditional goal based legacies! hope you enjoy it!

general rules:

- must complete aspiration, get to level ten of career, and complete extra rules to complete gen

- can use money cheats (if you want it to be traditional legacy, start with 1800 simoleans, if not, download a nice house and have starting funds)

- physical style/dress sense are suggestions, as you can have your sims look however you want

- everyone in household must have an excellent holiday for the holiday that correlates with the gen. if the holiday didnt come with seasons, add it to the calender!

gen 1: new years

as the first holiday of the year, youre ready to get your life, body, and mind into shape!

- traits: active, dog lover, perfectionist

- aspiration: bodybuilder

- career: writer (author)

- must always be dressed “fancy”

- silvery/platinum blonde hair

- max out fitness and writing skill. reach level five of wellness

- if you have the packs, include vintage glamour or luxury party in multiple rooms of your house

- whenever you are tense, must do yoga to cool off

- have a dog with active trait, go for jogs with them often

- only eat foods that you deem as healthy

- visit every gym lot in game (could do just premade ones and/or can add your own)

- marry a sim you met a gym or spa

- only publish motivational books or fitness

- have three friends that you go out with occasionally and party

- get “juiced” every holiday

gen 2: love day

youve been obsessed with romcoms and romance novels since you were a kid. now that youre grown up, you want to fulfill your childhood romance dreams!

- traits: romantic, bookworm, art lover

- aspiration: soulmate

- career: social media, either branch

- pink/red hair

- dress “romantically” (if you have seasons, use heart dress/suit)

- max charisma and painting skill

- must go on weekly dates with significant other

- gush about partner whenever option is avliable

- paint multiple portraits of partner using paint from reference

- only read romance novels and watch romantic tv

- if you have pets, must dress them in cute dresses

- live in the city as a young adult, can move after if you want to

- always go to romance festival

- have a boy and a girl

gen 3: talk like a pirate day

youve always loved the pirate lifestyle, exploring, stealing, and meeting people all over the place. eventhough you cant have a career as a pirate, that dosent stop you!

- traits: kleptomaniac, non-commital, self-assured

- aspiration: jungle explorer

- career: mixologist

- must wear a pirate outfit/hat as an everyday outfit

- max mixology and archeology skill. reach at least level four mischief

- have at least two children with different partners

- marry someone young, divorce, and never marry again

- have multiple boyfriends/girlfriends at a time

- always sell your artifacts and any other “treasure” you find

- complete at least four “plumages” (temples)

- attempt to steal something from every lot you visit

- for extra fun, if you use mc command center, max woohoo skill

- accept any party invite

gen 4: bunny day

you love being outside! in any weather, your family can expect to find you exploring outside in the garden, fishing, or finding some frogs

- traits: loves outdoors, unflirty, clumsy

- aspiration: angling ace

- career: fisherman and have a business (selling flower arrangements and mounted fish) or gardener (floral arranger)

- one outfit should be overalls

- green/purple hair

- this sim really likes hats

- max fishing and flower arranging. reach level 5 gardening and baking

- always talk about the current weather in every conversation

- if raining, shower in the rain instead of your shower

- have a large garden, but only grow flowers

- complete frog collection

- have a full fish tank in your house

- live in a tiny house

- purchase storm chaser and water resistant aspiration traits

- have one child

- become BFF with flower bunny

gen 5: earth day

the love your parent had for nature passed onto you. you want to make sure youre enjoying outside, while also protecting it!

- traits: green fiend, maker, gloomy

- aspiration: outdoor enthusiast

- career: eco innovator

- have green hair

- have a boho style

- live in either storage container or tiny home

- max herbalism and fabrication

- when you visit - must pick plain lot and sleep in a tent

- live off the grid and/or have surplus of energy

- have a large garden full of just fruits/veggies

- gift your herbal recipes to friends and family

- have bees and bugs

- have dumpster dived furniture in every room (once you unlock smog vaccum)

- one day a week do not eat a meal, only eat harvestables

- vote for a community garden maker space if living in evergreen harbour

- optional: can become a plant sim

gen 6: simspendence day

the party lifestyle is the lifestyle for you! friends, drinking, and fun is how you live your life! but you also make time to solve and end crime in your wonderful world!

- traits: dance machine, bro, jealous

- aspiration: party animal or island life

- career: detective

- red/yellow hair

- wears sunglasses often, even in cold weather!

- live in oasis springs

- any cooking you do must be on a grill or over a fire

- max guitar, dancing, and dj skill. reach level 4 fitness

- sing karaoke whenever theres a karaoke machine present

- have gold on every event type

- get suntans often

- ride bikes and kick soccer balls often

- have a large backyard with hot tub, fire pit, and water slides

- have two kids, have a good relationship with both. no parenting interactions though.

- watch sports tv only

- have five good friends (not including family). give two of them your house key

gen 7: prank day

what can you say? pranking is fun! messing with people and rilling them up is your favorite passtime.

- traits: goofball, ambitious, mean

- aspiration: chief of mischief

- career: engineer

- max comedy, mischief, and robotics

- always do a funny introduction to people

- use voodoo doll everytime you see the person it is bound to

- go to all dance parties you are invited to after 8pm and prank people

- create a servo

- marry someone that you had a bad relationship with originally

- you really like bowling. take your dates/family bowling often

- have a sad clown painting in your house

- if theres a microphone present, perform a comedy routine

gen 8: spooky day

youve always been obsessed with the spooky season and occult sims. now that you have your own house, its always spooky season!

- traits: loner, genius, neat

- aspiration: nerd brain

- career: astronaut

- black hair

- this sim wears glasses

- max rocket science, handiness

- befriend one of every occult

- can have a spooky house or just always have it decorated spooky

- must have at least one everyday outfit that is a “costume”

- always have carved pumpkins outside your door

- complete geode collection

- visit sixam at least three times

- have a child from a one night stand. do not marry that sim. marry an occult sim

gen 9: harvestfest

cooking has been an outlet for you since your parents let you near the stove. you love creating recipes for your family, friends, and even pets to try!

- traits: glutton, lazy, cat lover

- aspiration: big happy family or successful lineage

- career: own a vet

- yellow/orange hair

- wears mostly warm (tan, brown, yellow, orange) clothes

- max gourment cooking and vet skill

- have all 8 slots full (can include pets)

- must cook homemade pet recipes weekly

- have a little veggie patch for fresh ingredients

- befriend patchy

- whenever eating food not made by you, complain about the meal

- if you cook something less than excellent quality, throw it away and make a new dish, no matter how hungry you are

- get married twice

- rake leaves and then woohoo in them

- have family move nights schedules on the calendar!

gen 10: winterfest

winter is the best! the good food, cold weather, and constant family time is what life is all about!

- traits: family oriented, cheerful, materialistic

- aspiration: lady of the knits

- career: education

- blue/silvery hair

- wear lots of sweaters and cozy clothing

- max cooking and knitting

- give presents to family members everytime you see them

- keep a christmas tree in house year round

- must declare “snow” as favorite weather

- every day there is snow on ground, you must interact with it (snowball fight, shovel, snowpal, snow angel etc)

- have at least three children

- befriend father winter (can marry if you want to)

- complete snowglobe collection

- get the cold acclimation reward trait

- have a dinner party once every two weeks and cook a grand meal everytime

- have lots of family pictures in your house

- get the polar plunge player achievement (can make a holiday)

- always have a fireplace lit

[go-events]

GO Rom Com Spotlight: @micky-r-c

The compelling @micky-r-c (also MickyRC on AO3) has claimed The Princess Bride to adapt for Good Omens in the Good Omens Rom Com Event.

For reference, here’s a little background about the source material!

About The Princess Bride: A kindly grandfather sits down with his ill grandson and reads him a story. The story is one that has been passed down from father to son for generations. As the grandfather reads the story, the action comes alive. The story is a classic tale of love and adventure as the beautiful Buttercup, engaged to the odious Prince Humperdinck, is kidnapped and held against her will in order to start a war, It is up to Westley (her childhood beau, now returned as the Dread Pirate Roberts) to save her. On the way he meets a thief and his hired helpers, an accomplished swordsman and a huge, super strong giant, both of whom become Westley's companions in his quest.

We spent some time chatting about how the adaptation is coming so far, as well as future plans for it! Now, get to know @micky-r-c a little better!

* * *

goromcom: You know how if you open a Tumblr chat with someone you haven't chatted to before, Tumblr tells you two things they post about? I wanted to tell you that yours reports that you post "about #good omens fanart and #holiday fic". Do especially enjoy holiday-themed fics?

micky-r-c: Wow, no I would not have expected that. I mean I love a good huddling for warmth or holiday decorating fic, but I don't go out of my way for them.  But I did get really settled into writing Good Omens fic right around the end of November, and I thought, for some reason, that it would be a good idea to do not one, but two advent calendar series.  Didn't finish either of them, but there was a solid two weeks in there where I had two posts a day tagged holiday fic, so I guess that's where that came from.

goromcom: Hey, anything that gets the creativity moving, right? So it’s great that the advent projects inspired you to put out that much content! But let’s look forward to some new content: your rom com! You chose to adapt The Princess Bride. Has this movie been a favorite of yours, or is there some other reason you chose it? 

micky-r-c: Full disclosure here, I'm not a big romcom watcher.  Romcom fic reader, absolutely, but I didn't know most of the movies on the list.  So when I saw Princess Bride on there it was kind of a combination of "Oh!  I know one!" and "Gasp, I could write a sword fight." And now here we are.

goromcom: What's your favorite moment of the movie, and are you looking forward to presenting it in your adaptation? Any loose plans for that scene that you can share?

micky-r-c: There most definitely is.  I bounced between a few concepts for this adaptation, but the scene right at the beginning of Princess Bride when Buttercup realizes the meaning of "as you wish" has me by the heartstrings, and I am very excited to write my Good Omens version (spoiler alert: it happens in 1967).

goromcom: 1967 is such a gift for the GO fandom, how amazing of Neil to give that to us as new content for the mini-series. :) Other than adapting the “as you wish” realization, do you plan to stick very closely to the beats of the original story, or make bigger changes?

micky-r-c: Yeah, pretty close.  I'm not doing an AU, so in weaving the two plots together I'm trying really hard not to lose too much of The Princess Bride, especially since it's such a classic.  I want it to have that specific silly-yet-heartfelt feeling the movie has, which, to be fair, Good Omens lines up with pretty nicely.

goromcom: This movie definitely has a unique feel to it, and I can absolutely see not wanting to poke an alchemy like that too strongly! Given your resolution to preserve that silly/heartfelt tone of the movie, I’m sure you’ve had to make a lot of careful decisions thus far. Perhaps there’s a particularly interesting decision you've made in your planning so far--a notable casting decision, a changing of venue, that you can share with us?

micky-r-c: So I've actually changed the timeline maybe... 6 times so far?  Yeah. It's been everywhere.  But I finally landed on just overlapping with canon in the immediate lead up to the apocadon't, which I'm super happy with.  It means I can have some serious fun with how things could have gone differently.  Plus, I'll be honest, I am very excited to write the Princess Bride version of the wall slam. That one's gonna be A Lot.

goromcom: You can’t see me, but I’m gleefully rubbing my hands together thinking about it. However, I feel like we’re verging on giving too much away, so let’s move on to the wrap-up. I am blatantly stealing this last question from The Good Place: The Podcast, but here goes: Tell me something "good". It can be something big or small. It can be a charity you think is doing good work, or you can talk about how great your pet is.

micky-r-c: Ya know, every time I've seen a spotlight I've thought to myself, wow, I should really start thinking about my answer to that.  Plot twist, I forgot to.  But anyway, one thing that's been really unbelievably good for me recently has been the community I've found through Good Omens.  I've been hanging around the edges of fandom for years, but within maybe a month of posting my first Good Omens fic I was talking to people, getting to beta read things, working up the nerve to leave long rambly comments on ao3... all the stuff I'd always wanted to be doing but never had the community support to build on.  So that's been a literal dream come true, and things like this event have all been a big part of it, so thank you for running it and giving us all this wonderful gift!!!

goromcom: Aww, well, I agree about the GO fandom being amazing. It’s been so much fun so far and I hope we keep on with it for a long time to come. :)

And while we’re all basking in the amazingness that is the Good Omens fandom, don’t forget to keep an eye out for the GO adaptation of The Princess Bride, coming soon!

[reylofanfictionanthology]

THE REYLO FANFICTION ANTHOLOGY ST. VALENTINE’S DAY LOVE FEST

This year, to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day, we wanted to show the Reylo Writing Community a little bit of love by hosting a Reylo Fanfiction St. Valentine’s Day Love Fest.

We will accept recommendations for this project until the end of February.  You can find details about how to submit a recommendation to the project here.

LOVE FEST LIST #6/?

REYLO COMMUNITY RECOMMENDATIONS

Trying Something New by Vivien

Summary: “I can do this, I can do this, I can do this,” Rey thought to herself as she tugged her bag over her shoulder. She wanted to do this. She’d pored over holonet sites in preparation. The mere idea of Ben’s request made her wet. And terrified. Just a little terrified.

Recommendation by @leofgyth​: “It's a very sweet story about Rey just beginning to learn how to dom Ben. I love dom!Rey and sub!Ben and this story is a really nice, fluffy version of that dynamic.”

One by Arwen_Evenstar

Summary: The path of the Force is never clear or decided. One moment right, the next moment wrong. And both of them must ride it through, until the end.

Recommendation by @tmwillson3​: “This fic is the first in a series of 9 interconnected post-TLJ one-shots. This fic introduces the reader to the author's signature style that slowly weaves everything in that you could ever want in a fic. It's a slow-burn with a fantastic payoff as Kylo/Ben and Rey both go through realistic struggles, with Leia brought in masterfully along with some beautiful descriptions of and usage of the Force, showing how the dark and the light both reside in the couple.”

The Temporary Husband (A overboard/reylo fan fic) by Hellyjellybean

Summary: Single mom Rey is down on her luck, and just when she thinks things can't get any worse, Ben Solo proves her theory wrong, and provides her with one last humiliating blow. Licking her wounds, Rey picks herself back up but Ben finds himself in a bad way. Injured and without any knowledge of who he is, Rey may be the only person able to provide Ben with the information he so sorely needs, but perhaps there is a way Rey could use Ben's situation to teach him a lesson and get back at him once and for all.

Recommendation by @obsessivescientist​: “Her writing is funny and intelligent and both characters, Rey and Ben are snarky and cute.”

Let's Dance Slowly Forever by MissCoppelia

Summary: Ben Solo doesn't usually find himself at karaoke bars. He left the opera world behind for a music licensing gig, and he hasn't done much of anything since his parents died. But one night he gets dragged to one by Phasma and Hux, and something inside him starts to change.

Recommendation by @aionimica​: “I love the uniqueness of this fic - I love the characters and how well they fit with each other, not to mention imagining Ben Solo and Rey singing is just perfect and I need more if it in my life and i want more people to enjoy it too.”

RFFA WRITERS SELF RECOMMENDATIONS

Hiraeth by Melusine11

Summary: Hiraeth - a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for lost places of your past. Rey had never put any stock in anything beyond what she could see and touch, and then she had stowed away on a stolen ship […] it was there, on that ship, that she learned that anything was possible. She had seen a ship consumed by a kraken, could still hear the panicked screams of its crew as they echoed across the waves…she had traded trinkets with mermaids…she had seen the green flash on several occasions and been close enough to touch St. Elmo’s Fire while in the crows’ nest a time or two. She had never heard of someone coming back from the dead.

“It's my child and I love it is my knee-jerk reaction answer, but...it's got pirates, it's got a freakin kraken that guards an underwater city of the dead, it's got Kylo who really messed up (but lbr, when hasn't he) and he's trying to do the right thing, and Rey who isn't here for his bullshit, plus she's got a sword and she's not afraid to use it. Sword-fights, and brothels and high seas hi-jinks and angst and naked cuddling to survive and mermaids and mystical objects and Han gambles with Captain Morgan. It's historical fantasy and I've been having the best time writing it, so come check it out!”

The Repatriationists by leoba

Summary: Rey has become involved with an underground group that returns cultural objects to their peoples of origin. She pulls in Ben Solo, her on again / off again lover, to help with their latest job.

“The story is about repatriation - returning cultural objects to the people who made them - which is a hot topic in my field right now. So this story was a way for me to write about it in a really positive way. It's almost-but-not-exactly a heist story. It also has hot scenes between Rey and Ben (including a sex scene in the tree on Ahch-To, which should *really* be more of a thing) and a characterization of Finn that I adore and want everyone else to see too.”

Starpoint Woods Power Station by tmwillson3

Summary: After being talked into applying for a job by Han Solo, Rey finds herself working at a nuclear power plant. There, she meets the man of her dreams - because who isn't attracted to arrogant sticklers for rules who are good with their tools and carry around a jar of bright green lube? This is the nuclear power plant AU you never expected. A silly, slightly informative, and humorous look at working in the nuclear industry, as well as all the pop culture references possible.

“I love this story because it is a unique modern AU for Reylo since it takes place where I work, at a nuclear power plant. I based this story on my experiences working at a plant, and I spent a lot of time to make sure all characters were placed properly and given some odd quirk as befitting a feel-good romcom. I think that everyone who's looking for some fluff and lots of silliness will find that here, especially if you like pop culture references. It's also a brief introduction to nuclear power and what goes on at a plant, but without getting super technical so that the reader can learn something new while laughing.”

To Hold by aionimica

Summary: “I had a bad dream.” For god’s sake, she sounded like a child, waking up in the middle of the night, unable to soothe herself back to sleep. But Ben was there, Ben was there and he didn’t care -- hadn’t ever cared. And so he asked the question Rey both wanted and desperately hoped he wouldn’t. “Do you want to talk about it?” ----------- Rey can’t sleep. Ben never sleeps. So some nights, they just talk.

“This was one of the closest fics I’ve written to my own heart and my own mind. I love how it shows an uncommon side of intimacy and a hope for a future between these two characters. It’s close and personal and oh so dear to me.”