love the succession theme so much. literally dun TINGGGG dada dadada dadada dada dahhdadada daDaDA DAAAA dah dadadadadada TINGGGG dada dadada dadada dada dahhdadada daDaDA DAAAA dah dadadadadada DUN Huuuu DUN H uUU DUN HUUUU DUN HUUUU DUN dada dadada dadada dada dahhdadada daDaDA DAAAA dah dadadadadada MMMMM BUN UH BUUHH BUN UH BUHHH

leggy princeling of ATN

👏Stop👏Shitting👏On👏Mitt Romney/Batman👏

are we surprised no we are not.

Honorable mention: “that certainly puts a cat amongst the pigeons!”

Dusting this off because it’s already, like, half-full before the first flight of men is even through.

Flawless

Political AU

Nevertheless, She Persisted by dawninthemtn: Junior campaign staffer Rey works for US presidential candidate Leia Organa and ends up with the job of babysitting her aloof and entitled adult son Ben.

i’m winning so they had to dump the gatorade (i don't give a f*ck about my family name) by @dankobah: Rey and Ben are forced into a political marriage to get publicity for Ben's mother, Leia Organa, in her presidential campaign. They hate each other, until they don't.

Our Only Hope by MadsMakesMagic: Rey Organa lived her childhood in private, hidden from the world she traveled the world while her mother Senator Leia Organa fought for Climate Change and against Big Oil. After attending Cambridge with her best friends Finn and Poe, Rey heads back to New York to join her mother's campaign for The Only Hope Act. Ben Solo grew up with his grandfather, going to boarding school his only escape was his motorcycle and a good blunt. After an Ivy League education, Ben is sent to get information on a very worldly girl named Rey. Ben has anxiety and Rey isn't ready for the spotlight. What could go wrong? *Rey and Ben are NOT siblings in this fic*

Love It If We Made It by @xoruffitup: Sometimes he’ll text just a hotel name and room number. Sometimes they’ll catch each other’s eyes across a crowded room full of ambitious, superficial cutthroats. Now and then, she’ll text a bar name for drinks. Sometimes it scares them both, to think how they got here. Then they’ll think about morning, about the world outside the window, and just hold each other for one meager minute more. It doesn’t make sense, but then again, nothing does anymore. The only refuge to be found lies in the kind of loss of control that feels good; feels right. That doesn’t need ideology or investigation or twisted intelligence. It’s a simple sublime truth, and means everything.

when you are young (they assume you know nothing) by @dankobah: a political, star-crossed lovers AU (with an age-gap)

screwdriver by somethingdifferent: Rey is a bright-eyed intern on her first campaign trail, Ben is an irritated data analyst, and how difficult can it be to get a legacy senator elected president? Apparently fucking impossible.

If Not Us by @theafterglow-writes: 1964 Senator Ben Solo is campaigning for office. In order to be one president, he needs to marry. Enter Rey - a journalist.

Thanks @busdriver-55 for the rec and these other recs! Screwdriver is one of my fav political Reylo AUs!

Links included below as well! 

https://twitter.com/smallenoughtof1

smallenoughtofit@gmail.com

You can submit questions on anon here, too! 

@ever-so-reylo , @my-jedi-life and @theafterglow-writes will all be participating in this! 

Signal boost! This is coming up on Sunday! Take us to church! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

CHRISTMAS EDITION! - 

Y’all! I made this lovely list of Christmas fics back in December 2019, and it got completely forgotten in the midst of the absolute tragic heartbreaking mess that was TROS, and it’s been sitting in our drafts ever since. 💔 So I’m just going to go ahead and post it now! Let’s have some CHRISTMAS IN JUNE!

*-*-*-🎄🎅🎄🎅-*-*-*

“Just Believe” by @star-toured (T)

“New York City, November 1947: Ben Solo is the no nonsense event director for Skywalker Department Stores, the family business, which hosts an annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. But after the Santa Claus he hired is found drunk Ben has to employ a new one on the spot named Kris Kringle, which sets off a chain of events Ben couldn’t possibly imagine and leads him to love and renewed faith.”

Why @nancylovesreylo rec’d it: “This ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ AU is just about the cutest, sweetest thing I’ve ever read.”

“Flight 815 to Colorado Springs: Canceled.” by @sand-its-everywhere (E)

“’Listen, I know we’ve only known each other for five minutes, but do you trust me?’ In which Ben and Rey are strangers who have to share a rental car to make it home for Christmas because their flight got cancelled.”

From the author: “I wrote this one for a winter exchange in @thereylowritingden last year and I just had so much fun writing it and developing this little relationship with Ben and Rey. They were just so fun, so sweet, and so pure, and I loved, loved, loved writing it.”

“I Want Ben Solo for Christmas” by @3todream3 (E)

“Mall Santa Ben has a secret crush on his lunch buddy Rey. And then she pays a visit to Santa…"

Why @em-is-writing rec’d it: “I’m a sucker for fluffy Christmas fics. Ben takes a job as a local mall Santa and develops a crush on the cute girl who works in the ice cream stand at the food court. Ben and Rey are so adorable as they both explore their budding attraction for one another, set against the backdrop of the holidays and all the chaos that entails.”

“The Ornament” by @vespaer77 (G)

“A simple Life Day Ornament is a touchstone between the past and the future - a reminder of what once was, and the hope of what will be someday. It is the painted faces of a unique, blended family: a mother, a father, a son… and a Wookiee.”

A lovely and heartfelt holiday story written in canonverse.

“a place to go” by @delia-pavorum (E)

“All Rey Johnson wanted was solitude. A place to go where she could escape from the daily stressors and mayhem of her job. A place where she could enjoy some peace and some quiet. Her mentor Luke Skywalker’s small cabin up north seemed like the ideal place to do just that. A week of seclusion was just what she needed.And then Ben Solo arrived.”

So many fanfic tropes used beautifully in this heartfelt story: snowed in, enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort, ONLY ONE BED.

“No Snow” by @leofgyth, @lovethemfiercely (M)

“Ben Solo wasn’t looking for any excitement at Christmas. He just wanted to hang out at his family’s resort with his best friend, drink whiskey by the fire, maybe do a little skiing. He wasn’t counting on one of the most popular singing duos in the country to show up and throw a wrench in it, and he certainly wasn’t expecting no snow. What’s Christmas in Vermont without any snow???”

Inspired by the 1954 musical White Christmas. This one looks like SO MUCH FUN!

“your name (twine it with mine)” by @lachesisgrimm (E)

“Alone at Christmas? Mad at your dad? I’m a thirty-year old alpha with years of experience in dealing with difficult family dynamics. If you’d like to have me as your strictly platonic date for Christmas, but have me pretend to be in a very long or serious relationship with you to torment your family, I’m game. Beggars, Rey decided, grasping for any lifeline, can’t be choosers.”

A Christmas fake dating ABO fic, with the beautiful devoted Reylo @lachesisgrimm is so good at writing!

“Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow” by @greyforceuser (E)

“Rey Johnson is new to New England and gets caught completely unprepared for the first snow of the season. The one and only Professor Ben Solo is there to help.”

“Santa Baby” by @riaria84 (E)

“Christmas is Rey’s favorite time of year; snow, sweet treats, decorations and cheer. But her holiday train comes to a halt when her boss teams her up with the mercurial Ben Solo, the resident office Grinch. Rey has never backed down from a challenge in her life, and she is not about to let a little thing like having to work with her office nemesis get in her way to success. Shenanigans ensue!”

“Eight Days of Christmas and a Reylo in a Pear Tree” by @theafterglow-writes (M)

“Rey is a broke student working at a department store during the holidays to get extra money, and a mysterious shopper visits her for eight straight nights.”

“Last Christmas” by @semperfidani (T)

“Every year, the employees of Organa-Skywalker-Solo Ltd. participate in a cutthroat game of Whamageddon for the company office pool. Ben and Rey also play a secret game of longing, unbeknownst to each other, denying what they long for the most. Will this be the year they stop sabotaging their hearts?”

“…you would even say it glows” by @newerconstellations (E)

“Grumpy Reindeer farmer Ben Solo wears a lot of plaid and can’t wait for Christmas to be over so he can stop being a seasonal punchline. When journalist hiker Rey gets lost on his property right before a snowstorm hits, he may just change his mind about the holiday.”

“Ten Lawyers Leaving” by @newerconstellations (E)

“Only two weeks in America and brand new at Organa-Sky law firm, Rey stands in the corner of the holiday party in her red, itchy tights feeling awkward and alone. She sees another lost soul with aged-brandy eyes and a truly hideous plaid tie standing nearby, and they forge a connection over Mondegreens and ridiculous Christmas puns with the aid of the open bar. Little does she know that brilliant hunk Ben is actually Benjamin L. Solo, the most-feared partner at the firm. As the wine flows and instinct takes over, the two move closer. But what happens after the open bar closes and she figures out who he really is?”

Thanks for the rec @reylofanficclub ! Reblog for new eyes!

I commissioned this piece from @ponyopapier for

"If Not Us" by @theafterglow-writes

1960s political AU | Rated E | Complete 79K words

Ben Solo is a JFK-esque young Senator running for President in 1964. So @semperfidani & I thought this JFK parallel was perfection.

This is the @reylofanficclub 's current Fic of the Week (actually, more like Fic of the Fortnight - we'll be reading it through April 10 or so). Check out THIS POST for more info.

Totally amazing and spot-on for INU!! Tha ks again @nancylovesreylo !! ❤️❤️

The Fic of the Week for 29 March 2020 is:

If Not Us by @theafterglow-writes

1960s political AU | Rated E | complete 24/24 chapters (79K words)

1964. It was the dawn of a new age in America. Some Americans were ready for change; for new social and civil liberties; to live the American Dream. Others were wary of change; happy with the status quo; content to thrive in the known. The choice of leader to balance the two was never more critical.

Ben, a single Senator from an influential and established family, is ready to fulfill his destiny to become the President of the United States. Underneath the carefully-crafted image is a deep family secret that he prefers to remain hidden.

Rey, a female journalist in a male-dominated profession, is trying to carve out her own identity. She uncovers the secret that could derail Ben’s campaign, but her story gets shelved, along with her chances to make a name for herself in the industry. To keep the secret hidden, Ben’s campaign team makes an offer of employment to Rey.  She accepts the offer in hopes of furthering her career opportunities. Forced into close proximity, against the backdrop of public scrutiny, can Ben and Rey keep their growing attraction from each other? Which secret becomes harder to overcome?

(OR: Ben Solo is a JFK-esque young, single Senator running for President of the United States in 1964. Rey is an idealistic journalist who joins his campaign team. Sparks fly 😉)

—–

Why Nancy and @semperfidani recommend this fic: The author of this story, through her skilled and delicate writing, immerses us in this splendid era of history. Through her attention to detail and accuracy (she includes lots of fascinating links from her research in the footnotes), she paints a vivid picture of a critical era in American history. The romantic tension between the two main characters is gripping, with the added dynamic of political consequences lingering in the background.

The Kennedy-esque/Camelot vibes complement the sequel trilogy story of Ben & Rey so perfectly.

With the current ongoing primaries, and with the American presidential election looming — where the stakes are high and the choice of leader is critical — now is the perfect time to read this gem of a story.

Read it here on AO3.

—–

We will be reading 2 chapters a day, starting MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020. March 30-April 10.

Please join us for chat and discussion questions on our Discord server! Contact @tazwren, @my-jedi-life, or @nancylovesreylo for an invite link.

See all previous Fic of the Week picks here.

It’s not too late to join in to this extremely lively discussion!! It’s been a blast so far!

“ Home ”

Originally I was planning to share this one later as a part of my upcoming epIX “serie ”…something to bright up these difficult days…Stay strong everyone! 💙

The colors are so glorious in this ❤️❤️❤️