Happy anniversary, Reylo shippers! Special thanks to anyone who participated to the project, and to all our followers.
Three year ago this blog started as an experiment. How to block the negativity and offer a space where everyone could feel welcome to share their story, but also to remind (or teach) antis that behind Tumblr avatars you find real human beings with life experiences different than theirs. It would be a lie to say this blog made any difference in the long run (haters gonna hate) but it was a worthy try.
Keep shipping, keep creating, keep shining!
In Rose’s words: That's how we're gonna win. Not fighting what we hate ... saving what we love.
I live in Germany, and I am half German half Italian. My German side usually tries to be pragmatic, but my Italian blood loves melodrama and romance too much. “You’re not alone”, “Neither are you” is the most beautiful declaration of love I have ever heard.
I guess I ought to be too old for this at 47... But last year, when my husband dragged me kicking and screaming to watch "The Last Jedi" at the cinema I was only 46, so perhaps, ahem... ;-)
I have always liked the Star Wars saga very much. I saw the first movie at the cinema and all I remember was that it excited me too much for me to understand it. I saw the whole trilogy at 18 and its message had a huge impact on my mentality, in particular the idea of the Force. Then I was rather disappointed by the prequel trilogy, though I didn't hate it as some people do; I knew it couldn’t be a nice story, but I still would have expected something more.
I was positively surprised by "The Force Awakens" when I saw it, but it didn't leave any lasting effect, to be honest. I disliked Kylo Ren very much, although when he took off his mask I was surprised by his inoffensive, almost innocent features and wondered how that was supposed to be the villain. I think I cried for a week over breakfast about Han Solo's death. Only when the chasm opened between Kylo and Rey at the end of their duel it had such a symbolic quality to it that I briefly wondered, "Does that mean the abyss between them will be filled later?" But that was it, more or less. And I never wondered about Rey’s parentage, her name means “zero” so I had figured out from the start that she was a nobody.
Now "The Last Jedi"... I won't deny it, it hit me hard. I was confused and overwhelmed, but it had got under my skin. I liked how both Rey and Kylo interacted, the Finn and Rose dynamics, Poe's development, and the Canto Bight children. The intensity of Adam Driver's and Carrie Fisher's performance left me stunned; and now that he was less enigmatic, I began to identify with Kylo's / Ben's character and to wish desperately for him to redeem himself. I understood that his father had sacrificed his life to save his son's soul, which made me admire Han more than ever. I also found that Leia had never been wiser and more dignified than in the sequels, and Luke never more heroic.
In the past I had never broken my head very much over the saga, and my love for it had cooled over the prequels… but after Episode VIII I spent weeks making researches on the internet and investigating the whole thing.
I was absolutely stunned. I find the saga brilliant in its whole now and I love it much more than ever. I have been in absolute Star Wars fever for the last year, analysing it over and over, appreciating the prequels at last, and I can hardly wait for Episode IX to come to the theatres.
I love the dynamics between Kylo (Ben) and Rey, I find the screenplays of the sequels almost flawless (there is hardly a sentence that doesn't have double meaning or isn't linked to another scene), I adore the idea that after the victory of Light Side in the classic movies and of the Dark Side in the prequels now both sides are finding together, finally bringing the Force into balance. It never occurred to me before how much the saga has to do with Love and War instead of being about Good and Evil, and how much it's about family.
I have written and posted a few meta's here, and I have a few ideas for fanfictions, but they are not complete yet.
So, since it's no fun to be fangirling on one's own and I can't go on pestering my poor husband (although he's a fan, too) about how much I hope and wish for Ben and Rey to be happy in the end, I figured I'd have to find some nice, patient Reylo community to sigh along with me.
Hoping to make a few friends here... See and hear you 😉
This message is to let you know that submissions to Voices of Reylo are open.
If you’re new(ish) to the Reylo fandom, I invite you to visit the blog and read the previous Voices to see what it’s about. You can also read the FAQ >here<.
Hi, my name is Adriana, mostly known in social media and Fanfiction as Kat Harley. I'm 33 years old and i'm a fanfiction spanish writer and Reylo shipper since December 18th, 2015. I'm specially Adam Driver's fan and a Kylo Ren's follower. Star Wars is my life literally since forever but TFA much far than that. If anybody wants to know me, follow, ask questions or talk about this amazing fandom and ship, please let me know. I'm a Game of Thrones fan too, and i say this because my fanfiction user is agirlisaryastark, if you want to read something. I have a few Reylo fanfics finished and another very interesting in other fandoms. What about if you want to talk about Reylo and you contact me? Will be a good chance to know each other :D
Hi, my name is Anna, I am 17 years old. I live in Moscow, Russia.
So, Reylo has been a big part of my life ever since I have watched TFA in January of 2016. I loved Star Wars since i was like 9 or 10 years old, when my father showed to me the original trilogy, but somehow I was not really excited about the new film.
But my father forced me to go see the movie with him, although I already knew the key events by that time (I almost told my father that Han is going to be killed, but happily I did not). So, as I saw the first scene in the woods, I thought that there is some tension between them. During the interrogation scene I realized that I need to read fanfiction about them right now and right here. By the end of the movie I was nearly dead by all of my emotions, but I still promised to myself that I am definitely not going to ship them(look at me now).
As I got home I have spent nearly two hours on tumblr looking for fan art and theories about Rey’s parents, then it all was followed by fanfiction on both russian and english languages, videos and vines.
So after a couple of days of nonstop fangirling I came to the idea of my own fanfic (which is actually still not finished). And all I can possibly say about Reylo fandom is that it’s beautiful and adorable.
I personally never was hated or bullied because of my OTP, but I have seen many antireylo posts and comments pretty much everywhere, and it makes me feel very sad. Why would other people even care what you ship? It won’t influence the Star Wars plot or something, it is not going to kill or harm anybody, so why is there so much hate about it?
Reylo is the first ship I care so much about, and it makes it even more important to me. Thank you for reading, reylo family 🌾🌾🌾
Hi! My name is Ren, I’m 17 years of age (I know, I am a fetus) And I ship Reylo with a burning passion lol.
First off, I would like to acknowledge the fact that this is the most welcoming, pure hearted “ship” I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of. And I’d also like to commend the people who put this “Voices of Reylo” project together. It’s brilliant!
For me personally, Star Wars is so much more than just a movie franchise, or even a fairytale. It’s a part of who I am. My dad introduced me to It while I was In the womb lol. He told me he would sit with my mother and have the movies playing while she was pregnant with me, with the hope that it would have in influence. (It did!) I was extremely fortunate to have lived in an environment where my gender didn’t have to play a part in what I enjoyed. I didn’t realize it was considered “strange” that I liked Star Wars until I was in school. It came to my attention that it was weird for a girl to like those sorts of things. But because of my upbringing I was able to proudly respond with “Well, I don’t like it, I LOVE IT!”
Since Star Wars has always been apart of me, and my life, I actually found myself not to be extremely excited for the new movie in 2015. Unlike hunger games, as an example, I didn’t take it upon myself to get involved in this fandom. I was born into it. But after I watched the film itself, I was pleasantly surprised and the happy memories of when I was young started to flow back. But I didn’t fully invest into it until summer of 2016 when I came across Reylo fan art on my tumblr. Through that one picture, I found an entire community! I delved deep into Meta upon meta and I was amazed. I had never looked at Star Wars in such a detailed, beautiful way before. The Reylo ship has not only opened my eyes even more to the fact that anyone can change and be redeemed through the power of love, but it has also opened them to so many other things in the SW universe that I had turned a blind eye to In the past. Before, Star Wars was an epic sci-fi franchise that I loved. Now, it is a beautiful, poetic, equally epic Fairytale from a galaxy far far away that I adore. Thank you Reylo ship, and all of the magnificently talented and sincere individuals who inhabit it! Times may get hard, and you may have to rebel against the norm, but through this ship and Star Wars as a whole, I’ve truly learned that rebellions are not only built on hope (😉) but on love and imagination. Keep shining Reylo shippers, and may the force be with you❤
20 y.o I’m May and I’m from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
This is my first year in the Star Wars fandom. I’ve always being active in fan communities about comics and series but movies stand alone movies were not my normal choice.
To be honest, I get to know Reylo because the anti-shippers, I read a particular post that detailed one of them sending merciless treats to an abuse survivor in the blog of a mutual. I was horrified.
When I get to re-watch TFL I get into the ship for mere curiosity. More to know what was the cause of such cruelty… I really was surprised when the thing that I found was a harmless and typical anti-villain/heroine ship. I really didn’t get that at first. It was not something new, not for me at least.
I submerged myself in the sea of essays and symbology and I fell in love with the ship. With the weeks I saw that it really was helping me with my own issues in my writing. I’m a Gothic Novel writer that last year almost drowned with the avalanche of purity culture wank that was consuming big part of the fandoms where I was. The amazing kindness, support and creativity of the Reylo community kicked me out of ten months long writer’s block with my own novel. Now I’m progressing and plus I have four fanfics cocking too.
I never understood this new hatred for the Dark Themes and characters. As a actress and singer. I always loved the villains (the photo is from one performance in my college as Mother Gothel), they’re the reflection of the human condition in their worst. The image that we need to see but don’t want too. Sometimes villains go away but sometimes we need redemption to see that that image can look better if you put effort on it.
I’m sure that Star Wars: The Last Jedi will be the beginning of a marvellous redemption and maybe of a new love. And that the Reylo Community will still getting bigger and stronger, because we are not afraid of pass through the darkness before see the light.
[Because my dog is a self-proclaimed Sith Lord and her photo must be included everywhere.]
I’m a Latina shipper from the Washington, DC area. I’m also currently in college hoping to get my degree in biology to pursue a career in wildlife conservation - I REALLY LIKE fish. My close friends are also huge Star Wars junkies and I’ve slowly brain washed them into becoming fellow Reylo shippers.
If we’re being honest, Reylo was the ship that turned me from a passive consumer of Star Wars into a full-fledged fandom nerd. I had never made any leaps in fully discovering the Fandom until TFA, and only because after seeing the movie and getting some heavy Rey/Kylo (as well as Poe/Finn) undertones, that I needed to know I wasn’t insane. But most importantly - a need I haven’t felt in ages since joining a fandom like Percy Jackson - I also felt the desire to contribute. I had promised myself that after finishing a rather extensive multi-chap PJO fic that I would never write Fanfiction again, as no other Fandom would ever elicit that kind of inspiration (and borderline obsession) for the rest of my days. But with Reylo, it’s revived the spark and I’m excited to get back into doing what I love, which i think would have been impossible had I never fallen in love with this ship.
Hopefully soon I’ll be able to introduce my love-child story to the world but it’s currently taking its first creative steps. I have no fear though because Reylos are just so welcoming of new ideas and having as much creative work as possible. With this, I can say that I never have any trouble feeling like I belong.
Can’t believe that @voicesofreylo reached 300 followers last week (we’re currently at 320 O_O). Thanks to everyone who sent us kind words, re-blogged and added thoughtful tags since the grand opening of this blog in October. Sending much love to everyone who submitted their Voice already. You guys are what makes the Reylo community so alive and amazing.
If you’re a new follower or a new/returning Reylo shipper, don’t be shy and come share your Voice & your projects with us too.
To submit your own Voice or let us know about a community event you’re planning or organizing, simply visit the blog or shoot us an email at voicesofreylo@gmail.com.
For more information, please make sure to check the FAQ below.
Gentle reminder that if you want to come and discuss in a safe environment about the good and the bad things you’re experiencing in the Reylo fandom, Voices of Reylo is open.
I heard someone sent disturbing pictures to reylo shippers. I don't want to send a voice because of that. I don't want to put a target on my back.
Hi nonnie.
First of all I understand your concerns. *hugs* My second reaction is “F*ck the haters with a spade”.
If that makes you feel better I have never ever received hate from antis on my personal blog or on Voices of Reylo. I’m also not aware of anyone who sent their Voice who’s been attacked afterwards. Perhaps it’s because I’m blocking any haters who cross-tag so they probably don’t even know that blog exists.
Useful things to know about Tumblr:
The same douche-canoe can only send a maximum of 5 anon asks per hour.
They won’t be able to send you Fan Mail or Asks to your Tumblr.
They won’t be able to see your posts in their dashboard.
They won’t be able to like or reblog your posts.
You won’t show up in their search results.
Just a note for anyone with secondary blogs: when you block someone, you’ll be blocking them from a specific blog on your account, not all of them. If you want to block someone from all of your blogs, then you’ll have to add them to each block list.
Will someone know if I’ve blocked them?
Probably not. We don’t tell people when you block them, but they might figure it out on their own if they visit your website, try to reblog one of your posts, say, and are prevented from doing so.
Can I hide my blog from people who aren’t logged in?
Yup. Just head into the settings for the blog you want to hide from public view and turn off the switch that says “Allow logged-out users to see this blog.” Your followers will still be able to see your posts in their dashboards, and other logged-in users will be able to view your blog, but anyone who tries to go to your blog at its URL will need to sign up and/or log into Tumblr to see it.
We can all agree that this week has been tough and what we wrote on November 6th is truer than ever: now is the time to change the narrative.
That’s why today we want to signal boost community activities that are happening right now in the Reylo fandom. Make sure to check them out, encourage authors and artists who are participating, become one yourself or simply spread the love.
Anthologies
The following projects are open to everyone who wants to register. For events details and participation guidelines please check each blog.
Let us know about your projects or projects you’re aware of.
If you are organizing a community event let us know so we can signal boost the heck out of it.
REQUIREMENTS
The project involves at least TWO individuals
The project revolves about Reylo OR is promoting and encouraging women and minorities to participate to the Star Wars fandom.
The project does not promote hate in any way, shape or form.
NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS
Projects from around the globe are more than welcome! If you want to promote your project, send us a brief summary in English of what your project is about.
WE WILL NOT PROMOTE
Blogs or individuals who profess hate.
For profit projects.
No offense but I don't see the point of this blog.
This anon ask was sent to the blog ages ago but at the time I consulted with my two partners in crime @solikerez and @personalphilosophie and we decided it didn’t warrant an answer.
However, this week has seen a few interesting developments so maybe it’s time to discuss it?
So nonnie, if you’re still around, it’s time to have a talk with real folks.
When we launched this blog, the sentiment in the tag wasn’t as cheerful as today, therefore an initiative like Voices of Reylo seemed beneficial.
Shipping is seen as frivolous, unimportant yet seems meaningful enough for some people to harass shippers, ridicule them and shame them over their fantasies (sexual or otherwise).
To put it plainly, it’s the peculiar climate existing on Tumblr and other social media platforms that pushed us to create Voices of Reylo.
Many of the Voices we have received shown how engaging in fandom activity has a positive impact on individuals overall. Shippers have confided that it helped them make friends, cope with difficult situations, but also allowed them to be more confident and start working on projects like fanfics, podcasts or to start drawing again.
But being on Tumblr, Reddit, Twitter or any social media platform without support, without a network of friends and allies takes its toll and before last week many fans had slowly abandoned the ship, tired of the negativity surrounding the tag. Negativity brought by both the “Antis” and the “Anti-Antis”.
What happens on Tumblr happens IRL in many industries
It’s especially true with entertainment industries and this is another -more subtle- reason why Voices of Reylo was created.
When browsing Tumblr you’ll see a lot of passions and a lot of creativity, but very quickly you’ll also witness and experience a very pervasive form of toxic activism.
It slowly but surely extinguishes the will of many women to create and put themselves out there because folks who are already isolated, shy, introverted, lack confidence in their abilities or depressed are quickly overwhelmed in such a climate.
How many of these artists have the potential to become “real artists” in one, five, ten years? (When I say “real” artists, I mean people with a wide audience, with a weight in media).
Except that, because they are discouraged to experiment in an environment that is supposed to be fun and light, they simply ‘disappear’, lose interest or become disillusioned.
Change the narrative
Change won’t happen in two days. But think about it. Think about your own impact, your own objectives. Change the narrative so in a few years time we have more women creating video-games, more women creating comic-books, more female directors working on million dollars productions.
How do you do that specifically in the Reylo fandom?
First stop engaging or ‘advertising’ the Antis.
Second promote the things that are relevant to your cause.
Last but not least don’t be afraid to create the things you want to see.
“Change the narrative” so your enjoyment of certain type of media is not conditioned by the complete eradication of certain genres, but by the consumption and creation of stories and characters you love.
You will never get rid or avoid seeing stuff you don’t like, not in a million years, so don’t bother trying to correct or get rid of people.
Instead create networks and initiatives of people with the same goals. Even if you’re only 3 lonely shippers on your tiny island, you never know who is going to become the next big deal.
Promote actions over words
Antis and bullies in general do not create a climate that fosters individual growth. They certainly believe they’re fighting the good fight when they call out an individual or a group over some real (or sometimes perceived) issue/problematic behavior. But what they fail to realize is that when their words do not match their actions, they cause way more harm than good to their cause.
When you only ask people to stop creating something but you’re not encouraging your peers, what’s the point of your actions?
Imagine that fandom is a meadow
This post is already longer than I intended so I’m going to finish with a poetic image.
Fandom is a vast space where many species of plants and flowers cohabit: daisies, poppies, buttercups, but also weeds, thistle and rare plants that haven’t been named yet.
It’s a mess. A beautiful mess, without proper order, but strangely cohesive. There are spots where there are more poppies than daisies, but both species share the same soil and don’t compete to exist.
Now, bullies step into the meadow and declare they’re going to get rid of the bad weeds. The problem is that to get rid of the bad weeds, they spray herbicide everywhere.
The words on the label change depending on the context, “rape apologist”, “racist”, “pedo”, but the effect is the same: they kill the daisies, the poppies, the buttercups along the weeds. The remaining flowers are withering, poisoned. And most likely the very bad seeds are strong enough to resist the herbicide; they flourish, stronger than ever in a soil that is now depleted of nutrients.
Sounds like a stupid analogy? Perhaps it is, but it is exactly what is happening.
Plant more poppies, more daisies, more buttercups!
If you really want to change the narrative stop caring about what your neighbors are doing and start tending to your own patch of meadow. If you feel you’re surrounded by poppies, don’t complain that there are too many poppies; plant more daisies and buttercups instead.
And hopefully some of the strongest beautiful poppies and daisies and buttercups will spawn some of their seeds in the well manicured gardens of big companies.
Star Wars was just never a part of my life growing up simply because my father was not a fan. That being said, announcements of Episode VII did not phase me and I was oblivious to all the hype for the most part. I mean, as a huge Tolkien fan since age seven, I understood the enthusiasm of fandom and just listened with objective amusement whenever my professor and classmates gushed with speculation as the release of The Force Awakens approached.
After Christmas that year I heard so much praise for the film. Then I made the grave mistake of looking it up online and decided eventually to check out what kind of stories were being written by the fans. I stumbled upon Reylo. I liked what I heard about Rey as the protagonist and, truth is, I had seen a picture of Adam Driver and was utterly stunned at his casting. But pleasantly so. In my limited Star Wars knowledge, all I could think was, “Well, that’s different.” He was just so interesting looking. He is not someone cast to just be Vader 2.0. That face—as a villain—that face tells a story. And I’ve always been captivated by the risky, the unexpected.
And thus the hero/villain dynamic became an instant cherry on top. So I read a few stories and peeked into Tumblr, bombarded instantly by all the meta and rampant controversy.
Then I FINALLY saw TFA and actually convinced my father to watch it with me, so I know that this film will always have that added nostalgia for me. I fell in love with Rey, Finn, and the OT trio I hadn’t even known that well. And my heart broke for Kylo Ren.
During my first watch I did my best to put everything out of mind and focus on the film itself. I expected to be more critical of the scenes that had been designated as “Reylo,” but the bridal carry at their first encounter is so in-your-face and I wasn’t expecting it to that degree. However, I figured that bridal carries don’t necessarily indicate future romance, given its use in monster films and such … but then the interrogation happened …
I was not prepared for the suggestiveness or the film techniques utilized throughout that entire scene. It went over the heads of a lot of people, obviously, but the sexual tension was not at all subtle to me. Then the beauty and symbolism of the final duel, alongside Adam Driver’s nuanced acting, blew me away and silenced all lingering doubt.
Rey and Kylo’s dynamic is one that felt like home to me. Complex and dark, but rich with promise. It’s the kind of relationship that plays on already-established themes in their world and is sure to change both people in the process of its coming to fruition, so it has all the potential in the world to be one of the most iconic love stories.
It’s been so fun reading the stories of fellow shippers, and a notable common thread that I also share is a love for Phantom of the Opera. I also shipped Zuko with Katara. And for years and years I have shipped SasuSaku, which became my only experience at having one of my ships actually become canon.
It was never super apparent to me before, but all these couples run alongside a call to redemption. So it’s no wonder Reylo ensnared me. I just wish I could have had an unspoiled experience watching the film, but I fully intend to make sure my experience with Episode VIII is!
Being in the Reylo community is a major highlight of my day and has inspired me to start writing fanfiction again. This is also the first time that I have been actively contributing to any fandom on a platform like Tumblr, so it’s very exciting to be a part of all of this and be anticipating each of the next to films alongside you guys. What great fun!
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