mad hatter land

— FAVORITE ELLIE FICS ✭

𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐢 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬’ 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 <<𝟑 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐇

One of my other favorite parts of this couple is that they are atypically gender reversed. It’s one of the many reasons this ship is so intriguing and unique compared to others. Let me explain. Typically in most hetero romances the man is the abrasive, closed off one at first and is generally a prickly little shit. While the girl is typically softer, a little more compassionate and open minded. This not the case with Rey and Kylo.

Rey’s first interaction with Kylo is shooting a blaster at him multiple times in succession. Granted she does have a Force vision of Kylo at Maz’s which makes her justifiably hostile and afraid of him. During the interrogation scene Kylo reads her mind and speaks her thoughts out loud: she wants to kill him. Rey calls him a creature in a mask and angrily tells him to get out of her head. And then proceeds to spit Kylo’s greatest fear back in his face with such venom. I love how she snarls: “You. You’re afraid.”

Kylo on the other hand only defends himself from her blasts and force stops her from shooting any further. He gently says: “The girl I’ve heard so much about. Kylo easily could have dragged her away or thrown her into the hands of the troopers beside him—but instead he makes Rey sleep and scoops her up into his arms bridal style. In the interrogation room Kylo sees Rey’s fear and says she’s his guest. He takes off his mask. Then explains things calmly—never raising his voice above a murmur. The curiosity about her is strong as Kylo probes her mind and the responses to what he finds there are emotional. I love so much how he says “Don’t be afraid, I feel it too.” It just feels so incredibly kind considering the circumstances—like that was the first little glimpse of Ben we got.

The shift that happens when Rey uses the force back on Kylo is what really sets the tone for the rest of their relationship. Rey attacks and responds negatively—Kylo gently deflects and tries to connect. If you watch throughout the rest of the films this dynamic doesn’t really change. Almost all of their force bonds in TLJ are similar: Rey being barbarous and Kylo being benign. A majority of their saber fights are like this too—Kylo plays defense, is hesitant to pull out his saber multiple times or looks like he’s doesn’t want to fight her period.

See what I mean?! Rey is hostile and prickly—Kylo is open minded and gentle.

The other gender swapped aspect is that in a way Kylo is the damsel of this pairing. He’s trapped far away, lonely and miserable, in a figurative tower. Rey fights Luke for his cause and goes to rescue and save him if she can. But I also see Kylo as an emotional damsel too. He’s so lost, and hurt and twisted. Rey offers him a way back—she’s the only one who can—and in the long run is the very reason he is able to become Ben Solo again. But it’s when Rey lets her guard down and mellows her prejudice that their relationship flourishes. Kylo/Ben is already ready and waiting to love and be loved…

-> moodboard by @readingreylo

Online dating AU

Matched! by ekayla: What happens if you finally meet someone interesting on dating app during an international pandemic and can’t meet face to face?

Let Go (Never Let Me Go) by crossingwinter: In which Rey swipes right on Ben, 35. Probably too much of an asshole for you, but my therapist is trying to convince me that assholes deserve love too, so here’s me on Tinder, and it does not proceed as she expects.

Slowly by angelview: Rey couldn’t be any happier for her friends; they’re all in love! It only bothers her when she’s the 5th wheel... a regular occurrence nowadays. Ready to end her loneliness since a certain dark, broody coworker she’s quite fond of has shown no sign of interest, she signs up for ‘Slowly.’ Little does she know that antisocial coworker Ben Solo is lonely too... ~SLOWLY (App):~ “SLOWLY lets you meet pen friends from your smartphone! Match with someone that shares your passion, write a letter and collect stamps from around the world. Speak your mind – one letter at a time!”