once upon a trope (i found you)

by Inayaluic

Summary:

After Rey mentions she doesn’t understand the point of Galaxy Wars fanfiction, Ben asks her to give it a chance. If she agrees to read seven different fics about her favorite characters, he will buy her meals for a week.

It's not long before Rey finds herself swept up in the world of fanfiction, and somewhere along the way, she realizes that all of her favorite fics were written by the same author.

There is just something about the way RadarTechnician writes that speaks to her very soul. Maybe she should reach out to let them know just how much she loves their work.

Chapter 1

 

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Excited to see the new article detailing the upcoming Galaxy Wars show, Rey immediately went to the group chat to ask if any of her friends had read it. While their opinions on the extended Galaxy Wars universe varied significantly, she knew her friends were always up for a good discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The next day, Rose messaged Ben to see how he was feeling about the challenge. She was excited about the whole thing, but a small part of her was a little concerned about how Rey might react – Rose really didn’t want to see her best friend get hurt by any careless comment Rey might make.

 

 

 

 

 

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A little intimidated by how much her friends knew about fanfic, Rey decided to explore AO3 on her own. She quickly realized that it may have been a mistake.

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks to Armie and Rose’s help, Ben soon had a list of fics that included a variety of popular tropes in the fandom – from fake dating to soulmates to arranged marriages. There were canonverse fics, modern AUs, and everything in between. It had taken longer than he expected as he deliberated over each work that was added to the list. He only hoped that Rey liked at least some of the choices.

 

At the last minute, Ben even added a few that were written by RadarTechnician, though he hoped that they escaped her notice as he was filled with regret almost as soon as the list was sent.

 

Fuck. This was such a mistake. 

 

The next few weeks were going to be torture.

 

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Amused by the challenge and eager to participate now that Rey had started to select the fics, Finn messaged the Ticos to see what their reaction was. Much to his surprise, secrets were revealed that suddenly made the whole thing even more intriguing. 

 

 

 

Notes:

This is my contribution to #ReyloSpiritWeek on Twitter.

As a note, the characters discuss popular fanfic tropes, fictional authors, and fictional fanfics. Any similarities to real-life fanfic writers and their works are completely unintentional.