Play To Win
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| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Play To Win |
| Author(s): | Enterprisingly aka Tumblr user commandercait |
| Date(s): | 2018 |
| Length: | 161671 |
| Genre: | Het |
| Fandom: | Star Wars: The Last Jedi |
| External Links: | Ao3 Link |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Play to Win is a Modern AU Reylo story written by Enterprisingly. This fic also employs a Gamer AU scenario, with Ben Solo as a professional gamer. Enterprisingly was inspired by this post by Ao3 user Weatherbug02. This fic was often recced and very popular, inspiring fanart, moodboards and manips.
This fic is currently unavailable online. The author has hidden it on Ao3, by adding it to an Unrevealed Collection, as they plan to professionally publish.
- Ben Solo – aka KyloRen – is a professional gamer, playing the first-person-shooter StarKiller for the internationally ranked esports team, The First Order. He’s made a name for himself as a ruthless competitor with a ferocious temper and top-notch skills that can’t be beat. That is, until a mystery player named ReyOfLight begins thoroughly trouncing him whenever they cross paths.
- What follows is the unlikely story of a rivalry that turns into a friendship that turns into… something else entirely. All while the esports community watches with bated breath and popcorn in hand.
Reactions and Reviews
This article or section needs expansion. |
Sometimes you read fanfiction and it hurts so good you have an outpour of emotions that you’re not sure how to manage. GUYS, IT’S SO GOOD AND I AM A PUDDLE OF FEELINGS RIGHT NOW. I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF.[1]
This was actually the first Modern AU fic I read in this particular fandom and it converted me to the point where I now prefer AU. I’m picky as hell about Star Wars details, not in the sense of things like space battles and weapons, but mundane shit like “freshers” and what food is being served. I’m the most boring kind of nerd, I guess. Why am I overly concerned with Star Wars bathrooms?I’ve found that stories that take place in the “real” world cause me fewer hang ups. And the cool thing about Play to Win is that it’s the real world, but not one I’m too familiar with. For me, this is a sweet spot because I can generally accept everything and actually learn a little bit. I know just enough about e-sports to understand the stakes of this story. Even though I was a little dubious about the subject matter (I like games, but mostly to either play with my BF or run around the pretty landscapes), I think it works ridiculously well as an AU.
Stories where Rey and Kylo are both good at the same thing, but in different ways, preserve the dynamic of SW and The Force. In this case, that skill is a game that’s basically Overwatch. Rey is a kind of upstart prodigy, where Ben is highly established and trained. His gaming persona, KyloRen, is a raging asshole with a huge following. His offline self is not that much better until he starts getting to know Rey.[2]
Play to Win by Enterprisingly is one of the best fics I’ve ever read. I’ve now reread it at least once, staying up during the most recent reading until way past my bedtime because I just had to get to the end again. The premise alone is SO creative and effective at sparking tension. It’s set in the alternate universe (AU) of our modern Earth. Rather than being a murderous psychopath with Jedi powers, Ben Solo is an elite video gamer. He’s the best “Striker” in the world in a particular game. His gamer tag? KyloRen. His employer? Snoke. His competitive gaming team’s name? The First Order. He plays with Hux, Phasma, and others. I was bowled over by how seamlessly Enterprisingly fit the cast of characters into this completely new world of the gaming community. The author implements all of the facets of the gamer world to great success. For example, Ben has a Twitch stream where he films himself and interacts with fans on chat while playing the game, and he adopts the alter-ego of Kylo Ren—raging, venomous, unrelenting—in these videos. Leia is a senator, and they’re estranged. It’s all so perfect.[3]
Related Works
Fanfiction
- Dreaming in Digital -1 and Dreaming in Digital -2 by cyborgharpy, Companion kink for Enterprisingly's Play To Win, a modern AU fic about pro-gaming that I'm currently editing and . . . had feelings . . . about.
- Fan Friction by cyborgharpy, Ben Solo meets his online arch rival, Rey Sanderson in a Waffle House on the third night of Dragon*Con.(A Play To Win Waffle House AU in which instead of being professional gamers, Ben and Rey are just your average nerds who hate each other online until a fateful encounter during Dragon*Con brings them closer than they ever thought possible.)
Fanart
- Inspired by Play to Win by CommanderCait by Kayurka
- Found this phenomenal fic the other day by theforcebonding
- play to win by commandercait i cant get enough by kazeot
- An imagined exchange from commandercaits FANTASTIC fanfic by do-reylo-mi-fa-so
- Play to Win by CommanderCait by kayurka
- breathing you in when i want you out by saturnine-stardust
- good game he says in a voice that isn't hist by selunchen
Moodboards
- Moodboard & another moodboard by adrearner
References
- ^ "April 16, 2018 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-12-26.
- ^ "Reylo Fic Rec: Play to Win". Archived from the original on 2022-12-26.
- ^ "Fanfiction Romance: Kylo Ren/Rey Reylo "Play to Win" Review". Archived from the original on 2022-12-26.
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