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Han/Leia Appreciation Week 2023 - Masterlist

There were 33 works created last week to celebrate Han and Leia! 🥰 We’re so impressed with everyone’s creativity and with the variety and quality of the works everyone shared; there’s truly a little something for everyone.

As promised, we put together this masterlist so you can comfortably catch up or revisit all the fanworks. Instead of listing every work, we’re linking to the tag in the blog that we set up for each day. We thought this was the most practical option, especially as edits and art are harder to list.

✨Check out all the works by prompt at the list below:

Day 1: Anniversary/Memory

Day 2: Endor/Reunion

Day 3: Rescue / Vision

Day 4: Favourite scene / Quote

Day 5: Battle couple / Millennium Falcon

Day 6: AU / Canon divergence

Day 7: Free day

🎉 A big thank you to all the creators: @anakinnaberrie @bookwormstarwarsfan @captaincwb @diplomaticprincess @keys2thefalcon @lajulie24 @organanation @otterandterrier / @otterandterrierwrites @walkawaytall kroland

💕 We also have an AO3 Collection specifically for this event, and you’re more than welcome to add your fic and art there! Let us know if you have questions about how to do that.

Please also remember to show your favorite fanworks some love through likes, reblogs, kudos, and comments — these works are a labour of love.

See you next time! And keep following us for more HanLeia events.

[graciecatfamilyband]

For the ask game?

27. How long did it take to write Won’t Do? Describe the process. (Since it’s still in process, maybe how long per chapter?)

27. How long did it take to write One Half Won’t Do? Describe the process. (Since it’s still in process, maybe how long per chapter?)

*laughs maniacally for a moment*

So, One Half Won’t Do was originally born from an idea I had in September 2019. Yes, you read that correctly. Four years ago. I can’t believe it either sometimes. So the story of writing this fic (so far, it’s not done yet, hopefully I will get the next chapter done soon) is the story of several things, in part that whole global pandemmie thing really making it difficult to concentrate or get much writing done for a long while there, but mostly the story of a pretty good idea for a oneshot completely breaking containment.

(Apologies in advance, I get kind of wordy when I talk about these things. If it threatens to get super long I’ll put some of this behind a cut.)

So anyway, at that time @hanleiachallenge was doing a monthly prompt, and people would write fics inspired by that prompt and they would reblog them. Kind of like HanLeia Week but a monthly single prompt thing. The prompt that inspired this fic was “tropes.” My fic tends to be fairly trope-y anyway, so I was looking for something different, and came up with, what about fake marriage with a bit of a twist? Usually when Han and Leia have a UST-filled time because they are pretending to be a couple but (ostensibly) aren’t, it’s the outside world who is fooled by the ruse and notice what a great couple they make, but all their friends back at the Rebellion know they’re not REALLY an official couple. What if, instead, Han and Leia had gotten fake married for a mission, but for REASONS even their closest friends didn’t know it wasn’t real, and totally bought that they’d really gotten married? And maybe they had to keep pretending for a while? So really the first thing I came up with was Chewie and Luke assuming they really HAD gotten married and being royally pissed off that they weren’t included and had to find out from rumors on base.

I talked with fellow writer @amilynh and bounced some ideas off of her, and she helped me think through an actual reason why they would keep pretending once they got back from the mission, and how they would end up on the mission in the first place, and how to include Chewie and Luke being surprised but then make it so that they could be part of a very tiny circle of beings who knew the truth. And I started writing, and it was going great…and I got my first clue that this fic was going to expand. I wrote about Leia and Han on the actual mission where they get married (or their aliases do) but Leia started having a lot of feelings about being dressed in wedding attire and cultural traditions and the like.

So that fall I think I finished most of the first chapter as well as some scenes that ended up later chapters, although at that time it was all one big chapter. I thought it was just going to be a long one-chapter fic. But I was realizing that I didn’t have the scenes I wanted quite filled out enough to actually finish and post it yet, and I did have a sort of natural stopping place that was pretty much ready. So I asked some other writer friends (including @graciecatfamilyband) what they thought, and I was kind of itching to post something anyway, so when they said “you should post the first part and make it a two-chapter fic” I listened. That was winter 2019-2020.

Each time I have posted a chapter of this fic, I have thought, “the next chapter will be the last, I will finally wrap it up then.”

Some scenes I wrote pretty early on haven’t shown up until much, much later in the fic — for instance, some version of “Han does a desperate search of the random junk in his ship storage because he told the Rogues he gave Leia a Corellian wedding stone and now needs to show them the stone” was written around the same time I posted the first chapter. Other things, like a scene with Rieekan telling Han that his bounty recently went up, weren’t written until very soon before I posted that chapter.

Chapter 1 was probably the most straightforward writing experience; subsequent chapters have taken a while because I would have 80-90% of the chapter written, but there was just a scene or a few that I needed to connect things and have a satisfying narrative, and writing those last few scenes would take me a couple of months (off and on). I had the concept for “the Rogues want to throw Han and Leia a wedding reception on base” pretty early on, but it took a while to connect that to the rest of the story and lead into why that would come up, and I ended up editing it a lot.

I have at least some of the ending already written. I know how this fic ends. The tricky part is getting from where I am to there. Perhaps in the next chapter? (See above GIF.)

Anyway, the good news is that I really enjoy writing this one, and already have a good start on the next chapter. And the encouraging comments and support do really help with the motivation! So thank you.

Thank you for the ask!

Questions for fic writers

[graciecatfamilyband]

Ugh, I hate to crawl back onto this site to be negative- especially when I know I wasn't around for Han x Leia week and need to catch up on those submissions!- but I don't have another place to complain.

I got the following "review" today on a nonviolent smut piece I published in 2017:

According to their bio, reporting people for violations that include but are not limited to using copyrighted song lyrics in their fics, among many other potential FF.net offenses, is this person and their friends' THING.

I've just blocked and am going to ignore. I've saved the reviews on my story in case this person succeeds in getting it taken down. I assume my stories get more traffic on AO3 anyway (which this person has so helpfully suggested I host it on 🙄).

But ugh, such gross behavior. They seem to belong to a group where they post exchanges between them and the (often confused) authors, so I assume they get high on the righteous and/or public arguing of their position.

But GROSS. Not a good way to be a community member, my dudes.

[graciecatfamilyband]

“Framing our best picture”

(Source)

[graciecatfamilyband]

[graciecatfamilyband]

Questions to help break through a ‘I can’t do the Thing’ wall

I’m not doing the Thing, but if I were to do the Thing, what would be the first bit to tackle?

eg: I’m having trouble washing up. I’ll start by just getting all the dishes into one place and emptying the drying rack.

Often, you might find that the first bit was what you were stuck on, and now you’ve done that, you feel ready to do the whole Thing. But if not, that’s fine, you’ve set things up to be easier later! Similarly:

What can I do to set things up for when I’m ready?

eg: I need to apply for a job vacancy I’ve seen. That feels really overwhelming and I don’t have the energy right now. I will create an email with the correct address in and open the files I’ll need for tomorrow.

Half-done is half more than you had before, and it will make things easier when you come back. Reduce the friction and complexity as much as you can.

Will this task actually be any easier if I do it later?

eg: I need to re-spray my waterproofs. It’s sunny today but it’s going to be raining all week, so it would actually be easier to do it now so I can do it outside and let them air. ‘Kay FINE, guess I will.

or: I want to make progress on my Creative Endeavour. I’m having a lot of trouble focussing at the moment but tomorrow I’ll be better rested and my Creative Group will be meeting. It will genuinely be easier then so I should stop worrying about it for now.

Sometimes, you realise that it would legitimately be easier to do a task later. Other times, you realise it would suck more to put it off, and that can help give you a nudge to do it sooner. It also helps reframe it in your head from “will I do the Thing?” to “when will I do the Thing?”

These are some questions that I use myself and I thought I’d share them to see if they’re handy for anyone else!

[graciecatfamilyband]

[graciecatfamilyband]

do a poll of only cat words just to spite that anon

GUYS THIS EXISTS ALREADY Please go and follow @words-for-cat-bracket, they're doing exactly this!

[graciecatfamilyband]

[graciecatfamilyband]

[graciecatfamilyband]

fandoms and media: *shows a character that is neurotypical, heterosexual, and cisgender*

the neurodivergent and queer community: You are none of those things, slut.

[graciecatfamilyband]

calling my lover "mine" but not in the way that my toothbrush or notebook are mine, mine in the way my neighborhood is mine, and also everybody else's, "mine" like mine to tend to, mine to care for, mine to love. "mine" not like possession but devotion.

[graciecatfamilyband]

Did I just employ the "Treat Them Like You are A Kindergarten Teacher Again" method with my insurance company today? I surely did. Did it work? Probably better than intended because I made an actual doctor feel contrite.

So, my insurance has been trying to not cover my SNRI because it is new on the market and no generic available yet, so pricey.

I apply for a refill and the request gets locked for review. Again. For the 3rd time.

This time I call and immediately ask to speak to the actual doctor making these clinical decisions. Very politely. Must be a slow day because they allow it.

ME: [Teacher voice] I'm calling in regards to the SNRI you have placed a lock on. Why was this decision made?

DOC: Well, there are dozens of other medications on the market in that tier, and far cheaper for you and [insurer]. We have sent a request to your doctor to consider alternatives.

ME: I am aware of that. So, can you do me a HUGE favor and look up my prescription history really quickly and tell me how many SSRIs and SNRIs were only filled once in 2022 for me, showing they were poorly tolerated?

DOC: It looks like eight.

ME: Great job! Now, can you please look at my genetic test for psychiatric drug tolerance and tell me how many medications are listed in the safe category?

DOC: Two.

ME: Awesome! Now, can you tell me what type that other drug is that I'm not taking?

DOC: Yeah, totally, it's an MAOI.

ME: That's correct, you're really knowledgeable! Should I be taking something as dangerous as an MAOI with my other medications, or even just in general?

DOC: It's contraindicated for sure.

ME: It is! So true! So, last question since you've been incredibly smart and helpful. Is it less expensive for [insurer] to pay out for the medication knowing they already get a huge manufacturer discount anyway, or is it more expensive for them to pay for me to need potentially long-term inpatient psychiatric care?

DOC: I'll clear the code, ma'am and flag it as medically necessary. I'm sorry about this.

ME: I appreciate you SO MUCH. You have a great day now.

WALGREENS PHARMACY TECH WITH 5 NOSE RINGS AND PURPLE HAIR STARING AT ME: ........... OKAY! It'll be ready in five minutes. You wanna come work here?

[graciecatfamilyband]

Hey, Jumblr!

Join me and a friend Friday at 11pm EST as we present our #ShavuotLIVE session TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO JEW HAS GONE BEFORE: Sci-Fi Worldbuilding and Roleplaying as Midrash!

Register at: bit.ly/shavuot23.

Share with your followers!

[graciecatfamilyband]

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Cats painting studies by Paul Rabaud

[graciecatfamilyband]

why is it impossible to meet people in the wild i’d rather give myself an at home lobotomy than use a dating app