#hanleia reference

[roninreverie]

Everyone's out here making "Empire Strikes Back" comparisons, so how about a "Return of the Jedi" one?

Side-Note! While I was looking up the Leia Saves Han scene, I was reminded of Han's hibernation sickness from being stuck in Carbonite. According to Wookieepedia, a cure for this sickness is a spice called "Andris"... And Andris was mentioned in a book from 1998 called "Young Jedi Knights: Return to Ord Mantell".

ORD MANTELL!!!???

[dubiousdisco]

fun fact: the mike-will and mike-eleven love triangle is actually a reference to beloved 80's movie trilogy star wars and the luke-han han-leia love triangle

[walkawaytall]

six sentence sunday

“You still gonna love me just as much now that I’m a General and not a scoundrel?” Han asked.

Leia snorted and looked at him. His voice was dead serious, but the slight crinkling around his eyes told a different story. “I think I can manage that,” Leia deadpanned. She kissed the corner of his mouth. “I will love every version of you.”

[theboost]

I’m a hanleia enjoyer and a sequels hater but one of my favorite decisions the sequels made was to have leia and han epic divorce that feels so true to character I know deep in my heart that they have been married 7 times engaged 10 times and impossibly divorced 9 times but they still live together when they’re both planet side at the same time. Han exclusively refers to her as “the ole ball and chain” regardless of marital status and Leia calls him “the former mr. leia organa”

[that-gay-jedi]

'double agent vader series' ????? 🥵 i know the post implies it's unfinished but if you have a title or a link for it please share 😔

-> CLICKING THIS LINK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE <-

-> PODFIC VERSION <-

Okay so the 'bad' news about Double Agent Vader is it's only got canon ships. Any time I ever recommend a non-obikin fic, know that it's TOP TIER because I can't read them otherwise. It helped that a lot of it's gen or not very romance focused BUT it's also so, SO well written that I fucking enjoyed the bits of HanLeia in it, a ship which usually makes me throw up in my mouth.

Everyone loves Double Agent Vader because it's the origin of the Amavikka, the OG Tatooine slave culture which absolutely fucks, but honestly? Even as popular as it is, it's STILL MASSIVELY UNDERRATED bc there is so much else to like besides the gorgeous worldbuilding!!

People are sleeping on phenomenal characterization, immense narrative effectiveness (the painful parts are painful, the funny parts are funny, the hopeful parts are hopeful, etc) and the level of emotional nuance in complicated relationships.

It also masterfully fills in material previously untouched in the OT (it's largely focused on Anakin's relationship with Leia for example) without disrespecting or neglecting what canon focused on (contains my absolute FAVOURITE portrayal of Luke Skywalker HANDS DOWN).

Like okay. You know how I say the rebels remind me of the grassroots af local punks I got in with as a teen who helped me start to deprogram? That didn't start when I watched the OT. That started when I read Double Agent Vader.

Especially the fic "Empire Day" after which I was like "this author has DEFINITELY spent a shitload of time with some irl group analogous to the Rebellion" because I felt like I was back on the couch at one of the illegal squats laughing at the last political joke a friend of mine told me before fleeing town bc he'd become enough of a problem for local Nazis that he was legit gonna die if he stayed. They got right everything contemporary media tends to get wrong about it. I just.

Fwoo. Deep breath cause I realize I did not start at the beginning here AT ALL lmao.

The premise of Double Agent Vader is that about ~4 years after the events of RotS, Palpatine sends Vader to visit Tatooine as a punishment to remind him of his place. But instead it reminds him of his people. And he soon starts thinking of himself as Anakin again, in his head referring to Sidious as depur instead of master, and starts working for the Rebellion behind Palps' back, and. What if OT but Vader is a rebel spy? And his cover is so deep most of the rebels don't know. They don't even fucking know.

This is an author who understands Anakin so well. I can't say much more without spoiling it.

And like. Years before the Kenobi series came out (last individual fic in the unfinished series was completed in like 2017), this was THE story that gave Leia the attention she deserved.

I'd give a fuckin kidney for this series to have continued up to RotJ, which was probs the author's initial plan. As it stands, it goes up to shortly after the end of ESB.

[lajulie24]

Year-End Fic Recs 2022 - part 4

Every year, my fellow fanfic writers blow me away with their talent, their creativity, and their heart. I’m compiling a list to share a few of the fics I read (or reread) this year and would recommend -- by no means an exhaustive list of the many talented writers and wonderful stories out there, and not exclusively stories that came out or updated this year, but a place to start. Because I have a lot to say, I’ll be sharing these in multiple posts. This is my fourth and final post of recs for this year.

Here’s where to read my other 2022 fic recs posts: 2022 Fic Recs Part 1: Leia Organa Has Become Unstuck in Time 2022 Fic Recs Part 2: Han and Leia Learn that Sex Doesn’t Fix Things 2022 Fic Recs Part 3: Catching Up with the Princess and the Scoundrel

And now...

2022 Fic Recs Part 4: Oh, Did You Think We Were Done With Sexytimes?

There was an embarrassment of riches in the HanLeia hotness department this year -- while some of my other recs included some excellent intimate scenes, I couldn’t help recommending some additional fics that I found incredibly sexy. Adults only, for certain.

Bound by @corellianangel: A very hot interlude on the way to Bespin, with a bit of Leia dominating Han and inappropriate use of the Force (even if Leia doesn’t quite know that’s what she’s doing yet).

let me tell you a story by @soloorganaas: Han’s trying to help Leia relax, and Leia can’t quite get there -– so he tells her a hot story that takes her the rest of the way.

the bad habits are the hardest to break by xslytherclawx: I’m not usually a modern/Earth AU kind of person, but this little fic was great, with Han and Leia having some friends-with-benefits sex and Leia not quite ready to admit it’s more than a one-time thing, plus a little reference to bi-for-bi Han and Leia, and Han asking for Leia to do something for him...or more to the point, to him.

Lost together by @contrivedcoincidences6 / Spooky66: “When I kiss you, I want you to remember it the next day.” Han and Leia crash while on a mission, and have a sexy little interlude away from the Rebellion. 

War of the Roses by kroland: Han and Leia go to a war-ravaged planet on a sensitive mission, and their mutual attraction blooms into a night together (and the beginning of more) as they work together to complete the mission and attempt to determine who their true allies are.

Slick by @madame-alexandra​: I think my first reaction was just me with my mouth hanging open, but....yeah, wow. “Things get wet” is a bit of an understatement here. And yeah, Han, if you can figure out how you did that to Leia, could you let us know?

Trust by @inelegantprose​: Oh my goddess, where do I start? This is fully intense smut (and you have to be logged into AO3 to read it) but incredibly sexy, emotional, and fully engaged with the characters at the same time. Leia discovers an old Corellian wedding night tradition, something she’s never done before...and she decides she might want to try it. Of course, there’s a bit of buildup needed to this particular act, which turns out to be just as hot as the supposed main event. I’m just going to start cursing now, frankly, because it’s some of the best and most intimate smut I’ve ever read.

[nsewell]

10-20 for Sadie Ava teehee

otp asks.

10. describe their first date.

hmm idk how things are going to play out in canon but in all likelihood i could see it being a mission they go on together after comitting to their feelings and coming out of it just. super invigorated by their synergy and success and seeing each other use their skills in their element and sadie being like, 'you call that a date?' and ava raising a brow and hitting her back with 'if you like.' and then they just always refer to it as their first date. i love you battle couples.

11. do either try to hide their emotions if upset? Can the other still tell?

they can both read each other implicitly, ava bc of her hypersenses and sadie bc she just comes to know ava's body language extremely well so suppression when it does happen is pretty futile. doesn't stop them from trying though, and i think a lot of the source of their tension is knowing that the other is affected while trying to pretend everything's fine.

12. do they have many heated arguments? how do they smooth things over?

heated arguments are the foundation of planet ava and sadie but really only in the begining when it came from a lack of understanding each other. they do have their petty spats and disagreements still but, and i'm outting them here, they definetely both enjoy it. in a hanleia back and forth way for sure, they get a weird sexual thrill so you can imagine how they resolve things.

13. who’s the bigger tease?

sadie!!!!!!!! more intentionally so, it's her 9 to 5 to work ava up but sometimes ava will rise to the occasion with a reverse uno sly reply or innuendo that has sadie flustered and speechless

14. how do their personalities compliment each other? how do they clash?

in them is this mutual drive to give their best for people even if they approach it at different angles. sadie has a hero save as many as i can complex whereas ava is tempered by sacrifice the few to save the many mentality so there's a lot of butting heads there. sadie is the passionate spitfire to ava's cool composure. they both have an adventurous spirit, both enjoy physical activity and doing things with their hands, being in nature, enjoying the fruits of their labor etc etc.

15. do they always say 'i love you' before leaving?

no they don't really need to. once they reach that mutual understanding it's an unspoken thing that neither of them question or need constant reassurance of

16. can they stay up all night just talking?

i don't think ava has enough words in her to fill that many hours but they can stay up all night doing parallel activities with occassional intercessions or one wandering over to check on the other with a forehead kiss or brushing a hand to a neck

17. who's more likely to pull the other in by the waist and kiss them passionately?

i think ava can have startling bursts of passionate intimacy that trump even sadie's flirtations because of how much she contains and holds in, whereas sadie just lets everything lose so yeah. she would go for the big shows of affection out of nowhere whereas sadie likes to lure you to her

18. how likely are they to have fur babies? How many and what kind?

sadie comes with a fur baby already in her hairless cat that she calls the sheriff, and he takes to ava even more than sadie to the point sadie starts calling him ava's cat. she'll get random wordless texts of pictures throughout the day if ava is working on reports from home featuring the sheriff cuddled up with her, she loves that evil little cat

19. how do they feel about PDA?

neither of them are particularly keen on it, sadie might do a see ya babe cheek peck when they're parting around a group, or a quick kiss in greeting. 90% of their PDA tbh is staring across a room at each other and playing psychosexual mindgames nobody around them can even begin to understand.

20. choose one song that perfectly describes their relationship.

but not kiss by faye webster

i want to sleep in your arms but not kiss / i long for your touch but don't miss / don't want to regret any of this

[soloorganaas]

im fascinated by your tagging system. can you explain a little about how you tag ships, characters, relationships etc?

it's a relic of tumblr days of yore (for me 2010-15) and when i got back into tumblr last year for star wars i kept it because it's just so fun

it's roughly divided into:

ch: x (for individual characters) otp: x (for romantic relationships) fam: x (for family/friendship pairs/groups)

then it's mostly followed by a quote that sums up the character/relationship, except for fam which is usually a name or moniker for them

so:

sirius/remus is otp: i'm mental about you (from atyd bc that's how i got into them). hanleia is otp: i love you i know

sirius is ch: we choose who we really are (abridgement from what he said to harry in the OotP movie) bc it sums him up so perfectly. anakin is ch: it's not the jedi way bc i like to remember the best version of him. some of them are silly like ch: hello there for obi wan

fam is any kind of close friendship and found family. so fam: organa solos is for leia, han and their various adopted kids from the sequels. fam: dogfather is for just sirius and harry bc i think that sums up their special bond, whereas fam: christmas gift is for sirius, harry and remus bc of the joint christmas gift in OotP. fam: disaster lineage is for anakin/ahsoka/obi wan bc that's a common jokey way of referring to them in fandom

i pretty much add them as i go for blorbos i love and post about a lot. the fam ones i only started doing recently bc of all the fam/friendship groups in hp, but it's a way better way to organise than 4 tags at once so i use it for sw now too

anyway it's just so much more fun for me than tagging wolfstar or whatever and an expression of love for the blorbos bc only the special ones get their own tag <3

[romanticinpanic]

about me

screenname: rom (she/her)

blog content ranges anywhere from shitposting, fandom, history, aesthetic, and studyblr depending on mood

more about me/my interests below, though it may be slightly outdated

(just for reference, unless topical, a good amount of my reblogs are queued)

note: some of these linked tags are empty, this is mostly for organization (also I gave up on linking everything around the inactive fandom section) 

fav (mostly standalone) movies:

the mummy

scream

heathers

romeo + juliet

labyrinth

what we do in the shadows

the winter soldier

empire strikes back

the half of it

howl's moving castle

addams family values (the addams family)

pride and prejudice

childhood disney films (sleeping beauty, mulan, tangled), honorable mention anastasia

fav musical artists:

taylor swift

mitski

lana del rey

blackpink (rosé biased) and a whole lot of other kpop girl groups

and (according to my last.fm) the smiths, phoebe bridgers, hole, the beach boys, the shangri-las & tv girl

fandoms i consider myself active in (and what i like in them):

star wars (leia, hanleia, love OT, like PT, for the most part like to pretends ST doesn’t exists)

doctor who (rose tyler, RTD era mostly, doctorrose)

PJO (percabeth)

marvel (jean grey, gwen stacy, jott, romanogers, xmen/x-men/x men)

batfamily/dc (dick grayson, poison ivy, dickbabs leaning)

buffy the vampire slayer (drusilla, spuffy [in AUs, not in pure canon])

top gun (a guilty pleasure of mine, icemav)

wwe/pro-wrestling (Kairi [Sane], Asuka, AJ Lee, Judgement Day)

fandoms i’m either inactive in or no longer a part of (but formerly obsessed):

total drama (aleheather, au duncney)

taskmaster

x files

rpdr

yellowjackets

sailor moon

streamers (nihachu, technoblade, RT game, OTV & friends, in the past dsmp)

harry potter (hermione, dramione [in AUs, not in pure canon])

figure skating (evgenia medvedeva, alysa liu)

american horror story

A:TLA (katara, zutara, jinora)

sherlock (molly hooper, sherlolly)

musicals (hamilton, heathers, poto & more [I was in middle school ok! Cut me some slack])

ya fiction

other random obsessions:

empress sisi/sissi

ophelia

Misc folklore & mythology

history

historical fashion

ballet

time periods (for history content)

ancient times

20th century

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

90s

00s

misc tags i use that haven’t found their way in above

prev tags

quotes

paintings

long post

other accts

ao3: @romanticinpanic

elysian fields: @amina

there are some things i don’t like, but so long as you’ll tag them correctly i won’t interact with them. honestly as long as you’re not toxic/in denial, i’m pretty up for anything (which i know is such a vague description, but it’s hard to out of context create some all encompassing distinction of what is in good fun and what just worsens an online community)

[thesandwichincident]

Hey there!! It’s your hanleia holiday gifter (not actually sure how to refer to this haha) and I’m super excited about this event!

I’m looking through your AO3 profile and I’m realising I’ve read some of your fics and I absolutely them! From your prompt list I can see you love the pre relationship flirtation and banter and I also love the sharing a bed trope it’s so good!! You mention miss Americana and the heartbreak prince (which now I think of it definitely fits Hanleia!) are you a Taylor fan or just a fan of that one song?

I’m really excited to start working on this gift for you!! This is my first time taking part in this sort of event and I’ll keep coming with any questions I have!!! :) :) :)

Hello hello!!! This message made me smile so much 🥹🥹 thank you sm for your kind words, I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed my fics!!! I am definitely a Taylor fan, yes 🥰 I loved her music when I was younger and then stopped listening for a while and now I’m fully back into it lol evermore and folklore were sooo much of what I listened to last year!

It’s so cool to hear that this is the first time you’re doing an exchange, last year was my first time too and I started with this one! It was so much fun and I’m sure you will have a great time :) I can’t wait to hear from you again - thanks again for the message and I hope you are having a wonderful day!! ❤️

[mag200]

smooch!

[onwardintolight]

Han x Leia, ESB, Trip to Bespin, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff

Summary: ESB from Leia's POV. A journey from despair to hope, a blossoming, an opening to vulnerability and love.

Warnings: Deals with some heavy themes, incl. working through trauma, depression, self-harm, attempted sexual assault. Each chapter will be individually warned.

Note: I’m currently in the process of reposting the first nine chapters here in full, since when I first wrote this fic, I only shared links to the chapters on AO3 and FFN. I will try to post at least weekly. In the meantime, if you’d prefer to binge-read it, the entire fic is posted in full on AO3 and FFN.

Part: Masterlist | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Epilogue

~~~

Soft, blue light bathed the cockpit of the Falcon in an eerie glow. It flickered on and off with a distinctive click.

Nothing. There’s nothing.

Leia had known what she would find as soon as she sat down in front of the astrogation display; she had scanned the nearby solar systems for alternate destinations three times today already. But something kept propelling her to look again.

Threepio had woken up from his self-induced sleep earlier that day, relaying the Falcon’s message that they had just entered the gravitational influence of Bespin’s star. 

They had one more day.

The dream had come back every night, relentless. Han knew when it happened now. She’d wake up panting in fear and curl herself into him, and he’d wrap an arm around her and kiss her forehead, whispering that it wasn’t real.

But it felt so real, and Leia couldn’t convince herself it wasn’t, no matter what the rational side of her brain told her. Dread filled her when she thought of Bespin now. Surely there was some way to change their course; avoid whatever disaster was ahead. Surely there was somewhere else that they could go.

There wasn’t, and their supplies wouldn’t last them long enough to get anywhere else, now, even if there had been.

But she still checked anyway.

It wasn’t only the dream that had her on edge. The closer they crept towards the gas giant and its supposed refuge in the clouds, the more she became aware that no matter what, her time with Han was running short.

Soon, he’d be gone. Would what had grown between them be gone, too?

For a long time after the astrogation display was turned off, she sat in the cockpit, staring motionlessly at the twisting tunnel of light outside.

*****

“Leia?”

She sat up straight, startled out of her thoughts.

“There you are. You gonna come eat with Chewie n’ me?”

She slumped again. “Go ahead. I’ll be there soon.”

Truth was, she wasn’t hungry, and she didn’t feel like socializing. She didn’t feel like sitting here accomplishing nothing, either, but her universe wasn’t exactly teeming with choices right now.

Han’s consternation was so loud that she didn’t have to see his face to know it was there. “You okay?” he asked.

“I’m just….” She grimaced, giving up on trying to find the words. “I’m not hungry.”

“Still thinking about that dream, aren’t you?” He came up behind her and began rubbing her shoulders. “I think you just need to chill out. Worrying about it won’t help anything.”

Leia whirled on him. “You think I just need to chill out? Well, why didn’t you tell me before? That would have fixed everything!”

He winced. “Leia, I—”

“No matter what, things are going to change after we get there, and I can’t do a damn thing about it.” Her voice was cold. “Of course I’m worried.”

Han opened his mouth to retort, but then his eyes softened and he seemed to think better of it. “Sorry, sweetheart. That was a dumb thing to say.”

Leia’s shoulders sagged, deflated from the fight that hadn’t come. For a moment they stood there looking at each other awkwardly. Then Han held out his arms as if they were a peace offering. With a sudden rush of need she stepped into them, feeling the comfort of those arms wrapping around her, stroking her hair, massaging her back. She willed away the sudden tears that loomed like storm clouds. Right now, she was afraid that if she let the rain come, it would never stop.

Han kissed the top of her head. “We’ll figure it out together,” he murmured. Leia closed her eyes and tried to believe that everything would be all right.

*****

Han put on some music again after dinner. It was jovial and upbeat, unlike Leia’s mood. She watched, amusement slowly beginning to thread through her worry, as he and Chewie joined hands and boisterously danced around the main hold. They seemed to have formed a conspiracy to make her laugh. To her surprise, she was starting to think it might actually work.

“Oh dear!” Threepio exclaimed, clearly appalled as the pair clattered into a few of the canisters and tools that had been left on the floor. Finally, with a triumphant roar, Chewie lifted Han and deposited him unceremoniously on the floor by the dejarik table.

“Hey!” said Han, pretending to be affronted.

Ignoring him, Chewie turned to her and gallantly offered her his paw. After a split second’s hesitation, she smiled and took it.

To hell with anxiety anyway.

Chewie led her in the same lively dance. Apparently it was a Wookiee favorite, though he explained he’d toned it down quite a bit so as not to hurt his human companions. «The Rhaggghhwr,» he called it. Leia turned to Han for elucidation, but Threepio beat him to it.

“The Wiggle-Hop,” the droid translated pompously. That did make her laugh.

Chewie swept her across the room. Several times, he tossed her up in the air and caught her—not high enough so as to be alarming or make her lose her balance, but enough to give her a thrill of delight. She found herself laughing even more. By the time he tossed her one last time and set her down—a bit more gently than he had Han, and on the dejarik bench, this time—she was completely out of breath, a grin plastered on her face.

“That…” she panted out between breaths, “was… fabulous.”

Chewbacca gave a little flourish.

“So,” she said wryly, leaning back against the seat cushion, “apparently you’re both dancers, and you never told me. I wonder what other talents you’re hiding?”

The Wookiee folded his arms and gave a little shake of his mane. «On Kashyyyk, I was known for my remarkable singing voice.»

“Trust me,” Han said in a mock whisper, “you do not want to hear it.”

“Come on, Han, can it be any worse than yours?”

“Hey, you haven’t even heard my voice!”

“Then who was singing along to The Bloodstripes earlier?” She grinned.

��Perhaps you were hearing my agghghgra reuughhh!» Chewie declared jovially.

Han extended a pointer finger towards Chewie. “Your ‘tones’ aren’t ‘illustrious,’ pal, not by a long shot.” He turned back to Leia and smirked, putting his hands on his hips. “I suppose your royal-high-and-mightiness can do better? I say we hear and decide for ourselves! Whaddya say, Chewie?”

The Wookiee roared his agreement.

“Okay,” Leia reluctantly conceded, raising an eyebrow. “But only if you two take a turn, as well.”

«Deal!» Chewie trumpeted.

“All right, all right.” Han threw up his hands, though clearly he wasn’t at all upset about this turn of events. “You first, Princess.”

Leia stood up, considering her options. She settled on a song from her childhood; it was simple and lovely, and—as it was a lullaby—easy to sing a cappella.

“Mirrorbright shines the moon,” she began, “its glow as soft as an ember. When the moon is mirrorbright, take this time to remember.”

She closed her eyes as she sang. She thought of her mother’s soft voice lulling her to sleep as a young child, of the Alderaanian constellations shining in through her bedroom window, of the distant tinkling of the south terrace air sculpture floating in on the night breeze. She tried not to think too much about the words themselves, and what they meant now, after… after the end.

“….Mirrorbright shines the moon, as fires die to their embers. Those you loved are with you still—the moon will help you remember.”

She opened her eyes. The room was silent for a moment, then Han and Chewie erupted into applause.

“Kriffin’ hell, Leia. You should sing more often!”

“Why, Mistress Leia, I was not aware that your voice was so sonorous! And what a lovely song!”

«You will put us all to shame, little Princess!»

Leia blushed at their enthusiasm. She had never had much voice training, and she was well aware that there was plenty of room for improvement… but their praise was encouraging. Maybe she should take time to sing more often.

Chewbacca was up next, sharing a ballad from his homeworld. Leia found Wookiee singing to be very interesting, if not entirely enjoyable. The scale was like nothing she’d ever heard, and at times it seemed like he was warbling two or three notes all at once. All the same, she was relieved when it was over. Technically impressive or not, the clashing tones of the ballad made her struggle not to cringe.

Han took the easy way out when it was his turn, choosing to sing along to a Grondorn Muse song. His voice, while even less trained than hers, was low and smooth and generally pleasant. She laughed as he hammed it up for them, plucking at an imaginary instrument. “When it’s just you and the stars, with an old bottle o’ booze, singing those old spacer blues!” he crooned, drawing the last note out with relish. He bowed grandiosely at their applause.

When their laughter and cheers had died down, Threepio piped up. “If I may, I have a song to share as well.” He was already striding to replace Han in the middle of the floor.

Han and Leia exchanged a quick look. Oh great, she thought, but just as quickly she scolded herself. She had wanted to treat Threepio better and include him—to a reasonable extent—in their goings-on, and this seemed as good a time as any to start.

“As you know,” he continued, “I am fluent in over six million forms of communication. One of the languages and cultures I am fortunate enough to be familiar with is that of the Lekhar. Their etiquette prescribes that upon greeting fellow Lekhari, they sing a greeting song, one of which I will sing to you now. I think it is rather delightful.”

With that, the droid launched into song. His voice, while a bit tinny, was quite agreeable, and before long Leia found herself lost in the strange syllables and wistful tune. It was longer than she expected a greeting to be, but she guessed from her own experience with languages that this was probably the formal version, and that the Lekhari had a short version for more everyday occurrences.

“Damn, Goldenrod,” Han said once the droid had finished, “you’re not too bad of a singer yourself. And I gotta admit, that was kind of interesting.”

Leia smiled, pleased at Han’s kindness.

The music didn’t end after Threepio. Han and Chewie took to the floor again to sing along to another old Corellian ballad. Then she and Han tried their hand at a duet, and then all of them, including the droid, joined in belting out a classic by Hyperspaze and the Jump Lanes.

It was unexpected and fun and wonderful. Occasionally, Leia remembered the foreboding creeping at the back of her mind, the incongruity jolting her. She felt vaguely guilty for having a good time.

Later, as she clapped along to another musical number courtesy of the Captain and the Wookiee, she paused, the thought hitting her like a ton of duracrete: she couldn’t be so afraid of losing any of this that she forgot to enjoy it.

Joy drives out fear.

The old Alderaanian proverb echoed in her mind. Her anxiety was never wholly gone, and she knew it would soon return in full force, but laughter, friendship, love—these things helped. She could fight the darkness with delight.

What’s more, she realized, these moments of beauty and happiness would always be real. They’d always be with her in some way, because she had experienced them. Loss could take away so much, that was true, but it couldn’t erase these moments any more than losing her planet had erased the precious memories of her beloved family and world.

I need to have more hope, she thought. Not hope based on unfounded optimism, but hope based on this—that joy and goodness would always be real, no matter what may come.

As she watched Chewie and Han belt out the last tenuous notes of their duet, a strange sense of peace washed over her, mingling with the merriment of the moment. Grabbing hold of it with everything she had, she smiled.

~

~

~

Notes:

"Fight back darkness with delight" is a line from a Tenth Avenue North song, Cathedrals. That line struck me like a revelation a few months ago right before I wrote this, and it caused a shift in my own perspective similar to Leia's in this chapter. As always, I write so much out of my own personal journey, and this is just one of many examples of how I was able to take a lesson I was learning and express it through my writing. I hope it encourages others, too. You can't paint over the pain with joy, but joy—and delights both big and small—can be a mighty weapon in the fight.

Also: A thousand thanks to Claudia Gray for Mirrorbright, the proverb, and for inspiring so many other things in this story <3

[toomucharitime]

star wars / stitchers / agents of shield

[shawneesmith]

i read a lot of bad fic but there was nothing like reading last night that leia wanted to listen to lliana del reya's classic single "ride" 

[tiktaalic]

Wait. I’d never heard this before. They they actually had Sam as Luke and Dean as Han? Implying there was a third person who might be Leiah/Fisher? And the third most frequent character was [microphone muted by Creation employee]

yes! caveat to say this was waaaaaay back in like, proto proto proto stages so like. pre season 1 stuff. the pitch was sam as luke skywalking (sensitive and learning a Force) and dean as han solo (han solo). it is very funny tho that spn eventually DID become a trio as duos are wont to do and that the trio person was cas leia shurley

. fun fact! destiel being a rip of hanleia is a reference to the fact that harrison ford and carrie fisher were having an affair on set, just like j

[gffa]

So I cannot remember if I asked this or not but do you have any HanLeia fic recs?

Hi! I could have sworn I'd done a list before, but honestly it probably wouldn't have been very long--Han/Leia is a strong OTP for me, but I don't end up reading much fic for them. But I do have a few to shove at you that I remember being significantly focused on them (rather than as a background ship)! ✦ A journey of a thousand miles by greyathena, han/leia & luke & cast, 149k      Relationships have to start somewhere. Or, once you’ve jumped into a garbage chute with people you kind of either decide to like them or you don’t. ✦ Identity by madame_alexandra, han/leia & cast, 353.9k      A distress signal reaches Coruscant after the Empire's demise, claiming to be the beacon of Bail Organa. what would the reappearance of Leia's adoptive father mean for her life in a post ROTJ context. What would he think of Han Solo, and what could he tell her about the dark shadow of her heritage? ✦ Fast, Thorough, and Sharp as a Tack by igrockspock, han/leia, 2.9k      Leia knows how to fire a blaster, survive an interrogation, and escape from the Death Star, but she’s still missing a few essential survival skills – like how to apologize, how to accept help from a friend, and okay, she might not know how to wash her own clothes or cook a real dinner. ✦ Any Scar You Give Me (I Will Endure It) by igrockspock, leia & ben & han/leia & luke, 15k      Leia and Han had escaped from Imperial assaults, been captured by Jabba the Hutt, blown up the shield generator on Endor, and helped to found the New Republic. After all that, raising a child together couldn’t be that hard, right? ✦ Minor Counterintelligence Operations by igrockspock, han/leia & ben, 2.5k      Ben Solo knows three things: he loves his parents, they are weird, and they have a lot of secrets. He intends to find them out. ✦ Drive It Like You Stole It by victoria_p (musesfool), han/leia, 1.2k     Sometimes she feels like she’s nothing but wanting, and these stolen hours with Han are the only thing that satisfy her. ✦ drink up, dreamers (you’re running dry) by 31_rabbits, han/leia & luke & ben, 2.6k      She’d expected her tears to be cold, too. But they are hot, and they are bitter. Salt from a vaporized sea. ✦ In Tandem by nymja, han/leia & ben, 1.2k      Leia tries to picture Han as a father. She envisions her infant son being asked to hold a plasma torch as dad attempts to weld a coupling that’s come undone for the fifth or sixth time. – Han tries to picture Leia as a mother. He sees his kid, with tons of hair. Just. Lots and lots of hair. ✦ Up in the Sky by ambiguously, han/leia, 3.4k      Han attempts to take Leia out somewhere nice. ✦ Five Ways to Stop Being a Princess by igrockspock, han/leia, 3.5k      1. Spend a night in the smuggling compartments of the Millennium Falcon ✦  the last princess of alderaan by songstress, han/leia & luke, 5.4k      Leia always considers herself a citizen of the galaxy. She never knows how Alderaanian she is, until Alderaan is gone. ✦ Song for a fifth child by Deputychairman, leia & han/leia & poe + references to pairings, 5.9k      The Force isn't the only kind of power ✦  no one can stop me, not even gravity or nasa by magneticwave, han/leia & luke & obi-wan, 8.5k   “Fuck you,” Leia says. “Who said anything about getting married? Did Luke say anything about getting married?” “Luke is not involved,” Luke says, not looking up. “Hey, Luke is not involved,” Han says, pointing at her. She’s going to bite his finger off, then they’ll see how much pointing he can do with it. “This is about you and me, princess.” ✦  but for the cause by newsbypostcard, han/leia & kylo ren & luke, 6k   The dark side takes its damned share, but it can never take from her the cause. (Or: five things Leia Organa has lost; something she keeps; and something she gains back.) If anyone else has recs to add, feel free! 💕