Corphelion Stars Bespin Cafe -The Han/Leia WR and Archive - October Fanfic Update Up!

Tara: Yeah, I think I've seen that video before. I never knew where it came from though. Thanks for the link, I can go watch it again now

New fics for the month of March are up!

Kudos to all the people who've written stories for the fanfic challenge. Don't forget, this month's challeng runs until April 20th! Still plenty of time to add in another story.

Woohoo. *Quick, shameless plug* Not only did I update Assassination of the Heart, but I wrote a new Leia vignette, entitled I Believed, too. It's another pathetic attempt of mine to write Leia. I want the practice, though, because I want to be able to really write her.

Tara and I had been discussing this topic over a PM a little while back, and so, now, I ask: Who is easier for you to write: Han or Leia? And why?

For me, it's definitely Han. Whenever I want to write from his POV, I feel as though I can just slide right into his skin. I feel like I understand Han and his emotions much better than I do Leia and her emotions.

I don't know why this is, though. Between the two, I relate more to Leia. First off, I'm a female, like Leia, and I find Han dead sexy... *Ahem* Also, like the Princess, I don't readily express my feelings, and I can sometimes be cold and aloof. I think Leia and I are, as well, our own biggest critic's. I have a bad temper like Leia's (then again, Han's temper isn't much better), and my humor is more like hers (Han's is a bit more caustic).

But, for some reason, I just find Han so much easier to write. It's not that he's less or more complex than Leia, and I don't favor him over her, either (Leia's my favorite character). I've just always been able to better understand Solo. I can go on and on about his character, about how he feels, about mostly anything... But then, when I try to analyze Leia's character, it doesn't exactly work as well, LOL.

It's strange, because in so many ways, Han and Leia are alike. They're both almost two different people: she, a woman and a Princess/Senator/Rebel Leader; he, a man and a smuggler-turned-accidental-hero. They're both hesistant at times to come clean with their feelings. Both are very passionate, determined people, and when they set their minds to something, it will get done. Also, Han and Leia each have a horrible temper, and an amazing sense of sarcastic humor. I guess there's just something about Han that somehow makes him a little easier for me to write.

Maybe it's because to me, Han is translucent, and Leia's virtually opaque. Han doesn't exactly wear his heart on his sleeve, but it doesn't take much investigation to figure out just how he feels. He may deny it, but overall, he's pretty easy to understand. Leia, on the other hand... I mean, I hardly feel like she lets anyone really see who she is. I feel as if I do know who her true character is, but still... She's difficult for me to grasp.

I think it has to do with the fact that her character didn't grow as much as Han's in the movies. Leia was only seen as vulnerable a few times (carbonite scene, ROTJ "Hold me" scene) because her character was supposed to be strong (even Luke said, "You've always been strong" and in the novelization of ROTJ he even goes on to say that she's the stongest of them all). But Han, I don't know... I think there were a lot of times when he somewhat put himself out there, and you really got to see into him. *Shrug*

I totally agree with you Puggy, I have some H/L work in progress and I also find Leia very difficult to write.

Anyway, I also want to recommend some of my favourite H/L fics:

Then and again by Rebecca Maynard (Han & Leia Shrine)

His Hands by Michelle Slaughter (Organazation)

and

The End of the Beginning by ImXF Scully

Hey...Crystalrain has a poll about which SW couple people like reading and writing about the most (H/L are edging out the competition). If you haven't voted...go vote for our H/L!!!

LP:

Oh course I voted for Han and Leia!

Anyway, I agree with Puggy, although personnally I relate better to Leia (I'm a girl after all, think Hans sexy and sometimes have a bit of a sharp tongue etc.) Han is waaaay easier to write. Han is complex, definitly. But he's not hard to figure out. He's really just not very good at hiding his feelings (even though he thinks he is) he's just to strait foreward to be able to hide much. And his character developes so much in the movies (respect to Harrison Ford there for his fine acting) and Leia's really doesn't change nearly as much. She very rarely shows herself to be vulnerable, while Han is constantly going out on a limb for her.
But thats just Han, once he makes up his mind to do something, or to care for someone, it doesn't change. Leia on the other hand is anything but strait foreward, although she can be at times.

What she says and what she means are often two differnt things (especially when it comes to personal feelings, in reguards to Han etc) she sort of has a emotional sheild up, but unlike Han, hers actualy succeeds in fooling people at times. Shes strong, but sometimes she acts afraid to feel. And thats a harder thing to transfer to the page I think then Han's personality.

Plus how she's been basically turned into a glorified diplomat/politican in the books makes her a litte harder/less intersting to write at times.

But still she and Han are my favorites by far.


Who was it who said they needed a viggie beta'd for the archive? Anyway, I'd be glad to help.

I think one of the main reasons why Han is so much easier to write, is that he has a lot of published backstory to work with. I count 3 paperback trilogies focused primarily on Han's personal background and nothing on Leia's. Brian Daley mastered the wisecracking adventures of everyone's favorite Corellian smuggler before most of us even knew a sequel to Star Wars was being made!

I once heard a line describing Steve McQueen that works perfectly for Han. "He's the type of man every guy wants to be and that every woman wants to be with."

Now, if we knew more about Leia's misguided youth, she might be easier/more fun to write.

I don't know, I kind of find them both to be equally challenging as well as equally fun and easy. I love getting into both their heads...

Oh, and I voted for Other... since, though Han and Leia are up at the top of my list, I really don't like to pick favourites



~Aanix

I'm kinda going off topic and responding to a post on page three. I know...I'm terrible with keeping up on these threads.

there's even a few seconds near the end where a strain of the Imperial March plays- to me that foreshadows the threat the Empire will be to their relationship and how Leia's Dark Side heritage will influence their future

The Imperial March, huh? Can this be found on the original soundtrack or the concert suite version of Han Solo and the Princess? I never noticed this before and I'm curious.

I have it on my original soundtrack version of EpV

Are you sure? Miska mentions it being 4 minutes long. If I remember correctly, the concert suite version which is found on "The Empire Strikes Back: Symphonic Suite from the Original Motion Picture Score" is that long. The one on the original soundtrack is only about 1:30 before it changes to the music accompanying the scene with Vader and the Emperor.

I have the ESB soundtrack, but it's not the original. It's the special edition, I guess you would say... Anyway. I couldn't hear a trace of the Imperial March until a little after a minute... There's the part where Han/Leia break away in the kiss, and that is like the "transition" from Han/Leia theme to the Darth Vader scene... I don't know, I could be missing it completely--I have horrendous hearing.

O! Did anyone watch the Encore special on George Lucas? The series is called "The Directors" and it's by Encore. They're showing it again Saturday at 11 AM EST. It was pretty good... They mostly hit on American Graffiti and ANH, but Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford were some of the commentators.

I agree that Leia is more difficult to write as, IMHO her character is more complex, with many different levels. I'm not saying that Han isn't a complicated character, but it's usually quite easy to work out what he's thinking and feeling most of the time, whereas with Leia you have to look a little harder. Although I do identify a lot with Leia, my personality is even more complicated and a nightmare to write, so basing her on me doesn't work. I find it diffucult to write emotions and I think that, contrary to what many believe, Leia is actually a very emotional character, she just doesn't show it much. Han is much simpler to write - I don't find him that difficult although I usually find writing male characters really hard.

Say, seeing as most people seem to find Leia harder to write and there are such a lot of fics from Hans POV in the current challenge, maybe next months challenge could be to write something from Leias POV. Dunno what though. Just a thought, there

Does anyone else ever find it hard to believe that Han and Leia don't exist sometimes, or is that just me?

I'm going to throw myself to the wolves here, since I haven't actually written anything yet.

Alright: the only fanfic I've ever really written for was Moulin Rouge. I wrote something along the lines for 40 stories for it, and they were all relatively well-received. I had a really good grasp on the two characters I worked with (Christian and Satine, the main characters, for those who don't know). With that movie, not only did you not get any background on either of the lead characters (except that Christian had a fight with his father and went to Paris against his wishes), but there was a lot of time left unexplored. The time frame is pretty nebulous- you know they write and choreograph and put together an entire play- so there's a lot of time to play around with.

There is a point to this, I promise.

My big nitpick is that I need to really, really know a character before I can write for them. I connected with both of them- with Christian because I can handle angst very well, and with Satine because wistfulness and facades are familiar. Since neither of them had concrete backgrounds, I could mess around, find my own explanations, make up reasons and instances as to why they were the way they were. I could make up nuances of characters, create habits and backgrounds, and since there was no definate information, no one could point a finger and yell "WRONG WRONG WRONG!"

With Star Wars, which is a very, very new universe to me, I know that all the characters have backgrounds. Han has three books about his smuggling years, Leia was a Princess. People have read every book, seen all the movies a zillion times, the comic books, and while I know you all are very nice and (hopefully) wouldn?t hurt me to bad if (when) I messed up, I feel that since I don't know every little tidbit about every second ever explored, I shouldn?t even try it.

I do feel very strongly for both of them, and relate very well with both Han and Leia, I don?t think that I can write for them just yet. As Puggy said, they are both remarkably different and stunningly the same. I find them both extraordinarily fun to analyze and dissect (this from the psychologist-wannabe), I still can?t write them. *sighs* There is nothing worse than a muse that won?t work.

-I downloaded a version of ?Han Solo and the Princess?, and mine has the dark tones of the Imperial March at the end- startled me the first time I heard it, too.

-crystalrain, I know exactly how you feel. ;-)

Wow, that was a long post.

Wow, lots of posts to catch up on! I'm out of it for a while and everyone...Oh wait, that doesn't work here

Here's what I said to Puggy about this subject for reference:

I do find Leia easier to write overall, I think partly because I'm female, and well, I'd love Han to be my main squeeze I guess overall, I can relate to Leia better. I've got a thing for writing angst with Han and Leia (I don't know if this is just me) but I find Leia angst more painful than Han angst, I guess because I can better put myself in her shoes of having a broken heart, or not being able to be with the people she loves. Even though I've never had my guy put in carbonite or had my home planet destroyed , there is a little part of her where I can say "Yeah, I was in a situation like that..."

Our personalities aren't similar by any means (Leia is like a million times more selfless and strong-willed than I am), but I think because she is the same gender as me, I find it easier to "get into her head". I've never written a POV Han because I feel like I have no idea what a guy would be thinking.

I love writing Han's dialogue though, and I think it is easier to write than Leia's - just write something snappy and sarcastic, and it sounds like Han. (What I like to do is picture Harrison Ford's voice saying it while I write.) Whereas with Leia, you have to really think about it, because unlike Han, she doesn't do things on the spur of the moment, she thinks them through before she talks or acts.

I agree that Leia is more complicated, and harder to understand. She's multi-faceted, and there are so many different elements to her. Most authors just use one and expand on it, I find, which is a shame. That's why I like Denning's Leia so much..She "feels" like the character we saw in the movies. IMO, other authors use her one element of her personality as the ice queen (KJA), the diplomat (Zahn), the rhymes with witch (Wolverton ), the damsel in distress (Tyers), the butt-kicking girl (Dark Empire). There's also that motherly, compassionate side to her you see with her and the Ewoks, but that's very rarely explored in the books.

Maybe it's because to me, Han is translucent, and Leia's virtually opaque. Han doesn't exactly wear his heart on his sleeve, but it doesn't take much investigation to figure out just how he feels. He may deny it, but overall, he's pretty easy to understand. Leia, on the other hand... I mean, I hardly feel like she lets anyone really see who she is. I feel as if I do know who her true character is, but still... She's difficult for me to grasp.

Yeah, I think that is true, with the movies. And Han changes, probably more so than Leia over the movies, but his transformation is very clear, you know - come back for Luke on the Death Star - fall in love with Leia - join the Rebellion officially. Even when he is trying to hide his feelings - like trying to hide his hurt when he offers to step aside for Luke - you can still tell what he' thinking.

Another thing is that we know Leia has tremendous grief and pain in her life, yet she never shows that. But we know she's got to be dealing with it SOMEHOW - you don't just lose a home planet and move on - but it's never said how in the movies. So the writer has to use their own interpretation and imagination on how Leia would deal with that kind of pain, whereas with Han, they don't really have to.

And..I think one difficulty with writing postROTJ Leia is that Leia in ROTJ is so different from the Leia of ANH and ESB. There's really only one movie to base her postROTJ characterizations on. People say her character transforms in ESB the most, and I agree with that to an extent, but we really see the full effects of that change in ROTJ. Throughout ESB, she's still got her cold exterior and defensive comebacks for most of the movie (bascially up until Cloud City.)

But in ROTJ we see Leia leave the Rebellion for Han, something the Leia in ANH and ESB would never do. She doesn't have the acidic tongue she has in the first two movies any more, and you

Funny, but I find it easy to write Leia. While both Han and Leia are very complex characters, I have an easier time getting into Leia's head than Han's. He changes so much throughout the trilogy; as well, if you notice, he doesn't say very much at all. He has great zingy one-liners, but he doesn't go out and give a dissertation of his feelings on things. Leia doesn't talk much, either, but she is less changeable than Han. I mean, her character becomes softer, but Han's character goes from completely cynical to trusting, which is a bigger personality arc/change.

Anyway, just my $0.02.

*gasps* Oh, my god, Tara. You're the webmistress for Han Solo and the Princess.

*squeals* OH MY GOD!

That was the first Han and Leia site I found when I first starting looking for it (like, January 1st, the day after I saw ANH)- and I love it. I'm one of those obsessive website-checker people- and I'm there practically every day.

*coughs and backs away* Okay. Sorry for scaring you.

As for the complexity of Han and Leia (a topic I completely disregarded on my loooooong post, which was probably a good thing, since it was ridiculously long anyway)- I love complex characters. And both of them are so intricate and multifaceted... I can get into their heads, I just can't write it! Curses!

Ah, maybe one day I'll absorb enough fantastic fanfic and it'll spawn some of my own doodles... until then I shall remain a faithful reader.

Awww, that's very kind of you Sunshine! I love knowing that other people enjoy my site, because it makes all the work I put into it worthwhile Thank you very much for your kind words!

Sorry to all those who checked during 2002 when it wasn't updated..It got hacked into for the better part of the year, and I had to get my computer genius friend to unhack it (which was slightly embarassing, explaining to him why I ran a Han/Leia website, LOL). But it's back now so woohoo!

As for the complexity of Han and Leia (a topic I completely disregarded on my loooooong post, which was probably a good thing, since it was ridiculously long anyway)- I love complex characters. And both of them are so intricate and multifaceted... I can get into their heads, I just can't write it! Curses!

Yeah, that's what I love about them. I never got why Harrison Ford was always saying Han was one dimensional and shallow. Han is one of the most complex character in the trilogy to me, after Leia. That's part of the reason why Leia is my favourite character - there are so many facets to her character, you could explore her in a million different ways in a million different fanfics...

Sunshine, I would suggest trying one of the fic challenges. Maybe our fic challenge for next next month (since April's is already set up) could be writing Han or Leia from the POV that they found the most difficult. They're really helpful and a great way to cure writer's block I find!

I'm getting advice from Tara! I'm getting advice from Tara!

*giggles* Sorry. A little giddy here.

Endeavoring to take Han or Leia on... I don't know. Heaven forbid I completely make a fool of myself and have to go back to lurking again... keeping quiet just isn't in my nature.

I find Han more difficult to write (just wrote him recently and got LP to beta it, but it was hard). I think probably the reason why is that Han is such an interesting balance of toughness and . . . not-toughness. It's hard for me to figure out which route (tought/not-tough) he'll take. Does that sound weird?

Leia is easier for me to write. It's true that she has many facets, but in a way I think that makes her easier, because there are so many options and possibilities.

Anyway . . . that's just IMHO.

**upping**

And I was listening to Lifehouse's Sky is Falling or their Stanley Climbfall album, and I think that is really fits with my Han/Leia AU, though not so much with the cannon characters:

"Sky Is Falling"

I watch as the daylight crawls
past the shadows hanging on the walls
it's been a long time since we felt the stain
of yesterday getting in my way
I'm alive but tell me am I free
I got eyes but tell me can I see
the sky is falling and no one knows
it shouldn't be hard to believe
shouldn't be this difficult to breathe
the sky is falling and no one knows
you leave me hanging on
only to catch my breath
I got you and I got nothing left
don't leave me all alone down here
with myself and all of my fear
I'm alive but tell me am I free
I got eyes but tell me can I see
the sky is falling and no one knows
it shouldn't be hard to believe
shouldn't be this difficult to breathe
the sky is falling and no one knows
no one knows
oh no one knows
I'm alive but tell me am I free
I got eyes but tell me can I see
the sky is falling and no one knows
it shouldn't be hard to believe
shouldn't be this difficult to breathe
the sky is falling and no one knows
the sky is falling and no one knows
the sky is falling and no one knows

I'm thinking about doing a vignette with my Han/Leia using this song... but I'm not sure.

Oh, and this one, same album (it'd be great from Han's POV):

"Take Me Away"

this time all I want is you
there is no one else
who can take your place
this time you burned me with your eyes
you see past all the lies
you take it all away
I've seen it all and it's never enough
it keeps leaving me needing you
take me away
take me away
I've got nothing left to say
just take me away
I try to make my way to you
but still I feel so lost
I don't know what else I can do
I've seen it all and it's never enough
it keeps leaving me needing you
take me away
take me away
I've got nothing left to say
just take me away
don't give up on me yet
don't forget who I am
I know I'm not there yet
but don't let me stay here alone
this time all I want is you
there is no one else
who can take your place
I've seen it all and it's never enough
it keeps leaving me needing you
take me away
take me away
I've got nothing left to say
just take me away
take me away
take me away
I've got nothing left to say
just take me away

~Aanix

Sunshine: Never feel to shy to write,the only way you get good at writing a character is by doing it, its like exercising muscles. You should have seen my first attempts at fan fic *shudder* And look at me now!

You know, on the topic of Han and Leia, someone mentioned how Han is tough, but yet...not. I think Carrie Fisher put it well, if simply:
"I would probably describe Han Solo as the cynical, mercenary space pilot--with the cream filling you know, he's a nice guy." Carrie Fisher

Which is true, he's sort of got this surface personality, then you peel back a layer or two and all of a sudden its like--whoa.
Maybe its just me, but I've always thought a good way to describe Han would be as a fallen idealist. He wants to believe in people, wants to care, but trys so very hard not to because he doesn't believe its safe or possible. He's going against his own nature, he sort of sheilds himself against pain caused by the idealist he was, and emotional attachments. (exp, think of how much of a idealist he really is, in the Han Solo triology, Bria, how once he makes friends with somebody he had this habit of always trusting them, even when they don't deserve that trust, saving Chewie, it shows up again and again.)

But he doesn't always succceed, he's not very good at hiding what he really is, people realize the truth soon enough, he's sort of transparent, his larger then life personality just sort of shines through. Very charismatic. Its really quite amazing the way Han and Leia and their relationship was so complex and real, even if they didn't spend alot of time on it. Its really quite amazing. Far less time was devoted to their romance then Anakin and Padmes, yet its far more credible. That is of course due a great deal of Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, but the way they presented their characters, and the way Han Solo just couldn't hide things, yet tried really did it.
I like this quote by Irvin Kershner:
"We didn't need to spend to much time on the love story. When Han tried to kiss her, that was enough.....Han is always after, he's always looking at her and she is always looking at himm and you have this right from the beginging. Basically, thats all you need."

I have to say, you can't blame Leia for looking back. I know I would.

I'm getting advice from Tara! I'm getting advice from Tara!

*giggles* Sorry. A little giddy here.

Is that a good thing?

Hey, does anyone know of any good, cheap servers? The server I'm using right now seems to suck at bandwidth limit (it shuts down like five minutes after it resets). But my budget is very limited, because I'm a starving student right now

Which is true, he's sort of got this surface personality, then you peel back a layer or two and all of a sudden its like--whoa.

He's a Twinkie

I think Han's inner and outer personaliies are almost complete opposites..of course, they complement each other well. I mean he appears to be this selfish, mercenary guy who doesn't care about anyone but himself, but for those he does care about, it's an incredibly powerful emotion

I'm going to refrain from commenting on the HST , but I think I like how Han is described in the novelizations. In the ESB one, he's thinking about how he never understood women, and just figured they were better off not being understood. And then he meets Leia, and all of a sudden he wants to try to understand her. Then in the notorious ROTJ quote, it talks about how Han always shielded himself from emotions because he was too wrapped up in himself, until he met Leia

I think those two quotes best describe Han. When I can I'll post them...

I'm not sure I'd describe Han so much as a "fallen idealist"..My impression of him was that he had grown up in a hard life, been abandoned by his parents, and as a result was jaded and cynical by the time he met Leia and Luke, who eventually reformed them. I don't see it so much as a cycle from nice - jaded - nice so much as a transformation. I love Daley's books for that

Here's a quote from an essay on Han Solo that I think fits him perfectly:

Here's the secret: it's in his eyes. It's in that long, silent, emotion-filled look Han gives Leia. God bless Harrison Ford for portraying Han Solo in such a way, but somehow as he utters that line, "I know," he says so much more with his eyes. His eyes say "I love you, too. I love you forever. I love you passionately, endlessly, always. Until the end of time." In fact, his love is so strong that we know it will live beyond him. Even his own death won't snuff out his love for this woman.

And that's what I love about alpha males. When they love, they love completely. Eternally. Endlessly.

They may not be able -- or even want -- to speak such feelings aloud. But when it happens, when they give in to their feelings and allow themselves to love, it's very, very Big.

Its really quite amazing the way Han and Leia and their relationship was so complex and real, even if they didn't spend alot of time on it. Its really quite amazing. Far less time was devoted to their romance then Anakin and Padmes, yet its far more credible.

Yeah I agree with you here. They sure did a lot with so little

I'm reading Empire Building now, and the original script had a lot more scenes between Han and Leia. Kershner and Harrison would often negotiate on the scenes, and Harrison would improvise and add suggestions to the Han/Leia scenes. Unfortunately, Lucas thought the mush slowed things down and left most of the scenes on the cutting room floor I really hope that one day we'll be able to see them on DVD

That is of course due a great deal of Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, but the way they presented their characters

Yeah, in Empire Building, there are some hints that some off-screen things with Ford and Fisher were going on too

I have to say, you can't blame Leia for looking back. I know I would.

Me too

Great job, ya'll!