The Lesser Known EU: The Marvel Comics

While we are in the middle of reading the most common line of EU books, I thought I'd take an opportunity to discuss some of the other books and comics that don't necessarily fit perfectly within the usual canon timeline. I won't give them as thorough reviews as we are doing for all of the books, but they do have their place and some of them you might even want to consider picking up if you've got some spare time and money.

First, I will discuss the Marvel comics run. It's only fair to start here because I am pretty sure that these were the first opportunity for fans to read adventures of our favorite characters outside of the movies themselves. I had heard about these for years but never read one, and then a couple of years ago I saw they were collected on Amazon and I decided to buy them as I was craving some early adventures rather than reading about Han and Leia's kids dying and turning all Sith and the fact that they are now elderly. Back when Star Wars was still a fun, fantasy escape and didn't take itself so seriously all the time. If I wanted the reality of life and death in war I'd read non-fiction!

The comics begin with the adaptation of A New Hope itself through several issues. It is a more complete adaptation with the inclusions of Luke and Biggs in the beginning. It also includes our first glimpse at Jabba the Hutt in the scene that was not added to the film until the first special editions. The most amusing thing about this is that Jabba looks absolutely nothing like Jabba in ROTJ. And I don't mean that in the way that CGI Jabba in ANH doesn't look that much like "real" Jabba in ROTJ. Need proof? This is what he looks like in the comics:

Um.... right. But you have to remember that at this point the artists had no idea that he was supposed to be a giant slug. People didn't know what Hutts were in 1977! The other thing I think it's only fair to warn you about in the comics is, well, you know those two times in the movie that Leia kisses Luke on the cheek? She doesn't kiss him on the cheek here. I didn't say she didn't kiss him, I said it wasn't on the cheek. Anyway...

The first issue afterward takes place immediately following the movie. These comics actually help explain several things that weren't entirely clear by just watching the movies. For example, almost immediately after Han gets his reward, he is hijacked and the money is taken before he gets to give it to Jabba. I mean, hadn't you ever really thought about why he didn't just give him the damn money before Boba Fett was coming after him when he had three years to do it?


One thing I was pleasantly surprised about through these comics was that in spite of them being written and published long before we knew Luke and Leia were brother and sister, there isn't nearly as much implied longing for each other there as you might fear, especially based on the vomit-inducing sludge from Splinter. I won't lie, there are a few moments, and there are even a couple of (minor) kisses, but considering what it could've been, I was able to look past it. Except maybe one near-death exclamation of love from Luke, but again, we can choose to ignore that sort of thing.


The adventures range from stand-alone issues with the three of them going on missions or visiting foreign planets to longer story lines, and even some flashbacks to earlier times, especially for Han. Some of it is downright wacky, but if you can just take them in the spirit in which they were intended, it can be a lot of fun. And aside from Luke, off the top of my head I can recall twice that Leia and Han kissed... though to be fair, one was a "kiss for luck" (on the lips - and I don't understand why Leia thinks her kisses are so lucky and hands them out like Tic Tacs) and the other was Han kissing her when they were sort of playing roles in the face of some enemy. Leia winds up decking him afterward, but not long after, Leia starts thinking about how nice that kiss was...


There are giant rabbits, Hoojibs which are like little furry rabbits except they communicate telepathically, visits to crazy space stations, visits to aqua planets, marriage proposals to Leia (never from Han) and marriage proposals to Han (never from Leia) and, as expected, no marriage proposals for Luke.

Eventually we also get the comics adaptation of Empire, which is fun. The artwork is great and looks as though the artist pretty much drew his panels from stills in the movie. The bad news is, after this, there are many, many issues where Han is in carbonite. I mean, if you were a kid buying comics in 1980, that would be three years of monthly issues not knowing whether or not Han was going to come out alive. The good news is that they have quite a few flashback issues that have some adventures with Han - some before he met Luke and Leia, and even some after.

Now, I don't know why in some of these comics they make Leia out to be such an easy catch for any man who is interested. She held off Han for years but now suddenly any guy who shows interest gets a shot? While there are a fair number of issues in which Leia is yearning for and missing Han:


And even some nice ones where she thinks about how much she loves him, there are also some issues I was... not such a fan of. There was one in particular that made me so irate, upon reading it I immediately had to scan a page to send to Push so she could share in my anger. I was so mad at Leia it wasn't even funny. She and Luke go to some planet and for some reason Leia is posing as consort for Prince Denid. That name may or may not sound familiar to you. When I read the name in the comic I knew I had heard it elsewhere, when I believe Ivylore used him in one of her stories in that Leia had cheated on Han with him. Well, upon reading this comic, I could see why that might have been a distinct possibility, because check this out:

The most important part of this picture to pay attention to (ten points for alliteration) is at the bottom. First, the guy spying on them is Luke. He's in disguise, not trying out a new look. Leia met Prince Denid (who looks an awful lot like Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride) like twenty minutes ago and he immediately decides he loves her, because that's what most men introduced into these stories do, and she seems to be totally cool with it. Even worse? This is where the scene ends. There is no follow up immediately after in which Leia pushes him away and says that she can't possibly because she's in love with someone else. There's nothing!!! This might be one of the only good things Luke ever at least tried to do, not wanting Leia to wind up with this guy. I don't even care if it was because he wanted her for himself!

I'm seriously still really, really mad at Leia for this. In the end, sometime after this night and some other crap that happens, she doesn't even really push him away that much, just kisses him goodbye and declines his proposal saying that her heart is with the Rebellion. Um, remember that guy you told you loved him not so long ago? Do you?!?! Well, like any elements of the EU I really, strongly dislike, I choose to pretend they do not exist. So, moving on...

For some reason they did not include ROTJ in the specific collection of these comics I've purchased. I've never seen it but might get it for myself for Christmas. Not long after I bought mine they released them again in Omnibus form and I do believe it is included in that one. So that is a quick, easy and fairly inexpensive way to get your hands on these if you are interested.

Anyway, after the movies, Han is there again, yay! I know that immediately after Endor Han gets really mad about how he doesn't really have a place in the galaxy anymore and he sort of storms off, but it doesn't take Leia long to calm him down and they share some nice moments. This is also probably why so many of us heard for so long that Boba Fett didn't really die in the Sarlacc Pit, as he immediately comes back in the very first post-movie issue. And unlike Bakura, Leia at least doesn't treat Han like an idiot in the comics. At least not here.

The comics ran for quite a while after the movies ended, but the unfortunate thing is whether it was because they stopped caring or they were told they wouldn't be able to write them much longer, things just started getting downright silly. I remember a few sweet Han and Leia moments (of course those would stick in my mind) and I remember Zeltrons. If you don't know what Zeltrons are, well, I think you need a visual. This particular issue involved Han and Leia going to some party thing with the Zeltrons and there was a big mix-up because for some reason Leia was dumb enough to let Threepio pack her bags. As you can imagine, that didn't turn out very well. So she has to make do with this dress she wasn't such a fan of but at least happened to have with her.

But it gets much better than that. The Zeltrons are, well... first of all, their skin is florescent pink. They dress pretty provocatively, and for the male Zeltrons this means several variations of an extra flamboyantly gay outfit on the biker dude from The Village People. They're pretty overtly sexual (Han gets propositioned the minute he walks in the door - but at least he can control himself unlike Leia with Prince Denid! I'm sorry, where was I) although the male Zeltrons are more like Leia's protective boy band entourage. So, much like the little mice in Cinderella, they decide they want to help and "fix" her dress. Oh, they are so excited about it, and Leia had been asleep and woke up just in time to get dressed for the party. Which is when we see this:

The hair had something to do with her falling asleep. I'm guessing Han kind of liked the outfit. They get captured soon after and don't worry, Han gives her his coat and they kick some bad-guy ass as a team.

As the issues wore on, the artwork started to get a lot less detailed and the stories seemed to revolve mainly around ridiculous things with the Zeltrons. I just think they stopped bothering trying to come up with decent stories anymore or were just out of ideas. Here and there we get a taste of some cute Han and Leia stuff - a brief kiss here, one hurrying to save the other, reconciling from a fight and knowing they still love each other, but overall this is not a focal point of the comics.

Here is where you will also see the introductions of certain characters you may have not even known had a "past" with the characters. We meet Fenn Shysa, who we will meet again in Shadows of Mindor. He has eyes for Leia, but at least this time Leia doesn't reciprocate, although of course there is some jealousy from Han. She does kiss him, but I promise it was only to distract him enough so she could smack him in the head. And if you've read New Jedi Order and the Legacy of the Force series, we also get introduced to Lumiya. I bet you never knew she had some real origins from earlier works.

Sadly, the end was... anticlimactic. It was sort of like when your favorite TV show gets canceled without much warning and suddenly the writers have to wrap it all up in two episodes. It just winds up coming to an abrupt and unsatisfying ending. But I do think that for any big Star Wars fan these can be a fun little addition to your reading material. Especially given the seriously dark turn the latest comics have taken. Many of these issues are totally forgettable, but without a doubt there is some fun stuff in there to make you smile.


So pick them up if you get a chance. Ask me any questions about them if you want. It's tough to try and recap 107 issues in one blog post! If you go on the Nerfherder's Playground web site there is a bit of talk on which issues are best for Han and Leia readers, although like most of the EU, we're kind of reaching on these. And if you want a really thorough recap then go and check out theforce.net message boards under the books, comics and expanded universe page. Someone took it upon themselves to recap every single one of these. Man, can you imagine? I mean it'd be like if someone decided to go through all of the EU books and review them all and point out all of the good Han and Leia parts. Oh, wait...


So if you've got the spare time and don't feel silly reading comic books - and really, you should feel no more silly reading comic books than Star Wars books, and my nephew thinks the fact that his aunt reads comic books is awesome - I'd recommend these. I have not been able to sell Push on them. I mean, don't have really high hopes as there are certainly not a ton of great Han and Leia moments, but it's just kind of a fun little diversion. You just have to remember that in comics you have to expect that every one is super-buff (or, if female, has enormous breasts) some characters on certain planets are going to wear ridiculous outfits - think He-Man's fur underwear with the belt - Han gets a few ex-girlfriends and Leia makes some questionable decisions while he is in carbonite, but I personally had a lot of fun reading comics from way back when and during the movie era. It's sort of like discovering this whole other EU you never knew existed. Happy reading!

The Truce at Bakura: The Review

This book starts right after ROTJ, with the Rebels still regrouping on and around Endor.  The premise of the book is that an outer rim world (Bakura) has sent some sort of message capsule through space (Star Wars snail mail) that is intended for the Emperor.  It is a plea for help against some invading aliens.  The Rebels then have to decide whether or not to help the Imperial world.  And, of course, they do.

We first meet Han and Leia fairly early on in the book and they are down on the forest moon aiding the Ewoks in cleaning up and tending to Leia’s blaster wound.  The pair joins via holonet the discussion of whether or not the Alliance should answer the distress call.  It is agreed that Leia, along with a small fleet, should be sent.  The Alliance has hopes of forming an alliance with either Bakura or even perhaps the invading aliens.  Han makes it clear that wherever Leia is sent, he will not be far from her.  Luke has a quick moment of introspection on his ‘feelings’ for Leia but admits that that part of his life is over now (thank goodness) and as far as I can recall that is the last of the ickiness involving the inappropriate feelings of the Skywalker siblings in any of these books.

Luke is initially left out of the mission due to lingering health issues from his battle with the Emperor, but after a visit from Obi Wan advising him to go; he is made commander of the small fleet which includes the Falcon with Han, Leia and Chewie.

The Rebels arrive at Bakura while it is in the midst of fending off the invading aliens.  Han and Luke make the call for the Falcon to sit out of the battle, keeping the chief negotiator (Leia) safe.  Leia is not happy with their decision but reluctantly capitulates.  As the rest of the fleet breaks off toward the battle, Han contemplates how good it feels to be back in the Falcon where he belongs:

He belonged in this cockpit, with good old Chewie in the copilot’s seat.  But even that wasn’t the same.  Leia sat behind the huge Wookiee, wearing a gray combat coverall belted around her waist, leaning forward as if she thought she ought to be copilot instead.  Well.  He’d give Leia everything he owned, the whole galaxy if he could swing it, but she wouldn’t bump Chewie out of that chair.  Yeah, she’d handled the Falcon just fine during a couple of emergencies.  But even a smuggler drew the line somewhere.

The way I feel about these particular thoughts is indicative of how I felt about the way Han and Leia are written during most of this book.  Some of it is nice and I think rings true, but then some of it doesn’t.  I can see Leia leaning forward and doing a little ‘back seat driving’ even, but I don’t think she would want to bump Chewie out of his copilot seat and I don’t think Han would think she did.  And something just bugs me about the ‘even a smuggler’ bit.

Okay, so the Falcon makes its way to some safe port to wait out the space battle.  There’s a small instance where Han wonders if Leia is insulting his ship.  This insecurity/awkwardness will be dwelled upon during much of the first part of this book.  Now, in some ways I can understand this…maybe.  They really are just starting their relationship and when opening yourself up to someone you can start off being guarded.  And I’m not the type of person that thinks everything was rainbows and unicorns for them after ROTJ.  I can believe that their relationship had to have had gone through some growing pains.  But for some reason, the insecurities that are alluded to in this book just don’t seem totally appropriate for Han, in my opinion.  After everything they have been through, I just don’t see Han being sensitive to her remarks in this way.

Anyway, during their ‘down time’ we are treated to an almost infamous EU scene when, in anticipation of some alone time with Leia during their trip, Han recruited Chewie to fix up the main hold for the couple. 

He only hoped Chewie had gotten it right.  The big Wookiee was a master mechanic, but his aesthetic sense wasn’t, well, human.

As he leads Leia toward the hold under the false pretense that something on the Falcon needed fixing, Leia slowly catches on to him:

Abruptly Leia realized that was no combat glimmer in his eyes.

Han produces a bottle of something he had gotten from the old Ewok medicine man:

Han yanked on the plug.  “Berry…wine of some…sort,” he grunted.  The plug popped free.  “Goldenrod about split a resistor translating, but the gist of what the fuzzy guy said was, ‘To ignite the heart that’s beginning to warm’.”

So that’s what he was up to.  “Hey, we’re at war.”

“We’ll always be at war.  When are you going to live?”

Leia felt her cheeks heat.  She’d rather talk, argue, even fight with Han than hide out and sip… berry wine? ...with a battle going on.  As Bail Organa would’ve pointed out, this man wasn’t even appropriate company for someone of her upbringing.  He wanted to solve all his problems with a blaster.  She was a princess by adoption, if not by birth.

First of all, I should mention that following this, Leia has some thoughts about accepting Darth Vader as her father and of course, she is not having an easy time of it.  This will also be a recurring theme in this book (no, I don’t have a problem with this theme – just thought I should mention it). 

Second of all, I don’t like Leia’s thoughts here regarding Han being ‘appropriate company’ for her.  I think if she did have any reservations about that, she would’ve dealt with those thoughts long before now and especially before she ditched the Alliance and went off to rescue him.  And although she might be surprised by Han’s effort here, IDK that she would be totally turned off by it as she appears to be.  Amused, maybe?  But I’ve got to think at this point that there are other things she would rather do with Han than talk, argue or fight.

Anyway, after a brief exchange, the pair makes their way further into the hold and find what Chewie had done in the name of romance.  Apparently it was just a bunch of inflatable pillows, which didn’t impress Han much as he said:

“Wait till I tell that big wet-nosed furball-”

Still laughing, she braced herself against the bulkhead and shoved him over backward.  He caught her hand and went down flailing.

Well, that wasn’t such a bad way to end a chapter…

Unfortunately the couple isn’t afforded much alone time as some of the alien ships find the Falcon’s hiding spot.  Chewie comms Han and when the comm unit beeps in his pocket the book indicates that “Leia wriggled in Han’s arms” and that she had just been on the verge of relaxing.  I thought it was cute as the two are reluctantly leaving their romantic hideaway in the main hold, Leia does a famous Han quote of “It’s not my fault!”

Plot stuff:  We meet a human that is being held captive by the aliens whose name is Dev Sibwarra.  Apparently these aliens (the Ssi-ruuk), utilizing Dev’s Force sensitivity (yes, this is the first of a long line of Force sensitives that our heroes will stumble across over the years) ‘entech’ humans – capturing their souls and powering their electronics (from small fighters to their large ship’s main systems).  Dev is a tragic character, torn away from his Force sensitive mother at a young age and manipulated by these aliens, he receives several tortuous mind wipes to keep him in line.

The Falcon’s crew rejoins the battle after being chased from their hiding place and an unofficial truce is accepted between Peter Thanas (of the Bakuran military) and the Alliance.  After temporarily repelling the alien invaders, Luke and the crew of the Falcon land on Bakura to work on the details of the truce.  I liked at one part before they landed Leia was stating that she was extremely nervous and didn’t like the situation.  Then this from Han:

Han eyed Chewie, who whuffled softly.  Yeah, maybe she was picking up a sense of self-preservation.  Skywalkers seemed to be born without it. 

Our heroes meet with the Bakurans as the Falcon lands at a spaceport.  During initial introductions, when Leia informs the Bakurans that the Emperor and Darth Vader have both been eliminated, Leia thinks that Luke wants her to say more, perhaps about Vader’s late turn to the good side.  But Leia thinks this:  Maybe Vader had died heroically, but ten minutes’ contrition didn’t make up for years’ of atrocities.  I think this is definitely how she would feel.

Immediately following that, she introduces Han who was supposed to bow or at least shake hands.  Instead, he stood aside with a flat, disapproving expression.  At this rate, he would never make a diplomat.  I can believe that Leia may have a quick thought such as this, but deep down she knows that Han is Han and that is why she loves him – not to be a diplomat.  Of course, Luke bows beautifully just like she ‘coached’ him and of course, that’s part of the reason he didn’t end up with the girl!  Well, that and the whole sibling thing.

They are all led to a conference room where Luke first stumble across a little romantic interest in this novel in the form of a young, attractive Bakuran female Senator named Gaeriel Captison.  There’s some political truce talk and then as they are all leaving to find their quarters and get dressed for dinner at the Governor’s house, an Alderiaan stormtrooper does some quick, harmless flirting with Leia – much to Han’s chagrin.

Everybody gets dressed for dinner.  Luke wonders in what ‘pre-Alliance adventure’ did Han find his outfit and I drew a mental picture of that tight black number that he had to wear when he was a magician’s assistant in the Han Solo trilogy novels.  But I’m sure that’s not quite what he had on.  Anyway, it’s hinted that Han and Leia had a fight regarding whether or not it was appropriate for Chewie to accompany them to dinner seeing as how Imperials are notorious for their intolerance of aliens.  Han won the argument but ‘lost the war’ as Leia ignored him for the rest of the evening.

In the morning, an apparition of Darth Vader appears to Leia asking for forgiveness and after a curt conversation, she asks him if he plans to ask Han for forgiveness as well.  Vader replies ‘only through you’.  And Leia says this:

“I can almost forgive you torturing me.  And the evils you did to other people – because those drove so many worlds into the Alliance.  But cruelty to Han…no.  If you want to go through me, you won’t get his forgiveness.  Never.”

Unfortunately, right after defending the nerfherder so eloquently, Leia leaves her room and runs into Han in the common area.  When she mumbles something about ‘he can’t do this to me’, Han immediately assumes she is talking about that flirting Alderaanian and asks her as much.  She flies into a fit over his ‘petty jealousy’ and Han just about storms out of the apartment before she calls him back and apologizes.

She takes her hair down, somewhat provocatively and they kiss (of course, I’ll share it):

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, straightening her neck.  She held her lips near his chin.

Accepting the invitation, he bent and kissed her.  She felt her life energy draw up into the kiss until nothing existed but barely perceptible movements of Han’s mouth.  She flattened her hands on his shoulders.  His legs shifted toward her.  All perception vanished but the taste of his breath.  Her pulse quickened in her ears.

The comm center blatted behind him.

Yep, that’s about right.

I should probably have more plot stuff to share, but suffice it to say, they are still trying to figure out a way to fight the aliens and there are some people they trust on Bakura and some they don’t.

Later on, Luke and Leia are talking and Luke senses Leia ‘tingling with eagerness’.  He says:  “Let it flow, Leia.  He loves you.”  She admits that it has been rough between her and Han but that they went walking and talked a little.  Luke realizes he must’ve interrupted something earlier (he was the one who rang their comm unit) and then he asks Leia if she and Han would be opposed to having children.  Leia says, “That isn’t an issue.”  And then proceeds to tell Luke about her visit from Vader.  

Finally, Luke tells her, “Go to Han.  I’ll leave you alone.”

Okay, so this is where people speculate that Han and Leia consummate their relationship in the EU since their relationship seems much better throughout the rest of the book.  Well, let me tell you – if it is it is VERY subtle.  First of all, we don’t see or hear from them for quite a while (go Han!).  But we do have this exchange between Luke and Han that hints heavily that something happened:

“And it is my imagination,” Luke came back, “or are you just a little more pleased with yourself?”

Han paused midstep.  “What’s this?  I suppose you’re going to ask my intentions toward your sister?”

Okay, maybe that isn’t too subtle.

So, things start happening here on Bakura.  The bad Bakurans turn on our heroes and Luke dresses Threepio up in stormtrooper armor and sends him off on a speeder toward the Falcon and an unsuspecting Chewbacca who ends up blasting the ill-disguised droid.  That was pretty funny.  Leia is kidnapped and Han goes off to her rescue.  When Luke reaches out to ‘feel’ for Leia, he thinks this:

In that instant, he found Leia.  Very busy, very excited.  Han had obviously found her.

Now, of course, she is busy and excited trying to escape, but I thought that sounded funny, you know what I mean…in light of their previous conversation.  Okay, maybe I’m weird.

A few things that I noted during the ensuing action.  At one point, back up in the space battle, Han states that they won’t shoot the Imperials first and then thinks:  There wasn’t much future for a smuggler with a conscience.  Evidently the Alliance was stuck with him.  And then that girl that Luke was crushing on, she has to make some tough choices and while doing so she thinks (as inspiration): What had Leia Organa endured as an Imperial senator?  I like to think that Leia inspired many, many people that she might not even be aware of.

So, at one point during the battle the Bakurans turn on the Alliance and a hasty retreat is called by Han after losing their one, big cruiser that they had brought to Bakura.  After Han tells everyone to hi-tail it, Leia adds over the comm:  “Scatter the fire of the Rebellion.  It will flare up everywhere the tinder is dry.” 

When Leia enters the cockpit a short while later, Han waved one soot-streaked hand gallantly at the co-pilot’s seat.  Little gestures like that – not pillows or berry wine – made her love him.

So basically at this point, Luke is stuck on board the alien mothership, thought to be dead or definitely dying and the Falcon is about to perform a suicidal ramming to knock out the remaining Imperial forces.  Han tried to get Leia to take an escape pod and save herself but she will have no part of it.  Of course, Luke manages to stay alive and the Falcon doesn’t have to ram the ship and everything works out in the end. 

After the battle is over, Luke asks Leia if Han can land the Falcon on some spaceport roof and Leia responds:  “Han can land the Falcon on an ice cube if he wants to.”  It doesn’t say, but I have to imagine that Han appreciated that compliment.

After Bakura overthrows their Imperial rule and agrees to join the Alliance, Luke gets to kiss Gaeriel but he must leave her to lead Bakura while he goes off to rebuild the Jedi Order.  Leia makes a small sort of peace with Anakin Skywalker, deciding that if he was watching over her it wouldn’t bother her that much.  And that was pretty much it.

As usual, I totally murdered the plot synopsis – I know.  But as always, you can read that sort of thing on Wookieepedia if you are really interested.  I rated this book as a 3 but Zyra thought it was a 3.5, so I’m going to go with an official 3+ stars to meet in the middle. 

I didn’t quote a lot of it, but Han and Leia are very childish and unHan/Leia like at the beginning of the book in my opinion.  I think that Leia pretty much treats Han like a stupid idiot and I don’t know how he put up with it.  It is just not as I see them at this point in time (if ever, I mean even pre-ESB I don’t think she would’ve treated him like an idiot).  Like I said, growing pains in their relationship – yes.  But not like this.    But the story wasn’t bad and these Ssi-ruuk aliens show up again in a later book, I forgot which one but Jaina is in it and older so it’s a pretty long way away.

Sorry this review was late but holiday traveling and all that held me up!  Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Quickie Challenge (#6)

You didn't think we were done with these yet, did you?

The following story was submitted by julz once she finally accepted that she couldn't find her original and decided to rewrite it. Thanks for persevering!

Correllian Engineering Systems rates the standard YT-1300 with a passenger capacity of six, in addition to a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, astrogator, and two gunners. The specs are, presumably, based upon an average Corellian human.

Right at the moment, though, there were nine humans, two droids, and one Wookiee on board, and the Falcon was bursting at the seams.

It would be at least two more standard days before the ship made port on Courscant and the Falcon's captain was not a happy man. His back was killing him, and he was nearly cross-eyed with fatigue.

He'd just spent three weeks in the Outer Rim, and had been looking forward to returning to Courscant and enjoying a little of his accumulated leave time. When he'd learned that Leia had already left for Pandir and would be gone for several more weeks herself, he'd changed his mind about taking time off. It hadn't been all that difficult to convince General Willard to send him and Chewie to collect the Ambassador and her team, although eyebrows had been raised. He suspected that Willard knew full well why he'd volunteered for the assignment.

It didn't matter. He'd get to see her at least a week sooner than he would have otherwise, and with luck, he might finagle a day or two of holiday on the way home.

It hadn't worked out quite the way he'd hoped.

The election had gone badly for the candidates supported by the New Republic, and the victors had been anxious to have the Ambassador and her entourage off planet as quickly as possible, ending further public discussions about the touchy subject of New Republic membership once and for all.

The few remaining council members who supported annexation had decided to take their case to Courscant. They'd gathered at the capitol's spaceport, hoping to hitch a ride on whatever New Republic transport arrived to escort the Princess home.

Unfortunately a few members of their party were rather trigger-happy and when the dust settled, six council members were dead on the tarmac, and five of them were holed up in the Falcon's crew cabin, getting a free, if slow, ride to Courscant. The para-light boosters had been damaged by blaster fire at close range, and the Falcon could not sustain a hyperspace jump for any extended length of time. She was now limited to mini-jumps of an hour or less, and she needed a good two hours to recharge the remaining boosters between jumps.

Han had spent the better part of three days calculating and executing short hyperspace hops, slept badly for four nights running on a couch in the central lounge, and hadn't been alone with Leia for more than ten minutes in all that time.

This was partly his fault, as he'd been rather testy when he'd found out that while he and Chewie were mopping up the mess in the landing bay, she'd been conducting negotiations with the hijackers. Whom she had insisted were her guests. Diplomatic guests, with diplomatic privleges.

By the time he'd found out what she'd been up to, the Falcon had already taken off, and General Solo had found himself outmaneuvered.

They were eating his food, tramping yellow dust all over his ship, and just flat being underfoot. Every time he turned around, someone was there. Sitting on the couches in the lounge, while he and Leia watched a holo drama. Playing games at the holochess board with Chewie. Always complaining about something.

It didn't get any better at night. The guests slept on bunks in the crew cabin. The General, the Wookiee, and the two security officers accompanying Leia to Pandir slept on the couches in the lounge. And Leia slept on the bunk in the medical alcove.

By the second day, Han had taken refuge in the relative quiet of the cockpit.

Setting the coordinates for the next jump, he launched the ship into hyperspace yet again. Four, maybe five more jumps, and they'd be home. Probably not tomorrow. But the next day, for sure.

He stretched and cracked his back. Time to get up and walk around a little. The intercom buzzed and his copilot's voice filled the cockpit. ["Solo! Are you in the cockpit?"]

"Where else would I be?" Han snapped back, irritably.

["Would you come down to the maintenance bay? I need another set of hands down here."]

"You makin' any progress bringing any of those boosters back up?"

["Some."]

"All right, all right. Gimme a minute or two, I got a couple more things to do up here."

Han spun his chair, in preparation to leave the cockpit, and was startled to discover the Princess standing in the doorway. "Hey," she said, smiling.

"Well, hey." He dropped back into his seat.

Leia walked into the cockpit and settled into the navigator's chair, behind his. "Is it always this quiet up here?"

"Not when Chewie's here."

"Still better than back there. They never shut up."

"They're your guests, sweetheart."

"I know. I know."

He leaned back in his seat and stretched, wincing with pain as he rotated his stiff shoulders. She rotated her own chair and rested her hands, gently, at the base of his neck. "You been in this chair for three days straight?"

"Nah, I been trying to sleep in the lounge, a little. How're you doin' on the med bunk?"

"All right." She knew better than to complain, since she knew where he was sleeping.

His fingers led hers to the knots in his shoulders and she began to massage his aching muscles. It felt so good that it took him a moment to realize it when her touch changed, becoming more sensual. When her lips brushed the back of his neck, though, he gave a low growl. "Don't start something you can't finish, Leia."

"Who says I can't finish it?" she whispered, her voice a soft brush against his skin.

"We have company, in case you've forgotten."

Without a word, she rose from her chair, crossed the cabin to the hatch, and threw the bolt.

He felt a stirring of hope.

"What are you doing, Princess?"

"What do you think I'm doing?"

"I think," he said, drawing her between his knees as she turned from the hatch, "that you are up to no good."

"Me?" she teased. "I can't imagine where you'd get that idea."

His hands slid along her ribs and traced the curve of her hips. His voice dropped to a low rumble. "Are you wearing underwear?" She giggled as he found a particularly ticklish spot behind her knee, and she sank forward, settling comfortably on his lap.

She leaned her forehead against his, and they laughed, softly, together.

Her fingers began working at his buttons and belt buckle, "You know, Princess, I've had some really, really, good dreams that start off this way," he teased.

"Really? This is what men dream about? Sex in random places on a spaceship?"

"Well, yeah. What do women dream about?"

"I don't know... when I dream there's usually a BED involved."

"How boring," he murmured, his lips against her neck. "No exotic locales?"

"Um..." she was finding it hard to concentrate. "Maybe a beach, sometimes."

"A beach? I like the sound of that. Tell me what else you dream about."

She pulled away from him a moment and looked down, fondly, into his smiling face. "I dream about you, you scoundrel. Isn't that enough? Do I have to imagine being ravished in the cockpit?"

"You don't have to imagine it, honey. You're gonna BE ravished in the cockpit." His hands slid inside her shirt, and his palms were warm against her skin.

She tangled her fingers in the hair at the back of his neck, and drew his head forward, between her breasts. "You might want to start here," she whispered.

He took the hint and made quick work of her buttons, lifting her shirt over her head to gain better access. He set to work with tongue and teeth and lips and she gave a low moan of pleasure, arching her back.

"Let your hair down," he murmured, and she complied, undoing the twisted braids that circled her head. Her hair fell in a shining curtain around them and he buried his face in it, breathing in the scent that was uniquely hers.

In a moment their clothes were in a crumpled heap on the deck and she was straddling him, sliding smoothly down along his length and taking him inside her. She ground her pelvis against his and he gasped as she clutched, hard, at his shoulders. "Gods, Leia." He reached up and caught her wrists, redirecting her hands onto the back of the captain's chair. Bracing herself against the chair, she lifted her hips again, and then his hands were on her backside, pulling her back down. Two fingers slid between her folds and found her center as she rocked in his lap, and the stimulation was more than she could take. Giving herself over to the pleasure, she cried out and fell forward, heavily, against his shoulder.

He nuzzled at her neck, kissing his way along the line of her jaw. Her mouth opened beneath his, yielding to his exploring tongue as it circled in rhythm with the movements his hips were making beneath her. She broke the kiss, gasping for a breath, and turned her face away from his, her cheek against his shoulder.

"Come on, sweetheart," he grunted, "we aren't done here yet."

She directed his hungry mouth back to her breasts. "Then you aren't done here yet, hot shot." He was happy to oblige.

"Chewie's going to kill you," she gasped, pressing down hard against him, drawing him in deep, "when he smells this chair."

Han released her aching nipple and his mouth traveled back up to lick at the throbbing pulse that beat in the hollow of her throat. "Yeah, he probably is." She arched backward again, her whole body trembling with the effort. "But it'll be worth it." He slid his hands down to the small of her back, holding her steady as she ground her hips against his. "That"s it, baby," he coaxed, "let go." He held back his own release until she gave a long, shuddering cry, and fell forward against his collarbone. He felt her settle, bonelessly, against his lap, and wrapped his arms tight around her ribs, thrusting upward with all his strength, grunting with the effort as he gave himself over to the spasms of pleasure that erupted from his aching member.

They stayed there for several minutes, tangled in each other and in the chair, her head resting on his shoulder, their breathing heavy and ragged.

"Wow," she managed, at last. "Wow."

He kissed the hollow beneath her ear. "Wow, indeed."

As she leaned down to reach for the clothes they'd tossed aside so hastily, the intercom on the console behind them burst into life, and the cabin filled once more with the voice of an extremely irate Wookiee.

["Solo!"]

Sheepishly, Han rose from the chair, setting her carefully on her feet on the deck as he stretched out an arm to press the talk button. "I'm still here, Chewie. Hang on."

["You've been screwing around up there for a half hour. Will you get your ass down here and help me?"]

There you have it. A great contribution and I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I'm glad you didn't give up when you lost what you originally wrote!

And once again, if anyone at any time would like to submit to this challenge, please, feel free!

Things Star Wars People Would be Thankful For

We've been a bit lacking in posts lately, I know. So this is a bit of a lame attempt to give us something to talk about. What would our favorite Star Wars characters be thankful for?

Han Solo:

Princesses

The Falcon

His kids

Luke

Chewie

Slave girl outfits

Stylish vests

His blaster

His incredible good looks

Alcohol

Long flights to Bespin at sublight

Sabacc

Leia Organa Solo

Scoundrels

Her children

Her brother

Chewie

Peace in the galaxy

Han's tight pants

Han's lopsided grin

The Falcon

Dead Hutts

That she was the twin sent to live as royalty instead of as a moisture farmer on a planet in the middle of nowhere.

Luke Skywalker

• His family
• The Force
• Red-heads
• Lightsabers
• No longer living on Tatooine
• Life-like prosthetic limbs
• X-wings
• The fact that even though he was basically "the last of the Jedi" according to Yoda, once he established his Jedi Academy there were suddenly Force-sensitives popping up all over the place.
  

Chewbacca

His lifedebt family

His Wookiee family and the fact that they don't seem to mind that he never sees them

Bowcasters

Food

Bandoleers

Combs

Droids

Good-hearted scoundrels who free Wookiees from slavery

Food

Lando Calrissian

Women

His ability to charm women

His ability to attract women with his incredible good looks

His incredible good looks

Capes

Fast ships

Low-cut dresses

Gambling

Moustaches

More women

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...The Review

The novel for Return of the Jedi is very short and follows the movie very closely.  Of course, as with any novel, we do get the added benefit of sneaking a glimpse into our favorite characters thoughts during these timeworn scenes.  Compared with Empire Strikes Back, Jedi has much fewer instances for romance, but it does offer up a few of these tantalizing tidbits.  As always, I’ll be light on the plotline here as I would think everyone knows what happens and heavy on pointing out said tidbits and differences from book to movie and movie to book.

The story begins (after a short prologue involving Vader arriving on the Death Star) with Luke constructing his own lightsaber to replace his father’s that he lost on Cloud City (battling his father).  We all know that this is a scene that was cutout of the movie.  It is a mere five paragraphs in the book although it was delved into further for the radio dramatization if you are interested to know that.  Luke was very worried about blowing himself up during the radio drama.  But I digress.

Everything goes as in the movie.  The droids arrive at Jabba’s Palace.  Lando is there and eventually the bounty hunter Boushh shows up and collects a bounty for the mighty Chewbacca.

Night falls and Boushh makes (his) way to the ‘frozen slab of man’ that is Han Solo, hanging like a decoration on Jabba’s wall.  He flips the switches to release Han from the frozen prison.  In the book, Boushh extracted the lifeless body from its casing and lowered it gently to the floor.  As opposed to standing by and letting Han flop face first into the sandy dirt, as it happened in the movie.

Han begins to ask questions as in the movie of where he is and who is helping him.  Boushh takes his mask off and the beautiful face of Princess Leia is revealed underneath.  “One who loves you,” she whispered, taking his face tenderly in her still-gloved hands and kissing him long on the lips.

Nothing much different there, but whenever Han and Leia kiss, I feel like I’ve got to point it out.

After Han recognizes her and she tells him where they are, Leia thinks this:

She looked at him a long moment, her blinded love – she’d traveled light-years to find him, risked her life, lost hard-won time needed sorely by the Rebellion, time she couldn’t really afford to throw away on personal quests and private desires…but she loved him.

And not only did they get a second kiss, Han in turn, experienced his own turmoil of feelings:

Impulsively, she embraced him and kissed him again.  He, too, was flooded with emotion all at once – back from the dead, the beautiful princess filling his arms, snatching him from the teeth of the void.  He felt overwhelmed.  Unable to move, even to speak, he held her tightly, his blind eyes closed fast against all the sordid realities that would come rushing in soon enough.

Well, we all know what happens next.  Jabba catches them in the act of trying to escape.  Sends Solo away to the dungeons and adopts Leia as his newest ‘pet’.  It almost seemed worse in the book, though because in the movie he licked her cheek, but in the book:  Foul beast that he was, Jabba poked his fat, dripping tongue out to the princess, and slopped a beastly kiss squarely on her mouth.

Man, that almost like negates the two kisses Han just got, huh?  Yuck!

After Luke arrives, kills the rancor and the gang is all brought before Jabba.  We know that Han asks about Leia’s whereabouts.  What we didn’t know is what Leia was doing this whole time that she waited for him to find her:

Her eyes had been fixed on him from the moment he’d entered the room, though – guarding his spirit with her own.

All else proceeds as normal and we head for Jabba’s sail barge and the Sarlacc pit.  I don’t want to seem overly obsessed with Leia’s torture on the Death Star, but the book does make another reference to it.  While she is chained to Jabba on the sail barge he threatens her to stay close and forces her to drink some sort of liquid from his glass.  As she forces herself to comply, she thinks this:

The worse things she knew well.  Her standard of comparison was the night she’d been tortured by Darth Vader.  She had almost broken.  The Dark Lord never knew how closed he’d come to extracting the information he wanted from her, the location of the Rebel base.  He had captured her just after she’d managed to send Artoo and Threepio for help – captured her, taken her to the Death Star, injected her with mind-weakening chemicals…and tortured her.

Tortured her body first, with his efficient pain-droids.  Needles, pressure points, fire knives, electrojabbers.  She’d endured these pains, as she now endured Jabba’s loathsome touch – with a natural, inner strength.

At least she got to kill Jabba, though. 

The rescue and escape went just like the movie.

There is the sandstorm scene while the friends are all walking towards the Falcon, the X-Wing and a Y-Wing.  I can only assume that Leia arrived in the Y-Wing since Chewie and Lando were in the Falcon and Luke would’ve been in the X-Wing.  But that’s all they say about it and we are left with the impression that it is just left on Tatooine.  A small detail, I guess.  But when you are trying to put together ‘missing moments’, I guess this tells you that Leia left the Alliance in a Y-Wing, for whatever that is worth.

As Luke is saying goodbye, some tender moments occur.  Like this as Han recalls his ‘blank sleep of nothingness’ while in carbonite:

A nothing from which Luke and the others had saved him – put their own lives in great peril at his expense, for no other reason than that…he was their friend.  This was a new idea for the cocky Solo – at once terrible and wonderful.  There was jeopardy in this turn of events.  It made him feel somehow blinder than before, but visionary as well.  It was confusing.  Once, he was alone; now he was a part.

That realization made him feel indebted, a feeling he’d always abhorred; only now the debt was somehow a new kind of bond, a bond of brotherhood.  It was even freeing in a strange way.

I think that Han was already having these revelations even before his friends rescued him, but I can see how these actions would’ve solidified already growing feelings.

On Dagobah, after Luke realizes Leia is his secret sister, Ben tells him this:

When your father left, he didn’t know your mother was pregnant.  Your mother and I knew he would find out eventually, but we wanted to keep you both as safe as possible, for as long as possible.  So I took you to my brother Own, on Tatooine…and your mother took Leia to live as the daughter of Senator Organa , on Alderaan.

As you can see, this one paragraph contradicts much of the prequels.  Anakin didn’t know Padme was pregnant.  Owen was Ben’s brother.  Apparently Padme gave birth (lived) and took Leia to Bail Organa to live as Princess of Alderaan.  So now I wonder how/when Padme died.  There is something later in the book that reopens this question.  But I’ll get to that.

We arrive at the debriefing with Mon Mothma about the impending Rebel attack on the Death Star.  This is one of the most interesting ‘missing moments’ to me.  What happened between Han/Leia from Tatooine to Sullust?  Anyway, just a thought because the book doesn’t shed any light here.

After Han and Lando have their little conversation about the Battle of Tanaab and Lando being crazy to lead the attack, Leia says/does this:

Leia moved closer to Solo and took his arm protectively.  “Han is going to stay on the command ship with me…we’re both very grateful for what you’re doing, Lando.  And proud.”

Okay, so this was very interesting to me.  For one, it makes the little surprise of Han’s that we know is coming more surprising.  Obviously they (Han/Leia) had come to an agreement that he would stay with her.  Probably, if I had to guess, because of his questionable health/recovery from his stint in carbonite.  It also shows that Leia is basically speaking for her and Han is if they are a couple.  For me, this was very enlightening and made me rethink some of my conclusions on her reaction when Han springs his surprise on her.

So then, we listen to Mon Mothma, then Admiral Ackbar and then Madine speak, where Madine then reveals that Han is a general and is leading the ground assault on the shield bunker.  Leia reacts much like as in the movie:

Leia looked up at Han, shock quietly melting to joyous admiration.  She knew there was a reason she loved him – in spite of his usual crass insensitivity and oafish bravado.  Beneath it all, he had heart.

I like to think they Leia already knew he had a heart and even if Han hadn’t have done this, would’ve still admired him…but that’s me.

We have Han’s silent goodbye to the Falcon as he offers her to his reinstated friend, Lando.  And then Han, Luke, Leia and Chewie’s flight to the Endor moon in the stolen shuttle.  In the book, everyone’s doubts seemed much worse than in the movie and I really felt for Han as he tried to keep everyone’s spirits up.

Han tried to buoy things up.  “Hey, why don’t we try to be optimistic about this?”  He felt beleaguered by negativity.

Poor guy gets his first stint as a leader as his command crew is a bunch of Debbie downers!

Okay, so well, they get through with their stolen codes and head to the Endor moon.  A bunch of stuff happens, they have the speeder chase and Luke/Leia get separated.  Luke returns without Leia.  Han and company search for Leia and get captured by the Ewoks and brought to their camp.  When Leia emerges and they are trying to figure out how to get free there was an interesting part where Leia questions Luke on what to do.

Han was about to offer a suggestion when he paused, briefly taken aback by Leia’s sudden intense faith in Luke.  It was something he hadn’t really noted before; he merely noted it now.

I think this offers a glimpse into Han’s confusion later regarding Luke and Leia’s feelings toward him.  I think this is quite believable, especially if Leia spent time with Luke while Han was in carbonite and witnessed the effects of his training with Yoda.  I think Luke and Leia would’ve grown closer during this time period and it’s also an intriguing ‘missing moment’ for me.  I think they sealed their friendship during this time, secure as Leia was with her feelings for Han, it probably made it easier for her to befriend Luke.  That’s what I think anyway.

Luke levitates Threepio and they all get free.  The part of the movie where Threepio recites the story of the Rebellion is much the same, however, contrary to the movie the Ewoks are not convinced to join the Rebels at the end of the tale.  The Ewoks do not think that it is their battle to fight and has nothing to do with them.  Han is the first to speak up and tries rather ineloquently to convince them to join, relating his own transformation of only thinking of himself and now thinking of the whole. 

This was one of the most inarticulate pleas Leia had ever heard, but it made her eyes fill with tears.

Even though Leia was moved, the Ewoks were not and then Luke took a turn at talking to them.  I was worried here that Luke would be the one to sway them and I thought that would be horrible for Han.  But not even Luke’s speech swayed the little fellas.  So then Leia gave it a shot, but still to no avail.  In the end, Wicket – the little Ewok that had found Leia – was the one to sway the tribal elders.  I admit, the little furball’s speech kinda made my eyes misty.  I was okay with this turn of events.  Wicket’s success in finally convincing the tribe was not a slap in Han’s face, IMO. 

Celebration ensues and Luke disappears.  Leia follows him and they have their conversation, much as in the movie.  Luke tells her that Vader is his father and she, his sister.  During Leia’s acceptance of the information that Luke had just shared with her, this happens:

She moved away from him, to deny his words; at least to give them distance, to let her breathe.  Flashes of her mother came again, in this breathing space.  Parting embraces, flesh torn from flesh…

Again, this makes me wonder about what really happened to Padme.  This leaves the impression that she was torn away from Leia at some point.  Was she able to live with Leia for a while and then taken away to protect her?  Was Padme removed against her will?  This was all very interesting to me.

There was another hint that Leia may remember more of what happened.  After Luke walks away:

Leia watched him go, quietly weeping.  She gave free vent to her feelings, did not try to stop the tears – tried instead to feel them, to feel the source they came from, the path they took, the murky corners they cleansed.

Memories poured through her, now, clues, suspicions, half-heard mutterings when they’d thought she was asleep.

This is where Han finds her.  In the book he shakes her when he is trying to get her to talk to him.  It almost felt uncomfortable to me, this paragraph:

He’d never been out of control like this, he didn’t like it, he couldn’t stop it.  He realized he was still shaking her and stopped.

He confronts her about confiding to Luke and not him and she cries and throws herself into his embrace:

His anger turned slowly to confusion and dismay, as he found himself wrapping his arms around her, caressing her shoulders, comforting her.  “I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair.  “I’m sorry.”  He didn’t understand, not an iota – didn’t understand her, or himself, or his topsy-turvy feelings, or women, or the universe.  All he knew was that he’d just been furious, and now he was affectionate, protective, tender.  Made no sense.

All I can say is poor Han and poor Leia at this point and what happened this night, how they parted or whatever to finally sleep, is another whopper of a missing moment.

In the morning, Luke meets with Vader.  Lando and the Falcon and the rest of the Rebel fleet prepare to go into battle, and the strike team, led by Han, approaches the bunker.  The Ewoks show the Rebels a back door.  Vader brings Luke to the Emperor. 

Han and crew break into the bunker and begin to plant the explosives.  Lando comes out of hyperspace.  Admiral Piett waits and watches from around the Endor moon.

This is my favorite part of the books when they do this.  The quick back and forth between several converging storylines.  :-)

Han and Leia are ambushed and captured.  Lando and the Rebel fleet find that “It’s a trap” and Luke, upon watching the ‘fully operational’ Death Star destroy one of the Rebel ships, plunges into the dark side and strikes at the Emperor.

So, this is the low point for all of our heroes.  But even at its lowest point, there can be tantalizing tidbits.  As Han and Leia are led out of the bunker, they have one such little tidbit:

Han and Leia turned to each other full of feeling.  All they’d struggled for, all they’d dreamed of – gone, now.  Even so, they’d had each other for a short while at least.  They’d come together from the opposite ends of a wasteland of emotional isolation; Han had never known love, so enamored of himself was he; Leia had never known love, so wrapped up in social upheaval was she, so intent on embracing all of humanity.  And somewhere between his glassy infatuation for the one, and her glowing fervor for the all, they’d found a shady place where two could huddle, grow, even feel nourished.

I like this.  Well most of it.  I like that it says that neither of them had ever known love, for I think that is true, no matter what other books have said.  I don’t like that it says that Han had never known love because he was ‘enamored with himself’.  I just don’t think it was that simple.  But for the purposes of this paragraph, I’ll let it slide.

Then the tides turned and the little Ewoks came to their rescue.  Leia does get a blaster burn to the arm.  As Han kneels down to tend to her, a stormtrooper comes up behind him.

Han and Leia looked at each other, fixed their gazes deep in each other’s eyes, swam there in the wells of their souls for a suspended, eternal moment, during which all was felt, understood, touched, shared.

Han confesses his “I love you” and Leia responds with “I know”.  Awwwww.  Insert warm and fuzzies here.

Han destroys the bunker while Leia waits nearby still in extreme pain from her wound.

The Rebel fleet start their attack run.  Luke having watched Vader kill the Emperor, drags Vader to an Imperial shuttle trying to get them out before the Death Star blows.  Luke and Vader have their conversation before Vader dies.  But this part is different from the movie:

“You already have, Luke,” he whispered.  He wished briefly, he’d met Yoda, to thank the old Jedi for the training he’d given Luke…but perhaps he’d be with Yoda soon, now in the ethereal oneness of the Force.  And with Obi-Wan.

So, Vader had never met Yoda?  Another contradiction to the prequels.

Lando and Wedge blow up the main reactor and the Death Star explodes.  Lando, Wedge and Luke all escape in time.

On Endor, Han is wrapping Leia’s arm when they see the explosion.  After he tells her that he was sure that Luke was okay and she says she can feel that he is.  There’s this:

Han looked at her with deep love, special love.  For she was a special woman.  A princess not be title, but by heart.  Her fortitude astounded him, yet she held herself so lightly.  Once, he’d wanted whatever he wanted, for himself, because he wanted it.  Now he wanted everything for her.  Her everythings.  And one thing he could see she wanted dearly, was Luke.

Han makes his offer to step aside and Leia clears things up for him.  Then they lay down together in that fern dell and I’m not sure what happens…  Another missing moment, to be sure.

So this is pretty much the end, except for celebration.  I marked a cute little Threepio part as he mulls over everything that happened.

He thanked the Maker that Captain Solo had been able to fix Artoo, not to mention Mistress Leia – for a man without protocol, Solo did have his moments.

Luke burns Vader’s remains in the pyre and joins in the celebration.  He sees Yoda, Ben and his father in the dancing flames of the fire.  He doesn’t make it clear as to whether he sees the only face of his father that he ever knew or the face of the young actor that will play him in the future movies…

Han and Leia factor for this book?  I’ll go with 4 stars.  It does have some meaningful moments between Han and Leia and it is such a quick read that it should probably be considered a must for Han and Leia fans, especially since we know what is coming here at the end of the movies...

I'm in the Mood for...

When I first started reading fanfic I definitely gravitated to the mushy, romantic stories that were heavy on dialogue and introspection and easy on things like: complicated plots, exotic locales and...other characters.

After I had exhausted my supply of these type stories, I moved on to others, slowly allowing myself to appreciate a well-written action story that pitted Han and Leia against a common enemy and let them talk to other people and get out of the bedroom (or the Falcon).  I truly began to appreciate a light-hearted comedy as well.  Especially when I started to dabble in writing myself and found how truly hard writing comedy can be.

So, here I am.  Really almost exactly two years later and I began to look back on from whence I came and the circuitous trip I took to get here.  Lately I've been heavy on the action/adventure reading - perusing back through old favorites to relive the ones that I enjoyed the most.  Although, some days I can still feel like a good, old-fashioned love story and I'll head straight for one of my many 'trip to Bespin' (and other) favorites that I have accumulated over the past two years.

So I began to wonder if anyone else found themselves pigeon-holed in a genre of stories.  For instance, I totally ignored 'AU' stories when I first started reading but now have become very open to them.  Maybe it's because I had read everything else.  Or maybe it's because what is considered 'EU' has been done over and over and it's refreshing to see something new happen?  I don't know.  I just know that some of my most recent favorited stories have been very AU.

If you do find yourself with tunnel vision on your reading or writing, I would recommend that you broaden your horizons.  A really good writer can take your characters to places you hadn't thought possible and you can thoroughly enjoy the ride.  And just because you like a story doesn't mean you have to commit yourself to it.  For example, just because I might like a story where Han dies at the end (you know who you are), doesn't mean that that is the future/life that I see for these characters.  You know what I mean?

It's kinda like me reading the entire EU (again).  I'll read it.  I'll even enjoy some or most of it - okay maybe only some.  But it is NOT the future that I see for Han and Leia.  By no stretch of the imagination.  But that is probably an entirely different post...

Which brings me to another thing.  Don't limit yourself as a writer to only see something in one way or write just one type of story.  You may find yourself compelled as a writer to write different lives/endings for Han/Leia (or insert other characters here) as I think we touched on in a separate post.  The most infamous/easiest example of this, I think, would be to write a scenario where they DO do it on the way to Bespin and one in which they don't (if  you are like me and can't decide!).  It sort of takes the pressure off if you are trying to write this perfect story but can see it in different ways - just write both!  It's better than being frozen in indecision, believe me.

So, all of that being said...do any of you guys have a 'type' of story that you prefer to read over another?  Do you find you write (or is easier to write) in that same genre?  I think that would be the case, but maybe not for some.

Finally, do you have any recommendations on stories that you have found that wasn't your normal 'type' and it ended up being one of your favorites?  Tell us what the story is/was and how you ended up reading it.

I'll start with two.

The first one is a comedy and I think I only read it because Zyra told me that it was worth the read.  It's called "Perfect Pairs" by GreatOne and it's on ff.net.  I can't write comedy and it's not easy to make me laugh when I'm reading something.  This story made me laugh.  Out loud. 

The second one, I believe I read it while going page by page through the Corellian Embassy website stories.  I just reread it last week when I recommended it to someone, it's an action/comedy, it's called: "Resolutions" by Martha Wilson and it's got some UST in there, as well.  You can find it on Live Journal since the Corellian Embassy is no longer.

Please feel free to share the stories you've liked, even if you can't find them anymore - maybe somebody will know where they are!

A Few More Questions...

Okay, here we are again, at the LAST of the questions in our "Ask Us Anything" series, where Zyra and I answer questions from our awesome readers. Remember, we continue to answer them as long as you continue to ask them.

Today, our question is from Elivagar, who asked: Do you relate more with Han or Leia? When did you "discover" your talent for writing? Least favorite Star Wars movie? What sort of music are you into? Favorite season?


And here are our answers:

We'll start with Zyra: Do you relate more with Han or Leia? This is a funny question because very early on when Push and I started conversing she decided that I was the Leia in our relationship and she was the Han. She had talked about how she tended to prefer to write from Han’s point of view and I think that often I prefer to write from Leia’s. For me personally, that’s not to say I find it difficult to write from Han’s point of view, just that I have an easier time with Leia. And if you notice with me, I think Leia tends to be the more level headed one. Not that Han is all crazy, and this might be a bit unrealistic based on all of the horrible things she’s gone through. But maybe I just feel like if she has Han then it doesn’t matter ;) But yeah, I'm the kind of person you have to pry feelings out of, the one who tries to do the right thing, hides emotions and what not. Unfortunately we do not share the same affinity for attracting men who look like Han Solo.

When did you "discover" your talent for writing? Writing has been a love of mine since I learned how to do it. Somewhere my mom has a “book” I wrote when I was five. I wrote stories for fun growing up and took lots of classes in it. I don’t know when I really first discovered my “talent” for writing but I always liked writing assignments in school (as long as they weren’t research papers) and my teachers seemed happy with what I’d written. In third grade my best friend and I spent every recess writing a book just for the heck of it that we later shared with the class. If we were given unlimited pages to work with I could go on for quite a while. I had a great writing teacher in high school who liked my stuff and I wrote a couple of essays for that class that I can remember showing to my parents and hearing them laugh hysterically. Also took a bunch of writing classes in college and also did well in those. So I don't know that I ever discovered a "talent" for writing, more just that it has always been something I've loved to do.

Least favorite Star Wars movie? Of all six? Too easy, Phantom Menace.

What sort of music are you into? I am very unhip on the music scene and honestly I have mix tapes I made when I was fourteen and my taste hasn't really changed. Not into rap, country (sorry Push) or heavy metal or, like, Beyonce or whatever. I like a lot of 80's stuff. Not that I never hear a new song I like, but I'd be almost clueless watching the Grammys.


Favorite season? Summer! I could wear shorts, t-shirts and flip flops forever and be happy. Except not here because then I'd freeze half the year.

And now for Push: Do you relate more with Han or Leia? I thought for a long time that my answer here would be easy and that it would be Han.  I think I'm more like Han than Leia.  However, all of my stories seem to revolve around Leia.  Even my epic 'From a Certain Point of View', which was written entirely in Han's POV is really alll about Leia.  I find it easier to write in Han's POV, no doubt.  And thinking more about the question, I guess - yes, it is Han that I relate most to but it's Leia that fascinates me (just like Han).  Maybe that's it!  Thanks for letting me work that out in my head.  Whew!  That's a load off.

When did you "discover" your talent for writing? I have always loved to write.  Stationary and pen, pencil sets were always a favorite gift of mine.  I can't say that I wrote anything spectacular, like stories or anything.  I remember writing a lot of poetry with a friend of mine (in high school) and making a binded copy of it.  I wish I still had it.  I enjoyed writing papers in high school and college but hadn't really done any writing for at least 15 years when I discovered fanfic in late 2009.  It felt very natural, once I had exhausted all the reading material I could, to just start writing my own stories.  I'm very glad that I have 're-awoken' this passion that I guess had been slumbering for 2 decades or so.  

Least favorite Star Wars movie? I don't even know the names, but the first one.  The pod racing one.  And then the second one.  The third one is the most tolerable of the prequels for me and only because, I think, I like the battle on Mustafar at the end and Anakin becoming Vader.  I still remember when I heard that first breath, I thought that was pretty cool.  And then he started yelling...and well...now he yells in ROTJ, too - so we've come full circle on that. 

What sort of music are you into? I like all sorts of music.  If I am listening to my satellite radio in the car I am mostly on the '80's station or Classic Vinyl.   As for genre's and bands, let's see.  I do love country music (as Zyra alluded to) but only from the early 1990's when country music was on an upswing and I was young and single and hitting the bars (Travis Tritt, Brooks n Dunn, Garth Brooks, Clint Black, George Strait, Alan Jackson, etc.). 

I do like some rap but nothing too graphic.  I like RunDMC and Snoop Dogg and Kid Rock and Will Smith (if you consider him a real rapper - forgive me if he's not). 

And then I like a lot of rock and Alternative and everything.  REO Speedwagon, Journey, RUSH, Ozzy, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and Van Halen.  I like Paul Simon and the Beatles.  James Taylor, Van Morrison and Cat Stevens.  Michael Jackson and Madonna.  Love, love, love Stevie Wonder and old Chicago with the horns.  U2, Creedence, The Cure, The Doors.  Fats Domino and Harry Connick, Jr.  Jimmy Buffet, Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Cash.  KC & The Sunshine Band and Kool & the Gang.  OMD.  R.E.M. and Rage Against the Machine.  The Rolling Stones and the Steve Miller Band.  Oh, and The Who.

See?  I told you I liked most everything.  Like Zyra, though - I don't know a lot of new stuff.  Maybe like the Black eyed Peas is new to me, you know?

Favorite season? Weather wise I don't really get seasons where I live.   Winter lasts for about 2 days and we have no Spring and Fall to speak of.  I've worn shorts and flip flops for one too many Christmas's.  If I had to choose, I'd choose Spring, though.  Mainly because it's like a new beginning.  Blooming flowers, spring cleaning, etc.



And once again...That's it. We have no more questions....so get on over to the Ask Us Anything post and ask 'em if you got 'em!