onwardintolight

[onwardintolight]

Hello August

please be gentle and sweet to me and the ones i love . i hope each day is easier, happier, brighter and more peaceful. i hope to have lots of blessings and miracles. i hope every moment is beautiful and full of laughter & love. August i promise to slow down and savor every bit of you 🌿

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people that leave comments on fics are already a godsend but people that leave comments on every chapter of an ongoing fic... i love u. writing multichapters can be really hard and sometimes it's difficult to even find the motivation to keep posting, so thank you <3

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Morning light

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Nikita Chan, Curious sniff

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Last week I decided on a whim to drive by our old house since I happened to be in the area. I was curious to see how the house looked these days, but most of all, I wanted to know how the tree was faring.

As I pulled up, I had to do a double take. Our pear tree looked every bit as big and beautiful as it did before it (and I) broke apart in 2015. Once again, it spread tall and wide, a great canopy of leaves, this time held up by a noticeably larger, thicker trunk. There was no sign of the breaking. All was healed.

I, of course, immediately started sobbing.

I have healed, too. This summer I’ve felt it more than ever, especially as I’ve finally been able to eat all the foods again that I lost during that time. I’ll never take it for granted. While I still struggle with flare-ups at times (mainly triggered by my CPTSD), my sickness, as I experienced it back then, is a thing of the past.

I almost didn’t share this, because right after I saw the tree, I started having my first flare in months. And as I often do when I’m having a flare, I feel overwhelmed by grief and despair, certain that the healing was just an illusion and that the horrible spiral downwards I experienced back then is coming back for me. For a little while, I felt like the tree’s and my journey was all a lie.

But maybe that’s why I needed to see it again. Maybe now is an especially good time to cling to that symbol of hope and a truth beyond my fears.

The tree before it broke apart

The tree when I thought it would never recover

The twig that gave me hope the next spring

The tree now

In the fall of 2015, our front yard pear tree broke apart in an ice storm. Previously it was the biggest one I’d ever seen, delighting me with its spreading shade and dancing leaves. I always loved the way the evening light shone golden through it. Also in the fall of 2015, I got horribly sick. After several nightmarish months, I eventually got diagnosed with MCAS, but not before our tree fell. We managed to save the tree, but all that was left was the trunk, standing like a monument to its past splendor. I felt a lot like the tree: alive, but only barely; a skeleton of what I used to be. I didn’t know if the tree or me would grow again, if we would ever leaf out and spread wide open and free. A year and a half later, the tree may not be where it used to be, but its branches are many and its foliage is like a crown. It’s already giving shade again. It is a haven for birds and squirrels, and last week I saw once again its leaves dancing golden in the evening light. As we’ve been moving to our new house this week, I keep thinking of the tree and how we’ve grown together over the past year-and-a-half. I may not be where I want to be yet, but good things are ahead, I’m sure of it. I’m taking the tree as a sign. That golden, living, dancing light is running through my veins, too.

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Felt like I could go to bed hours ago but I couldn’t stop writing and then I realized how overwhelmed I am with all the cleaning I didn’t get done and I ended up doomscrolling for awhile and making myself even more anxious than I already was about the state of the world and then when I finally got up to get ready for bed the power flickered several times out of nowhere which triggered fight or flight and now it’s after 3 am again and I’m in bed unable to sleep

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Good Morning from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

A morning cloud inversion at The Trotternish Tree

📸nickhansonphotography on Instagram

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Han/Leia Appreciation Week 2025

It's (almost) that time of the year again! This year we moved the schedule back to August because it ended up working better for the mods AND that means we all get over a month to start working on our fanworks! 🎉

You might notice we went for a Rebellion-era vibe with the prompts, inspired by Andor, but as always, the prompts are very flexible and you can use them for any stage of Han and Leia's relationship.

Han/Leia Appreciation Week was an event originally hosted at @han-leia-solo between 2016-2019, but for the past few years, we've taken up the mantle here at @hanleiacelebration 😊

💙 How does Han/Leia Appreciation Week work?

The event will run from August 11th to August 17th, and there are two prompts each day that creators can fulfill with: fanfic, fanart, gifsets, graphics, fanvids, headcanons, crafts, playlists, rec lists. You’re encouraged to tag your posts with #hanleiaweek2025 so we can reblog them! After the week is over, we’ll share a masterlist with links to the works.

You can show your appreciation in many ways; however, please keep in mind that it has to be a creation of yours of some sort, e.g. don’t repost other people’s fanart, gifs, or unedited pictures. Rec lists should include a link to the original source both for fanfic and fanart (more on this after the cut).

💎 The prompts

Monday 8/11: A mission to remember / Fake dating

Tuesday 8/12: AU / Canon divergence

Wednesday 8/13: Love in times of war / Earned peace

Thursday 8/14: Favorite scene / Favorite quote

Friday 8/15: Cuddling / Yearning

Saturday 8/16: Early days / A kindness

Sunday 8/17: Free day!

You can use only one of the daily prompts, combine both, reinterpret them, or skip the day if you can’t think of anything. If you’re not able to post on the same day for a prompt, you’re still encouraged to share it through the week—just don’t post works for a certain prompt before the day corresponding to that prompt.

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FAQs and Rules under the cut - please read!

💕 Can I post my work to another site and share the link on Tumblr?

Yes! This is a good option for people who might want to create explicit art that could be taken down on Tumblr, write a long fic or multichapter, or make videos or playlists.

💕 Does it have to be a new creation? Can I finish and post a WIP?

It has to be something that has never been posted anywhere else before, so finishing and sharing a WIP is okay! If it doesn’t fit any of the prompts, you can share it on Free Day.

💕 Is this event open to all ratings?

Yes! Just remember to add a note at the top if your work is rated Mature or Explicit, as well as if it has any major trigger warnings, and use a “Read more” cut if you’re posting the whole work on Tumblr so all folks can safely browse through the entries.

💕 Are there any length or quality requirements?

There’s no min. or max. length for fanfic or quality level for art, but please note that AI-generated works won’t be accepted. For gifsets, there’s a minimum of two gifs (that must be made by you!). For playlists, there’s a minimum of five songs. For rec lists of fic or fanart, there’s also a minimum of five recs. Some more questions you might have about rec lists:

- How do I share someone else’s art without posting a picture? You might post a thumbnail that crops a preview of the piece; if the piece has a title, you might use that; you might describe it; or you might say something like “this piece by [artist]”, and link to the source.

- What if I found a fanart on Google? Try to find the original source using reverse search image.

- What if I can’t still find it, can I just say “credit to the artist”? In that case, please just don’t share the piece.

- What if I know the artist but don’t have a link to the original source? Naming the artist and linking back to where you found it is okay, in that case.

💕 Can I write for canon/Legends and include other pairings?

All canons, time periods, headcanons and AUs are welcome, and you’re allowed to include side pairings, except for R*eylo. However, keep in mind that this is a Han/Leia appreciation week - at the risk of sounding repetitive, works should focus on appreciating Han and Leia’s relationship!

💕 What’s the time zone for the event?

Please don’t worry too much about time zones: when we say “day”, we always mean “whenever that day is for you in your part of the world” - i.e.: if it’s Monday for you, you can post your work for the Monday prompt.

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Do you have any other questions? Don’t hesitate to send us an ask or to message one of the mods: @lajulie24 @hanorganaas and @otterandterrier

We're so excited to see what you come up with!

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Just rewatched the OT after several years and wow, A+++ experience, still love them, what an absolute delightful trilogy of movies. I laughed, I cried, I was entranced, I was deeply moved. I remembered why these have lit a fire in my soul since childhood.

One thing has changed though, and it completely caught me off guard: For the majority of my life, Empire Strikes Back has been my favorite of the three, but this time, it was Return of the Jedi, 100%.

I can think of two reasons for this:

First: Writing The Opening, which encompasses ESB from Leia's POV, may have enriched the movie a lot for me but it also makes watching it a bit of an odd experience, especially immediately after rereading it. I was constantly bringing to mind what I wrote and trying to verify whether it all worked. Plus, I'd watched all my favorite scenes so many times back then in order to analyze every detail that those moments just didn't enthrall me as much as they used to, which is kind of a shame. (If I write for ROTJ, I hope I can avoid this, somehow.)

Second, and this may be the biggest reason: I have changed. I no longer relate quite as much to Leia in ESB. I've grown and healed a lot since the days in which I was constantly stuck in fight or flight mode, dealing with major unprocessed trauma and suffering greatly because of it. Rather, like Leia in ROTJ, I have softened, in a way.

Tbh I used to resent that a little—how her sharp barbs disappeared, how she seemed less angry, less on edge, less assertive, even. I think on some level I equated that constant hum of tension and anxiety and sharpness with her inner fire. Of course, there are extremely valid arguments to be made about the way they decided to make her take more of a backseat in ROTJ, but on a purely in-universe level, I see someone who feels more and more safe. Someone who is finally able to let down her guard, especially around those she's allowed into her heart.

Like Leia, I have certainly not lost my determination and courage and strong will and inner fire. I may not be living my life in a constant state of reacting and surviving and fighting anymore, but that doesn't make me any less strong, any less of a warrior. I am finding more and more joy and some measure of peace, and I'm learning to trust and rest in the love that surrounds me.

The story that used to grab me most was the one that dealt with trauma and grief, and the way that plays out in the human psyche. Now I'm ready to find catharsis with the one that's about healing.

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Rec list: Han/Leia official reading material

The SW EU has tons of books and comics and now Disney is adding an extra heap, so much that it’s daunting to decide where to begin, what might be worth investing your time in and what to avoid. And if you’re only/mostly interested in this stuff for Han/Leia, you might have wondered where you can find them in all that material. I haven’t read all of it yet, but I’ve managed to read a lot for the past few years, so I thought of making a rec list with my favourites, even if just as a start!

If there’s a book or comic I didn’t mention here, feel free to ask if I’ve read it or to rec it to me!

Keep reading

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here she is!!! my completed illustration for the amazing @forcefatalezine!!! when making this illustration, I wanted to create something that pushed me out of my comfort zone, which this definitely did haha. I'm really happy with how it turned out, and I'm so glad I was able to have this included alongside so many other extremely talented creators in the zine. <3

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we don’t talk enough about han riding out against orders into sub zero whiteout conditions bc luke didn’t come back in time, somehow managing to find him in all of that, and taking away his own chance of survival and returning to base by killing his tauntaun so luke wouldn’t freeze to death. no wonder leia was physically shaking with repressed lust for the whole rest of the movie after that

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Golden hour in Corfu, September 2021

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