Han/Luke

Han/Luke is the slash pairing between Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in the Star Wars fandom.
In the 1980s, the term "Han/Luke" did not always refer to the slash pairing but instead to designate brotherly friendship stories, something early Star Trek fans did when describing an intense, non-sexual relationship between characters. See The Jundland Wastes #3 In early years "Han/Luke" was also used to discuss the fandom wars between those fans who preferred Han Solo to Luke Skywalker (or vice versa). 
After Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered, the pairing was more often referred to as "Skysolo," reflecting fandom's gravitation towards portmanteaus.
==History of Han/Luke Fandom==
Han/Luke fandom's roots may stretch back to the early days of Star Wars. However, in the 1970s and 1980s, all m/m fan fiction, even non-explicit, was considered adult and fell under Lucasfilm's prohibition against adult content. Because of this, the majority of Han/Luke fanfiction was not published until the 1990s. This did not mean that no Han/Luke was written in the early 1980s, but it did mean that majority of the fanfic was circulated privately, often without any names. 
Some fans immediately saw the potential for Han/Luke slash fanfiction - along with other pairing combinations:
===Early 1980s===
A few fans did try to publish Han/Luke fan fiction. However, even the possibility of publishing Han/Luke fan fiction was met with swift resistance and boycott threats. Some fans pointed to the schism that Star Trek fandom went through when they grappled with slash fan fiction a decade earlier as a reason to avoid shipping Han and Luke. 
In 1981, the editor of Organia wrote about her experiences in trying to publish Han/Luke fiction:
In spite of this letter, the editors of Organia did not publish any Han/Luke fanfiction, although they did include slash fiction in their fanzine. There was at least one Han/Luke story called "A Glimpse of Home" planned in 1984 for Perfect Fusion, the second proposed issue of Organia. "Perfect Fusion" was never published, and this story did not see the light of day. Whether it was a result of lack of submissions, threats from other writers to pull their stories if Han/Luke fiction was included in the zine, or a pragmatic editorial decision, the fact remains that Han/Luke fan fiction remained unpublished for the next 10 years. 
Some 20 years later, one fan wrote, looking back, that it was her belief the objections to Han/Luke stories was not so much homophobia as they were based on a strict canonical interpretation of the characters of Han and Luke and their relationship. While, a large part of the negative reaction did come from within fandom itself, operating out of fear and self-censorship, the fact that there were so few slash stories published speaks otherwise.:
The private circulation of Han/Luke fiction continued, although both the authors and origins and the exact quantities and breadth of circulation remained a closely held secret that persists to this day. One such story eventually found its way into print some 15 years later. "Evidence" written by Karen Osman had been written around 1982 in response - as she put it - to George Lucas deciding that Han/Luke slash fiction should be banned. The story was published in 1998 in Elusive Lover #3 and the editor of the zine wrote: 
A few other titles, circulated anonymously were: "Alliances" (PG13 Han/Luke) and "Irresistible Forces". Another story that may have been circulated in the 1980s is called The Learning.But see the article page as the only confirmed circulation date for "The Learning" is 1995.
===1988===
In 1988, one fan decided to tackle the subject of slash fiction again, and asked the readership of the Star Wars letterzine why there was so little published Star Wars slash fiction:
This led another fan to ask eagerly:
In response [M U] wrote: 
===1990s===
By 1991, some fans began worrying about the overall decline in Star Wars fan fiction as interest in the franchise waned. One fan drew a parallel between Star Trek and Star Wars and wondered if SW slash fiction might help reverse the decline:
By the early 1990s, a few brave fans decided to test the waters and began publishing Han/Luke slash fiction. In 1991, Ming Wathne published three Han/Luke works in Bright Center of the Universe #1 that she labeled "non-explicit". Two were poems and one was a story called Stopover, all written by Felicity Granger. Another fanzine published "The Promise," a Han/Luke story by Theresa Kyle which appeared in 1993 in Dyad #12. The story features a scene where Luke is lying underneath a vehicle, trying to fix it. Han crawls next to him and rather shamelessly tries to seduce him, while Luke struggles with his conflicting reactions to Han.
By 1992, several Star Wars zines advertising for submissions in the Southern Enclave began adding slash statements: "No slash accepted" and "Positively no slash will be accepted."Southern Enclave #32 (Summer 1992). Even if little slash fiction was being published, some editors felt the need to explicitly start excluding it.
They were not alone: Star Wars fans continued to reject slash fan fiction, with one fan admonishing another in 1993: Another wrote: Another complained that there was too much slash in other fandoms: 
In 1993, Z.P. Florian wrote about her plans to publish a zine that would accept slash fiction: 
A year later fans were still objecting to her proposed zine, lumping all slash together with sexually explicit material: 
Eventually, ZP Florian did publish her adult themed zine in 1995 and while it did have slash, none of it was Han/Luke.
Still, the tide began turning in favor of slash fan fiction, although fans were careful to avoid overtly mentioning Han/Luke themes: 
Some slash supporters worried:
While others pointed out that (a) advertising for slash fanzines helped fandom overall and (b) not all slash was sexually explicit or violent: 
And not all fans were averse to the idea of Han/Luke fiction: 
The first all Han/Luke fanzine (Elusive Lover) was advertised in Southern Enclave #45 in the Summer of 1996.
Coincidentally, the following year, actors Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford appeared together on a Saturday Night Live sketch that touched on the Han/Luke theme: 
During the 1990s, two major sociological and technological shifts took place: one was increasing LGBT activism in response to the AIDS crisis. The second was the rise of the Internet which allowed fans to find one another with greater ease and anonymity. Adult fan fiction, including slash, become more and more acceptable.
The shifting attitudes towards LGBT also encouraged non-fans to examine the original series for the Han/Luke slashy subtext:
===1999: The Prequels Begin ===
In 1999, the Star Wars prequel, The Phantom Menace was released and a new generation of fans flocked to the franchise. Unencumbered by the history of interference, censorship and control by Lucasfilm, they lept into adult fan fiction focusing mainly on the Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon slash pairing. 
Against the backdrop, Han/Luke slash fiction seemed tame. 
As the characters from the original series of movies faded into fannish memory, so went the Han/Luke slash community. The last Han/Luke fanzine was published in 2001. The main Han/Luke fan fiction archive Elusive Lover cycled through many web hosts, often going offline for periods of time and then being resurrected. It finally went offline in 2013. This is not to say that there was no Han/Luke fiction written during this period - just that it remained a smaller niche among the sea of Star Wars fandom.
=== 2015: The Sequels Begin ===
In the late 2000s, the Star Wars franchise was "rebooted." In December 2015, The Force Awakens was released which featured an older Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in small, pivotal roles. The conclusion of their joint story arc, with its tragic underpinnings, pulled in both old and new fans, many of whom began looking for the older Han/Luke fiction - and wondering why they were finding so little.
Shortly after the movie was released, several Han/Luke posts began circulating - some under the new pairing tag "SkySolo." One notable post was a gifset that pulled material from a deleted Han and Luke scene from ROTJ which had a slashy subtext: see Deleted Scene From Return of the Jedi . Other sample gifsets blended footage from the previous movies along with new dialogue. (see below). And more posts followed: .
Fans gobbled up the existing fanfic: 
One fan looked back on the history of Han/Solo fan fiction and penned a letter of thanks to the newer generation of fans:
In a Tumblr Answer Time in March 2016, promoting The Force Awakens,Harrison Ford Harrison Ford answered a question from Tumblr user hanfucksluke.hanfucksluke asked: The post gained over 100,000 notes and many reactions to Ford presumably having seen the shippy username – see Main Section. Some pointed out that "he’s known that han/luke exists since 1977 so i think he’s okay"Apr 28 2016 and "Harrison Ford had Han/Luke porn thrown on his lawn in the 80s, I doubt he even looked twice at that."SEP 04 2018
==Fandom==
===Common Tropes in Fanworks & Fanon===
*Canon Divergence AU: how and where it diverges varies, but having Han and Luke meet earlier, before canon, seems to be a popular one
*Post-canon: stories that take place after the Return of the Jedi
*Modern AU: that take place in a non-science fiction setting, sometimes these are also mundane AUs, but not always
*Aged Up: because Luke is roughly 19 and Han is roughly 30 in the first Star Wars film, it is not unheard of to have Luke aged up slightly, or have Han aged down, in fanworks
*Hurt/Comfort: Hurt Luke with Han providing the comfort seems to be slightly more popular, but it's not unusual to see the reverse
*Seduction: it seems like a lot of early fic had Han seducing Luke 
==Fanwork Examples==
===Fanfiction===
:see also archives and communities below
====Individual Stories====
*Chrysopaz and Brandy: a series of interconnected short stories over the entire original trilogy (WBM link).
* The Corellian Point of View by Felicity Granger (in Concupiscence #1)
* Spirits and Bodies by Marie Blackpool
*Luminous Beings - fic by Irene Heron
* by ladyjaida (2004)
*Life While There's Hope by Diana Williams (2000)
*Only Light Series by Amy Fortuna (An AU series that covers both tragedy and happiness. The series is in several parts and includes Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan, Anakin/Amidala and Han/Luke.)
* Body Heat by Timberwolf (2002)
* by Annehiggins
* by spock
* many stories by Elizabeth Stuart
====Fanzines====
*Elusive Lover and other fanzines by Cara J. Loup
*Sanctuary Moon
* Dark Fantasies (multi-fandom)
====Rec Lists====
* (2007, updated 2010)
* So, yeah, Han/Luke is my OTP, as reflected by this page., free method, (2005)
* ArtofLife Han/Luke Recs (use the WBM for dead links) (2010)
* (2013)
* (Dec 2015)
===Fanvids===
*Lowlands. Vid by Lyn (2001) (AO3 link)
*Believe It Or Not. Vid by Mudd (2004 or earlier)
*Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me. Vid by Angel Sparrow (2004 or earlier)
*I Miss My Friend. Vid by Angel Sparrow (2004 or earlier)
*Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind. Vid by Angel Sparrow (2004 or earlier)
*Return To Me. Vid by Angel Sparrow (2004 or earlier)
*My Hero? Vid by Azonia (offline) (2006 or earlier)
* (2015)
* (2015)
===Meta===
* (2004)
*Deleted Scene From Return of the Jedi (2015)
===Fanart===
* (1990s?)
*Buddy System (anime style art) (2000s)
*I'm here for you by ProfDrLachfinger (2015)
====Example Art Gallery====
 
File:Naturalwonder .jpg|"Natural Wonder (or A Han's Eye View)" by Jean Kluge (1985) 
 
File:HL dark.jpg|"Luke struggles to heal an injured Han." Fanzine and artist unknown (predates 2000)
File:Elusive lover 2 interior zpflorian.jpeg| by ZP Florian. From Elusive Lover #2 (1997)
File:Elusive lover 3 interior by zyene.jpeg| by Zyene. From Elusive Lover #3 (1998)
File:Elusive lover4 interior by alex jones.jpeg| by Alexandra Jones. From Elusive Lover #4 (c. 2000)
File:Elusive lover 5 interior by marian mand.jpeg| by Enednoviel. From Elusive Lover #5 (2001)
File:How about a shower by Anukk.jpg|How About A Shower? photomanip by Anukk (2000s)
File:Watching over you by Anukk.jpg|Watching Over You photomanip by Anukk (2000s)
File:Autumn01 by Susan.JPG|Autumn, by Susan (early 2000s)
File:HLmanip_by_Cara_Loup.jpg|manip icon by Cara Loup (2002?)
File:Tumblr darthbanes small.jpg|example of some of the tumblr fanart found under the tag skysolo following the resurgence of Han/Luke fandom after the release of The Force Awakens. Artist: darthbanes (2015)
===Gifsets===
File:Iknewluke tumblr.png|This gifset blends screencaps from the original Star Wars series with dialogue from Star Wars: The Force Awakens: "Knew him?I knew Luke.
 
File:Skinny love2.png|a 2015 tumblr post about the attraction between Han and Luke
File:All Im saying.png|Here, a tumblr fan deconstructs the eyelines of the actors to illustrate Han/Luke: All I’m saying is that Leia was looking at Han but Han was not looking at Leia
File:I owe you one.png|The no homo meme as applied to Han/Luke decades later
File:Tumblr nzcpnz9C6y1qzf7vzo1 500.gif|
File:Tumblr nzcpnz9C6y1qzf7vzo2 500.gif|tumblr gifset by iristigerlily highlighting the Han/Luke relationship by using a script excerpt from The Empire Strikes Back."Luke smiles, then waves at his friend and walks on. After a few steps, he stops and looks back. Han glances up and the two exchange a silent communication, each wishing the other safety, happiness – many things, all difficult to verbalize. – The Empire Strikes Back Script 
==Fannish Resources==
===Archives===
*Elusive Lover (Star Wars archive)
*Luke Skywalker/Han Solo on AO3
===Communities===
*Luke_and_Han, a Han/Luke mailing list on Yahoo groups
*Mark Hammill and Harrison Ford LJ community
===Tumblr tags===
*skysolo
*han-x-luke
==Further Reading/Meta==
* Luke Skywalker Is Gay?, Slate Magazine, has some Star Wars commentary, though the article's focus is broader (2000)
* by valarltd at Shipper's Manifesto (2004)
* Why I love Han and Luke, Angel Maxwell (2012?)
* Ewan McGregor's Stupid Beautiful Face: A History of Han/Luke and Star Wars Slash (2016)
==References==
Category:Slash Pairings
Category:Star Wars Relationships
Category:Social Media Feature-Ship Sunday