#Jyn should not be up against her wife like this

[astromechs]

may i humbly request a mon x literally anyone you feel like? i love any and all content featuring my space wife <3

so. i got mon/draven in my head, and now this became a 1k oneshot. also on ao3, actually also tagging @andorerso in this because i'm going to take the other option on your prompt, but here is a bonus of mon/draven 💕

Soon, the base on Yavin IV will have to be evacuated in its entirety. To where, no one knows; there hasn't been enough personnel to form teams that could scout locations or to analyze the data they would find. Even if there were, though, there's always the matter of time.

The matter of time, which is always against them.

Still, the sounds of celebration continue to pierce the walls and shake the floor under their feet. A victory, especially one this significant, merits it; it's come at a cost, greater than most will ever know, but it's still a victory, and everyone here has had a role to play in it. Everyone here has earned their right to celebrate.

Even if the Empire, of course, is still out there, lurking closer than ever, with a firm Alliance location fixed in their databases that they will return to before long (the matter, again, of time), Mon will leave everyone be — if only for one night.

She's made her requisite appearance and delivered her requisite words, has smiled at their remaining numbers and given the energy of inspiration like any competent leader should, but it'd all burned out the instant she'd turned away. Her heart, heavy since the council meeting (heavy for more years than she can count up to this point), had not found, and still does not find, itself buoyed by the mood; the cost is a mark that is not so easily wiped clean.

As she slips away, into the corridors, she thinks of Jyn Erso, the woman they'd failed in so many ways, but perhaps most egregiously at the end, who'll now never get to live to see the results of her conviction; she thinks of Captain Cassian Andor, their best and brightest, a man who, in the time that she's known him, has shown nothing but unwavering dedication to exactly what this cause requires, even if it'd taken pieces of him that he'll never have the opportunity to put back together. She thinks of everyone who had gone with them to Scarif, the souls brave enough to act, no matter what, even when their own council could not. She thinks of the pilots who had not touched down on the surface of Yavin IV — the majority of the number that had taken off.

The assault on the Death Star is a victory against a seemingly unbeatable enemy, but it's difficult to think of it as an unambiguous win, no matter how much the Luthens and others of their movement would deem that thought naive.

Still, that's war — and far from the chambers of the Galactic Senate, she knows that now, with unquestioning certainty.

So, too, does the man sitting behind a desk in the office that Mon has found herself stepping into.

She can't remember a time when General Davits Draven hasn't looked tired and haggard, but here, in the low light of the power-savers, he's wearing years of cumulatively acquired exhaustion everywhere on his face; the circles under his eyes have somehow become more pronounced even over the past few days, his skin more sunken, hollow. There are two glasses with Corellian brandy on his desk, one mostly full, with his fingers wrapped loosely around the base, and the other just slightly off to the side, completely untouched.

Most in the Alliance would think of him as hard and cold, the sort of man one would depend on to make quick calls and snap decisions that might toe the lines of morality — at least for those who, like her, had come from softer beginnings. But hard and cold when needed, able to put aside sentiment for the sake of the greater good, doesn't mean that the sentiment isn't there; he cares for the subordinates under his command, looks out for them as much as he is able, and even if he may be reluctant to show, under that exterior, he has a heart that aches.

He's taken these losses hard; that much is clear. Beyond that, Mon has to infer, but it's a good guess that he's taken the loss of Captain Andor, someone he'd personally mentored for years, the hardest of all.

It says a great deal that he allows her to brush her hand against his when she approaches the desk, that he allows her to linger there for a moment before she gently drags it away, taking the untouched glass instead. It says a great deal that she can see a flicker of emotion in his face, a twitch of his jaw, before he hides it behind the rim of his glass, swallowing down half of its contents in one gulp, and hardly so much as even clearing his throat once he does.

Mon doesn't quite follow suit, but she stays close, leaning against the edge of the desk, taking a few sips herself. It's, specifically, from the bottle she'd gifted him once, several years ago — apparently saved until now. One might call it a special occasion, a celebration, but of course she knows better.

This is no more a celebration than the face she'd put on before quietly exiting the festivities. It's a requiem.

One moment carved out of time that's always running against them, because it's one moment that's critical for the sake of maintaining their humanity.

The chrono flashes, changing on the wall, emphasizing just how much those seconds are ticking away, but Mon says nothing, occasionally glancing out of the corner of her eye, until she, eventually, drains the contents of her glass and sets it back down onto the surface of the desk with a gentle clink.

Until her voice finally finds her again; it's shaky, hesitant under a mask that few can be allowed to see past, for the sake of their movement's survival — especially at such a crucial moment. But here and only here, she asks, "What now?"

Draven sets his glass down as well. His back straightens in his chair, and his hollowed face fills with purpose.

"Now," he says. "We have a war to win."

[kanerallels]

May I request a Jyn and Cassian ficlet with the prompts 'princess carry' and 'pain'? *Grinning like a child asking Santa for a puppy for Christmas*

*grins back in evil author*

Pairing: Jyn Erso x Cassian Andor

Word Count: 2,525

Tags/Warnings: T rated (for too much angst for one precious boy. Kidding. It's for blood and angst)

Cassian had been working undercover missions for years now. He found them relatively easy-- slipping into another person’s skin, wearing their identity, acting like someone else. Some days, it was easier than being who he really was.

Things were different now, though. He’d usually been alone, before Jedha and the Death Star. Before he found his crew. Before Jyn.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he glanced at his companion. Jyn strolled at his side, occasionally moving away to examine a stall or two, and was dressed in simple but warm clothing. The two of them were masquerading as a couple shopping on Hays Minor as they made their way to where their contact was waiting. Although it wasn’t as if it was all part of the mission.

Cassian didn’t know for sure how Jyn felt about him. He knew they were close. He knew that he told her things that he was barely able to admit to himself, and that he was the only one she would ever break down in front of (with the possible exception of Chirrut. But everyone could be honest with Chirrut). But they’d never really talked about anything. Barely even done anything, other than one kiss a few months before. But it had been in the name of not blowing their cover, which barely counted.

The fact was, they were both so busy. Running, hiding, fighting the Empire, collecting intelligence against them-- all of it consumed their days. It was hard to find a restful moment, and those were usually spent on sleep.

Maybe we should talk, Cassian thought as Jyn paused at a stall, pretending to admire the wares. Eventually. If we ever get the time.

But now is definitely not the time. Pushing aside the thoughts, he moved to Jyn’s side and offered her his arm. “Ready for something warm to drink?” he asked.

Flashing a wide smile that Cassian knew was fake, Jyn looped her arm through his. “I thought you’d never ask,” she said.

They made their way down the street together. As soon as they were out of earshot of the stall, Cassian said in a low voice, “Fulcrum’s agent is just down that street. She should have the intel we’re looking for.”

Jyn nodded, her expression returning to its usual focus. “Let’s get this done. I really need some rest.”

“Didn’t sleep last night again?” Cassian asked, pausing by a stall of hand-woven textiles to let an Imperial patrol go by.

Picking up a scarf, Jyn pretended to admire it as she said, “As if you did.”

She had a point there.

“Nightmares?” Jyn guessed, and a small sigh escaped Cassian’s lips.

“Always. Scarif this time.”

“Mine were on Lah’mu.”

The planet she and her family had lived on for years, before Krennic had found them. Which meant it had been a bad one. Catching sight of a stall selling hot drinks, Cassian moved over to it and pulled out a few credits, handing them to the Nikto behind it. He received two disposable cups of some kind of caf in return, and presented one to Jyn. “Best cure for it I know,” he told her.

Jyn gave him a smile, one of her real ones that he saw so rarely-- and treasured when he did. “Thanks,” she said, taking a sip. Tucking her arm around his again, she asked, “Where to next?”

“This way,” Cassian told her, moving towards an alleyway. With any luck, it would come out just in front of their contact’s house.

And it did. They stepped out of the alley and into a neighborhood of shabby houses huddled next to each other like they, too, were trying to keep warm. At the third one in the row, a squad of stormtroopers were standing, the door had been knocked off of its hinges, and Cassian froze as he saw them dragging out a Twi’lek woman.

“Tell me that’s not our contact,” Jyn said, but her voice made it clear she knew what the truth was.

Four more stormtroopers came out of the house, each dragging a victim. The first was a Twi’lek man, who looked furious and scared like his wife. But the third was a little girl, and Cassian saw the female Twi’lek lurch towards her as she was shoved to the ground and a blaster was trained on her head. Oh, no.

That was all he had time to think before Jyn was pulling away from him, her cup of caf hitting the ground and splashing everywhere.

“Jyn, wait--” Cassian cut himself off with a low curse. Pulling his blaster with one hand, he pulled the emergency beacon out of his pocket with the other and thumbed it on. They were about to need all the help they could get.

Already several steps ahead of him, Jyn didn’t hesitate. Whipping out her blaster, she shot the two troopers holding the little girl. Thankfully, they were caught off guard, and didn’t expect her to shoot two more, both of the ones holding back the Twi’lek girl’s mother. And then they reacted, lifting their blasters and pointing at Jyn.But then Cassian was there, blaster rifle blazing as he took out four of the troopers, grabbed Jyn by the arm and tugged her out of harm’s way, behind one of the other houses. Pulling away from him, Jyn hissed, “We have to get them out of there.”

“I know. One thing at a time,” Cassian said, jerking back as a blaster bolt zipped past his face. “I called in back up--”

“We don’t have time to wait for them,” Jyn said.

“I figured you’d say that,” Cassian muttered. “Fine. I’ll cover you, you go for the girl. Ready?”

Jyn pulled out her baton, opening it with a flick of her wrist as she said, “Let’s go.”

Cassian moved out from behind the house in one smooth step, lifting his blaster and firing rapidly. In the same moment, Jyn dove out of cover and charged towards the Twi’lek girl. As she ran, Cassian heard a familiar humming-- the sound of their ship’s engine. Relief swept through him as the ship zipped into view and started to move downwards, the rear hatch opening. Two figures stood there-- one wearing blue and red robes and holding a lightbow, the other wearing red armor and holding a huge repeating blaster.

But even as they moved closer, one of the stormtroopers lifted their blaster, pointing it at the little girl. Before Cassian could move, he fired-- and a blur swept past Cassian, knocking the little girl out of the way.

For a moment, Cassian had no idea what had happened. All he could see was Jyn, standing over the little girl, a hand pressed against her abdomen, looking shocked. And then blood started seeping between her fingers, and Jyn crumpled to the ground next to the girl, and it hit him. She’d taken the shot meant for the Twi’lek girl. And then Cassian was running towards her, barely even noticing the blaster fire flying past him as Baze and Chirrut took out the troopers facing them.

He crashed to his knees next to Jyn, heart pounding. Please, no. Cassian found his hands were shaking as he wrapped his hand around her arm and pulled her upright and into his arms.

Jyn’s torso was soaked in blood-- far too much blood. Her eyes were closed, and her face incredibly pale. “Come on,” Cassian muttered, yanking off his jacket and pressing it over the blaster wound. “Jyn, wake up. Wake up!”

To his relief, she stirred slightly. “Cassian?” she mumbled, and Cassian had never heard such a beautiful sound in his life.

“I’m here. I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” Cassian promised. “Hang on, Jyn.”

“The… the little girl.”

Looking up, Cassian saw Baze ushering the Twi’lek family onto the ship, with K2 and Chirrut watching his back. “She’s okay,” he promised. “I’m gonna pick you up, okay? This is gonna hurt.”

Sliding one arm beneath her legs and the other behind her shoulders, Cassian lifted her up with a grunt. A small cry slipped from between Jyn’s lips, and her fingers knotted themselves in his shirt. “It hurts.”

“I know,” Cassian murmured, settling her against his chest so her head rested on his shoulder, trying to keep his voice steady. “Stay with me. You’re gonna be okay. Just a little longer.”

The only reply was a small moan as Cassian started towards the ship. Chirrut met him halfway, a frown knitting his forehead. “What happened to her?” he demanded.

“One of the troopers shot her in the gut,” Cassian said, and how his voice didn’t break he had no idea. “Tell Baze to get his medkit.”

“He’s already there,” Chirrut told him as they boarded. The hatch hissed shut behind them, and Cassian felt the ship taking off as Chirrut led him to one of the rooms in the back of the ship, where Baze was setting up his medical supplies.

“Put her down here,” he directed without looking up, his expression grim. “Chirrut, pass me the needle and thread. Andor, get out.”

Cassian looked up from settling Jyn on the bunk. “I can’t leave her--”

“Out. You’ll only be in the way.”

“She’ll be fine,” Chirrut promised as he propelled him out of the room. “Baze and I will take good care of her. Make sure our guests are alright.”

Before Cassian could protest, the door hissed shut behind him, leaving him standing in the hallway, blood covering his hands and the front of his shirt. Jyn’s blood.

Stumbling back, Cassian’s back slammed against the wall, and he sank to the ground, burying his face in his hands. All he could see, all he could think of, over and over again, was Jyn crumpling to the ground, her pale face and stillness as she lay there.

She could have died. She could have died right there, and Cassian wouldn’t have been able to do a thing about it. Worse, she could have died before they’d talked, before he told her how he felt. It had always been true, but now it felt… real. Raw with the possibility.

My fault. I should have stopped the trooper, should have stopped Jyn, shouldn’t have taken this kriffing mission, shouldn’t have taken on a crew in the first place. Thoughts tumbled over themselves in his head, and Cassian took a shaky breath, trying to calm himself down. The smell of blood filled his nose, and he thought he might be sick.

A hand touched his shoulder, and Chirrut’s voice penetrated his haze. “Captain. She will be fine.”“How would you know?” Cassian knew he was being harsh, but the panic, the shame bubbling up inside him, was too much to handle.

“She did not die on Scarif. And you will not lose her now,” Chirrut told him with utter certainty. “The Force wills it so.”

“If I lose her--” Cassian choked on his own words, on the smell of blood filling his nose and mouth. “I can’t. I haven’t-- I shouldn’t have--”

“Sit up, and breathe, Captain,” Chirrut ordered him, his voice abnormally stern. Reluctantly, Cassian did so, facing the blind monk.

“It’s not your fault,” Chirrut said, and Cassian’s chest tightened. “It isn’t. She doesn’t need you to blame yourself. Focus on your mission. One thing at a time.”

Nodding, Cassian inhaled deeply. “Okay. I’m going to go talk to our contact. Let me know the minute anything happens, you got it?”

Chirrut nodded. “I will. Oh-- don’t forget to wash your face.”

Cassian lifted a hand to his face, realizing that he’d smeared the blood on his hands across his forehead and cheeks. “Right,” he muttered, heading for the refresher.

The next few hours seemed to drag by in a stilted blur. Cassian talked to their contact, collected the data Fulcrum needed, and started working on setting up a new place for the small family to stay. He fielded questions about Jyn, mostly by sending whoever was asking-- usually Bodhi or the Twi’lek family, who were incredibly grateful-- to Chirrut. Part of him couldn’t look at their contacts without remembering how still Jyn had been, the far too dark bloodstain on her coat.

He had no idea how he made it through that time. But finally, finally, when he was in the galley getting his fifth cup of caf that night, Chirrut reappeared. “She’s awake,” he told Cassian.

Dropping his mug, Cassian bolted out of the galley and towards the room where Jyn had been. As he arrived, the door hissed open, and Baze stepped out. Giving Cassian a nod, he said, “She’s doing fine. Just needs some rest, and according to Chirrut, some of that horrible tea.”

“Thank you,” Cassian said, not bothering to hide the desperate, grateful edge in his voice, and Baze nodded.

“Anything for her.”

Without another word, the older man headed towards the galley, and Cassian ducked into the room.

Jyn was propped up on about ten different pillows-- Cassian had no idea where they’d come from. Probably either Chirrut or Bodhi. She looked at him as he came in. “We got them out, right?” she asked.

For a minute, Cassian had no idea what she was talking about. He was so glad to see her alive and well and still breathing. There were so many things he hadn’t said that he should have, and he’d almost lost the chance. “What?”

“The family,” Jyn prompted him. “We got them out?”

“Oh-- yeah. They’re all safe,” Cassian said, moving to her side.

Exhaling in relief, Jyn said, “Good. I didn’t want to get shot for nothing.”

“Hey. Don’t joke about that,” Cassian told her. “I thought-- for a minute there--” he faltered, the memory flickering past his eyes again.

Jyn’s hand catching hold of his knocked him out of the memory, and he looked at her with surprise. “I’m safe,” she said. “You’re safe. We’re both okay.”

Nodding, Cassian said, “I know. Just… don’t do that to me again. I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t,” Jyn said, her gaze holding his for a long moment before she let out a cavernous yawn. “Baze gave me some kind of sedative, I think,” she mumbled, her eyelids drooping.

“Then you’d better get some sleep,” Cassian told her, starting to move towards the door reluctantly. But Jyn tightened her grasp on his hand.

“Don’t leave?” she whispered, her voice suddenly surprisingly vulnerable. “I… I’m worried about the nightmares.”

There was a good chance part of her honesty was because of the sedatives in her system. But if he didn’t have to, there was no way Cassian would leave her side. “I’ll watch over you,” he promised, settling next to her bed. “You’ll be safe with me.”

A smile crossed Jyn’s face as her eyes drifted shut. “I know,” she murmured.

Cassian watched her for a moment, then on instinct, lifted her hand and pressed a gentle kiss against the knuckles. She was home and safe. That was what mattered for now.

Tomorrow? Tomorrow was a different story entirely.

[andorerso]

I have a rebelcaptain prompt for you if you wish to take it: Pirates (You can use it any way you want, feks the gang dresses up as a pirate crew, or that they are pirates)

Thanks so much for the prompt! I wasn’t gonna write anything for Halloween but it really inspired me. I'm really not a pirate person though, so I don't have a lot of knowledge about... pirate stuff, I guess. Basically, I just based the setting on my memories of playing Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. Italics are flashbacks, the rest is present day. Hope you enjoy and happy Halloween, guys! :)

She’s close, after all this time, she’s finally close to finding the goblet. She can taste it in the air, in the saltiness of the water; something is coming, something is changing.

Bodhi says, as he’s been saying for years, that she should forget about it. Move on and pillage other ships like normal pirates do. But how could she? She’s spent the last nine years looking for Captain Skywalker’s chest and she can’t give up before the finish line. No matter how dangerous it gets.

Bodhi, bless his heart, is just a little superstitious. Most pirates are, to be honest.

“It’s haunted,” he often warns her.

“I’ve heard,” Jyn responds every time.

It doesn’t scare her. She’s haunted too, has been her whole life, and she’s managed just fine so far. A few more ghosts won’t bother her. It’s the absence of them that might.

Jyn stands barefoot in the sand at sunrise, watching the waves crash against the bank. The early morning sun paints everything in a lovely shade of pink and gold, its warm rays like gentle fingertips across her skin, the soft breeze caressing her body. Nothing exists but her and the water – and memories long-gone of a life she never truly got to live.

She’s buried them all at sea, and times like these are when she feels most connected to her dead, each of them waiting below the surface. She feels almost as if they’re calling out to her from the deep, asking her to join them.

She couldn’t, not yet, but when the time was right, she would walk into the sea and disappear for good. Let the waves claim her body, let her become a part of them forever. It’s a peaceful thought. She’s always belonged to the sea, and she belongs with the rest of them, the ones that the water has already claimed for itself. It’s home to her, and home is calling her back.

For now, she settles for the sunrise. Just take a moment and watch the sunrise, a voice whispers in her ear, in her memories. Just come watch the sunrise with me, Jyn. Come on and be with me. You’ll have time for sparring later.

Jyn lets out a quiet breath and kneels next to the bank, her fingers grazing the water as if touching skin she’s once worshipped, as if reaching for a lover she’s once had. It’s a connection between them, this water. A link to him, a link to the past, a link between her and wherever he is now. Somewhere peaceful, she hopes.

A soft but sad smile tugs at her lips. “This one’s for you, my love.”

Jyn sits in a seedy tavern in Havana, eyeing Captain Andor with suspicion and a glare that screams, ‘try me and see what I can do.’ She has a hand on her knife in her pocket, the other lazily resting on the pistol in her holster. It’s an open warning, almost a challenge, but Captain Andor doesn’t rise to the bait.

If anything, he seems unbothered. Almost frustratingly calm.

Jyn would think that’s foolish or cocky, or perhaps he’s underestimating her simply because she’s a woman; but somehow, she doesn’t believe this is the case. There’s something about him that’s genuine. It’s not cockiness, she thinks, it’s confidence – and his confidence is earned.

He’s a dangerous man if the stories are true, but she’s a dangerous woman herself. If they could learn to trust each other, there would be no one better to find the hidden treasure of Captain Skywalker than the two of them.

The trust part, she’s not good with. But although she’s not sure yet what to make of the man in front of her, she’s willing to see if it works out in her favor.

“The goblet is haunted,” he comments lazily, though he doesn’t sound like he believes it. Jyn raises an eyebrow.

“I’ve heard.” Her tone is dismissive.

“According to legend, it brings back the dead you’ve lost,” he continues. “You find it and it gives them back to you.” A wry smile twists on his lips. “But then they will drag you down to hell with them.”

Jyn holds back a bitter laugh. How many times has she heard that story? How many times has her father conveniently forgot about the last part? How many times has she been left at strange ports with strange people while he went on his wild adventures to find the goblet that would bring back her dead mother? Her father had been a man of science once, but the loss of his wife weighed heavily on him, and sinister voices whispering in his ear convinced him that finding the goblet was a way to make their family whole again.

In truth, Orson Krennic was probably just a money-hungry, cruel, and bored aristocrat who had nothing better to do than manipulate vulnerable men into doing the dirty work for him. Jyn resents both him and her father for that.

No, she doesn’t want the goblet to bring back dead people from the grave. She doesn’t believe in those childish stories anymore. She wants the goblet to sell it.

And she wants it to prove that she could do it. Do what her father couldn’t. Finish what he started.

But she isn’t about to share that with Captain Andor.

“It’s a golden goblet with ruby stones. It’s just money.” She pauses, shrugging her shoulders. “And the legends make it easier to sell. What naïve and wealthy widow wouldn’t want a relic that brings back their beloved spouse?”

Captain Andor’s lips quirk up, barely noticeable. “If you leave out the part about being dragged to hell.”

Jyn finally lets go of her pistol and reaches for the jug of beer on the table. “I find that part,” she begins, her tone conversational, “is very easy to forget.”

This is the one.

Jyn knows in her heart that she’s found it. The island is unmarked on any maps, and the entrance to the cave is underwater, hidden by seaweed and algae. Her lungs burn when she breaks surface, gasping for breath as she pulls herself up to the cave floor.

This is the one.

It sings in her veins, pulses through her body. She’s going to find it, finally, the goblet, the treasure – everything she’s been looking for in the past nine years.

“It’s haunted,” Bodhi’s voice echoes in her mind.

Jyn stands, undeterred, and marches forward to the heart of the cave.

She hopes it is.

Jyn glares menacingly at the cruel-faced guard as he opens her cage and walks towards her. Her hands might be shackled but she has a mean kick, and if he tries anything –

To her surprise, the man reaches for the chains behind her and unlocks her hands. They clatter to the floor with a loud noise, but Jyn continues glaring at the guard in suspicion.

“You’re free to go,” he grunts.

“What?” She doesn’t trust this one bit.

Where’s the catch? Henry ‘Scar Face’ Whitlock is not known for his mercy. She stole his goods, blew up one of his (smaller) ships, and stabbed three of his crew members. One of them bled out. Another lost an arm.

She expected to be hanged or quartered for it – made an example, for certain.

He can’t just be letting her go now. It has to be a trap.

But what would he gain from such a lie?

“Move,” the guard says and gives her an unnecessarily forceful shove that sends her flying against the walls of the cage. If it wasn’t for the small chance that she was about to walk out of here scot-free, she would have kicked his legs out for that.

But if she’s really free… could it be true?

As she gets up and uncertainly walks up to the main deck, she half expects to be stabbed in the back. It’s just too easy – but she can’t figure out why they would trick her like this when they could just tie stones to her feet and throw her overboard. It’s only when she sees Cassian waiting for her next to Captain Whitlock that the situation begins to dawn on her.

He’s saved her somehow. Of course he has.

For a wild second, she thinks he traded himself for her – he would be entirely capable of it, but where’s the profit in that for Whitlock? He has no grudge against Cassian, only against her, and she can’t see why he would accept such a deal unless he realized that Cassian’s death would be a greater punishment than her own.

But she’s not that transparent yet. She thinks.

She hopes.

Then Whitlock gives her a foul grimace that says he would still very much kill her if he could, and gestures, with some reluctance, towards the ramp leading to the harbor.

“Get out of my sight, Erso. And don’t fuck with me or my crew again, or even your captain won’t be able to save you next time.”

Jyn doesn’t say anything until they reach the shore safely, burning with a thousand questions. A part of her still expects them to be ambushed at the last minute, but Whitlock and his crew watch in silence as they walk off the ramp and disappear into the night. How Cassian managed to pull it off is beyond her, but if anyone could, it would be him.

When they’re an appropriate distance away, Jyn can’t hold herself back anymore. She stops and rounds on Cassian, eyes wide and demanding.

“What did you give him?” she asks because if she’s sure of one thing, it’s that Whitlock didn’t just let her go for free.

Cassian lets out a quiet sigh and shrugs. His eyes, glowing in the soft light of the moon, won’t quite meet hers. There’s something strange about him. Like he’s trying desperately to underplay it.

Which doesn’t bode well for them. Jyn’s heart lurches – what the hell did he do?

“I gave him my ship,” Cassian admits quietly. For a moment, Jyn hears nothing but the song of the cicadas as she tries to process this information.

“You gave him your ship?” she echoes, breathless and eyes wide.

“Yes,” he confirms, very even, very steady.

“Cassian,” she begins, her words slow as if she was talking to a child, “captains need a ship. We need a ship. Where are we going to get a new one? We don’t have that kind of money! What about the crew? Kay is going to kill you –”

“Jyn, he had you,” he cuts her off, his tone leaving no room for argument. As if that trumped everything else. Jyn blinks at him in shock, half delirious with – with –

“You’re crazy,” she breathes in awe. She can’t take her eyes off him. Nobody has ever…

Nobody has felt – nobody has done –

Nobody has made her feel like this before. Like she matters. Like she’s loved.

“You treated your ship for me?” she asks, half laughing, hardly daring to believe it.

Cassian shrugs again, but there’s a smile on his lips, a smile just for her. It’s small and kind and full of devotion.

“It’s just a ship. What kind of captain would I be if I let my first mate die?”

“You’re crazy,” she laughs again, and that same second, impulsively, springs forward to kiss him. It’s been a long time coming, she thinks as Cassian kisses her back without hesitation, his hands tangling in her hair. Two years of working together, two years of building a relationship that couldn’t be betrayed, couldn’t be replaced. Jyn doesn’t remember a time that his presence didn’t leave her breathless, that a soft comforting touch on her shoulder didn’t make her long for more. Maybe in those first few days, in the beginning – but quickly, very quickly, he became everything to her, and she could never go on without him.

It’s been a long time coming, yes. And now she’s going to enjoy it.

It doesn’t bring her peace.

She didn’t think it would. But she thought it would give her satisfaction, at least. Look, Krennic, I got your little treasure. Look, Papa, I finished what you started. Look, Cassian, I did this for you. For us.

But it’s just… underwhelming. She can’t even bring herself to sell it. It would be worth more than the rest of the treasure combined, but she stares at it in her cabin during the night and she can’t sell it.

What use is it? Nothing would bring them back, bring him back. The money she’d get from the goblet, it’d just feel tainted, wrong. Blood money.

Maybe she’s irrationally attached but who can blame her? Her father spent half his life looking for the damned thing until a storm swallowed his ship whole and he was never heard from again. His obsession with the goblet had killed him and Jyn had hated it then, hated it more than ever, but still, she’d become similarly obsessed. Just to prove something.

And then it brought her Cassian. It gave her something after it took so much. The years they spent looking for it together, that was her treasure.

And now that he’s gone, she can’t relinquish it. If she does, what else is left of them? Only her memories – and memories rot.

Jyn sighs under her breath, sitting at a corner table of an inn with Bodhi, drumming her fingers on the wood as she stares out of her head. What is she meant to do now?

Bodhi watches her in silence for several minutes and Jyn is distantly aware that he seems contemplative, but she’s too lost in her own head to question it. Eventually, he lifts a hand to still her fingers.

“Liana,” he begins, and Jyn’s eyes snap to his. Bodhi is a good man and she trusts him more than she trusts anyone else, but even he doesn’t know her real name. It’s just easier this way – Jyn Erso dropped off the face of the earth five years ago, and she had to stay gone. But she thinks Bodhi has always known it’s not her true name, and he doesn’t mind. “Have you noticed anything weird since?”

She rolls her eyes and begins drumming her fingers again. “Don’t start, Bodhi. I’m not haunted.”

“I’m just asking. You should really sell it.”

She knows why he’s saying that. The legends, of course. Whoever is in possession of the goblet will be dragged to hell by their dead loved ones. Well, she’s been the proud owner for a few days now and she’s seen no signs of ghosts and no signs of hellfire. But if any is yet to come, Jyn is sure it’ll be entertaining.

“I can’t.”

“Isn’t that why you wanted it?”

“Yes,” she says, then stops. “No.”

“I don’t understand you sometimes.”

Jyn snorts, looking away. “I don’t understand me sometimes.”

And that should be the end of it. Jyn with her goblet and her money and the lack of purpose in her life now.

But fate has a different plan for her. And maybe she is fucking haunted.

Because when her gaze sweeps over the tavern, she swears she sees a familiar face push through the crowd and disappear out into the night.

Jyn stares at the door for long a time, frozen in place, her heartbeat running wild in her chest. The white noise in her head blocks out everything else. She thinks Bodhi might be calling her name, asking if she’s okay, but she can’t answer, can’t even turn her head to look at him. She stands on trembling legs, her body carrying her towards the doors – and then she’s running, taking off in the direction that she saw him heading.

The streets are dark and deserted. Only the sound of waves and the singing of cicadas break the silence. She looks around wildly, looking for a retreating shadow in the night or perhaps the sound of footsteps nearby, but there’s nothing. Nothing but the wind and her loudly beating heart.

She couldn’t have… did she imagine it? Perhaps she had too much to drink, Bodhi stuffing her head with his nonsense, but she could have sworn…

Jyn shakes her head, trying to let the fresh air clear her hazy mind of these childish thoughts. Bodhi is panting behind her, calling her name, her fake name, and Jyn finally turns to look at him, seeing his wide eyes filled with worry.

“Are you okay?”

Jyn gives a sharp nod, trying to ignore the wild beating of her heart. Better not to plague Bodhi with her hallucinations, he’s worried enough about her as it is. No need to fuel the fire.

“Just thought I saw someone who owes me some money,” she lies, ignoring the skeptical look he gives her. “It’s not a big deal.”

It can’t be.

She would be very cross with Cassian if he was really here to drag her to hell.

Cassian’s fingers are soft on her cheek, stroking her skin, carding through her hair. Her own hand rests on his chest, feeling his heartbeat steady under her palm. They’ve been silent for minutes but she hasn’t stopped looking at him, couldn’t stop touching him. She’s never felt intimacy like this before. Like someone could look at you, see your soul, see all the darkness and pain that you hide inside, and still choose to stay. Still decide that you’re worth the trouble.

She’s naked in front of him in more ways than one and she’s never thought it would feel so wonderful. So freeing.

Cassian has taught her a lot more than just love.

“Did you think we’d end up here when we first met?” she wonders, her tone quiet, matching the tranquility between them. Cassian chuckles.

“I thought you’d kill me in my sleep one day.”

She scoffs at that. “You didn’t seem afraid.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Hmpf. So ready to throw yourself at death’s door. You know, I actually thought you might have traded yourself for me.”

“I would have,” he admits, honest as always. “If that’s what it took. But not unless there’s no other choice.” His eyes bore into hers, dark and deep and almost frightening in its intensity. Her heart beats a little faster at the sight. “I don’t want to leave you behind.”

She swallows. “Please don’t.”

Cassian strokes her cheek, a gentle smile on his lips.

“I love you.”

It’s not a promise but it’s enough. Jyn beams back at him.

“I love you too.”

Who cares about the stupid goblet as long as she has him?

Jyn wakes to the sound of music in the middle of the night. For a second, her mind is pleasantly blank, merely enjoying the soft melody filtering through the window of her room.

Then she thinks:

Cassian. Cassian used to play like that.

And then:

Cassian is gone.

Blinking herself awake, Jyn sits up in bed. Her eyes dart around the room she’s rented for the night but nothing seems amiss. Her hand hovers above the lantern on the nightstand but a strange irrational part of her doesn’t want to draw attention to herself. She blames Bodhi for that.

His words, and Cassian’s, ring in her mind.

It’s haunted.

You find it and it gives them back to you. But then they will drag you down to hell with them.

Thinking about the sighting of Cassian from earlier, she gets out of bed and ambles to the window. The curtains are drawn and her fingers hover above the fabric, hesitant, somehow, to withdraw them. She’s trembling.

Jyn takes a deep breath and pulls back the curtains.

Cassian sits on a bench on the street, his eyes trained on his banjo. Jyn gasps in shock and reels back from the window like she’s been burned. He seems… so real. Sitting there, his fingers flying over the instrument, playing some slow, sorrowful melody that tugs at her heartstrings. A song of lost love.

He’s come for her after all.

Frozen on the spot, her breathing harsh and gasping, all she can do is watch as he plays his banjo. He never takes off his eyes the instrument and he doesn’t seem to notice her. Her room is on the second floor so she has a perfect view of him sitting outside, illuminated by the moonlight, while she remains shrouded in the darkness of her room.

But if he’s come for her… surely, he knows she’s here.

Jyn’s legs give out, and she sits under her window, pressing herself tightly against the wall to just… listen. She listens to his song. Listens to the melody, haunting and beautiful, like he is himself. Every sound, every note pulls at her heartstrings. A song for the lost and the dead.

And Jyn sobs. For him and for herself, for her parents, for everyone she’s ever lost. She sobs, quiet and gasping, until she has no more tears left, lulled back to sleep on the floor by the melancholy tune that Cassian’s ghost is playing.

Cassian comes to her in a dream. It’s a familiar one; one she’s seen many times before, and one she will see many times more. He’s not dead and not alive – he’s a revenant and he’s hers, just for tonight, until dawn breaks and morning takes him away.

But he’s different this time. Sturdier, steadier. Buzzing with a kind of unquiet energy that she’s not used to. Like he’s waiting for something. Jyn doesn’t want to mention it, their stolen moments together too precious to tarnish, but it weighs her mind with questions.

When their time comes and he gets up and heads to the door, she reaches after him. She does this on every occasion, tries to convince him to stay, tries to forcibly, physically make him stay – but her words are different this time, her desperation becoming an inferno, and his response is a mystery.

“Cassian,” she calls out to him, struggling to sit up and catch his arm. He’s already at the doorway, between life and death, between her and the sea, looking back at her and hesitating. “Don’t go. How could I live in a world where you don’t?”

He takes a step through the door, where nothing but the empty awaits him and gives her the strangest of smiles. “It’s almost time, my love. Almost time.”

“I think I’m haunted,” Jyn admits to Bodhi the next day, and he gives her a hard look. She thinks it’s the tone of her voice, sad and defeated, that stops him from telling her “I told you so.”

“What happened?” he asks instead, and Jyn shrugs, eyes downcast, looking at the mug on the table, the tea untouched and growing cold.

“I saw… someone,” Jyn admits slowly, pausing before she adds, “Him.”

Bodhi never had the chance to know Cassian. She met him after Cassian was already… gone. He knows a little about him; she’s admitted to having a dead lover in her weaker drunken moments, but she’s never talked about him much. Jyn always has preferred to live in denial, and Bodhi knows better than to ask.

Still, she knows with the way she says it, the way she gives him a meaningful look, that he knows who she’s talking about.

“I think he’s come for me.” She pauses, a bitter laugh escaping her mouth. “It makes sense. The goblet always was our adventure. It’s how we met, you know.”

The look Bodhi gives her is a mix of pity and worry. Jyn is uncomfortable with both, even though she knows he means well. Luckily, he doesn’t try to say anything stupidly comforting like “I’m sorry” or “it’s all going to be okay” because he knows her better than that, and he knows she might punch him in the mouth for it.

Instead, he looks her in the eye and tells her, “You should really get rid of it, Li. Before it’s too late.”

Jyn nods. She knows he’s right.

But some part of her is not ready to let go yet.

It takes less than an hour for everything to change.

Jyn wakes up that day like usual in the captain’s cabin she now she shares with Cassian and goes to sleep that night in a holding cage of a navy ship, alone in the world once again.

Krennic has a personal grudge. And so does she. So naturally, she can’t resist the opportunity to raid his ship, steal his cargo, and leave him wounded and nursing a broken ego.

In hindsight, she should have killed him then. But she thought the humiliation would be a more suitable punishment.

Six months later, he comes back with a vengeance and a small navy fleet, blowing a hole through their ship with his cannonballs. They fight valiantly when his crew boards their slowly sinking ship, but it’s a lost cause – Jyn knows it’s a lost cause, Cassian knows it’s a lost cause, and Krennic, especially, knows it’s a lost cause. He seems very pleased with himself too, and Jyn would punch the smirk right off his stupid smug face if her hands weren’t bound behind her back by one of his henchmen.

“Well, well, well. Didn’t think I’d catch up to you, did you?” Orson Krennic asks, strutting in front of her like a peacock, hands clasped behind his back. Jyn spits in his face.

Krennic blinks once, twice, before he slowly wipes at his eyes with a headkerchief he produces from his breast pocket. The backhanded slap he gives her stings, sending her sprawling to the floor.

“You touch her again,” Cassian growls, straining against the guards holding him back, “and I’ll break every bone in your hand one by one.”

The glance Krennic gives him is dismissive, like Cassian isn’t even worth the time to look at. He gestures to the guards next to Jyn who haul her back to her feet. She stands proud, chin high, glaring at him even as her hands are tied behind her back. His ring has left a mark but she’ll be damned if she’ll let him humble her.

“Very feisty, aren’t you? I wonder if you’ll keep the same attitude once I have you locked away in Wobani for life.”

Jyn doesn’t react outwardly but her heart beats faster. Wobani is infamous for its cruelty and inhumane methods. Nobody leaves, not unless they’re dead. Only the worst of the worst, the most dangerous criminals end up there.

She supposes she belongs among them.

Another gesture from Krennic and the guards haul her towards the railing to transport her to Krennic’s ship. Stardust is slowly sinking and she knows it’s the least of her worries, as most of her crewmates lay dead at her feet, as Kay lays dead at her feet, but her heart aches at the sight. They’ve bought this ship together, Cassian and she, after he gave away his old one to Whitlock. It’s theirs. And it hurts to see it go down.

“What about him?” asks one of the guards holding Cassian.

“Leave him,” Krennic answers easily, a sick sort of smugness in his voice. “Let him go down with his ship, as all good captains do.”

“No!” Jyn shouts, struggling against her captors harder. She shouldn’t give away her weakness – she knows, she knows she shouldn’t give him ammunition – but Krennic has made up his mind anyway, so what difference does it make?

Too upset to think rationally, she begs him. “Don’t do this. He’s worth a lot more to you alive. He has a bounty on his head higher than mine.”

“I don’t need the money, you silly little girl,” he tells her, dismissive. “I just want you put away for good.”

“No!”

Jyn continues struggling as she’s dragged away, followed by Krennic and his guards. She watches the men holding Cassian tie him to the mainmast, making sure he can’t escape, before joining the rest of them. Krennic’s ship pulls farther away and Stardust sinks lower and lower into the ocean, but her gaze never leaves Cassian as long as she still sees him.

His eyes are regretful, apologetic. He looks resigned to his fate, a man who’s more concerned about leaving his lover behind than dying. Jyn knows he remembers their conversation in bed just as much as she does.

I don’t want to leave you behind.

Please don’t.

She watches until she can’t see him anymore, until he’s just a dot on a faraway slowly sinking ship. And Krennic, perhaps to drive the nail home, fires once again.

Stardust goes up in flames, pieces of wood scattering into the ocean, the mainmast falling with a loud splash. It takes a second and it’s all gone.

Jyn wails until she no longer has a voice. That night, a part of her too is gone.

She can’t bring herself to sell it so she settles for a compromise. She’s going to return it to the cave where it belongs, let some other poor clown find it if they can. It was never meant to be hers, never meant to be anyone’s, perhaps, but everyone has to learn from their own mistakes.

It should be fine, except the cave is gone. Which is ridiculous because she found it not even five days ago and it was here, she could have sworn the entrance was here, but somehow, she got lost or confused and disoriented, and the damn cave is gone. She dives underwater looking for the entrance several times, resurfacing periodically to catch her breath. All the while, the goblet weighs heavily in her hand, almost like –

It’s a stupid thought, but it’s almost like it’s trying to drag her down. Down into the deep where Cassian awaits her. And the more time that passes, the more she feels like this was a bad idea. She should have told Bodhi where she went, she should have brought him with her – she should just go back and sell the damn thing, but when she looks around, all she can see is water and water and more water. When did those dark clouds roll in? How could she have not noticed a storm approaching?

As soon as she realizes what’s happening, it’s like the sea comes alive around her. Jyn knows she’s in trouble. The waves toss her around like a ragdoll as she fights to stay above water. It keeps pulling her under, spraying saltwater in her eyes and mouth as she gasps for air and moves her limbs desperately to try and find land. She’s an excellent swimmer, but nobody can win against a storm.

She’s not sure how long she fights against the waves, but she’s getting exhausted. Her legs feel heavy, and it’s harder every time to push back to the surface when she goes under. The goblet weighs her down – distantly, she realizes she’s still holding it but she can’t make her fingers let go. Her strength is fading and still, her fingers remain locked tightly around its hilt like they have been welded together.

Then she hears it. Jyn! A voice calling her name, loud and desperate, a voice that sounds like…

Cassian. He finally called out to her.

She sees him in the distance before she goes under, blurry like a mirage. She knows why he’s here. It’d be so easy to join him, she realizes as the water engulfs her again. So easy to let go. Maybe it’s time, she thinks, and her fingers finally loosen around the goblet.

I’m coming, my love.

And just as she’s about to sink down into the deep, a hand seizes hers and drags her up, above the surface where she gasps and takes in large gulping breaths, coughing up water from her throat. Her lungs burn and her head feels dizzy, her vision blurry and darkening. But she can still make out Cassian’s face above her, staring at her with what seems like worry and relief at the same time.

“Are you here to take me with you?” she breathes, half resigned to her fate. She doesn’t hear his answer, if there is one, and she falls under with the comfort that at least her last moments were spent in the embrace of Cassian.

Jyn spends four months at Wobani before she and a couple of inmates manage to escape during a riot. The news spread quickly, causing unrest across every island from there to Havana. Nobody escapes Wobani, but they do and that doesn’t sit right with anyone. The people are scared, the authorities under pressure; there’s a massive search on every port across the Caribbean Sea. It means Jyn Erso must disappear. For good.

She takes on the name of Kestrel Dawn and returns to the place where she’s last seen Cassian alive. It’s the only thing she can think to do – he’s gone, Stardust is gone, Kay is gone, and the only person left alive who knows that a man named Cassian Andor once existed is her. It’s not enough, but as she stands on the beach at sunrise and places a bouquet of wildflowers on the water, she feels it counts for something.

It’s there, somewhere in the sea, that he lies at the bottom, waiting for her. As she looks out at the never-ending body of water, she feels a calm wash over her. He’s one with the sea now, everywhere, all around her, always with her.

The waves lap at her bare feet, the tide rising higher and more insistent. She feels like it’s trying to tell her something, trying to call her home.

She smiles, taking a deep breath. “Not yet, my love. Not yet.”

Jyn wakes up in her cabin and for a moment, all is normal. It takes a second to remember the storm, her losing battle against the waves, and… Cassian.

She sits up slowly, and Bodhi is suddenly by her side, pulling the blanket higher up her body like a worried mother hen.

“Thank god you’re awake! How are you feeling? You gave us quite the scare, Li,” he says all in one breath, and barely stops before adding. “Why didn’t you tell me where you were going?”

“I…” She squints, still a bit disoriented, staring off into space as memories slowly trickle in. She turns her head towards Bodhi, a realization sitting on her tongue. “I think he saved me.” Tears fill her eyes, too emotional to hide them. “He wasn’t here to take me with him, he was here to save me.”

She believed the legends, she’d given into thinking that he was here to drag her down. Appropriate revenge for a man who had been sacrificed like that for no good reason at all.

But that wasn’t Cassian, it couldn’t be. He’d never harm her, and he didn’t – not even in death. He wasn’t her grim reaper, he was her guardian angel.

“Liana,” Bodhi begins slowly, then awkwardly trails off. She can tell he’s not quite sure how to say what he wants to say.

“What?”

“I did save you,” says a voice from the doorway, and she knows who it belongs to even before she turns her head. Heartbeat in her throat, she lifts her head towards him, slowly, half-afraid that she’s not going to find anyone standing there.

But there he is. Leaning against the doorframe in all his glory, brown leather pants, and a loosely tied white shirt hanging from his frame, dark strands of hair curling against his neck. It’s longer than in her memories, and he’s thinner, too – too thin.

But he doesn’t seem so ghostly in the daylight, with the sun behind his back, and Bodhi looking at him too. He seems quite real, in fact. A gasp is stuck in her throat, her mouth dry at the sight of him. How is it possible…

When her gaze finally meets his, he seems just as shaken, awed, disbelieving. Jyn sits up fully, unable to look away as she methodically moves her legs off the bed. His eyes are misty and his hands are trembling a bit – but god, the way he looks at her… it’s the look of a man finding shelter in the middle of a storm.

He used to look at her like that in their private moments – when he was inside her, when they were in bed basking in the afterglow, when she cut down enemies with a single swipe of her sword before he even lifted his pistol.

It’s that look, more than anything, that convinces her this is real.

“You’re supposed to be dead,” she says at last, the only thing she can think to say. How are you not dead? Where were you?

“I’ll leave you two be,” Bodhi says. Shamefully, she’s forgotten he’s even in the room. He squeezes her shoulder in comfort before he goes, and she watches him give Cassian a small but encouraging smile as he passes him.

Once he’s gone, Cassian clears his throat. His gaze finally drops, the loss of its intensity making her chest tighten.

“I did save you,” he repeats, his voice rough with emotion. “I saw someone in the water. I didn’t realize it was you until… I was looking for the goblet.”

“I don’t understand,” Jyn gasps, shocked at how high her own voice sounds. She can’t swallow around the ball lodged in her throat.

“I’m not a ghost. I’m not dead, I never was.”

He still hasn’t moved from the doorway, almost like he’s too afraid to come closer. Jyn’s hand tightens around the bed frame.

“I saw the ship sink.”

“It did. And I almost drowned,” Cassian admits, his voice strained. The small laugh he lets out is humorless. “I don’t know how I survived, I really don’t. I guess I was just lucky that those idiots didn’t tie my hands well enough and I was able to break free before the last cannon hit the ship. I don’t remember much after that. I grabbed a plank floating in the water, just trying to hold on. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever make it to land, I must have been out there for days. I was trying so hard not to give up… for you. I had to make it back to you. But I was getting so tired. Eventually, I just…”

He shrugs, a small defeated gesture. His eyes drop to the floor, his shoulders hunched. He looks guilty, ashamed, and Jyn wants to get up, gather him in her arms and never let go, but she has to hear the rest of his story.

“I was washed ashore the next day, barely alive. It was a small remote island, no cities, no villages, no ships. No one lived there. I had no way back home. I was stranded there... for five years.”

He lifts his head up, and the despair she finds in his eyes almost has her doubling over.

“I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again,” he admits, small and heart-wrenching. Jyn closes her eyes, letting her tears run down her face and onto her lap.

“And then?” she croaks, her voice trembling.

“A merchant ship came by about three months ago. They took me back, brought me to Havana. I tried to look for you. I heard you escaped Wobani, but I couldn’t… well, there were no more mentions of Jyn Erso after that. No word of you for five years. I figured you had gone into hiding but I didn’t know how to find you. All I could think to do was… find the goblet.”

A sad smile plays on his lips, his eyes glassy.

“But you found it first. And I found you.”

Jyn takes in a shuddering breath, her whole body trembling.

“It’s gone. I think I let go of it in the water.”

“Good,” he breathes. His eyes find hers again, looking for a sign, an answer. When Jyn gives it to him, inclining her head just so, he cuts across the room in long strides and kneels in front of her. His tear-stained cheeks now match hers.

Tentatively, he takes hold of her hands, and a small desperate sound escapes her mouth at the touch. Her eyes flutter shut when his other hand reaches up to cup her cheek, trembling as she presses her face against his palm.

“Jyn,” he begins, voice hoarse. She can hear the fear in his tone. “Do you still…”

“I do,” she breathes without opening her eyes, without waiting to hear his question. “I do still. I do.”

She tugs on his hand to pull him up, and he goes willingly, his mouth finding hers like it was five years ago and they hadn’t been broken by the world and its cruelty yet. She clings to him desperately, clutching at the collar of his shirt, fingers slipping into his hair, trying to pull him closer as much as she can. The only thing that matters is that every part of her is touching every part of him.

She breaks away, the sound on her lips a strange mix between a laugh and a sob. His lips find her forehead instead and she buries her face in his chest, tears still in her eyes, but listening to his heartbeat steady under her hand.

There’s so much to talk about. So much to catch up on. It feels like a fever dream – she’s afraid to wake up and realize it hadn’t been real. But Cassian holds her tighter, and she knows that in his arms, nothing can hurt her.

They’re finally home.

[onthesandsofdreams]

The Wedding

Pairing: Cassian x Jyn Rating: T Summary: “Come on, Jyn Erso, let’s get you married.” Words: 1141 Notes: Written for @dailyrebelcaptain‘s Valentine’s Day Celebration, prompt: sure love. Tagging: @mousedetective

Read @ AO3

Jyn stares at the white dress that Leia has so kindly offered.

It would normally not be her thing, she doesn’t like white. Too clean, too pure. And truth be told, she doesn’t feel like either. But today is not a normal day, so she heads straight to the refresher and washes all the dirt off her. Leia has also kindly provided with some other things, fine soaps, lotion and a perfume for after.

And when she is ready, she dons the dress. It reaches right above her feet, the dress is very obviously Leia’s. But she’s thankful that at least she will have something else to wear that it isn’t her usual stuff. She’s not one for fashion, but on this day, she can do the effort.

She’s debating on how to wear her dress, when a knock comes, “Jyn?” It’s Leia. “Need any help?”

She debates for a split second as if she should ask for help, and while a part of her still wishes to say no, maybe Leia could know what to do with her hair, “Yes please.”

Leia lets herself in, she’d dressed in something other than white, a pale blue dress. “The hair, I take?” Is what Leia greets her with.

“Yes. I only know how to do a bun. And it’s not good.”

Leia nods, “Then sit, and I’ll handle your hair. Would you like a bun or braids?”

She doesn’t know, but Leia has always been so impeccable dressed and styled, so she trusts her. “Up to you.” She says and sits with her back to Leia.

And Leia doesn’t speak anymore, but brushes her hair with surprising gentleness and her fingers move quite deftly on it. It doesn’t take long before Leia’s hand stop and then settle on her shoulders. “Done. Want to look at the mirror.”

She stands and goes back to the fresher. And a smile grows on her lips as soon as she looks at herself. Her hair is half up and half down, braided quite skillfully around her face, her bangs still there. She likes it. It’s elegant, but she can still think the hairstyle is something she would go for if given the chance.

“Thank you.” She says to Leia as soon as she returns.

Leia smiles at her, “Glad you like the hair. Are you ready? Because we’re ready for you and Cassian.”

She nods, there is a small fluttering in her stomach, but she feels certain. She wouldn’t change her mind in a million years. “Let’s go.”

“Come on, Jyn Erso, let’s get you married.”

And Leia escorts her to where the Rebellion has set a place for them to get married. It surprises her to see so many people, Leia simply laughs at her face and says, “They want to see the people who gave us hope get married.”

It’s moving and she’s thankful. And then her eye falls on Cassian, and the world disappears. The galaxy narrows down to Cassian, who is standing there with Bodhi by his side. And he looks so very handsome. He’s dressed in an outfit that looks almost imperial, but it’s deep blue and it suits him quite well, he wears black boots and his hair is nicely combed and now, he’s clean shaven. Then, Cassian turns and their eyes meet.

And she can tell, that he also feels that nothing has ever been so right. This love is a sure one.

She smiles at him and walks to him with a head held high. She takes his arm when she gets next to him, “Hey, handsome.” She tells him. She wants him to know that she thinks he’s handsome.

“You look beautiful,” Cassian’s whole face and voice is soft and tender. “Very different, but very breath taking.”

“Says the man who left me breathless.”

They would have continued their talk, but a pointed cough catches their attention. She looks and sees Leia smiling at both of them. “I can marry people, I’m royal.” She offers as stands in front of them. “Ready?”

They nod.

Leia begins speaking, and her voice carries over the room. No one speaks but her, and she speaks of true partnership, of love and finding hope when there is none. She speaks of two becoming one, of coming together and how love found in dark moments can be a spark of light that both of them should hold onto. On knowing that the one you are making your vows to is the one, about sharing both good things and bad ones.

“And so, here we stand, to witness Cassian Jeron Andor and Jyn Erso become one. Please, hold hands if you would.” Leia turns to Cassian, “Tell me Cassian, do you take Jyn Erso to be your wedded wife? To have and to hold, in good times and in bad? For richer or poorer? In sickness and in health?”

“I do.” And Cassian’s face, already soft, looks as if he had grown even softer then. His eyes are bright, and the look that he gives her makes her feel so safe and secure.

Leia turns to her, “And you, Jyn Erso, do you take Cassian Jeron Andor to be your wedded husband? To have and to hold, in good times and in bad? For richer or poorer? In sickness and in health?”

She could feel her heart beating loud in her ears, “I do.” She says with firmness. Never has she been more sure of anything in her life, at least not since she was still a child and her parents were still both alive and in Lah’mu.

“Then, with the power bestowed in me, I do declared you married. You may kiss each other.”

They both lean forward at the same time, and their lips meet in a tender kiss. Around them, the whole room explodes in claps and cheers. Cassian rests his forehead against her. “We’re married.”

She can’t help but to smile and she can feel her own happiness bubbling up, “No taking it back. You’re stuck with me.”

“And you with me. Come what may.”

She laughs, and he smiles gently at her. As one, they turned to face the crowd. Holding hands, they walk towards the center, music is beginning to play and now it’s time for the party. They are together, and they will be until one of them die. That’s for sure.

“I love you,” She says looking straight into his eyes.

The smile he gives her is one that sends her heart fluttering. “I love you too.” He tells her. And he voice is full of warmth and devotion, it brings tears to her eyes. His eyes are soft and takes her hand in his and squeezes it.

She loves him and he loves her too. And love each other they will. Come what may.

[victoriareyloficlists]

04/12/2020 Additions to Reylo Friends-to-Lovers

These fics have been added to the Friends-to-Lovers list located here.

A Reylo Christmas Carol Chapter 3 by altargaryen (AO3 2019  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben wants to know what Rey wants for the office Secret Santa.) sign up now for a free trial! by hi_raeth (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, 7 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben catches feelings and decides to take things to the next level with his long-time roommate, close friend, and occasional hook-up. Rey, ever the more sensible half of the duo, decides that they should make sure a relationship between them won’t be a total disaster first. What they need is a trial run.) Saturday Morning by Graendoll (AO32018  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey asks her roommate for advice on losing her v-card.) My Whole Life by AttackoftheDarkCurses, thebuildingsnotonfire (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 13 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: The "Without a Hitch" high school sweethearts, fake-dating rom-com AU.) Kiss My Dreams, Make them Sweet by Hellyjellybean (AO32020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey keeps falling asleep in the living room when she's watching tv or hanging out with her roommate Ben. He carries her to her room and tucks her into bed. After several weeks, Rey sleepily admits she does this on purpose. No one ever tucked her in when she was a child.) Not Delivered by Erulisse17 (AO32020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey and Ben are neighbors who have been pining for each other for a year. Rey decides to move out of state as she thinks her love is unrequited. That's just the kick Ben needs to get him to confess his feelings.) Number Thirty-Seven by AttackoftheDarkCurses (AO32019  Rated E Complete, 12 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey discovers her neighbor is hopeless with computers. She also discovers he has an interesting to-do list... one she might want to help him with.) Spending Valentine's Day Solo by jyn-z-solo (jynzandtonic) (AO32020  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey has the hots for her coworker, Ben, and decides to send him a Valentine's Day card. While at the shop choosing one, she bumps into him. Too embarrassed to confess it’s for him, she lies about the intended recipient. Ben is in love with Rey and gutted the card is for someone else!) Tits v. Porny by jeeno2 (AO32019  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo and Rey Johnson are attorneys, working together to defend their client against claims of plagiarism and copyright violation brought by a published author of original A/B/O fiction. It involves them having to read a lot of online porn and leads to some pretty awkward moments.) Making Love Out Of Nothing At All by LoveofEscapism (AO32019  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey and Ben are roommates who are also friends with benefits. Ben knows Rey doesn't want a relationship but he can't help but fall in love with her.) I'm Your Dream Girl by Hellyjellybean (AO32020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Reylo AU where Ben & Rey are roommates but Ben is constantly blowing up at Rey for being messy, eating his food, but Rey always just smiles and takes it. That’s because she knows Ben’s secret. He talks in his sleep. Mainly about how much he loves her and wants her to be his wife.) Dear Future Husband... by Hellyjellybean (AO32020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey writes a list of requirements for her future husband, her smitten flatmate Ben finds the list...) Sugar and Spice by Rebel_Scum1221 (AO32019  Rated E Complete, 6 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey bakes when she's stressed, but unfortunately never has enough room to finish all of her baked goods. Thus leading her to give her neighbor- who she may or may not have the hots for- her leftovers. Shenanigans ensue.) Needing A Teacher by Twisted_Mirror (AO32020  Rated E Complete, 4 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: When Rey tells her roommate, Ben, that she has only had sex in missionary position, he offers to let her use him to see what she likes. He vows to himself it's all for her pleasure, he has no idea that Rey is trying to drive him crazy.) under thy own life's key by galvanator (AO32020  Rated E Complete, 7 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben and Rey share a bed on a trip and everything is totally normal and nothing is weird.) Fireproof by SpaceWaffleHouseTM (AO32020  Rated M Complete, 7 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: When Rey's home is overrun by a wildfire, she has to evacuate with little time and no warning. Then she saves the life of Ben Solo, the neighbor she barely knows, on the road and he offers her a place to stay in the aftermath.) A Christmas Hope by CanteculLuiA (AO32019  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo is a grumpy businessman meant to spend Christmas all alone until he meets a homeless Rey, who might be his good deed for the year.) Building Something Together by walkingsaladshooter (AO32020  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: When Ben confronts his new upstairs neighbor who keeps making all manner of odd noises at all manner of hours, he didn't expect what she's doing up there. He also didn't expect her to be so pretty.) She's My (Work) Wife! by Darth_Malfoy (AO32020  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben and Rey are platonic coworkers as far as she knows. When Ben introduces himself and Rey to new hire Poe, Ben has a Freudian Slip and refers to Rey as his wife.) At First Scent by g_girl143 (AO32020  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey, an omega, thinks her best friend, designated alpha Ben Solo smells amazing. But he doesn't smell her so she assumes they're not compatible. But when Ben gets surgery to fix a deviated septum, he develops a keener sense of smell. As luck (or misfortune) would have it, Rey goes into heat just as he comes home from the hospital.) Now I'm In It by crystanagahori (AO32020  Rated E Complete, 6 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: So Rey might have accidentally told her boss that she was bringing her loving husband and sweet two year old son to the fundraiser. She does not, in fact, have either. She does, however, have her neighbor Ben and his two year old son Noah.) Halloween Wishes by danceinmystorm (AO32020  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo tries his best to make sure that his daughter gets to trick or treat and get candy for Halloween. Just as the night feels like a bust, their next door neighbor invites them in for a fun surprise.) Locked Out by INTPSlytherin_reylove97 (AO32020  Rated M Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Single mom Rey has never accepted help from her neighbor Ben. But when she gets locked out of her apartment with a crying toddler, Ben is there. And Ben wants to continue to be there for them.) His New Girl by Hellyjellybean (AO32020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo has a problem...he is completely unprepared to run into his polished princess ex-girlfriend Bazine. Now he is standing in front of her without an answer to her question regarding if he is seeing anyone because of course he isn’t but he doesn’t want to tell her that. Then he hears a familiar voice. Rey. Would she be willing to help in his hour of need?)

[youareiron-andyouarestrong]

For the writing prompts: harbinger!

star wars, rogue one/the mandalorian crossover, feat. Cassian, Jyn, and Din Djarin (includes cameos from the Child and a certain scavanger and timeline? What timeline?) 

when they first broke down on the backwater planet, Jyn grimly resigns herself to cobbling their engine back together with whatever spare parts they can buy, barter or borrow (i.e. steal). Never mind the fact that she and Cassian are on a fact-gathering mission for Leia Organa. It’s going to put them at least two sun cycles off schedule, and that’s just going to make Cassian twitch. 

Both of them are respectable, competent mechanics, so they put Kay in charge of guarding the ship and head out to the nearest outpost. “Jakku has a reputation for scavangers,” Cassian says to Jyn. “The last thing we need is someone decided they need Kay’s chassis or circuit board.”

“Isn’t he considered an antique?” Jyn asks. 

She can see Cassian suppress a grin before saying in a tone of mild rebuke, “He’s a decorated veteran. Show some respect.” 

“Sure,” Jyn says. “As soon as he shows me some.” The joke being, of course, he won’t. Unless it’s in his own special way. 

The outpost is dingy and dusty, but there’s no shortage of parts from who-knows how many ships scattered around. “Jakku has had star destroyers crash on it since the last days of the Republic,” Cassian tells Jyn in an undertone. “The inhabitants make their living off of selling the parts.”

Jyn adjusts the fall of her scarf, feels for her truncheon and blaster on her hip and thigh. Some of the inhabitants look like children. 

A commotion draws both their attention from the far side of the market. A babble of various dialects, and a man’s voice, raised in furious Basic. Jyn catches Cassian’s eye in a silent question: do we check this out?

The man’s voice, oddly mechanized and tinny, yells in astonishingly fluent Mando’a, “Maggots to burrow in your intestines! Your enemies to burn down your home and soil your bedsheets!”

Now that is interesting, Mando’a being a dialect rarely heard in any parts of the galaxy these days. As casually as though this was his intention all along, Cassian turns and heads in the direction of the growing fracas. Jyn stays right by his side. 

There’s a gaggle of beings, both humanoid and not, surrounding the tall, distinctive helmeted figure of...a Mandalorian, a genuine one, if Jyn is any judge of such things. He has a clan crest on his pauldron, though she can’t tell which clan it is. The Mandalorian has a pulse rifle strapped to his back, and by the looks of things, is about a few seconds away from using it.

Cassian, with his inherent knack of sliding smoothly into a conversation, steps through the crowd. “Excuse me,” he says, the very picture of a helpful stranger, “but can we help?”

Jyn narrows her eyes at him, but Cassian does nothing without a reason. So she keeps her hand near her blaster and her eyes on the crowd around them. 

The Mandalorian turns to face them. His body language is that of a man at the end of his tether. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“I’m Jose Ceniza,” Cassian says, and gently gestures for Jyn to step into his side. “And this is my wife, Leilani. You appear to be in need of some assistance?”

“What makes you say that?” the Mandalorian says sharply.  There’s no mistaking that suspicious cock of a head. 

Cassian raises his hands, universal sign of helpfulness and mild protest. “Just a guess. But if you don’t need anything--”

A sudden babble of voices erupts around them, the tones indignant. “They say you’ve stolen something from them,” Jyn says, now openly letting her hand fall to her blaster. “Or maybe it’s the other way around? There’s a lot of contradiction.”

“I didn’t steal anything from them; they stole from me!” the Mandalorian sounds absolutely furious. “They have taken my child!” 

More furious outcry, as Jyn finally unhooks her truncheon and raps the outstretched protuberances of one being trying to snag the Mandalorian’s belt. “Back off,” she snaps, and then says it again in a few other dialects. The crowd immediately begins to thin out. 

A Mandalorian whose child has been stolen? It’s a miracle he hasn’t turned the whole place to ashes yet. 

“We can help you,” she says, still holding out her truncheon. “We’re good at finding things.”

Clearly not impressed with this sterling reference, the Mandalorian lets his own hand rest on his blaster. “And why should I trust either of you?”

“Who else have you got?” Jyn retorts. Cassian probably could’ve done that a lot more smoothly, but sometimes, blunt worked best. 

The Mandalorian seemed to hesitate for a moment, before allowing reluctantly, “I’ve been trying to find him--my...my son all day. But these dunghill scum won’t tell me anything unless I pay them. Or they insist that they haven’t seen him. I can’t pay you much--”

“We can discuss payment at a later date,” Cassian says, taking hold of the conversation again. “First, where did you last see your child?”

“At my ship,” the Mandalorian says. “I was making some repairs and I took my eyes off him for two seconds--”

“What name does he answer to?” Jyn asks. 

“He--he doesn’t have one,” the Mando says, stiffly and somewhat defensively. “He’s a foundling, I was going to let him name himself--”

Jyn’s not exactly read up on Mandalorian naming traditions, but she knows that they consider the rearing and care of foundlings to be one of their most important and sacred traditions. “Do you have any other members of your clan who can help?”

“No,” Mando says. “It’s--it’s just the two of us. We’re a clan.”

This whole thing is getting more mysterious by the moment, and frankly, almost worth the certain delay of getting that information to Leia Organa. “Alright,” Jyn says, “can you take us back to your ship? We can start there, at least.”

The Mandalorian gestures for them to follow him, his tattered cape fluttering out behind him as he walks. Jyn’s not so sure how good his hearing is with that helmet, or his peripheral vision, so she signs to Cassian, what are we doing? 

Good deed, Cassian signs back, and shrugs slightly at Jyn’s disbelieving look. Trust me?

Silly question. All the way, she signs. 

They’re halfway out of the outpost when a new jumper comes roaring in. The figure riding it looks so small and slender as to be an child, when they dismount and Jyn realizes--it is a child. To be accurate, it’s a young human female, by the looks of it no older than twelve. She’s carrying a wrapped bundle in her arms, and she’s headed straight towards them with an unmistakable air of purpose. 

Jyn has never claimed to be Force sensitive. Even with her mother’s final words to her living in the back of her mind. But she can feel the approach of this young girl, like the boom of distant thunder, hidden in her footsteps. The kyber crystal around her throat feels like it’s humming.

The young girl approaches them, her sunburnt and dusty face peering out at them through her head wrappings. “Are you Din Djarin?” she addresses the Mandalorian and Jyn can sense Cassian’s sudden coiling of his stance. 

“Who wants to know?” the Mandalorian demands. 

“Well,” the girl says, unruffled by his hostility, “that sure sounds like you.” She comes closer, pulling back the fabric of the bundle in her arms. “Did I find him?”

Quite possibly the strangest creature Jyn’s ever seen in her life peers out at them, huge translucent brown eyes and even bigger green ears, larger than the child’s whole head. It radiates an uncanny sense of calm and peace, and it immediately holds it’s arms to the Mandalorian, a sudden smile on its face. The Mandalorian instantly steps forward, sweeping the little figure into his arms. 

As pleased as Jyn is for this happy ending, she keeps her eyes on the girl. She’s watching the reunion with a strange, bittersweet smile, leaning on a staff. The kyber crystal is practically vibrating against her skin. “Out of sheer curiosity,” Jyn says to her softly, “how did you know his name?”

The girl looks back, guileless. “Oh,” she says, “his son told me so.”

The galaxy seems to vibrate around this girl, curl around her shoulders like a cloak. Harbinger, Jyn thinks. Lost and then found. “My name is Jyn Erso-Andor,” she says, not bothering to use her and Cassian’s aliases. “And I think maybe we can help you.”

The girl smiles, sudden and sweet. “He told me that too,” she agrees. “I’m Rey.”

[speroearchive]

cassian  andor  is  a  slytherin  &  here  is  comprehensive  evidence  :  a  quote  dump

slytherins  tend  to  be  ambitious,  shrewd,  cunning,  strong  leaders,  and  achievement-oriented.  they  also  have  highly  developed  senses  of  self-preservation.  this  means  that  slytherins  tend  to  hesitate  before  acting,  so  as  to  weigh  all  possible  outcomes  before  deciding  exactly  what  should  be  done.

idk  there’s  like  ~80  quotes  &  some  are  p  self-explanatory  but  some  i’ve  included  the  reasons  i  think  they  show  slytherin  traits  thanks  bye

now  the  ring  of  kafrene  was  a  deep-space  trading  post  and  stopover  for  the  sector’s  most  desperate  travelers.  cassian  andor  counted  himself  among  that  number.

cassian  tried  to  moderate  his  pace,  to  ride  the  crowd’s  momentum  rather  than  apply  force.

he failed and imagined his mentor’s disappointment  :  the  rebel  alliance  taught  you  better  than  that.  --  ACHIEVEMENT-ORIENTED

but  he  had  been  traveling  too  long,  from  coruscant  to  corulag  and  onward,  tugging  at  the  loose  threads  of  an  elaborate  tapestry  that  was  outside  the  scope  of  his  vision.  he  had  paid  dearly  in  time  and  credits  and  blood  for  precious  little  intelligence,  for  the  reiteration  of  facts  he’d  already  confirmed.  he’d  spent  too  much  to  return  to  base  one  empty-handed.  his  frustration  was  starting  to  show.

“  i  came  as  fast  as  i  could,  ”  cassian  said.  he  stashed  his  paranoia  in  the  back  of  his  brain — out  of  the  way  but  within  easy  reach.  --  SHREWD

cassian  shifted  his  weight  and  broadened  his  stance,  blocking  tivik’s  path  ;  he  wasn’t  a  large  man,  but  he  knew  how  to  feign  presence.

cassian  sorted  through  the  barrage  of  information,  cross-referenced  against  what  he  already  knew,  and  reprioritized  his  concerns.

he  tried  to  bring  to  mind  old  reports,  speculative  intelligence  documents,  tech  readouts,  anything  to  put  the  lie  to  tivik’s  words.

[ . . . ]  cassian  asked,  trying  to  tamp  down  his  own  intensity.  --  PLAY  IT  COOL

cassian  sorted  through  them  and  found  it  was  too  much  to  deal  with,  a  hand  built  of  too  many  playing  cards.  tivik  was  on  the  verge  of  bolting,  and  cassian  didn’t  have  time  to  figure  out  the  right  questions.

cassian  cursed  silently  and  made  himself  smile.

cassian  kept  his  eyes  off  tivik.  there  was  nothing  he  could  do  to  coax  the  man  into  playing  along,  to  urge  him  to  make  no  move.  he  kept  smiling  his  small,  reassuring  smile  at  the  stormtroopers,  even  as  his  blood  pumped  fiercely  with  the  promise  of  a  weapon,  a  planet  killer.  --  CUNNING

“  we’ll  be  all  right,  ” cassian  said.  and  for  the  third  time  that  day,  he  squeezed  the  trigger  on  his  blaster.  --  SELF-PRESERVATION

he  closed  his  eyes  and  sorted  the  cards  in  his  hand

cassian  moved  toward  jyn  but  feigned  a  respectful  distance — one  that  would  also  give  him  space  to  maneuver  if  she  lunged.  --  SELF-PRESERVATION

while  the  general  had  tried  to  intimidate,  cassian’s  tone  was  casual  and  his  eyes  were  keen.  as  if  these  were  questions  he’d  ask  over  dinner  to  show  he  was  interested  in  you  as  a  person.

cassian’s  warmth  was  all  spent.  his  keenness  was  the  keenness  of  an  interrogator.

cassian  resumed,  apparently  untroubled  by  the  interruption  and  jyn’s  mockery.

“  that  is  a  bad  idea.  i  think  so,  and  so  does  cassian.  ”  --  ACHIEVEMENT-ORIENTED  /  CAN  PUT  ASIDE  CONCERNS  FOR  MISSION  GOAL

cassian — the  intelligence  operative,  the  spy,  the  casual  liar — could  be  trouble.  --  EPITOME  OF  SLYTHERIN  TBH

left  alone  in  the  cabin,  she  took  the  opportunity  to  examine  cassian’s  duffel  and  its  contents:  nothing  but  gear.  weapons  and  portable  medpacs  and  signal  boosters.  no  holoimage  of  a  dutiful  wife  or  tattered  childhood  security  blanket.  he  packed  impersonal  and  he  packed  light.   --  SELF-PRESERVATION  /  NO  ATTACHMENTS

jyn  watched  the  humor,  the  warmth,  evaporate  in  a  flash.  the  expression  of  the  calculating  spy  emerged.

the  look  of  calculation,  too,  vanished,  and  jyn  could  no  longer  read  him  at  all.

he  kept  his  eyes  averted  and  his  tone  matter-of-fact.  he  doubted  she  would  respond  well  to  pity. 

he  flicked  through  a  deck  of  possibilities.

cassian  channeled  his  irritation  into  a  growl  of  anger—a  sound  he  prayed  resembled  something  a  defiant  captive  might  make.

cassian  shook  his  head.  wait  for  a  chance,  he  mouthed.  --  THINKS  BEFORE  ACTING

[  jyn  ]’d  already  served  that  purpose,  which  meant  she  was  now expendable.  --  SELF-PRESERVATION

you’re  a  fool,  cassian  told  himself.  they  won’t  talk  to  you.  but  they’ll  try  to  spot  your  weakness.  --  SELF-PRESERVATION

he  could  definitely  reach  [  the  lock  ],  suspected  he  could  pick  it,  but  not  without  triggering  an  alarm.  -- SHREWD

cassian  ran  the  name  through  his  mental  database  and  came  up  empty.  -- INTELLIGENCE  COMPILATIONS  MAY  COME  IN  HANDY

he’d  feigned  fatigue,  leaning  against  the  door’s  bars  so  he  could  inspect  the  lock  visually  and  find  its  make  and  model.  he’d  mentally  cataloged  the  picks  hidden  in  his  boot  and  selected  the  tools  he  intended  to  use.  he  guessed  he  could  escape  the  cell  in  under  three  minutes.  --  CUNNING

he  meant  to  sound  gentle,  but  he  heard  urgency  slip  into  his  voice.  

he  dimly  recalled  the  name  from  some  alliance  intelligence  file — a  planet  somewhere  in  the  outer  rim.  it  was  a  thread  cassian  could  follow.

an  absurd,  obsessive  instinct  in  cassian  urged  him  to  ignore  the  quake,  to  keep  the  pilot  talking,  but  he  tamped  down  the  compulsion  enough  to  recognize  the  opportunity  he’d  been  provided.  -- SHREWD  /  ACHIEVEMENT-ORIENTED

realizing  that  he  was  imperiled  by  a  menace  unheard  of  in  galactic  history,  and  that  he  would  survive  or  not  according  to  his  own  skill.

leave  her  behind,  as  he’d  left  behind  tivik  on  the  ring  of  kafrene.  as  he’d  left  behind  men  on  eiloroseint  and  chemvau …

he  looked  at  her  with  a  hint  of  surprise,  swiftly  hidden.

cassian  was  silent  long  enough  that  jyn  thought  she  had  a  chance.  “  i  can’t  risk  sending  that,  ”  he  answered  at  last.  -- THINKS  BEFORE  ACTING

cassian  andor  had  made  an  error.  like  a  hairline  fracture  in  a  blaster  barrel,  it  was  nearly  invisible  on  cursory  inspection.  when  its  repercussions  manifested,  however,  they  would  do  so  with  devastating  effect — cassian  would  very  likely  die,  though  that  wasn’t  what  bothered  him  most.

they’d  had  opinions  on  the  mission  until  it  had  gone  south  ;  now  they  expected  a  solution  from  him.  the  only  one  he  even  trusted  was  the  imperial  droid.  -- SELF-PRESERVATION

cassian  debated  whether  to  push  harder  or  coddle  the  man.

he  forced  himself  to  moderate  his  voice,  to  sound  reasonable.

he  could  have  questioned  the  pilot,  but  his  mood  was  still  sour  and  he  didn’t  see  the  use.

it  sounded  too  much  like  a  lie  for  cassian  to  really  believe  it.

he  made  his  voice  hard,  tried  to  erase  any  warmth  that  had  sparked  between  him  and  the  pilot.  he  couldn’t  afford  an  argument  now.

lie  to  him.  tell  him  you  need  to  keep  galen  alive  and  on  eadu,  and  you  don’t  know  what  that  shuttle  could  mean.

cassian  would  need  a  story  for  jyn.  he  knew  that.  she  wouldn’t  believe  him  no  matter  what  he  told  her,  but  if  he  offered  her  something  plausible  and  bodhi  backed  the  portions  of  his  tale  that  were  true,  she  might  not  act  rashly.  she’d  suspect  cassian  in  the  back  of  her  mind,  and  he’d  need  to  watch  himself  so  long  as  they  were  together  ;  but  the  uncertainty  might  suffice  to  drag  her  down.  -- SHREWD  /  CUNNING  /  SELF-PRESERVATION

destroying  jyn — that’s  what  it  would  be,  you  can  admit  that  much — was  his  best  option.  -- SELF-PRESERVATION

he’d  assassinated  better  men  than  galen — an  imperial  collaborator,  the  man  who’d  built  a  planet  killer,  remorse  be  damned.

he  was  tired  of  crimes  he  never  answered  for.

by  setting  aside  his  rifle,  he  had  forfeited  his  mission,  betrayed  his  oaths  — spoken  and  implicit — to  draven  and  alliance  intelligence.  under  other  circumstances,  such  a  betrayal  might  have  felt  freeing.  as  it  was,  he  could  do  nothing  while  the  man  he’d  spared  was  readied  for  execution.

he  didn’t  have  time  to  consider  how  he  could  act  on  the  information  before  his  comlink  hissed  with  static  and  k-2’s  urgent  voice  came  through.  “  cassian,  can  you  hear  me  ?  ”

a  thought  sparked  in  his  brain  :  if  he  found  jyn,  where  would  they  go  ?  they  were  still  trapped  on  eadu.  but  it  didn’t  matter  ;  didn’t  change  the  immediacy  of  his  needs.  -- THINK BEFORE ACTING

cassian,  who  had  betrayed  [  jyn  ].  -- SELF-PRESERVATION  /  CUNNING

he  flinched  like  a  man  struck  by  a  blow  he’d  known  was  coming.  “  you’re  in  shock,  ”  he  said.  he  met  her  stare,  held  it  as  he  turned  to  face  her  fully.  trying  to  bring  her  to  heel.

his  answer  came  instantly.  “  you  don’t  know  what  you’re  talking  about.  ”

“  you  can’t  talk  your  way  around  this,  ”  she  said. “  i  don’t  have  to,  ”  cassian  snarled.

cassian  came  next,  every  bit  the  professional,  reporting  the  story  of  ‘  operation  fracture.  ’  it  was  a  story  whose  broad  strokes — an  attempt  to  contact  saw  gerrera  regarding  an  imperial  defector,  an  attack  on  the  holy  city  by  the  death  star  itself — resembled  the  truth  jyn  knew.

then  cassian  was  lying  about  eadu,  calling  it  an  aborted  attempt  to  extract  galen.

“  we’re  spies.  saboteurs.  assassins.  ”  -- ADEPT AT LYING & DECEIT

“  it’s  been  a  busy  day,”  he  said,  too  dry  to  be  devoid  of  humor.  “  i  didn’t  need  to  see  the  whole  briefing  to  know  where  it  was  going.  ”

the  emotion  was  gone  from  his  voice,  the  confession  done.

the  man  who’d  admitted  his  guilt  and  decided  to  fight  for  her.  He  saw  her  staring  and  looked  back  at  her  quizzically.

and  cassian,  who  had  betrayed  himself  as  easily  as  he  had  jyn.  -- BRUH

cassian  would  do  what  was  required  of  him.

cassian  was  tempted  to  ask  bodhi  to  do  a  second  flyby,  but  it  wasn’t  worth  the  risk  of  drawing  suspicion.

cassian  pictured  the  soldiers  in  the  cabin  below,  scanned  their  faces  and  dossiers.

he  made  a  note  to  ask  [  bodhi  ]  about  it  before  leaving  the  shuttle.  -- ALWAYS  COLLECTING  POSSIBLY-USEFUL  INFO

cassian  stepped  forward  before  anyone’s  attention  could  drift.

cassian  was  being  careful,  showing  nothing  of  his  thoughts.

“  you  know  what  you  have  to  do,  ”  cassian  answered.

cassian  held  his  ground,  staring  down  at  her  until  his  lips  finally  twitched  into  something  like  a  smile.  his  eyes  remained  hard  and  troubled.  jyn  wasn’t  sure  if  he’d  gotten  worse  at  hiding  things  or  if  she  was  simply  getting  to  know  him  too  well.

jyn  saw  something  new  flash  across  cassian’s  expression.  he  was  afraid — not  intellectually  afraid,  not  afraid  of  failing  the  mission,  but  afraid  for  k-2.

cassian  had  denied  [  k-2  ]  that  exquisite  sense  of  purpose  and  replaced  it  with  individuality.  -- BE  URSELF

[  .  .  .  ]  despite  having  watched  cassian  lie  masterfully  time  and  again.

cassian’s  hands  were  trembling,  but  his  eyes  were  steady  as  he  lowered  his  comlink.

when  he  thought  about  the  people  he  cared  about,  the  people  who  would  have  to  carry  on  the  fight  against  the  empire  and  the  death  star  (  the  ones  who  hadn’t  volunteered  to  come  to  scarif  ),  he  could  picture  no  one  ;  and  that  couldn’t  be  right.  could  it  ?    -- SELF-PRESERVATION  /  NO  ATTACHMENTS

he’d  told  jyn  :  we’ve  done  terrible  things  on  behalf  of  the  rebellion.  Some  he  remembered  now  —tivik,  who’d  made  all  this  possible  and  been  rewarded  with  death—but  most,  to  cassian’s  shame,  he  couldn’t  bring  to  mind.  he’d bartered  his  ideals  and  the  lives  of  others  away,  one  by  one,  to  find  a  victory  that  would  make  it  all  worthwhile.  yet  as  he  watched  the  pulsing  lights  of  the  turbolift  he  felt  keenly  that  neither  victory  nor  defeat  would  change  the  terrible  things  in  his  past.  jyn  couldn’t  give  him  what  he’d  come  for.  -- BAD  THINGS  FOR  AMBITION

[hawthornewhisperer]

don’t think

Happy Hanukkah to my dearest @jeeno2, whom I love very, very much.

Star Wars is not my primary fandom, but it was my first fandom. Except I was into it back when the Expanded Universe was a thing so, uh, sorry if any of my references are dated and/or no longer canon.

Jyn/Cassian, ~2k, rated T.

Jyn plucked angrily at the black fabric swirling around her knees.  “Is it not to your specifications?” K2 asked.

She glared at him, because somehow, he always sounded sarcastic.  “No, it fits,” she grumbled.

“Then is there a reason for your delay?”

She glared at him again, but the droid was completely immune to her expressions.  She took one last glance in the mirror and scowled.  Her hair was elegantly knotted at the base of her skull and her eyes expertly highlighted, but she didn’t feel like herself.

Which was, she mused, probably the point of being undercover.  K2 tried again. “The meet is supposed to happen—”

“Soon, I know,” she interrupted.  Cassian had left to go for a walk earlier to give her some privacy, but they had to be in place before the buyer left his perch at the sabacc tables.  Her disguise was as good as it was going to get, so she brushed past K2 to the door.  “Don’t wait up,” she called and the door slid shut behind her, cutting off his reply.

Cassian was standing at the viewport at the end of the hall, hands behind his back.  Officially, they were an idly rich couple from Coruscant on their honeymoon, spending credits without a care in the world.  The cover sat uncomfortably on her shoulders— she’d never had much money or free time— but she didn’t want to let down the rebellion so here she was, pretending to be a rich society wife who was used to opulence.

“I’m ready,” she said awkwardly. She couldn’t stop fidgeting with the beading on her dress, brushing her thumb across the fabric on the side of her leg compulsively, and Cassian took a moment to turn.

Silence fell between them.  “I know, the dress is—”

“Stunning,” Cassian finished, cutting in before Jyn could say ridiculous.  His eyes flashed, his face unreadable.  “Black suits you.”

“I wear black all the time,” Jyn countered, shooting for wry but ending up somewhere near brusque like always.

“Not like that you don’t.”  His gaze raked over her body, the air suddenly thick and heavy.  “You look lovely,” he said, and Jyn tucked a lock of hair that had already fallen out of her knot back behind her ear.

“You look...nice,” she said, and she hoped he understood what she meant.  Because black suited him too, his dark eyes and sharp cheekbones accentuated by his high collar.  But she struggled with words, especially when it came to him.

A glimmer of a smile flickered across Cassian’s lips and he held his arm out.  “Our mission awaits,” he said, and she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow.  

He kept her close while they boarded the lift down to the casino.  Part of the cover, she knew, but she let a secret part of herself enjoy the warmth radiating from him.  There were precious few people who had touched Jyn in the years since she struck out on her own, and even fewer of those touches had been like this— gentle but strong, comforting and purposeful.  He covered her hand with his, dropping his lips to her ear.  “My contact said the buyer arrived earlier today.  He should be plenty drunk by now.”

Jyn nodded, sternly reminding herself the point of tonight was to intercept one of the Empire’s most prolific arms dealers, not to lean against Cassian’s side, breathing in the hint of expensive scent he was wearing.

The buyer was easy enough to spot when they exited the lift.  He was a bloated, lumpy human, with bloodshot eyes and a suit so rumpled he had to be richer than a Hutt, because otherwise the casino would have shown him the door hours ago.  He gestured angrily to the dealer, and Cassian took her hand to lead her to the dance floor.

They joined the other couples, human and alien, and fell into step.  Situated in the middle of the casino tables, the floor gave both of them an easy vantage point from which to watch him.  The music was slower than Jyn would have liked, if only because romantic swaying had a tendency to lull her into complacency, and she needed to be sharp, not fighting the urge to bury her face in Cassian’s neck and shut out the rest of the galaxy.

Cassian’s hand spanned her bare lower back, his palm burning into her skin.  He swallowed and made a soft noise, half-cough and half-grunt, and she wished she could have half his professionalism.  Nothing threw Cassian from a mission objective, and here she was, mooning like an Alderaanian schoolgirl.

He turned them a quarter revolution so her eyes were on the buyer’s table.  “He’s standing up,” she whispered, and Cassian’s hand flexed against her.  “But leaving his credits behind, so probably just a piss break.”

Cassian snorted at her crudeness and swept his hand down across her hip, feeling for her holster.  Guns were officially banned in this particular Canto Bight establishment, but given that the majority of their customers had at least one finger in an illegal pie, it was hardly well-enforced.

“I’ll follow him,” she said, because Cassian’s hand was making her feel things she didn’t want to think about, and that gave her the urge to punch something.  “He’ll be less suspicious of me.”

“You have your comlink?” Cassian fussed, and she rolled her eyes, stepping away from him.

She could feel Cassian watching her from the bar as she disappeared down the dim hallway.  She kept her pace measured and leisurely, but the second she rounded the corner she gave up the pretense.  She straightened and dropped her hand to the slit of her dress, spinning the holster around so her blaster was more accessible.

Jyn stopped in front of the toilets and frowned.  All were unoccupied, but this was a blind hall— K2 had made her memorize the schematics of the building, and she was sure this hall led to nothing more than these stalls.  The back of her neck prickled and she eased her blaster from the holster, scanning the walls for vents and hidden panels.

Where did he go?  She considered raising Cassian on the com, but she didn’t want to alert him unnecessarily.  

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than something slammed into the back of her head like a hammer.  Her vision went black and Jyn went down, but Jyn hadn’t survived years in the scummier parts of the galaxy without learning to take a punch.  She rolled the second her shoulder hit the floor, and the buyer was on her in seconds, his bulk pinning her.  “Think I didn’t notice you?” he hissed in crisply accented Basic.  “You were about as subtle as a Gundark.”

Jyn twisted underneath him, trying to raise her blaster, but he caught her hand and slammed it against the floor until her wrist was numb.  The blaster went skittering across the polished tiles, her comlink unreachable.  She kneed him between the legs and he winced, but his meaty paw landed a solid punch to her jaw that had her seeing stars.  Notice that this is taking too long, she thought desperately.  Realize something is wrong, Cassian, please, she pleaded.

There was the sharp, whistling reverb of a blaster shot and suddenly the buyer went limp.  Cassian emerged from the darkness as if she’d conjured him through the Force, her blaster in his hand.  Jyn grunted and shoved the dead body off, scrambling backwards.  Cassian caught her arm and pulled her to standing, his face impassive as always.

“We were supposed to arrest him and bring him back for questioning,” she pointed out.  “Kind of hard to do that when he’s dead.”

Cassian shrugged and pocketed her blaster.  “Plans change.  K2, ready the ship,” he said into his comlink, and he put one finger under her chin to tilt her face towards the light.  “You took a hell of a punch there.”

She shrugged away from him and tried to straighten her dress.  The scuffle had ripped it in several places, but hopefully they could sneak out without drawing any more attention.  “I could have fought him off,” she said gruffly, and Cassian rolled his eyes.

“You sure had him on the ropes,” he said drily, and then he was pulling his jacket off and slinging it over her shoulders.  “Come on, let’s get out of here before anyone finds the mess.”  His jacket was warm and despite their peril, Jyn wanted to smile and burrow into it, wrapping it around her like a protective blanket.

The Force was with them and no security teams stopped them before they boarded the ship, and Canto Bight’s we’ll-look-the-other-way-if-you-pay-us-enough-credits policy meant they were able to jump the head of the queue to take off.  “Command won’t be happy we didn’t even get to question him,” Jyn said once they were safely above atmo.

“Command can deal,” Cassian said, setting the hyperspace calculations and pushing back from the controls.  “We need to see about that jaw.”

“It’s just a bruise,” she protested but followed him into the belly of the ship anyway, letting him pull down a med kit and scan her jaw and skull for fractures.  Cassian frowned at the readout and her anger flared.  He’d been treating her like a child since he intervened, and now they were going to get read the riot act by half a dozen rebel commanders who already had it out for her.  Cassian Andor, Savior of the Rebellion might be fine, but Jyn Erso, unwanted orphan and constant problem, would not be.

“It didn’t have to end that way, you know,” she snapped. She flinched away when he went to apply healing gel to her cheek.  “You could have knocked him out.  He wasn’t about to kill me, he was just knocking me around.”

Cassian ran his hands through his hair and shook his head.  “I thought— no, that’s not it.  I didn’t think.  I saw you, and I acted.” Jyn scoffed, but Cassian grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him.  His eyes were dark, serious, searching.  “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you,” he said lowly, and for a moment her bravado wavered.  This was something she wanted, something she didn’t think she should have, something she wasn’t sure she could embrace in a galaxy of war and uncertainty.  But oh, she wanted to.  He touched her cheek— the uninjured one— and threaded his fingers into her hair.  “You were in danger, and that was the end of the mission.”

Jyn licked her lips and watched Cassian’s eyes drop to her mouth.  “Oh,” she said softly, and the moment hung between them.

“There seems to be a problem with the hyperdrive,” K2 announced, and just as suddenly as it began, the moment broke.  Cassian turned back to the cockpit and Jyn sank back onto the bench, speechless, wondering if Cassian really meant what she wanted him to mean.

[pingou7]

A car, two cops and a stardust — a RebelCaptain road trip fic

by @pingou7 pingou  for @thestarbirdfromtheashesStarbird

(aka the Road trip fic Diego Luna’s filmography made me write)

Read and enjoy, and please consider leaving me a few words.

Summary:

As the dusty roads criss under Kes Dameron’s old car, Cassian Andor lets the wind mess with his hair through the open window. Dust, sunshine, laughter, its easy to recapture the taste of days long gone.

(…)

At a gas station near Corpus Chirsti, when they climb back after taking a piss, both jump out of their skins as a random brunette, eyes thunderous, hisses dangerously from the backseat:

“Just pretend I’m not here.”

Update: Part 8 is published !

This part is dedicated to the ever kind @imsfire2 because she provided inspiration and support.

Read more on AO3 (or under the cut)

Part 8: Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Day 6.

Walking back, they both try to keep their eyes focused on the path, trying their best to ignore the shift occurring between them. Against her own volition however, several times Jyn catches his eyes slipping to the right, quickly taking a look at her.

She feels like a teenager and she’s sure that somewhere Saw is frowning at her, like that one time when he realized she had a hickey on her neck. She’d been what, fourteen? So far, her interactions with Cassian have been much more tame, but the fact that Kes chose to retreat back early left them unbalanced, in uncharted territory.

She knows Gerrera would be disappointed in her if he knew that she let herself have fun while on the run. Not only she has let herself enjoy the beat and Cassian’s hold, but his chuckle too and his arm still nesting under hers as he guides her back in the busy streets of Fresnillo. She should pry his arm away but she doesn’t want to.

At Saba's house, Kes has been waiting for them, or at least they still find him nursing his drink under the arbor. Their host is already snoring in his hammock and doesn’t stir at all. What an odd duck their friend is, not at all the kind of acquaintance she would picture the two cops to have!

She envies other people’s easiness, it’s been five days since she’d last seen Bodhi, since she has run out of her flat, and while she has slept, she had not rested since. She called Baze before dinner, but as it went straight to voicemail, she didn’t leave a message. No trace back to Mexico just in case.

Kes seems surprised to see them, his gaze plainly showing he had somehow expected Cassian and her to make a beeline for the closest bed. Truthfully, Jyn’s blood is quite heated still, but it’s a gentle warmth, not the scorching blaze his friend had lit earlier this evening. However tempting it would be to discover if Cassian’s prowess included more intimate activities than dancing, she could not permit it.

Come morning they would be back to a runaway and two cops traveling together due to unlikely circumstances. Nothing more. And okay they’re amazingly friendly but while she is willing to risk her safety, she will not yield to the supposed attraction she feels for Captain Andor. Nothing good will come of it, she can let it become enjoyable, perhaps, but never distracting.

“Jyn, won’t you take a seat?” Cassian asks right on point, likely realizing she has zoned out.

“Enjoy yourself, did you kids?” Kes taunts instead, wiggling his eyebrows before stretching in his own chair.

“At least we weren’t drinking alone, cabrón,” Cassian deflects by eyeing the clear content in his friend’s glass.

“Let me drown my loneliness in peace, I did you a favor. Plus, I miss my wife and son and puppy and Sab’s not a great distraction.”

“How much did you have already, you’re turning whiny Dameron.”

“Not much, I would not want to steal your thunder, Mr. I’m brooding unless I can demonstrate my sick moves,” he replies, smirking.

“And what poison exactly is into this glass?”

Despite her current curiosity, Jyn cannot prevent a smile from blooming on her lips at their usual banter — leave it to her to snatch a comedic duo... — but it does make her curious and she doesn’t wish for the night to end yet. She doesn’t doubt that tomorrow they will be back on their insane road trip so she focuses on mundane things and sweet summer nights while they last.

“Mezcal, you didn’t learn about it, through your wanderlust? It’s a liquor made from agave.”

“I don’t think I do, but I’ve heard the name before. It’s something like tequila?”

The Charolastras share a long glance across from her, clearly having a silent conversation or a private joke, then Kes cracks his knuckles, adopting ostensibly a teaching stance. For a second she’s amused by his antics again, as Cassian solemnly pours the clear liquid into two tiny bowls set on the table. Jyn guesses they’re not fooling around like she assumed when Kes states calmly:

“While more known — and thus exported — Tequila is actually only made from blue agave, it’s mostly for tourists.”

“Don’t be snotty Dameron, tequila is still good. One properly made, that is. But I find Mezcal more varied,” Cassian offers.

“Why, there’s different sorts?”

“Of course, around forty to fifty sorts, I think,” Kes frowns, clearly looking at his best mate for confirmation. “You know, it’s actually a refined process, not easy to make and to find. I don’t have the exact ratio but —“

“After a hard acquired harvest, it takes cutting, burning, pressing by feet and several distilling,” Cassian cuts in, “so it takes days — sometimes more than a week — before a single drop ends up in a bottle. Actually the ratio is around ten kg for a single liter of liquor. It’s like... the sweat of Mexico, more precisely it’s the tears of fire of this country.”

“You’re really passionate about it, guys, it’s weird to hear Cass waxing poetry, Kes-adillas I’d understand, but...”

All to their admiration for this Mexican drinkable piece of culture, they don’t pick up the nicknames, despite the little smile that lifts a corner of her mouth. She’s even more intrigued, Cassian can tell, because he pushes his tiny bowl in her direction:

“Have a taste, Jyn.”

“Hey, this is no girlie stuff, let’s get her cheap tequila instead.”

“Excuse me, Sergeant Dameron, but I can probably drink you both under the table and besides, I’m not one for girlie stuff, I told you before.”

Both nod and the clear liquid burns in her mouth, its aroma surprisingly rich and smoky. She sips slowly like Kes does in front of her and she understands how their patriotism can shine through this particular alcohol. It’s great.

“How do you know so much about it anyway? Has it always been your preferred drink?”

“That too,” Cassian answers after a few seconds, “but actually, my father was a producer. Nothing professional, but he made a few bottles for family and friends.”

“So you helped him? I guess that’s why you’re so precise then...”

She’s fishing for information with less discretion than she usually observes, because alcohol effects aside, anything that entails learning facts about Cassian is worth the shot — pun intended. For all their constant nagging about her being closed off, he for one isn’t as forward as Kes. Yet her remark strains his smile further and Dameron stares stubbornly at the table when his friend replies:

“I didn’t get to help him, just saw him about. I was too young then.”

Not missing a beat, Cassian murmurs, as if speaking to himself:

“And I’m too old now.”

She’s startled and even Kes is left agape when he gets up suddenly and bids them a hasty goodnight without even pausing to hear their answer. Not that they could have uttered a single word, that is. Once Cassian disappears, Jyn turns to Kes hoping to make sense of this unexpected behavior, but he just shrugs.

“What the heck happened? What did I do?”

“Don’t worry Jyn, it’s just Cassian being... rudo. It will be better in the morning. It’s not easy for him to go back to Mexico, I think it’s worse for him than for me. I focus on good memories, he gets assaulted by bad ones. It’s not your fault.”

Yet, guilt is marring his handsome features, his flat tone indicating that it is far from the first time Cassian pulled something like this and he couldn’t stop it. She too feels sheepish, though even without Dameron’s reassurance, she realizes she had done nothing wrong. Be as it may, trying to understand things better, she asks:

“I got my past laid bare already, can’t you explain what has gotten into him?”

“It’s not my story to tell. But you might know that we’ve been raised by Gina’s sister before getting to the US?” At her nod he adds: “I’ve been orphaned young too and it’s harsh, but Cassian, he was devastated. He’s still beating himself up over it twenty years later.”

If Jyn Erso understands anything about life, it’s that you’re always carrying your ghosts wherever you go. Some days, it’s a light comforting presence, but more often than not it’s an unavoidable burden.

“I didn’t show it before,” Jyn starts awkwardly, changing the subject, “but as far as cops go, you’ve both been great with me. I’m not easy to be around, but you took in everything like troopers and I gave very little in return.”

“Don’t sweat it, having you around is an unexpected happenstance, designed by our Lord above or destiny if you prefer to put it like that, yet I value your presence. You reach Cassian so you deserve everything we can lend you, because, even including tonight, you’re making him smile Jyn, up to his crinkling eyes.”

“You do too, Kes. Watching you is like witnessing a comedic duo, when you’re not bickering.”

“That’s because I’ve got a lifetime of getting under his skin, I mean, he’s my brother, has been since first grade.”

“So?”

“If you asked around about Captain Andor, people who work with him every day would say he’s dedicated, loyal to a fault, a perfect soldier. But not the kind of guy easy to please, nor overly friendly.”

“He told me he’s circumspect but I understand that, I’m not exactly a Disney princess ether.”

“Can’t fault you here,” Kes snorts good-naturally before adding in a quiet voice she almost doesn’t catch, “but maybe that’s why with you, he lets his guard down, he reaches out, and I see you meeting him halfway.”

An angel passes, Jyn’s heart hammering stupidly in her chest and it takes everything not to raise the bait. Instead, she manages to ask flippantly:

“Cop, singer, romantic poet, therapist, you’re a man of many talents, aren’t you Kes-adillas?”

“I must be, with you two. But still, consider what I said, and now I close this delightful chat, I feel my balls shriveling up already.”

“Can’t have that.”

“My wife would never overcome the loss,” he deadpans while she lets out a giggle.

His sense of humor is clearly devastating but his eyes remain kind and serious. He stands up, has a gesture as if to kiss her on the cheek, but she instinctively squares her shoulders and he opts for squeezing her arm instead.

“Sleep well, Stardust,” he whispers gently, retreating back to the house.

“You too, Kes, and... thanks.”

He smiles and goes in what she had surmised to be Sandro’s room. Nobody had dared waking him up though, so she supposes it’s free for Kes to take. Honestly this particular stop is really weird... she hopes the morning, ridiculously close now, will clear the air because she might need all her might for the rest of the trip.

She debates with herself before entering the other free room — their host had prepared his couch for one of them, after all. But Gina’s bag is in that room so she must disturb Cassian if only to use necessary stuff. A shower before going to sleep sounds heavenly indeed.

She knocks and he bids her to enter instantly. He doesn’t acknowledge her presence beyond that though. His tight expression hardens his whole face and she doesn’t need Kes to tell her that he’s unnecessarily brooding.

But she had this kind of outburst before, she’s no stranger to family issues and she owes Cassian more than anybody. So, copying how Bodhi acts whenever she’s in a funk, she lays down next to him, hands pillowing her head. He ignores her presence and this is just as well because she already has the retort ready even though he won’t like to hear it. When she wanted to be left alone a few days ago, he didn’t let her either. Payback is a bitch.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers finally, after twenty breaths — because yes, she keeps count, it gives her something to focus on.

“Don’t mention it Cassian, it happens to everyone.”

Well, not quite everyone, she amends when his lips strain into a bitter smile, but it happens to her on a regular basis. The unpredictable lashing out becomes encompassing and when it cools off, the unease it leaves in its wake is just as painful. No sense in beating a dead horse anyway, right?

“I just got frustrated, you know? And it boiled over. You got in the middle of this and it’s not fair to you.”

The use of the word frustrated irks her for some reason and as Cassian refuses to meet her gaze, it does nothing to abates her awkwardness. Contrary to what Kes had said, maybe she had her part in his outburst earlier. Dancing with him, having fun, flirting a bit... she shouldn’t have done that, music or not. But this side of Cassian was so magnetic she couldn’t resist the pull. She hadn’t wanted to, if she’s honest.

“I enjoyed the night, Jyn,” he says, echoing her thoughts. “I hope we can do it again sometime.”

“It felt great to leave the car, if anything.”

His eyes tighten and his lips expands a bit but he is not quite smiling. She’s somehow said the wrong thing, it sounded like a rebuke she didn’t mean, but further mumblings flee from her mind when his warm hand covers hers.

“I liked to dance with you, you’re not as bad as you seem to think. I’d want to try again,” he repeats, “if you’d let me.”

His tone is too earnest just to be speaking about dance, and she hopes the dimly lit room hides the blush blooming on her fair skin.

“You think you got me figured out then, Cassian?”

“Not quite yet. But I don’t mind so much, I can be patient.”

That she knows, somebody less tenacious would have given up by now. She doesn’t know what to make of his dedication, especially tonight.

“I should go shower and then to sleep,” she replies, “the couch is waiting for me and we’re still far from your destination, right?”

She’s never been to Mexico before and truly their map appeared quite nonsensical to her. Then again, she had quite a lot in mind when she had the opportunity to ponder on it. She hadn’t quite made up her mind to follow them all the way through then.

She wonders every morning if staying with them is the right course of action, but better the devil she knows... and, well, the Charolastras are really easy to be around, their presence are the perfect distraction. She’s even grown to like Dameron’s old mustang, she’s almost disappointed to know it won’t hit the road for much longer.

“We should reach Bernal tomorrow, but... I don’t mind if after preparing for sleep you come back here. I don’t want to chase you away.”

“I know, and you don’t, Cassian. But there’s a perfectly nice sleeping accommodation up for my taking, and... we should use this opportunity to gather our thoughts in private.”

She tried to be reassuring, to be tactful and nice, but he still nods dejectedly. Jyn should probably justify that he seems emotionally raw and she knows how mentally exhausted she is, not a good combo when sharing space, in sharing a bed all the more. But she doesn’t know how to word it without adding gasoline to the fire. Their easiness with bed sharing — not actually sleeping together except in the strictest sense of the word! — feels less and less platonic as days go on. She already can’t even explain how they’ve developed the habit, let alone how to halt it.

At a loss for words, she grabs her bag of things and breathes back a goodnight when Cassian whispers one, eyes even sadder.

It should not taste this bitter to Jyn. Surely it’s just the remnants of Mezcal on her tongue.

Yet, in the shower, curled up on the couch, she still feels his feather-light digits on her hips, and when she closes her eyes, it’s the earlier sight of his carefree smile that accompanies her to sleep.

[anghraine]

“like a storm in the desert” - chapter three

fandom: Star Wars

characters: Cassian Andor, Jyn Erso; Jyn/Cassian

length: 3k

stuff that happens: Jyn and Cassian go undercover for the Rebellion, and sometimes for themselves.

previous chapters: one, two

Zara Lannan was a poised, attractive, professional woman, married to a pleasant and respectable officer. She’d spent the day talking over security codes with another Imperial programmer, smothering all trace of Jyn Erso—even as she silently thanked the Partisan who’d taught her slicing. Danna? Jyn thought the woman had been Danna, but she couldn’t remember all the names of the people who passed through the Partisans back then. Some got siphoned off into the Alliance; most died. Zara, at any rate, was the sort of narrowly good-natured woman who disliked death and suffering, but talked vaguely about the rule of law and dismissed the rest as Rebel propaganda. Major Lannan, meanwhile, prided himself on the precision of his conduct while happily remote from actual warfare; he served on a quiet backwater planet that had seen no real change between the Republic and the Empire. Lieutenant Erso and Commander Andor of the Rebellion heartily disliked them both. But the higher officers of Major Lannan’s sector had been summoned to a gathering (aka five-day party) with the local brass. Normally, the Rebellion took little interest in such a peaceful region, but the gathering happened to be taking place at Elis Place, which incidentally stored the sector’s personnel records. Draven wanted them for unknowable Draven reasons, so Jyn and Cassian buried themselves into Zara and Lannan, and endured. On top of that, the Lannans were, obviously, married. The Alliance operatives stuck inside them were, back in the Rebellion, just as obviously lovers. But packed inside them were Jyn and Cassian, and they were nothing of the kind. Well, maybe something of the kind. But certainly not—not— Jyn opened her eyes in the near-dark, letting her gaze drift down the line of Cassian’s sleeping (maybe sleeping) body. The Lannans’ bed was easily twice the size of their own; where Jyn had considered Cassian’s commander’s quarters palatial, by her standards, these apartments were the real deal. Yet sleeping in this one, a good foot apart, felt more intimate, more dangerous, than the narrow bunk they shared ever had. Not that they ever woke a foot apart. Solidarity, she told herself. Partnership. After all, partnership could mean many things. Sometimes she let herself imagine what it’d be like as the real (“real”) Zara and Lannan. They’d been married for nine months. Zara might still thrill at pressing kisses to Lannan’s mouth and throat, at the taste and texture of his skin under her tongue and teeth. Lannan might greedily run his hands up from her waist, cup her breasts and bury his face in them, beard scraping over the soft skin and jagged scar. They might— Not helping, Jyn. And the worst part—all right. She was an adult woman with a healthy interest in all humanoid genders, and Cassian was a good-looking man. A very good-looking man. Most people had fantasies, fine. But she didn’t … it felt strange, all jumbled up with loyalty and partnership and general affection. She never imagined it casual, a one-time thing or friendly convenience. Not rough, either. It was slight brushes and cautious smiles that electrified her brain, his voice softening over her name, their usual ready glances turned shy and intense. An odd companionate gentleness seemed to fill her alongside the hunger, or threaded through it, or something, and— Jyn couldn’t separate craving and caring, and somehow the mixture burned more than either alone. She’d never felt anything like this, never.

Jyn and Cassian spent three days establishing their bona fides. One day would have been enough for Jyn, but—better safe than dead. Or captured.

“Definitely better than being captured,” Jyn said, and Cassian gave a sympathetic nod, though he said nothing about how and where the Rebellion had snatched her up. They both knew her history perfectly well. Their succession of easy agreements felt nearly as odd as the wistful longing that meandered through her. It never left, but it didn’t—it didn’t hurt, except as a pleasant ache, like sore muscles after a good bout. On the fourth day, they maneuvered their way into a group of particularly obnoxious officers, trophy spouses, and a few more restrained others. The Lannans dutifully carried on their end of the conversation, Zara with barely (not at all) concealed irritation at every condescending question and smug dismissal of the war consuming most of the galaxy. When she excused herself, the more sensible of the others looked either sympathetic or at least comprehending. She didn’t look back to check on Cassian; he could handle himself. But she heard a burst of laughter. “Newlyweds, eh?” “No,” he said evenly, “we’ve been married almost a year.” “Heh, when Jorit and I—” Jyn did actually slip into the washroom and repair infinitesimal smearing of the kohl around her eyes. Luckily, she even chatted briefly with another woman. “I just needed some space to breathe, you know?” she said. The other woman smiled. “I do! But my partner will be missing me. Should I let your husband know you didn’t tumble into the abyss?” “Thanks,” said Jyn. “It’s Major Lannan. I adore him, but I think I might murder some of his friends if I stick with him the whole night.” The woman laughed and headed back. To her surprise, the rest went off without a hitch. Jyn slipped away, found an unguarded terminal, and readily broke through what went for security while doing her best to look lost and confused. Copying the files over, she slipped them into Zara’s purse and wandered around with even more bewilderment until a guard directed her back to the ballroom. Zara returned to find her husband still holding forth with his “friends,” several of whom looked increasingly desperate, but unable to think of a polite way to flee. Particularly, she suspected, because he outranked the bulk of them. “There you are, sweetheart,” said Major Lannan (not Cassian, Jyn told herself), with a warm smile. She flushed. “What became of you?” “I got lost,” Zara said sheepishly. The men grinned at her. Her arrival, however, broke Lannan’s attention, and most of the others managed to make their escape not long afterwards. Predictably, the Lannans mumbled excuses for another departure, and slipped away together. Making their way down the hall, they encountered no obstacles beyond an unexpected lieutenant. As they heard his footsteps on the way to their rooms, Cassian slipped an arm about Jyn’s waist, heat flaring along her skin even as she followed suit. For a brief instant, it reminded her of Scarif, half-carrying him out and knowing it would probably make no difference. But Cassian stood upright, his breath even and his knuckles tracing aimless little patterns. If the lieutenant had meant to redirect them, he changed his mind as soon as he saw Cassian’s rank. Lannan’s. It was Lannan stroking her—Zara’s—waist, Lannan’s low laugh, Lannan flashing his insignia to sneak away with his pretty wife. “I—I beg your pardon, sir,” the lieutenant said, as Cassian turned around. “It’s my fault,” said Zara. “I, ah, needed my husband’s help with … something. We’ll be rejoining the others shortly.” He repressed a look of amusement with little success. “Yes, ma’am. Well, I don’t want to get in your way.” And that was that. Laughing, they walked over to the lift and stumbled inside. Standing there in each other’s arms, making nonsense conversation she couldn’t even remember for any onlookers, she did think of Scarif. They’d stood almost like this as Jyn braced him with her body, the arm about his waist then at the back of his neck, in his hair. She’d kissed him then, in fear and desperation and the sheer force of emotion at his survival, his return, just how badly he was hurt. She imagined doing it again, his mouth warm instead of cold, eyes closed instead of pained. Zara would. Hell, the Rebels' idea of Lieutenant Erso would—why not? Jyn’s gaze flickered to his mouth, lingered; Cassian’s mirrored hers, trailed down the same path. She could feel his breath against her, in his body and against her face; he must feel hers, and maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she could hear it, too, that bit heavier as he babbled on about some colonel. But they were Jyn and Cassian, tender behind their double shells, and easily victorious rather than desperately so. They did nothing except look, and pretend to more. In their quarters, they immediately released each other. In tandem, but Jyn felt a little colder nonetheless. “Do you have it?” said Cassian, after they searched the apartment for bugs. Jyn extracted the file from the purse, and held it between her fingers. “Got all the files, no problem. Draven should be happy.” “Draven?” They both grinned at each other, shyness gone. For Jyn, for now, it was enough.

Neither Jyn nor Cassian cared for undercover missions, even quick sabotage operations, but they took as many as they could. Jyn, in particular, pressed Draven for them. Everyone else gave her knowing looks that, all things considered, she found remarkably grating. Draven just sighed. But as long as they returned successful, he let them have their way. Or rather, he let Cassian have his way, and grudgingly accepted Jyn as a sort of appendage to him. She didn’t care for it, but she cared less for Kay’s gaping absence, and vacant KX droids didn’t go around finding themselves. While they encountered the occasional sentient KX unit, they weren’t about to rip out those ones’ existences except in desperate circumstances. They needed a deactivated or unprogrammed one, which meant they needed access to Imperial storage, which meant going undercover. They didn’t talk about it much. But now and then Cassian would remark, “Kay always says—said …” and flinch from himself. (She suspected that he often flinched from himself, invisibly. Visibly, though: that was different. Jyn remembered the first year after her mother died, then the one after Saw abandoned her, and ached for Cassian and herself. They’d spent their lives in vicious harmony, the two of them.) Now and then Jyn would say, “We’ll manage it,” or something equally uninspired. But Cassian required little for hope, however tentative. They fell back on their usual obstinacy with every success-coated failure, even the narrowest. It took three months to find an acceptable posting with acceptable access to acceptable parts. A particularly long three months, in Jyn’s estimation. In part, it was the always-uncertain thing between them, both nervously aware, neither quite willing to risk the foundation beneath. Jyn’s imagination ran wild, but only her imagination. She’d encountered no previous lovers, no rumours, no anything. At first she assumed any others had transferred to another base or died, but it didn’t seem to be the case. To all appearances, until she took up residence in his quarters (less expansive now, because they were operating out of fucking Hoth), people who a) knew of his existence and b) hadn’t directly served under him looked on him as a sort of organic droid. Some of them still did, because they thought of Jyn that way, too. Not that she cared. She liked droids better than most organics, anyway. But she did, sometimes, wonder if he just didn’t … feel anything, that way. Not shyness, not caution, but real disinterest. At other times, they found themselves gazing at each other or drifting into smiling synchrony, and—well, she didn’t wonder, then. Much. The other thing that stretched out those first months, though, was far more of a strain. Draven wanted the personnel records because, in his words, they now had a prime recruiting opportunity. Alderaan. Not many Alderaanians had ever joined the Empire outright. But some. At least twelve or fifteen thousand of them had to be scattered across the galaxy; a good number had already defected. Others wavered. Jyn and Cassian passed from tracking down records to tracking down individuals, quietly laying groundwork, one by one by one. She’d bludgeoned people to death, blown up factories, dirtied and bloodied her hands countless ways. Cassian, too. But hunting down the survivors of planetary genocide remained one of the most distasteful things either had ever done. They didn’t talk about that, either. But they let their faces speak for them, afterwards—and if their heads leaned a little closer, their arms brushed a little more, that was their business. They had their own channels of communication. Then, after those three months, they simply found a security droid sitting in a dusty store room. Jyn could hardly believe their luck, and believed it still less when they checked and found it free of all data. But she couldn’t seriously believe it a trap; even if they were suspected of being Rebel spies, the amount of information required to identify Cassian specifically, and Cassian as the “owner” of a stolen security droid, searching for a replacement, seemed still more beyond belief. She proved to be right. While they could hardly walk out with the thing, they cautiously disassembled it piece by piece, smuggling the individual components out to a decidedly perturbed Bodhi. The torso was the hardest; they finally just brazened it out and carted it away in full sight, claiming to be melting it down for ship parts. Imperials could really be astoundingly stupid. Then came the weeks of labour: Cassian worked on finishing the disassembly of the head to retrieve the datachip, while Jyn repaired and re-wired the legs and torso. It wasn’t Kay. It wasn’t anything, just a vacant shell. But someday— “It’s going to work,” she said, after a good two hours of companionate silence. She rubbed at her grimy face, achieving nothing; her hands and uniform were streaked with oil and grease and occasional chipped paint. Cassian, unfairly, was almost pristine, despite sitting nearby as he copied the long strings of code that comprised Kay’s sentience. “He’s survived, you’ll see.” “Jyn,” he said quietly, and she turned to look at him, carefully keeping her filthy hands away from his clothes. “Yes?” He was gazing at her in the soft, dark way he did sometimes, his smile at once barely present and brilliant. Jyn’s pulse thudded in her throat, her gaze skittering down to his mouth, throat, chest, and back again. She knew she must look the same as he did. It had happened before. In lifts, hangars, shuttles, in icy Rebel halls and colder Imperial ones. But this felt different, somehow, Cassian with his clean hands and glossy hair staring at her like an astronomer watching the stars. He swallowed. “Thank you. I never … I can’t … Jyn, thank you.” It seemed to encompass more than Kay. And more than Kay was a very great deal. But then, they both owed each other a very great deal. Now, now. This time was different. And she was filthy, but—her gaze dropped to his mouth again. “It’s nothing,” she said, her voice low and distant. “I want him back, too.” And she couldn’t help herself. She let her grimy hand drop onto his knee, and through the layers of their snowsuits, let an answering shiver tremble through her. Then she leaned closer, with intent as well as the attraction that always drew them together. “Jyn,” he said, and he always had something to say, but nobody said her name like that, not ever. There was nobody— Cassian tilted his head down, hesitating centimeters away. But they’d hesitated long enough; Jyn made up the difference, pressing her lips to his, ready to back away if he wanted. He kissed her back, lips dry and cracked and warm. So Jyn leaned closer, slanted her mouth against his with a leaky droid leg in her lap, shuddered again at his hands reaching for her shoulders, sliding up to her cheeks, catching in her half-fallen hair. When she licked at his mouth, even though her tongue stuck a little, his lips parted beneath hers so readily that her mind spun. She felt drunk, or something beyond drunk, lost in some dazzling fog that left her breathless and muddled and shining. “Jyn,” he murmured into her mouth, helplessly, and she bit into his lip. Cassian made a low, hungry noise in his throat that burned through all thought but longing to hear it again. More, she needed more, finally, finally, finally— The leg dropped out of her lap, hitting the floor with a loud clunk. They both jolted away, then smiled uncertainly. I love you, she thought, easy and painless. It wasn’t a revelation, exactly; she’d understood it for a long time—before the Alderaanian missions, probably before Scarif, however improbably. What everyone else had seen, it was wrong. But it also wasn’t wrong, and she hadn’t understood that. “You know,” he whispered, one hand cupping her cheek again. “Don’t you?” Jyn brushed his hair back, triumph radiating through her at the streaks she’d left over his face, at the heavy gaze reflected back at her. “Yes,” she said. “I know.”

[andorerso]

For the prompt list, either 62 (you’re not as quiet as you think you are), or 142 (hold my hand so he gets jealous) please lol I couldn’t pick one

Thanks for the prompts! I chose 62 but I’m considering doing the other one as well. This is a tad bit longer than I planned and it’s a modern friends with benefits AU. Hope you enjoy :)

Jyn is never going to listen toLeia ever again. As far as she’s concerned, her advice is what got her in this awkwardsituation in the first place, noodle soup dripping from her shirt.

Really, Jyn doesn’t know whatshe was thinking.

“You followed me here,” Cassianaccuses her, arms crossed in a way that lets her know he means business. Worseyet, he’s glaring, and not in the playful “Jyn-what-have-you-done-this-time”way. This is a glare she’s not used to receiving from him.

“That’s not true. Why would I dothat when I know you have a date?” She wipes away noodle from her chest, puttingon a show of ignorance. It’s a waste – Cassian sees right through her bullshit.

He usually does but he alsousually finds it amusing. Definitely not this time.

“I’d like to know that too. Jyn.Are you spying on me?”

“No,” she says without pause, pretendingto be offended. It feels a little too fake and when Cassian remains staring ather with eyebrows raised, she concedes. “Maybe. But I swear I tripped on accident.I can explain.”

His sigh is so disappointed,she wishes for the ground to swallow her whole. Yeah, she’s definitely nottaking Leia’s advice again.

Cassian gestures for her tocontinue. “Start talking.”

Jyn swallows.

It all began when they ran intoBodhi’s old friend from college, a tall and witty and gorgeous brunette by thename of Marissa. It was hard to miss the way she flirted with Cassian from the secondthey met and Bodhi decided to play matchmaker. Jyn tried to act like she wasbusy typing on her phone, but well, they were all sitting in a coffee shop and shecouldn’t ignore the conversation around her.

Cassian tried to resist atfirst.

“I’m not sure about this, Bodhi.”

“Why not? She’s pretty, smart, andclearly into you. Also, she’s the only one who was willing to stay up until threea.m. to help me with my thesis. I swear she’s a saint. Just grab a coffee.”

“I don’t know…”

“Cassian, I say this as yourfriend, but you have been moping lately.”

“Moping?”

“Yeah, moping. I didn’t pushbecause you clearly don’t want to talk about it, but I think this would be goodfor you. What do you have to lose?”

Jyn felt Cassian’s eyes on her,a challenge, and she looked up, meeting his gaze without flinching. Bodhi wasstill looking at Cassian, so she gave a tiny shrug of her shoulders, pretendingto be uninterested. Date whoever youwant, she was saying. I don’t care.

That was a lie, of course, butCassian bought it.

He looked away, but not beforeshe caught the bitter look crossing his face in the flash of a second.

“Alright,” he said to Bodhi. “Whynot?”

That was the beginning.

Or maybe it was before that,when she got spooked and ended the secret relationship thing they had going on.

(“We always knew this had anexpiration date. I think it’s time to move on.”)

Or before that, when theydecided to sleep together and ruin a perfectly good friendship. When sherealized she could have all the benefits of hot good sex without the nuisanceof feelings and keeping a relationship alive. No strings attached, that was thedeal.

Only that didn’t turn out sowell. So that was what he was doing now: moving on. She supposed she couldn’t blamehim for that.

But it did bother her. Atfirst, she tried to play it off. It was not a big deal, it wouldn’t last. Noneof Cassian’s relationships did (theirs included) – he just didn’t have thetime. And maybe if she let it run its course, it wouldn’t have lasted. But shedidn’t expect it to get to a sixth date either, and when she heard they weregoing out again on Thursday, she might have lost it a little.

A little as in storming home tothe apartment she shared with Leia and announcing loudly, “I’m in love withCassian.”

Leia paused mid-sentence, phoneagainst her ear, then told the person on the other end, “Dad, I’ll call youback.”

Jyn waited as she hung up,heart pounding in her chest for actually having said it aloud. It felt good.Mostly.

It also felt terrifying and alittle painful. Admitting it meant admitting she might get hurt from this andthere would be no one to blame but herself.

Leia sighed as she put herphone down, giving Jyn an almost pitying look.

“I know.”

Jyn blinked in surprise. “What?”

“Well. I knew you weretogether. Or having sex at least. And once you pay attention to the little detailsand the way you two act around each other, it’s not hard to see that somewherealong the way you fell in love.” Leia shook her head, definitely pitying now. “Really,Jyn, don’t you know that friends with benefits relationships never work?”

Jyn stared in disbelief for asecond. “I – how do you even know?

Leia gave her a meaningful look.“You’re not as quiet as you think you are.”

“Oh. Oh,” Jyn said as the meaningdawned on her. She winced, and Leia nodded with a painful grimace. “I’mimpressed you kept it all to yourself.”

“Well” Leia began. “You thoughtyou were being so sneaky – I kind of enjoyed the power of knowing I outsmarted you.”

“Is that all?”

Leia shrugged. “I suppose youalso seemed happy.”

Jyn closed her eyes. Yeah, in hindsight,she really had been.

“So… why are you telling me thisnow?”

She took a deep breath, unsurewhere to begin. “We ended it a couple of weeks ago.”

“We?”

Dammit, Leia knew her too well.

“Alright, so I did.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

Jyn stared at her silently andshe shrugged.

“What? There’s clearly tensionbetween the two of you, everyone can see that. Plus, you’re moody and irritableand Cassian is moody and withdrawn. I also haven’t heard you moaning lately. Anice change, by the way. I do want you to be happy but maybe be happy quietly?”

Jyn shook her head, ignoringall that. She didn’t have time to discuss this.

“He’s going on a date withMarissa.”

“And?

“And it’s their sixth date thismonth alone! Sixth. I’m no datingexpert but that isn’t good for me, is it? They seem to be getting serious.”

“First of all, I doubt it couldpossibly be that serious. Maybe they just have a lot of free time on theirhands. Second, that depends on what you consider to be good for you. You didbreak up with him.”

“But I didn’t want to!” Jyncried out.

Leia raised her eyebrows,expectant, and Jyn let out a defeated sigh. She slumped into a chair, desolatelystaring ahead.

“It’s just… I got scared.”

Leia took a seat in front ofher, hands clasped on the table. Her tone was gentler when she spoke.

“Why don’t you tell him that?”

“Because I can’t!” Jyn exclaimed,gesturing wildly with her hands. “Because he’s dating Marissa,” she paused, gettingquieter, “and because I told him he never meant anything to me.”

She wasn’t proud of that,didn’t enjoy twisting the knife in the wound. At the time, she just panicked.

(“So you’re really just goingto pretend there’s nothing between us?”

“There is nothing between us, Cassian! It never meant anything to me, itwas just sex.”)

“Oh, Jyn,” Leia said, and it was amazing how much disapproval could fitinto two small words.

“I know,” she groaned, buryingher face in her hands. “I don’t need your judgement, I need advice.” She lookedat Leia, desperately trying to find answers in her friend’s eyes. “Should Itell him how I feel, or should I just let him go?”

Leia contemplated that for asecond. She leaned back, crossing her arms across her chest in a veryprofessional manner.

“Do you want to be with him?”

“Well, yes but… For all I know,Marissa could be the love of his life. Do I really begrudge him that? Especiallysince, let’s face it, I’m not exactly wife or girlfriend material. Maybe he’sbetter off. Ow! Leia, what the hell?”

Leia held up a finger as Jynrubbed the spot where she had punched her. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve everheard. You wanna know what you’re going to do? You’re going to go over thereand you’re going to ruin his date.”

Jyn didn’t like where this wasgoing at all.

“What? Leia.”

“Well, I would tell you to waitbut like you said, it’s their sixth date and I honestly think you’ll chickenout if you wait. You have to act now. You really should have talked to me aboutthis sooner,” she added with a chastising look.

Jyn shook her head.

“I can’t just – I don’t thinkCassian would appreciate that. He’s not Han. He won’t get turned on by meacting like a psycho ex-girlfriend.”

“I resent that. He’llappreciate it when you make it up to him with make-up sex. That thing you dowith your tongue? He’s not quiet either.”

Jyn cringed, briefly screwingher eyes shut.

“For the sake of ourfriendship, I’m going to ignore that. You really think I should hijack hisdate?”

“That’s what I would do.” Leia nodded.“Lay it all on the table.”

Jyn mulled it over. It didn’t reallysound like something she would ever do – but neither did being in a committedrelationship with someone and she was seriously considering that too. Maybe Leiawas right. She did know more about romance than Jyn did.

“Okay,” she began slowly,watching a smile spread across Leia’s face. “Let’s say I agree. How would I doit?”

And that’s how she got here. Inthis restaurant, with food on her shirt, and Cassian staring at her like shegrew two heads.

She came with the intention tofollow through on their plan, Leia’s advice ringing in her head, but when she sawCassian laughing with Marissa, she realized she wasn’t this person. She was notLeia; she didn’t make unnecessary scenes or manipulate things to get her way. Shedidn’t know how to approach their table with a straight face and pretend shewas here just by accident. She didn’t know how to fake nonchalance she didn’tfeel.

She’d wait until he got home –or maybe Leia was right, and she’d use this as an excuse to chicken out.

Either way, when she turnedaround to leave before they spotted her, she crashed into a waiter bringing atray of food, and that was it. There was no hiding after that, and Cassian wasless than impressed with her. She really should have listened to her firstinstinct telling her that Cassian was not Han – of course he wouldn’tappreciate stunts like this.

“I’m sorry.” Jyn bites her lip,resisting the urge to fidget. “I was just leaving, I swear.”

“I can’t believe it.” Cassianshakes his head. “This isn’t like you.”

“I know. It isn’t, that’s why Iwas leaving. It was Leia’s idea. She told me I should ruin your date.”

Cassian furrows his eyebrows ather. “Why?”

“Because she’s dramatic?”

He stares at her, unimpressed, andJyn lets out a sigh, sensing that she’s been beaten.

“Because I think I love you,”she mumbles under her breath, squeezing her eyes shut. From the way Cassian’sbreath catches, he heard.

She doesn’t dare look at him untilhe speaks, too afraid to find out what she’d see. There’s a few moments ofsilence, both of them holding their breath – then he says, voice careful, “Ifthis is just the jealousy talking –”

“It’s not.” She shakes herhead, opening her eyes. Cassian is holding himself still, face unreadable. There’sno turning back now so she might as well take the plunge. “I mean it, I want tobe with you. For real. We can… go on cheesy dates like this and hold hands andtell all our friends and gross them out by being adorable in front of them. Allof that. No more sneaking around, no more sex only.”

She pauses and her eyes drifttowards Marissa still sitting at their table. Jyn swallows.

“If you want to,” she adds,quieter.

Cassian looks at her for a longmoment. The seconds seem to stretch on as she waits for him to say something,send her away or take her into his arms. Anything other than this stoicsilence.

When he finally sighs, hisposture softens. The shake of his head is grudgingly fond.

“You’re so complicated.”

“Yeah,” Jyn laughs, covering upthe insecurity with a shrug of her shoulder. “You should probably keep that inmind before agreeing to any of this.”

He lets out a huff of laughter.“Well, you should keep in mind that I don’t come without baggage either.”

“I don’t mind,” Jyn saysimmediately. She takes a deep breath, steeling herself before she dares to askthe question. “Is that a yes?”

He only gives her a smile, but theanswer is written in his eyes. She beams back at him, her heart beating twiceas fast with the force of her happiness.

“I have to go back and tellMarissa,” he says, turning to glance back at the woman in question.

Jyn winces. Yeah, stealing awayCassian while he’s in the middle of a date with another woman isn’t theclassiest thing she’s ever done.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He shrugs but shecan tell he feels bad for what he’s about to do. “We weren’t officiallytogether or anything. Truth is, I think she knew my heart wasn’t in it.”

Jyn looks down, trying not to looktoo pleased at that. Some possessive part of her is perversely glad that hewanted her even when he was with someone else.

“See you at home?” Cassianasks, taking a step backwards.

Jyn glances at her chest,realizing that she’s still wearing someone’s dinner. Home and a hot showersound amazing. Seeing Cassian after that sounds even better.

“Yeah. I’ll be waiting.”

“Good. I’m still mad at you, bythe way,” he calls behind his back as he turns away.

Jyn grins.

“That’s okay. I’ll make it upto you later.”

[melanoradrood]

ficlet : only in my dreams 2

follow up to : only in my dreams requested originally by : @cats-and-metersticks

AO3 Link - it’s E y’all

Jyn has a hard time sleeping on base, and an even worse time when Kes is being insufferable.

“I just can’t sleep knowing she’s up there,” he complains, and Jyn tries to resist hitting the man, but she kind of gets it… Jyn struggles to sleep as well when Cassian is off base, knowing he’s on a mission. She can’t judge Kes for being worried about his wife. She feels the same way about a man that… that Force, she wishes he was her anything. She has no claim to him, no right to feel this way…

She gets it, which is why they jog around the base, trying to work off pent up energy, a side effect of constantly being in the fight, constantly being on the go, and then suddenly having to hit the breaks once they’re back on base, waiting for their next mission.

“Shut up and keep going,” Jyn insists, and she races ahead for half a second, her hand tapping the edge of one of the walls as she darts forward. It’s not really a race, but Kes will try to keep up, which will silence him.

She’s a few doors ahead, when she realizes he has stopped. Turning around, Jyn heads back towards him, brow raised as she realizes he’s paused, looking at a door. “What-”

“Shh!” he insists, and Jyn…

She hears it, suddenly, a groan, a gasp, and Jyn isn’t even sure what hall they’re on, so this might even be the married quarters, but then she hears it-

Jyn.

Whoever is in there is moaning her name, and she looks at the door number, looks at it hard, trying to make sure she isn’t imagining the numbers written there, but no, she knows who room this is. She knows exactly who’s room this is, and that’s definitely… that’s definitely her karking name.

Kes is looking at her with a grin, and she -

“Say Erso, who’s room is that?” he asks with a tease.

She knows he karking knows exactly who’s room it is - which is why she turns and starts running. They get a few doors down before she can feel him catching up.

“Hey, wait up,” he calls, grabbing at her arm. She’s faster than him, though, and jerks away, then pushes forward more. “Come on, we gotta talk about this.”

“Kark you, Dameron,” she hisses at him, and if Jyn makes sure she outruns him the rest of the night… well, no one can blame her.

She can barely look at him the next day, and when she sees Kes approaching in the mess hall, Jyn makes a mad dash to disappear across base. She can’t face him right now, not with her face bright red, but in the darkness of night… well, he had offered to let her try out his bed.

She thinks tonight might be a good time to do it.

Cassian has been trying to catch her all day, which just settles Jyn’s resolve. She’ll be in his room, and when he shows up… well, she plans on being on his bed, naked. He had clearly been dreaming about her, had been chasing her all day, and she’s… too unsure of herself to be sure she can say the right things.

Laying naked in his bed, though? It sounds like exactly the right thing.

She arrives just after dinner, and she hadn’t seen Cassian there, but she waits… and she waits… and she waits.

She waits so long, she ends up pulling on his shirt to stay warm, and when it reaches midnight, it hits her to start looking around… his pack is gone. So is his favorite parka. After getting dressed, she goes in search of Shara, knowing she had been in the hanger, and she confirms it - Cassian had left.

He had been chasing her around base, probably to tell her he was leaving a day early. Now… now, she’s left with nothing but regret. She tried to play coy, and now, she would have to wait until he returned… and she returned…

Jyn ends up sleeping in his bed that night, or at least trying to, and it smells like him, but it isn’t enough. It isn’t enough, because it’s not about the bed, it’s about who’s supposed to be in it. She spends the next night in it as well, tossing and turning, and when she gets her orders the next day to ship out…

She leaves a note beside the bed, promising that she’ll be back to sleep in it as soon as she returns.

It’s a long two weeks, but there’s a bed waiting for her when she gets back, with a man in it that she can’t wait to sleep beside… and then some.

“You’re back,” she gasps.

He isn’t, he isn’t really. This is a dream, and she knows that, can recognize that Cassian isn’t really back, because in her dream, Cassian doesn’t look like bantha shit, and his eyes are wide open rather than half asleep, and he is wearing the jacket that had been left behind.

She had left base, had come back, and the note beside the bed she had left, the one promising that she’ll be back in his bed soon, it’s gone and replaced with another. On this one, it promises that there’s always space for her in his bed.

He’s gone, though, gone on another mission, and she…

She dreams of him. No one can judge her for that.

In her dream, Cassian kicks the door shut, and he strides forward, pulling her out of the bed by her hand. Her body immediately comes up like she has the weight of a feather, and she knows that his back isn’t that strong anymore, not since Scarif, but she won’t complain what her fantasies have for her.

“I’ll always come back,” he insists, and her back hits a wall that wasn’t there before, that shouldn’t exist, given that she hasn’t moved from standing beside the bed. Still, she goes with it as his body presses against hers, and his mouth moves against her throat, pressing open mouthed kisses.

She had gone to sleep wearing his shirt, but now she’s naked, and he’s still fully clothed, wearing that stupid jacket that she loves so much, has been wearing around base without him. His fingers run up and down her thighs, up her hips, back down over the swell of her ass, and she gasps as he sinks his teeth into her shoulder, sucking a mark there underneath his teeth.

“I need you,” she gasps, and his fingers are at her clit, rubbing her towards an orgasm. “I need you, Force, Cassian please, I need-”

“I’ve got you,” he insists, and he has more hands in this dream than he does in reality, because she can feel hands on her waists, holding her up, in her hair, forcing her chin up and her throat exposed, and he’s still rubbing at her cunt, fingers curling inside of her. “I’ve got you, Jyn, just let go.”

The orgasm hits her hard, and Jyn sits up in the bed, gasping for air, a shockwave of pleasure still coursing over her. Her breath is coming in hard, and there’s a cold sweat on her skin, making his shirt stick to her body. She runs her hand into her hair, pushing it back from her face, and she tries to ignore the dull ache on her shoulder, where she swears she can feel his mouth still.

It wasn’t real, but Force, she wishes it was. She needs it to be real.

When she leaves on her next mission, the note left beside the bed tells him that she needs him, needs him to be there when she gets back.

Three days later, all that’s left is an apology… and the paper is still wet from what she thinks might be a tear.

Jyn is in the fresher, shaving her legs, when she hears the door open. She has only been back on base for two hours, and her note, the one that she had left for him, had been untouched. She was back before him this time, which gave her hope…

A hope that is ruined when she remembers that her hair is wrapped in a towel, there’s still dirt under her fingernails, and she has one leg propped up on the edge of the sink, straight razor in her hand. She manages to cut herself just before she turns and looks out the open door, and there stands Cassian, frozen, pack on his back.

She’s naked, in his fresher. Right.

“Welcome back?” she says, and there’s no way this is a dream, because this was not the welcome home she had planned.

“How long have you been here?” he asks, and his pack hits the ground, hard. He must be exhausted.

“Two hours?” she says, sounding more like a question. “And we’ll be back at least two weeks. Half our squadron picked up some sort of virus.”

He nods, and swallows, and yes, he’s looking at the side of her body, her breasts hidden from view by her arm, but her backside is exposed to him, and she… this is not what she imagined.

“I’m… I requested a few days off, so…”

They’re both quiet, and then Jyn looks down at her leg, at the blood dripping down it. She blinks, then looks back at Cassian.

“Look… can I finish… this?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he says with a nod, and he turns away, looking into his pack. “I can find another fresher, and when I get back, we can talk, or sleep, or-”

“Yeah.”

Yeah, they can talk… they can talk while she lays in bed only wearing his shirt and they’re both freshly showered.

The door shuts behind him, and Jyn has to take a few seconds to remember to breathe.

She finishes shaving, scrubbing her nails, and drying her hair, all in under ten minutes. Her body smells nice, like the lotion she had been given by Leia, and her hair is flowing down her back, long enough that it needs a trim, but at this length, very few strands of it escapes her bun. She sits on his bed, wearing his shirt, and she waits.

When he stumbles back in, he looks even more exhausted, but his beard is trimmed, his hair is still wet, and he’s wearing clean clothes. She smiles at him, and he smiles back, then takes a few steps closer towards the bed. She can see how tired he is in the way he slumps forward, and when he sits down onto the edge of the bed to kick off his boots, he looks to be swaying.

She says nothing as his boots hit the floor, and he shrugs out of his jacket, then turns to her.

She opens her mouth to say something, but then he yawns, and that… that decides it for her.

“Come on, we should get some sleep,” she murmurs, and he nods, taking in breath, and then his eyes open, wide.

“You’re really here,” he says suddenly, and she nods, smiling at him.

“Yeah. I’m really here this time.”

He reaches out, touching her cheek, and her eyes close, cleaning into his touch. He’s really here, really really here, and she’s here, and this is… it’s not what she imagined, but she doesn’t mind. She missed him too much to care about it now.

“Jyn, I have to tell you-”

“Shhh,” she insists, and her eyes open as she presses her lips to his palm. “Cassian… I’m in your bed wearing only your shirt… and nothing else.”

She smiles tentatively at that, and his eyes open a little wider… and then he yawns again. Yeah, they can’t do this tonight.

“In the morning… you can tell me everything you want,” she promises. Her lips press to his wrist, now, and then Cassian - he ducks down, pressing his lips to hers. It’s the softest kiss she has ever felt, softer than anything she can even imagine, and then their foreheads are pressing together.

“You’ll be here when I wake up?” he asks, and she smiles.

“Literally, if I get dragged out of this bed, I’ll wake you up first.”

He nods, and then presses a kiss to her cheek. His eyes are closed, and Jyn runs her hand up into his hair, nails scratching gently at his scalp. He seems to melt into her touch, and she knows she’s making the right decision. She can wait until the morning. She can happily wait until the morning.

“Come on. One more night of dreaming before you get the real thing.”

There’s a smirk on his lips, although his eyes don’t open, and then he shifts up higher onto the bed. His eyes finally do crack enough as he kicks off his pants, leaving him in his boxers and tshirt, and he falls onto the bed beside her, pulling her with him.

“As if you didn’t dream of me in this bed,” he teases.

Jyn laughs, her cheeks coloring slightly, but the lights are dim, so she doubts he can see.

“I’ll tell you all about my fantasies when we wake up,” she says, and Cassian…

Well, they might be tired, but there’s definitely a part of him that is wide awake.

In the morning. They can continue this in the morning.

[theputterer]

writing meme

RULES: List the openings of the last ten stories you published. Look to see if there are any patterns that you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any! Then tag some friends.

tagged by my friend @lisa-in-the-sky

being cavalier about the length of an “opening” but giving it a shot!

last ten of my fifteen stories on the ol’ AO3

1. a ghost story

He opened his eyes.

The chronometer said it was three in the morning. No visible light could be seen from behind the closed curtains, and it was entirely silent, no speeders or pedestrians walking past the house, making their way further into the city for the new work day.

2. even as a shadow, even as a dream

“Can you describe the tower?”

“No.”

She looks at her hands. Ten fingers. Ten nails. Good. That’s how many she’s supposed to have.

“What happened to Captain Andor?”

3. Binary Star

The Ring of Kafrene is the epitome of a halfway place.

Though the main roads of the colony don’t change, and are somewhat logically laid out, the shacks and haphazard settlements that litter the outskirts beyond these main roads change on the daily. Every structure seems to be made of metal or plastic, and he doesn’t know why or where it’s coming from exactly, but the air is thick with the smell of ammonia.

Fima is categorically unimpressed.

4. hope is the hardest love we carry

She’s the first one to know him.

And while this should be obvious, or typical--she’s his mother, of course she knows him--she is the first to feel him reaching out, as some soft thing brushing up against her mind. She understands what’s happening, is perfectly aware that this is him reaching out to her through the Force; but the fact remains that she is the first person he reaches for, the first person who hears him.

5. Parallax

“... I suppose it’s lovely here. The oceans are quite stunning, and the flora plentiful. I could do without much of the wildlife, however. It’s all so… Uncivilized.”

“You mean the native people.”

“People is a stretch. They look absurd, and they have the stupidest language, and culture. And name. What is it; gungar?”

“Gungan,” Cassian says, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

6. something you don’t even have a name for

“What the hell are you still doing here?”

Cassian looks up from his desk, and spots Leia Organa in the doorway of his office, her hands on her hips, staring at him with arched eyebrows.

“Working,” Cassian says, and he thinks this should be obvious, going by the state of his desk.

“It’s almost midnight,” Leia replies.

Cassian glances at the chronometer on the wall, and he sees that Leia is right. “Okay.”

“So… Go home, Cassian. Go see your wife.”

“Go see your husband and your son,” Cassian counters, automatically.

7. uncurling lifelines

“Tell me about your wife.”

“Ex-wife,” Cassian says, automatically, and winces.

8. Some Like It Hoth

Jyn has a bad feeling.

She noticed it early one morning, but dismissed it as a stomach ache. Since then, it hasn’t changed, meaning that it hasn’t gotten worse; but it also hasn’t gotten any better. Rather, it’s stayed the same. Stayed with her, hovering, somewhere in her belly.

She lives with the ache in her gut for a week before caving, and telling Cassian about it.

“What do you mean, a ‘bad feeling’?”

9. Sail To The Moon

It’s snowing when Leia Organa walks up to the house.

This isn’t unusual; rather, it’s entirely typical, snow falling on Fest. But the snow that falls around Leia Organa is bright, an almost gossamer white, the kind of snow that doesn’t regularly appear on the frozen planet. Festian snow is gray, and hard, and dark.

This snow is light, and fresh.

It’s a sign.

It’s change.

10. share with me the sun

“You look just like your father.”

It seems like everyone on Fest says this to her, has said this to her at some point, and Ersa is just a child, six years old, and she never knows how to respond to this, so she simply nods her head, shrugs her arms, and hopes for the best.

It’s enough.

She knows it’s true, knows she looks like her father, because she can see the resemblance, and it’s something everyone comments on.

But the Prime Minister of Fest asks her a question, and it throws her:

“Are you your father’s daughter?” 

PATTERNS:

-I like starting with a spoken sentence and then setting the scene for it.

-I often start with a confrontation (Jyn and the scientists in even as a shadow, Cassian and Leia in something, Cassian and Duval in uncurling lifelines, Ersa and Travia in share with me the sun).

-though even as a shadow doesn’t really count because it’s just the opening of ANNIHILATION.

-Does not feel like a coincidence that the Jyn-focused stories (Some Like It Hoth, Sail To The Moon) begin with description and/or feeling, while the Cassian stories (share with me the sun, something you don’t even have a name for, uncurling lifelines, Parallax) begin with a spoken opening. we could read into it as commentary on how these characters think and function: Cassian as the go-getter, as the problem-solver, and Jyn as more of a wallflower. (don’t @ me).

-I don’t always tell you whose perspective the story is coming from right away; it takes a bit to get to the reveal it’s Jyn in Sail To The Moon, Cassian in Parallax, Leia in hope is the hardest love we carry, Fima in Binary Star, Jyn in even as a shadow, Cassian in a ghost story.

-the opening of uncurling lifelines is actually a pretty solid loop to how that story ends (”Hello, Ersa.”)

-and the opening of share with me the sun is uh “foreshadowing” to the significance of Ersa and Cassian “looking” alike.

-I tend to not start a story until I HAVE an opening; uncurling lifelines did not exist for months after the idea from @callioope (”the growing back together post-amor fati story) until I just had the thought of “Tell me about your wife” and just kind of jumped in there.

-Cassian says a lot of stuff “automatically” (this feeds into his low opinion of himself and lifelong fear he is no more than a robot, an uncaring droid, a cog in a machine; in this essay, I will--)

tagging @callioope @leaiorganas @vaderkat @alecjmarsh @fortysevenswrites @gloriouswhisperstyphoon and everyone else I’m forgetting because I am the Wooooooooorst

[yavemiel]

life after war

Summary: This is what life after war looks like, not just surviving, but living.

Rating: PG-13

Notes: This is for the incredibly lovely @spacepandar for the Rebelcaptain Secret Santa, who requested: 'A simple, peaceful RebelCaptain scene (could be set in the SW-verse or AU)', and who is also the creator of the stunning art by which the vignettes are inspired (go and check out her art tag, it's incredible!).

This story is also available on AO3 here.

This is what life after war looks like.

Jyn runs down the ramp of her transport, heartbeat echoing in her ears, thumping against her bruised ribs, but she doesn’t care, doesn’t care, doesn’t care because somewhere down there, somewhere on this base, Cassian is waiting for her. She hasn’t seen him yet, but she can feel it in her bones.

She turns one corner, then another, scouring the crowds ceaselessly, countless reunions taking place before her eyes, laughter and tears and shouts, but she can’t find him and...wait.

Stop.

There he is, almost blended into the background, a spy to the last, even though the war is over now (the war is over now). His eyes are scanning the crowd, roving restlessly and she can feel a smile spreading over her face as her whole being calms, bodily aches fading away at the sight of him.

He spots her as she moves towards him, weaving her way through the soldiers and a smile lights up his face, weariness banished by joy. He moves towards her too, and suddenly they’re standing in front of each other and she stops dead still, almost afraid to touch him now that the moment is here.

She opens her mouth to say something, anything, but then their eyes meet and her breath catches and whatever he sees on her face breaks the spell and he sweeps her into his arms, holding her tightly and she smiles into his neck and brings her own arms up to hug him back just as tightly.

The base continues bustling around them, but Jyn doesn’t notice or care. She’s home.

**

This is what life after war looks like.

Jyn’s ribs are aching again and she can barely catch her breath. She feels almost light-headed from the lack of oxygen, can feel her diaphragm hitching as she attempts to get air in, but she can’t help it, she just can’t stop laughing.

Next to her she can feel Cassian’s body shaking with hysterical laughter as well, and her own hilarity fades briefly as she forces her weeping eyes open to take in the sight of his face so close to hers, smile so wide it looks almost painful, the genuine joy on his features erasing the extra years that the stress of fighting a war added.

Then she looks back at Kay, suspended by both feet a good two metres from the ground, his face as annoyed as it can be without mobile features, and she bursts out laughing all over again.

“I fail to comprehend the hilarity in this situation,” he says snippily. “I am in a position of peril, and the two of you are utterly useless.”

Jyn feels Cassian straighten slightly as he attempts to control his laughter, although his speech still has little hiccups of mirth.

“Kay, we told you that there were no bears in this part of Takodana, we told you that the traps were dangerous and that someone would end up caught in them accidentally, and if you can’t understand the irony of finding you literally hoist to your own petard, I’m not sure I can explain it to you.”

Despite his words, he wanders over to the release mechanism in the root of the trap as Jyn continues to giggle.

“Irony is the most pointless of human creations, and I wouldn’t waste processing space on attempting to comprehend something that is at heart, illogical and simply AAAAAAAAK.”

Kay crashes to the ground in a tangle of metal limbs as Cassian hits the release mechanism and as Jyn is overtaken by another wave of helpless mirth, she meets Cassian’s laughing eyes and thinks, yes, this is what we fought for.

**

This is what life after war looks like.

Cassian loves his new life, he truly does. Settling down with Jyn in a small village in the outer rim in a place that is neither Fest nor Lah’mu but some lush haven that is entirely their own, making friends with the neighbours without ulterior motives, frequent visits from Bodhi and missives from Baze and Chirrut as the latter drags the former around various sand dunes as far as he can make out: this is a life he couldn’t have imagined five, even two years ago, before Jyn blew into his life like a whirlwind, opened his heart and rekindled his optimism and showed him something to live for after the fight was done.

The problem is though, Jyn’s not here right now, and hasn’t been for almost a week, and Cassian is bored.

Whatever complaints he has about his time in the Rebellion (and he has complaints, just not as many as Jyn thinks he should have, and they kind of disagree about the things he’s complaining about), he can’t remember a single moment of boredom. Long flights through hyperspace were filled with intelligence reports or the precious chance to catch an hour’s uninterrupted sleep, ‘down time’ was filled with more reports, repairs to Kay’s chassis or (rarely) a game of sabaac with Kes and Shara.

Now however, faced with his fifth consecutive day of busy work, he’s stumped. Kay has gone with Jyn, their cottage is the cleanest it’s ever been, he’s organised and re-organised their holodisk collection three times and he’s finally come to the reluctant conclusion that Jyn might be right.

He needs a hobby.

Unfortunately he has no idea where one begins looking for such a thing. He wanders round the house aimlessly for a few hours before reluctantly sitting down at their data centre and logging onto the holonet.

His hands hover over the keys for a moment before he hesitantly types in ‘hobby for men’. He waits briefly as the page loads, then his eyes widen and he hits the ‘back’ button as fast as he possibly can, because honestly, what is wrong with people?

He considers more carefully this time before searching for ‘games to waste time’. He scrolls quickly past the first-person shooter games, because honestly, he’s had enough of that to last a lifetime. He plays a few rounds of a memory game that requires him to match up covered tiles, but quickly tires of that and moves onto something that bills itself as ‘gentle fun, making friends with animals and designing your own space’ which...huh. He designs his avatar and logs in.

Three hours later he hears the door slam and he jumps but doesn’t get up from his desk. Mere minutes after that, he hears footsteps behind him and then a familiar scent and a familiar voice capture his senses.

“What’s so interesting that I didn’t merit a welcome after five days away?” She sounds amused, and he can feel his body swaying towards her, like a parched man towards water, but he only needs one more pear and then he’ll have completed all his tasks for the day and the animals will be fully fed.

She leans closer over his shoulder and he resists the urge to lean back into her because the mood has changed, it’s a game now, and well, he always was competitive.

“Animal...Crossing?”

“It’s fun,” he says, taking mock offense at the incredulity in her voice. “And I just have to find one more pear and then I’ll be done for the day.”

She slides an arm around his waist and slips closers so she’s talking directly into his ear. “And is this pear more important than greeting your wife after five days apart?”

He can feel his resolve weakening, his whole being longing to be near to her after a very long five days, but he only smirks in response and says, “Well you know how goal-oriented I can be, my love.”

He can feel her smirk as she lowers her lips to his neck, her whisper raising the hairs there. “I think you’ll find I’m pretty good at providing distractions.”

He shudders and his head lolls forward. He makes a last ditch effort to focus on the screen in front of him, but Jyn trails her lips up to the lightning spot behind his ear and sucks gently and he keens slightly and gives it up as a lost cause, turning to envelop her in his arms and press kiss after kiss to her laughing mouth, animals and pears utterly forgotten.

**

This is what life after war looks like.

He worries sometimes.

It all seems a little too good to be true, this new life they’ve built for themselves rooted in light and joy. He worries about what happens when someone finds out about their past, about Jyn’s father, about the murders he committed in the name of the Rebellion, the blood on her hands, on his, worries that they will be driven out of this safe place by outraged neighbours.

(Their neighbours are no fools and can guess that the newcomers with watchful eyes and concealed weapons have a past, but so does everyone, and as long as they pull their weight and do no harm, the villagers consider the past to be in the past where it belongs)

She worries sometimes.

She worries that maybe it’s not enough, maybe she’s not enough, that Cassian will be bored, will question his decision to leave the Rebellion to live a life of quiet domesticity in a tiny village with her. She worries about what will happen when the next war comes (because there’s always another war), if he will feel the call to arms, the strings of duty tugging his limbs and heart and mind back to the battlefield away from her, because her warring days are done.

(Cassian is done with war, done with battlefields, done with anything that doesn’t involve Jyn and happiness. He tries to show her by throwing himself into every part of their life, by externalising his satisfaction as much as he can, but he knows she won’t believe it until they come asking for him again and he turns them down, because that past is the past and that’s where it belongs)

They worry sometimes.

It’s only human, and they’re only human, muddling their way through their life together, and most of the time, it’s fine, they’re fine. Sometimes though, it all becomes too much. Cassian flinches at perfectly ordinary questions from neighbours, Jyn’s heart leaps into her throat when she spies Cassian watching the holonews, and on days like that, they retreat together, back into the one space that was always theirs alone even when they were in the Rebellion. They lie in bed together, with the curtains closed and the lights off, curled into one and other, barely able to make out each other’s features, and into the darkness they drop their fears and give comforting words and take comfort in the warm press of bodies tangled together.

(They set the world to rights, the past back in the past where it belongs, and Jyn and Cassian drift off to sleep in each other’s arms where they belong)

**

This is what life after war looks like.

Funnily enough, it’s a holopic that makes it click for Jyn.

The Rebellion is years behind them now, streaks of grey at Cassian’s temples and proud laugh lines around Jyn’s eyes, and yet still sometimes she eyes the comm unit with suspicion when Leia comms, waiting for that call to arms that will take Cassian from her.

She’s in Cassian’s study, a grandiose name for a tiny alcove in which he has set up a computer and comms unit and all the papers he needs to do accounts for everyone in the village. She’s looking for a particular sheet of paper in a pile of neverending papers, cursing Cassian and his need to keep a copy of every single thing, when she glances up and does a double take.

Tucked up next to the comm unit is a holopic, right at where Cassian’s eye line would be. It’s of the two of them, from years ago, just after they moved to Takodana, tucked into one another and smiling almost shyly at the camera, still a little uncertain, but joyful and free. She remembers Bodhi taking the holo, his laughing face as he demanded they stand in front of their new house for a picture because ‘this is a moment you’re going to want to remember forever!’

She feels tears spring to her eyes as she looks at it, a blatant reminder of the importance that Cassian places on them, and she can feel the uncertainty inside her snap like an overstretched band of elastic, replaced by a core of steel certainty, that this is it. They will last.

She doesn’t know how long she stands there but eventually Cassian comes looking for her, but she hastily wipes at her eyes as he slides into the alcove before her.

“Hey, have you found it yet? It should be under the...Jyn?” He trails off and becomes alarmed as he takes in the tear tracks on her face.

“What’s wrong?” He moves closer, taking her in his arms even as he glances rapidly around the tiny space, searching for the threat. She can’t take her eyes off him, reaches up to touch his face, drawing his attention back to her.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she says, unable to stop the massive smile spreading over her face. “In fact, everything is perfectly right.”

She stretches up to press a kiss to his lips, and despite his confusion she can feel him responding, softening, one arm sliding up her back to cradle her head, and she can feel a new wave of tears threatening at the tenderness.

She pulls back just far enough to look him in the eye. “I love you, you know.”

He still looks puzzled, but happiness is beginning to overtake. “I do, I know that. I love you too.”

She beams at him, and then looks back at the holo. “I think I finally figured out why you’re sticking around.”

She looks back at him and finds he’s followed her gaze. When he looks back at her, she can see the understanding in his face and she feels a swell of love as he completes the memory.

“Welcome home.”

                                                             fin

[dalekofchaos]

Things I would’ve change about The Sequel Trilogy

My other Star Wars changes

Prequel Trilogy

The Clone Wars and Rebels

Original Trilogy

Rogue One

Solo

The Force Awakens

Since going into the movie without reading the new canon novels or TFA novelization, I think it would improve the story if Lor San Tekka was replaced by someone we already knew like someone from the Rebellion like Mon Mothma or General Dodanna. I think it would’ve worked better, either of these people, they  would be close to Leia and would have known Ben growing up and would just as equally be disgusted as what he has become. But particularly I think Mon Mothma would work better. Ben grew up on her homeworld of Chandrilla, she would have to be in the senate with Leia, but she would have seen him growing up as a child and just to see what he grew into would be heartbreaking and her death would have greater meaning because this is a character we all knew. One of the Rebel architects and Leia's oldest friends, cut down by Leia's own son.

The First Order Stormtroopers would look different. The thing that bothers me about the First Order is the Stormtroopers don’t really look all that different. Just a slightly different helmet. So the Stormtroopers would need a complete revamp. Art from the concept art from TFA

Finn would be an elite soldier, not a janitor. Finn would be the commander of the Elite Stormtrooper Squad. Finn and his squad are not just regular Stormtroopers. Finn is the Squad leader of an elite squad of Stormtroopers. It would be called Obsidian Squad. Battle Hardened, a group of Stormtroopers that rival the Knights Of Ren and essentially the First Order’s 501st Legion. They are commanded only by Hux and Phasma. Finn’s Squad are accompanying Kylo Ren on Jakku to find Luke’s map.

Have Finn’s indoctrination and conditioning have more impact. I never felt like Finn’s conditioning as a Stormtrooper held any impact after he removed the armor. Finn is a character who was raised as a Stormtrooper, but there doesn’t feel like any indoctrination to begin with. First off, he should be raised to hate Han, Luke and Leia. He was indoctrinated as a child, so Finn should be taught from childhood to adulthood that Han, Luke and Leia are terrorists and war criminals who destroyed over 20 years of peace and would be taught that Luke, Han and Leia are responsible for genocide(you know that “I had friends on that death star” joke) so he is taught to hate them from birth and to kill them on sight. So Finn would see The Resistance and The NR as a threat to peace, he is there to restore balance, he believes it until he realizes The First Order is wrong.

Finn’s character arc is about learning to overcome years of indoctrination and conditioning and learning to do what is right. After Slip dies, Finn is consumed by grief and wants revenge on Poe. But Hux and Phasma orders Finn to let him go so Dameron can lead them to The Resistance Base. Finn is basically playing “traitor” however something happens. his programming finally wears down and his natural empathy comes through. When Poe asks his name, Finn chooses it for himself. Finn feels the guilt of his actions on Jakku, his guilt and empathy is what awakens his force sensitivity, before Finn leaves to get Poe, Finn stops because Kylo Ren stares at him, Kylo feels something in him. Finn frees Poe and their interactions remains the same, but Finn still harbors anger over what Poe did. But something happens, Poe dies saving Finn and this changes things.  He felt remorse for what he felt for Poe and what he’s done for The First Order. So now the only course of action is to find the droid and keep it from The First Order....but will he be strong enough to fight his conditioning? Upon arriving to Nema outpost, he sees Rey being attacked and his instincts as a soldier is to help her and together they fight off Unkar’s men. Rey thanks Finn but says she could’ve handled herself. BB-8 tells Rey that he’s wearing Poe’s jacket. This prompts Rey to ask “where did you get that jacket?” Finn tells her that Poe died saving him. This saddens BB-8 but this way Rey and Finn’s first meeting is not a hostile one. Finn tells her the mission was to deliver BB-8 to their base to deliver the map to Luke Skywalker. Just saying the name causes Finn to twitch. BB-8 is immediately suspicious. Rey does not say that Luke is a myth. She knows who he is as he was her hero on Jakku that filled her with hope. Luke being a myth to Rey is dumb considering she knows who Han is and knows about the Jedi. Suddenly they are being attacked by The First Order. Rey and Finn are pinned down and unable to make it to a ship. Suddenly The Millennium Falcon comes to the rescue. Rey is in awe of Han Solo. Han says he’s glad he could help, but is wondering where Poe is. BB-8 gives sad beeps and Finn tells him the truth.  And OH BOY do we have an absolute nightmare coming when Finn sees Han Solo, Finn is barely able to keep control of himself as his programming has it built in to kill the Rebel heroes. Finn’s grown an attachment to Rey and BB-8. After seeing the map to Luke, Han tells the same story to Rey and Finn. Han says he will get them safely to the Resistance base. But Han tells Finn. “I know every member of the Resistance. I know you’re not with us. Whatever your story is, you better tell her the truth. Women have a way of finding out the truth. Always.” Han goes to Takodana as per original. When confronted about the truth, Finn is not trying to run, Finn is torn about what to choose his new found friends or his duty to The First Order? This way we can see what a life of indoctrination can do instead of never revisiting it. We can have Rey and Han trying to help Finn. I would have Maz using the force to help make Finn stable. It’s only when Finn sees Starkiller Base destroy the Hosnian System does Finn truly see The First Order for the monsters that they are, so after that Finn would choose to fight for The Resistance. On Takodana, Maz gives the Lightsaber to Finn and Finn starts cutting Stormtroopers down and Finn is confronted by Phasma instead of Nines. Phasma will call him traitor and “you could have been so much more” they fight and Phasma has him beat, but Han makes the save. In this we can see Finn and Han learning to trust each other. This way we can show Finn struggling to  fight his conditioning and finally overcoming his indoctrination and learning to fight for what’s right. Finn can use his knowledge to help train The Resistance and use what they taught him against them. 

Rey’s character arc is overcoming her trauma. Rey starts off as a mix of Han Solo and Jyn Erso. Someone who only cares about her own survival and is consumed by her own trauma but learns to overcome her trauma, start caring for other people and something bigger than herself. That would’ve been the perfect character arc for Rey.

Poe dies saving Finn. Since Oscar Isaac largely became unhappy about Poe's direction and even confirmed that he wish Poe died in TFA, I think I would change it so he would die cause I feel like him dying to save Finn would've been more emotional. And honestly Poe just coming back and having a convoluted explanation as to how he survived was just a huge cop out to me. Poe dying would’ve been so emotional and impactful. It would’ve given Finn a true reason to fight for The Resistance and everyone in Black Squadron and The Resistance would destroy Starkiller Base and declare “For Poe!” After the shields were destroyed, Jessika Pava would be the one to destroy Starkiller Base.

Han Solo’s character arc from the original trilogy isn’t regressed. He returns as the same character he was in A New Hope. He abandoned his wife Leia, he left the Rebellion and went back to smuggling. He isn't even looking for his son Ben Solo. Han would never leave Leia or abandon his child. It is simply bad writing to redo his entire arc from the original trilogy again and to make him a bad parent when it is out of his character to do so. Legends understood Han and Leia better. Han and Leia stood strong in their marriage for 3 decades despite a hostile extra Galactic invading species killing both Chewbacca and their 14 year old son Anakin, their other son Jacen becoming a Sith, him killing Luke’s wife Mara, and having to be killed by his twin, their daughter Jaina. And they both still kept up their roles as a General and Chief of State/Ambassador. So what I would instead do, is make Han a joint General with Leia. Both Han and Leia lead the Resistance. When Poe hasn’t reported in, Leia sends Han to Jakku. Which leads Han and Chewie flying the Falcon(Han would never leave the Falcon) to BB-8′s signal. As the Tie-Fighters have Finn, Rey and BB-8 pinned down and when all hope seems lost, Han comes to the rescue. Han chooses to go to Takodana so he doesn’t lead The First Order to D’Qar. We can see Han mentoring Rey about the Falcon and being a father figure to Rey and Finn. Instead of Maz’s talk of “Han, go home” Maz will simply tell Han. “Han, let him go. Your son is gone.” Han will simply say. “My son is still alive” When he sees Kylo abducting Rey, he knows it’s Ben. When he returns to Leia, keep in the “I found our son” Instead of giving the vibe that they split up, make it clear that Han and Leia have been married for over 30 years. They stood strong together despite the tragedy of their son. Han inspired Leia to form The Resistance after The New Republic abandoned her. Together they lead The Resistance in the hopes of finding Luke and their son. Their goodbye is pretty much the same, but Han kisses Leia goodbye. Han’s death remains the same because it was beautifully well done.

Lando is in TFA from the beginning. Lando is the senator of Bespin for The New Republic and one of the Resistance’s Generals of The Resistance’s Command. Have Lando and Han embrace as Han returns "I missed you old buddy, how have you been!" then Lando goes to hug Chewie and have Lando in awe of Finn. "I am so sorry for what those monsters have done to you, you will always have a home with us" something like that. Lando would mobilize his forces that are loyal to him, so we have more to attack SKB than just Black Squadron.

Kylo Ren is smart about dealing with the figure from the Rebellion. Kylo Ren’s introduction and murder of Lor San Tekka introduces a menacing villain, it also introduces the fact that Kylo Ren is a fucking idiot. In my version, Mon Mothma is who Poe goes to meet about the map. Mon Mothma is disappointed in how he turned out. Gives the same speech about Kylo cannot deny the truth of his family, only Kylo does not stupidly kill her. He has a key figure in the Rebellion in The First Order’s hands and leverage to use against her. So Kylo goads her into telling him about the map. And Kylo threatens to burn the village and to kill everyone. Mothma pleads that the villagers are defenseless and good people. Kylo gives her the count of 10. Mothma simply says “I gave it to the Resistance.” Kylo says nothing and kills her. This prompts Poe to attack. Kylo freezes the blast and puts two and two together. This can show that Kylo Ren is a menacing, he’s smart and he is willing to do what’s necessary for the First Order. The actual attack happens as planned, but used the threat of violence to get her to talk. It was simply dumb to just kill San Tekka when Kylo had leverage against him.

Kylo and Poe’s exchange. I feel this needs to be changed because it just undermined the seriousness of the slaughter Kylo Ren has caused and killed one of General Organa’s dear old friends. Poe should not be cracking jokes. Poe is furious, but brave. Stares Kylo in the face and does not give him the satisfaction. Poe would say “I’ll die before I give you anything.” Kylo will retort “we shall see”

Captain Phasma isn’t wasted potential and is featured as much as Hux and Kylo Ren. Phasma leading The Stormtroopers in every scene, shows up with Kylo and Hux to their audience with Snoke and after discovering FN-2187′s betrayal and defection, she makes it her personal mission to hunt him down for desertion and betraying the FIrst Order. In my honest opinion I would have rather of seen Captain Phasma been the one fighting Finn on Takodana instead of FN-2199 /TR-8R. It makes sense. It gives Finn an enemy to fight, his former Captain and leader who ordered atrocities that Finn could not commit and had compassion for his team members and Phasma wanting to show no mercy to traitors. Phasma would be winning the fight and nearly delivers the killing blow(let’s be honest Phasma would win the fight) until Han knocks Phasma out cold with Chewie’s bowcaster. Phasma recovers and returns to Starkiller Base and is captured by Finn and Han. This scene in the movie is what bothered me with how she was handled the most While she is said to be completely devoted to The First Order, she is so easily intimidated into turning the shield generator off. I don’t see this happening with the character they were trying to establish. What I would do instead is Phasma would activate the security alarm. “Oh did you say deactivate the shields? I thought you said alert everyone to your presence. Good luck.” Han, Finn and Chewie are forced to improvise and deactivate the shields themselves and make a quick escape.

Kylo Ren is shown to be strong and Finn is given an equal fight against Kylo Ren. During the fight Finn uses his tactical experience to outsmart him instead of just getting toyed with. Hell, we could even have Finn being able to be on par with Kylo and Finn starts to win the duel, but Kylo gets a upperhand and disarms Finn and renders him unconscious. But not to the point where Finn is in a coma. Rey does wield the lightsaber and Kylo and Rey have their fight. However one thing that needs to change is Rey needs to lose. There is no tension if the villain of your movie is easily beaten easily. Kylo is able to call upon the dark side to easily overpower Rey and he is about to win. But before he can land a killing blow or abduct Rey, Chewbacca comes to the rescue and keeps unloading Bowcaster bolts. Despite how many shots Chewie fired, we see one final shot of Rey and Finn looking at Kylo glaring at them in the Falcon and as they fly away, Kylo finally collapses. Showing this is how powerful he is when injured, so imagine him at his peak.

When returning to D’Qar, instead of Rey hugging Leia, Rey and Finn are both rushed to the medic. Meanwhile. Leia, Lando and Chewie all hug each other. Chewie lets out something sad in Shyriiwook that is basically saying “Han...he’s gone” and Leia will respond “I know”

After they’ve both fully recovered Rey and Finn part ways.  Rey is headed for Luke, while Finn decides he needs to stay with the Resistance as he believes they need him and he can finally do something good now that he’s free. They part ways. Rey will give the same line to him “We'll see each other again. I believe that. Thank you, my friend.” as they hug and part ways. 

The Last Jedi

We would see a memorial for Han before the evacuation of D'Qar. Leia would give a eulogy for Han, everyone in the Resistance except for Finn and Lando would give their part in remembering Han. Leia can properly mourn for Han and while that’s going on have the scene from the graphic novel of Luke mourning Han.

Rey and Luke have a great mentor and apprentice relationship. The biggest mistake is not having a teacher-student relationship between Luke and Rey. It’s understandable that Luke would be hesitant towards Rey after his nephew’s betrayal and the fall of his Jedi Order. While Rey and Kylo Ren’s force bond is interesting, I honestly feel like it is more important to have the bond be about Luke and Rey. It should be about training Rey and establishing a relationship between Luke and her. It was said their relationship would be the heart of the film, so my suggestion is do just that. Focus on Rey and Luke having an actual relationship with each other and her training. Rey needs to be trained in the force to be a believable character. Even Anakin, Ahsoka, and Luke himself were given training and time to become skilled and powerful. Instead of just copying Yoda and old man Obi’s personality into him, do something we have never seen before in a Jedi Master in the movies: make Luke humorous, lighthearted, make Luke lecture Rey ON the importance of attachments and understanding the darkness just as much is the light. It would also create a parallel to what Snoke is teaching Kylo. Have Luke show Rey how to feel the force. Even show Luke teaching Rey to craft her own Lightsaber. Rey could finally make her Saberstaff with Yellow or Purple Crystal and teach Rey that attachments can lead you to the dark side if you let them, but they won't lead you to darkness if you control your emotions.

Luke is in exile for the same reasons, but explains to Rey he did not leave behind a map. There were many people looking for him, Mon Mothma went in search of him to bring hope back to the galaxy and the First Order searched for the map to kill him, but Luke came to the island because he believes many of the problems of the galaxy were the fault of the Jedi. And Ben’s fall was part of why he went into exile. 

One thing I am keeping is Rey is a nobody, but that’s not the reveal. I am keeping this is because it works in the context of The Force Awakens. In the trailers for TFA, whenever asked about who she is, Rey says “I’m no one” Rey Nobody WORKS. The only problem however is Rey needed to be told that she was a nobody. Rey already knew who her parents are. Rey never thought or wanted her parents to be important in TFA, she was literally going to pass up adventure and being important to stay on Jakku because she just wanted her family to come home. She didn't need or want them to be important. The audience did. The reveal is this. Rey killed her parents.

While We see Rey and Luke’s mentor and apprentice relationship. We will see Kylo Ren and Snoke’s relationship as master and apprentice. The first scene with Snoke and Kylo Ren absolutely makes no sense. Snoke said that he would complete Kylo’s training when he told Hux to bring Kylo Ren to him at the end of TFA. Yes, he did fail him and he sensed his father in him, but the training would help snuff the light out.  We would see Snoke personally train Kylo himself. Snoke begins by telling Kylo the Sith code ” Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.” even show Snoke telling his apprentice both the Jedi and Sith codes are what hold them back and teaching the flaws of both religions. And that both the Jedi and Sith must be destroyed to truly maintain supremacy of the force. Snoke teaching him the ways of the dark side, using torture and force lightning to draw Kylo’s rage to bring out his full potential in the dark side of the force. We needed to see Sith training. We never once got to see it, so we needed to see it with Snoke and Kylo Ren. And Snoke gives his apprentice one final test. Bring the scavenger to him.

A young actor plays young Ben in the flashbacks. I just did not think it worked to have Adam Driver to play young Ben, the man is 34! Ben Solo was said to stave off the dark side until he was a young adult, so in my opinion, Finn Wolfhard and Owen Teague should have played Ben Solo in the flashbacks. Finn as Ben as a child and Owen as a teen. They both look like a young Ben Solo so it really works. 

More flashbacks of Ben and Luke. Show flashback of Ben being sent away with Luke and his farewell with Leia. Show better memories he had with Luke and show that not everything was bad with his family. They could not save him from Snoke, but show they never truly gave up on Ben. Show Ben’s relationship with the students who would become The Knights Of Ren and show they are his best friends and they would fight and die for Ben

Ben Solo’s reason for betraying his family and murdering the Jedi should NOT be because his parents were neglecting him or Luke tried to kill him. I can never seeing that happen with either character. Han and Leia were wonderful parents in the old EU, the thought that they would be bad parents is just bad writing. Even more bad writing is the thought of Luke who always saw the good in his father would try to kill his nephew. Han and Leia did not give Ben to his uncle because they were afraid of him, they gave him to Luke so Luke could help him. What I would change about how Ben Solo became Kylo Ren is, I would have it that Ben found out thanks to the New Republic that Vader was his grandfather and his family never told him and felt betrayed and just snapped. He has been trying to destroy everything they have built and finishing what Darth Vader started

Give The First Order a backstory and motivation. The biggest mistake about the Sequel Trilogy is there is no motivation on why we have to care for this war to begin with. The First Order is evil for the sake of being evil and we are told and expected to root for the Rebels Resistance. Here’s how I would give The First Order a motivation. First I would have Luke tell Rey the story of The First Order, while Leia tells the same to Finn. Since The Empire were based off the Nazis and the Military Industrial Complex/Nixon. I would take inspiration from Operation Paperclip and  inspiration from how the US Government uses terrorist groups to fight an enemy and then the group turns on them after the government needs an enemy to fight. So say The New Republic did not want to militarize again and fight a threat in the Unknown Regions, which could be the Yuuzhan Vong. So despite Leia’s protests, they decided to enlist the Imperial Admirals, Generals and officers to create a fringe group of  an Imperial movement to fight the Yuuzhan Vong. They succeed but there is a problem, the public sees the Imperials as heroes and the new Republic see them as a threat. Again ignoring Leia’s warning, the senators of the New Republic has now labeled The Imperials as terrorists and the new Republic nearly destroys this Imperial movement they flee into the Unknown Regions with nowhere to go. The Imperial Remnant is at death’s door when all hope is lost, Snoke offers them revenge. Snoke offers them the resources of the Unknown Regions. Snoke offers them purpose and the destruction of the New Republic. That is how I would explore the origins and the motivation of The First Order. They want revenge and simply want to exist. Phasma joined because she saw strength and order. Hux joined because of his father and Ben joined because he saw The First Order were heroes and had the best interests of the galaxy. Leia has no choice but to clean up the mess of the New Republic.

There is a battle over D’Qar between The Raddus and The Finalizer. No bad humor between Poe and Hux, just an all out war between The Resistance And The First Order. We see Jessika and Black Squadron, Tallie, Paige and Cobalt Squadron(only Cobalt Squadron would be comprised of Y-Wings and A-Wings) Eventually as we see the majority of the Tie Fighters wiped out and The Finalizer crippled and we all think The Resistance has won, it happens. The Supremacy comes out of hyperspace and with it, Kylo Ren in The Silencer. The Silencner wipes all the fighters, but Jessika, Paige and Talllie, they make a retreat. 

Finn knows about the Supremacy’s tracker and asks everyone for capable engineers, which prompts Paige to recommend her sister Rose.  

Finn is a big deal in the Resistance. It is shown through cut material that Finn was in Cobalt Squadron uniform. Have Finn be with Paige, have Paige and Finn have a short friendship(this actually gives Ngo Thanh Van speaking lines), Paige being in awe that Finn, someone who escaped The First Order helped The Resistance destroy Starkiller Base is working with him and she is more than happy to show him the ropes. They are co-pilots of a Y-Wing(those bombers were stupid and we all know it) Finn was able to save Paige from dying in space and instead she dies in his arms while leaving a bloody handprint on his heart, working as a callback to when Slip died in Finn’s arms and left a bloody handprint on his helmet and her last words being “tell my sister I love her.”

Finn and Rose. Something I would improve is the relationship between Finn and Rose. Finn seeks out Rose to give her Paige’s pendant and for her help for his mission. Rose breaks down and hugs Finn. Both Finn and Rose have a good relationship at this point and there is no pointless hostility. Finn and Rose tells the plan to disabled the Hyperspace tracker to Leia, Lando and Holdo. They don’t like it, but they don’t see any other option. More on Finn and Rose. Their relationship would be better developed. During their flight to Canto Bight we would get a scene of the two talking about their families. Finn would say he was taken from his family by The First Order and never really knew them. Rose empathizes with Finn’s trauma and acknowledge that they are both cut from the same cloth. Rose and Paige lost their family and home and Finn lost his family and home, they have something in common and a reason to fight for The Resistance and against The First Order.

Finn and Rose’s mission. Their mission is to meet the Master Codebreaker. And that’s what they do. They do not meet DJ, no they successfully get the Master Codebreaker. Benico Del Toro would be playing the Master Codebreaker. The Master Codebreaker reveals he is on Canto Bight for a stake out to sabotage a warlord and stop him. But he would agree to put that mission on pause to help The Resistance as he owes Lando an old favor. However Finn doesn’t feel it’s right to gain his help in exchange for nothing, so Finn and Rose would agree to help him. After completing his mission, they go to infiltrate the Supremacy and continue the mission to disable the Hyperspace Hacker. They are successful, but unfortunately they are caught while trying to make their escape.

BB-9E is Kylo’s personal droid

Kylo and Rey’s scenes remain the same. Only when asked why he killed Han and why he hated him. Kylo will say. “I didn’t hate Han Solo....I loved him. I wanted to be like him. I killed him because I thought it would help me. I was being torn apart by the weight of the light and dark sides of the force and I thought killing him would help me. It did not, it only made things worse.” Kylo shows remorse for killing Han.

Luke Skywalker does not give up, mentors Rey and fights the First Order. My problem with Luke in TLJ is he just gives up. Luke ALWAYS saw the light within Anakin. Darth Vader was evil and committed atrocities for decades but he saved and redeemed his father.  But he gave up on Ben because he saw Snoke’s influence on Ben and instead of helping him like Luke would actually do and what Leia wanted Luke to do, he goes with the intention of killing him but stops with the shame. Luke would never consider igniting his lightsaber preparing to kill a family member. Let alone his sisters son. Luke just gives up. Period.  He does not even care that his sister’s life and the Resistance she is leading is in danger and condemns the galaxy to darkness. So instead what happens is Luke trains Rey(as I said above) when her training is nearly complete. Luke senses Leia is in danger and as Rey believes Ben can turn, Luke decides he must go and save his sister. Both Rey and Luke part ways.

Kylo kills Snoke and they fight the Praetorian Guard together, only it is better choreographed and no bad editing.

Ben after feeling his mother in danger decides to call off the fleet. Rey asks Ben to join her and come home. Ben doesn't believe he can go back after all the horrible things he’s done. But Rey simply tells him  "The light has always been there, it’s calling to you. Just let it in already. Let me in." Rey then takes his gloves off and offers her hand and Ben takes it. But he then tells her to leave as he feels “it’s too late for me, I am already too far gone” he then takes the title of Supreme Leader.

After Finn and Rose successfully disables The Supremacy, They are captured by Phasma and Hux. Phasma and Hux has them at their mercy. Lining Finn, and Rose up for execution. Hux tells Phasma not to kill Finn, to let him take his place as FN-2187. Hux will tell Finn “you were once one of our best soldiers, I even saw you with potential to be a captain, you can be that great soldier for The First Order again. All I ask is you wipe this Resistance filth from the galaxy.”  Finn of course refuses by saying “I’m Finn, I’m a big deal in the Resistance, Rebel Scum”, so Hux tells Stormtroopers to escort him for "rehabilitation. These Stormtroopers Finn convinces to rebel and next thing you know Finn is leading a Stormtrooper rebellion to save Poe and Rose and Finn and Phasma have their fight. It ends similarly to that deleted scene. With nearly all the Stormtroopers in the are to throwdown their helmets and rebel against Phasma. As the hyperspace ram happens, Everyone is knocked out. As Finn and Rose awakens, they see Phasma leave in a shuttle.

Do not kill off Phasma and once again do nothing with her. While I love that we got to see Phasma and Finn fight, again they did not do anything with Phasma. We needed to see Phasma be great in the movie. Show Phasma doing more. Show Phasma leading the charge against The Resistance. Show her obsession of wanting to personally execute Finn for his betrayal. Phasma is Ahab and Finn is her moby dick. 

As Rey is drawing away the TIES, Lando makes the call to call off the speeder run. Finn reluctantly agrees as he knows the speeders would melt before even denting the mini death star.

Luke appears before Leia and the Resistance. Luke is able to confront The First Order and then Ben. It remains the same, only that Luke wields the green lightsaber and it’s a real lightsaber fight between uncle and nephew.

Rey returns and meets Rose and embraces Finn in a hug. 

The movie ends with Rey asking Leia “how can we rebuild the Resistance from all this?” Leia will put their hands on Rey’s hands and say “we have everything we need”

Episode IX

It will be renamed A New Order

Palpatine will not be returning.

The focus of the movie will be about The First Order. Hux, Phasma and the Knights Of Ren will be the villains.

TFA. Hux is complete and utter wasted potential. Instead of pointlessly killing him off and making a new Hux, just put the effort into making him an effective villain. Hux had an affinity for technology and contempt for force wielders and force sensitives in general. So I had a thought. What if Hux had technology made to suppress the force so that way a coup against Kylo Ren could be feasable and hell, just give Hux and his soldiers Cortosis Weave armor that way we can actually make Stormtroopers resistant to Lightsabers and actually make them threatening.

Everyone agrees that Phasma was wasted. Since I’ve decided not to kill her off in my TLJ changes. Phasma lived and survived a dead planet. She escaped a trash compactor and an exploding planet all by herself. Her armor is made of spaceship metal and resistant to fire. Her potential was wasted and she deserved to shine.  A cold and calculative embodiment of the First Order would be the perfect villain for the final installment in the Sequel trilogy.

As for how we could implement this Duo. Perhaps one day with a meeting with the heads of The First Order's military. Hux displays Snoke's murder for all to see and displaying it to every soldier and to the Knights Of Ren. Everyone is calling for Kylo's murder and screaming TRAITOR!! And Kylo attempts to use the force to choke the life out of Hux and nothing happens. "Something the matter Ren?" Hux says as he cradles his new Ysalamiri(Ysalamiri were furry, lizard-like tree-dwellers about 50 centimeters in length native to the planet Myrkr, most known for their ability to repel the Force by creating a Force-neutral bubble) Then Phasma arrives with the entire battalion of The First Order. Phasma says "Kylo Ren, you are now relived of your duties as Supreme Leader. Prepare for your execution" Kylo now prepares to kill Phasma with his Lightsaber. Except, nothing happens. His Lightsaber is now useless and he is powerless with the force. Phasma then uses her Cortosis-Weave Baton to pierce through Kylo, severely injuring him and commands the army to open fire! There is something aboard the Star Destroyer that is disrupting his connection to the force. So Kylo has no choice but to make it to the Silencer and escape. Before he can make it to his ship, Hux arrives with the Knights Of Ren. Hux explains. "Did you think me a fool, Ren? Did you think we did not have contingency plans for you pathetic Force Sensitives? You must be thinking, HOW? One Ysalamiri isn't enough to suppress your connection to the force. We've been developing technology for years. Did you think we'd always live under the foot of Snoke and the likes of you? We've been planning on this. Let me explain. Aboard every Star Destroyer now rests a Force Harvester. We found the remains from the remains from an ancient battle from the Clone Wars and have been working to perfection to rebuild and mass produce. We know have everything we need wipe out The Resistance and end The Force's hold over the galaxy." Hux would then call for the Knights Of Ren to kill Kylo, they are now the Knights Of Hux. Before they kill him Hux has a change of heart. "My Knights, do not kill your former master. Let him bring the girl to him. Let him bring FN-2187. Lord Ren or should I say Ben Solo, will bring everyone before us and we will wipe them out in one fell swoop. Ben then leaves in his Tie FIghter, but Hux orders to open fire to make things harder for the former Supreme Leader. Ben is now dying and on a marooned planet. Uses the force bond with Rey to call to her and to call to his mother. 

Phasma plans on killing everyone who is still loyal to Ren and kill those who even dared to show the slightest hesitation in battle. Phasma is cracking down hard to ensure there is no chance another FN-2187 can be born. But Phasma is doing this because she knows Finn is Force Sensitive and she wants to draw him out of hiding so she can execute him.

Hux would then have every known force sensitive child to be abducted in order for the force harvester to drain the living force of all who came into contact with. Which would power up the true super weapon. The Dark Reaper. The Dark Reaper worked by harvesting the Force using the Force Harvester, a device that killed anything within range by draining its Force energy and focusing it into beams that dealt massive damage to any object. However, the Reaper could not harvest a wound in the Force. The wound in the force in question would be Rey.

Hux as Supreme Leader would look like this

The real truth of Rey is that she is a wound in the force. A wound in the Force, also known as a hole in the Force, was a type of catastrophic disturbance in the Force; it was a weakness in the fabric of the Force, caused by a traumatic event. Rey killing her own parents at such a young age is what caused her to become a wound in the force. Wounds in the Force were created whenever a massive loss of life occurred. All life in the galaxy was interconnected and when a significant number of lives were suddenly ended, the Force sustained a localized injury much like a sentient who had lost a limb. The epicenter of the wound became a dark place, filled with the reverberating echoes of the pain, terror, and suffering of the life forms who had lost their lives. Wounds in the Force were most often centered in astrographical locations where traumatic events took place, such as Malachor V or Alderaan, but they could also form within individuals such as Meetra Surik or Darth Nihilus. That’s why Rey can be connected to others so easily. That’s why Rey and Ben are connected to each other through the force. Sometimes when there is a close connection between two force-sensitive individuals and one of them is killed, the other one can feel it across the whole galaxy. So when Rey felt Ben at death’s door, she felt it across the galaxy.

Before Ben is found. Ben has a moment of clarity. The force ghosts of Luke and Anakin come to him. Luke coming to tell Ben that he did not mean to kill him that night, that he hesitated after realizing what he was about to do. And finally Ben forgives his uncle. Anakin would then tell his grandson “I never wanted you to repeat my mistakes. That pull to the light you were feeling was always me. I wanted you to be better than I was, who I could have been” and showing Ben his memories and what he had to go through. His life as a slave, meeting Padme, meeting Obi-Wan, becoming a Jedi, losing his mother, Order 66, losing Padme and being saved by Luke and finally destroying Palpatine And telling Ben “Let the light in. You still have a chance, no one is ever really gone“ Ben Solo is at peace knowing the whole truth about his grandfather and is at peace knowing the truth from his uncle. Ben lets go of the anger and hate and returns to the light. Then Rey finds Ben and flies him to The Resistance.

Rey and Leia would find Ben and bring him to be healed. He would then explain what happened to him and what Hux plans on doing. Everyone is horrified. Finn however feels something else. Explains he feels the deaths of so many Stormtroopers, those who were once loyal to Ben and those who have started to resist. And then Rey and Leia feels something terrible is happening to children awakened by the force. All Leia can say is “The force is dying.” 

Ben will tell everyone in The Resistance. He knows he’s done terrible things in the dark side and with The First Order. He cannot make up with the hurt that he’s caused, he can only move forward, do good and hope the good he’s done can help find his place in the galaxy and earn his family’s, The Resistance and Rey’s trust. Real redemption requires taking responsibility for your actions. It requires doing the slow and painful work of self transformation and it requires regret for past harm inflicted on others. Ben would realize this and move forward and stand with Rey.

Ben would talk to Rey and tell her “I never wanted power, all I wanted was you. You were never nothing, you were everything to me and I love you Rey” Rey then takes Ben’s hand.

Upon Ben’s redemption. Ben repairs his Crossguard Lightsaber to make the hilt white looking and to heal his cracked and corrupted Lightsaber Crystal and after his Lightsaber is now a Purple Crossguard Lightsaber. Ben’s new redeemed Attire looks that like the son of Han Solo

Rey has gained mastery over the Ancient Jedi Texts and constructed a Yellow Saberstaff. Combining her Quarterstaff from Jakku with a new Lightsaber. She has her hair down and has a similar outfit to her TLJ outfit, only 

Rey and Ben would work together to attempt to stop Hux and save the children of the force. 

Finn and Rose are sent on a mission to start a Stormtrooper Rebellion. They go to Phasma’s flagship and Rose helps using her skills to help Finn to broadcast a signal to every Stormtrooper. I think it could be something like this. “My name is Finn, I was FN-2187, a Stormtrooper. Like every one of you, I was taken from a family I will never know. I was raised to do one thing… but my first battle, my friend Slip died and that death marked me and made me realize We are people and we have a choice. I wasn’t gonna kill for them. I had nothing to fight for. Until I met my friends, they gave me a name, a purpose and something worth fighting for.(cue Finn smiling at Rose) So I am here to tell you.  You have a choice. You are people. You do not have to kill for them anymore. Take back your lives and fight the people who took your lives away from you. I am giving you the one choice they never gave you and choose for yourselves. You can either storm this very room and kill us or you can take back your lives. The choice is yours.” Then we get a very emotional scene of Stormtroopers led by Finn’s last surviving Squad member, Zeroes removing his helmet and tossing it to the ground and then we see hundreds, to thousands of Stormtroopers ripping their helmets off and tossing them to the ground. Officers DEMAND they put their helmet back on and kill The Resistance scum, but they don’t. It happens. Rebellion.  Finn and Rose have successfully led a Stormtrooper Rebellion and together burn The First Order from the inside out and Rose could say something that calls back to TLJ. “It was worth it, though. To tear them up, make ‘em hurt.” Finn would embrace Rose in a kiss and say “Now it’s worth it.” And you could’ve had the conclusion to Finn’s story by having Phasma at Finn’s mercy. Phasma begging for her life, saying she will call for The First Order’s complete and unconditional surrender and giving Finn and the rest of the Stormtroopers info of their families and planets. But the defected Stormtroopers want blood. All the Stormtroopers who left the First Order because of Finn are telling him he has to kill Hux while Rose is telling him killing Hux will not be right. Finn makes the decision to spare Hux. Finn tells his brothers and sisters “that’s how we’re going to win this war not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love.” Inspired by Rose, Finn let’s  go of his past and takes Phasma in alive so he can answer for her crimes. 

Poe, Leia and Lando would rally the entire galaxy to destroy The Force Harvesters and The Dark Reaper. The Resistance fights back hard and one by one the Force Harvesters are destroyed. However only Rey can stop The Dark Reaper.

Rey and Ben together in The Falcon would assault The Dark Reaper. Because Rey is right by his side, he is not affected by The Dark Reaper. And together in the Millennium Falcon, they land the killing blow.  to the dreaded superweapon. The Falcon lands on Hux’s flagship. Rey and Ben would arrive to free the children. Rey guides them all to safety. Before they can get to the Falcon, they are met by the Knights Of Hux. Rey and Ben face them together. It is an even and equal fight. Because of Cortosis-Weave Weapons and armor, Rey and Ben must use their brains and cunning in order to bring the Knights down. So they use the Knights’ weapons against each other.  Upon the destruction of the Dark Reaper and the deaths of the Knights Of Hux, they would have Hux at their mercy. Hux would then demand his own execution. "Go on Solo, we both know you want to kill me. and take back control of The First Order. Take control and kill the Jedi." This is the ultimate tool for Ben's redemption. Does he want power or does he want Rey? He would then be put in a Anakin/Dooku situation from ROTS, he would then do what his grandfather could not do. Show mercy to his enemy. And declare. "I am a Jedi, like my mother and grandfather before me." Hux is then taken to be tried and imprisoned for war crimes against the Galaxy.

The war is over. The First Order is no more. The New Order is established. Think Galactic Federation of Free Alliances from Legends. Lando Calrissian is the Chancellor of the New Order. Leia passed away and is entombed on her home of Chandrilla with Han. Finn leads a program to help properly help his brothers and sisters integrate back into galactic society and to help them all find their families and worlds. Poe would the Minister of Defense, always keeping The New Order’s Military strong and on their toes so they can prepare them for whatever threat there is to come. Finn and Rose got married and Rose leads a sanctuary for all the children and animals who have lost their families due to the war and helps take care of them, but also Rose would lead an attack on arms dealers and war profiteers who have profited off the war and suffering of the galaxy. In time, Rose and Finn would bring relief and restoration to Hays Minor and together Finn and Rose Tico would return home and have a family. I believe that Rey and Ben would get married on Naboo, have their honeymoon on Chandrilla, then setting down on Mortis to reform the Prime Jedi and balance the Force while raising their family. Basically Rey and Ben would either gain a peaceful life on Naboo or build a New Order where both sides of the force can come together in order to achieve balance, where they can love freely and use their passions and compassion for the good of the force without suppressing their emotions and I think the best place for this new Order to take place would be on Mortis. 

[dorksideproductions]

It’s been a minute since our last edition of Canon Casting, our ongoing feature where we fan-cast various Star Wars projects. In the past we’ve covered novels like Thrawn, Bloodline, and the entire Aftermath trilogy, as well as Star Wars Rebels (through season three). I’ve got a few Canon Casting projects in the works but figured I’d throw you a bone and tackle the excellent tie-in novel to the game Battlefront II, Inferno Squad, by Christie Golden. And of course ***SPOILERS*** will be prevalent, but I’m sure you figured that.

For those new to the feature and/or those in need of a rules recap, here you go: We tackle a non-film project and fan cast it – with a few rules. Actors have to be alive, and age appropriate. So, in other words, you can’t cast an actor who’s passed away, even if it means a recast. Same deal with not being able to ‘time travel’ to find the perfect actor – no, Marlon Brando isn’t available… Lastly, if one of my current or previous Canon Casting choices actually gets cast in an official Star Wars film, I have to recast them. Yes, it happens, ask Thandie Newton…. Make sense, good? I also approach each Canon Casting project with what I feel is an appropriate budget, etc., as not every story will be made into a billion dollar movie. For Inferno Squad I’ve chosen the route of a premium, direct-to-consumer movie (i.e. Netflix, HBO, Showtime, etc.) OK, let’s get to it:

Iden Versio, Del Meeko, Gideon Hask, and Garrick Versio:

Janina Gavankar as Iden Versio

TJ Ramini as Del Meeko

Paul Blackthorne as Gideon Hask

Anthony Skordi as Garrick Versio

Yeah, these were the no-brainers as each of these roles were cast for motion capture for the game Battlefront II and I love each and every one of them – especially Janina (duh!) and T.J. Ramini as Del Meeko. Let’s meet the actor I chose for the fourth member of Inferno Squad, the one who doesn’t appear in the game:

Seyn Marana:

Kimiko Glenn as Seyn Marana

I went back-and-forth on the casting choices for Seyn Marana for quite a while, and she was one of two characters that held up this post for a week or so. In the end, I kept coming back to Kimiko Glenn, a memorable supporting actress on Netflix’s highly acclaimed Orange in the New Black. Some of this decision was based on Janina Gavankar’s narration and portrayal of Seyn in the audiobook, as I really heard Kimiko in Janina’s voice: fast-talking, slightly high-pitched, and a quick-thinker with perfect recollection. Aesthetically she fits the role perfectly, and in addition to that, based on the perfomances I’ve seen of the young actress I think she is more than up to the task of portraying the youngest member of Inferno Squad with the photographic memory. Here’s to you, Kimiko! Moving on, let’s cast a couple smaller roles…

Zeehay Versio and Lassa Rhayme:

Eva LaRue as Zeehay Versio

Paige VanZant at Lassa Rhayme

These were both small roles (as was much of the supporting cast in Inferno Squad), with one being a must-cast and one being a fun-cast, if you take my meaning. For the role of Iden’s mother, Zeehay Versio, I went with Eva LaRue. The role of Zeehay is small in the book and I went with an attractive actress best known for her work on CSI Miami and the soap opera All My Children (so maybe I’m an old-school soap aficionado, don’t tell anyone..). Iden’s mother is a galaxy-renowned artist responsible for painting Imperial propaganda posters and flyers. She’s described as a very beautiful woman, and much of Iden’s physical features are attributed to her. Eva is a gorgeous woman, and at 51 years old she is old enough to portray the mother of our protagonist and wife of the hard-ass that’s Garrick Versio. For the tiny role of pirate queen Lassa Rhayme I went outside the box and tapped UFC fighter Paige VanZant for the role. Lassa is a beautiful blue-skinned Pantoran with a helluva mean streak, and I have a feeling we will be seeing more of her after having appearances in both of Christie Golden’s Star Wars books – Dark Disciple and Inferno Squad. Time to meet The Dreamers:

Piikow, Dahna, and Sadori Vushon:

Warwick Davis as Piikow

Alicia Witt as Dahna

Will Poulter as Sadori Vushon

Before we get into the fan-casting of The Dreamers, let’s talk for a minute about who they are for those that haven’t read the book. The Dreamers are an offshoot of Saw Gerrera’s Partisan Rebels, formed after the destruction of Jedha in the amazing standalone film Rogue One. They hold steadfast to Saw’s vision of the war, including his tactics which Mon Mothma and the Rebel Alliance leadership deemed ‘extreme’. Above are three members of The Dreamers’ supporting cast that I felt were vital to the story. Let’s start with the diminutive and good-hearted Chadra-Fan, Piikow. I absolutely loved the character of Piikow, and he served a vital role in the book as we see his relationship with Del Meeko blossom to the point of friendship and you as the reader really don’t want anything bad to happen to Piikow, even though it was Inferno Squad’s main objective to eliminate all of The Dreamers… As far as the fan-casting for Piikow goes it was super easy – of course I went with Warwick Davis, as he has to be in every Star Wars project, right? The role of Piikow would give him a much-deserved chance to shine as well, as most of his parts in Star Wars films are small. Moving on to Dahna… I love the character of Dahna, the sultry second-in-command Twi-lek. Dahna is beautiful and was formerly a slave, so she takes to Seyn Marana very quickly, as Seyn’s cover was to pose as a slave to gain entrance into The Dreamers. I also must note that once again Janina Gavankar’s narration of the character of Dahna very much played into my casting choice, and I loved it. For this role I went with Alicia Witt, a versatile actor known for playing diverse characters in TV (Cybill and The Walking Dead) as well as film (88 Minutes and Urban Legend). Alicia is a beautiful actress who also has the range to be sultry and vicious in the same breath. She’ll do nicely… Finally, for the role of Sadori Vushon, the young Kage who falls for Seyn (and vice-versa, with heartbreaking results) I tapped one of my favorite up-and-coming young actors, Will Poulter. Sadori is a large, physically imposing figure, while still having an air of youthful vulnerability. Will Poulter at 6’2″ can certainly portray the physicality of Sadori, and I have no doubt he can play the softer side as well, as we’ve seen this side of him in film before. Also, his height will play well against Kimiko Glenn, who’s only 5’2″, so the differential will look great on the screen. Now for The Dreamers’ leadership:

Staven:

Mark O’Brien as Staven

So Staven…. this was a hard one and is probably most responsible for holding this post up for a few days as I deliberated it. The charismatic-yet-dark leader of The Dreamers first appeared in the amazing novel Rebel Rising by Beth Revis, and popped back up in Inferno Squad as the perceived leader of The Dreamers. I don’t like Staven. I didn’t like him in Rebel Rising and liked him even less in Inferno Squad. Which means the authors did their jobs, because you aren’t supposed to like him. He chided a younger Jyn Erso in Rebel Rising and was a complete asshole in his role as the paranoid and sadistic leader of the remnants of Saw’s band of rebels in Inferno Squad. I went back-and-forth on the actor to portray this pivotal role and almost scrapped the entire post before I had a revelation. I absolutely love the show Halt and Catch Fire, and think it’s one of the most underappreciated shows in recent television history – if you didn’t catch it you should go back and binge it on Netflix. Mark O’Brien plays the role of Tom Rendon in the series and much like Staven, he’s a character you’re supposed to hate. Mark is the man for the job, and he’s a casting choice I’m proud of for being completely out of left field. I have no doubt he would crush it in Inferno Squad as The Dreamers’ leader. Which brings us to the last role I cast for the book…

‘The Mentor’:

Hugh Dancy as “The Mentor” a.k.a. Lux Bonteri

Casting the amazing Hugh Dancy in the pivotal and mysterious role of The Mentor was almost too easy. I loved him in Hannibal. I loved him in The Path. I’ve loved everything I’ve seen him in. Throughout Inferno Squad we get hints of just who The Mentor is, and it becomes obvious he has a long history in the galactic conflicts of both The Clone Wars and the struggle of the Rebel Alliance versus the Empire. When it’s revealed he’s none other than Lux Bonteri, a character that’s appeared onscreen many times in The Clone Wars animated series, it all makes perfect sense. Although not in control of The Dreamers per se, he is responsible for their intel and in turn the man that’s most wanted by the members of Inferno Squad. Lux has lost more than his fair share throughout the course of the wars, including Saw’s sister, Steela Gerrera, who he was in love with. And don’t forget that Togrutan Jedi he had a thing for as well… The way the story plays out, with Iden beginning to sympathize and possibly fall for him as well is a nice touch, as she lets him live in the end after the Squad kills the rest of The Dreamers. That’s one of the great things about this book that author Christie Golden does so well – showing the gray area of the conflict by having three of the four members of Inferno Squad bonding with members of The Dreamers, with only Gideon Hask abstaining (which also plays well with the campaign mode of the game Battlefront II, for those who’ve played it). But back to the casting. I have little doubt that Hugh Dancy will find his way onto a Star Wars project at some point, but for now, he’s my Lux Bonteri.

So there we have it, my Canon Casting for Battlefront II: Inferno Squad. I highly recommend reading this book or grabbing the audiobook (which as mentioned above is narrated by none other than Janina Gavankar herself), you won’t be disappointed.

Got any feedback for me or want to discuss further? Hit me here and we’ll make it happen. As always, thanks for the support and May the Force Be With You!

~Todd

Janina Gavankar as Iden Versio

Hugh Dance as “TheMentor” a.k.a. Lux Bonteri

TJ Ramini as Del Meeko

Paul Blackthorne as Gideon Hask

Kimiko Glenn as Seyn Marana

Mark O’Brien as Staven

Anthony Skordi as Garrick Versio

Will Poulter as Sadori Vushon

Alicia Witt as Dahna

Warwick Davis as Piikow

Eva LaRue as Zeehay Versio

Paige VanZant at Lassa Rhayme

Canon Casting – Battlefront II: Inferno Squad It's been a minute since our last edition of Canon Casting, our ongoing feature where we fan-cast various Star Wars projects.