#i want that dynamic for jyn and cass

[andorerso]

finally started watching TLOU and when Tess says “he answers to me” mhhmmm queen shit, you love to see it

[jyndor]

Ooh I’d really like to see what you’ve written about Jyn meeting Cassian’s friends💕💞💗

i have more planned than actually written LOL but i can talk through the concepts first.

this is all going to be set in the early days after rogue one. pre-relationship as fuck lol. and it's as much a character study of cassian as it is about jyn and her dynamics with these different people who love cassian.

cinta - cinta and jyn partner up on an intel mission. jyn spends a lot of time observing cinta and notices that she's very similar to cassian. cinta says VERY little about cassian, she's a stone cold pro and isn't about to have that kind of talk with jyn about another agent.

i like the idea that cinta is who cassian is in the beginning of rogue one, except that she would have killed galen. not without thought, not because those are her orders, but because cinta would at least partially AGREE with the orders - galen erso is responsible for the death star in many ways, and she'd hold him to account by assassinating him. but she's also WHO CASSIAN IS IN THE BEGINNING OF ROGUE ONE so she'd also find jyn's fire attractive and inspiring, and she'd probably not let jyn die on jedha tbh. in the same way that she supports vel all through the aldhani arc.

i think cinta is too perceptive to just not notice cassian is a merc on aldhani. she believes that he's a rebel (because he is LOL), but she also wouldn't care if he wasn't (she's clearly more upset that vel didn't tell her than that cassian's being paid). i also think she sees a lot of herself in him.

i also want to amp up the queerness. cinta and jyn are both bisexuals obviously, no discussion needed it's canon. but anyway, i think they'd be attracted to each other but i don't do cheating oml. they'll get into some sort of accidentally sexy moment on the mission, jyn's probably down because she's in denial about cassian lol but cinta and vel are definitely not poly so they acknowledge the attraction but it's a non-starter.

cinta will probably say something about jyn having a lover, too, and jyn's like ? um no i think i'd know if i did. and then cinta's like there's no way these two hoes haven't fucked lol but she's wrong, fairly sure she's projecting onto cassian again but whatever.

but the main thing with this section is that jyn learns that cassian wasn't always a rebel - at least that's what cinta will say because whether or not she believes that he wasn't a rebel until after aldhani, she'll respect him enough to not just tell jyn all of her thoughts about how cassian was always a rebel in some ways.

this is gonna piss jyn off LOL that i know. vel will show up in this section but it's mainly about cinta.

melshi - jyn's already met melshi so this will be more about them getting to know each other. in my headcanon rue is an ex-boyfriend of cassian's. unlike with bix and cassian's s1 complicated dynamic (which i have a feeling is based on the relationship being on-and-off when they were younger and probably not having a lot of closure/not always being great about boundaries) they're really just very good friends, their romantic relationship fades more easily than with bix.

jyn and melshi end up as workout buddies. that's the storyline i have planned, jyn needs a spotter while she's lifting weights (what a hottie omg i bet she could lift me) and melshi volunteers. jyn notices that his nose is still fucked up from when she hit him with the shovel on wobani. she sort of apologizes (sort of, she's a tough nut to crack) and he's surprisingly understanding about it. so they end up working out together a couple times a week, and over time he opens up to her about his time on narkina. i'm assuming he was there for a LONG time. eventually he mentions cassian and jyn's like ??? the fuck??? and that's how she learns that cassian was in a labor camp like she was.

i don't think melshi would feel super comfortable talking about cassian's story but also a big motif in this fic is that everyone thinks cassian and jyn are fucking. how these different people handle talking to jyn about cassian is important in exploring these dynamics and relationships. he assumes cassian has told jyn things about his past because when THEY were together, they did a lot of talking about shit.

im not sure where i want to go with how jyn takes it. jyn doesn't trust easily and i think she'd understand that she doesn't know a lot about cassian yet - but something like that is so similar to her own personal trauma that i can't help but think she'd be upset.

bix, bee and brasso - bix works as a mechanic for the rebellion at this point (with her husband brasso and their dog droid bee because lol it's an everyone lives au except all parental figures they're all dead) and is working on the ship cassian and jyn are going to be taking for their first mission together since scarif (cassian is finally cleared to go back in the field, congrats major andor) and jyn finds out that bix and brasso do a lot of salvage work. she wants to find a new chassis for kaytoo so that cassian can have his friend back. ugh love her sfm. what a good thing the fandom has her doing in so much fic.

well, bix is like ? hmm why are you looking for a kx oh shit you're jyn erso. something like that. there's all kinds of rumors about jyn and cassian, and bix is like... yeah of course that tracks. hot, competent, brunette, bit of a smart mouth. and you know bix has been trying to get the tea from cassian for weeks, but he keeps telling her "lies" about how they're not together, it's not a good idea right now, etc.

but this time cassian actually shows up, clearly a bit unnerved by jyn and his old friends (esp bix) scheming together, which is the part i actually have written:

Cassian walks into the mechanic's bay (?) with a familiar unease building up in his chest. He wonders if he’ll always feel this way around Bix. Even before the shitshow on Ferrix, their relationship when they were teenagers always ran hot and cold. Fresh out of a war zone and a prison camp, he wasn’t in any state to love her properly, even if he loved her fiercely, in the way a boy loved his first girlfriend.

Too busy hating the Empire to do better by her. Or anyone. He can’t say he’d do anything differently. They would have always broken up, fallen out of love, grown out of each other. He can’t imagine himself in Brasso’s place, can’t even bring himself to be resentful towards his old friend for their marriage. He never thought about any of that back during their time together - commitment was sneaking around behind her father’s back, saving whiskey for her, keeping his head in the present while he was with her. 

But he doesn’t feel guilty about any of that. Romances end all the time. And he’s a very different man now, one who Bix doesn’t even particularly like sometimes - even if she still loves his sorry ass, exasperatedly and against her better judgment. Their friendship is shaped by trauma and loss and hope, like he is himself.

He doesn’t feel guilty about breaking her heart. 

Her torture, however, he carries with him everywhere he goes. It wasn’t his fault but he feels responsible. For the change in her very chemical makeup. For the hands that shake, the way she never quite trusts her privacy.

Still. She’s been a lot better lately. Since Scarif and the Battle of Yavin. He just hopes-

Jyn Erso is in the mech bay. Smiling with Bix over a large pile of black metal and wires. Jyn doesn’t just smile at strangers. 

The uneasy feeling grows.

[… blah blah some shit i haven’t written, jyn fucks off …]

Bix sighs, wiping her forehead with her rag. "You being… you-” Cassian crosses his arms. “Don’t look at me like that, of course I thought you fucked her. ‘Course I did.”

“It’s not like that,” he says. She rolls her eyes and pulls out another wire. “Jyn and I… it’s never been like that. Not even sure where this rumor came from, anyway.”

“She’s gorgeous and competent. Only issue is that she’s not in a long-term monogamous relationship for you to screw up-” Cassian glares at her. She laughs. “Are you serious? You disobeyed the kriffing Council for her!”

“For the Rebellion,” he corrects, and he’s mostly not lying.

“And I’m the Queen of Naboo, and Bras is secretly related to Wynssa Starflare. Who are you kidding?” Her smile fades. “But I believe you now,” Bix says. “Seeing you two together. It’s definitely not like that.”

Cassian turns away. “I’m glad that’s settled.”

Her eyes widen and she reaches for his arm, turning him back around. “No, I don’t mean- shit Cass. You know how sometimes things don’t come out right for me now.” She bites her lip. “You’re in love with her, and she has no idea.”

“She’s my partner, Bix.”

“You should tell her.”

He shakes his head. “We’re in the middle of a war. It’s really not a good time.”

“Brasso and I got married last year, you nerf!”

“I am a spy, Bix!” Cassian snaps. “I carry a poison pill in my jacket so that if I get caught, I don’t give up Rebel secrets. I’m already living on borrowed time.” He shuts his eyes. “She’s lost everyone who ever loved her, and you think I should tell her? I wonder how long it’ll be until I’m lying dead somewhere. Just another disappointment. Three, four months? A year?” He opens his eyes again and sees Bix shaking her head, stricken. “I’m sorry.”

[imogenkol]

I’m curious about your thoughts on Bix in that leaked teaser because I’m VERY worried about her storyline 😞

!!!!! thank you for asking!!! I am hella stressed about it too and I've got some long winded scrambled thots under the cut here:

As we know, she obviously isn't in/never mentioned in Rogue One and sometimes that implies a prequel character is doomed by the narrative so my main fear is that her story is going to end in her death. There's also a few lines from Cass in RO that could reinforce that theory (ie: him telling Jyn she isn't the only one who lost everything). Apart from me being totally biased, I do think it'd be a waste of her character, especially since she was criminally underutilized in s1 imo

anywho, from the poor quality clips/screencaps I've seen (I will admit that it can be kinda tough to tell who is who and some scenes flash by so quickly) it looks like Bix might be struggling a lot with feeling like her life is out of her control, even after at least a year time jump from s1. I do think it looks like she is the one who goes after Gorst either as revenge or to regain the control she lost or both. Then that shot of her in bed with the blaster could be the aftermath of that encounter, whether she succeeded or failed. If that's true then it doesn't look like it made her feel any better. But I imagine she'll be a very broken version of herself from when she first appeared in ep 1 because she basically did lose everything and was tortured to near insanity

All of this must have radicalized her, but it's hard to say what kind of rebel she'll be. I hope her storyline is centered mostly on herself, her healing, and the kind of person she wants to be in the war against the Empire. Based on the trailer and some set pictures I've seen, it looks like she’ll thankfully be taking on a more active role and I'd really enjoy seeing her kick some ass. At least for herself considering she had to get rescued a couple of times in s1.

It also very much looks like they're putting her back with Cass and, my own personal ship biases aside, I don't really like that at all. I really love the history and dynamic they share and I thought they made it pretty explicit that any romantic ties between them were cut. I've seen people theorize that she isn't in the right state of mind and might be grasping for any physical connection that makes her feel safe - which can make sense given the trauma she went through - but idk I wish we could explore more of a nuanced friend/familial relationship between her and Cass. I know it’s his show, but I really don’t want to see her be reduced to a romantic prop for him or god forbid she’s that and he loses her to further fuel his storyline. Either way, Bix is in a very vulnerable emotional state and I'm not sure any love interest would be necessary for her (yes I know how ironic that is coming from me and my many oc x canon google docs lmao) at least not until she's had the proper time to heal.

All this to say that it looks like they're setting her up for another pretty tragic arc next season and I hope the payoff doesn't end in complete emotional devastation, but this is one of, if not THE darkest star wars stories out there 🙃

These thoughts of course are just based off a grainy one minute teaser trailer that could very well be purposefully deceptive considering the show hasn't even finished filming yet. But I'd love to hear other people's thoughts too!

[egregiousderp]

Hey! I was scrolling through your Ro-Bros tag (great name), and I wanted to say, I too think Kaytoo has a robo crush on Cassian. Like, not in a creepy way, but Cass is definitely Kaytoo's entire universe, and I'm pretty sure Kaytoo was the only person/entity Cassian could actually be himself around for, like, six years. I'd love to hear more on your thoughts about them, if you have more?

I have no idea what thoughts I have about them, honestly. (Ha haaaaaaa this is such a great anon message oh man how do I- Okay okay play it cool Skuun.)

/inhales

/exhales

I think most of what I had about that was because of my weird need to ship Bodhi and Kaytoo. The…uhm…Imperial Defector Bros.

That is…I know I had a ficlet in here somewhere for “Bodhi and Kaytoo are the only survivors. Kaytoo saves Bodhi while returning to the ship. Bodhi, disheartened and feeling used, returns to the Empire and begins rebuilding Kaytoo.” Which was probably going to run off that dynamic. (I got sidetracked into a major spiritassassin project and a smattering of rebels projects. I might one day get back to it but don’t know when?)

Most of my ro-bros stuff therefore was as a way to flesh out Kaytoo, who comes off as both salty and a little frosty, but for whom Cassian and Cassian’s opinions are the whole world.

It was also sort of a way to explore whether or not the relationship of friendship (or what have you) between Galen and Bodhi was a pure one or an act of grooming by Galen.It always came off as slightly sinister to me.Like…was Galen’s judge of character really that poor, or is Saw’s paranoia an increasing thing? Did Galen think his daughter, his Sweet Little Stardust would vouch for the pilot and make him feel at home?

There’s a lot of room for resentment based on perceived outcomes even IF Galen's intentions are totally pure.

Just as there’s a lot of room for Kay to idealize Cassian, whether by programming or actual development of friendship….

Cassian’s an ex-separatist too which is also an interesting little factor. Then there’s the way he tends to dispose of things that can’t keep up and also follow orders.Having a confidante you can wipe at will makes for a perfect confessor.And yet the ex-separatist doesn’t trust his own creation with a gun?

Just….

There were a lot of dynamics to explore.

How to write a robot with a crush or what a crush might be for a robot is a tricky thing.

But I liked the idea of an unequal dynamic for Cassian and Kaytoo. Kay adores him. Cassian maybe doesn’t realize how much he needs or has come to depend on Kay until the end? Maybe trusts what he can control more than he trusts people….

People would root for him to attach to Jyn instead and just leave Kaytoo behind as a sort of old crush he no longer needs. (More room for resentment and rejection...)

There were a lot of ways to work with it. And I had that concept for exploring those two dynamics (semi-sciencepilot and ro-bros respectively) through Robo-Pilot or whatever you want to call that particular odd pair.

Uhm.

I don’t know if any of that comes remotely close to answering the way you wanted.

If you had thoughts I’d love to hear them though.

Ro-Bros and Robopilot or…Kaytoo ships in general are probably a bit far off the beaten path. But where you draw the line from Romance to Bromance is a bit of a variable mileage thing to begin with. Moreso still when you get into all the droids politics and the Clone Wars history in the Star Wars universe.

I have a penchant for odd pairings.

But I think these dynamics work equally well as motivators for platonic relationships if the characters are starved enough for human attachments, and both Bodhi AND Cassian don’t seem to bond with people normally if that makes sense?

[jyndor]

hello there, I just wanted to chime in a little in the jyn/bix discussion because. some of the anons seemed to talk about jyn and cassian as if they actually had a relationship on screen and. idk. everybody seemed to get the tragedy of the ending of their lives, or at least that's what it looked like, seeing all that content on storytelling and "they've been dead since the beginning" oresteia or else. so... why not see it through that lens? it's hardly a ship of "what they've been through" (even if they went through a lot in the film, but not really as a couple, that's what I mean), it's more like that type of ship that kills you with the possibilities. like. they could've had something, based on some scenes, because it looked like they had something going on but they just met. we didn't get to see anything develop because they died. that's most of the appeal of the ship, the same appeal of every prequel and especially of andor: the possibilities, the tragedy, that. the way they hugged at the end, the way they both gave it all to the rebellion and found comfort in not having to do it alone. like. most of the discussions feel over the point. we will never know what kind of relationship they would've had (toxic or not or some other shit I read), the point is that they're dead and we'll never get to see it. one is free to fantasize a they want but then it's just fantasy so, let's all calm down. how do people create ship wars when there's basically nothing to discuss about if not past and motifs? especially in a film + series that is so clearly not about love?

but that's just my humble opinion

lol anon I completely agree with you but also asking fans to not ship war is I guess asking people not to breathe??

like yeah the point is that they AREN'T in a relationship but probably would have ended up there if they had lived - and shippers like to explore how that could have gone. it's actually funny because with bix and cass it's also a what if kind of thing where they aren't in a relationship at the moment because they didn't work out... but what if they had the time to work on their issues? to grow up? I mean I don't think it works logistically (not sure they'll get there) because the season is gonna be fast paced and all the time jumps and idk I worry about how it would be handled with that little time to do it right. but its also a what if situation, like rebelcaptain, and that's what is so sad about cassian's story in general - it's always been what ifs since he dies so young.

but shippers are weird as hell and don't understand how to just co-exist? Idk I feel like a lot of fans haven't had relationships and don't realize that for a lot of people there isn't Only One Love for someone. love takes work and commitment and consistency, and sometimes we outgrow loves, but that doesn't make those relationships less important necessarily just because they've ended.

that said lol jyn and cassian had a romantic undertone to their relationship (I mean the general term not like ~~~dating lol) from early on in their development. the thing about them is that it is so subtle that viewers don't have to take it one way or another. but when people act like shipping rebelcaptain is weird or like idk wrong... lmao they had a ~dynamic, even if you dont like it or reject it for your own interpretation of canon. which is fine!

[jyndor]

Why do you think Melshi and the ship with Cassian is having way more attention than Bix and her past love story with him?

you and I both know what it is anon, but I see a few factors.

melshi is a white guy, fandoms love their slash ships especially with white guys. fangirls in particular like to erase all women, especially woc, from being "in the way" of their slash ships so they can get their rocks off while not struggling with internalized misogyny. hold that thought, I'm gonna come back to it.

bix and cass admittedly haven't spent a whole lot of time together building on their connection, in fact all of their scenes together have been pretty clear in them being each other's past and needing boundaries between them to move forward.

okay, so melshi and cass have just met and have this undeniable connection, and sure bix and cass have a sort of toxic vibe going on, but this is fandom. fandom doesn't care about toxicity. fandom cares about chemistry and vibes and are they hot??? and let's keep it real, bix and cass DEFINITELY HAVE CHEMISTRY AND VIBES. and yeah they're two of the hottest people lol like you'd think there would be a really toxic element of fandom loving their toxic dynamic, but there really isn't much of one. some people like me are pretty disappointed with bix's treatment and with how their relationship has played out, and some people do seem to ship them but there really are very little fan creations for them as a ship.

and it isn't like cassian has a fandom of people who are against shipping him with women. lol contrary to these idiot anons' beliefs, rebelcaptain is a very well liked ship for rogue one, probably the most popular. now I don't want to compare bix and jyn's dynamics with cassian because they're clearly meant to do two different things, and they're like apples and oranges. and jyn has more time with cassian on screen than bix does so far. but does felicity being white play a role? probably.

and then you look at ao3. why is it that cassian has more reader insert fic than he does with the literal established characters in the show? with bix, his first love? like I do not enjoy on-and-off again dynamics, I'd love it if they can move the fuck on, but undoubtedly they're worthy of some attention. I mean, even in my wips with rebelcaptain as the main ship, I'm trying to write bix and cassian properly, to give them the weight they deserve. they have an interesting, compelling dynamic regardless of the ending.

and in rogue one's fandom I'm sure there are plenty of reader insert fic with cassian and without jyn, but there's a lot less. and definitely there's a fair bit of ooc jyn and cass fic that makes me think it's reader insert in disguise.

but to me I think it's racism. of course it's racism. a lot of the melshi x cass stuff is based on misogyny and racism. but imo the reason why there's more reader insert x cass fic than bix x cass fic is because of racism, too. they're finding it hard to put themselves in bix's place long enough to let cassian rail her or whatever lmfao.

I mean I understand why cassian's girlfriend from niamos gets no recognition. its a shame but yeah she was on screen for two minutes and doesn't know his real name. BUT again I'm like really? hot lady over here naked in cassian's bed isn't enough for you? oh right, she's Black.

I don't know if it would be different had we seen some of young bix and cassian's relationship, but like come on for people who don't give a fuck about on and off again relationships or like how healthy a relationship is, which I KNOW fandom doesn't care about since reylo is a fucking thing, I think it might not have made much of a difference.

you know what it is anon. and you're right.

ps I wrote exes!cass and melshi ages ago, but apparently I'm homophobic for not saying they're endgame and that jyn and bix are cunty for getting in the way~~~~ or whatever lol

[jyndor]

on my nitpick soapbox about fictional characters lol send help

guys I have a critique of Rogue One??? an actual problem I have with the movie (jk i have a bunch)????? it has to do with cassian, who we stan in this apartment. specifically with regard to some things with kay. this is some nitpicky bullshit btw.

so I was rewatching the movie and I had a moment of confusion about why cassian wasn’t being as much of an explicit droids rights king as I thought he was. and it took me a moment to remember that while cassian loving kay and respecting him and reprogramming him to be a free droid *sniffs* is canon, there are some things that I would change.

1. so I get jyn and kay antagonizing each other, in fact I love it, and I think that it builds so nicely into that beautiful moment when she gives him her (cassian’s lol) blaster (and edit: I get why cassian never gives kay a blaster, I just point this out because as much as I like jyn and kay’s dynamic, I wanted more cassian and kay moments). cassian is rather reserved in his behavior, so his quiet amusement during the scene outside of the city works well for me. I can even handwave not really showing cassian’s reaction to jyn thinking she shot his bestie because maybe he could tell that the droid she shot wasn’t kay idk.

but why have jyn human shield kay in front of baze when you have cassian andor right next to her, and who presumably has more reason to want to protect his best buddy. instead he kinda just stands there, and you could say, well he’s a spy he is gonna be cautious about jumping into--

oh wait he just risked the mission by shooting one of saw’s rebels to save jyn when she was busy running off saving the crying child. okay, so he still needed her to go meet saw, but I mean, he is also someone who risked the mission again to go find jyn before he escaped jedha. which, you know, was not necessary at all (and probably more than a little counterproductive, given, you know, upcoming murder but STILL HEART EYES FOR MY KING).

btw I also think it is in character for jyn to jump in front of kay. i just think it would have been nice to see cass react in SOME way to the clear threat against his best friend. like diego’s kind of in the shot, but not really:

and cassian doesn’t have to jump out in front of kay, because yes jyn IS more connected to the guardians than he is. but give me something.

2. “cassian said I had to” um... no he better not have lol the cassian andor I know would never order his buddy to go on a suicide mission, he would have given kay a choice, especially when he just said he and the other soldiers “volunteered” to go with jyn to scarif. of course kay would have gone anyway, that is the point.

kay is an ex-imperial droid that has some level of free will in his programming. there are a lot of Weird Implications when it comes to how star wars treats droids, and while the joke is funny, it just strikes me as ooc for cassian to NOT give kay a choice. at least when he orders kay to hack that other kx droid on scarif, he’s the commanding officer and kay is essentially a soldier under his command.

all of that being said, it is so interesting how fanon develops. I had actually forgotten that baze and chirrut are just two bros chillin in a hot tub, and that they all died lol jk how could I forget that

anyway, what are your thoughts on this nitpick fuckery? and have you ever watched rogue one and experienced this kind of weird dissonance between the text and what fandom has collectively transformed it into? because the rogue one fandom really has made these characters so much better. it’s almost a let down to watch the movie when there is so much good fanfic out there that explores them more deeply.