#jyn makes stuff

[gyokujyn]

CATWS 10th Anniversary | April 4th

» Prompts: Reunion for @catws-anniversary

a loving homage to A Softer World and @asofteravenger

[gyokujyn]

wrt the scene in CACW, I have this headcanon that Bucky didn't get conscripted until so late into the war because he got deferrals for being a cop (ACAB, even Bucky Barnes) which would explain how he knew his way around shooting enough to be selected as an expert marksman at a time when we didn't even have a sniper school, and it would probably help with the two special commendations he would have needed to get promoted to Sergeant before shipping out--anyway, I digress.

In this headcanon, Steve's been struggling to make ends meet since regular work is tough for him to maintain with his frequent illnesses and freelance work doesn't pay well enough or regularly, so he turns to sex work when needs arise. He doesn't tell Bucky, but Bucky's not dumb and he knows something is going on and he has a good idea what, but Steve won't talk to him, starts picking fights with him and getting physical with him in a way that they've never been, so Bucky backs off.

Now, in the 1930s, there was a big racket involving the NYPD and blackmailing rich and high-society queer folk. They'd raid tea houses and then offer to let go anyone who could pay their way out of it. and they'd continue to pay bribes if they wanted their secrets kept. Others would be arrested, jailed, sometimes institutionalized.

So, Bucky hears about a raid ahead of time that he suspects Steve'll get nabbed in and he goes there in person to find him to tell him to get out, but Steve doesn't give him a chance to say anything before he starts laying into him for even being there. Steve's struggling with a lot of self-hatred and feelings of inadequacy and he's taking it out on Bucky, but Bucky's dealing with a lot of internalized homophobia and equally taking it out on Steve. By the time they get around to what Bucky'd come there for, the cops are already banging the door down. Bucky ends up cuffing Steve and escorting him off the property, but then letting him go. Steve's pissed and rightfully giving Bucky an earful about all the other people back in that tea house that don't deserve the treatment they're getting from dirty cops like James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky turns in his badge the next day and shows up for selective service.

So, when Steve says, "he'd do it for me," he means that. He knows it because he's lived it and he won't leave Bucky, even when those cops are banging down the doors.

He might not give you a choice. He doesn’t know you. He will.

[jynjackets]

JYN ERSO & CASSIAN ANDOR SPOOKY SEASON EMOJIS

Found them in my drafts and totally forgot I made these 👻

6 250 x 250px individual icons

🎃 feel free to edit and reuse how you like 🎃

others: rebelcaptain, velcinta

[art-question-mark]

love love love andor…as its own show. not as a rogue one prequel.

because tell me why we are brutally assassinating our main character’s whole story + characterization, and completely undermining the whole plot of rogue one?

[shoulderscars]

People who watched the OG trilogy of Star Wars when it came out...

aka people who didn't know Luke&Leia are siblings

[IN TERMS OF HER TOYING WITH HAN AND LUKE]

[uwingdispatch]

Since we're getting closer and closer to Andor and Andor leads right into Rogue One I thought I'd just drop all of my Rogue One things (or at least everything I can fit—none of the apparel is in this post) in one spot. So here we go. Shop is here.

Lanyard keychains:

Jyn, Cassian, Bodhi, and K-2SO

Other keychains and charms:

U-Wing, Temple of the Kyber

Spotify Shakers:

Rogue One Crew, Rebel Girls, Cassian x "this is me trying", Jyn x "You're On Your Own, Kid", Mon x "Bejeweled"

Scrunchies:

Battle of Scarif, K-2SO

Hair Clips:

Cassian, Galen

Mini pouches:

Cassian, Jyn, U-Wings, K-2SO

Acrylic Earrings:

Rogue One Starbird, K-2SO

Character Earrings:

Y'all know who these guys are.

Looking forward to making new stuff for Andor season 2! Let me know what y'all would like to see! <3

Shop is here.

[astromechs]

reading the tags in ur last fic (very subtly but I have more planned for this) like: 👀👀👀

[slickdickwitchbitchh]

Streamer!JJ x Tiktokit!girlreader Headcanons

JJ’s streams are pure chaos, filled with jokes, wild commentary, and unpredictable antics. His audience tunes in for the rollercoaster ride he creates every time he goes live.

He leans into his bad-boy charm, often teasing authority figures or poking fun at Twitch rules (without breaking them).

He streams popular games like Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and Fortnite, but also surprises viewers with random choices like Stardew Valley or Among Us, where he thrives as the chaotic wildcard.

He’s always giving away random stuff like custom merch, surfboards, or even an old fishing rod he signed. Fans love how genuine and unpredictable he is.

JJ thrives on trolling back chat trolls, usually with witty comebacks or playful banter. It’s all in good fun, and his fans eat it up.

JJ’s setup is a mix of high-end gaming gear (probably gifted by fans) and things he rigged together himself, like a hand-painted backdrop. His camera angle is always slightly crooked, which fans find endearing.

JJ often streams with John B, Kie, Pope, and Sarah. These sessions are chaotic but hilarious, with JJ constantly trying to prank the others mid-game.

He occasionally takes his audience outside, streaming adventures like late-night fishing or skateboarding stunts. These IRL streams are just as chaotic as his gaming ones.

His chat is filled with recurring memes, like calling out JJ for always “forgetting” to fix his camera or hyping him up as the “king of clutch plays” when he barely scrapes by in games.

JJ uses his platform to raise money for causes close to his heart, like ocean conservation or supporting underprivileged youth. He does wild challenges as donation incentives, like shaving his head or attempting to surf while live-streaming.

He hosts events like beach clean-ups, livestreaming them to encourage his audience to get involved in their own communities.

JJ Maybank wasn’t the type of guy to get flustered, especially not by some girl on TikTok. But there was something about her. Y/N wasn’t just any IT girl—she was the IT girl. Her TikToks were effortlessly cool: dark eyeliner smudged to perfection, oversized leather jackets, and a smirk that could either destroy you or make your whole day. She was the epitome of black cat energy, the polar opposite of JJ’s chaotic golden retriever vibe.

It started with a repost. JJ was mindlessly scrolling TikTok late at night when he stumbled upon one of her videos. She was mouthing along to some sultry audio, her piercing gaze aimed directly into the camera. Without thinking, he hit the “repost” button and added the caption, "Okay, but why is this so good? Teach me your ways."

He didn’t think much of it—just JJ being JJ, hyping up someone who clearly had their life together. What he didn’t anticipate was the absolute meltdown his fans would have the next day.

JJ went live on Twitch the following afternoon, expecting another chaotic day of gaming and banter. But the chat was already spiraling out of control before he even picked up his controller.

“JJ, explain that TikTok repost.�� “Bro, are you crushing on Y/N or what?” “JYN 2024 LET’S GO!”

JJ squinted at the chat, confused. “What are you guys talking about?” Then it hit him. His repost. His face immediately flushed. “Oh, come on! I just thought it was a good TikTok! Can’t a guy appreciate some talent without everyone making it weird?”

His chat was having none of it. Fans spammed heart emojis, ship names, and theories about JJ’s crush. Despite his protests, he couldn’t hide the goofy grin that crept onto his face whenever Y/N’s name came up.

It wasn’t long before Y/N caught wind of the repost. Her comment section was flooded with messages like, “JJ Maybank is OBSESSED with you,” and “When’s the collab with JJ?”

Ever the unbothered queen, Y/N played it cool. She stitched his repost, smirking into the camera as she said, “JJ? Isn’t he that streamer who can’t finish a game without breaking something?”

The video went viral immediately. JJ saw it live during one of his streams, his jaw dropping in mock offense as the clip played on repeat. “Chat, did she just roast me? Oh, it’s on now.”

But instead of firing back with an actual roast, JJ doubled down on the banter. He reposted her video with, "Touché. But we all know I’d win in a 1v1. Prove me wrong?" Fans loved the playful back-and-forth, and the internet began buzzing about their “rivalry.”

After weeks of teasing from his fans, JJ finally slid into Y/N’s DMs. His message was equal parts confident and awkward:

“Okay, so I’m not saying I’m scared of you, but I’m also not not saying it. Wanna settle this on stream? Loser buys dinner.”

To his surprise, Y/N replied within minutes. “You’re lucky I like chaos. Let’s do it. But don’t cry when I win.”

From that point on, their banter escalated. They played a few games together—her calm, calculated black cat energy perfectly balancing his chaotic golden retriever vibe. Every time she called him out for being “too loud” or “too much,” he countered with an over-the-top compliment that made her laugh despite herself.

Fans started shipping them harder than ever, creating fan edits of JJ’s streams mixed with her TikToks. “Golden retriever x black cat” trended across multiple platforms, and both JJ and Y/N leaned into it, dropping subtle hints about their connection.

Despite the internet’s obsession with their ship, JJ and Y/N kept things private. They texted constantly, had late-night FaceTime calls, and even managed to meet up a few times without anyone finding out. JJ would ramble about her to John B and Pope, grinning like an idiot the entire time.

“She’s so cool, man. Like, effortlessly cool. I don’t even know why she talks to me.”

Pope smirked. “Maybe because you won’t shut up about her?”

Meanwhile, Y/N’s TikToks started to feature subtle hints of their connection. A leather jacket draped over a chair that looked suspiciously like JJ’s. A quick shot of a hand with his signature Pogue bracelet. Her fans speculated wildly, but she never confirmed anything.

JJ loved how private their relationship was, but he also couldn’t wait to share her with the world. He just didn’t know how.

It happened unexpectedly during one of JJ’s streams. He was mid-match, trash-talking his opponents, when a voice chimed in from off-camera.

“You talk a big game for someone who just got sniped.”

JJ froze, his eyes darting to the side. “Chat… wait. Hold up. Chat, I didn’t—she wasn’t supposed to be here yet.”

Before he could explain, Y/N walked into frame, looking effortlessly cool in an oversized hoodie and messy hair. She leaned on his chair, smirking at the camera.

“Hey, JJ’s little crew. Hope he’s treating you better than he treats his K/D ratio.”

Chaos erupted. The chat was a flood of messages:

“NO WAY IS THAT Y/N???”

“Golden retriever x black cat IRL CONFIRMED.”

“Our ship is REAL!”

JJ groaned, burying his face in his hands. “Y/N, you just broke the internet.”

“Good,” she replied, smirking. “They needed something exciting today.”

For the rest of the stream, the two bantered back and forth, with Y/N casually roasting JJ’s gameplay and him dramatically pretending to be heartbroken. Fans couldn’t get enough.

The internet exploded with memes, fan edits, and tweets about the reveal. JJ and Y/N trended for days, their dynamic captivating fans everywhere. Despite the chaos, they handled it in stride, continuing to stream together occasionally while keeping most of their relationship private.

JJ loved seeing her in her element, effortlessly winning over his fans with her quick wit and charm. And Y/N couldn’t help but admire how genuine and fun he was, even when the spotlight was on them.

Their relationship became the perfect mix of chaos and calm—just like a golden retriever and a black cat.

Stream Comments :

"THE WAY HE LOOKS AT HER 😭💘 THEY'RE ENDGAME, YOUR HONOR."

"JJ pulled Y/N??? The rest of us don’t stand a CHANCE."

"She’s so black cat coded, and he’s just barking in the background. Literal perfection."

"So we’re just not gonna talk about how he’s been soft-launching her for WEEKS???"

"‘She wasn’t supposed to be here yet’ 🤨 JJ, be so serious. You KNEW."

"The way she casually roasted him and he just SMILED??? Sir, you’re down bad."

"Plot twist: They’ve been dating this whole time, and we were just clowns 🤡."

"JJ soft launching her bracelet in the background of his streams… sneaky king 😏."

[magpie-trove]

Hey so remember when Cassian said “We’re not droids Luthen!” Because he was insisting they have people they care about like he cares about Bix that they have to make choices considering and how droids don’t have choices they just have to do stuff and remember how this whole episode 7-9 arc Cassian’s insisting he wants out he wants to make his own choices and how before Bix said “We don’t have a choice what we save or lose but if we’re going to sacrifice anything I want to win” and how when Bix leaves she says she’s making the choice for both of them, taking away what he insists is his choice (to live out a nice life), and how that’s immediately followed by the advent of K2, Cassian’s new droid shadow, and how by Rogue One Cassian thinks he doesn’t have a choice in what he does, and how Jyn says “what chance do we have? The question is what CHOICE”

[andorerso]

okay i NEED divorced AU you evil woman <3

also requested by Ebby @jynstandor

ah, the AU that haunts me and the AU that I'm too scared to write. if you've been here a while, you may have seen me talk about this before, but if you haven't, it's a modern AU with some sci-fi/supernatural elements, though lately I'm playing around with the idea of making it a post-apocalyptic world. not canon-verse for certain, but not quite our world either is the point

details are subject to change but the rough set-up: six years after the disbandment of Rogue One, a special military force designed to investigate and clean-up failed bioweapons experiments and testing, and five years after her divorce with team leader Cassian Andor, Jyn Erso is asked to return to the Alliance and revive Rogue One for one last mission. fueled by the dual desire to understand what really happened on their last fateful and disastrous mission in Scarif, and finally get some answers to the nearly 30-year old mystery that was her father's work and disappearance, Jyn agrees - even if it means working with her ex-husband again. it should be no big deal. if only being out in the field with him again didn't remind her of why she'd fallen for him in the first place... and also force her to confront the very thing that broke their relationship (ft. some zombies probably)

now listen. fic of my dreams etcetera. unfortunately, I have no idea about anything ever - not the military, not bioweapons, not science stuff... and I'm shit at both plot and action. so it's kinda a daunting task, even if it has the single best plot twist I could ever hope to write. it's one of those "I really want to but I don't know if I can" situations. so no promises, but it'd be so cool to write it (also most definitely a multichapter)

tiny snippet:

"Too scared to come get me yourself?" she asked, but she was half-kidding. Just trying to get a rise out of him.

His answer was matter-of-fact, his expression a blank white page. "I had other matters to attend to."

Well, now she was pissed. "Ah, of course. The great Captain Andor, too busy for his ex-wife," she drawled with a sardonic smile.

He didn't let it get to him, the bastard.

"I put together your file," he said in a tone like he was handing her an olive branch. An appeasement, that he wasn't completely uninvolved in the great search for Jyn Erso.

She took a swing of her bottle to avoid looking in his eyes as her heart twisted. "I know."

Nobody else could have found her.

[thecoffeelorian]

Fandom Friday, 3/07: Fanfiction!

Hello again, everyone…and welcome to another installment of Fandom Friday, the somewhat regular series where I go off to find new and interesting fanworks that might need a bit more visibility.

Before we get started...I just wanted to apologize for not having gotten this out last week, as it felt like half a dozen things were going wrong for me that day, one of which was a sore hip. I also didn't have enough entry material gathered up, either, so...hopefully next week's fan art update should be a lot better than this one, and it'll be coming out on time as well.

Second, this may also be a late entry, but please bear with me--is anybody else excited for Andor, and if so, which character arc are you looking forward to the most? Will a soldier become a leader, and start enlisting others to his cause? Will a certain mother have to make difficult decisions between the Rebellion and her family? Or, on a totally different note, might there be an unexpected Jyn Erso appearance at the very end? Please feel free to drop your thoughts in the comment box or reblogs, and hopefully I will be able to join in as soon as I can. :D

And so, now that I feel like I have my head on straight again and there shouldn't be any further interruptions...here, finally, are my picks of the week.

THE CLONE WARS

The Clone Wars Fanfiction--By @ladysparklefarts:

The Clone Wars Fanfiction--By @book-of-baba-fett:

THE BAD BATCH

The Bad Batch Fanfiction--By @missfrieden:

The Bad Batch Fanfiction--By @ghostofskywalker:

ROGUE ONE

Rogue One Fanfiction--By @viharker:

The Strongest Stars (On A03)

THE MANDALORIAN

The Mandalorian Fanfiction--By @snshineandgnpwdr:

The Mandalorian Fanfiction--By @corazondebeskar-reads:

In conclusion, as part of my mission to poke around the Star Wars fandom and highlight those writers who might otherwise go unnoticed…I hope you will check out the links I have included for yourselves and like, comment on, and reblog them, as well as also giving the writers a few more followers to their Tumblr pages.

Please also like and reblog this latest installment so that these links can be spread around to as many other fans as possible, just in case not all of them can tune in at the same time.

An additional thank you goes to @djarrex for making the divider I used earlier in this post, but still want to give credit for.

If anybody likes what they see here AND would enjoy seeing more posts like this; please drop the rock star emoji (👩‍🎤) into the comments or reblogs, and I’ll be sure to tag you when the next update comes.

And finally, so that I do not forget…thank you to my friends, thank you to this fandom, and above all else, please stay safe out there.

No Pressure Tags: @melymigo @algo-o-nada @the-osborn-way @everybirdfellsilent @skellymom

@leos-multifandom-corner @maggie-dylan @leenathegreengirl @gun-roswell @tazmbc1

@bluedeedeedoop @its-time-to-rise-above @tlmtwelve @snoowply @apocalyp-tech-a 

@aknightreaderr @totally-not-your-babe and anybody else who might be on the lookout for new SW fanfiction.

[venusdeluxe]

Cassian Andor's destiny as a messenger

Very mild spoilers for season 2 episode 7.

There's so much you could say about this season and the show as a whole, but since 2x7 I've kept thinking about the whole idea of Cassian as a messenger. It's almost jarring to have the Force come in so late into the series when Andor has deliberately set itself apart from all the spiritual Force and Jedi stuff the whole way through, but it's jarring in a good way. We have Rogue One so we have the ending of Cassian's story. He has a destiny because we've seen it, we know where this journey is heading and I like bringing in this Force Healer as a sort of meta-acknowledgement of that and also as a personification for Cassian personally of the destiny he doesn't want or wish for. His destiny to give his life for the cause and his destiny as a messenger. Even before transmitting the Death Star plans to the Rebellion Fleet he's asked by Melshi to be a messenger for Narkina 5, he's asked by Wil to be a messenger for the Ghorman massacre. He carries on the message from the Ghorman bell hop that "rebellions are built on hope" and he delivers it to Jyn Erso who rallies the entire Rebel Alliance around her with those words. Nemik wanted Cassian specifically to carry on his manifesto. Cassian throughout this show is given so many burdons to bear, so many lives lost, friends and family gone too soon, and sometimes he has to sell a tiny part of his soul to do the dirty work no one else wants to do. But like Kino Loy, like Saw Gerrera, most likely like Luthen Rael, he makes every sacrifice possible for a sunrise the rest of the galaxy will eventually bask in, but that he will never make it to himself. In the end it's not just Cassian and Jyn Erso who are sending that message to the Rebel Fleet, there are so many other hands pulling that lever with them. Andor is about seeing pressure and also community form this man into a revolutionary, everything he loses and everything he picks up along the way to make him willing to lay down his life for everyone else in the galaxy. I know some people won't love giving Cassian this destiny angle, but I don't think he himself is special in that way. He's the culmination of many individual acts of love and terror pushing him further until him and a whole group of Rebels with an entire fleet behind them manage to set off a chain reaction that will let a lowly farm boy from Tatooine make a one-in-a-million shot in his X-Wing. They all had a destiny in that way.

[lightwise]

Project Necromancer

Alright, I think we all get the gist of what's going on with Project Necromancer, the cloning efforts on Tantiss, why Omega's blood is so important, and how it all ties in to the Mandoverse and Palpatine's return in the Rise of Skywalker. But, I wanted to make a bit of a reference post with posts I've seen going into detail on each aspect of this and also combining some screenshots.

Necromancer is Palpatine's goal all along, to create endless bodies for himself that he can transfer his life force and Force sensitivity into, so that he never dies and can rule forever. And he is starting those ambitions in The Bad Batch. Unfortunately for him, transferring Force sensitivity successfully to another body long term is almost impossible, which has led to this same project, and the exact same efforts, STILL being just out of reach by the time of The Mandalorian, which is after he has supposedly been killed off by Vader in RoTJ.

Now, the specimens are not actually the clones. The clones are the receivers, the experiments. The donors are yet to be revealed, but I would bet a lot of money that they are using the bodies of the Jedi killed in Order 66 (maybe some captured younglings as well--potentially Grogu?) As the M-count donors. This seems to be confirmed by the similar amber pods seen in the Inquisitorius in Kenobi.

However, they are obviously having difficulty, and we know that Nala Se has sworn that this might be impossible, mostly to protect Omega, who as we learn, has already successfully (accidentally or on purpose we don't know yet) shown to have this capability to receive midichlorian-saturated blood without decay or complication.

So, we know that Hemlock now knows that Omega is actually the key to this project. And we know that Palpatine does eventually succeed in cloning himself. However, what happens in between now and then? Something is going to happen this season that sets back this project, or Palpatine would have completed it long before the Original Trilogy, AND they wouldn't be scrounging for scraps and trying to recreate the results by hunting down Grogu in The Mandalorian, a full 25 years after TBB. (Is Pershing already involved in this effort? When and why did Pershing get caught up in Moff Gideon's schemes, and how did those branch off from Palpatine's efforts?)

Finally, in Rogue One, Jyn Erso mentions a Mark Omega Imperial project that was housed alongside Project Stardust (which was begun around the same time as TBB), and Krennic has appeared in TBB and is already working for the Empire. Is it possible that Omega's name is the aspect of the project being referenced here? If so, is she captured again and experimented on? Will her blood end up being used to help further Palpatine's goals? And how much will the clones be able to succeed and push back this project by the end of the season?

[ragedagainst]

okay i think i have finally put my thoughts in a row on andor season 2 so here's what i've got!

first - the good parts.

i enjoyed the hell out of this show; it's very entertaining and engaging. with the exception of cassian and bix, i think every other character's development was well done -- like mothma, kleya, and dedra especially shone for me. i thought the ghorman massacre was also done fantastically -- very powerful and emotion invoking. the ending with the radio broadcast overlaying the violence? literally chef's kiss.

and KRENNIC god he was written very well, i just keep laughing at when he pointed his finger to the top of dedra's dome while questioning her about his toxic relationship galen erso

k2 is a joy, as always. he's a great character and had some funny oneliners. the scene of melshi, cassian, and k2 getting drunk and playing cards needs to be tattooed on my eyeballs, i loved it.

i enjoyed the vast majority of the show, so please keep that in mind when reading the rest of the post<3 i'm not trying to be a hater just to be a hater!

second - the eh parts.

i think the show struggled with pacing and only have three episodes per year. i think it really would have helped with characterization and shown a lot of things that we got told instead. i do understand that this wasn't ideal for the showmakers, though, and the cuts between releases weren't as abrupt as i feared.

third - the bad parts (in my humble opinion).

the cassian we see in andor isn't the cassian we see in rogue one - they're two completely different people. i won't harp on this point too much, but cassian blowing off rules and regulations in the alliance like it doesn't matter is so at odds with his r1 characterization. the fact that he's so by-the-books is what makes rogue one cassian's bending of the rules FOR JYN'S CAUSE is so more impactful.

and don't even get me started on how bix was reduced to essentially a housewife. we get told she's doing all this mechanic stuff but isn't doing that AT ALL! instead, she's just waiting for cassian to come back from missions. and the surprise/hidden pregnancy. i HATE that trope. get that child away from me. cassian's legacy is helping destroy the death star (if you can even call it that, since it's so impactful that he's literally a nobody and probably wouldn't be remembered since he's rebel intelligence), not some random child.

and FINALLY. we should have gotten a mention of jyn or at least the fact that they need to start looking more into galen. and listen, this isn't just me being a jyn fanatic - it just doesn't make sense timeline-wise going into rogue one. andor ends with cassian going to kafrene. somehow, within a day or two, the rebel alliance has to figure out galen has a daughter (who's believed to be dead), connect her to liana hallik, who's in wobani under a different name, and plan a whole rescue attempt. to me, that would take much longer than a day or two, but that's just me.

also i wanted more saw .............

[chamerionwrites]

About Andor s2 I’ve got two questions. How’d you like the bit from Lonnie’s meeting to Kleia’s extraction bit, how’d it measure up to your le Carre fan standards? It felt like it did but to my shame I’ve never read him so uh. Can’t comment

And secondly I just rewatched Rogue One and yeah I got to say. Andor’s better, little things like the extra’s dialogue and bigger things. It all links up very nicely but I’m definitely showing people in release order if I get the chance. I ADORE your analysis of Draven as a man whose doom is his own haste, I feel like the comm the team send en route to Eadu. Direct quote is “weapon confirmed. Jedha destroyed. Mission target located on Eadu, please advise.” There was intel here that there was hm. A bit of target fixation.

I feel like continuing to pursue the Galen assassination plan (morally questionable but militarily sensible plan earlier down the pipeline) is something that should’ve been reevaluated in the light of “Jedha destroyed” when you’re worrying about a planet-killing weapon. Is that already operational? Is killing Galen Erso the best way to stall it still? I get what you mean about he goes too fast and can’t call off the squadron but he could’ve called off Andor after that communication. I also see that I’m nitpicking a stupidly minor word choice in a stupidly stupid movie. And I’m reiterating what you said.

I have no trouble saying that at its best Andor is polished in a way that Rogue One (and frankly the majority of the franchise) never attains. It has a very strong script (especially in S1), consistently high production values (the costumes and sound design are highlights for me), and a keen eye for worldbuilding detail that adds a lot of texture and truth to the storytelling, and happens to be kind of a personal dream come true in terms of what I want in my Star Wars. I do also think Andor has some very real and at times glaring flaws that are worth discussing as such, and that it holds together a lot better in a vacuum than it does as a prequel (which one could argue is a pretty fundamental flaw in, yknow, a prequel).

I'd also never argue that Rogue One is a movie without flaws. I even think it's entirely possible that some of what's good about it is a bit of a happy accident! The script gets both kinda mushy and kinda rushed in Act II (specifically some of the Eadu stuff, including some of what you've mentioned here); I think Jyn's character arc in particular really needs at least one more scene after her argument with Cassian but before the council meeting on Yavin. The CG on Tarkin and Leia is unquestionably not quite there. The performances are not only very good but very good across the board imo - which is lucky because I think they're carrying the lion's share of the story by comparison to the script. However I do also think that the film has a very satisfying thematic cohesiveness (high on the list of things I look for in a good story), that the character sketches are quick but strong, that it's gorgeously shot and that it deserves credit for introducing some really fresh and interesting ideas into Star Wars that Andor then had further space to expand upon (and sometimes beautifully but only sporadically did so, which is one of my Andor critiques).

So - yeah it's better is a case you can make, and depending on what elements you're focused on I might even agree with you. But ultimately I don't find that kind of absolute (and to a certain extent subjective) statement nearly as interesting or useful as discussions about exactly how and where one thing is better than another (or isn't). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyway. Re whether Arc 4 is le Carré-esque: I think the vibes are absolutely there (and tasty as hell to me personally), but Andor really doesn't have room at that point to properly Do The Thing. Specifically, imo we actually pick up pretty near the end of the le Carré version of this story, which is FAR more focused on the exact cat-and-mouse process by which (1) Lonni stole Dedra's code cert and followed the paper trail to the Death Star and (2) Dedra followed Luthen's trail back to the antique shop. Likewise, a le Carré story would spend at least as much time on the nerve-wracking details of how exactly Cassian & Co manage to land their ship on Coruscant without flagging any suspicion as it would on a firefight in a hallway. And no self-respecting le Carré story would be even a tenth as fuzzy on the precise political/ideological fault lines between Luthen and the Alliance - or between the various members of the Alliance - and how those frictions play into the Kleya extraction situation. Those aren't necessarily complaints - just a compare and contrast! In its focus on process and logistics and bureaucracy, in the way it spends most of its time setting up dominoes before exploding into action, and in its preoccupation with trust & betrayal, I think Mon's extraction from the Senate actually follows the trademark le Carré beats more closely.

Finally, re Draven and the Eadu clusterfuck: you have to keep in mind that the man is working with extremely limited information. He makes a bad call - and I think it's pretty clear Cassian knows it's a bad call, and that this factors into his moral anguish about the assassination and ultimately his decision not to go through with it - but Draven is working off whispers and imaginings and blips on a radio, in a universe where communication technology is vastly more limited than in ours. (Honestly all the clicky clunky tactile radio porn and focus on how the comms work - and don't! - was one of the things I absolutely lived for in Andor. And even so, at times I think they're really pushing at the edges of what's previously been implied about the setting; Cass & Wilmon's earpieces on Ghorman for example are awfully clean and modern and small.)

All that said, post-Jedha-destroyed-message is absolutely the point at which Draven - THE INTEL GUY - should've said okay I'm flying blind and I need more intel. That he doesn't is pretty clearly a fuckup, and portrayed as such. But I don't find it unrealistic for human beings under pressure to fuck up that way, or even necessarily surprising to the point that it requires an explanation for the plot beat to work. It would definitely be stronger if we got a bit more character insight on Draven, or a bit more plot structure to really drive home the time crunch, or even a bit more clarifying dialogue - but the simplest explanation is just that Draven has no particular reason to trust Galen as an ally. Going by the information he's working with, the guy is (1) an Imperial weapons developer (2) who's already built something very dangerous, (3) may build more weapons, and (4) maybe if the Force is smiling on them plays an important role in maintaining that first weapon's functionality??? And also Draven appears to be highkey stressed and a little trigger happy. And also he didn't send an extraction team, he sent an assassin. Smuggling one guy out of a top secret military facility alive on the chance he'll willingly share info with you is a WHOLE different level of manpower and precision planning than putting a laser bolt through his brain. Draven knows that Galen is on Eadu now, but not that he'll stay there; he doesn't have an extraction team on the ground or the prior planning & recon required to pull off that extraction without getting a bunch of his people killed; he DOES have a reliable agent on the ground who's reliably good with a sniper rifle. So between the pretty-sure-thing murder right now and the very-hypothetical extraction sometime in the future...Draven picks the sure thing.

The story is open enough that you can headcanon all kinds of motives/emotions/plot obstacles into the empty spaces there, but I think ultimately it still all comes down to those urgency blinders you referenced.

[skylarstark4826]

I loved this beautiful fanart of the Kalluzeb ship of the Star Wars series The Rebels of the Garazeb characters "Zeb" Orrelios and Alexsandr Kallus together and above all because I really absolutely love that in it we see how Kallus is talking to Cassian while on the other hand Zeb is looking with a bad face at Jyn who is looking at him in the same way but above all because I admit that both the Kalluzeb ship and the RebelCaptain ship are my favorites but also because this fanart makes me imagine what it would have been like if we had seen Cassian and Jyn appear in the series of Star Wars: The Rebels or as it would have been if we had seen Zeb and Kallus appear in the movie Star Wars: Rogue One but at the same time I also hope that we really fly to see them in some other series or also in some other Star Wars movie and I'm talking about both animated and also in Live Action the truth and above all because I really would have liked to discover that after Zeb had taken Alexsandr Kallus to Lira San with him at the end of the war both would have fallen deeply in love with each other but also that both would have had a beautiful family of their own but above all because I really would have liked us to have seen them again together in some other animated series of Star Wars or Live Action and I say this especially because we have already seen Zeb in Live Action and the truth is that I would have liked that we had also seen Kallus or better that we had seen them together in Live Action with a family that they would have had together... I don't know about you but I really want to see them together again in the next Star Wars series and movies... honestly

By the way, this beautiful fanart of them is not mine and the credits are not for me but I warn you that right here I am going to leave you the link of the true creator of this beautiful masterpiece on Tumblr although unfortunately when I try to put the link of the true creator of this masterpiece because it does not appear to me