wow rogue one is really a love letter to the unnamed fighter. no act of help is too small, every deed causes a ripple. luke showed up to blow the death star, and there was the plan to do it–countless of people died to get him that, and luke knows none of them. how many rebel planes get shot down every battle? how many civilians die in explosions? how many died to get the plans to luke? rogue one says you. and you and you and you. every one of you. what will come of it? who knows. something.
"So essentially what Star Wars to me was, a boy who is stuck at home and dreams of joining a war. And so it's like, let's tell a story of a girl who is stuck in a war and dreams of going home. It was like a mirror." - Gareth Edwards, 2023
AU ask: the Rogue One crew in a doomed (or not) nineteenth-century Arctic exploration story...
oh my god???? YOUR MIND! no joke, can someone write this, please?
- Bodhi as the scientist kicking the whole thing off (Bodhi must always be The Catalyst this is a rule)
- Jyn as a geologist - her parents set heaven and hell in motion to send her to university. Geology was her mother's special interest, too, and they used to spend a lot of time together with Jyn's books.
- Also, her father was a scientist and the one to originally plan this mission. He went to Lord Krennic (House of Lords) for government funding, the mission got infinitely more dangerous because they added some kind of land claim for the Crown to it.
- Bodhi fell ill at the last moment - he was Galen's best student and supposed to go on the expedition - and Galen's crew disappeared into the Arctic, never to be seen again.
- Bodhi and Jyn are half wanting to complete his work, half trying to find out what happened to him
- Cassian as the captain, obviously. He resents this whole idea from the get-go, but he needs the money and he secretly thinks these green idiots need all the help they can get. Also, this could prove that Lord Krennic and Lord Tarkin are corrupt and sent Galen Erso to his death to further their own means, and Cpt. Andor may or may not be part of a group who has been trying to prove this and other machinations like it for probably a decade...
- Melshi as first mate, Chirrut as one of the sailors (I feel strongly about this), Baze as the ship's cook, Kay as the ship physician (we're going a little Master and Commander on this now)
- Cassian and Co. are initially very apprehensive about Jyn and Bodhi - a bourgeoise young lady and a university student who never goes outside, they won't last the week! - but it turns out that - Jyn spent a lot of time after her father's disappearance with "uncle" Saw, a US Navy captain always sailing *dangerously* close to, uh, piracy - Bodhi is trying his best and his best is actually very helpful - he also turns out to be a very talented navigator in his own right
- things get *grim*. I could never do this fic justice because I know nothing about ships, geography, the navy, or the Arctic, but there must be storms on the high seas, the ship getting stuck in the ice, some undercurrent of political intrigue (please note here that I have no idea when to set this and therefore can't give examples. Maybe mid- to late 1800s. I feel strongly about it NOT being the 1830s simply because that fashion is Not It for this scenario)
- several crew members have to die tbh, maybe main crew members
- at least one of the extended crew was paid off by Krennic, actively trying to sabotage the mission (so they don't find out what happened to Galen)
- at some point, I want them to be Doomed and all the long-time sailors completely giving in to their fate, only to have Science and Modern Thinking by Jyn and Bodhi save the day (it's a very old trope but it's period-appropriate!)
Warm up sketch: Chirrut Imwe was the coolest
Bodhi doodles
let him say bitch
LET HIM SAY IT!!!
goodness is not goodness that seeks advantage. [x]
reminiscing and thinking about how one of the reasons rogue one fucks so hard for me is bc the force is. like. just barely implied. to be there. jyn takes out her kyber necklace and prays for the imperials to let them pass. was that the force? was that just a happy coincidence? chirrut walks across a battlefield unscathed to reach the master switch. was that the force? just dumb luck? the rebels manage to escape vader by the absolute skin of their teeth. the force? sheer panic and willpower? like, hell yes. the force is in all living creatures, but how much of what happens in star wars is The Force, and how much of it is singular actions and sentient self-determination
reminiscing and thinking about how one of the reasons rogue one fucks so hard for me is bc the force is. like. just barely implied. to be there. jyn takes out her kyber necklace and prays for the imperials to let them pass. was that the force? was that just a happy coincidence? chirrut walks across a battlefield unscathed to reach the master switch. was that the force? just dumb luck? the rebels manage to escape vader by the absolute skin of their teeth. the force? sheer panic and willpower? like, hell yes. the force is in all living creatures, but how much of what happens in star wars is The Force, and how much of it is singular actions and sentient self-determination
kind of a study thing ig but i gave up halfway o(-(
anyway i love the fact that the rest of rogue one is like “grr murder revenge we are here to kick some empire ass” and then they’re like “hey goggles boy what’s ur deal” and bodhi goes “i’m gonna be brave and listen to my heart” and like. all the Grisly Rebels visibly melt a lil.
ROGUE ONE + ships
bonus:
What chance do we have? The question is what choice. Run, hide, plead for mercy, scatter your forces… you give way to an enemy this evil with this much power and you condemn the galaxy to an eternity of submission. The time to fight is now!
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016)
In darkness seek joy. Surrendeer not to sadness, and see beyond despair. Walk free, and bear the light for others to follow.
― Hydaelyn (Final Fantasy XIV: ENDWALKER)
(late/out of order) NEW YEAR NEW GIFS -> Day 13: lyrics
King and Lionheart by Of Monsters And Men
Chirrut is the perfect excuse to mess around with brush pens :)
*soft crying*