#jfo stuff

[stealingpotatoes]

Did cal ever realize anakin is vader? Cause I can just imagine him excitedly talking about the hero with no fear from his childhood and then the other 3 just looking at each other deciding who’s gonna tell him

i think you're forgetting one important fact about cal...

(commission info // tip jar!)

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Lawyering through fandoms: Impossibility in contract law

When you become a Jedi, you have to give up all attachments as part of the Code. This includes romance as that is an attachment to your partner, which is why Anakin Skywalker kept his marriage to Padme Amidala a secret.

Under contract law, a party can raise an impossibility defense when an unforeseen event occurs after the contract is made which makes performance impossible. If this happens, impossibility can be used to excuse non-performance (basically, you don’t have to abide by the terms of the contract anymore).

Now, let’s say the Jedi Code is the contract you sign when you become a Jedi and the no-attachments rule is one of the terms. Well…Vader and the Empire destroyed the Jedi Order. Vader’s actions were unforeseeable since who the fuck expected Anakin to just wipe everyone out. Thus, we can say that anyone who signed up to be a Jedi no longer has to be bound by the Code since performance is impossible.

So, when this happens with Cal Kestis and Merrin:

Cal is all good since he has an impossibility defense, just in case some Jedi veteran asshat sues him by claiming he’s gone against the Jedi Code. In fact, Cal even says that the Order is gone and he’s not bound to the Code anymore.

(There, I justified Merrical on a legal basis LOL)

[imaginative-joy]

So, what are the chances that Cal will run into the Ghost crew in the future???

I'm avoiding posting Jedi Survivor spoilers, so I'm going through my backlog of old Jedi Fallen Order sketches from 2021!

[hecckyeah]

you put the stars in my sky

I want to catch them and never let the dawn take them away from me

- sneha khatawate

(cal x merrin + green for @3friesshortofahappymeal)

[spill-that-anxietea]

I would do anything for some day in the life genfic of Jimmy and Clark throughout their college years from Jimmy’s perspective

[breakfastteatime]

Greez sings to himself as he makes breakfast, some electro-rock song that was a hit back when he was a kid. He can't remember half the words, filling the gaps with humming and nonsense. He's halfway through the umberhash (a big hit with Cal, much to Greez's delight) when there's a loud thud from the engine room and everything rattles around him.

Everything.

Rattles.

Cal.

Greez takes a breath. Cere appears from the cockpit, silencing him with a glare.

"Cal?" she calls, never taking her eyes off Greez. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah." He does not sound alright. "Stubbed my toe."

And just like that, Cere relaxes. "Ah," she says. "Do you think it's broken?"

"No," Cal sighs. "Just hurts like a - "

He says something so foul, Greez's ears burn and Cere's eyebrows arch in a way that confirms Cal's language is not Jedi Code compliant.

"You're not gonna lecture him for making everything rattle?" Greez demands, keeping his voice low.

"What, that? No, not at all. When I was a child, a Jedi Master stubbed her toe during a meditation lesson, and she smashed half the windows in the chamber." She plucks some tea leaves from her collection and sets about preparing a pot for herself. "We got off lightly."

Smashed...

...windows?

"New rule, Cal! Never, ever take your boots off! Ever!"

[momojedi]

Thinking about printing these as stickers, but as it can be a bit pricy especially when you're an independent artist I'm just checking to see who would be interested or would consider getting one? I'd be super sweet if you could potentially also support me by reblogging this ! <3

[aaphra]

Jedi: Survivor (2023)

[stah-l]

my shop is open! selling all my con leftovers but i also intend to add more cool things in the future! 💪🏻

reblogs much appreciated and if you like what you see do check it out here!

[wordborne]

broken, not lost

The Inquisitor tore his helmet off without a second thought, golden eyes staring right at Obi-Wan’s. The sight was enough for his blood to run cold, lightsaber turning off the more he studied the face of the young man in front of him.

“Cal?”

And, just like that, his heart had split open at the very seams.

Or: Obi-Wan finds out his son turned into an Inquisitor.

TAGS: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Cal Kestis, Inquisitor Cal Kestis, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cal is Obi-Wan’s son, Father-Son Relationship, Family Feels.

WORD COUNT: 2.1K

FANART BY moonamiee

The hermit life was a peaceful one, as filled with uncertainties as it was. Obi-Wan had no place to call home. No more than a handful of credits in his pockets. But solitude suited him well after everything that happened with Leia. With Luke. They’d both be fine. They had to as he embarked on this seemingly endless journey, looking for something he didn’t quite know what it was. Then, he’d go back to Tatooine. Back to being a shadow over Luke’s shoulder. Watching him grow. Wondering if Anakin -no, if Darth could ever feel the same sense of pride he felt when he thought about Luke and Leia. 

They were so much like him and Padmé. He’d known from the first time he saw them.

And he… He once had so much of Obi-Wan in him, too. 

Anakin had left a void in his heart that could never heal. It would stay there, forever, tearing itself apart day after day, never letting itself scab and stitch together. It was a reminder. Of better days. Of being alive. 

Of something being amiss.

The dawn on the horizon was soft, basking the forest in soft oranges and yellows. The fire he’d burned was long gone, turned only into ashes that gently blew with the wind. But Obi-Wan felt no comfort from the sunlight. No warmth. Only the feeling of being in the eye before the storm, a false sense of calmness before a red blade whooshed past his head, cutting the three behind him before it was called into his assailant’s hand again.

An Inquisitor.

He could see nothing beside a helmet and red as the lightsaber came alive in their hands before they lunged at him. Obi-Wan was swift on his feet, the drowsiness disappearing completely as his fight instinct kicked in, calling his lightsaber that was buried in rubble to his hand, red meeting blue.

“Kenobi.” The modulated voice snarled.

“In the flesh.”

Their blades cracked together, flashes of purple lying in their wake. Maybe, he could be persuaded, just like Reva. Maybe, not all of them were alike. Maybe, just maybe.

He could make a dent in his helmet. See him in the eye. A twirl of his lightsaber and a push were enough to send the Inquisitor in a bit of a daze, leaving an opening small enough for Obi-Wan to make a gash through his helmet, leaving a blazing, amber path in its wake.

The Inquisitor tore it off without a second thought, golden eyes staring right at Obi-Wan’s. The sight was enough for his blood to run cold, lightsaber turning off the more he studied the face of the young man in front of him.

“Cal?”

He’d tried to erase his reflection. The way Cal looked so much like Satine when he was a youngling in the crèche, eyes full of mirth and wonder. How, later, he’d met Bo-Katan and the red hair made even more sense. How, while Satine died in his arms, he thought about him. The image blurred by time and war, but it was still there. Green. Red. Constellations of brown across his nose. 

He’d spent too much time in the crèche, pretending not to look at Cal. It was no coincidence he’d found a Force-Sensitive child in Mandalore because the only thing he’d found was his child lying in Satine’s arms, silent tears rolling down her face in a rare state of vulnerability. That was it for them. For all their escapades and carefully guarded love. 

“Cal Kestis.” She’d said, not Kenobi nor Kryze, and, with stronger hands than his, she passed on the small bundle to his hands. It was hard to believe he had a son. A son with Satine, whom he’d loved dearly all those years. Who he loved still. 

He’d always thought that, when he finally became a Knight, he’d wait until Cal was old enough to take him as a Padawan. His heart yearned for it. To have his son by his side. To teach him everything he knew. But the moment was ripped away from him, anger and revenge clouding his senses. He felt like a boy thrown into Knighthood, sworn to train another boy who was just as lost as him. And it was hard. Hard not to love Anakin. Hard not to harbor strange feelings in his chest when Cal started following Jaro Tapal around, looking up at the Lasat like he was the most remarkable being he’d ever seen as they walked across the temple halls.

Jaro knew. Promised he would protect Cal with his dying breath over tea at his quarters. The Jedi Master was tough, oriented, but even he couldn’t deny a father from seeing his son. So they would have tea together under the guise of letting their Padawans get to know each other. Anakin was too old, but he’d indulge Cal in the games he’d learned in the crèche that Anakin never got to experience in the childhood that was ripped away from him.

And he’d be a fool if he thought Quinlan didn’t know, too. He’d seen Obi-Wan running after Cal like a mother tooka, careful of what he’d touch with his bare hands. He’d made a passing comment that he used to be like that with Aayla, but Obi-Wan knew it was a lie. Quinlan pushed, but never shoved, and if Obi-Wan wasn’t willing to talk about the way he saw Cal, then he’d keep his mouth shut.

And it was funny how, in just one second, he went from Darth to Anakin in his eyes. How Cal was able to bring the memories out even if their sabers kept furiously clashing against each other. Even when the pain started to get unbearable and Obi-Wan, in a daze, pushed Cal against a tree and heard a smack as the side of his face collided with the trunk.

“I’m so sorry.” He whispered to the wind.

Obi-Wan watched the steady rise and fall of Cal’s chest as he slept. The blood smeared across his cheek. The uniform. Oh, the uniform. Jaro swore he would protect him. He swore he would. And look at him now, donning an Inquisitor uniform, calling him a name that held traces of a poison that plagued his already broken heart. 

He’d mourned Cal. Still did until that very morning. Felt the void right next to where Satine rested in his heart. Still felt it as he examined the lightsaber beside him, twirling the mechanism, wondering how Cal got himself into that place. Wondering if there was anything he could have done to prevent his children from turning to the dark side, and coming out empty-handed. 

The lightsaber flew from his hand and went straight into Cal's, the fire between them lighting up his eyes and making them seem fierier than ever.

“Do what you must.” Obi-Wan said, crossing his legs, at peace even when Cal extended his hand and Obi-Wan feebly clawed at his constricting throat. 

His lightsaber was there, right beside him. He could call it to his hand, catch Cal off guard. But he didn’t. Cal’s eyes flickered to the saber and his grip got tighter, hissing every word that came out of his mouth.

“Fight back.” 

“I won’t.” He managed to choke out, and Cal’s grip faltered for a second, eyes looking for evidence of deception in Obi-Wan’s and ultimately finding nothing, taking a few strides punctuated by his hand closing even tighter on Obi-Wan’s throat. 

“Why?” There was a storm brewing behind his eyes, barely containing the anger simmering in them. “Fight back!” He said, louder this time, hating how his voice broke at the end because, in Kenobi’s eyes, he was still that freckled-faced Padawan running around the temple halls with Anakin Skywalker behind him. Someone who needed to be protected. Who needed him to wake up by his side in the Healing Halls after a psychometric attack. Not a killer. Not a failure. Not everything that had been ingrained into his brain ever since Trilla brought him to the Fortress.

He let go, eyes burning through Obi-Wan’s form as he caught his breath. 

“I failed you, Cal.”

“You weren’t there.”

“I failed you as a father.” Obi-Wan continued, and it all started to click.

The tea parties. The fond looks. The strange records. The image of him and Jaro Tapal standing on top of the training platform, looking down at him with pride and something else sparkling in his eyes. He’d always been there for Cal, offering a comforting presence amidst the chaos and doubt. A meditating partner. Always making time for him. A stranger. All because he reminded him of someone.

“Who did I remind you of?” The question lingered heavy in the air, Obi-Wan’s wheezing filling the stillness. 

“Your mother.” Was the answer. 

Cal took a deep breath, walking closer to Obi-Wan, saber ignited. “Where am I from?”

“Mandalore.”

“The records said I was from Stewjon.”

“It was the only way I could explain the red hair.” Maybe it was a bad idea but, from his pocket, he took the only reminder he had of Satine. A dainty necklace he kept from back when they were young and freshly in love. A token of affection. A promise that he’d be back. He offered it to Cal with trembling hands, the chain dirtied by the years no matter how hard he tried to preserve it. “Take it.”

And he did. He listened. Cal was a blazing storm and crashing waves as he examined it before taking off a thick glove and grabbing it with his bare hands. His face contorted in pain, holding the necklace in a vice-grip as his eyes shut tight. Obi-Wan remembered when he couldn’t do that. When he couldn’t control his psychometry and he’d convulse until the memory passed. But now, he only opened his eyes, staring at Obi-Wan long and hard, the edges of his eyes softening the more he took in his features before looking down at the necklace hanging from his fingers, looking as small and frail as the thing itself.

And, for a moment, Obi-Wan felt like he was looking at a Padawan again. Gold instead of green. The same red. The same constellations on his scarred face. 

The storm was still inside Cal, raging hard, breaking everything in its wake as he tried to fully grasp what Obi-Wan had shown him. What he knew. What everyone had told him up to that point. 

Anakin was Vader, and he knew. He knew from the very start when Trilla first brought him to the temple. He knew when he forced him to use his psychometry over and over again until his nose was bleeding and red was dripping down all the way to his boots. He wanted him to be the one to find Obi-Wan. His own father. And bring him his head on a silver platter. 

Obi-Wan stood up, moisture forming in the corners of his eyes, bringing one callous hand to the side of Cal’s face so gently it made the Inquisitor's eyes flutter shut. 

“What have they done to you, my child?”

“I did it myself.” Cal whispered.

And the dam inside Cal’s mind and heart broke.

The hermit life was not a peaceful one. Not when you were a former Inquisitor and a wanted man. But they made do, hoods covering their faces, sharing food. Omitting stories.

They meditated together as Cal’s kyber crystals still bled between them, brows furrowed in concentration as they tried to cleanse them with their combined strength. A tabula rasa. A way for Cal to start anew. White instead of red. Not blue, not anymore. 

Cal’s emotions swirled too fast for him to latch onto one. Pain. Anger. Grief. Letting them in with an inhale and letting them out with a shaky exhale. Cal had spent years as an Inquisitor, being told to use his emotions, his anger. And now, he was trying not to, a single ray of hope breaking through Cal’s mind as more and more emotions clouded his senses.

Would he’d been able to forgive himself if he had continued instead of letting go? If he’d found the pendant after sifting through all the memories, all the love, grief, and faraway pride because it was the only way Obi-Wan could keep him safe in Coruscant?

No, he wouldn’t.

He would have fallen in deeper. Finally losing the way. Getting lost in the darkness once and for all. 

But, now? He had something to hold on to as he watched the crystals slowly turn from red to white. As Obi-Wan smiled softly at him, the corners of his eyes crinkling with pride, looking at him the same way he’d done when he was a child. Even if his eyes were different. Even if he was different.

And, maybe, Cal wasn’t as broken as he thought he was.

[kanerallels]

Ok. Here's an idea to help that writing tangle. Feel free not to do this if you would rather not.

Here's a line, can you give me five more? ;D

The utter stupidity of it all had her fingers twitching for the blaster at her hip, but SOMEONE had to be the level head in all of this.

This was so so sweet, thank you for sending this! And it TOTALLY WORKED because this sentence combined with an AU concept I'd been toying with and um. Let's just say there are more than five sentences lol, so here we are!

The utter stupidity of it all had her fingers twitching for the blaster at her hip, but SOMEONE had to be the level head in all of this.

Ignoring the slaver leering at her, Hera directed her attention to Kanan, who was glaring at the other man like he'd very much like to kick his teeth in. Reaching out, she caught hold of his arm, pulling his attention to her.

He met her gaze, the anger in his eyes fading just a little. Stay on track, Hera thought, willing him to remember. Don’t break our cover. Remember why we're here. It's not about how these people look at me, it's about helping someone who needs it.

She saw him give her a tiny nod before looking at the slaver. “Let's focus on our actual deal,” he said, his tone sharp. “You said you had a Lasat here?”

Turning his attention to Kanan, the slaver nodded. “We might just. Depends on what you’re willing to pay.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about payment,” Kanan said, letting his hand come to rest on the pouch hanging at his hip. It jingled just enough to draw the slaver’s attention, so he didn’t see the half-smile crossing Kanan’s face as he added, “You’ll get everything you deserve.”

Oh, boy. Hera cleared her throat pointedly. “If we could see him first?” she said.

His eyes gleaming with greed, the slaver nodded. “Aye. Anything you like.” Starting down the hallway, he added, “You can have his friend, too, if you pay a little extra.”

“His friend?” Hera exchanged a confused look with Kanan as they followed the man. The reports they’d heard hadn’t said anything about multiple survivors of the massacre on Lasan.

“Aye,” the slaver said. “Human male. Grabbed ‘em both together— they fought like fyrnocks, but numbers won out in the end. He’s a strong one, and with that red hair he’s quite the rare specimen.”

As they approached one of the nearby doors, Kanan said, “Then why are you offering him at a discounted price?”

“He’s trouble, putting it lightly,” the slaver said, keying a sequence into the pad next to the door. “Had to teach him how to behave, and as much fun as that is—” he let out an ugly laugh that made Hera’s skin crawl— “it takes too much time. But I’ll still be charging you. Here they are now.”

The door hissed open, and Hera had to choke back a gasp of horror.

The Lasat was there, chained to the wall by the arms. It was immediately clear that he’d been beaten badly— the area around one of his eyes was so swollen that he could barely open it. Blood, both dried and fresh, covered his arms and face, but his face was twisted in a defiant scowl as he regarded the trio.

Opposite him was a man the slaver had described. He looked equally battered, and while his expression was a little more calm, there was still a spark of rebellion as he studied both Kanan and Hera.

“As you can see, we needed to teach these two a lesson,” the slaver said. “Well, a couple lessons.”

He laughed, and Hera had to clench her teeth to avoid snapping a response, or shooting him in the face. You can’t save them all, she reminded herself. They only had a certain amount of credits, and if they were to save the Lasat… they might have to leave someone else behind.

“What exactly are you charging for him?” Kanan asked suddenly, and Hera shot him a sideways glance. 

One look told her something was off. He was eying the red-haired man with an impassive expression that read more as unease to her. Clearing her throat, she said, “Are you sure about this?”

“I am,” Kanan said. Turning, he met her eyes. “I think we could… have use for him. The same way as the Lasat. Or… like me.”

Wait. What? There was no way Kanan was implying… did we find another Jedi? Hera lifted a questioning eyebrow at him, and he gave her a tiny nod.Ah. Well, that changes things.

Turning to the slaver, she gave him an overly sweet smile. “Could you give my companion and I a moment alone? You can just leave us here.”

“I don’t think you should be alone with the merchandise,” the slaver said, and Hera’s stomach turned. Those are people, you complete—

The sound of Kanan pulling a small handful of credits from the pouch at his waist brought her attention back, and she watched as he casually tossed them up in the air. “Oh, I don’t think it would be a big deal. After all, there’s no way out other than the door. You can guard from out there.”

The slaver hesitated, then held out his hand. Kanan dropped the credits into his palm, and without another word the man pivoted and headed for the door. 

The minute it slid closed, Hera turned to Kanan. “Are you sure?” she said quietly.

“Positive,” Kanan said firmly.

Nodding slowly, Hera said, “Alright. Plan B?”

Kanan shook his head. “No way he buys that after the way I acted earlier.”

Rolling her eyes, Hera said, “I told you not to—”

“I know, you’re right. As usual,” Kanan said with a grimace. “I couldn’t stop myself, the guy’s a boot-licking karker, to put it likely.”

“Agreed.”

“So plan C?” Kanan offered.

“Hmm.” Hera tapped her chin thoughtfully. “We could. Or…”

Kanan sighed. “You’re about to say you want to do plan D, aren’t you?”

“You know me well, dear.”

“Hey.” For the first time, the Lasat spoke, his voice creaking from disuse. “What the KARK are you two talking about?”

As Hera exchanged a look with Kanan, the red-haired man spoke up. “They’re going to help us, Zeb.” He looked at Kanan, lifting his head in a challenging way. “Aren’t you?”

“We are,” Hera said. “But we’re going to need your help to pull it off. How do you feel about freeing every slave in this place, and taking out a few slavers along the way?”

The Lasat grinned, a vicious curl of his mouth. “Now you’re speaking my language. Where do we start?”

[stealingpotatoes]

So Cal and Trilla technically space siblings in this au? Also it’s funny to me that Trilla’s teaching the youngest class

gonna be completely honest I have no idea what you're referring to in general but if you mean tl4j, then sorry no ): the au's rlly just my post-ROTJ continuity which means almost everything canon prior to rotj happens here too

[shefellofftheworld]

Please lose the last shreds of your self control and yell about bd-1's arc and its place thematically in fallen order

Ahh I was not expecting anyone to want the rant but SINCE YOU ASKED

So I absolutely love JFO and everything about it, because at its core it’s a story about hope and healing when everything has fallen to pieces. I can’t get enough of that. I’m going to do my best to keep this post to a reasonable length, but I am going to be honest: brevity is not my strong suit when it comes to stuff I like. You have been warned. 

Here’s the thing about BD-1: he didn’t need an arc. They didn’t need to thread him through the thematic and emotional heart of this game as much as they did!! That’s part of why his arc took me so much by surprise. He basically has a stealth arc, and it works so well because he’s already serving the game really well before I even got an inkling of it. So first I’m gonna go through BD-1 as I experienced him in my first playthrough, and then look at the ways that JFO retroactively adds a TON of meaning to his interactions with Cal. 

Long post and many spoilers for Jedi: Fallen Order under the cut:

Bogano: First Impressions

BD-1 is a cute lil droid companion, and frankly Respawn could have stopped there and I would have been entirely on board. I mean, look at him.

He’s adorable. 

Respawn didn’t stop there though! BD also serves to make several game mechanics diegetic in a really cool way. He provides the map, he does the healing, and he analyses stuff for the codex. Again: Respawn did not need to go as hard as they did. Cute Droid That Serves Gameplay Purpose would have been more than enough to sell me on BD-1. But! They not only used BD-1 to make those mechanics fit inside the narrative of the game, they used the gameplay mechanics to inform BD’s character!!!!

Excuse me while I take a moment to be incredibly excited about good game design. 

So we first meet BD-1 on Bogano, just after the prologue/tutorial level for the game. We met Cal on Bracca, got introduced to our initial exploration and fighting mechanics, and played through JFO’s inciting incident. Cere and Greez drop Cal off on Bogano and give him two goals: meet someone important, and find the key to rebuilding the Jedi order. 

We’re now introduced to the Meditation mechanic (Star Wars Brand Bonfires). It’s yet another example of how Respawn took a mechanic specific to the genre of game they were making and then turned it into a core part of the narrative. 

I love this game so much.

It’s already been established that Cal’s trauma is hindering his ability to connect to the force—whenever he tries, he relives his memories of Order 66. After we finish the Meditation Tutorial, we exit to a cutscene that reinforces that character beat:

And introduces someone new. 

I know I talked a lot about Cal here, but that’s because BD-1’s characterisation is intrinsically linked to his interactions with Cal—he’s a Companion Character. It’s important that we first meet BD here. The first time we meet BD, Cal is in pain and BD-1 wants to help. 

(I love him) 

Throughout the game, we understand BD’s dialogue through other character’s responses—mostly Cal’s. In this scene, BD introduces himself and then asks Cal if he’s OK. Awww. Cal says he’s looking for someone, and BD-1 perks up and responds. “No, not you,” says Cal immediately. He’s looking for a Jedi! We’ve definitely never seen this play out before. BD-1 is not discouraged. He knows about a Jedi! He is Very Excited to lead Cal where he needs to go. 

We learn a lot about BD from this scene! First: he’s adorable. I know I’ve said that a lot, but it bears repeating. 

look at him

In terms of characterisation, we learn that BD-1 is helpful, important to Cal’s quest somehow, and apparently full of love and enthusiasm. He wants to know if Cal is ok!!! And he wants to help!!! BD stands both for Buddy Droid and for Best Droid. This scene has done its job well: the story has progressed, and presumably there remains not a single member of the audience who hasn’t instantly fallen in love with the Loveable Droid Character. This is good, because he’s going to be with us for the rest of the game. 

Now we get to mechanics. First, we’re introduced to the map. Cal sees the Vault in the distance, and says that whoever he’s looking for must be waiting there. BD-1 stops frolicking to show Cal his map of the area, and the game takes a moment to do a tutorial. BD has helpfully put an objective marker over the vault! Thanks, lil guy. The holomap also highlights unexplored areas—more standard game fare, but because the map is diegetic, it’s also technically information about BD-1. He wants to help us explore! 

The next thing we learn about BD-1 is that apparently he, uh. Likes to improvise. “Any ideas?” asks Cal. “We’ve got to get across this gap somehow.” BD-1 proposes that he serves as a tool to help Cal zipline across gaps. Both of them seem to have fun ziplining. 

“How’d you know that would work?” 

“Bee bo-boop!” 

“Wait, you didn’t?” 

Don’t sound so concerned, Cal. Nobody fell into any bottomless chasms. You don’t have any room to talk, anyway. I saw you on Bracca. 

We run around a little more, and then the unthinkable happens. BD-1 rushes to the defense of a lil critter that’s about to get eaten by a predator, and gets his leg chomped for his troubles. He does a heartbreaking little limp away from danger while Cal practices his lightsaber skills 

poor baby

Words cannot do this scene justice so I'll just give you a video:

This scene reinforces how adorable BD-1 is (very adorable, in case anybody wasn’t sure) and continues to set up his friendship with Cal. It also serves to set up an in-game way for the devs to control access to certain areas of the map—BD’s busted scomp link is going to stop us from opening a few doors until we’ve hit a few more story beats. 

This scene is also one of the most important in BD-1’s arc, but that doesn’t become apparent until later. 

Shortly after this, Cal happens to receive some injuries that nobody could have possibly forseen or prevented by not swinging lightsabers at live wires. We get one of the most adorable cutscenes in the game:

And then BD-1 presents Cal with the Star Wars Brand Estus Flask and joins Cal as a permanent companion.

(he's so cute)

Cal asks BD-1 how he got to Bogano, and BD-1 says he doesn’t remember. Weird for a droid to be forgetful, but oh well. To the Vault!

Ok but first we need to get some cosmetic loot, because the real goal of Jedi: Fallen Order is to collect ponchos.

BD-1 goes rifling through chests for us, because the devs at Respawn saw an opportunity for adorable character moments and grabbed it with both hands. Over the course of the game, BD-1 continues to fling himself at the nearest poncho receptacle. Cal in response takes a journey from confused through resigned and lands on indulgent. I love this game so much. 

Ok, now to the Vault!

Wait wait wait BD-1 has found something cool and he really really wants to show it to you. 

Now for real to the Vault.

There’s some more story stuff that happens before we get there, but that’s the bulk of our initial introduction to BD-1. We make a friend and learn a bunch of new mechanics, which themselves teach us about our friend. BD-1 is a friendly little droid who wants to help and likes to explore and learn things. He’s a bit of an adrenaline junkie and gets excited when there’s something to scan. He doesn’t like it when Cal gets hurt, and for some reason wants to go to the same Plot Location that Cal does.

He’s probably not the person Cere wants us to meet, though. That’s a Jedi! A great warrior. For sure. 

(I think I’m funny)

At the vault, we learn that BD-1 is, in fact, the person Cere wants us to meet. In fairness to Cal, though, there is also technically a Jedi. Technically. 

BD-1 contains encrypted messages from Jedi Master Eno Cordova, who has hidden the holocron we’re looking for. In order to find it, he wants us to follow in his footsteps. Thus follows one of my favourite scenes for Cal, but this post is already going to be too long so I’ll spare anyone who’s made it this far that particular ramble. Cal and BD-1 officially team up, find some more clues, access a couple of Master Cordova’s video diaries, and head back to the ship. 

I will now proceed to exercise incredible restraint and move on to the next section rather than giving you a play-by-play of BD-1’s every move for the rest of the game. I would say 'you’re welcome', but you’re missing out on BD-1, so. 

The Burgeoning Friendship

I want to emphasise how constantly present BD-1 is in JFO’s story. Not only is he literally present on Cal’s back for the vast majority of the game, but he’s also constantly interacting with both Cal and the player. 

For one, there’s all those mechanics I mentioned earlier. Every time we look at the map, heal damage, or find something new, JFO is drawing our attention to BD-1. Granted, some actions are less obvious than others—we don’t pause in the middle of any given battle to show a long ‘BD-1 gives Cal a healing stim’ animation, and rightfully so—but when we’re just running around the map, BD-1 manages to feel like a character in his own right. He gets excited when Cal finds more healing stims (or literally any box for him to jump into), he runs around to show us things, he’s got his own adorable little idle fidget animations, the whole shebang. Mechanically he pretty much ends up functioning as a secondary player character. 

Teamwork!

There’s also a bunch of incidental dialogue between Cal and BD as we run around. Cal likes to comment on what’s going on—be it a new force echo, a distant objective, or even just his thoughts and feelings about whatever is happening at the time. It’s a good way to keep an audience in touch with a character, but it can feel a bit weird to have a character start talking to the air about whatever it is the devs/writers want the player to know right now. Enter BD-1! Now Cal is talking to the cute robot buddy, which is incredibly relatable. 

I, too, would tell this little guy all of my deepest darkest secrets. 

BD-1’s trustworthy face aside, it’s also a good design choice! Now not only do we have a way to naturally insert whatever information Cal needs to deliver at any given time, we can turn that information into character beats for both parties. Cal and BD respond to each other, and so both of them feel more like independent characters who are present in and reacting to their circumstances. It helps keep us immersed in the narrative even when we’ve temporarily left the narrative behind to attempt the same jumping puzzle 15 times in our endless quest for ponchos.

My compulsion to give Cal as many ponchos as his little heart desires aside, Cal and BD’s conversations are really effective at keeping the player involved in what Cal is feeling. Some of my favourite moments are when BD-1 checks in with Cal while they explore the crashed Venator (ow), or when the two of them find Cordova’s old workshop. There’s definitely more, but I’ll be honest I have neither the time nor the energy to play or watch through the entire game to find it. If you’re reading this, though: you absolutely should. It’s such a good game. 

Where was I? 

Right! Narrative! 

I’ve spoken about gameplay, but we really see BD-1’s narrative presence in cutscenes. He’s constantly involved in every story beat, even if sometimes he gets a little distracted. 

He's very worried about your salt intake, Greez

BD-1 cares about our quest and about our characters. He has fun hijacking an AT-AT, and intervenes to help Cal when a fight is getting a bit dicey 

To outline the full extent of BD-1’s involvement in the narrative would be to outline the whole narrative, and I swear I am trying to keep this post to a somewhat readable length, so I won’t do that. But I want to highlight these moments. They’re moments that get us attached to our characters, and moments that build the story. They draw us in to the relationship between Cal and BD-1, and also in a sense build a relationship between BD-1 and the player. I know that when I play JFO, I’ll often talk to BD-1 myself. If he hops off of Cal’s shoulder to look at something, I get excited too. NG+ removing all of the chests may make completing every corner of the game more convenient, but sometimes I’ll start again from scratch just to let BD have his fun. One of the benefits of games as a narrative medium is how involved the player is in the story—even at its most linear, the player is still an active participant. Another benefit to a game like JFO is the length. More is not always better, but in this case Respawn uses the player’s time well. No matter what we’re doing, we’re interacting with the world and the characters—and time spent interacting is time spent building a connection. 

All this is to say that by the time we take our little detour via bounty hunter coliseum, I am right there with Cal panicking about our little friend 

Those monsters

Dathomir and Ilum: The Payoff

This section is going to be hard for me to write coherently, mainly because whenever I think about this part of the game my brain stops forming words and instead descends into incoherent screeching interspersed with playbacks of various moments. I have to take a minute before I even go to Dathomir because I know what’s coming. I love this game so much and this sequence wrecks me every time. 

I’ll do my best though! 

Cal and BD have been through a lot together by this point. They’ve joined a rebellion, fought Inquisitors and delved into ancient ruins. They’ve been hunted by the Empire and by bounty hunters. We’ve done all that with them, too. As we go to Dathomir, Cal is wrestling with a lot of things. He’s back to the level he was at before the Purge, but he’s still hurting and traumatised. 

I could talk at length about Dathomir, but this is a post about BD-1 and I am ostensibly trying to keep this somewhat concise. 

(laughs in over 2500 words so far)

It is on Dathomir that things come to a head. Cal has a flashback of the events of the Purge, then faces a vision of his dead Master Tapal. When he comes to, his lightsaber—the one passed on to him by Jaro Tapal as he died—is broken. He is forced to flee Dathomir, and returns to Cere and Greez on the Mantis. 

It’s a heartbreaking sequence. The player is right there with him throughout—we are high-fiving the trooper who teases Cal. We are navigating the vents of the Venator as clone troopers hunt us down. We are watching Jaro Tapal die defending Cal, and then we are fighting a vision who verbalises what Cal has been feeling this whole time—he has failed. His master died because he was weak and slow and useless. He can’t save the Jedi Order. He isn’t fit to wield his Master’s saber, and he isn’t fit to be a Jedi. 

BD-1 is not there for any of it. 

BD-1 has been with us for practically the entire game. In every cutscene I can remember, he’s been involved. He’s been running around doing his thing, or peeking over Cal’s shoulder. In this sequence, he is not present. He’s not there in the flashback, and he’s not there when we fight Jaro Tapal. He is present when the vision ends—but not really. He’s positioned so that we can barely see him behind Cal’s head. 

Cal goes through all this alone. 

(I will note that having now watched the scene a few times with special focus on BD-1, it does look as if he’s watching the rest of the room? Which gives me the impression that he’s tried to get through to Cal, realised he’s not responsive, and decided to watch his back while he deals with his Trauma-Based Force Stuff. Which. Ow. That’s so cute but he must have been so worried.)

It’s not until after Cal starts to leave that we check back in with BD-1. He sounds wrecked. And BD-1 can’t help. 

The saddest wooo

We now proceed through a conversation with Cere and also, incidentally, several tissues. 

Ow.

But! There’s hope! New goal: Get Cal a new kyber crystal to replace the broken one, then everything will be fixed and we’ll be ok. 

:(

After some more troubles, because poor Cal can’t catch a break, we finally get to the crystal. Cal seems upsettingly close to freezing to death, but we’ve made it! 

And then the crystal breaks. 

Cal gives up. 

Like, it’s-open-for-interpretation-but-I’m-pretty-sure-he’s-just-decided-to-lie-there-until-he-dies gives up. 

not pictured: my distressed yelling

And then: Eno Cordova speaks, and BD-1 enters the frame. “Failure is not the end, my friend.” It’s Cordova’s words, but BD-1 is playing the recording. BD-1 is encouraging Cal. Cal doesn’t really believe him. 

So BD-1 shows Cal Master Eno Cordova’s final recording:

Look, I am trying my best to be something resembling coherent here but. SCREAMS. 

S C R E A M S

I could talk at length about how much I love this whole scene but I have been basically just recounting for a while now so I will be brief. 

This scene completely reframes BD-1 as a character. He was already more than just a cute mechanics delivery system, but in this scene we learn that he chose to have his memories erased, and also that he chooses to believe in Cal. His faith in Cal gives Cal faith in himself, so he gets up and keeps fighting. 

Now please excuse me while I cry a little more. 

The First Meeting Again: What Makes Us Who We Are

One thing I really want to highlight from the above scene is that line from Eno Cordova: 

“Only with a trusted connection will your memories be restored.” 

I know it’s already pretty thoroughly emphasised by the game itself, but I didn’t quite understand its full impact on Cal’s journey and the themes of JFO until I replayed the game. 

Remember that scene way back on Bogano where BD-1 injured his leg and Cal fixed it? 

When I first played, I found it a little odd that BD-1 scanned Cal here. Why not earlier? Why now? I also thought it was a bit of a clunky story moment—Cal has already indicated that he’s going to the vault. Why are they repeating that goal here?

Because Cal fixed his leg. 

BD-1 was hurting, and Cal helped, and so the first memory was unlocked—a drive to get to the vault and show him the way forward. 

It’s a sweet little moment, and it’s cool to understand it better on a replay, but I think it’s also a moment that’s core to the themes of the game. On Dathomir, Cal’s fears are revealed: he is no Jedi. On Ilum, he gives up. 

And then BD-1 says: you were a Jedi all along. 

It’s been a repeated refrain throughout JFO: we are who we are because we choose to keep going. Jaro Tapal tells Cal that failing and getting up is the only way to succeed. Cere says “it’s the choice to keep fighting that makes us who we are.” Cordova says “Hope will always survive in those who continue to fight.” 

Cal has been doubting himself ever since his Master died. He’s been hiding, cut off from the force and from his people. But over and over we see him choosing to help. He helps Prauf on Bracca, knowing it could cost him his life. He helps BD-1 on Bogano, just because he can. He helps Saw Gererra’s fighters and the Wookies on Kashyyk, because they need it. He struggles and he messes up, but over and over he chooses to help. To quote another piece of Star Wars media: His compassion leaves a trail. BD-1 shines a light on that trail. 

Respawn did not have to go as hard as they did with BD-1. He’s a cute little droid who delivers some mechanics in a cool diegetic way. They could have stopped there. Instead, they use BD-1 to enrich the story and the characters, and to drive home one of the the major themes of the game: how we work out who we are when everything has fallen apart. 

In the end, our gang won’t rebuild the Jedi Order. In that sense, they’ve failed. But each and every one of them is fighting. They’re holding on to hope, and sharing it with one another. It’s what makes them who they are. And by being who they are—in Cal’s case, choosing to be a Jedi, they have won a victory, even if they fail. 

Man I love this game.

[dragonleighs]

OH I've just realised that if I do manage to somehow keep updating my fic this month, you guys will finally get the Big reveal 👀

[breakfastteatime]

Singing.

The scrappers on Bracca are singing. Together.

What shall we do with the drunken scrapper? What shall we do with the drunken scrapper? What shall we do with the drunken scrapper? Early in the morning? The first time Cal hears it, he nearly drops his tools. He can't believe it. Voices of all pitches and tones, singing together. There's a drumbeat too, and everyone's working in time with it, dragging huge chunks of old Republic ships away. Cal's foot taps along with the beat, the Force thrumming through all the living beings as they work and sing. It's the strongest he's felt it in weeks, and it lifts him like nothing else has.

Prauf laughs at him, shakes his head, and keeps on working in time to the beat. "You'll know all the words soon enough," he says, before breaking off into a hum.

(Five years later, Greez hears Cal singing Shave his belly with a rusty razor as he swabs the Mantis' decks and decides not to ask. Scrappers are a strange bunch at the best of times)