Blue

blue | blueskyatnight on AO3 | I just really like Star Wars, okay?

[flammabel]

~Cal Kestis & Bode Akuna

[calakuna]

knighthood // jedi survivor (modded, edited)

[renif]

decisions

[guidinlights]

[flailypichu]

New headcanon brought to you by me replaying Survivor: on Jedah when Cal asks Bode to come with him and Merrin to rescue Brother Armias, and Bode says he can make himself more useful as a research assistant to Cordova, there are two interpretations.

One, Bode wants to get to Tanalorr as soon as possible, and finding out if it's plausible helps him make his future plans.

Or more heartbreakingly, two, he refuses to go with Cal because if he does he has to be around this sarcastic bright soul he's being drawn to, while he makes his plans to betray him. Those plans come together better if he doesn't have to look at Cal while he weighs any future he could have with Cal against the future he desperately desires for him and Kata.

[ao3commentoftheday]

(Probably a stupid question, but I am nervous) Is there a standart lenght of time one should let pass before leaving a "re-read this and still loving it" kind of comment? I normally try to wait a year to do so, but there is a fic I have been re-reading kind of non stop for 5 months and I kind of want to tell the author but I am afraid that would be annoying.

First of all, no question is stupid if you want to know the answer. Second of all, asking when you're worried about looking stupid is a very brave thing to do. Third of all, you won't be alone in wondering this, and I'll thank you on behalf of the other folks who wanted to know the same thing but didn't know who or how to ask 💗

From my perspective, there is no time limit on joy. There are no chronological bounds on love or appreciation. If you feel it and want to share it, that option is always open to you. The odds are very much in favour of you making that author's day no matter what.

I've had this type of comment on the very same day I published a chapter. I've had this type of comment years after posting. I've had this type of comment multiple times on the same fic from the same person over the span of years as they come back to reread it again and again.

Every. Single. Time. I'm awed and honoured and overjoyed and amazed and grateful. I'm simultaneously built up and humbled. When I talk about that feeling of connection and community that can come when people reach out to each other sincerely, this is an example of the type of thing I mean.

There are a vast number of types of people in the world, anon, so I can't guarantee you 100% that every author who posts fanfic will agree with me. But I'm willing to be real, legal currency that an overwhelming majority do.

[but-we-choose-how-to-play]

You know, the first time I went to Tanalorr (before my game immediately crashed) I heard Merrin say "greetings" before I got off the ship. There was no one out there, but the moment still made me anticipate a rather dark twist.

I was already getting some heavy "manifest destiny" vibes from what I'd been hearing about the High Republic, so I considered for a moment that the game go all in on the colonialism theme, and reveal that there was already a civilization on Tanalorr when Bode and Cal arrived.

This wouldn't have come up in any of Dagan's memories or dialog because he simply wouldn't care, the wishes of the locals are of lesser consideration that the needs of the galaxy, the Jedi Order, and most ot all himself.

Bode would have felt cheated, that the isolated sanctuary he wanted for Kata turned out to be populated with "strangers", who are justifiably wary of outsiders.

Cal and his crew would have initially tried to communicate with the locals, to explain that their intentions are peaceful. But the last time that strangers came to settle on their world, a force of invaders came right behind them...

...And to get there, Cal activated a series of arrays that created a clear path through the Abyss, that anyone could theoretically take. In the game as it is, the arrays failed during the trip, but given the Imperial presence on the planet, they would still know how the Mantis got through, and would likely make an effort to repair the arrays.

This wouldn't necessarily be hopeless, if Cal and the crew returned to Koboh to destroy the arrays completely enough to ensure the Tanalorrians' safety, but it'd still sting for Cal that he'd endangered innocent people, and repeated one of Dagan Gara's mistakes.

I do like the ending the game has, I think an ending like the one I've described would have required greater foreshadowing, but I also think it could have been a neat twist.

[calakuna]

clandestine // jedi survivor (modded)

[giles-pie]

my thoughts on bode opening that stupid door in the lucrehulk

[daylighteclipsed]

Rewatching pieces of Jedi Survivor cause I’m thinking about the games again, and one of the things I notice is how many doors that Cal forces open during his rampage through the Nova Garon base. “Slicing” panels to open doors or activate other switches with BD-1’s help is a major component of both games. Survivor illustrates how much of a choice it is for Cal (and I guess any Jedi, really) to opt for patience, mercy, and teamwork over speed, brutality, and power.

It’s fun to joke about Cal not realizing that he can cut through doors with his lightsaber, but in all seriousness, I think Cal knows that he can do that. I think Cere knows that she can do this too, and yet, for example, we still see her rely on Cal to open blast doors for her in Fallen Order’s Fortress Inquisitorious. I haven’t fully revisited FO or Survivor in a while, but I’m pretty sure the only characters in the games that we see use their lightsabers to cut through doors are Sith or fallen Jedi like Darth Vader (I’m specifically thinking of Vader trying to slice open the lift doors when Cal’s escaping FI). Cal knows that he can use his lightsaber to cut through doors. In fact, he doesn’t even have to do that. He can just telekinetically rip doors open if he really wants. Cal and other Jedi like him don’t need to be gentle or accept the help of others. They choose to. I think—especially now that Cal’s seen what he’s capable of using the Dark Side—it’s even more of a choice for him, to be patient and merciful and rely on friends instead.

It also feels very pointed that in order to have the power to rip doors open and take out armies of troopers in seconds, you sacrifice teamwork with BD-1 specifically. It may seem like a small loss, but slicing panels contributes a lot to the growth of Cal and BD’s friendship in FO. It’s the foundational mechanic of their relationship, the first way that they work together and begin to bond. During Cal’s rampage in Survivor, this dynamic is absent. Excluding health stims (assuming you even have to heal), the duo do not interact at all, actually, until this part of the game is over. I don’t think that I need to explain how they’re usually a packaged set. Cal doesn’t miss a beat introducing BD after himself to everyone they meet, as if “and this is BD-1” is an extension of his own name. You, as Cal, can’t have both. You either rely on BD-1 or you use the Dark Side, emphasizing how the Dark Side is antithetical to Cal’s friendship with BD and thus to who Cal is.

[pherrieshift]

cal kestis and a binog as per @cozy-fish-crow's request

[i-lavabean]

Bode Akuna

[cosmic-castor-canadensis]

Remember in Jedi: Fallen Order, on Ilum, when Cal is fighting hordes of Imperial troops and droids, and the only way to survive is with his new, super-strong attack?

And remember in Jedi: Survivor, on Nova Garon, when Cal is fighting hordes of Imperial troops and droids, and the only way to survive is with his new, super-strong attack?

Only on Ilum, it is a triumph, a victory for the Light Side and for Cal. On Nova Garon, it is a defeat, a victory for the Dark Side and a failure for Cal.

I just think it's neat.

[sketchupnfries]

Some more Fantasy Wizard AU sketches of the Mantis crew since I wanted to draw more of my Jedi Survivor AU.

[flailypichu]

Still not over the fact that Cameron Monaghan and Noshir Dalal are less than an inch apart in height. Which means that making Bode that much taller than Cal was A Choice on the part of the developers.

[morendolafin]

A new start.

[tatzelwyrm]

I love that you shoot Bode with his own blaster that he gave you.

I love that when Bode gave you that blaster, Cal pointed out that it was not a Jedi weapon and that his Jedi master would have disapproved of it.

I love that when Denvik makes assumptions about Cal based on him being a Jedi, Cal pulls that blaster on him.

I love that Cal didn't kill Bode with his Jedi weapon.

I also love that Cal's Jedi weapon, his lightsaber, was his master's lightsaber, because his own was lost at the same time Cal's master was killed.

(And I love that when Saw Guerrera asks Cal which Jedi he took this lightsaber from, we do not know yet the circumstances under which it was given.)

I love this even more because this lightsaber was still broken at the start of the first game.

I love that Cal didn't fix his Jedi weapon until he was well on his quest to (presumably) restore the Jedi order.

I love that when the saber broke a second time, Cere gave Cal her (empty) lightsaber hilt to fix it.

(And I love that the weapon of Cere's original apprentice was so imbued with pain that Cal couldn't even hold it without a strong physical reaction.)

I love that Bode didn't have his own lightsaber with him when he revealed his true nature.

I love that he picked up the lightsaber of a Fallen Jedi instead.

In short: I love the weapons in this series and the journeys they go on. I love the statements they make. I love their breaking and fixing and the ways in which they are given.

I love their symmetry.

I love their poetry.

(But I also love that you can make every one of them purple.)