AUTHOR'S NOTE: the following was written during the June, 2023 Reddit protest. I thought it'd be fun to imagine what each of the companions from both games thought about it. Comments are in order of when I usually acquire that companion, except that I gave Kreia the last word. There are no major plot spoilers, but this does give away the full list of possible companions, as well as a bit of their personality and, in some cases, companion questline. Most of these are just in-game quotes, some slightly adapted. But a few are original.
CONTEXT: In 2023, Reddit announced plans to aggressively monetize its API. The API was necessary for the third-party apps used by most moderators (who were volunteers, not paid employees) and many community members. Some of the most popular apps shut down in response. Reddit moderators found their ability to perform their role severely impacted. Many felt it unrealistic to continue. In June 2023, many subreddits "went dark" in protest of Reddit's actions. Reddit, led by CEO Steve Huffman,
was uncompromising. Some felt this was driven by a desire on the part of Huffman, and Reddit's parent company Conde Nast (well, more accurately "Advance Publications" but fewer people know the company by that name) to better position Reddit for an IPO.
Carth: I don't want to talk about it.
Mission: I've seen all this before. My brother Griff, he was always out for the fast credit. I trusted him for a long time, because I didn't want to admit who he really was. And I tried to blame Lena, but it turned out it wasn't really her fault. It was just Griff, all along. Maybe he meant well at the beginning, maybe he was just trying to survive. But by the end he was just, well, it makes me angry to talk about it too much. I finally decided not to worry about him anymore and go on with my own life without him. I hope Griff is okay, but I just couldn't keep holding on to all that. And I'm doing really good now. Wait, what did you ask me about?
Zaalbar: grrrrar raooorrr raargh (Translation: Wait! This... is isn't right! What am I doing here? I know Huffman is evil, but I followed him anyway! What have I done? You tricked me, Reddit!
Bastila: it seems fate is driving us into a confrontation with Reddit. You must prepare yourself for when we face Huffman. The confrontation will be difficult for you. Remember that he was once great. He demonstrates the danger of the dark side to us all.
T3-M4 (KOTOR 1): dee dree dwooo dreet (Translation: I'm just here to unlock that one door on Taris. Is there something happening?)
Canderous: you will defeat the community in the war, Huffman. You are the only one in the galaxy who could best them. I have never met one like you before. How can you even ask if I will follow you? I'm your man until the end, Huffman, no matter how this plays out.
Juhani: this will be Reddit's DOOM!!!
Jolee: Reddit is the greatest evil to hit the internet since, well, Twitter. And they're the worst thing since Digg. Blah, blah blah, etc. etc. etc. Look, everybody always figures the time they live in is the most epic, the most important age to end all ages. But tyrants and heroes rise and fall, and historians sort out the pieces. Huffman is a tyrant who should be stopped. If he conquers the community then we're in for a couple of rough years. But eventually it'll come around again. I'd rather not wait that long, so we do what we have to do. We try to stop Conde Nast. But don't start thinking this war, your war, is more important than any other war just because you're in it.
HK-47 (KOTOR 1): Observation: if I still had my assassination protocols, I could have already resolved this situation.
T3-M4 (KOTOR 2, and he's first because I always play the prologue): boop beep beep boop (Translation: I locked the subreddit to protect my friends.)
Atton: whoever has the most, the strongest mods is going win the Reddit civil war. If Huffman can't convert mods, then Huffman will remove them.
Brianna: it is only through battle that we see one's innermost nature. We have now seen Reddit's true face.
Mical: I see the death of community. Of Reddit. At first, I thought it was just greed, but it's more terrible than that. It's an echo, spreading outwards, killing everything.
Visas: there are many factions on the internet, all seeking to take what remains in the wake of the Reddit Civil War.
Mira: being trapped in this closed subreddit ... everything's ... everything's too quiet. I'd rather be doing something. Somewhere with people, activity, ... some life.
Or depending on her mood, she might instead say:
Get away from me. The next time you come and ask me a question, I swear I'll shoot you in the head and dump you out the airlock.
Hanharr: rowwwr grrowr raaaar (Translation: there is something about Reddit - not a scent, but a feeling - it is decay, like rot within a great tree.)
GO-TO: I hope you do not decide that the next thing that must be destroyed to stop Huffman is the internet itself. Perhaps one must ask themselves at what point defending your ideals is advantageous to Reddit as a whole. As long as your defense does not exterminate more than fifty percent of those subreddits you intend to help, is that acceptable?
HK-47: (KOTOR 2): Assessment: overwhelming odds is a good tactic. There are few websites that can long hold their ground against thousands of subreddits all protesting at once... or being turned on by their own mods
Mandalore: why are you asking me again? I already answered you once. I'm Canderous from KOTOR 1! You didn't play the whole second game and not realize that, did you?
Kreia: do you understand what you have done? Have you considered the consequences? Did you expect your actions to fade away, like a whisper in a forest, lost in the rustling of leaves disturbed by the wind? No, what you have done is like a stone dropped into a pond, the ripples spreading unabated to the farthest shore. There is nothing that what you have done will not touch, no quiet cove that not feel its effects. Your carelessness has created an echo, and its reverberation will return to you, amplified by all those it has encountered, their voices rising in a crescendo drowning your feeble protestations, too weak to stand against that which you yourself have created. In failing to comprehend even the simplest of repercussions, you have authored your own demise.