#like i have a million and one criticisms abt this game and i love it still. but god. the timing was so. why did u have it happen THEN LMAO

[rosemary-bells]

honestly veilguard was rly good (peak even) and i enjoyed it a lot even w its many issues but like. of all the places to put the final romance scene why there

[tohokuu]

Did he fall in "love at first sight" w u? U said he liked u when u first met. Was it personality or looks

uhh yeah i guess it was looks first and then he kept talking to me and he liked my personality more and more. i ask him if he still loves my personality and he says yes even tho im weird. i ask if he thinks im pretty and he says yes

we js haven’t been able to match up our love languages. his is quality time and mine is words of affirmation and physical touch. 

we can’t touch as much bc we js go to a school that was always on our ass abt touching each other and that also kinda led to the downfall of things. he also just doesn’t talk much as he used to. he’s not in school rn so he’s at home w his dog doing nothing but playing games and then ill text him and sometimes he’ll come see me and then other times it’s js meh

he doesn’t say as much as he used to. he doesn’t pretend to love me though. i js think he’s a quieter person in general bc when he’s having a particularly extra good day, he’s more affectionate with me and he always likes to tell me stuff and he’s kind of stupid at times.

i think his way of showing me love is by tickling my throat at random times, slapping the back of my head with an empty sleeve and then biting my cheeks and my nose. instead of kissing me, he’ll js lick my whole face and i found this behavior annoying instead until i figured that’s js his way of showing love … and i love him so im not gonna sit here and complain if he wants to bite my nose a million times

he doesn’t even do it with his teeth 💀 he’ll cover his teeth with his lips and then bite my face so he doesn’t hurt me

he thought he poked my eye on accident yesterday and he immediately apologized and held my face and expected my eye to make sure i was okay and then kissed (licked) my eye after.

i asked this loser if he would peel an orange for me and he’s like “hell no” and then the next day, he posts this,

he has 47 pairs of crocs btw. i asked him for flowers and he ordered me yellow tulips and im positive he was getting ripped off bc he refuses to tell me how much he spent on them but a few days ago he found out that tulips aren’t my favorite so last night he apologized for not having my valentine’s day flowers and that he feels terrible and stupid

and he works in the floral dept at work so i was like “babe it’s okay, you make bouquets at work. i think i would love one that you make” but he’s js too nervous and critical of himself

and then he kept whining about how he felt like such an idiot when some guy came and bought the last set of hydrangeas and he had to keep a straight face the whole time 💔 bc he now knew those were my favorite

yesterday he said “i just want you to be happy and not be angry. you’re always angry” and he has a point. i am usually always angry… that’s kind of my default mood and if he does something, i get really annoyed.

i think i put a lot of pressure on him as well and i explode a lot when i get excited…

i think we’re just grumpy at times. yesterday he was like “we’re like an old miserable couple” and i was like “except we’re not old. we’re js miserable”

and then he sulked and pouted the whole time and i did too and the poor guy in the elevator suffered with us

but despite all of this, he always treats me like the most fragile thing ever. he’s always too scared to be to rough. his hands always hold me softly and he wipes away my tears with his thumb and he kisses my forehead every chance he gets.

[bellshazes]

this makes a ton of sense and really helps clarify the other side for me. however, i think your point about the repetition of performed theater (which is, of course, different than the script-as-object, though it is probably scripted) is really important: i doubt that "scripted" mcyt content is rehearsed, and it is surely never re-produced and re-enacted in the way theater is; the script, if we believe in it, is one use only as far as the public is concerned.

the repetition of mcyt content is not across a continuum of time, but a continuum of perspectives which are simultaneous - or at least contemporaneous, happening at the same time more or less. again, I think the issue of agency is critical; a game-player interacts with the code of a game and gives events a form and a meaning, which is to say, the player produces a narrative, which in our case is further shaped through video edits and the length or shape of streams etc.

more important to me i guess than which sense of script is meant/understood, there is a real contradiction in the implications vs fandom-at-large behavior toward the concept of canon. if scripting is like theater* and theater is when the repetition's differences in interpretation or accident become meaningful, why do fans care so much about establishing canon? if theater is resistant to unification of meaning, and mcyt is theater, why do we try and establish a canon at all? what other modes of interpretation that inhabit specific moments and perspectives could be open if we let go of "canonicity"? if it is like games, what does it mean to be a player of a game and to express your playing of that game to someone else? in what ways is the "inevitability" of any fiction different from actual literal IRL inevitability? what are the tensions between a player and their character? what happens when they are in sync or out of sync? what is the impact of one having different needs than the other (a really relevant question you will never derive from comparing to plays)?

i keep typing and deleting different following lines of argument but what i want more of & am greedy for is just - people resisting making assumptions that a Thing Is One Way, and holding in their hearts & minds & transformative works that canon is not a useful concept in this medium (and probably not any); just because there is no singularly unified & true perspective doesn't mean the thing does not exist, you just have to let it be complex when you talk about it. we lose so much of the complex thing that we love when we try and shave it down to fit in boxes instead of asking what the implications of a thing are, questioning its features, making comparisons not to get a yes/no but to open the space of possiblities for your own appreciation & understanding, etc.

*re: theaterification: this sometimes toes the line imo into grasping for a legitimacy of the medium which is, frankly, such poser behavior lmao. fuck legitimacy that replaces real qualities of a medium with shallow pale imitations borrowed from other ones!

your point abt bloopers is also interesting, because I don't know that the existence of bloopers does in fact imply "scripting"? i've been to improv shows that had blooper moments, where they move past the hiccup. i also am legally obligated becaues of my Particularities that this feature of TTRPGs is a quality of, mainly, games that are D&D or adjacent; there are a million billion other games which do not have the GM-player relationship most D&D tables do (and I'm putting all these people in the same bucket I Don't Care abt "railroading" arguments. there are other games!!! that make this irrelevant!!!)

maybe i'm just a theater adult (proud kys stan for 20 years) but do people not... think of scripts as being a lot more defined than an outline? like a script =/= a list of beats to hit or plot points. a script is typically some combination of dialogue intended to be spoken verbatim and stage directions which indicate how something should be physically performed and blocked and staged. improv is by its nature not scripted, even when it is planned in advance what certain elements are?

[dontgofarfromme]

What is critical role? I'd never heard of it before I started following you but I'm intrigued

Omg ok! Critical Role is, in a nutshell, a streamed Dungeons and Dragons campaign run by a bunch of voice actors. That concept sounded really really weird to me the first time I heard about it but! It's insanely addictive. Since it's a role play game and these are professional actors, what you're watching is basically an improvised fantasy story influenced by dice roles acted out live, and its AMAZING.

There have been two campaigns so far--the first has the players as characters in an adventuring party called Vox Machina, as they travel around the country of Tal'dorei and surrounding areas. There are 115 episodes.

PCs include: Angsty anime looking tinkerer with a tragic past; young, naive but wise young woman learning to become a leader; big strong dumb guy who's very soft inside, teeny MONSTAAAAAHH cleric who is light and sweetness and joy and will FUCK YOU UP IF YOU MESS WITH HER OR HER FAMILY; man of a thousand masks and a million charisma who is slowly learning how not to be a dick; sneaky impulsive self-sacrifical sad boy who is also into pranks and braiding his sister's hair and loving his friends to death; woman who covers all her feelings in 30 THOUSAND LAYERS OF WINKS AND BARTERING AND FLIRTING who also has a bear and loves flying; spoiled but under-loved rich kid with a giant automaton nanny-slash-scribe-slash-bodyguard

Important bad guys include: Vampires! Dragons! Asshole family members! Evil demigods! Doors!

Key themes, emotional arcs and moments include: Revenge! Self sacrifice! Hiding your feelings! Love as an extreme emotional risk but one worth taking! Becoming a leader!

The second campaign follows the adventuring party the Mighty Nein as they come together as a group and wander around the continent of Wildemount, starting in the Dwendalian Empire. Ongoing, currently 73 episodes.

PCs include: Stinky angsty fire man; Punchy, blunt, and secretly nerdy monk with a heart of gold; LEETLE BLOO TIEFLING who loves all things sweet and also pranks and also her god the Traveler he's her BEST FRIEND; sad buff goth woman with a tragic past who collects flowers and gently presses them into a book to save for sad reasons, EXTREMELY COLOURFUL TIEFLING who scored 100% in bullshitting class, insecure half-orc warlock reveling in his newfound abilities and EXTREMELY HESITANT about his newfound patron, little goblin who likes shiny things and also alchemy and stinky wizards; incredibly chill but passive aggressive pink-haired dead people-drinking cow man.

Important bad guys include: Slavers! Pirates? Their own mental health! Their own chaotic nature! Potentially two entire countries! The demigod version of an mutated circus clown/hyena combo!

Key themes, emotional arcs and moments include: Moving forward after doing terrible things! Learning to trust other people! Identity! Memory gaps! Becoming a better person!

My absolute favorite thing about both campaigns is the emphasis on family and friendships and friends-as-family and HOW FUCKING MUCH ALL THE CHARACTERS LOVE EACH OTHER and also how much the CAST loves each other because they have really great relationships with each other and that is also fun to watch. Because of the format theres a ton of time and emphasis on character, character arcs and character interaction, and maybe because of that all the relationships shown--ranging from romantic relationships to familial relationships or very close friendships, etc--are crazy well developed and wonderful to watch. If characters and their relationships are what tend to push you into watching things, you will definitely love this show. Not that the plot/worldbuilding is any worse. The DM insane the world is absolutely amazing.

The format isn't for everyone--the episodes are very long, around 4 hours on average on top of having a fuckton of episodes, and theres a lot of filler talk that can be fun but if you're easily distracted or bored might make watching it difficult. However if you're into long running fantasy book series, for instance (COSMEREcoughcough), youre probably already used to throwing ur soul into something way longer than any normal person would, and if you think you have the ability to get through something this long form, I'd highly recommend it. It's also in podcast form if you're like me and u wanna do something else while listening to stuff happen. If you don't think you'll ever be able to get through something that requires this much time and this much focus to watch, good news! CR had a fucking insane kickstarter this year where they raised enough money to produce an animated series, that they're currently working on--so sometime in the hopefully near future, an animated adaptation of one of the COOLEST arcs from CR1 is gonna be available. Probably a lot easier to watch than what is probably at least a solid month of gameplay.

Anyway this got way longer and probably contained more information than you really needed, but! I love this show so so so much and if u wanna hear more abt it plz feel free to ask bc I will talk abt it and never shut up if given the opportunity!!!

[griffinsmith]

jackall and/or ms vizzini for the ask game if you haven't done them already!

Anon I love you thank you for giving me another chance to talk abt these characters that live in my head rent free. Imma do both

favorite thing about them

Jackall – Im so lame but my favorite thing abt jackall is probably his voice? Like whoever read his lines for the game took it just the right amount of serious, and I really do love how many fluctuations there are in his sentences. Thank you anonymous voice actor I salute you

 Margherita – Probably her design! She’s so pretty and I love the usage of a female dueling unicorn in Marleybone. I also love her spunk, shes a girlboss

least favorite thing about them

Jackall – Ok other than the fact that he shows up once with a slightly blurry backstory, probably the fact that hes so annoyingly hard to fight. I do really want to do barkingham again but I really really don’t want to slog through the super lengthy Jackall fight and millions of cheats.

 Margherita – Just like Jackall (kinda), the fact that she shows up once and never again. She gets beaten and gets hauled away to Newgate. I wish we got a little follow up or something on her being there (along with jackall n the other people who were hired by him in barkingham). HOWEVER I do think its funny that she shows up as a wand may cast and I need the dragoons rapier for this reason alone

favorite line

Oh wow these are very close to each other in the dialogue tree I wonder why hmm

Jackall – “Lets see if my most trusted lieutenant, the dashing and dangerous Margherita Vizzini, can deliver my point”. Just picking this one bc I really like how its said and its like…2 seconds before jackall tells margherita shes a dumbass and sends her to jail. Love to see it

 Margherita – “Next time ill have to fight you with my right hand…” This one is my favorite purely because margherita has like 6 lines and it implies that not only did she fight the young wizard with her non dominant hand but also that it severely hindered her performance.

brOTP

Hhnng.. each other…. I know they don’t get along by the end of the dungeon but I think that Margherita really was Jackall’s most trusted lieutenant (whatever that means in this context) and that they were bros. Homies. Being mildly evil together

OTP

HNGH.. ALSO EACH OTHER.. Obviously only post barkingham and them like getting close again after what happened with jackall sending margherita to prison. I don’t have critical thinking skills does it show yet

nOTP

Gah I don’t really have one for either! Just nothing gross ig

random headcanon

Jackall – He is the middle child of 7 (purely bc I think its slightly funny even though its not) and his family has roots in enchanting objects and making potions, although he is the best at tinkering of said family.

 Margherita – Along with being a master of opera at the Opera Nova school in Valencia, Margherita also works there as a teacher! She’s got an amazing voice and uses it to help the opera singers of the future. She also helps them hone in their dueling spells and rarely ever loses a duel

unpopular opinion

Since both characters are so obscure there really are not any popular opinions to begin with but my hottest take is that neither one of them (specifically jackall) has a very angsty past or a bloody one. I am..not a big fan of angsty backstories so that’s why in my content I don’t make them into angst machine

song i associate with them

I have a (small) playlist for both characters so ill pick an ironic and unironic song for both

Jackall – Ironic song choice is My Ordinary Life by the living tombstone and unironic song choice is Low Beam by Her’s. First ones just because hes a lil full of himself and second one is because in my au hes still on the run from the law and hes an idiot

 Margherita- Ironic song choice is Stupid Horse by 100 Geccs and unironic is Ace in the Hole by Saint Motel. Honorable mention for either slot is Rat by Penelope Scott bc uh getting betrayed by your friend aint cool  

 favorite picture of them

Combed through my laptop to get these pictures. Please excuse my character in the first one, shes just there vibing and when i cropped her out the pic looked funny but anyway i like how they both look in these and thats all i have to say

[readymades2002]

What happened with cr?

oh its just bad

okay there are specific things i could point at about the campaign itself (whatever the retcon with beaujes was but specifically how it was decided that a masculine brown lesbian was just Lusting After her str8 bestie, everything with their official campaign 2 artist being kind of a shithead, veth being an alcoholic thief and then becoming human and turning out to weirdly enough be native coded in the official art, ALL of the goblin shit, smaller things like the post-hiatus weirdness or whatever is going on with yasha’s relationship with zuala or whatever the FUCK the age stuff with jester was or liam......liam) 

or the cast (matt’s dumbass “if only cops were like the cobalt soul :(” tweet, nearly everything liam and sam have ever done, the entire cast being just kind of ineffective liberal types and like whatever that’s a lot of media but it does grate on me!! especially with the story theyre telling ostensibly being about the empire being Evil and how its probably going to come down to A Few Bad Actors and i cant stomach that) 

or how they’ve run it (the weird boundaries with the fandom, the fandom being INTEGRAL to the show’s identity while also crying about how It’s THEIR Game We Are Just Being Allowed To Look if you say anything mildly critical abt it, the complacency+participation in whitewashing beau or just making her orange or whatever to the point of iirc including a fan illustration in an artbook that had originally been whitewashed only to be revised into the most atrocious racist caricature ive ever seen and THAT being the version that made it into the book,  raising 11 million dollars for a show and then going into an amazon partnership for it) 

but like genuinely 1) there is a lot and 2) mostly it was just a lot of petty grievances that accumulated over time for me fhdskj. like i hit a point listening to it where if i had to hear another sam ad i was going to become frenzied and i just wasn’t enjoying myself knowing what was to come so i stopped listening

i know a lot of people dropped off after the latest art update specifically if you want a specific incident but i don’t really have one. it’s a bunch of storytelling issues+annoyances+overwhelming just kind of. airheaded careless racism accumulating over time into something that is no longer just eyeroll worthy but something that gets steamrolled whenever its discussed, brushed off with an “at least theyre trying!” or a “wow it sounds like you’re forgetting to love each other :///” which doesn’t speak well to the community cr has created i dont think. i dont know! theres. theres a lot i could say Happened with critrole but ultimately i do think it comes down to. i just don’t think it’s very good, and i don’t enjoy it. there are elements i have liked but i have to divorce them from context to still do that and frankly i do not think there is enough i enjoy to make it worth it! maybe other people feel differently i dont know but personally im just bitter haha

[homestucky]

ok ok this is like not anything new but still since i havent been on here i havent fully ranted about this yet. big long rant incoming

re the epilogue (spoilers etc)

ok. i have onl y read meat. but fucking? dirk? dirk? ok? dirk??

no.

i am aware of what happens in candy. i know he dies.

i also know in the version i read, in meat, he becomes his ultimate self, all versions of dirk. as many people have said, this includes AR, this includes bro, this includes even to some degree, LE. its an interesting idea ill give you that. but its also.... shitty and not backed enough by well, anything?

so heres my personal rant about the shitty things in Meat.

when i first finished it i couldnt help but think. was the dirk narrative even necessary? on the one hand it was meant to be the MAIN PLOT and it defined the narration etc, but.... it honestly didnt seem to have any importance. i know it was likely  a set up to imply future stuff like making the next sburb or whatever but like

who CARES? why on earth would that be interesting or important? maybe im crazy but like, the ‘b plot’ which was mostly about character relationships and jobs in earth c, was compelling and enjoyable. the narrative with john ‘not important and not the main character anymore’ egbert had details and conclusions ACTUALLY RELATING TO HOMESTUCK, THE COMIC I LIKE AND WANTED TO READ AN EPILOGUE FOR. it was tragic and frankly very upsetting! im not saying i liked it!! but the tragedy felt compelling and significant. 

i appreciate that dirk as narrator IS BIASED so him saying that these narratives are less important is inherently like. not to be trusted but. just. i cant help but feel like you could have cut the whole ‘main dirk reality affecting’ narrative OUT 

and that seems to me maybe like... not good? if such a central part of your narrative has almost no bearing on homestuck or anything anyone cares about?

but im sure there are other people who found it compelling and necessary. thats fair. cant relate but you do you. there are other issues. 

me saying that the dirk narrative felt weirdly isolated and insignificant sounds pretty weird given that it put jade into a coma, manipulated kanayas mind, effectively killed rose and destroyed rosemary right? WELL that brings me on to the next thing. people have noted that meat barely passes the bechdel test. and hey, sometimes things like that can just be a coincidence or unlucky. but the repeated erasure of the female characters minds, motives, identities and autonomy was????  a little too consistent to dismiss. like ok terezi was still her dope self in a lot of ways. jane kinda did some stuff (under dirks direction, and only shitty stuff but . whatever). 

(sidebar: ofc it doesnt make sense to talk about calliope and roxy in the context of the female characters in Meat but either way they were very in the background. like cool an all, and i always love roxy. and i respect they were mostly just minding their own businesses??? which is fair)

 i just. urgh. homestuck has such a genuinely good track record of giving female characters genuine motivations and powerful abilities etc. the fact that almost ALL the female characters involved were working for or manipulated by DIRK. DIRK of all people. is like... is this even based off the real comic? idgi????

roses loss of autonomy.... rose is such an important character. and she goes along with everything dirk says because dirk is suddenly all OP and ‘theyre basically the same person anyway’ like i get that there was some magic bullshit going on or whatever but at the end of the day rose was still written as weak and passive. dirk as strong and skilled and decisive. i get the undertones.. hes a prince of heart. a destroyer of souls, and identities. he messed with kanayas identity , destroyed roses, repeatedly ignored roxys and calliopes, and god i wont even get started on jake yet. but that doesnt make it satisfying to read. or even really feasible.

so theres a possibility im missing something. but im confused about WHY dirk is allowed this power. in the narrative its waved off as a kind of ‘i guess because im like a prince of heart or whatever and im just super good at managing identities and being a strong boy’ like ok if theres some implication somewhere that that is MEANT to be a bogus explanation id be interested to know because it sounds pretty goddamn bogus. why would this happen to dirk? why? literally? one reason? one that makes sense? because there arent any i can think of. why, in the new universe, would dirk, a prince of heart, manifest into a narrative controlling supergod. and fucking WHEN has dirk showed any actual capabilities in this area before?? he KINDA sucked at it in the game. dirks an idiot! hes smart and capable in like, some ways but. its like

why is dirk so powerful suddenly -> its because hes become super ultimate dirk -> ... ok why -> uh because like. hes just so naturally inclined towards being a great manipulator yknow..... canonically.... uhhhh

it just. canon dirk to epilogue dirk is the most ridiculous leap character wise, skill wise, arc wise, personality wise, with minimal reasonable explanation. 

which brings me on to the next thing. so i roasted dirk and said he wasnt strong enough to be able to manipulate things this well. well, obviously through some other means dirk HAS been afforded this power. but what about his personality? its obviously gonna be warped with self importance and knowing how things ‘have to be’. but hes heartless, cruel and hateful. in some ways it seems like canon dirk levels of ruthlessness, especially when it shows that he is actually doing something dumb and petty like his treatment of jake. that shows that he STILL has emotional connection to people as dirk. he also seems to care about some people, like dave and roxy, and cracks jokes and wants to have ‘fun’. this makes the ways in which hes so warped and cruel seem even worse. maybe on the one hand im giving dirk too much credit, everyone knows he has the potential to be a real bastard. but i dont think that was the trajectory he was on when we last saw him. and if this is truly due to him just.. becoming other versions of himself too including LE and bro and stuff..like. i dont see how it could have gotten that bad without say, roxy or dave noticing. 

‘oh they didnt notice because hes just so good at hiding’ why on earth would i believe that!! dave especially this is kinda insulting for. dave is shown to have an almost supernatural ability to detect danger. partially this might be timeline stuff, knight stuff, but also notably im sure his upbringing is involved too. he was trained to be hypervigilant. who was he trained to be hypervigilant for? bro. bros manipulation and traps. near the end of the epilogue we show that dave IS capable of detecting the mindfuckery thats happening. how would that not set off 1 million alarm bells? theres literally apparently a twisted dirk-bro mutant INSIDE HIS HEAD telling him what to do. i just. know that scene was played for comedy and romance but at the very least thats gotta like???? mess with u if ur traumatised? and thats like , why i think dave should have had an inkling abt what was going on!! this is exactly the thing he hates and fears and was traumatised by! and it just going under his nose n him not even knowing , and still pretty recently being all buddy buddy with dirk seems just stupid and infeasible to me. maybe this is me being naive or kind of a stretch but i just feel like daves danger instincts would have been kicking up a whole assed ruckus that whole time. 

also kind of unrelated but i associate sunglasses with strider style toxic masculinity and hiding things so like. ok transitioning or changing gender presentation is one thing but roxy apparently permanently wearing sunglasses makes me NERVOUS

and ill probably wrap up this mighty rant soon but i wanna also say jake was done so fucking dirty. i know he was like, meant to be, because for some reason god dirk just hated him? like ok petty much. but. urgh jake is such an interesting character with a lot of potential and while i appreciate that him being manipulated by someone who may reasonably have a problem with him may make him do stupid and embarrassing stuff, all the narrative seems to have taken a backward step in how hes represented. jake isnt stupid, dirk clearly knew this in canon and he maybe was the only one even including jake. and there was some acknowledgement of this near the beginning of the epilogue. but then for some reason it goes back on itself. everyone still thinks jake is just completely stupid, including the embittered superdirk. so yeah i guess hes upset with jake or whatever but. its still dissatisfying to be like oh yeah jake isnt stupid he actually has a complex set of motivations and potential etc BUT over the X number of yrs on earth c no one else has realised this yet?? hmm. then his narrative is just gonna end up with him being a total joke and essentially becomes as stupid and incompetent as his worst critics say he is. feasible given the mind control ? yeah. enjoyable to read or having any kind of satisfying bearing on anything? nope!

so anyway. i feel like any criticism i have could be argued back with ‘but oh it has to be this way’ or ‘mind control!!’ or ‘not everything has to be nice and happy !!’ but like. dude. there are flaws. many of them. and seeing characters just get shat on is never gonna be good writing. 

[superemeralds]

I never understood this about Shadow, why does he even work with GUN?

*rubs my gay little hands together*

Finally it’s time for my analysis of GUN, the current GUN commander, Shadow’s relationship with both of them and speculations on the future…………..

warning: it’s actually gonna get……….. really wild. This turned out to be mainly an analysis of the GUN commander because he is the main factor that influences shadows decision but im… hoooo boy.

TLDR;

The commander is a Robotnik and the character development he went through, paired with Shadows acceptance of his judgement + forgiveness of his actions, as well as their friendly bond by the end of the game, gave Shadow the feeling that it is a good idea to join forces with GUN to keep his promise to Maria in keeping the planet safe.

( +3k words; all referenced videos and audio files are transcribed for accessibility; sources/references at the bottom)

If you have any questions or comments feel free to shoot me an ask! If you have anything to add or critique (because I’m 49320% sure i forgot half of the things i wanted to address again), feel free to add to my post!

Okay so before we can make out why Shadow would join GUN, we should establish why people think he wouldn’t.

As you said, you can’t understand his decision (very understandably so), therefor let’s sum up why you feel like this, and then I’ll try to explain how all that can actually lead to him joining in the end.

We all know GUN is responsible for Maria’s death, so why would Shadow want to join them? It doesn’t make sense!

Well, you see, it doesn’t. Things don’t always make sense. Not on first sight anyways.

First thing we should note is that the current GUN commander (I’ll talk abt him a lot now) and his family were aboard the ARK during the time that Shadow was created. We don’t know why, as there are no hints towards his parents’ jobs. There are also little hints to GUN actually having employees up there.

It is confirmed that GUN was funding the ARK project and all scientists abroad, they probably had agents up there that would live among the scientists to make sure to report back to the base frequently and keep HQ up-to-date about new findings and development of the experiments.

If the future commander was aware of that, or his parents were part of GUN, is not clear.

Speculative it is to say that he probably saw the GUN soldiers in the big invasion that killed his family (his parents either were scientists that were exterminated so they wouldn’t talk, or they were GUN agents that chose to defend the scientists, or they were killed by the artificial chaos that went on a rampage*) as heroes, since he canonically blames Shadow for everything.

He did have a deep and strong fear of Shadow since the very beginning because he happened to see Gerald and Black doom in a room with Shadow together at one point in time and associated Shadow with the alien ever since. It’s possible he didn’t know about Maria being very close to him, or he tolerated it because it was her.

Actually. 

Actually hold your fucking horses everyone I’m onto something.

Okay so… You know how the commander is super inconsistent with the whole family and Maria dying deal right?

SHADOW: Damn it! What does it all mean? These memories… thedoctor’s actions and words… nothing makes sense! Wasit real?

* - The GUN Commander walks up to Shadow, and points a handgun athim.

GUN COMMANDER: It’s been a long time… Shadow.

SHADOW: Who are you?! And how do you know my name?

GUN COMMANDER: I know you… Shadow the Hedgehog. You killedeveryone I loved… myfamily… Maria. I’ve been waiting all my life for this day!

SHADOW: What?! Me… and Maria?

* - A younger GUN Commander and Maria are running in a hall on theARK. He hits his ass to taunt Maria, and she catches up to him.She holds him in place, but he starts running again.

GUN COMMANDER (voiceover): Maria was like a sister to me. She wasthe only family I knew! And because of you… she waskilled!

* - The younger GUN-C gets to the door to Geral’d lab, and looksin the glass. Inside, Gerald and Black Doom are talking nearShadow’s pod.

GUN COMMANDER (voiceover): Witnessing it all… the plan to createthat horrifying evil creature... that black creature, and that insane professor who unleashed it all!

* - As the pod starts to move, the young GUN-C starts screaming.The pod sits upright, and Shadow opens his eyes.

SHADOW: So… the professor created me… with Black Doom?

GUN COMMANDER: You don’t fool me! It’s not just about Maria.Thanks to you, everyone I knewand loved was killed when the ARK was destroyed. Worst of all, myfamily! Finally… justice is served!

I bolded everything that is important to my analysis,,,,

ANYWAYS AS I WAS SAYING.

The Commanders words about his family and Maria being killed are all jumbled. One moment Maria is the only family he had, the next everyone he knew and loved was killed. Among those people Maria and his family.

We have no canon confirmation as to who his family was and why they were killed on the ARK. (Read speculation above again if needed, marked with an *)So what if Maria was his family? What if he was a Robotnik himself?

Who says that he knew about Ivo’s parents?

He might be blood related, or adopted by Gerald.

How else would a kid end up on a Space Station that is primarily for scientific research? Maria and the future commander should logically be the only children up there, because Gerald brought them with him. 

The commander witnessed Shadow’s creation and knows that Gerald was involved in it. He felt a deep hatred for Shadow, aswell as Gerald, for what happened. He mainly blames Shadow for the incident on ARK, but he also holds resentment towards Gerald for having created Shadow in the first place. (”The insane professor that unleashed it all!”)

This would imply that the commander refuses to see Gerald as part of his family anymore after that had happened, which would figuratively make Gerald “dead to him.” Maria would be the only family he had left after that, and she was killed on the ARK.

He was not there when it happened, he was escorted by GUN back to earth while Maria tried to defend Shadow and help him escape. He never got told how she died, he just, presumably, saw her on the list of victims.

This event shaped the commander into wanting to become someone who can protect the innocent from harm and prevent needless death.

We see his compassion in other cutscenes!

* - The Presiden’t helicopter touches down on the landing pad andseveral GUN soldiers run over to it. Slightly later, the GUNCommander helps the President walk to the control room. The Presidentsits down in a chair.

GUN COMMANDER: Sir, are you all right?

PRESIDENT: Never mind me… What about the people of Central City?

GUN COMMANDER: No need to worry, sir. Orders were issuedyesterday, and  everyone hasbeen evacuated to the safe zone.

[…]

GUN COMMANDER: So he’s finally decided to show himself. Attentionall command units! Mobilizeall Mech battle sections! Prepare all weapons to strikeincoming vessels! Mobilize “Diablon”!

GUN SOLDIR: But sir! It’s not ready yet!

GUN COMMANDER: I don’t care!! We have NO other option!! We MUSTprotect the President, andthe Chaos Emeralds, at all costs.

* - In the White House, the President is looking at Westopolisfrom the balcony. The sky is dark red/orange. The GUNCommander and two other soldiers come in through the door.

GUN COMMANDER: Sir, your transport is ready. We must go now! Sir,please!

PRESIDENT: Once again… I have failed my duty to protect ournation.

GUN COMMANDER: Sir, it’s not over! We can continue to fight. Theblack aliens may haverendered us unable for now, but we will rally, sir. You  must keep yournation strong and together.

PRESIDENT: Yes, keep the nation united. No matter what happens,we’ll never surrender to these creatures.*looks at the picture of Sonic and Shadow* This much I learnedfrom them.

GUN COMMANDER: Sir, please hurry.

PRESIDENT: Okay.

* - The President and the two soldiers start to leave. The GUNCommander looks at the picture the President keeps on his desk before leavinghimself.

GUN COMMANDER: The black creatures will feel their own bloodyHell!

Again, bold lines are important!

The commander made sure to evacuate the entire population of a major city that is based off the Washington metropolitan area with a populus of over 6 Million people within just one single day.

For reference I researched how long it normally takes to evacuate big cities in real life.

“At around 10 am on August 28, Mayor Ray Nagin declared a mandatory evacuation of the city, after Hurricane Katrina was updated to a Category 5, the strongest possible hurricane. By the time the hurricane hit, at around 7 AM on August 29, later studies revealed that around 90% of the New Orleans population left. That’s around one million people within 21 hours.

Preparations for Hurricane Katrina - Wikipedia

This is important, as we can guestimate just how long an evacuation could take, if we assume that the cities can evacuate at a similar rate to New Orleans. Doing the math, this means that New York City takes around 8 days to clear out, and Tokyo needs around two weeks or so.

Thing is, however, evacuation procedures will likely suffer because these cities are much larger than New Orleans, so you might need to add a few days to them.

So, it’s more likely that NYC and Tokyo would need at least two weeks before the cities could be cleared.”

source

So he really did something really amazing.

He prioritizes to keep the President and the chaos emeralds safe above anything else and risks unleashing a new and unreliable weapon; and against what you might think- that he’s selfish/doesn’t care about the citizens- the reason he prioritizes the emeralds over people….. 1) They’ve already been evacuated.2) If Black Doom gets all of the Chaos Emeralds there won’t be an Earth anymore. No Humanity. He can think critically and in advance yall.

Also consider how he gives the President hope, not to give up. He’s confident in his abilities as commander, and his his soldiers, to do whatever they can to keep the people of their country, and the entire world, save. And he also emphasizes that the nation themselves should not loose hope, that the President should be a positive influence and stand up against the intruders (the aliens).

He also says he’ll return “their bloody hell” to the aliens, which 1) references his association of Shadow with those aliens and his firm belief that Shadow killed Maria (and by extend his (grand?)father Gerald ?).2) references the fact that the aliens have taken countless of soldiers lives already and that he wishes to return that favour to their kind.

The commander is generally a justice loving person who will do anything in his power to do the right thing. When it comes to Shadow, though, he seems to not have his personal grudge towards him under control and he gets a little extreme with his idea of justice.

GUN COMMANDER: Shadow? Deploy the troops, NOW! And if you findShadow with the black aliens…then kill them all.

GUN SOLDIER: But sir, isn’t Shadow on our side–

GUN COMMANDER: I gave you an order, soldier! He’s evil and he’sthe enemy!

//

GUN COMMANDER: Alert all field commanders in Sector B. I’mauthorizing full use of alltactical weapons. I want both black aliens and Shadow stopped andburied. Failure, is not an option.

//

GUN COMMANDER: Hm-hm… It’s over, Shadow. You’ll finally beexposed and eradicated forthe evil that you are.

//

GUN COMMANDER (radio): Come in, Eclipse Cannon! He must be stoppedat all costs! Take him out... that’s an order!

//

GUN COMMANDER: Shadow! Damn you! It’s been fifty years… justicewill finally be served.*cocks handgun*

This emotional side of him is a great flaw in a man of his position, but also a great strength.

As we know he confronted Shadow about his hatred and literally attempted to personally kill him.

* - He fires his gun, but Shadow’s now standing behind theCommander, faced away from him, with his eyes closed.

SHADOW: If what you say is true, then I will respectfully acceptmy fate.

GUN COMMANDER: You mean to tell me that, you really don’t remembera thing?

SHADOW: But I just need some time… to uncover the real truth.

* - As Shadow walks off, the Commander looks at his gun and fallsto his knees.

Shadow admits to not remembering any of what he is saying, but that he will take responsibility for those things if it’s true (WHILE NOT EVEN REMEMBERING ANY OF IT). This means that Shadow accepts the justice the commander wanted to serve. And also that he forgives him for being so bitter about it, for being so incredibly angry.

You might think it is because he knows what it’s like to hate someone for killing your loved one and then doing everything to avenge them but…. he doesn’t remember. He doesn’t remember SA2. All he knows is the empty feeling of rage and sorrow, that he can’t really put any context on. (He remembered that Maria died and that he wasn’t able to save her, but he never remembered how she died. This had to be told to him by someone else. Either it was directly shown to him by Black Doom when he uses chaos control to show Shadow the past, or by Doom’s Eye in a cutscene before a boss fight. (iirc anyways because I’ve gone through so much cutscene and script material now that I might mix some stuff up, please correct me if I’m wrong).

Once the commander learns that Shadow doesn’t remember anything and fucking accepts his plans to kill him, he is SHOCKED.

He looks at his gun, as if he’s realizing just what the fuck he was doing, threatening and literally trying to kill Shadow in an attempt to serve “justice”. He falls to his knees in shame for his misguided behaviour. He realized how foolish and childish is obsessive pursuit of Shadow was.

Later in The Last Way when Gerald tells the truth about Shadow and Black Dooms relation and Shadow saves the world….

* - All of the members are cheering and yelling.

GUN COMMANDER: *sigh*

* - The President pats the Commander’s back.

PRESIDENT: How ironic… After the way we all treated him, hesaved us all i the end. We were all wrong about the professor. Let us pay homageto Professor Gerald. Let’s work to ensure peace and prosperity for a brighter future! What do you say, Commander?

GUN COMMANDER: Excellent idea, Mister President.

They feel guilty for holding Shadow accountable for the destruction the aliens caused, aswell as for what happened to Gerald. They plan to reform the way they act in homage of Gerald Robotnik (and Shadow the hedgehog).

Now, it’s not confirmed when exactly in the timeline it is, but the commander does say this, but in Space Gadget (after completing the game I assume) during the training gameplay it is possible to get a random call from the commander which says:

“Shadow, do you read me? First… I want to apologize, for the other day. Actually, I just became a grandfather last week and I was thinking of maybe having you over. I know that training is tough, but try and do your best.”

(here’s the voice file in case you want to hear it)

This confirms that the commander is trying to build a friendly relationship with Shadow now and wants him to be part of his family (again. Since they are both Robotniks.). It could either be an invitation after Shadow already had joined GUN, or, and I think that’s more likely, he wants to discuss that matter when Shadow pays him a visit and they can talk about it in person.

Now Shadow does forgive the commander for his actions, and he accepts that what happened to Maria lies in the past and that it is not the fault of anyone else but the person that shot her, so he can’t be angry at the entire human race for it. He understands it now.

The commander makes a genuine effort to keep the country, and the planet, save; and GUN is an organization that focuses on keeping the world save. Shadow knows that it is impossible for one person alone to do it, so he likely sees this as a good option for help since he’s willing to cooperate with this commander. Due to his old age he would have to retire soon, though, so Shadow would also likely want to be inside that system to have influence on the new leaders in the future, so that GUN does not stray the wrong path again. (Be it shady experiments or useless killing.)

He likely agreed upon the request under the condition that OMEGA could join along with him, as well as the condition that he, OMEGA and Rouge are an inseparable Team that will work together from this day forth.

This is how I think it went.

Yes I got lazy towards the end because it’s super hot and I’m sweaty and my laptop is literally wet from my sweaty hands its disgusting akjsfhka

If you have any questions or comments feel free to shoot me an ask! If you have anything to add or critique (because I’m 49320% sure i forgot half of the things i wanted to address again), feel free to add to my post!

sources: (take the wiki ones with a grain of salt i only referred to the stuff that is absolute fact (sourced trivia, quotes and plot line); not personality descriptions or anything interpretative stuff since the wiki is also fan made and i disagree with some of that)

http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Shadow_the_Hedgehog_(game)

http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Commander

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps2/926671-shadow-the-hedgehog/faqs/39966

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh7b_eml0EU (i used all 4 of those videos aswell as this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBisWZ8eKV0

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

i'm not familiar with your fics but from what i'm reading here you definitely don't seem like the kind of izzy fan that makes me sad, lol! im mostly talking abt the kind of izzy fan who is 100% convinced that blackhands or steddyhands is going to be endgame (a very small but very baffling minority) and/or the kind of izzy fan that was described in this ask i got (which is the post that the anon here is referencing, lol) aka izzy fans who become very defensive when people are "mean" to izzy (even tho, like... the show itself is mean to izzy)

i do think a lot of what im whining about here is actually just. a very common phenomenon that happens to basically every fan who stays active in a fandom when said fandom goes ages without new content. the more time spent reading or writing fanfiction and coming up with headcanons and talking with other fans, the less we remember about actual canon. fanon starts to take over and we forget how the show/movie/book/video game/whatever is actually written.

and this has actually happened to me with ofmd a few times—i make a point to rewatch the show every now and then to try and keep things in perspective, and on some of my rewatches i've been like "oh wow, fanon's been really warped my perspective on that!" i forgot how minor a role ivan and fang play in the show and how they sort of just... phase out of existence for episodes 7 and 8 (are they still on the Revenge? did they leave with izzy? i have no fucking idea). i forgot how confident stede is (despite how most of the time he really shouldn't be). i forgot how lighthearted a lot of the scenes are. i forgot how heartbreaking other ones are. all little things, mostly! but like i said, i've been regularly rewatching the show to try and keep things fresh.

so the specific kind of izzy fan i'm talking abt here are really just experiencing that to a truly insane extreme where they've forgotten what the actual show is even about (ed and stede's romance, first and foremost. that's the main plot of the entire show). and as someone who fucking loves this show, that makes me very sad. i understand that some people fixate on a character very strongly, and i'm not necessarily against people who shape their entire fandom experience around one character. but i do think fixating on the show's antagonist makes it a little easier to lose sight of canon on accident (which tbh i think can be a valid way to enjoy fandom!! but at least be aware of it. and also personally i prefer to do that when canon is actually bad, which ofmd is not)

to be clear, i fully understand that most people can't choose which character they fixate on. and while i am absolutely critical of when white side characters become disproportionately favored in fan content, i also recognize that fandom is pastime, not a job, and nobody can force other people to make content that they (or their brains) don't want to make.

(i, for one, would love to make any fanfic content. any at all. please, brain, please let me write fanfic)

so i actually love your approach here! for whatever reason, your brain right now will only let you write izzy-centric content. there are probably a lot of other fans in the same boat, and there probably are a million reasons why that's happened—maybe they want to "fix" izzy to make him fit in like you're suggesting, maybe they have a preference for antagonists, maybe they just think con o'neill is hot, maybe izzy reminds them of someone important to them, maybe they've all been taught by society to care more about white male characters than any other type of character (and as uncomfortable as this one is to consider, we absolutely cannot dismiss it). but even though your brain (and most likely the brains of a lot of izzy fans as well) will only let you write izzy doesn't mean you can't enjoy what other fans have done with all the other characters in the show!

reading and sharing fanfic that isn't izzy-centric, looking for art and gifs of other characters, reblogging other people's headcanons abt the other characters—these are all great ways to celebrate the other parts of this fantastic show even when your brain will only let you create for one character. so i'm going to follow your lead and recommend a few fics that i've really enjoyed that are about less popular characters or explore popular characters in ways most fanfiction doesnt:

all at sea by @peaktotheocean (T, 14k, Complete): post-season 1 jim-centric fic about what happens on the Revenge after the season finale (what happens is ed takes jim under his wing). since u said ur an izzy fan i feel like i should warn u that the fic is not very nice to him. as in he just sort of... dies. and nobody cares. i rlly hope that doesn't put you off this fic tho bc it's very very good!

Transformative Work by @mia-ugly, @pinehutch (E, 41k, Complete): another post-season 1 fic about what happens on the Revenge, but this one is frenchie-centric! ed asks frenchie to write a better ending for him and stede. this turns into frenchie and the rest of the crew writing all sorts of incredibly hilarious fanfiction (for example: a PWP from lucius) abt ed and stede. also frenchie/olu/jim the ot3 i never knew i needed. funny and sweet and heartbreaking and hilarious. (this one does kinda retcon what little we know of frenchie's backstory which is kinda a bummer imo, but it is still very well done)

Now I Will Believe That There Are Unicorns by @meanmisscharles (M, 21k, WIP): pregnant trans!ed: the fanfic! very very cute and sweet. lots of ed bonding with the crew which is *chefs kiss* so fucking healing. also i would die for this baby

What Kind of Pirate Has a Friend? by @thetardigrape (E, 31k, complete): very good fic about ed's hornigold era and the start of blackbeard. no idea if this will be up your alley but one of the biggest reasons i really like this one is bc izzy is actually not in it at all. i mean, i totally understand why everyone headcanons ed, jack, and izzy as being young boys on hornigold's ship together, but the way izzy talks about "i was honored to work for blackbeard" in e4 makes me feel like izzy only met ed once he had already established himself as blackbeard. so personally i love this fic for being an excellent hornigold backstory that fits with my headcanon, lol

thank for that amazing analysis of Izzy apologists. I'm so very tired. I adore some friends I've made in this fandom, but some of them are so deeply drunk on the Jizzy I can not *stand* talking about the show with them or Izzy anymore. It's either "Izzy is just a little guy he can't hurt anyone!" or "Izzy is gay he can't be femmephobic!" I'm so tired! He's the antagonist how is that controversial!? They see themselves as such victims too, the pointing of Izzy flaws is seen as an attack. Sigh.

im so very tired too, anon.

i really dont get it. i've been in fandoms where the fanon content all comes from a deep misunderstanding of what the original text is supposed to be. but like, it was marvel. or voltron. or that transphobic wizard school series. something where fans were actually coming up with a better version of the source material

i came into this fandom not because i wanted content that fixed what i disliked abt the source material, but because i wanted more of the source material, and there was only so many times i could rewatch the ten episodes that we have. this show is fucking phenomenal and has brought me so much joy, and talking abt this show and chewing on good analyses of the show has been so much fucking fun.

it's just disheartening, i guess, that so many people fell down this gradual pipeline of liking the weird little gremlin antagonist to having their entire fandom experience revolve around a version of izzy that reflects fanon more than canon. it makes me fucking sad that there are people who genuinely believe he's the show's secret protagonist and that season one is full of undeniable references to his inevitable redemption arc but also he doesn't need to change anything to be redeemed because he's the skyler white of ofmd (???) and he's a victim of an abusive relationship but also he doesn't know he's in love with his captain who is so mean and unfair to him and doesn't even notice how izzy dedicates his whole life to him and–

like. these people don't even like the show anymore. they just like izzy. rather, they like the version of him they've made up in their heads. it makes me so fucking sad, bro.

we got a gay romcom, y'all. we got a show that revolves entirely around the romantic relationship between two middle-aged men. we got a diverse cast. we got polyamory. we got nonbinary rep. we got fat characters whose fatness was never made into a joke. we got a character with a lisp whose lisp was never commented on. we got so fucking much from this show.

do you remember how it felt to watch this show for the first time? do you remember that joy?

i just dont understand why so many people in the ofmd fandom don't like ofmd anymore

[defiestars]

some quick verse + tlj thoughts related info  * *  very uhHHH likely to change as i go / as i remember things more clearly if / when i subject myself to tlj again

i.  recovery   //    in the empire strikes back novelisation luke was in his bacta tank for 12 hours and then slept for another 16 hours for fatal hypothermia.  assuming bacta technology has advanced and become more sophisticated,  particularly because it’s now been synthesised into a suit,  i’d estimate finn’s recovery to have been in the 30-36 hour mark.  (   also, he’s force-sensitive but that’s A Whole Other Topic  !  )   

if we assume:  day 1 post-tfa:  rey staying long enough to get her hot new Grey Jedi Look together  +  organise the gps bracelet plan with leia.  the resistance receiving alerts that the first order fleet is approaching and beginning evacuation plans.  day 2 post-tfa:  finn wakes up,  half a day earlier than he did in tlj,  just in time to offer information on the weak points of the star destroyers and the dreadnought, including helping devise the plan to eliminate the dreadnought’s surface cannons and clear the way for the resistance bombers. 

ii.  allegiance   //   FINN OWES !! THE RESISTANCE !! NOTHING !!!!!!  HE DOESN’T OWE ANYBODY SHIT !!!!!!!  this boy has risked his life and livelihood time and again from the moment he chose not to kill for the first order for complete strangers,  for a movement he had no prior connections with.  even if leaving and becoming a  ‘’’’’’’ traitor ‘’’’’’ to the resistance had been right for his character and a valid development in his character arc,  he does not deserve to be called a deserter for wanting nothing to do with the first order ever again.  like........... does anybody fucking realise that alongside the very possible defeat of the resistance, finn being captured by the first order again probably means he wouldn’t be killed, but  reconditioned  ???????  the first order has had deserters, too !!   they also get tasered !  in the Head, specifically their Brain, where they’re basically restored to factory settings.  not to mention the sheer amount of bravery and courage and heroism it takes for him to turn around and face the organization that destroyed his childhood, enslaved him, and has systematically abused him every day of his life.

with all of that said,,,,,  it makes 0 sense for finn to decide, in the middle of the resistance evacuation, to suddenly up and leave with a shitty ass excuse about needing to be far away for when rey comes back.  like ??????  rey's path is already so deeply and inexorably tied to the rube goldberg machine that is the jedi, the resistance, and the skywalkers,  and finn knows this.  even if he wasn’t fundamentally a person with a moral compass that couldn’t be broken even by two decades of indoctrination into a fascist space nazi regime,  finn does The Things He Does because they’re the right thing to do.  his character arc is not and has never been defined by rey.  i don’t know what dinosaur sloth titty juice rian johnson’s been drinking but repeating parts of finn’s earlier character development to the point of regression is not !!! good !!!! writing !!!!!!!

given that he’s spent 36ish hours in a recovery coma,  finn hasn’t had so much as a Second to process,  or decide,  where he stands in the resistance.  like rey,  he too is looking for someone to show him his place in all this.  unlike rey,  he has no mentor figure, no introspective screentime alone,  no inner dialogue or space to explore who he is now in the post-first order part of his life.  but,  for the time being and given the time-sensitivity of the resistance evacuation,  he is absolutely on the side of the rebels.  these are the people who saved him and protected him,  who gave him the jacket off their backs and something to fight for.  not only does deserting make 0 logical or tactical sense in the middle of an evacuation,  it’s just outright selfish ??  and self-serving ???  none of which finn is, thank you @ryan johnson.

iii.  rebellion   //   so there’s been a lot of differing opinions on finn and rose’s storyline and after agonizing a lot of this i’ve come to the almost final decision that it’s Not As Bad as ppl want it to be.  like a lot of mischaracterisation fuck-ups in tlj,  it mainly comes down to  how this storyline was treated in the grand scheme of tlj and how significant it was to the overarching plot.  canto bight only seems irrelevant because ryan johnson is a terrible fucking writer who thrives off sidelining his characters of color.  thematically, it served it as a damning critique of the powerful ruling class and political economic elites that are actively profitting from the injustice and oppression of war.  rose showing those kids the resistance emblem in her ring is one of the most iconic moments in the film;  inspiring a whole generation of children to rise up against their oppressors is  everything the resistance symbolizes and fights for.  

throwing in an unnecessary oc spitting some half-assed  ‘ everything isn’t always good or bad, sometimes there’s just grey areas ’  message in a parallel of the jedi story and ultimately having the undercover mission serve No Purpose Whatsoever was a shitty move.  in keeping with the fandom interpretation that tlj is a story about failure,  this would’ve been okay  only  if  the detour onto the star destroyer hadn’t been for absolutely nothing.  because there Needed to be fucking somETHINg,  instead of just benicio del toro rihanna.gif winking with the parting words that  ‘ hey sometimes people are just assholes ’.  star wars isn’t a story... about... people being fundamentally shitty..... it’s a story about good vs. bad and the enduring struggle for Balance between them;  People Are Both.  it doesn’t matter what you are but what you  do  and the choice you have to do good or bad.  to counteract the shittiness of dj fucking off,  leaving two poc to be forced onto their knees by a white fascist villain,  and a black character to be slapped upside the face by said white fascist villain we needed Something.  WHERE WAS OUR STORMTROOPER UPRISING, hMMMmm MMm MMMM mMM MM ????????????

bb-8 showing up as deus ex sight gag was funny for 2.5 seconds but now i'm just.... like crait.... a whole Salt Planet.  we could have had, it All ?  i don’t even specifically know where this part of my tlj-divergent verse goes because it actually requires other non-canon characters to exist but.... hey if any ex-stormtrooper oc’s wanna hmu.... u kno where i’m at.  basically,  i picture a handful of stormtroopers defecting,  escaping with rose and finn,  becoming part of  the rebellion that is reborn. 

iv.  battle of crait   //   this... fuc king scene..... god.  let’s just get the wampa out of the way.  rose’s  ‘ that’s how we’re gonna win.  not fighting what we hate, saving what we love ’  was totally narratively undeserved.  this is not a criticism of the character but of ryan, again, the man who was paid millions of dollars to write this garbage.  in under 18 hours,,,, rose has decided that she has gotten over her lifelong hatred for the first order,  her very recent and fresh grief over losing her sister who died Fighting The First Order,  and oH,  she LOVES FINN ?  WHAT.  cool.  coolcoolcool.

in my canon, i’m going to go with the idea that rose did not kiss finn.  but they have a fantastic dynamic,  and rose crashing into him, saving him and saying something similar to what she said but more along the lines of not wanting to lose another person she cares about to the first order would have been much... better....  i view this ship as primarily platonic, at least far as tlj goes.  finnrey and finnpoe barely had any screentime / development so ryan johnson is flat-out playing no-homo games if he thinks he’s going to sail a ship based on 18 hours of knowing each other.  but i’m totally open to seeing where it goes with proper development, etc. in rp,  so if there are any rose’s that would like to plot with me and discuss finnrose stuff please !!!  i’m begging you !!!!  

if ya made it to the end,  thank you,  ur the real mvp,  u are now obligated to message me to plot or yell at me abt ur own tlj salt / headcanons / character analysis.