#probably not gonna tag thrawn because i don't want his stans coming to try and convince me that thrawn is just a poor little meow meow

[tarisilmarwen]

Well I guess the stars have finally aligned correctly, here’s that post about all the things I don’t like about post-canon Adventures In Wild Space fic and headcanons and theories re. Ezra and Thrawn and why I’m hoping the Ahsoka show surprises me and uses precisely none of it.

1. The Grysk are boring and an unconvincing threat.

You want an extra-galactic adversary that packs a real punch, there’s really no topping the Yuuzhan Vong from Legends’ New Jedi Order series, who on top of being highly intelligent and charismatic fantatic religious crusaders had organic technology that was super freaky and completely alien which made them a much more interesting and legitimate threat.

The Grysk are cheap Walmart bargain bin Vong by comparison.  Do they even have personalities?  Have we even had any named Grysk at all?  The only thing they have going for them is their brainwashing mind control stuff which, again, the Vong did better and creepier.

2. Chiss politics are also boring.

I’m sorry I tried but my eyes glaze over every time.  Too many names to remember and it all just seems so tedious.

3. I am terminally uninterested in sympathetic/anti-hero/lionized Thrawn.

I feel like that should be self-explanatory but this fandom is notoriously bad at nuance so I’ll elaborate.

While I don’t mind Thrawn being a complex and interesting and slightly sympathetic villain I am not remotely interested in any storyline that makes excuses for, downplays, retcons, diminishes, or in any way tries to whitewash any of Thrawn’s crimes or misdeeds or otherwise allows him to get off scott-free from the consequences of them.

This is unfortunately why I have to be wary of Timothy Zahn himself as he’s reportedly suggested possessing a personal headcanon about the buildings in Capitol City being empty when Thrawn bombed them in the Rebels finale which... just... just no, Tim.  Just no.  That’s a stupid retcon and you know it.

Thrawn getting to go back to the Ascendancy as if nothing about his service in the Empire happened is not satisfying to me.  I am not interested in seeing him surrounded by sycophants singing his praises and saying what a good and brilliant commander he is.  I am not interested in making a sob story out of his motives for joining the Empire.  His motives do not matter.  It does not make one iota of a difference that he was doing everything “for the good of the Chiss”, none of that makes him a good person and I have zero interest in him being portrayed as such.

4. I don’t like Ezra’s heroism or sacrifice being made less important.

Tangentially related to the above.  I don’t like when fics have Thrawn be all, “Well I was planning on leaving the Empire anyway so really you did me a favor.”  I don’t like Thrawn immediately dropping hostilities and working with Ezra day one as if the whole purrgiling basically doesn’t affect or phase him at all.  I don’t like Zahn’s rumored empty buildings theory because it makes Ezra look like he’s stupid.  I’m... ngl... not especially fond of plotlines where Ezra’s reduced to basically the tagalong kid trotting on Thrawn’s heels around the Ascendancy, though it’s more tolerable than other plots admittedly.

I would flip an actual table if they have Ezra go evil.  Not even kidding.  I do not understand how or why anyone could actually want that.

5. I’m not convinced that Thrawn and Ezra would ever be friends.

Is it hilarious to do in fics/fanart?  Oh yes.  Do I want it in canon or anything that’s trying to be realistic or serious?  No, without some serious legwork put into Thrawn redeeming himself that would stretch my disbelief a bit too far.

Without seeing the legwork, the development, the character growth and growing respect between them, I just will not buy Ezra willingly going with Thrawn to the Ascendancy instead of amicably parting ways and making his way back home.

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And there you have it, those are Tari’s Grouchy Fandom Lady Opinions about Adventures In Wild Space material and Ashoka Show theories, I would just like to emphasize and disclaim these are my personal thoughts I’m not trying to dictate what anyone should write, fic-wise, just trying to explain why I’m not interested in it and don’t wanna see it onscreen.