#rai rambles

[rainyraisin]

Movie Gerald Robotnik: An analysis on how sympathetic does not equate to forgiveable and the differences between redeemability and forgiveability

Redemption is a possibility for every person. To be redeemed is to change for the better. And as Sonic states within this film, "You always have a choice". Choosing to be better is an integral theme within this franchise and has so far been shown through Knuckles, Shadow, and Robotnik, and the movies make a point of illustrating that anybody has this choice. Everyone can be redeemed.

But not everyone can be forgiven.

There is no threshold for where redemption no longer becomes a possibility, because being better is always a possibility, after all its well known that when you're at rock bottom, you can only go up. But when it comes to forgiveness, there is a threshold where granting that forgiveness brings your own morality into question. If you're willing to forgive something that bad, what else are you willing to forgive? The characters that Sonic forgives in these movies only ever get close to doing what they aim to, and these instances only occur because of manipulation, both Knuckles and Shadow being manipulated by one of the Robotniks to aid them in their plan, along with Eggman being manipulated by Gerald. The one character that does go forward with it yet still gets redeemed, Sonic doesn't even outright forgive like he does the other two. Eggman and Sonic never make amends or properly team up together. The one time they do team up is begrudgingly and it is incredibly clear that both sides still despise each other. Despite Ivo's redemption, there is no forgiveness there. Redeemability and forgiveability are not outright intertwined with one another. Being deserving of one does not automatically grant you the other.

Something else that most would assume is interwined with forgiveness is sympathy. You understand why someone has done something, so you forgive them for doing it. That's how the majority of people assume forgiveness to work. If you do not understand why someone has done something, then on what grounds can you forgive them? But sympathising with someone does not mean that their actions are no longer inherently bad or morally wrong, nor that they should be forgiven. And in my opinion, the perfect example of this concept is Gerald Robotnik.

Outside of the movies, Gerald Robotnik had never really been a character I'd thought much about. But something that is a trend with these movies is that they tend to bring characters I wouldn't expect to have liked or didn't previously think about any interpretations of to the forefront of my brain, and that's what happened with Movie Gerald.

The character of Movie Gerald is objectively sympathetic, yes. This man has been torn apart by his grief, losing the person he cared most about, someone he took everywhere and did everything for, and imprisoned for 50 years at the hands of the people who took her from him, only able to escape by giving them more power than they deserve to have (although I do believe that this incarnation of Gerald didn't expect GUN to have the chance to use it, he was incredibly quick to enact his plans and seemed very confident within them). But the movie makes a point to display how he is in no way a character that you should respect or care about, because he will not change. He will not care about others, and so you should not care about him.

One of the best examples of this is one of the first scenes within the eclipse canon, where Gerald forces Shadow to relive Maria's death in order to power the eclipse canon. This event was the downfall of both he and Shadow, the thing that led to the paths they are currently on and the entire reason that all of this is happening right now, but despite how emotionally charged this memory is for the both of them, despite him being the one other person who knows how damaging and absolutely devastating this moment was for the both of them, despite being the only person Shadow has left, he uses it against Shadow anyway for his own personal gain.

And yet, in that same scene, it visually displays how destroyed Gerald was by it. In one look, you can see the moment where this man was broken to the point of irrepability, a point of no return, and in that moment you sympathise with him. Because why wouldn't you? But as soon as that flashback is over, you remember how he has just used what caused that change to hurt the one person who understands, and suddenly all that sympathy is gone, because he does not care.

Gerald Robotnik is a manipulator. He is cold and calculating and any sense of sympathy or care he himself shows at this point is only there to serve his own personal goals. The people around him, the people you expect him to care about (Ivo), and the people he has cared about (Shadow), are only there to be tools for his ultimate plan. He does not care if they live or die, in fact his entire plan revolves around the fact that they will die. Every single human life is completely irrelevant to him. Is utterly disgusting to him. So why should you care? Why should you sympathise? When this man would vaporise you in an instant simply because you exist? For something that may have happened before you were even alive. Before your parents were even alive, in some cases. A small group of people caused this pain, and yet Gerald wishes to take revenge on everyone, no matter how innocent they are.

And the thing that hurts the most is that this change is so perfectly displayed through the flashbacks within this movie. One line that has stuck with me the most is "They want to take Shadow from us, Maria". From US. He cared about Shadow just as much as Maria did. Yet now, when Shadow betrays him, he does not show hurt. He does not speak of how much he trusted Shadow, and how he is saddened by the fact that he would act against him. No. He simply laments how Shadow was once so useful to him. He pratically raised Shadow, he knows he is a child, he refers to him as a child, a kid, yet now he only cares about how useful he can be. Someone he considered his child just as much as Maria is now pratically dead to him.

This man does not care about anyone and never will again. He cannot be forgiven, because he will not forgive anyone. He cannot be sympathised with, because he refuses to sympathise with anyone. He cannot be allowed to live, because if he does everyone else's lives will be forfeit. The choices he has made have led to him being completely unforgiveable, and whilst that sympathy is still somewhat there, it gets harder to provide the further on the movie goes, the more you see of just how little Gerald cares anymore.

I really love how his death was not given a single ounce of seriousness or importance. Every other death or near death experience in this franchise is treated with the severity and intense emotional charge that is necessary within these scenes. Even Walters, a character most people do not even like, is treated with respect during his death, and he is allowed to have his last words.

Yet Gerald doesn't get any last words. Nope, he gets a quill to the ass and get launched into a fucking bugzapper and is never mentioned again. It is utterly perfect for this interpretation of the character because he got the death that he would've provided everyone on earth. No last words, no chance to properly come to terms with the fact that they are going to die. Some may have not even noticed what was happening. Half the world wouldve been asleep. They wouldve all been there one moment, and gone the next. Just like Gerald. And I think that is the death he deserves, or at least it is at this point in his life. The point of no return.

Gerald had multiple chances to change. He always had a choice. He had 50 years to make that choice. He had people there who wanted to help him make that choice, tried to help him make that choice. *Ivo*, his grandson, the last family he had left other than Shadow, tried to help him make that choice. Yet Gerald rejects him. Because he is no Maria.

Gerald is completely hung up on something that happened so long ago, and he will never let that go. He would rather vaporise every living being, including his loved ones, because he lost one person. And whilst Shadow was going to make that same choice, he chose to change.

Some people may even be of the opinion that he had been put through more than Gerald had. Gerald had more family than just Maria and Shadow. Yet they were all Shadow had. Shadow was forced to relive that exact moment for 50 years whilst he was in statis because he had no other choice.

But Gerald did. Gerald always had that choice, as soon as he got out of prison he had that choice, because he had the freedom to do what Shadow could not on his own. He had the choice to not let his anger consume him. Other characters in this franchise have displayed not letting their grief ruin them. Shadow, someone who went through the exact same thing Gerald did, possibly something even worse, makes the choice to not let his grief ruin him, and to do the right thing. To redeem himself. To not let himself get to the point where forgiveness is no longer an option, because deep down he knows that that isn't what he wants. That isn't what Maria would've wanted. She wouldn't want him to reach that threshold (something that Gerald shows he doesn't even care about anymore when he states that it isn't about what Maria would've wanted, it's about what they deserve. Maria is now only the vehicle for his anger, something that pushes it forward but no longer the reason for its presence, because anger has consumed all that remained of him).

Gerald is the example of someone who allowed themselves to pass the threshold to a point where they could no longer be forgiven, the complete opposite of Shadow. And what does he receive for this? Nothing. He does not get the revenge he wanted. He does not get an honourable death like Shadow does, and unlike Shadow, nobody cares when he dies. Because he always had a choice. He just refused to make it.

He didn't choose to be redeemed.

And whilst he is sympathetic, and always will be, he didn't choose to be able to be forgiven.

Gerald Robotnik is the perfect example of how sympathetic does not mean forgiveable, and is, in my opinion, the perfect villain for the Sonic Cinematic Universe. Because he openly rejects every theme that the movies uphold. He rejects family. He rejects being redeemed or forgiven. He rejects that he can change. He goes against everything that these movies and characters stand for, and all he has to show for it is a meangingless demise that only served to make people laugh. Gerald Robotnik is made out to be a joke. And that is the only part of him that will persist in death.

[maharlika]

mind plagued by thoughts of byaren sugar baby AU

renji has been secretly hooking up with his best friend's ridiculously hot and rich older brother for about six months now

byakuya is so casual with money that it makes renji want to throw up a bit, but aside from that the sex is incredible and the allowance byakuya sends him every month goes straight into a time deposit and makes him feel a lot less worried about dying via starvation or avoidable medical issues

it's good. it's great, even. the sex is mindblowing

so what if renji wants for a bit of aftercare? so what if he's starting to feel like a whore - for fuck's sake, he's even getting paid like one

he's an aspirational guy, renji. sometimes the aspiration is making his boyfriend (??) - benefactor (????) - byakuya - come three times in a row and get that glazed look in his eyes that says his brain has finally shut up

sometimes - and here's the rub - the aspiration is to be able to hold byakuya's hand in public

some things are way too out of reach for a guy like renji, he knows this. still - it doesn't hurt to dream

(plot twist: byakuya fully thinks that he and renji are boyfriends and he bought a ridiculously expensive engagement ring 3 months into this endeavor) (he keeps it in his office desk and opens the box whenever he feels like he wants to abandon his family and the company and move to a secluded island. with renji, of course. always with renji, these days)

[ghostkittysstuff]

I've been working all morning and listening to epic anddd uhhh

so

people have brought up the fact that telemachus had like never seen his dad or anything and still y'know knew who he was

anddd

i have come to the conclusion

that

telemachus spent so much time studying the assorted portraits and tapestries of his father

and then studying himself in the mirror, trying to find every little similarity between him and the depictions of ody

that when he actually saw ody, he saw so much of his own features in the guy who sort of appeared and got rid of his biggest issue, he was able to figure out super quickly that it was odysseus.

anyway how's yalls day going

[prime-pulse]

CRAWLS MY WAY OUT OF COLLEGE HELL

hello everyone. i took a summer semester. can't say i recommend it. however ive also started a rewatch of ninjago and i feel revitilized in my hatred of tommy and in a blur i have lined + colored a page or two. i will try to be back soon.....

[mitsukuri]

choose your ookurikara nickname

karabou - you're still waiting for the katsugeki movie

karachan - you are an avid hanamaru enjoyer and/or have every dategumi recollection unlocked ingame. sometimes you think about giden in which mitsutada says 'karachan' at least 20 times yes i was counting

kurichan/kurikara/ookuri - you deserve a veteran's discount

backwater sword from touhoku - you are kasen kanesada

[a-town-wolf]

se ranieri e leopardi non si danno almeno un bacetto domani o dopodomani IMPAZZISCO

[raideo]

I CAUGHT A SHINY BARBOACH OH MY GOD!!!! My favorite pokemon 💖😭

Its just me and my son against the world ✨

[lightwing-s]

Hey guys!

So, this week I’m back to uni, meaning, posting will slow down a lot from now on. I’m gonna do my best to keep updating Baby Steps weekly, but it might become a bit difficult for me to do it. We’ll see.

Hope you understand, and I’m wishing every student a great semester, a lot of learning and a lot of fun. 💜

With love,

Rai 💜

[tmnt-reticent]

The pink aesthetic of this blog was meant to be a joke like “haha look at all this cute imagery oh btw this is about religious trauma and emotional abuse and how it tore a family apart” but I think I accidentally managed to trick people with the blog’s look into thinking that it was a cute au so now I’m just terrified for anyone who thinks Ret is cute to see some of the art Ive drawn for it or that like other people have drawn for it or maybe even read the fic WHAJDBWKHD. Bc yall know what the fic is like you’ve read it you’ve read Pathetic you know what’s up. It’s not even that angsty yet btw there is uh. There is stuff coming. Y’all aren’t ready S1 is the most chill season by far.

But yeah just thought I’d yap about that for a bit bc it’s so interesting to me about how much the look and feel of a blog like this can actually do. Its kinda giving like Omori or DDLC where it looks super cute and then it’s like “oh nvm this is fucked up actually”

I’m gonna keep what it looks like for now bc 1. I think it’s cute 2. I think it’s funny and 3. I’m too busy with art fight rn to draw a new banner but maybe one day I’ll make it fit Ret more idk maybe when the story gets more serious.

[schumaquinho]

wait wdymmm dec cheats😟😟

well, apparently he does.

i read about it first on twitter after a girl commented a tweet about how he defended his gf against the criticism she had been receiving recently. she said it was funny that people were praising him for being “the only decent footballer” for not having an insta model girlfriend and keeping her since they were young and being faithful when he was caught out with other girls around the time when she was pregnant.

don’t quote me on the last part because i’m not sure she was pregnant at the time, but i did find pics of him and other girls while he was in vegas with other footballer. in them he’s not doing anything per se, but you can’t deny it looks incriminating lol

like, don’t tell me those pics don’t look compromising on his part. at least if i found my boyfriend this close to another girl dressed like that and in fucking vegas of all places i’d be fuming, pulling out my hair from my scalp and rolling on the floor with anger (and i’d certainly break up with him, too. i’m too insecure to keep a relationship going after that).

here are the pics i mentioned, found on the sun (i know they’re not the best source but anyway)

so yeah. if he cheated or not can be… debatable. but certainly it does not look favorable to him. but hey, it’s not my relationship, idk them, and we can’t be 100% sure he did anything. like, he could be just talking to them, although i highly doubt it. aaaaand jack grealish was with him in vegas, too, and we know jack shits on his gf like crazy too. i wouldn’t doubt his cheating energy got around to decs.

footballers will always be footballers, i guess.

[rainyraisin]

I was not expecting this to go as well as it did

First time drawing him I WILL KEEP ON PRACTICING‼️‼️‼️🗣️🗣️💯💯💯🔥🔥🔥‼️‼️

[maharlika]

i've only had look up byakuya for half a day but if anything were to happen to him i would kill everyone in this room and then myself 😩

[ghostkittysstuff]

wtf

i feel like I need to share this conversation my friends seem to be having

I give you @fry-the-earthling, @thetwistedartist0426, and @cara-the-yiga-footsoldier, everyone.

(applaud now)

[raideoarts]

Gonna have to make up tonight's drawing tomorrow I had a massive breakdown tonight and managed to pull myself together just enough to make food. Im prioritizing self care- or trying to anyways, and getting to bed earlier tonight 😞🫡

[mitsukuri]

not me making myself a discord server to braindump

[prime-pulse]

hiii. so i start college tomorrow! but i also have a 6hr gap between my classes on tuesdays and thursdays. im hoping during that time i can get back into drawing for SLG, and hopefully DPL. DPL is in dire need of my attention but I really want to get SLG's arc moving forward again considering I wanted to finish it 2 years ago HAHA either way, look out for SLG content soon, even if it's just memes :)