The Commander: Difference between revisions

'''The Commander''' (指挥官 (zhǐhuīguān) in Chinese and 指揮官 (shikikan) in Japanese) is the identity of the player character in [[Girls' Frontline]] and [[Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium]]. Because they represent the player, their gender and past are loosely defined in the games.

As a tactical commander, the Commander is tasked with assessing the strategic situation and to remotely give orders to their [[Tactical Doll]]s squads in the field (though they sometimes also take the field). At [[Griffin & Kryuger]], they were helped in their duties by their logistic officer [[Kalina]], and later by [[Mayling]] after becoming a bounty hunter. Early in their career at G&K in 2062, the Commander was involved with the elite T-Doll squad [[AR Team]] and demonstrated high commanding capabilities, gaining the trust of their superiors. This led them to assume increasingly important missions against [[Sangvis Ferri]] and eventually to become an asset to the [[Bureau of State Security]] against [[KCCO]] and [[Paradeus]]. At some point, the Commander also assumed the identity of [[the Professor]] during the investigation of the [[Magrasea]] superserver backup. After the [[Battle of Frankfurt]] in 2064, the Commander became a bounty hunter operating under [[B.R.I.E.F.]].

Because of the particularity of G&K troops being T-Dolls, the main factor of recruitment for human commanders isn't professional training or experience, but being able to pass a psychological evaluation dedicated to measuring interpersonal compatibility with T-Dolls. The Commander displayed such traits of character as patience, courage and loyalty.<ref name=Timeline /> Their main conviction is to be an uncompromising protector, in opposition to the grand vision of the [[Rossartrism|Rossartrists]] which requires sacrifices to impose their vision of society. The Commander's ideal implies many bitter failures and personal sacrifices, and they are often haunted by a sense of powerlessness<ref name=FP414>{{cite|gfl|fp|E4-14}}</ref><ref name=SL85>{{cite|gfl2|SL-8-5}}</ref><ref name=GS12>{{cite|gfl2|[[Amidst Wings of Gray]] GS-1-2}}</ref> and sometimes sleepless nights due to nightmares.<ref>{{cite|gfl2|[[Dusty Memories#Divinity of Slumber]], [[Dusty Memories#Hidden Feelings]]}}</ref> Though they disagree with the tenets of Rossartrism, they recognize that some of its proponents like [[Gilda Ulrich]] also aim to protect individual lives.<ref name=2A2>{{cite|gfl|iso|2A2}}</ref> According to [[AK-12]], the Commander isn't one to yield to threats but is easily swayed by people feigning to need their help.<ref name=MS23B>{{cite|gfl|ms|Ship of Theseus III}}</ref>

Due to their similar ideals, [[Angelia]] considered the Commander one of her few true allies and friends.<ref name=MS21A /> Ulrich considered that the Commander and Angelia were people who had the kindness<ref name=DR12B /> and willpower necessary to further the cause of Rossartrism.<ref name=DR25B /> Angelia voiced her intention to transfer [[Task Force DEFY]] to the Commander's in the event of her death on two occasions,<ref name=CT31>{{cite|gfl|ct|3-1 ELID-Infected}}</ref><ref>{{cite|gfl|[[AK-12]]'s Neural Upgrade story 3}}</ref> but DEFY's loyalty to Angelia was too strong and they didn't want to serve under another commander.<ref>{{cite|gfl|ct|3-A3 Final Order}}</ref> [[MG338|Lenny]] noted that [[Nele]] was starting to walk the same path as the Commander after she started to pursue vengeance against [[Paradeus]] for the murder of [[Gray]].<ref name=Ang4 />

Unlike most humans, the Commander doesn't perceive [[Dolls]] as inferior to humans. They ensure that their Doll subordinates live in dignity and grow as they gather more experience,<ref>{{cite|gfl|{{doll name|C96|HG|4|costume=costume1}} Neural Upgrade Story 2, {{doll name|Gepard M1|RF|4|costume=costume4}} Neural Upgrade 2 and {{doll name|Welrod MkII|HG|6|costume=costume4}} Neural Upgrade Story 3}}</ref><ref>{{cite|gfl|[[Bookshelf of Memories]]|Her Smile - Black Pepper}}</ref><ref name=SL85 /><ref>{{cite|gfl2|[[Groza/Profile]], Record 6}}</ref><ref name=Roche4 /> and don't perceive their emotions as a design flaw.<ref name=C123>{{cite|gfl|12-3}}</ref> This has earned them the undying loyalty of the Dolls under their command. {{doll name|M82A1|RF|5}} called the Commander “one who is trusted by all dolls.”<ref name=CT0 /> Later on, they're described as “The one who has ventured into the contamination zone alone but at the same time also lives in every Griffin Doll's heart.”<ref>{{cite|gfl2|[[Dusty Memories]], Heart of the Dishes}}</ref> They have been described as “magnetic” towards some entities (like [[Peritya]]) who take interest in observing the unpredictable events befalling them and their reaction.<ref name=Vayne /> They claim to be an atheist, only trusting in themselves and their subordinates,<ref>{{cite|gfl|angular|E3}}</ref> and drink very sparingly.<ref>{{cite|gfl2|[[Ullrid/Profile#Record 6]]}}</ref>

{{doll name|M4A1|AR|4}} said she admired the Commander's pride and honor in combat,<ref>{{cite|gfl|c+|E4}}</ref> but they have also been described as utterly merciless.<ref name=C123 /> They are also a skilled deceiver and a good liar when the situation calls for it.<ref>{{cite|gfl|ct|Ground Zero, the Commander claims that they are the best liar in the world. Also see: every time they told {{doll name|MP5|SMG|4}} and {{doll name|Nagant Revolver|HG|2}} that drinking milk will make them grow taller.}}</ref><ref>{{cite|gfl|{{doll name|Suomi|SMG|5|costume=costume3}}'s Mission for Happiness costume story, Suomi calls out the Commander as a known liar}}</ref> They mentioned once that they often purchase clothes for their Dolls,<ref>{{cite|gfl2|[[Klukai/Profile]], Record 7}}</ref> which ties into the costume systems of the [[T-Doll Costume Index|first]] and [[GFL2 Costumes|second]] games. [[Dandelion]] once teased the Commander for not being committed to any sentimental relationship despite how pushy some of their subordinates have been in Griffin.<ref name=GS12 />

 

The Commander has been known under codenames at times, such as “Robin”<ref>{{cite|gfl|ms}}</ref> and “Linchpin”.<ref name=Vayne>{{cite|gfl2|[[Dusty Memories]], The Riddle of Vayne}}</ref> In one untranslated de-[[canon]]ized story, they used the name 凯利·诺顿 (Kelly Norton).<ref>{{cite|gfl2|[[Echo of Dawn]] ZA-1-1 (pre-rewrite only)}}</ref> They received a variety of nicknames from their Dolls: {{CollapseSection|

*Comrade ([[Nagant Revolver]], [[PPS-43]], [[Mosin-Nagant]] during [[Notebook/Anniversary Party]])

The male Commander has blue eyes and black hair with greying temples, worn in a mop-top and a rattail, slightly resembling the default appearance of the Commander in the first game. The female Commander has light red eyes and pink hair with bangs of a deeper shade, worn in a chin-length bob and parted fringe, resembling [[Gentiane]]. Both genders wear mostly the same outfit, consisting of a red and black bomber jacket with sleeve pouches and communicator on the right clavicle, worn over an undersuit with a high padded collar, gloves, tight-fitting grey pants with a pistol holster and straps, knee pads and high black boots. The symbol on the back of their jacket (visible during cutscenes) is the same as the one worn by [[Groza]] on her right lapel. Depending on the artwork, the smart watch changes wrist and sometimes differs between genders.

In this game, the story script changes depending on the gender selected by the player. The translation of some text in [[Groza]] and [[Ullrid]]'s profiles uses masculine pronouns instead of neutral ones, and [https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1uN411n761/ Groza's September 2023 PV] used the male Commander's appearance.

Apart from metatextual interpretations, there were a number of clues over the course of [[Project Neural Cloud]]'s story that the Professor was the same character as the Commander, instead of a different Griffin commander. {{hero name|Clukay|sniper|3}}'s event ''Divergent Shadows'' made the strongest case, but it also contains a timeline inconsistency and presents itself as as case of unreliable narration. Their identity was eventually confirmed in ''Gloaming Finale - Codename Griffin III'', where Clukay remarks about the members of the Exiles known to be part of the Commander's troops outside of the server, “they are no doubt the Dolls you have lead for so long. […] I have no doubt you will succeed, Commander.”

{{Incomplete|reason=[[Convolutional Kernel]], [[Roche Limit]], [[Virtual Pair]]}}

After the [[Battle of Frankfurt]], the Commander was officially declared killed in action.<ref>[[Frankfurt Battle Report]], Griffin's letter</ref>

{{StoryQuote|Please remember that you chose to run away.|Anonymous warning to the Commander regarding the “agreement”.<ref name=Soj217 />}}

|trivia=*Based on the information of [[Convolutional Kernel]],<ref name=CK14 /> and considering that 18 is the age of majority in Russia and China and the minimum age of conscription throughout most Soviet and Russian history, it can be reckoned that the Commander was born around 2032, the same year as [[Angelia]]. By this calculation, they would be 30 at the start of [[Girls' Frontline]] (2062), 32 at the end of Girls' Frontline (2064) and 42 at the start of [[Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium]].

*In [[Girls' Frontline]]'s story script, the Commander is always referred to with gender-neutral words. In [[Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium]], dialogues differ according to the gender selected by the player. The Commander's own dialogues differ in the Japanese script due to the use of gendered speech patterns. The same feature exists with [[the Professor]] in [[Project Neural Cloud]].

*The [[Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium]] event ''Exotic Cadence'' suggested that, in 2074, the Commander still used the same handgun [[Kryuger]] had given to them in Chapter 5 of [[Girls' Frontline]]. ''Exotic Cadence'' is no longer [[canon]] and this detail isn't mentioned in the replacement story [[Amidst Wings of Gray]]. In the original version of [[Intertwined Assault]], also decanonized, they were said to use a Makarov pistol.