#“To surpass Dr. Eggman.” (Dr. Starline)

[fallen-symphony]

(Continued from here.) @poka-toons

Metal Knuckles came closer, ready to destroy the intruder, when...

"Well, what do we have here?"

Dr. Starline walks into the lab, turning off the alarm.

"Stand down for now, Metal Knuckles. I want to interigate this bat before I decide whether or not they should be destroyed..."

Metal Knuckles nods and remained still for the time being.

"Now then, child, tell me who you are, what your purpose is for breaking into my lab, and give me one good reason why I shouldn't let Metal Knuckles tear you apart."

[skaruresonic]

Question: Where did Clutch being "better" than Eggman come from? At least Starline was an admirer who got disillusioned before trying to surpass him and Surge has the whole cocky bad Sonic vibe to her.

A Small-Time Sonic Villain Just Became a Bigger Threat Than Dr. Eggman

[pretzlforpresident]

Okay as someone who knows nothing about Sonic IDW who the HELL are those trio(?) of villains(?) like, there's the tenrec who's lowkey Scourge the Hedgehog on HRT, the blue emo Tails looking ass, and the gay duck. Who are they. What are they doing here. Please explain.

No anon here we die like men, I have literally never played a Sonic game but I need to know

OK so basically, Dr. Starline is a major Eggman fanboy and a scientist. He worked under Eggman as an apprentice during the metal virus saga after restoring him from his memory loss after the events of Sonic Forces. he discovers eggman does not want to kill sonic, but rather to defeat him so he begins to question egg man’s motives, and eggman fires him after Starline gives control over the metal virus to the deadly six. Starline then vows to surpass the doctor in being a scientist/villain.

Surge the tenrec and Kitsunami the fennec were the test subjects for Starline’s plan. Starline modified their bodies with cybernetic enhancements and Sonic, Shadow, and tails’ bio-data. using these enhancements he brainwashed the two of them into forgetting their past(that is still not revealed from how far into the comics I’m in) and having their life motivations replaced: for surge, to destroy Sonic. For kit, to be surge’s “right hand man”. Every time they start to think on their own will at question why they are doing this, he reboots their systems.

I won’t get into what happens after that because it’s better to just read the comic and it’s some of my favorite parts of the series.

Powers

Starline: Starline uses the warp topaz that has the ability to bend time and space by creating portals that people and objects can pass through.

Surge: lightning powers and super speed. Using the dynamo-cage (an eggman invention that can harness the power of the wisps) she was able to super charge her abilities at the cost of her stamina. Using this, she actually almost kills sonic(I’m pretty sure one of the writers said his heart actually stopped for a few seconds during that exchange).

kit: he has this invention on his back that resembles a backpack that acts as a water reservoir. Using this he can create water tendrils and use them in combat and moving around quickly.

here’s a collection of my favorite pages/panels starring these guys:

Y’all let me know if I was inaccurate about anything!

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 68: A Single Flower Petal

''A single piece of flower petal is swaying by my side right now. 'It was an erroneous love,' I'd not want to think that way.''

– Hitohira no Hanabira (A Single Flower Petal) by Stereopony (Bleach)

xXxXxXx

Amy swung the Piko Piko Hammer, forcing Starline to defend himself. He had the Power Core active, but what use was it when he was dealing with a pink hedgehog who could knock down robots with her sheer strength alone, no power-ups required. He backed away, startled when he saw the crack in the ground just where he was a moment ago.

This is not good… I need to get Surge and Kit and escape, or else I'll end up dead.

Starline switched from Power to Fly, getting out of Amy's range, but she ran up to Minami, who lowered her hands to launch her up, leaving Starline baffled. He quickly switched from Fly to Speed, managing to dodge Amy's attack just before she could land a hit on him. The purple and blue blur rushed past them, with Minami and Amy feeling displeased that he got away.

Meanwhile, Starline opened a holographic screen, pressing a button on it that allowed him to enter the AR Field, as well as pulling Surge and Kit right into it. The AR Field itself looked like a replica of the street he was standing on, but he couldn't interact at all with any humans or ARNavs that passed through it, rendering them invisible to any onlookers.

That's when he allowed himself to breathe in relief, pressing his hand against his chest and feeling his heart pounding. Still alive… I'm still alive…

He then rushed down the street, trying to find Surge and Kit. It appeared that both had already reunited at the overpass, and to Starline's dismay, both of them, Surge in particular, were furious. Starline realized that he was in danger, but before he could escape, Surge grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall.

''You have a lot to explain, Doc!'' Surge growled, leaving Starline shaking in fear. ''You told me and Kit that we were created to surpass Sonic and Tails! If that's so, why couldn't we beat them?!''

''T-There are s-several reasons…'' Starline said, feeling an electric charge through his body, leaving him crying out in pain. ''Y-You've never been in a battle like this. Even with the simulations, I couldn't replicate the same experience- agh!''

Starline was once again rammed into the wall by Surge, who left him to slide down on the ground. The platypus was dazed, searing pain spreading through his body, while Surge just pressed her fist into her palm as she glared at him, electricity once again crackling around her.

''So, you're saying that we're weaker than Sonic and his friends…'' Surge growled.

''Not weaker…'' Starline grumbled, trying to get up. ''You're just… less experienced.''

Surge looked like she was about to clock him in the beak, but Kit stepped out. ''You have mentioned in one of your video logs that Team Neos had been on several adventures at this point.''

''Indeed. The most recent major adventure that I have witnessed was their battle against Perfect Chaos. While they needed the Chaos Emeralds to win, they have still managed to defeat a group of well-crafted E-100 Series robots, various other Badniks, handle Dr. Eggman's Enforcers, Ferra and Metal Sonic, gather the Chaos Emeralds and fight Chaos on almost even ground in all of his forms. Not to mention the fact that they have access to Chaos Surge, which significantly powers them up,'' Starline replied, humming in thought. ''Perhaps, I should've put you through a similar situation…''

''No!'' Both Starline and Kit were stunned by Surge's cry of protest. She clenched her fists, giving both of them a glare, gritting her teeth. ''I've had enough of them! No more experiments, no more simulations! Instead, Kit and I will do what we want!'' Starline was taken aback, but Kit nodded in firm determination. He wasn't going to let Surge down, no matter what. Surge then stepped towards Starline, pointing her finger at him. ''As for your Doc, if I ever see you again, I'll fry you until only your skeleton is left!''

Starline backed away, staring at Surge as she turned on her heel and left the AR Field, Kit following her closely. Starline just stared, not realizing just how shallow his breaths were. He was still distressed, but that may have been because of just how close he was coming to dying. However, now that Surge and Kit were gone, he was left all alone within the AR Field. This is when he finally allowed himself to breathe normally.

His plan was completely shattered, but he survived. He was still alive. Starline inhaled deeply, combing through his hair as he tried to calm himself down.

''P-Perhaps, the Doctor was right… I shouldn't repeat the same mistakes…'' Starline shook his head, clenching his fists. ''What am I talking about?! I won't repeat my mistakes! As a matter of fact, this is the most desirable outcome given the circumstances. Surge and Kit still hate Sonic and Tails, meaning that they will continue fight them.'' Starline smirked, the sinister smile spreading across his beak. ''Once they gather enough experience, they will defeat them, and even if they refuse to work with me, I will find a way to take control over them.''

xXx

''So, that's Surge and Kit's deal,'' Sonic said, him, Tails and Amy having just listened to an explanation about Surge and Kit's origins from Lucas, Warren and Minami. They were currently sitting at a small outdoor café in Westoru, talking about what had happened.

''What Starline did is really messed up,'' Tails commented.

''What should we do with them? What if they hurt innocent people?'' Amy asked worriedly.

''I don't think they will go after innocent people,'' Lucas said, taking note of the surprised looks everyone gave him, save for Sonic.

''Surge had told me that she wants to burn down the everyone and everyone, but going by your response, you already know that she won't take that path,'' Sonic said, leaning back in his seat as he took a sip of the soda.

''Surge and Kit have been programmed to defeat and replace you and Tails, so they will mainly focus on that. In addition, I believe that they are capable of change, but even then, it won't be easy,'' Lucas explained. ''I suppose that we could talk to them, but…''

''I don't think Sonic nor Tails should talk to Surge and Kit,'' Amy suddenly said, gazing at the two. ''If you talk to them, they'll only get more agitated. I think someone else should talk to them.''

''Let me guess, you'll volunteer yourself to talk to them,'' Sonic said in a knowing tone. He had already expected that Amy would want to do that. She was the type of person who believed that if people opened their heart, even a little, it would allow for finding a solution to whatever problem they had. She was kind and compassionate, knowing the right thing to say, and Sonic was happy to haver her as his friend, even if he couldn't share in her enthusiasm, since he wasn't the type to speak his mind so easily.

''You better believe it!'' Amy said, giving him a confident wink. ''I'm sure that if I and Minami talk to them, we would come to some kind of solution for this situation.''

''Surge and Kit at this point wouldn't trust anyone but themselves, so it won't be easy,'' Warren noted, with Minami just giving him a dismissive wave, before giving him a confident look that mirrored Amy's.

''That's what makes it a challenge,'' Minami said, putting her hands together and crossing her middle and index finger, with Amy performing the same hand seal. ''Don't forget, you are talking to the people who mastered the art of Talk no Jutsu.''

Both Warren and Lucas gave her an awkward smile, while Sonic and Tails remained slightly confused. Warren then added, ''I don't know if I should be impressed or afraid.''

Minami and Amy exchanged glances, both giggling softly.

xXx

''What should we do now, Surge?'' Kit asked, having finished replenishing filling up his Hydro Pack with water at the water fountain in a park in Westoru. Surge was sitting on a nearby bench, still looking frustrated. Sure, they had abandoned Starline, but they were now on their own. They could return to Egg Base Sigma and kick Starline out, but neither of them wanted to return to their awful place. They were also aware of Starline's previous base in Souto, and since the platypus wasn't using it, they could take over it as their own base. That was obviously one solution, but it wasn't what they needed.

Surge knew that if she wanted some peace of mind, she would have to confront Sonic again and win on her own terms. Unfortunately, Starline's words echoed in her mind, reminding her of the fact that she was still quite inexperienced, and that Sonic had also access to Chaos Surge, so even if she overpowered him on her own, he could easily use that power to defeat her again. The thought of her being unable to defeat Sonic at all enraged her, making her realize she'd be trapped in an endless cycle if she didn't figure something out. But, what was she supposed to do?

''Surge?'' Kit stared at Surge with concern. Even though he knew he had been programmed by Starline to serve Surge's every whim, he was genuinely worried about her and wanted to make her happy. Surge was all he had and he felt lost in this wide world without her. He wanted to be by her side no matter what. He gave her a determined look. ''Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it. That way, you'll be happy.''

Surge looked up at him, her mouth opening a little as if she was about to say something, but she then closed it, nodding in acknowledgement. To Kit's surprise, Surge ruffled his hair, leaving it frazzled, and grinned. ''Heh, of course you'd do that. It's us against the world, after all, and we will make sure that everyone respects us.''

''That sounds great!'' Kit said happily.

''Hey!''

Surge and Kit were surprised to hear someone calling out for them, only to be surprised when a pink hedgehog in a sports outfit and a human teenager approached them. Both felt tense, wondering who these two were and what they wanted from them. They did have an assumption that both of them were Sonic's friends, leaving them unsettled.

''You're Surge and Kit, right? My name is Amy Rose,'' Amy introduced herself, then pointed at Minami. ''This is Minami Kusakabe, my partner.''

''Why should we care? You're friends with that Faker, aren't you?'' Surge interrupted, giving them a snide look.

''I'm pretty sure that there is only one person who is allowed to call Sonic 'Faker','' Minami remarked. Surge and Kit were a bit annoyed that Minami was talking to them in such a casual tone.

''What do you want?!'' Surge growled, electricity crackling in her hands. ''Because if you don't leave, I'm going to fry both of you.''

''We just want to talk to both of you, nothing else,'' Amy said, holding up her hands defensively. Surge and Kit gave her an irked look, clearly not in the mood to talk to someone who was friends with Sonic and Tails. Amy was wondering what to tell them to gain even a fraction of their trust, when Minami took over.

''How about we make a deal? You talk to us, and we give you free sweets, as much as you can eat,'' Minami suggested. Surge rose an eyebrow.

''Tch, I'm not hungry…'' Surge responded, only for her stomach to growl right in that moment, leaving her slightly embarrassed. She then shot a glare at Minami. ''Don't you dare to say anything!''

''We didn't eat anything since this morning and it's past noon,'' Kit pointed out. Surge hated to admit it, but Kit was correct. She was actually quite hungry, and the battle against Sonic drained her. She needed some good food to fuel up before she could even battle Sonic again.

''Fine,'' Surge conceded, placing her hands on her hips. ''As long as the food is free and tastes good. Otherwise, I'm not saying anything.''

''Don't worry, I know just the place,'' Minami replied. ''Follow me!''

Minami took note of Amy's lips quirking upwards, with the pink hedgehog being well aware where she was leading them. Both of them were also relieved at how easy it was to convince Surge and Kit to agree to their terms, with Minami figuring that, even if they were Sonic and Tails' friends, the two wouldn't be as hostile to them. Not only that, but offering them what was basically an all-you-can-eat buffet of free sweets was basically an incredibly tempting peace offering, because she doubted that anyone could resist the offer of free food. Minami had to admit to herself that this was something she had actually planned out, as she knew that Surge and Kit wouldn't want to talk to her and Amy regardless of what they said.

This move may have been quite devious to an outsider, but Minami didn't mind it. She may have been a kind and sweet person, or at least presented herself as one, but she could also be very shrewd and manipulative if she wanted to gain something. There were many times where she played up a sweet and innocent act to get out of trouble, or even used carefully crafted sentences to sway people to her side, especially when she was younger and had her cuteness as a child on her side. As she got older, she understood that the world, and therefore humans, were more complex, and that she had to adapt to her situation, learning how to read people and finding the easiest ways to make them do or say what she wanted. In this case, she wanted to know just how much of a danger Surge and Kit posed to everyone, as well as if there was a way to sway their opinion in regards to Sonic and Tails.

When she told that to Amy, the pink hedgehog could only sigh and remark that Team Neos was lucky that Minami wasn't their opponent, because she was quite troublesome when she acted like that. Minami simply chimed in how this was the reason why Makoto referred to her as a ''Menace to Society''. She also added that she wasn't interested in being a villainess, and to Amy's chagrin, remarked that, despite that, she was certain that she would make a good villainess in a shoujo novel. All Amy could do at that point is to facepalm, since Minami missed the point entirely.

It didn't take them too long until they reached their destination, Wave Patissierie. Surge and Kit were still a little doubtful, wondering if the free food would really be worth it, but they decided not to waste their opportunity, and followed Minami and Amy inside. There, they were met by a college student and his partner, a penguin ARNav, both dressed in the appropriate uniform that consisted of a white chef's coat and black trousers with the establishment's name printed on it.

''Welcome to Wave Patissierie! How may- oh, it's you two!'' The college student, who had greeted them, gave Minami and Amy a surprised, but pleased look.

''Hi, Daiki! Hey, Kori! I hope we're not bothering you,'' Minami replied.

''No you're not. We're having a slow day today,'' Kori replied, pointing at the empty patissierie. ''Do you two want the usual?''

''Well, we actually have a request…'' Minami said, trailing off. She and Amy turned to Surge and Kit, who were staring at the displays and almost drooling at the sight of so many cakes laid out, ready to be eaten. The cakes were almost sparkling, some looking simple, some being elaborately decorated with ingredients ranging from fruits, sprinkles, decorations made from sugar, flowers and so on. It appeared that seeing all of the food for themselves made them feel even hungrier than they actually were.

''Here.'' Amy approached the two, giving them plates. ''You pick up the sweets you like and then go to the counter to pay for them. Of course, since Minami said it'll be free for you, she'll be paying for it.'' Amy glanced at Minami, giving her a sly look, with the teenager just sighing, well aware that her wallet is gonna suffer. ''They also serve drinks here, and once you're done you can go to the tables over there to eat.''

Surge grinned, immediately walking up to the displays and picking up cakes she liked. Kit held back a bit, observing the ones Surge picked and looking a little lost on what to do. He had absolutely no idea which cake to choose, wishing that Surge had told him which one to pick. Not to mention, this was his first time seeing such a variety of sweets, as Starline never allowed them to eat anything that was supposedly unhealthy. He didn't know what those cakes tasted like and he had no opinion of his own aside from agreeing with Surge.

It appeared that Amy noticed his dilemma, well aware that Kit was not just Surge's support unit, but also entirely dependent on her for almost every decision. From Amy's perspective, this was an incredibly toxic relationship, but if she interfered with it in any way that upset them, she'd make herself a target. Fortunately, she had already figured out what the correct approach would be.

''Hey, Surge, is this your and Kit's first time at a patissierie?'' she asked. Surge rose an eyebrow, a little confused by the question.

''Yeah, of course it is,'' she said.

''Ah, that explains why Kit has a little trouble choosing what he wants,'' Amy said, deciding to employ the tactics she had learned from Minami. It appeared that Surge just now noticed that Kit was just standing there, lost and anxious. ''How about this? He picks some of the cakes you didn't choose and you both share plates to see which cakes taste the best. I'll even help with the recommend you some.''

''I guess we could do that,'' Surge muttered, but then flashed a grin. ''However, I'm sure that Kit will like what I picked more than what you recommend.''

''Of course I would,'' Kit immediately agreed, with both taking note of Amy's sweet smile and feeling a little puzzled. Amy didn't respond, instead feeling relieved that Kit looked much more at ease as she was recommending him which cakes to pick. By the end of it, they had two full plates of almost every single cake and sweet the patissierie had to offer. Minami was internally crying when she realized just how much she will have to pay, but she figured that it would be worth it the sacrifice. Besides, she still had one more ace up in her sleeve left.

''Is that all?'' Daiki asked as he checked the bill over again and giving Minami a questioning look, as he too understood that they went overboard.

''Y-Yeah, I'll be paying all of it,'' Minami replied, praying to whichever deity to bless her with the outcome she desired the most. It appeared that they heard her, because in that moment, Minami's mother, Sara Kusakabe, exited the kitchen with a freshly backed batch of cupcakes. ''Hey, Mum!''

''Wait, her mother owns this place?'' Surge and Kit gave Amy a surprised look.

''She used to work at a restaurant until she recently opened this place,'' Amy explained. ''This is also why we can recommend it, because we know all the food will taste excellent.''

''It is nice to see you… Oh, is this what you bought?'' Sara stared at the bill in surprise. Normally, she had an agreement with Minami and Amy that they would get a free cake and drink as she didn't want her daughter to pay for anything, so this took her off guard.

''Ah, I as actually paying for someone else…'' Minami explained in a sheepish tone, with Sara taking note of Surge and Kit. ''But, don't worry. I can pay for it in full. After all, I should be supporting the family business.''

''Supporting the family business with the money I gave you as an allowance,'' Sara pointed out, much to Minami's grief and Amy's amusement. ''Honestly, I'd rather that you don't have to pay for anything, but this is a lot…'' Sara replied. As much as she loved her daughter and would want to give her anything she desired, she also needed to think of her business and expenses.

''Well, if that's so, how about I pay half the price as a family discount?'' Minami suggested. Sara hummed.

''You'll pay half the price and you'll be handing out leaflets to promote the store,'' she said.

''Deal,'' Minami said, internally sighing in relief. She could live with that offer.

''Maybe we shouldn't have taken so many cakes,'' Kit said, glancing at Surge as they observed the whole exchange.

''Hey, they were the ones offering us free food. It's not their fault they didn't tell us to limit ourselves, and even then, I wouldn't care,'' Surge replied in a haughty tone. They found a table, and the moment they sat down, Surge and Kit took a bite of one of the chocolate roulade, they were blown away by the taste, having never eaten something like that before.

''This tastes amazing!'' Kit said, eyes sparking in awe.

''This is-'' Surge took note of Amy giving her a curious look, and quickly huffed, not wanting to look overly excited. ''I guess it's fine.''

''It's nice to hear that you like it,'' Amy responded in a chipper tone. Surge furrowed a brow, not sure what to make of it, but then continued to eat. Minami soon joined them, sitting down at the table with a defeated look.

''My wallet will hate me for this,'' she muttered, then glanced at the others. ''So, how's the food?''

''It's good,'' Surge replied in aloof tone, acting as if she wasn't enjoying every bite of the cake she ate.

''It's good,'' Kit said, imitating her, although he was having a bit of a harder time hiding his feelings about the food, perking up whenever he tasted his portion.

''I think that's a high praise coming from both of you,'' Minami said, surprising Surge and Kit, who weren't exactly used to this kind of treatment. ''Since you like the food, how about you uphold your end of the deal?''

''Ugh…'' Surge just gave her an unwilling look, having hoped that she wouldn't have to deal with this. Admittedly, she could just dine and dash, but she was also curious to an extend in regard to what they wanted to know. ''Fine. What do you want to talk about?''

''We were just curious about how you're handling being here,'' Amy said.

''Why would you want to know that?'' Surge asked, giving her a suspicious look.

''Because you were dealing with Starline, and I can only imagine how awfully he had treated you,'' Amy responded.

''Starline lied to us,'' Kit said, giving Amy a dark look. ''He lied to us about everything.''

''We are not going back to him,'' Surge added. ''If the Doc ever dares to get into our way, we'll make sure it'll be the last thing he does.''

''That is a relief to hear,'' Amy said, leaving the two puzzled. ''I'm sure you'll be doing much better without him.''

''Why would you care? You don't even know what we're planning on doing. We could even be worse than Starline,'' Surge pointed out. ''We attacked your friends, and you're acting like nothing happened.''

''First of all, wasn't Starline the one who planted the idea of you attacking Sonic and Tails in your head?'' Amy asked, catching Surge and Kit off guard. She was correct, but it's not as if they wanted to acknowledge it.

''S-So, what?!'' Surge protested, getting angrier and angrier. ''Even though we left Starline, we don't plan on giving up destroying those two!''

''Yeah!'' Kit agreed, being just as determined as Surge was.

''I see…'' Amy muttered, with Surge just staring at her, baffled.

''How can you be so calm when I just declared that nothing would stop us from destroying your friends?'' Surge asked.

''The issue is, we're kinda getting used to getting those threats,'' Minami said in a calm, almost bored tone as she leaned against her table, supporting her chin with her hand.

''You got used to threats?'' Kit asked, stunned.

''We've ran into so many people who have threatened us and our friends in some way that we could make a Bingo card out of it for future encounters,'' Minami explained in a matter-of-fact tone. ''There's Ferra and Metal Sonic, Dr. Eggman and his Badnik Army, Shadow, Dr. Starline, Toshiro and Mephiles, other Irregulars and even Irregular Hunters, the military organization ARMS, Chaos, Rough and Tumble – although these guys were more of a joke – the pirates we encountered at the Surya Empire… All of them were a threat in some way, some of which managed to cause more damage than the others. In fact, Metal Sonic almost managed to kill Sonic and let him go just because he wanted to have another confrontation with him later on.''

Surge and Kit were both stunned to hear that. Starline hadn't told them about any previous threats Team Neos had to deal with, and they assumed that it would be easy for them to handle the mission they were given, but this went beyond their expectations. Clearly, they weren't even on the radar as Sonic's opponents, leaving them both in dismay.

''Aghrr, then how should I prove myself as Sonic's enemy if I'm not even able to land a scratch on him!'' Surge shouted in frustration, clutching her head with both of her hands, with Kit giving her a look of concern.

''Starline really left you with no choice, did he?'' Amy asked, her worried and sympathetic tone drawing Surge and Kit's attention.

''It's not just Starline, it's whoever decided that we should only exist to be Sonic's opponents!'' Surge growled, pointing at Amy accusingly. ''You can do whatever you want, but we can only do one thing!''

''Do you really have to?'' Amy asked, her tone calm, despite the threat of Surge electrocuting her.

''We don't have any other directives,'' Kit replied in a cold tone, glaring at Amy for making Surge upset. Amy hummed in thought.

''You know, maybe I could help you with finding a different directive,'' Amy suggested, surprising the two.

''How?'' Surge gave her a baffled look.

''Do you guys want me to tell your fortune?'' Amy asked with a smile, with data particles appearing in her hands, turning inot a stack of fortune cards. ''I used to work as a fortune teller in Sentoraru before I have met Minami, and even before that, I wanted to help people by telling them their fortune.'' Amy's gaze lowered as a melancholic look appeared on her expression. ''Unfortunately, the people who asked me about their fortune called me a jinx because in most cases, something bad would happen to them and they would blame me for all of their misfortunes, even if I had nothing to do with them.'' Amy then gave them a determined look, clenching her fists and fist-pumping. ''However, that won't stop me from helping people, no matter how badly they treat me.'' She gave Surge and Kit a sincere gaze. ''That's why I also want to help you two live a happy life. You've been wronged in many ways.''

''Tch, you're far too optimistic,'' Surge said in a dismissive tone, waving her hand. ''What if the kind of life we want to live doesn't fit what you imagined?''

''I know I can't stop you from doing what you want, but if you need another opinion, I'll be there for you,'' Amy assured her. ''If it involves fighting Sonic, that's something I'll leave to him.''

''You have a lot of faith in your boyfriend,'' Surge said, leaving Amy stunned.

''Wh-What?''

''Starline had taken the time to tell us all about your team, even though he mainly focused on Sonic and Tails, and one of the things he had told us that you're obsessed with Sonic and can act like a crazy fangirl,'' Kit added helpfully, only for him and Surge to be surprised when Amy frowned. They certainly didn't expect her to change her mood so quickly.

''That's a lie!'' Amy huffed. ''I don't know where he got that-'' Minami coughed. ''But I can assure you that I'm not obsessed with Sonic. We are simply good friends and teammates.'' She then grumbled under her breath. ''Besides, I'm fairly certain that he has a crush on someone else, but I don't have any evidence…''

''So, this is just another thing Starline lied to us about,'' Kit concluded, with Surge letting out a huff.

''Why am I not surprised anymore?'' she grumbled, blink in surprise when she saw Amy holding up a fork with a piece of strawberry shortcake to her, leaving Surge a little flustered. ''H-Hey, you don't have to shove that into my mouth!''

''You kind of stopped eating, so I was just wondering if you'd want to try my favorite type cake,'' Amy said, then pouted. ''I did ask Sonic what he thought about it, but he said it sucks. I think he was just messing with me-''

She was startled when Surge suddenly grabbed the fork and ate the offered cake, then gave Amy a haughty look. ''I don't know what Sonic was thinking, but this is great.''

''Thanks!'' Amy replied happily, while Surge just gave her a satisfied smirk, folding her arms across her chest.

''This just shows how much your so-called friend doesn't know what a good cake tastes like, proving that I'm the superior judge,'' Surge boasted, pointing with her thumb at herself.

''That's something we can agree on,'' Amy replied, with Kit also reaching for the strawberry shortcake.

''So, have you found a cake that you like?'' Minami asked him, leaving Kit a bit startled by the question.

''I… I don't know. All of them taste good and I…'' Kit replied, falling silent. Suddenly, he pressed his hands against his head, as if having a headache. ''I-I don't- know-''

''H-Hey, if you can't decide yet, you can always make your decision later on,'' Minami assured him, but Kit was still worried. Minami was also quite concerned, as she knew that it would be hard to help him be independent, but even the smallest step in the right direction would be enough.

''So, do you guys want me to read your fortune or…?'' Amy trailed off. Kit immediately looked at Surge for guidance. Surge stared at Amy for moment, then shook her head.

''I don't need any fortune cards to tell me what to do,'' she said in a serious tone.

''M-Me neither,'' Kit chimed in. Amy just nodded in understanding.

''That's fine. In fact I believe this is the best way to determine your own fortune,'' Amy said, then added in a more firm tone. ''I do have one more request.''

''What is it?'' Surge asked.

''If you're fine with this idea, may I suggest that you first try to experience living on your own in Neos City, away from Starline's influence. I believe that experiencing life for yourselves without having to follow the directive you were given would help you decide what you want to do next,'' Amy suggested. Surge's gaze fell. She had to admit that that wasn't such a bad idea, but she also wasn't sure what exactly living on their own would entail. It was quite a frightening thought, as she had no idea how to live for herself. Amy took note of her silence, adding, ''If you need help, I'd be glad-''

''I don't need help!'' Surge snapped, pointing at herself. ''Kit and I can do whatever we want and we don't need your help!''

To her surprise, Amy just gave her a sweet and encouraging smile. ''Then, I sincerely hope both of you will find happiness.''

Surge was silent, only to huff again, getting up. ''We're leaving.''

Kit gave her a confused look. ''But, we didn't finish eating…''

''We can pack those up,'' Surge said, with Kit getting up and following her. Kori, who had noticed them stopping eating, quickly came over with a box, packing up the remaining cakes. Surge turned to Amy, her eyes narrowing.

''I also have a suggestion for you,'' Surge said, with Amy giving her a curious look. ''Don't help people who look down on you. I hate these kinds of people and I think they should get beaten up for acting so arrogant.''

''Eh… I'll keep that in mind,'' Amy quickly replied, stunned by the advice, and then asked her directly, ''Do you look down on me?''

Surge took a moment to look back at her, but didn't answer, acting as if she didn't hear the question, and leaving with Kit, who held the box with the remaining cakes. Amy took a deep breath, turning to Minami.

''What do you think? How did this go?'' she asked.

''Honestly, I think it went well,'' Minami answered. ''Of course, it is not ideal, since the best outcome would for them to have a peaceful life without being burdened by the past, but we can't do much besides keeping an eye on them and offer guidance. What do you think?''

''I think that Surge and Kit would be able to find their own place here, but I don't think they will stop finding a way to fight Sonic and Tails,'' Amy said. ''We can only speculate just how deep their programing goes, but I think we should keep an eye on them.''

xXx

''Why didn't you answer Amy's question?'' Kit asked curiously, walking behind Surge as he held onto the box. Surge stopped walking for a moment, only to huff in annoyance.

''That's because it was a stupid question,'' Surge answered in a dismissive tone. Kit was confused, wondering why Surge would call that question stupid, but decided not to pursue the matter, since Surge didn't care about it either. Surge, on the other hand, wondered why Amy asked her that. Did she really care so much about her opinion? Feeling weird about the whole situation, Surge shook her head, deciding not to think about it. ''Anyways, I guess we could try out just living for a while.'' She then grinned. ''But, that doesn't mean that we won't cause any trouble for Sonic and Tails.''

Links:

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#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

[sonicshipbattles]

Daily Submission Stats

Total Submissions: 70 Total unique ships submitted: 37 1st Most Submitted Ship: A tie between Dr. Eggman/Dr. Starline, Dr. Eggman/Himself (General), Dr. Eggman/no one and Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone (5 submissions each) 2nd Most Submitted Ship: A tie between Dr. Eggman/Bowser and Dr. Eggman/Dr. Wily (4 submissions each) 3rd Most Submitted Ship: A tie between Dr. Eggman/Ella, Dr. Eggman/Thunderbolt and Dr. Eggman/Katella (3 submissions each) ...Wow! Ties all around! Also, you might notice that we've surpassed the amount of ships needed for a 32 ship tournament now. What this means is that two things could happen: First, if we reach 64 ships we'll run a 64 ship tournament (tho I think this is unlikely?). Second, ships with less nominations will be placed into threeway polls for the first round (more likely). With that in mind, here's the list of ships that currently only have one nomination, incase anyone wants to give them a boost to avoid the threeway polls:

Dr. Eggman (Boom)/anon Dr. Eggman/Clutch Dr. Eggman/Dr. Robotnik (AoStH) Dr. Eggman/Dr. Starline/Thunderbolt Dr. Eggman/Elise* Dr. Eggman/Great Battle Kukku Dr. Eggman/King Candy Dr. Eggman/Leon (Pokemon) Dr. Eggman/Locke Dr. Eggman/Lyric Dr. Eggman/Mimic Dr. Eggman/Me, the person running this blog Dr. Eggman/Satan (Puyo Puyo) Dr. Eggman/Sera Dr. Eggman/The Chaos Emeralds Dr. Eggman/The Conductor Dr. Eggman/The Conductor/The Conductor's Wife Dr. Eggman/Wendy Naugus Dr. Eggman/You, the person reading this post Dr. Eggman/Zobotnik Dr. Kintobor (Fleetway)/Mr. Tinker Dr. Robotnik/Aleena Dr. Robotnik/Dr. Kintobor (Moebius) Dr. Robotnik/Sleet Mr. Tinker/Elder Scruffy *I am not sure about including this one and may ask for feedback on it at a later date

[idwsonicshowdown]

The winner of the Pause Game Edition Tournament is...

...DR. STARLINE! It's certainly been one heck of a week of voting! While Tangle took the lead during the first day, Starline surpassed her soon after that and held on by a clear margin, no matter how many votes poured in. Both characters had passionate support and while his victory may seem surprising to some, to others it's what they've been rooting for all along Now, with Tails's victory I did a promo for the IDW Comics, but I assume that if you voted for Starline, you already know who he is. However, on the chance that some people are seeing this out of context and thinking "Who is this guy who beat that Tangle the Lemur, who I have in Sonic Forces Speed Battle?" here's a quick run-down: Dr. Starline is a pivotal villain to the IDW Sonic Comics. Because of that, the best place to see him in action really is to start at Issue #1, although Starline himself doesn't appear until Issue #11. We see Starline work as both an ally to Eggman and, well, anything beyond that about the duo you'd be best experiencing for yourself. Starline also has two mini-series where he played a prominent role: The first being the Bad Guys Arc and the second being the Imposter Syndrome Arc

Even after the conclusion of his own story in Issue #50, Starline's presence has continued to be felt in the comics with how he's influenced Surge. No matter what happens next, I'm sure we'll be seeing a knock-on effect of Starline's story for some time On a personal level, I think Starline is a very effective villain and that's why people have such strong feelings about him on both sides of the fence. Regardless of how you feel about Starline, he made you feel something and that's how you know the writing (and visuals!) are doing a good job It's perhaps fitting that Starline has won this year's tournament and I'll be interested to see if he'll see the same results this time next year. Who knows - by then, maybe the final will be Clutch vs Mimic?? You never know what the future might bring But for now, a big congrats to Dr. Starline! Join us again on Monday 17th April for one final bonus poll to wrap up the IDW Sonic Showdowns 2023

THE FINALS

[greenyvertekins]

Nothing says "precarious advantage" like being decisively beaten and lectured by Mr. Principles. If anyone around here has an advantage, it's Yuji Uekawa for being a competent artist who understands how the characters express themselves.

Have you ever noticed that the only way IDW's fancharacters manage or at least try to get an advantage over canon characters is either from exploiting said canon characters inventions i.e Starline with Dr Eggman's stuff, from being artificially-enhanced i.e Surge with whatever she's wearing on the latest covers/previews or from being genetically similar to canon characters i.e Surge with Sonic, Kit with Tails? They never have naturally innate abilities. Even though they want to shove it down your throat with how much cleverer Starline was than the Dr Eggman who was mangled under Flynn's pen due to his own provably bullshit beliefs about the latter or the way Surge was depicted beating the shit out of Sonic in conceptual art like some dime a dozen Sue you'd expect to see on DeviantArt. The only way these Donut Steels can match or surpass SEGA's characters is to resort to cheap tricks.

[fallen-symphony]

(Continued from here.)

"Scourge..."

"Hey, before you say anything, I wasn't over there to fight Prince Key-for-Brains this time!"

"I'm aware. And I agree to this truce."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Of course. That CEO Mickey would make ruling the Multiverse quite difficult. Much more difficult than RiFT and his team. We both have a common enemy, so until he's dealt with, the best course of action is to team up."

"Glad you think so, Slur. Cuz if we let CEO Mickey and his team continue with their plans, we'll lose Obake and Ultron Sigma..."

"That blasted mouse would put me in the vault?!"

"Do not worry, Master Obake! I won't let him get anywhere near you!"

"Speaking of which, if CEO Mickey ever got his hands on Ultron Sigma and takes Obake's control chip out of him, the entire Multiverse might be done for..."

"That's just scratching the surface of the kinds of problems that CEO rat will cause us. So, starting today, we focus on putting a stop to him and his lackeys. Once he's dealt with, we'll get back to our war against RiFT and his team."

[bunniibones]

🍇 🍒 🥝

𝐅𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒

🍇  :    how would my muse describe their childhood?  how much has it impacted the person they are now,  or will become as an adult?  around what age did they or will they start to mature,  and why?  do they wish to go back to their days as a child,  or have they embraced adulthood?

Starline’s childhood wasn’t exactly the best with all of the bullying and repression he experimented during his early years of life, so he describes it as “something that pushed him to be how he is” and “something left in the past”. It impacted him in the sense that without those social restrictions, he wouldn’t have found such fascination and freedom in Dr. Eggman and what he represents.

Sure, Eggman still would have caused an impact in him, but not as much as it actually did, because due to how limited he felt with who he truly was, once he got to know about Dr. Eggman he saw it as a scape, as if someone removed those metaphorical chains he had and showed him that life could be different, that he could strive for what he wanted and be WHO he wanted without thinking about the society’s view on him! It was inspiring for someone in his situation.

And no, he doesn’t wish to go back to his days as a child, he prefers his adulthood as he’s proud of what he has achieved so far and has his focus completely in the future, especially in surpassing/improve upon Dr. Eggman, conquering the world, defeating Sonic and showing the doctor HOW things should be done.

Whether if he wants to do it for himself or for Eggman is still in discussion, probs for himself and not for Eggman anymore, it’ll depend on the end of Bad Guys.

🍒  :    how much does my muse value companionship?  do they constantly keep people around them,  or do they prefer to be alone often?  do they have or desire to have many friends?  do they see every meeting as an opportunity to make a new friend?  

To Starline, companionship is actually... a resource.

He’s not one to be attached to anyone (Except for Dr. Eggman), anyone that he keeps around is because they will be useful for him, nothing else. Once the person or group stop/s being useful for him, he’ll get rid of them because he doesn’t need them anymore.

To him, every meeting is not an opportunity to make a new friend, but rather a possible pawn he may use in the future depending on what he needs. He keeps a record of everyone he meets and their abilities, so he can later contact them and manipulate them to become his ally or give them the use he may require (Sending a message, for example)

He’s aware that there are some things he can’t do by himself, especially in the physical department, as he’s weak and lacks of powers, so he’s forced to rely on others to compensate those weakness he has.  So no, he doesn’t value companionship, they all are just tools.

Just like his idol, he prefers to be surrounded by robots than with organics, because they’re actually loyal and can be given instructions to follow.

Now, this is a very personal headcanon, but despite having various badniks (Mostly Eggpawns), his favorites are the motobug and the eggpawn we see in Bad Guys #1 and #2. They’re the ones who prepare his meals, the ones that gives him anything he needs and the ones that are always around him whenever he’s in the repository, we could say they’re his personal minions, they’re programmed to act like that. He values them more than the rest of the badniks.

🥝  :    does my muse have any  ‘  unusual  ’  habits, interests,  and  /  or talents?  do they hide it,  or are they proud of it?  

Answered here!

[mysticaeternity]

I finally read Imposter Syndrome and I wanted to reblog my old post just to add another example of Dr. Starline being chronically bad at computer security.

He’s supposed to be the evil genius who surpasses Eggman, Kit and Surge should not be able to access his vlogs detailing everything that he’s been doing to them, including giving them a weaknesses to hypnosis so he could manipulate them. Dr, I love you but why are you like this? 💀

Side note, I adore Kit and Surge, they’re so much more than I was expecting them to be.

(Screenshot taken from Sonic the Hedgehog, Imposter Syndrome issue #3)

I don’t mean to question our lord and Saviour, Dr. Starline, but this needs to be asked.

This will contain Spoilers for the IDW Bad Guys comics so please keep this in mind moving forward.

Keep reading

[naivesilver]

top 5 sonic villians

You asking this makes it seem like I know lots about Sonic in general while I am exceedingly ignorant

But thank you nevertheless, I love you

Ask me my top 5 anything

1) Dr. Eggman - you can’t surpass the legendary Robotnik. You just can’t. And after my rewatch I have a soft spot for his Sonic X version. BTW spoiler for IDW but did you create Belle you asshole egg??? Did you?????

2) Infinite - Forces could have been better but he has his charm

3) Dr Starline - stan the platypus!

4) Mephiles - as a kid he used to scare me lots with his mouthless appearance, now he’s a funky crystal man

5) Eclipse from the Archie comics - he made Knuckles toss Shadow off his island and I’ve yet to stop laughing about it

[fallen-symphony]

HAH, FRUMPY!

"Who are you calling 'Frumpy!?"

"Ha ha! #DR. FRUMPYLINE!"

"Don't make me sick Metal Knuckles on you, boy."

"I wouldn't do that, Starline. He'd just hack Metal Knuckles like he did my Machinedramon Army."

"*Sigh* Fine. I'll let it slide..."

[fallen-symphony]

"Has the wildcat truly never seen a platypus before...?

"...Now that I think about it, are there any platypuses in Avalice?

[skaruresonic]

Buckle up. I have a lot to say.

---

I don't really think Tangle was that hyped?

Maybe not so much in the book, but in a 2018 interview with Game Informer regarding his thought process for Tangle's creation, Flynn essentially disparaged the female games cast to imply that Tangle fulfilled a role none of them did:

I hope I don't need to explain what's wrong with the statement "there aren't a ton of female roles within the Sonic franchise" when it has a larger number of girl characters than most other franchises. Moreover, most of them can keep up with the boys.

Note how he downplays the game characters. Amy is not the take-charge leader of Team Rose, but "somewhat active." Rouge's profession as a freelance spy is boiled down to mere "competence," which is somehow negated by her sex appeal. Cream is dismissed as a child, despite the fact that he doesn't downplay Tails as a child when listing the male characters he considers when thinking of the series' most prominent characters.

Amy's tackled Eggman numerous times, as have Cream and Rouge. Cream helped destroy Egg Utopia in her debut game, and Rouge canonically called herself "pretty strong" after defeating Flying Dog.

Blaze is not the only "kick-butt" female character in the cast. Furthermore, implying that a female character's only worth or cool factor lies in their combat ability is sexist.

---

There isn't really a problem about a character being "fawned over" or just respected by other ones.

Except when that fawning doesn't make sense, the character hasn't earned it, or the fawning comes at the expense of a games character. Silver morphed from the naive stoic he is in the games into a gushing fanboy just to infodump about Whisper's role in the war:

The shilling is not limited to just Whisper or Lanolin, either; the comic can't resist hyping up any of its original characters, no matter how small their role.

Amy gleefully dumps any and all responsibilities onto Jewel, to the point of pretty much declaring her the leader of the response in the forest fire arc.

Tails oohs and ahhs at... the fact that Belle is made out of wood.

Clutch, formerly a nothingburger of a villain, is framed as such a chessmaster that someone felt compelled to write an article about how he's surpassed Eggman's threat level:

A Small-Time Sonic Villain Just Became a Bigger Threat Than Dr. Eggman (screenrant.com)

By contrast, aside from maybe Tangle's initial starry-eyed impression of Blaze and Starline's early adoration of Eggman, you hardly ever see this process in reverse. How often have the comic characters shilled the game characters?

---

Heck, when Sonic learns Starline went Stardead he gave the infamous "big oof" line, and he wasn't saying that as a joke, he just didn't give a fuck about that guy.

Which just proves that Sonic is a hypocrite and didn't mean a single word of what he told Surge when he said he was willing to give even Starline and Eggman a second chance. Someone who truly cared about seeing villains turn over a new leaf wouldn't go "lol Fs in the chat, get dunked on, asshole🤪" upon hearing one of them died and now will never get the chance to become a better person. That just renders his Sermon on the Rock a bunch of hot air in retrospect.

I'm not necessarily saying he should have eulogized Starline, but silence would have gone a long way to establish some kind of internal consistency with this uber-moral Sonic. Because as it stands, it comes across as though he lied to Surge in order to morally browbeat her.

He might have had his Sermon on the Rock in issue 50, but "big oof" inadvertently shows us IDW!Sonic's true colors. He only cares about appearing merciful and compassionate instead of actually being merciful and compassionate.

---

Again, Silver kind of is a child, but I digress.

...Really? Silver is the same age as Blaze and equally as powerful, yet nobody would argue Blaze is "kind of a child."

The infantilization of Silver does not exist in the games; it was fabricated by the comic.

---

The Lanolin moment™ was widely criticized by nearly everyone that reads the IDW comics. But one, we haven't seen her for much, and what we've seen of her, she is likely very traumatized from everything that happened to her.

1.) "But one, we haven't seen her for much" - Irrelevant.

This would also be difficult to measure by any objective standard; how many appearances count as "we haven't seen much of her," especially given how much screentime the comic tends to give the OCs? She featured heavily in several issues and had at least one scene dedicated to her insecurities as a leader. Does she need a miniseries in order to count?

2.) "...she is likely very traumatized from everything that happened to her." - Okay, but you would need to apply that standard to everyone.

According to that logic, Whisper would have had no reason to apologize to Tangle for being triggered by Tangle calling their team the "Diamond Cutters." Which... she really shouldn't have felt the need to to begin with, but the comic certainly felt Tangle was owed a lengthy apology, so.

---

Two, nobody really knew who Duo was, and she wasn't the only one against Silver there! In fact, Silver is constantly shown to be suspicious about Duo, and the only one noticing he isn't what he seems.

Wasn't Whisper cottoning onto Duo's schtick too, but was dismissed by the others as being oversensitive due to trauma?

FUCK, WHISPER of all people sided with Lanolin!

Probably because Lanolin did this when Whisper merely grabbed her arm:

Of course she would. Lanolin is unhinged.

And no, before you ask, I'm not taking the scene out of context: Tangle was merely looking at her paddle before Lanolin smacked it away.

---

Cream is a child, she was helping her mom with the food and was left to finish the rest on her own. Two big meanies shows up and ruins everything she worked really hard to do.

Okay, so Cream is a child. Really think about this. Would you leave a child to watch a boiling pan of hot oil unattended? Vanilla could have helped her finish the food, sent her out to buy ingredients, or at least postponed cooking without risking a house fire.

Such are IDW's contrivances: plot comes at the expense of character and common sense.

---

Finally, she's infamously gone a lot™ in the Zombot arc, including having lost her best friend and her mother.

I don't know why people insist that Cream has this long-lasting trauma from the zombot arc when A.) everyone not named Eggman should still be shellshocked, not just uniquely Cream because "she's a child," and B.) the book missed its window of opportunity to show us the effects of that trauma. I don't see any evidence for it. She was back to cheerily baking cookies by the Chao racing arc.

Besides, I very much doubt there was anything in that story to imply zombot-related trauma. IDW is not particularly subtle, so if her tears were indeed the result of zombot trauma, I'm sure there would have been an entire blubbering speech from Cream about how the mean bad guys reminded her of her mom dying, and Vanilla would have comforted her.

Besides, why would the house being on fire and two burglars entering her home remind her of zombots? She wasn't there when Rough and Tumble got turned into zombots.

Also not to shill my own work, but crying is not the only way trauma manifests itself. I used nightmares, sleepiness and a clinginess to her mother to imply Cream was processing the trauma of Eggman kidnapping Vanilla in one of my fics.

---

She's a child under a lot of stress, and I don't blame her for crying, I would've cried too and I'm way older than her.

The problem does not inherently lie with the concept of Cream crying in a stressful situation; it lies in the exaggerated and inaccurate degree. Like the heat that was left on way too high, so too was Cream's occasional habit of crying cranked all the way up.

While Cream has been known to cry sometimes in the games, doesn't do much more than sniffle. She also gets over it fairly quickly.

This is toddler behavior. It's infantilizing, in addition to inaccurate.

Cream began to cry a little when she and Emerl were kidnapped by Eggman's Phi robots and taken to Gimme Shelter in Sonic Battle.

But, bear in mind, that was after watching Emerl fight waves upon waves of enemies, with guilt over being unwilling to fight and being a bystander to Emerl getting hurt (he had to assure her he was having "fun" instead ;A;) adding onto the stress of abduction. You could also argue she didn't want to fight after being forced to help Amy boxercise to the point of exhaustion.

The circumstances are not the same---here she's in her own home, Rough and Tumble are just bullies, and she has Gemerl and Cheese and Chocola to help her.

---

Rough and Tumble are consistently written as dumb asshole losers as well, so them being the ones to haven finally broken the straw on the rabbit's back shows a bit more about Cream than them.

You do realize you're implying that Cream is easily overwhelmed by these F-tier assholes, yes? Cream, the goddess of destruction who tore through Eggman's bases in order to rescue her mother in her debut game? Okay.

---

To say that Starline was hyped and "superior" to Eggman is... kind of a straight up lie.

Explain this, then.

On his first appearance, he is instantly regarded as "just Eggman's obsessive fanboy that might be a bit gay" and while his hypnotic powers are genuinely dangerous (mainly due to the fact that it affects psyche, not physique), he is also kind of a pathetic loser? He overworks his ass off, he is given advice almost akin to dating advice by Zavok (who probably had second intentions himself), he throws a temper tantrum when Eggman "fires" him, he records all his plans (the last thing a villain should do) and everytime he's pitted against Eggman, he gets his ass completely whopped.

You remember when Bad Guys treated "if you emulate Eggman, it will doom you to failure because you'll only be repeating his mistakes" like it was a huge turning point in Starline's character? Only for it to lead nowhere because oops, it turned out Starline "didn't think his plan all the way through"?

Bad Guys did not have the other villains call Eggman's methods "sloppy" and scatterbrained six or seven times - yes, I counted - just for Eggman to pull a victory out of his ass from literally nowhere. That's such a copout.

What was the point of having us follow Starline for 40-something issues only to establish the point that he is small beans compared to Eggman? Something we already knew due to A.) knowing who Eggman is and B.) knowing that Starline stole 90% of Eggman's shit?

There is none. It was all just a huge waste of time.

---

She has a sympathetic backstory, her focal point being how psychologically damaged she is (and to an extent, Kit as well), and her entire existence being a nightmare, "created" to be haunted by a non-existent past, a dead creator and someone her life was entirely made around hating.

>>she has a sympathetic backstory

>>"created" to be haunted by a non-existent past

Pick one. Her backstory cannot be "sympathetic" if it doesn't exist. We don't have any frame of reference for what she lost, and so we lack the proper context to feel sympathy for her.

Take Shadow as a contrast. We may not have the deepest portrait of Maria, but what the games do provide are enough for us to tell that she must have meant a lot to him. If the games gave us no idea who Maria was, Shadow's motives would not be nearly as compelling.

I literally cannot tell what it is about Surge's past that merits this kind of sympathy unless you plug in the gaps yourself. Surge even questions her own past a few times, wondering if she and Kit were unwanted or criminals. But because the book refuses to elaborate, we're stuck with playing multiple choice.

It's difficult to take Surge seriously either as a woobie (for the reasons I just mentioned) or as an ultra-badass new rival to Sonic when she flipflops between having panic attacks, Looney-Tunes style hijinks and being handed victories on a silver platter.

Not to mention the hype she receives from the creators---apparently Stanley thinks the events of Forces would have been 10x more difficult on the heroes if Surge were in it. Sure, Jan.

---

I get how some people may be frustrated about certain characters not showing up more, but we have to be aware that characters created for a comic are gonna appear in the comic, this isn't really a Ken Penders situation where the characters show up to save the main guys and never let them act.

1.) The book is entitled "Sonic the Hedgehog," yet for its fiftieth issue, Sonic was nowhere to be seen on the cover. Much Sonic, many wow.

2.) It's not unreasonable to expect a comic book based on a video game to focus on the video game characters. That's why we're reading the book in the first place.

3.) The real reason the book doesn't focus on the video game cast is because the writers feel stunted by writing the games characters. They find it difficult because they can't "develop" them (ie changing them), hence the heavy focus on comic-exclusive characters.

The worst part is, they can't even keep their own characters consistent, either, so it's not a "Sega mandates" issue nearly as much as it is a skill issue. They're not doing any better in developing the comic characters because half the time they flanderize them for the sake of plot anyway. Belle is afraid of her own shadow under Stanley's pen but screams at Starline under Flynn's; Surge flipflops between being a cool badass and a woobie we're supposed to be rooting for depending on whatever reaction the writer wants to wring out of us at the time; Starline was touted as more thorough and meticulous than Eggman, yet lost because he "didn't think [his plan] all the way through." And I swear Tangle loses IQ points with every issue.

It really is not just annoying, but also somewhat sad, that IDW characters can never have a meaty role without shamelessly upstaging a game character. It's the ultimate play of insecurity.

Tangle gets touted as the Sonic Female of All Time while the crewmembers drag the game females through the mud.

Whisper gets randomly fawned over by Silver and Jet of all guys.

Lanolin humiliates Silver and treats him like a child.

Rough and Tumble are too much for Cream the OP to handle.

Starline was hyped up for an extended period as Eggman's superior (no, his final fate did not undo sitting through his agonizing "Sonic VS Eggman is routine" soapboxing).

Surge is being hyped up for even longer as the most badass villain and the most badass character period, despite having absolutely nothing of merit to show for it.

Is it really that hard to find a middle ground? I get you want your character(s) to do big things and be a legitimate part of the cast instead of sitting in the background with their thumbs twiddling, but this is not the way to do it. Trip was only recently introduced to the series, and she found her place just fine. She didn't need to effortlessly beat up Sonic in concept art in order to earn her stripes. She didn't need her creators to brag that she would improve Forces through her mere presence in order to cement her value.

Look. I talk a lot about Trudy. I talk a lot about her role in my fic, her interactions, her dynamics, her abilities, her quirks, all that good stuff. I take her role in the story quite seriously, and in an age where it's become taboo to have your OC do literally anything with the game cast (because overcorrection), I've stuck to my guns and made her a big part of the fic.

But - and this is a big but - none of this comes at the cost of the other characters, or the story as a whole. Sonic is still Sonic, and acts as you'd expect from him. Tails is still Tails, and isn't dismissed by the narrative as a mere sidekick to prop up Trudy as the "true" hero by comparison. Amy is still her bubbly self, not morphed into a Sally clone. Cream is still capable, despite her youth and innocence, and her bond with Trudy doesn't reduce her to literal baby. Eggman treats Trudy no differently from the rest of the cast, and he sure as hell doesn't show any fear at the prospect of facing her. Stellar is not little more than The Trudy Show: it's Sonic's latest adventure in a new land that Trudy happens to be tagging along for, and how he leaves an impression on her. Just like Unleashed did with Chip, and Secret Rings did with Shahra, among other examples.

Even Sonudis, for as Never Going To Happen In Canon For Very Obvious Reasons as it is, is still made with the mentality of not only what Sonic himself is actually like in canon, but the others too. It's not a shallow bait that exists solely to exist, it's something I took seriously in regards to how it could potentially work without sacrificing Sonic's official characterization. Is it a fanfic cliche? Is it self-indulgent? Maybe, but writing fanfic in general is inherently self-indulgent. The sooner you accept that, the better. But as fanfic-y as some concepts may be, I still try to portray them as naturally and as faithfully as I can in respect to the games that spawned this franchise. That includes not reducing Sonic to a lap dog with no independence or backbone.

You can make your character important, and even give them a risky role if you're daring, without disrespecting the game cast and what they contribute to the franchise.

[fallen-symphony]

Sonic the Hedgehog Muses:

Scourge the Hedgehog

Eggman Nega

Rosy the Rascal

Dr. Starline

Metal Knuckles

[fallen-symphony]

Slur, the forces @formerchaoslord vastly outnumber you guys. So I suggest you surrender or prepare to get squad wiped.

"Do you take me for an idiot, mortal?! Why do you think I recruited those with large armies?! Brevon has his army of Shade Elites, Eggman Nega has his army of robots, Analogman has his army of Machinedramon, and we recently had Dr. Starline join the team, and he has control over the Eggman Empire! I'm sure we have a big enough army as is, but it will continue to grow! But as of now, our armies surpasses RiFT's group of goodie-goodies!"

"Not to mention... Just gonna throw this out there... But even if we didn't have an army... We have a Super Scourge."

"ALL HAIL THE KING, BABY!!"