Tempered Chaos

It goes without saying that 2020 has been a shit year that few have escaped unscathed. So I don’t know if it’s burn out or something else but... to put it bluntly.. I can’t deal with the dash right now and it’s occasional negativity. Or at the least this fandom’s brand™ of it. Maybe I’d feel less this way if I felt less disconnected with the community as a whole but that’s speculation. 

May be back in the new year. May not be. May repurpose this blog into a Shadow blog. May not. 

Honestly I’m not sure, so things are pretty up in the air right now. However it does seem like many of the concepts I want to explore with this blog are not something other people are particularly interested in, which hey, fair enough. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea and there’s no obligations in this lovely hobby of ours. it just means I’m more content running off elsewhere with the few people that do and playing out those ideas there. 

What is perhaps the most widely known, and public, of Dr. Starline’s traits is his idolisation of Eggman. The platypus makes no stranger of it even when in the company of Eggman himself. It’s something that seems to be incredibly deep-rooted in Starline’s persona and appears, for the most part, largely unshakable despite Eggman’s own actions.

To put it plainly; Starline wants to be considered worthy and equal to the infamous Doctor Eggman. Starline wants to be recognised by his idol. In his mind there would be no greater legacy than to be the ‘final piece’ on the chessboard that allows Eggman to finally secure complete and total victory. 

However the root for this outlook, or even fixation, is more complex than Starline simply being a ‘fanboy’ or ‘simp’ for Eggman. Since it actually traces back to Starline’s origins and upbringing in the Jupiter Syndicate. Which, to put it bluntly, could be considered a crime cult of sorts. The entire running of the Syndicate is very ‘cult-esc’ in nature, with it’s membership conditioned to revere and fear the head of the Syndicate; an individual known simply by the title of ‘Padrone.’

Those born within the Syndicate ( like Starline was ) are taught from a young age that love is conditional and that attention and respect are earned. One must be found worthy of it. What’s more, it’s drilled into members that the greatest honour and aspiration in life is to be considered worthy by Padrone. These conditioning tactics were carried out to inspire loyalty, fear, and through both of those, a dedication to one’s work. The cost of failure was high through not only harsh punishments but also social out-casting and passive aggressiveness by those around you. 

All of this has been deeply ingrained into Starline since day one and, though he left the Syndicate, it should be noted it was for the Eggman Empire. Starline didn’t leave because of the abhorrent things the Jupiter Syndicate does but because he idolised the Eggman legacy and ‘brand’ in place of the Syndicate’s secretive ways. That conditioning is still in place, only Starline has superimposed Eggman as his ‘new Padrone’ after leaving. It’s why Starline works so hard to be found worthy by Eggman despite the latter’s very obvious intentions to throw the platypus away when he’s no longer useful. 

I’ve mentioned this before in one of my ‘ Random HC posts ‘ but... Shadow invests in stocks. 

So some mornings, before heading into HQ, he’ll be eating his breakfast while either checking the stock market on the TV-news or his phone. Nothing too big a deal, but Shadow’s aware he’s going to be around for a while compared to most people and it’s a means of financial security in the future should anything happen with his current arrangements with G.U.N. The dividends he receives in present day aren’t much but he’s in it for the long game.

When you trust someone to help you conquer the planet, and they repay you by bringing a bunch of bloodthirsty demons onto your Faceship to take control of your zombotified masses from you and then can’t even keep the Zeti in line for more than three seconds!

When you actually hired someone who lacks your vision and willingness to push the envelope, and would rather waste time testing and retesting when there’s a world that requires action to conquer

When your ex-intern is happy to hand over all seven Chaos Emeralds but not his swirly glove rock.

【 ◈ 】The blur of motion had the field stretched out before Shadow pass as little more than nebulous shades of green in his breakneck speeds. It drew him towards the horizon, on which his gaze was fixed, in his search for  anything  that stood out in the tell-tale signs of an Eggman base. The doctor had gone missing following his defeat and the world’s liberation from the empire’s clutches, outside, perhaps, of the odd Badnik attack. Something strange was going on and Shadow intended to find out what. The doctor’s machinations couldn’t be allowed to continue any longer. Not after Sonic had...

   Shadow silenced the thought as something came into view; a wagon caravan beset by badniks. The wagon’s horse had been riled into a panic, rearing, and thrashing, at the badniks that dared get closer to it as it desperately pulled at its tethering. Not far from it Shadow could make out the form of someone making a stand against the small hoard with staff in hand.

   Speeding up, and curling his body inwards into a spindash, Shadow jettisoned into the closest of the Badniks. The clamouring crash of crushed steel falling to the ground caused the horse to rare up onto its hindlegs, further startled, by the sudden blur of movement. Shadow bounced off the downed badnik and had his lingering momentum rotate him in a flip, unfurling, to bring down a leg towards another of the robots.

   FWOOSH!

@chaostested still has a fate to be decided.

➦             with the sun setting on the horizon & the extra weight of their previous employer, mimic’s spot atop the frieght-loader’s hull became increasingly slighted, no longer purposeful to watch the evening’s decline. sliding off the roof of the driving cabinet, tentacles catch mimic’s weight while a hand steadies his stand against the side of the cargo hold. no one around at the moment, which meant things might go smoother inside.

              one of his tendrils loop & opens the car door behind him, the rest carrying him into the driver’s seat & shutting the door behind. rolling over to shift onto his feet, the mercenary continues on into the back of the truck, heading in deeper to where the group had stowed their now redundant clause. a slow exhale drags beneath his curved beak as MIMIC approaches the bound platypi, those miniscule glasses tilted upon the other’s bill.

                               ❛ - you’ve seen better days, doc. - ❜ mirth rides along every word, sickeningly visceral in his passion for holding starline captive. zavok & him had yet to deem a worthy form of disposing the wasted space, leaving the now open for mimic to ruse up a few scare tactics. after all, starline knew how ruthless the octopus loved to play. ❛ - no doubt forced rest hasn’t been abundant in its graces towards you. - ❜

【 ₪ 】Starline shuffled within his bindings as he grunted against the ache of the rope digging into his wrists. The pain pounding against his head wasn’t from one of the platypus’ usual migraines but, instead, the lingering ghost of a blow to the head. It had knocked the very light from him, and yet was still preferable to the blade that’d been at his throat. A thin sliver of blood, dried, and itchy, was an uncomfortable reminder that his life’s thread had been in the hands of a murderous mercenary in that moment.

   Not that his continued existence was any more certain now. 

   Uncertainties were never something Starline enjoyed. There was no thrill towards life’s trademark twists or turns, nor did he share Eggman’s appreciation towards ‘ sudden dramatic deadlines ‘ as the other had once put it. No, as was often drummed into all that worked within the Syndicate’s ranks, uncertainties were dangerous. A single loose thread could fray and unravel even the most carefully and intricately woven of plans. Uncertainties toppled empires, and one needed only look as far as the Eggman Empire for proof of that.

    It was that very line of thought that left Starline with a certain fixation on having data, being prepared, and knowing how to best move forward. That, as he understood it, had always been to him what being a scientist was all about. Yet... out of necessity.. he’d acted  against  that nature when enlisting the aid of Zavok and the others for his plans. Only for it to blow up so dramatically in his face.

    The platypus suddenly stilled his struggles at the echoing clamour of the truck door. A panicked gaze glanced over to see who it might be only for his heart to sink. Mimic. Undoubtedly the worst of his options of the four, it didn’t leave Starline overly hopeful. Zavok he’d at least started to build some kind of.. rapport with. While the skunk brothers, well, they were brutes, but Starline assumed the worst he’d be left with was a few nonsensical insults and a stink-bombed truck to stew in.

✦ Starter for @chaostested // Shadow

          “Hmm.” A very expensive looking necklace caught her eye. Too bad she can’t turn invisible and just.. take it. Rouge would have to wait till the shop closed for the night and then she would have her opportunity. Unless.. “Shadow~” She got close enough to rest her chin on his shoulder. “I’m your best friend, right? You don’t mind doing me a small favor?” The bat tried to look as innocent as possible, but.. she wasn’t very convincing.

【 ◈ 】Shadow’s steady stride carried him with a sense of indifference as he weaved between the downtown crowd, keeping on the move, towards their destination. Or, at least, he  had  until noticing the bat peeling off to look at something, a shopfront. Jewellery. Of course. Shadow said nothing but kept a silent count of the time in his head. He’d give Rouge a minute, and only a minute, before he planned to prompt that they continue. It proved unnecessary however as the bat soon returned on her own accord, but with a particularly devious gleam  in tow. 

   Oh this would be rich.