#eggline

I saw this line in deltarune and I absolutely had to draw it with my favourite battle throuples.

(Original dialogue under the cut.)

Starline started out as a huge fanboy, aiming to turn his parasocial relationship with the doctor into an interpersonal one. He built up this ideal in his head of what he thought Eggman was like, based on outside observations. And once he began working directly with Eggman and got to see for himself that the man wasn't everything he envisioned, that disappointment crushed him. He became obsessed with proving to Eggman that he was doing the whole "villain" thing all wrong. You don't do it like this, you do it like that, and to prove that my way is the right way I'm going to conquer the world first and let you stand by my side. Surely you'll realize I was right all along and thank me for my help and this won't blow up in my face at all.

Stone, on the other hand, knows exactly what Eggman is like from having worked under him for a while. He does not care about how "problematic" Eggman is, even when he maybe should; he is 100% ride-or-die for that man, warts and all. And he's not clueless about his position as an underling, either; the Sonic 2 Pre-Quill tie-in comic shows that he can be just as ruthless and cunning as Eggman if he wants. Unlike Starline, Stone has no desire to conquer the world himself, though he absolutely could if he wanted to; he just wants to be part of the doctor's conquest, no matter how big or small that part may be. Ironically enough, by being his sycophant, Agent Stone brings out Dr. Eggman's humanity. Stone loves Eggman unconditionally when unconditional love is something Eggman's never had. Stone gave him a human connection at a time when Eggman believed humanity wasn't worth connecting with; and yet, when Eggman was so desperate for companionship while stuck on the mushroom planet that he put a face on a rock, he didn't call it Agent Boulder, he called it Stone. And in the third movie, he (apparently) died realizing that for all the trouble he went to to seek his grandfather's approval, he already had someone by his side this entire time, someone who never willingly left him in spite of all the mistreatment at his hands.

Eggman is such an interesting and compelling villain to me (specifically in the games and comics and movies) because underneath all the grandiose schemes to take over the world, he's still so painfully human. He admires his grandfather, he envies his cousin, and he got so attached to the AI he created that she wound up becoming a daughter to him. He wants attention, respect, recognition. He can be a caring father (Sage) and a deadbeat dad (Belle) at the same time. He's so goddamn multifaceted and I fucking love it.

I once read a really great post that essentially said Eggman is a right-brained villain (creative, emotional) while Starline is a left-brained villain (calculative, logical) and I've never stopped thinking about it because it's true.