#exe community

pixelated gore warning

Writer's Note: Based on @bkchaos College of Chaos AU. So when I was first coming up with Max for the College of Chaos AU I was trying to figure out who Max was going to befriend (and to some extension Niku). 2017X and Scourge were heavily considered because I didn't want to try and cram Max fully into the main COC AU cast. I was also debating on who to ship Max with, which was between Lord X and Scourge. Obviously at the end of the day I had settled on Lord X. I still wanted to incorporate Scourge somewhere/somehow and then this silly little idea came to mind.~

Poor Scourge! XD Here's more on Scourge in the COC AU for anyone curious: https://www.tumblr.com/bkchaos/789103027681361920/thank-you-for-answering-my-ask-im-so-happy-to?source=share

Also, I never imagined confessed feelings happening that gets Max and Lord X together. They just kind of happen to a point where no one can go "of THIS is when the two finally got together!". Some people probably joke that they've been together the moment they first got to know each other.

Oh, and I've also seen Lord X as the possessive type with his partner. Scourge is lucky to make it out almost unscathed haha.

Wanted to talk about Eggman's vessels in general —but mainly Paul— and how even a character who is dead in canon —like Paul—can continue to have future repercussions. Eggman's vessels are arguably the most enigmatic characters in the Souless Saga, mainly because their personalities and relationships with X remain a mystery. Paul is one of the most tragic figures in Souless Sonic; he is a victim who had already given up on X's world—and whose very existence was erased by X. Yet, there are far more intriguing aspects to the character's backstory:

At some point in his life—whether in the real world or in X's world—Paul did something that X himself finds either amusing or unpleasant (assuming, of course, that the tweet in question is read from X's perspective). Regardless, the fact remains that Paul definitely did something—or several things—bad.

His actions were significant enough to put him on X's level. According to Joe, we will eventually learn the details, but consider this: the Souless Sonic Strawpage confirms that Paul remains dead within the story. This means that whatever Paul has done, we won't see him in the act of committing it, instead, we will likely see the impact his actions had on the other characters; it is even possible that Paul's actions were a key reason why X gave him a definitive death and a final farewell in "X's Lament." Speaking of "X's Lament," while much of the lyrics are admittedly meta-narrative, the song is literally X saying goodbye to Paul—a point made clear at the very beginning—though other parts of the song may well hold further significance within the story itself; Did Paul perhaps enjoy certain aspects of X's world? Did he ever do anything on X's behalf against the other victims? Remember, there is a possibility that human characters just as evil as X himself exist.

This reminds me of My5tcrimson's game: before Tails and Knuckles, Eggman remains smiling during the character selection—with Tails and Knuckles being X's victims—but when his own turn comes to be the prey, his smile vanishes and fear sets in. Could Paul serve as a parallel to this?

We might be overthinking it; Paul could have done "bad" things unintentionally. The phrase "Don't be appalled"—which Raven says is a cheeky pun on "Don't be a Paul"—might imply that Paul was simply a carefree, somewhat foolish person who didn't cause anything on purpose, but X reminds him of it... But on a metanarrative level, this might be X telling the player not to be like Paul, which would be interesting.

I still believe all this implies that, even though we see nothing of Paul in the main continuity, we will see something of him in the Lord Mortis continuity. Perhaps Paul's personality and actions did intrigue Bandado enough for him to possess his body, besides being an Eggman vessel. I suspect Bandado didn't eliminate Paul the way X would have—that doesn't fit Bandado's personality—but rather kept him on as an assistant or a "shoulder-perched sidekick" within the vessel, much like the relationship between Exeller and Sonic. It would be interesting, it would mark a notable difference between X and Bandado.

Speaking of other Eggman vessels, they all seem to follow a pattern: being the most rebellious or aggressive of the victims.

Just look at Alice's father; he is Lord X's pseudo-arch-nemesis—quite impressive, considering he is merely a human— capable of throwing hands with X. There is also the fact that neither he nor X deserves a child like Alice; this casts doubt on the man's parenting skills, as well as his morality, given that he is on the same level as X when it comes to fatherhood.

Eggman's vessels also seem to be the ones X despises the most—or simply has no interest in—judging by how often he appears to snatch away and erase their souls.

Not to mention the Route B timeline, where an entity inhabiting an Eggman vessel overthrows X and turns the world upside down, bringing it to its knees.

Perhaps all of this implies that X creates Eggman vessels for people who have generally done bad things, thereby assigning them the role of the villain.