SUPERIOR REPLACEMENT

NOW AT @stillgrows

TRICORES : A PRIVATE AND SELECTIVE DR STARLINE OF THE IDW SONIC THE HEDGEHOG SERIES. HEAVILY HEADCANON-BASED. INTERPRETED AND WRITTEN BY SYD. ESTABLISHED MAY 2021.

a study in: never meeting your heroes, the pride before the fall, being unanimously reviled, narcissistic collapse, villainy by a former theatre kid, & learning from one's mistakes.

i believe i'm going to be moving all my muses to my multifandom multimuse, including starline. i understand if i lose people this way, but i'm trying to focus most of my creative energy on an original novel i'm already 50k words into; my goal is to get it all written and edited by the end of the year. because of that, i don't have it in me to maintain multiple blogs. as it is, i'm finding myself too stressed thinking about which blog to go on that i end up not going on a blog at all. i'll be crossposting this on all my blogs, and i may reblog it a time or two and add a note to the pinned.

nothing's been transferred over to the carrd yet, but i have quite a few blogs i need to transfer so that will take some time.

the warp topaz being returned to where starline found it instead of being lost in the void (as it was) or destroyed (as i feared based on the covers and solicitation)... we are so back!!!!

“Progress log update.”

Gone is the spacious, reclaimed lab of his previous progress logs; the backdrop of his recent logs is much smaller and much more cluttered as he's forced to make do with less space. Such is the cost of maintaining a low profile...

“Starting from scratch is proving to be a tedious process, but things are moving along. I've secured a business partner for future endeavors, at little cost other than my extensive knowledge of Eggtech. I'm done salvaging, but it would be a waste not to put my talents to use as they benefit me.”

Speaking of talents... His left hand raises and flexes, opening and closing slowly. “I'm adjusting quite well to my new arm. I've made some minor adjustments to the cybernetics as needed, but functionally it's proving to be almost indistinguishable from my former arm. Small victories.”

There's a lull, and he pulls his orange-tinted glasses from his face. The sociability, even to only himself, falls away, leaving the doctor's expression pensive.

“My previous course of action nearly led to my demise. It's a harrowing thing, to walk with the upmost confidence to what very well could have been one's end. I allowed myself to be blinded by admiration, betrayal, and spite — a mistake I will not be making again.” He inhales deeply, and allows the breath to leave his lungs slowly. Determination flickers through his eyes. “No. I must rethink my methods, and not allow myself to be blinded or led astray by what I imagine others would do in my place.”

“I only failed when I abandoned myself.”

He puts his glasses back on and reaches forward, typing a few keys on the computer with his right hand.

“I believe I've located Surge and Kitsunami. While their betrayal has certainly cast a shadow over things, I'm hesitant to write them off as failures. Too much work went into them.” He types a few more keys, eyes scanning over whatever words are on the monitor, unseen to the camera.

“With Surge's impulsive tendencies, her body will wear down faster than Kitsunami's. If they were unable to get into my files — and I have no doubt about that, if they even thought about doing so — they'll be unable to conduct the necessary maintenance on her on their own. She's an intricate piece of construction.”

He leans back into his chair, fingers drumming against the arm as he thinks. “I'll watch for a while longer. I'll have to approach eventually. How I do so requires some more brainstorming on my part.”

He's silent for a moment more, staring ahead at nothing in particular as he thinks.

i do think he'll have lost his left arm in that collapse and replaced it with his own cybernetic replacement upon his return; with the glove thrown out and that being the hand with all his scarring from the topaz, i think it makes sense. whatever he ends up with will be better able to fully integrate into him, which i'm sure he'll love.

Dr Starline stares at Surge for a moment, the polite expression he dons a plastic thing, faint and masking his true intent. His expression quirks with some amusement. “And what am I scheming?” he asks. “Do tell, Surge.”

This is certainly an... aggravating turn of events, if not a humiliating one. That said, it wasn't him who admitted it out loud — that is, at the very least, a blow to his ego spared. Starline exhales a brief huff of air if only to make his irritation be known. "Have it your way, dear Sonic," he says, tone heavy with every ounce of cloying, sarcastically saccharine sweetness he can muster.