you (yes, YOU) are awesome!!!!!

Before starting, there's one thing we all need to agree on so we can have a productive conversation: Sage is not a literal child, of course, she's a super advanced artificial intelligence. Whoever, the media itself intends for us to read her as a human child: she looks like a child, is treated like a child, and is shown to have the emotional maturity equivalent of a child's one (example... Like, her whole character arc in Sonic Frontiers)

For all intends and purposes, she's a child first, and an AI second. We agree? Good, good, we agree.

There's a second thing we need to agree on, and this is a more obvious one that surely we all know but just in case: Eggman is, objectively, a terrible person. And not terrible just in the "cartoon over the top villain" way. He is CRUEL. He's also a man child, and I don't even mean that in an insulting way, it's simply the way he's presented to us in the games: he's fixated with themed parks, with being the center of attention and for all eyes to be on him. He's been implied to have been, at the very least, emotionally neglected by his family.

Egg memo 17. Sonic Frontiers:

"I never really knew my cousin, Maria.

Everyone spoke of her like she was very special. All that love for someone who was gone when I was! Right! There!"

He very, very clearly doesn't have a healthy concept of what a "family" is, which is painfully obvious with the way he treats his creations. But people seem to argue that Sage is the exception, that he simply likes her more and that's why she's not being mistreated. I'd argue otherwise: she IS getting mistreated. Perhaps she's not getting yelled at or insulted like Orbot and Cubot. No, what's happening to her is a more subtle thing...

Emotional abuse

A pattern of behavior where one person subjects another person to nonphysical acts that harm mental well-being and the overall ability to function.

And while, of course, the manifestation of it can be displayed in a variety of ways, I'll just address those I think actually apply to Sage and Eggman.

Control

-Controlling and being possessive of you, your time, and actions, including what you wear, your job, and who you hang out with.

Talking about controlling behavior and Eggman is such a no brainer. But to give an example, the IDW Comics directly imply that Sage is being kept in a state of stasis (is that the word???) when she's not performing a task

Issue 84 of the idw comics:

- Expressing unrealistic expectations that set you up for failure

This is how the average Sage-Eggman cutscene in Frontiers plays out:

Eggman asks about progress on getting him out of cyberspace

Sage provides the data on how that's not possible yet and/or suggests a course of action Eggman doesn't like

Eggman refuses to listen and insists that she HAS to find another solution

Sage is left talking to the air as Eggman storms away

This goes to the point where, even when being faced with the literal end of the world, Sage has to beg him to work with Sonic for once for his own good:

These are unrealistic expectations: he demands her to find a solution, then rejects the solutions she gives to him because he doesn't like it, then gets mad at her over it

A more lighthearted example of contradictory expectations: when you play as Sage and set Eggman as your rival racer, Eggman tells her to do her best. But whe can't do too good, because he'll also get mad at her if she attacks him (it is not clear in text, but he sounds genuinely mad in the second dialogue)

Isolation

- Insisting you ask their permission before doing anything or going anywhere

- Monitoring where you go and what you're doing at all times

Well... This is what Eggman does with all his creations. I can't even provide a specific example since this is just average Eggman behavior. I mean, if she's kept in stasis most of the time unless being given a task, then surely she can't go anywhere she wants without his monitoring, that's, like, the entire point: he knows exactly where she is 24/7 if he knows she's sleeping/in stasis/whatever the fuck you call it.

Emotional neglect

This form of neglect can occur when a caregiver is not present, but when they are present they are emotionally unavailable, if the parent is ill-equipped to handle childhood emotions, or if the parent is purposefully dismissive.

As said before, Eggman has been shown repeatedly to simply ditch the conversation as soon as Sage suggests something he doesn't like. Even if she's raising a good point, even if he made her to be super intelligent so he should trust she knows what she's talking about, even if she provides hard evidence. He'll dismiss her concerns anyways

And being ill equipped to to handle the child's emotions? Being emotionally unavailable? That's the entirety of Eggman's character. He's a emotionally stunned adult, and it's the same game where Sage is introduced the one to point this out in a Morelia obvious manner

Some parents emotionally neglect their children because they’re uncomfortable with emotions in general and are unsure of how to respond to the complex feelings a child experiences.

This is his entire arc in Sonic Frontiers; he gets attached to Sage in a genuine way, but he's so uncomfortable by these emotions he doesn't ever call her his "daughter" until the very end of the game, when she dies (and gets revived immediately after but that's not the point)

In simpler terms: Eggman doesn't know how to form a connection to people. He doesn't know how to interact with people outside a superiority context where he's the ruler and everyone else the subjects, and this inability of emotional vulnerability bleeds to his relationship with Sage.

I find it very curious how, in the IDW Comics, Sage refers to him more as "sir" than "Father". They regard each other with a weird level of professionalism, and the most telling part, this panel from issue 86:

It is a cute moment, for sure, but also notice how Eggman doesn't express his concerns until he makes sure nobody is watching? How, before that, Sage stands behind him, giving him reports as a secretary rather than a daughter? Notice how Eggman doesn't reach out to her until he thinks they're alone? Because that's very, VERY telling to me.

Even if, realistically, the only people there watching are Orbot and Cubot, who wouldn't judge Eggman for showing concern for his daughter since they're unapologetically treat her like their little sister. Eggman doesn't have any reasons to treat their father-daughter relationship as a secret to be hidden under a professional relationship. But he does anyways. That, right there, is an emotionally unavailable parent.

Parentification

Parentification is a role reversal in families in which the child acts as the parent in the family system.

I'll show another seemingly very cute interaction as an example. This is oficial Sonic Channel art of Sage and Eggman

Very cute, right? They're shopping for food, that's wholesome... But look at what is actually happening in the image. Just imagine you have never seen this drawing before, that you don't know these characters, and I describe a scene out of context:

There's two people in the image shopping for food. Two people that are family. Person 1 has the grocery list, they're making sure they're only buying the necessary for the health of the family. Person 2 is hoarding junk food, such as soda and cake, and putting it on the shopping cart. Person 1 doesn't approve of this and will reject the additions to the cart, except maybe the cake, maybe they'll allow it for a birthday, but that's about it.

Now, completely out of context. If I told you one was the parent and one the child, who would you assume was the parent? Person 1? Person 1 sounds exactly like how a parent would scold a kid for filling the entire shopping cart with candies and maybe let them have one thing. Except in this scenario person 1 is the child. The responsible one is the child. The one performing a caregiver job is the child

And you may say "well, she's an ai, it's no different from asking Chat GPT to make your grocery list" except is very different because *taps the "Sage is still mentally a kid regardless of her being an ai" sign*

But maybe it's not that serious! It's just a silly drawing made to be funny! Ok... Let me show an example where the situation is serious:

For the entirety of Frontiers, Sage is put in a literal protector role. She's the one who protects Eggman, it is straight up her purpose.

In short: it is more common for Sage to protect Eggman, than for Eggman to protect Sage.

But hey! That was a life or death situation! Surely that doesn't count! Surely it's the exception!

... Is it? Because, for what I'm seeing, it seems to be a constant. This is shown to be a demonstration of trust from Eggman to Sage, and sure, it 100% is, but he’s also doing something else here: employing her. He's giving her a job. A job that very explicitly involves having her saving him. This is also the case in The Chaotix save files (excuse the lack of picture, Tumblr won't let me add more), when Infinite sends Eggman flying away, far from being alarmed, Sage just... Sighs and goes after him. It is a behavior that implies a constant. A constant where Sage is the protector more times than not. It is so constant she doesn't even seem worried for Eggman anymore: at this point it's just what's expected to happen. She already knows the protocol and what to do.

Enmeshment

Enmeshment is a psychological term describing an extreme form of emotional closeness where personal boundaries become blurred or non-existent.

In an enmeshed relationship, individuals are overly involved in each other’s lives to the point that they lose a clear sense of their own identity and autonomy.

This is just reheated points from what I've already explained previously: she seems to be mostly in stasis unless Eggman needs her, that's to say most of her conscious life revolves around Eggman. She's an employee of his, and when she's not working she's not even awake.

Her existence is literally only revolving Eggman. She doesn't seem to have much of a life outside of Eggman. What friends does she have? Let's see, Sonic... Whose relationship with him is as an enemy of her father. Belle... Who she bonded with as a result of being both creations of Eggman. Orbot and Cubot... Who are also Eggman's creations... What established friendships does she have with anyone that doesn't involve Eggman? What? You say none? I see...

And every time we see her taking pride of something, it's also revolving Eggman. She's Eggman's greatest creation. She's Eggman's beloved daughter. She's the heir of the Eggman Empire. She's impressive, sure, but what is she outside of Eggman? What identity does she have that doesn't have to do with Eggman?

Emotional incest

Emotional incest, also known as covert incest, is a form of emotional abuse where a parent or primary caregiver treats their child like a romantic partner, relying on them for the emotional support a partner would typically provide.

Now, admittedly, she does NOT treat Sage like an emotional partner. Whoever, he does constantly place her in a adult emotional role, so I'd argue it does still apply to them. How exactly? Well....

- Being emotionally dependent on the child: The parent burdens the child with the weight of the stressors they are dealing with and depends on them for emotional support and security.

Burdening a child with the weight of their stress and relying on them for security? You mean like... Giving your daughter a literal secretary and security protocol job?

-Oversharing with the child: Another sign is that the parent confides adult matters to a child.

Adult matters? You mean like... I don't know. Making her your second in command for your acts of war? Which, despite not being shown to the audience (because it's a kids franchise, obviously), involves graphic violence that a child shouldn't see? If we go by the chaotix casefiles, Sage has complete access to the files regarding the go a the Phantom ruby and the Sonic Forces war, which is to say she has unrestricted access to:

The human (mobian, whatever) experiments that were implied to happen in order to make the Phantom Ruby (look, the Forces lore is a hot mess, but during gameplay we see literal test subjects in tubes, which has to mean something happened, right?)

All the people Infinite has personally killed during the war (because don't fuck with me, 99% of the world was under Eggman's control, of course people died)

6 months of torture they put Sonic through (look, the fact that Sonic looks unaffected doesn't mean it didn't happened. They said they tortured Sonic, so that's that)

And let's not forget the entire Jackal squad Shadow killed right outside Eggman's base! Sage has unrestricted access to that and more!

-Being over-involved in the child’s life: The parent wants to know everything about the child’s life, and the child doesn‘t have age-appropriate privacy.

-Monopolizing the child’s life: The parent monopolizes the child’s life and expects the child to restrict their friendships and activities to meet the parent’s emotional needs.

-Making the child responsible for their well-being: The parent may imply that the child is responsible for the parent’s emotional well-being, says Francis. The child may learn that their own emotional needs are secondary to the parent’s instead of the other way around.

I suppose I have already over explained how all of this applies before, so I won't say the same thing over and over again. Whoever, from my same source, here's some examples they provide of emotional incest I think apply very well to Sage and Eggman:

-The parent vents to the child about their workplace difficulties, relying on the child for emotional support.

-The parent confides their marital problems to the child, which can be distressing for the child.

-The parent expects the child to leave their activities and rescue them when they need emotional support.

-The parent undermines the child’s efforts to make friends, so they have the child’s undivided attention.

And if all of that hasn't been enough, I have one last point to make...

Eggman didn't even started to get attached to Sage until she started to show that she was useful.

Egg memo 13. Sonic Frontiers:

"Sage is performing at peak efficiency!

Makes me wonder where I went wrong with Orbot and Cubot. Not only is she taking control of the Ancients' network, but she's harassing Sonic as well! I love it!"

A funny, silly piece of dialogue. Which is also the first time in the egg memos he seems to show affection for Sage, and what does she point out exactly? That she's more useful than his other lackeys

Egg memo 19. Sonic Frontiers:

"Who says I can't create life, huh?

Just a bunch of proteins bumping together. Anyone can do that. A true genius does it with code and electrons! And if I did create life, she would be brilliant and loyal and perfectly effective! And you know why? Because her dad ks a genius, that's why!"

Eggman loves Sage. He loves her very deeply. He doesn't love her for her human qualities or her particularly interesting personality: he loves her because he created her, and he created life and as such she's a walking demonstration of his genius. She's a reward, the peak of his inventions. And he likes her, in his own words, because she's loyal and effective.

She's a masterpiece, and a masterpiece he made. So her existence is a physical proof that he's, indeed, THE genius to ever exist.