Hehehehehehehehh the ship charts I've made so far about these losers
The relationship Robert has with Mecha Man both as a role to fulfill and as the physical object (the suit itself) is fascinating and so fun to think about!
The way Robert depends on the legacy just as much as it depends on him (even had an idea for a fanart referencing "I depend on on you") and how there would be very little people who would take up the mantle the way he did, letting the mantle consume them, body mind & soul, a kind of devotion that could never be repaid by something like the suit… Even if it were sentient (It would be sooo possessive of him if it were sentient while still treating him as expendable).
Even realizing how the suit affected him, Robert still jumps and claws at every opportunity to fix it, even if there's a way for him to do good outside of it (aka dispatching as the game itself points out)…. It makes me think just how self-destructive he'd become while in the suit post canon, now having SDN resources, just how more self sacrificial he'd become knowing that he actually has the resources to consistently fix the Mecha and pay his hospital bills. Would the suit drive a wedge between him and the z-team? (Very likely) Would Royd regret fixing it seeing how it affects Robert? (Also likely) Would Katon Ur draw a parallel with how his identity as Phenomaman affected his relationship with Blazer and voice his thoughts to Robert?
Of course it's impossible to speak about Mecha Man without speaking about Shroud who is positioned directly against it. And there are already so so many posts about how centered Robert was on bringing him down while he had the chance (while Mecha Man was still functional), how Shroud became a goal to Robert/Mecha Man, and after reaching that goal he'd likely not even know what to do with himself. Maybe he'd just hope that Shroud would escape again so that he'd have a personal goal while rotting inside the metal coffin named Mecha Man instead of having impersonal ones… Similar to how Shroud didn't kill him while he was comatose, after all, just like the Mecha Man suit and Robert, they need each other.
And after writing this down in a DM to @bloopiebloops (+Kudos for saying I should also reblog the post with this<3) I also realized just how interestingly similar roles the Mecha Man suit & Shroud have in Robert's life when thought about at certain angles, how much of his attention they command, "taking" his father away, slowly driving him towards ruin in different ways... though, in the end, Shroud's ambush, resulting in Robert's arrival at SDN and meeting Blonde Blazer, The Z-Team, Royd, reuniting with Chase, might have been a saving grace for Robert all things considered, quite ironic. (Though even then, if Robert indeed does fall back into his old Mecha Man habits that likely won't last long, and he'll likely need to be pulled back from it by the people that care about him if they don't want to lose him... Whether he likes it or not.)
Something personal that I've sort of connected in my mind to Mecha Man & Robert is how I've started to view Unconditional Love from time to time (Not all the time, thankfully)... As something scary both from the side of someone who gives and and someone who recieves it. The thought of loving someone no matter what, no matter who they are or who they might become is terrifying, but brings with it a sense of superiority, especially to those who cannot just forgive certain things, it makes the bestover of unconditional love feel special in a way, not like everybody else. The thought of someone loving you no matter who you are, and no matter what you become, is also terrifying, it gives an out, that no matter what you do, someone will love you. And with Robert it looks to me like he does feel unconditional love towards Mecha Man as a role he should... must fulfill. And the suit, as an inanimate object cannot return that devotion in any capacity, BUT, it makes him feel him feel validated, and special... like a sacrificial lamb. This part already has me repeating myself at some points, so I should probably finish writing this. You really got my brain going haha
+ The "I miss my dad" Is just...Perfection.
So so many thoughts….
AHJJHHJJ Ty so much for sharing!!!!!!! Such a fun read, many thoughts indeed :333