i wouldn't even be upset about robotnik not coming back if it means agent stone becomes the new main villain, ESPECIALLY after the beautiful sendoff in sonic 3... like, agent stone continuing the doctor's legacy secure in and fueled by the confirmation that they really did have something is GOOD SHIT.
at the same time though i am SO curious to see how their dynamic would change with the ways their characters have grown. Agent Stone was content to be treated badly and convinced himself Robotnik just wasn't capable of close relationships and that's fine, then watched Robotnik be VERY capable of those actually just not with HIM, and then finally got closure that the doctor truly did care for him all along. this probably won't change him as a character TOO much but it is worth noting.
Robotnik hates humans and human relationships, he hates vunerability and connection, he tells himself he doesn't need those things and that being a Robotnik makes him special, set apart, not like those other humans. People reject him and don't understand him, that's fine, it's just because he's a Robotnik- the last left- and he's brilliant and unique and people simply can't get on his level. He doesn't need them. He doesn't need anyone, because he's above them. because he's doctor Ivo Robotnik and he is above humanity. Meeting Gerald, though, who is also a Robotnik, means that all Ivo's excuses for why he just can't make friends go RIGHT out the window. But THEN Gerald betrays him and rejects him. The truth is, Ivo isn't some special breed of being that can only be accepted by others like him- that theory is disproven by Gerald. He isn't alone because he's too different from and too good for everyone else, he's alone because of his actions. And he, proven again my Gerald, IS a human and does crave close connections, does need social bonds, he's just been depriving himself of them because he believed he didn't. And this ENTIRE time agent stone has been offering him unconditional love and affection. Robotnik realizes ALL of this, and that he has been repressing and downplaying the one connection he really did have (and he should have let himself have it! he loves stone wether he admits it or not, he kept a rock around in space just to remind him of stone! and Stone's been all too willing to love him if Robotnik had just LET HIM), and sacrifices himself to save stone while telling the ENTIRE WORLD that he cares for him.
blakekathryn
discoholicmusic
germansingergirl
stormborns
