I promised I would share about some of my AU for Dr. Starline, and even though I’ve decided to rework a few things to make sure I’m making the story as good as I can make it, here’s a bit of it.
(…WHO AM I KIDDING, THERE’S A LOT OF IT. But please give it a read anyways!)
I don’t really have a name for this AU, yet (if anyone has any ideas, please let me know!) I’ve officially dubbed this AU The Starpoint Squad. Act 1 follows the competition, which starts off a few years before the IDW comics.
⭐️ Premise: Dr. Starline enters a competition of inventors and innovators with the hopes of using it to gain Eggman’s attention, and finds something there that he was not expecting to.
As I have it, Starline is very much like his canon self from his introduction.
He’s smart, haughty, and a genius lone wolf, aspiring to be like his idol and wanting to be acknowledged by and work alongside him more than anything.
At this point, he’s already attempted to get the Doctor’s attention multiple times over the years, but has had little luck each time. However, this competition has a big, esteemed tech name backing it, and he expects Eggman will be closely paying attention to it as a result. It’s the perfect opportunity to get him on his radar.
He joins the competition, quite sure of himself that he can win first place all by himself. But, upon getting past the prelims, to his chagrin, he learns that in order to continue, he has to form a team.
Of course, Starline—being both a genius and coming from a wealthy and prestigious background—sees this as a detriment, as he has a profound reluctance to work with others due to believing all to be beneath him. So he’s not thrilled.
But, he’s not ready to give up his dream yet, so he decides the best course of action is to team up with people who he thinks have potential, but can also be the easiest to manipulate into doing what he wants.
⭐️ (Side Note: He does not have his hypno glove at this point. That would make things too easy.)
This lands him on Rivet, a cat whom he met in the prelims, her brother Charge, a tiny rat named Hex, his bulldog friend Lug, and a firefly named Cello.
Starline assigns himself as the leader of the group, due to his elevated knowledge and experience in the three fields they’re working with— robotics, chemistry, and biology. But as he attempts to get them on board to.. essentially let him run the whole show, tensions and conflicts quickly mount as they begin to push back.
At his wits end after a few days of arguments and fights, with some members threatening to drop out, he finally asks Rivet and Charge for advice, seeing as they’ve been a team for a very long time, despite being so different. They explains to him what teamwork really is; how it’s a relationship of give and take, having to do primarily with trust and working towards a united goal.
Which is where his problem lies. Starline has no trust in them, and is doing none of the give, and all of the take.
And while his haughtiness and upbringing argues the question of ‘why he should give voice to those of lesser intellect at all,’ he understands that continuing as he has been will sink his plan, so he begrudgingly decides to change his tactics and hear them out.
He lets them express themselves and in doing so, discovers that.. these people do have more to contribute than he first gave them credit for. Not only that, but they have all something in common with him.
A vision to change the future. A need to prove to themselves as well as their loved ones that they have what it takes to reach their goals. To show people that, that just because they’re young doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be taken seriously. That they can contribute to something bigger than themselves.
The conversations sit with him, and in a weird way, he can’t help but empathize with them, feeling familiar, uncomfortable tugs of his childhood pulling deep within him.
So while his reasons for doing so are at their core, still very much selfish, he reluctantly gives up some control to allow the others to bring their ideas to the table.
And to his surprise, it works! As the weeks progress, they begin to gain a real flow, and he’s amazed to find they all work… surprisingly well together.
Despite himself, Starline slowly finds himself starting to loosen up, tentatively coming to enjoy having them all around.
He’s not used to having someone he can properly debate complex scientific topics and formulas with without losing or boring them.
He’s not used to having a little shadow following him around, eagerly wanting to learn all he can from him.
He’s not used to being shown a different perspective, discovering value in the little things the lower class enjoys and wants to protect.
He’s not used to someone being more than happy to let him ramble on about his interests. To be concerned about his wellbeing enough to drag him out of his lab to eat lunch or go on group outings with the team.
It’s… oddly nice. It’s… tentatively welcomed. By the competition’s end, Starline has come to nearly consider them all to be his friends, reflecting on their time together and seeing how far they’ve come.
But there is still the matter of Eggman.
This is his struggle. His Achilles heel, so to speak.
Throughout the competition, Starline’s goal never changes.
Despite his closeness with the team, he’s never truly open with them. Never tells them his real reason for being here.
They know it’s to gain the attention and recognition of someone important to him. They’ve heard his excited rants about this ‘genius’ and all the brilliant and inspiring things he’s done.
But they don’t know it’s Eggman.
Starline works hard to keep his affinity on the downlow, not wanting to sabotage his chances of winning due to getting kicked out prematurely by his team, or the other competitors.
He’s dead set on achieving his goal, no matter what he has to do. It’s what he’s worked for his entire career, after all. Eggman made him who he is. This is his chance, and he can’t simply just let the opportunity slip through his fingers.
But as the day approaches; as he gets closer and closer with the squad, that surety begins to fade, and doubt and guilt slowly begin to creep in.
He finds himself asking himself if he can he really bring himself to betray those who have treated him so well. Who have looked up to him and acknowledged his genius. Who he’s spent so much time interacting with, and whom all believe he’s their friend.
Can he really bring himself to build them up like this, only to let them take the fall and shatter their dreams come competition’s end?
He knows if they find out the truth, they’ll turn on him. They’ll cast him aside.
Just like everyone else.
And yet…
….
He sees that by getting too close, he’s caught himself in a trap. His goal prevents him from being able to be as open and honest as he might like. Keeps him from being closer to Rivet like he knows they both want. Keeps him from seeing that everything he wants so desperately is standing right there in front of him.
Ultimately though, when it all comes to the big day, when a plot is uncovered that threatens to not only upset the competition, but put the entire region in danger, Starline is met with a choice. Join the threat and possibly salvage his dream? Or let it go to save his team from getting hurt?
And as he makes his final decision, the impact his team has left on him begins to show, and he finds himself thinking to himself in mild amusement,
Was this a little bit of an excuse to draw my sonas that aren't even in this au too. Perhaps.
VERY excited for Warped Perspective to be in @sonic-au-collision-zone! Now that Eclipse and Shadow have been Released, they along with other to-be-listed characters can be asked anything, or you can just interact with them in general! Fair warning, though, things are not going too well at the moment...
LIST OF CHARACTERS WHO CAN BE ASKED THINGS:
Eclipse (main guy #1)
Shadow (main guy #2)
Rouge
Omega
Sonic
Tails
Knuckles
Amy
Tangle
Whisper
Star. Starline. Where is Starline. Where did he go?
(preferably sent over at @warped-perspective-au, but asks can be sent here too if you want!)
