At The Question, A Laugh Bubbles Out Of Him, The Sound Equal Parts Disbelief That Stone Is Genuinely

which tragic death would you suffer?

the betrayal.

you die at the hands of the person you love most. maybe there are tears in their eyes as they drive the sword into your chest, maybe there are none. there are certainly tears in yours. your mouth will open to ask 'why' only to spit blood instead. you will die never knowing if they loved you at all, wondering if you could've done something to prevent this, or if it was always going to end this way.

marker -> wilhelm

at what stone says about sonic, julius' pupils shrink and he glares across at him, "shut up," the response is instant, the words are sharp and slightly raised as they leave julius. is he ⸻ defending sonic while sonic's not present? "what i choose to do in my own time is hardly any of your concern."

a scoff leaves julius when stone mentions that they all had their own things to keep them occupied. feeling insulted, julius shrugs, and moves to ruffle at his own hair. irritated. he felt irate because he knew he wasn't explaining himself properly even though he was actually trying for once, "it isn't just sonic," or is he deflecting? denying that?, "it's that he can match me. you've no idea how ⸻ how dull it is. i have all of this strength, this energy cascading around inside of me, and nothing to do with it 90% of the time."

"fighting sonic. of course, what an obvious answer. you sound as if you actually enjoy fighting that little blue menace." stone couldn't personally see the appeal, but then again he was nothing like julius. stone was nothing more than a mere man, and julius was... well, whatever he was. the answer the man gave felt almost unsatisfying in a way, but stone didn't really bother to care in expressing that feeling currently.

"I suppose we all have our own little things that keep us occupied. yours is fighting sonic, for instance."

obviously some of these inspire more than others, but they're all facets i try and keep in mind to some degree whenever i write for julius. if i feel up to it i may elaborate more on why these characters specifically inspire my portrayal of julius. it's hard to get my thoughts together to properly explain stuff like that in depth tho because i always worry i'm not expressing myself well enough.

"Robotnik will lead your squadron," their supervisor announced, lowering that page back onto the clipboard. he was about to turn away from them all, but julius stepped forward, clearing his throat,

"Sir, with respect, i-" he motioned over to stone, "erm, shouldn't Stone be leading the squadron. he's far more capable than i-"

"you've got rank and seniority, Robotnik."

"so?" julius said it without thought, and the supervisor seemed almost offended that julius dare question his decisions. "stone's got better experience in the field, and he's-"

"YOU are the leader, Robotnik."

julius' eyebrow twitched, and he exhaled, nodding.

"hey, don't sweat it jules," wolfe grinned, clasping a hand onto julius' arm. julius gave him a small, polite smile, "i trust you."

the others in the squadron all pat julius' shoulder, agreeing in their own ways. clearly trying to blow air under his sails, and he enjoyed their company, but he doubted their opinions. they hadn't seen how abysmal his files were on field work. he could gather samples and scout things, but actual physical missions that required sheer tact, understanding and know-how on leading?

was the room spinning? did he feel warmer? he felt a hand cupped at his face, then, and julius blinked, "julius, look at me," stone's voice. and julius did, glanced over at stone, staring down at him. stone smiled, "you can do this. and even if you think you can't, you can work at it until you improve."

stone always knew how to put things in a way that julius respected. he nodded, expecting stone to pull his hand away. stone's gloved hand lingered against his face, though. julius blinked, head lilting to the side a touch. what-?

stone's hand slipped away, and he gripped at julius' wrist, tugged him so that way julius began to walk alongside stone, "come on, i can run you through some basic potential field scenarios so you can study."

one of the best rp feelings in the world is when someone makes a tag for ur char/ship its like youve earned a little place with them and their portrayal of their character whether its an oc or canon and its so pure and good

"AU CONTRAIRE, my spandex wearing friend," the words are as tight and as mockery filled as he could make them. because julius believed not a word of what had been said to him just then. "it's entirely of my concern." he had made that choice. deliberately. which is to say nothing of why he had, wouldn't divulge that.

at the threatened quieter words, julius scoffs. "what you want and what you need are entirely separate things. you need air to breathe, so you take in air. why strangle yourself from what you need by tamping it down. to whose benefit."

@drrobctnik asked; "There's nothing wrong with what you are. It's in your bones. Don't you want to make them suffer?"

embracing the monster prompts

Experience concludes that the other's words were deliberately incendiary, were intended to breach the unreadable armour he habitually wore as naturally as his own skin. A carefully placed strike, calculated to find the fractures beneath his restraint, that should be--

Dismissed. As was his go-to response, reached for whenever he heard rehashes of the same arguments, broached by those who believed taking aim at his very nature, and what he stood for, to be a good idea. Fully expectant that he was steps removed from sliding towards darker notions, that better aligned with the monster that some of his enemies perceived him to be.

What a farce.

Thoroughly unamused by this ploy, Miguel's jaw locked beneath the navy-blue cover of his mask in response. With patience tested, he made an effort to keep his tall posture carefully composed, disallowing so much as a flick of emotion to assert itself. Or betray the thoughts curling at the edges of his mind, following such an opening shot aimed at his very character. What exactly resided in his mutated bones?

Something not previously known to science, for a start, but that was only the tip of a very long list of findings that he had spent years compiling about himself, experiencing compulsions, emotions, even wants, in ways that the stranger before him could only theorise about. The strength, the hunger, the violent instinct, buried under careful control; Miguel knew exactly what he was capable of, was all too aware of how easy it would be to tear through the ones deserving of his wrath.

But easy wasn't the same as right.

Irked by the notions proposed, his fingers twitched once by his side, before stilling. "What I am," comes his announcement, delivered in an even tone, devoid of any material that could be hijacked and twisted into a sign of agreement, "is none of your concern." There's a need to add more, adamant to make clear his stance before more attempts are made to demonise himself. It takes a beat, as well as a slow inhale, before he allows the tension perpetuated a chance to settle, voice shifting gears to acquire a quieter level, wreathed with threat; "And neither is what I want."

I am the Vampire Lestat. I'm immortal more or less. The light of the sun, the sustained heat of an intense fire-these things might destroy me. But then again, they might not.

"as can i," he motions with a slight grand sweep of his arm, "& yet here we are."

quiets as he lets the echidna stew on his former question. honestly julius doesn't expect an actual response. at most he figures the echidna will dismiss him or laugh outright in his face. tell him it's none of his business. julius knows it's what he would have done.

colour him surprised when the warrior actually opts for honesty, vulnerability. hmph. he respects that. enough not to mock him. it'd be easy to do, but julius refrains.

"for whatever it is worth to you, i am sorry for your losses. losing a family is one thing, but an entire tribe? i can't begin to fathom that. so while i can't say i completely understand your," he motions to the broken pipe, "peculiar way of dealing with problems. i won't chastise you for it, from this point onward. unless you piss me off."

@drrobctnik xxx

a sputtered clipped laugh punches out of him immediately at the echidna's confession about the 'fixed' phone. ah yes, of course. how stupid of julius to think elsewise.

"you do realize you can stop and think before resorting to brute strength, yes?" how hypocritical of julius to say. especially considering whenever he did lose his composure and his calm, julius would be the first to resort to and praise violent or physical methods. that being said, julius drew the line at trying to 'fix' menial tasks using sheer strength alone. even he wasn't that desperate to resort to such violence. he wasn't some mindless barbarian. "i know you are not that daft, echidna. what is the real reason you want to constantly 'fix' things using only your fists alone? what is it, some nonsense about fear of not being acceptable enough or worthy enough if you're not the strongest of the bunch?"

He fails to see what's funny about malfunctioning devices, particularly those that are the creations of humans- a tribe which the man hails from. Perhaps this is a case of laughing at oneself? Humility doesn't suite the other well. Not even the slightest.

The suggestion is met with a short puff that seems to fuel the trajectory of his gaze as it rolls. Advice. Like he asked for it! "I can think...of better ways to spend the time."

He's adjusting the cuffs of his boxing gloves when his critic based company continues to pry into nothing more than an instinct on his part, but he's annoyed enough by the fact the man probably thinks that's all it boils down to even though he'd blindly agree with his short fused patience. Glove creaking as he squeezes the tension out of one, he shakes his head with the intent of knocking the dreaded quills falling cross his gaze back. "It is all I had. Relied on. Since I lost everything."

A response like rumbling thunder despite how plain of an answer it is. There is nothing more to say about something so clear cut. So he does not.

❝ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ɪ ꜱᴀᴛ ʙᴇɴᴇᴀᴛʜ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ… ɪ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇʀ. ɪ'ᴠᴇ ꜰᴇʟᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴘᴀɪɴ ꜰᴏʀ ꜱᴏ ʟᴏɴɢ, ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴀʟʟ ɪ ᴋɴᴏᴡ.❞

Ft → Shadow the Hedgehog from the Sonic Franchise. Lore drawn from S A 2 , Sonic X, Shadow '05 , and some '06 with own personal lore. Movie Shadow lore found within pinned CAARD , Headcanon tag Awakened by Kris Template: (X)

tw; blog will talk about themes of de-hedge-ization, death, blood and violence and other mature elements