Drrobctnik

there's a little gasp, he sounds and looks genuinely touched by the gesture. "oh you shouldn't have!" he's lifting the heart out of that box, not caring about the blood staining his gloves, "this brings back memories~," & just like last time, julius makes direct eye contact with imad and chomps into that heart, tearing into it and then chewing a tad before swallowing,

"even better than it was last time."

💌 watch it be a heart, again ;P

send 💌 for a valentine’s day gift from my muse to yours!

indeed it is, only this time the heart is in a decorative box with black wrapping paper and a red bow to complete it. he remembered very well how julius reacted last time to this sort of gift, and was a bit curious to see if that reaction would be the same or differ.

"for you, my sweet."

weakling. that word ALONE is enough to cause his irises to explode in a brilliant glow of red, visible even beyond those obscuring sunglasses like headlights on a dark lonely forest road. weakling weakling weakling WEAK-

breathes through it. can feel his composure threatening to fray and snap, but he stubbornly snags those fraying strands and tightens them together. good he keeps that composure because if he hadn't, perhaps the spindash towards him may have taken him out⸻

as it is, julius deftly leaps backwards, but instead of landing on the ground, he's flying. zipped up above the ground that the echidna goes dashing below him. only for julius to aim where the echidna is going to be, and firing a chaos sphere from his right palm, which will no doubt explode upon impact. either injuring the echidna or causing him to veer off course.

regardless, julius is swiftly teleporting next to the echidna and following up with a kick towards him, intent on sending knuckles into the ground.

@drrobctnik xxx

It was not his idea nor desire to tolerate one with a known tendency for betrayal, but the unfortunate aligning of temporary goals had led to an alliance just as temporary. Such is a concept he has a much harder time adhering to than his companions. But they aren't exactly around at the moment to share in his conflicted shift as a guard at the home of bases. Although, considering the agenda of tonight's activities thus far, this was more of a boon than actually unfortunate. Scraps weren't 'kosher' to some.

He's never considered the man a warrior. That 'work smarter not harder' attitude he exudes at times is one the echidna sees as an admittance to weakness if anything. After all, why not work harder if it makes one stronger in the end? Then the next task would be less hard, and less hard, and lesser still. Until every obstacle that dug in became little more than the weight of a dandelion seed stuck between the quills. It's why he's in such a punchy mood when this belief is belittled. He might not have the sharpest grasp on earth customs or most snide remarks made on his behalf, but he understands when he's being dishonored enough to retaliate. They'll explain to the fox and the hedgehog that they're having a training session. Any dispute could be seen as so - especially the minor ones.

The quickest exchange of blows merely leads to the shock of chaos energy meeting as magnetic fields opposite of each other does, knocking him back a ways with just the skin of his needled fists to slow the blow back, though the floorboards are irreparably shredded in the process. A growl garnered by stumbling back up onto twos leads the echidna's self serving power-bumps as his joined fists spark up bolts of molten amaranth around the exterior of his gloves.

I want to see what you can do.

How those words lived as long as the echidna tribe's long-carried legacy in his mind. His own father had spoken them to him not long in the days before he would fall in battle. The tribe was all too aware of the last born to their people and how a terrible power had been bestowed upon him before he'd even emerged from his egg as prophecy would demand he would bring the ultimate power back to the home of the echidnas. Even as a child he would make a formidable opponent to any adult, and yet...

The man's remark is met with a scoff, quilled dreads tossed one way and then another as the same shade of the chaos crawling through his knuckles slowly staining each pixel of a narrowed gaze. "You think you can say that to me? Weakling!"

He hadn't wanted to harm his father. Had refused. Held back. Maybe if he hadn't, then his 'time' to honor the tribe would have been during the battle in which they all perished. Maybe then, he wouldn't be the last of the echidnas- whether they survived the assault, or he did not.

"Show. Me. Your-" Each word excites more shocks of rosy electricity before the final exclamation of "POWER!" has him bolting a few clunky steps forward before he's seamlessly snapping into a ball of nuclear charged quills and bowling towards the pins of the other's legs.

his left hand jerked forward, gripping at stone's wrist. his fingers twitched, thumb roaming and pressing into his wrist, to feel his pulse. julius' fingers, his whole hand, was quivering, shaking subtly. was he checking for stone's pulse, to make sure that he was really there?

or was it just to hold onto him?

he hears the breathing, and does his best to match that rhythm. but then, that feeling, that sensation getting worse in his chest. the breathing helped, for a spell, but- stone would feel julius' palm heating up, warming, as though an element on a stove just beginning to heat and give off a light waft of temperature-

hurriedly, julius let go of stone's wrist, and stepped back from him. the breaths were quicker now, shallow, "n-no, no," it's murmured, to himself? his palms move, cupping and pressing and covering his own face. "enough. stop." that burning would get worse- stone would no doubt smell it; flesh, starting to sear, but julius wasn't moving his hands away from his own face.

he'd ducked down now, squatting, hunched forward slightly. low, barely there mumbles, something along the lines of 'please no more. not now.' / 'you want to' / 'no' / 'liar.'

stone offers him a smile, very happy that julius was actually listening to him for once. he only wished it was under better circumstances. seeing the man start to do the little exercise saw stone joining in with him, hoping it would help him further in the little goal of calming julius down.

"you're doing so well. just continue until you start to feel better," stone says softly, continuing to do the breathing exercise with him.

god I just. love ruthlessness as a character trait so much. sexy sexy sexy

dear han,

we've known each other for a while & you've always meant a lot to me. i care about your characters & your writing because of you, period. thank you for being so open & into my frankly whacky, crazy plot ideas. i've missed you. i'm so excited to write together again! you're one of my favourite notifications.

- will

its not anonymous so I can and will respond 😭😭 words cannot be put into existence to explain how happy I am writing with you again! I've missed you so much my dear will. 🥺

it'd be fun, the thought floats through julius' mind when stone wonders what the point in slaughtering those that'd be working for him, and because it's chaotic. his expression twitches, a fraction, but julius stifled that. breathed through it, refocusing, through the slight tinny ringing of his ears as stone wonders what would be a challenge to julius, then.

"...." he shrugs, not sure how to answer that initially. no one had ever asked him that, before. not earnestly. it takes him barely a fraction of a second to think of a response, "fighting sonic." though even as he says this, there's an odd, fondness to julius' voice ⸻ as though sonic weren't an enemy of his, but an old friend? perhaps a rival?, "sonic's one of the few creatures that can match my power," maybe even exceed it, if the little hedgehog bothered to try, "so fighting him is thrilling. it's exciting because it's new and i don't know what to expect, i can't predict him."

"you deflect my questions and it only serves to further my curiosity towards all of this," stone says as he rests his hands behind his back, nodding along to what the man was saying.

however when it came down to him mentioning 'needlessly slaughtering' stone's expression changed. now becoming one of confusion.

"what? no, why would I do that? what sense would there be in slaughtering the people I'd want to work for me? I don't want them dead at all." well... not all of them, of course. "what would be a challenge to you, then?"

i love taking things too far. best distance to take anything to be honest

Anon who's that?

Wilhelm I know we don't yap a lot but lemme say I just love seeing you on my dash bringing such an amazing character to life. Letting the villain be the villain. Your writing creativity just astounds me and watching it come to life (as I read through the threads come across the dash) is just amazing. You're a phenomenal and cannot wait to read more :3

aw thank you kris.

i appreciate the bit about the 'villain being a villain' thing, b/c i genuinely feel like that's a whole level of villain that's been lost on tumblr because a lot of people are expecting every villain to be redeemed or to somehow see the errors of their ways etc. which hey power to you, i get how that kind of storyline can be compelling and fun to map out. i just think on that other coin side we should genuinely let villains just be villains. and yes that means letting them be evil JUST BECAUSE?? because the villain enjoys it or finds it fun or finds it hilarious or whatever.

I DO MY BEST?? whenever someone calls my writing amazing or astounding i kinda flounder and go 'r we reading the same thing' but i always worry my writing comes across as too stiff or difficult to read, i know i'm terrible at setting a scene lmfao. i also worry at points my dialogue might sound too off putting or not as natural?

BUT!! ii genuinely will take these compliments and appreciate them, even if my inner critique is trying to tell me not to. thanks so much for this kris, genuinely made me smile.

his jaw clenched, however subtly. that irritation grew at how, placid stone was being. resigned. fight for another version of himself, supposedly, but not him, hm? tch. whatever. he focused, feeling that sensation and sensing that chaos energy from stone's world. very briefly, like a flickering tether that julius grabbed onto. bolstered by stone remembering his world & julius making physical contact.

his eyes glowed, shimmering before stone would blink, and be back in his own world.

julius' hand lingered there, poised, not moving as though still having his hand on stone's chest. then his arm slacked, and he exhaled deeply while looking skyward. that same gloved hand moved, to rub at his eyes underneath his sunglasses, before he turned and tried to resume what he was doing.

stone felt... angry? at being so easily dismissed, which was a bit strange considering he was used to it from his doctor and never had it bothered him until now. why did it bother him so much? more importantly, how could this man send him back?

he looks down at the hand splayed on his chest, then looks back up into the lenses of the man's sunglasses, bending a bit backwards when once again they were in close proximity.

knowing he'd get nowhere he ultimately resigns himself with a sigh, indeed closing his eyes and focusing on the earth he was from. oh well. just because it didn't work this time doesn't mean the next time wouldn't work.

after all, he'd waited almost half a decade to get here... what's another year or more, really?

"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.