⸻ Ft. Imad Stone X Julius Robotnik ⸻

instantly, julius steps forward and clasps a hand onto colin's shoulders, both of them, in order to turn the shorter male's gaze up to look at him. & his voice is eclipsed by emotion, quivering in that held back rage - not at colin but at the moronic notion of what had just been told to julius. "if you are going to listen to me, once. if you are going to hear me clearly, then hear:

your mother's death WAS NOT your fault. do you understand. you were a baby for fuck's sake. you had zero control over what transpired that day."

there's a beat, as if julius needs a moment to compose himself. he releases colin's shoulders, takes a small step back from him. "you are worthy of much more than you give yourself credit for. your existence holds meaning. it always has." if to no one else, then at the very least, to me.

“I won’t judge you.”

My uncle said that too.

"I killed my mother. Just by existing. She died giving birth to me. No one has thought my life a worthwhile exchange for hers since."

The acceptance of his own dead mentor's doppleganger is a hot blade to the gut, over and over.

he blinks, noting the firmness of johnny's grasp, but also the quickened enthuse with which he shook julius' hand. at that, his gaze narrowed, a soft smile crossing his expression. especially at how casually johnny spoke with him. "actually, it's customary to only give your last name when speaking to others. part of G.U.N's protocols. wouldn't want you getting in trouble with the higher ups if they overhear you." or having another soldier ratting johnny out.

then, though, johnny calls him roberto and julius can't hide the skewed expression of light surprise and confusion at that- wait, roberto? not to mention, johnny was speaking far too informally, it'd get him in plenty of trouble. julius chews at the tip of his tongue as he considers how in the heck he's supposed to respond to all of that.

...the way that johnny's speaking, talking, going on, it's so bizarre it's oddly refreshing, in it's own right.

"i'm.... sorry about your hair. it's required and mandatory, a lot of things are around this place. but uhm, if it's any relief, i think the style you have now looks fine enough." he trails, thinking about the things johnny asked about how julius kept any sanity here.

"....well," he, didn't know how to answer that, "i just do as i'm told. and i try to keep my head down. i'd be perfectly fine as a rank-and-file soldier, boots on the ground," so then why was he so desperate in trying to gain more ranking here? his father. julius keeps any bitterness deep within, not letting that flint of possible fire any air to grow, "but... it would be nice to have a bit more, ah, leeway?"

"i'm sure you'll adjust in time, bravo." he clears his throat, and steps back, giving a small smile, "did you want to walk around the base? i can give you a mini tour of sorts. i know it took me a few weeks to really remember where every hallway led to, or where to rush to when an alarm went off."

Sheesh. Even just one year in this place sounded so overwhelming at the moment, it was hard to believe anyone would want to stick around for that long. But Johnny supposed that he'd already signed himself up for this, so there was no backing out now...

Johnny looked down at the other man's hand for a brief moment, then took it in his own to give him a shake—Robotnik would notice that he had a rather firm grip, and shook with a hasty enthusiasm.

"Well, I'm Johnny! Johnny Bravo!" Alas, he wasn't quite as familiar with the last-name basis around here yet, so he didn't give much thought to it. Then, he grew serious for a moment. "Alright, Roberto, so you've been here for a lil' while, right? So, lemme ask ya... How do ya do it? I've barely been here a day, n' I feel like I'm already losin' my marbles, man. They took my hair from me! My precious 'do! That's like... like a cat without claws! An angel without wings! How's a guy supposed to stay sane 'round here?"

Came because my interest was piqued seeing you on my dash. Stayed because of your unique portrayal and amazing in depth characterization of the character you've brought to the table. Letting the villain be a villain. The amazing lore behind the character really has me coming back to read it over and over again. Also the mun , ive had nothing but amazing interactions with too.

thank you once again kris, your words never fail to leave me pleasantly stunned and smiling like a doofus.

i'm glad you find julius' lore amazing, that really touches my heart. at times i wonder if maybe i'm doing 'too much' with his backstory & his powers. but then i remember this is my blog & i make the rules dammit. it really reaffirms my thoughts to know that other people also enjoy his lore and his abilities. >w<

as always, i enjoy our convos. looking forward to chatting more via discord with ya. ˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

"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."

"julius, y'gotta sit still!"

"i am TRYING to," he winced at the way sonic's grabbed at his hair, moving and slapping the hedgehog upside the head, "YOU are the one who is yanking on my scalp hard enough to bald me." sonic's swift to boot julius in the side from where he's stood up on a nearby chair. sonic's helping pull the longer strands of julius' hair back away from his face to clip them down, in order for a ginger wig to settle on his skull,

"i've almost got it, stop whinin', y'big baby."

ah. not accustomed to those. genuine compliments. for a moment, he stares down at her through obscuring sunglasses, unsure of what to say or do. how easy it was for her to accomplish what most others could not: leave him flailing internally for a way to respond. unlike most, he cared for her. julius could count on one hand the number of people he actually gave a shit about.

though, when she mentions the name robotnik as though it were a place of pride for her, julius does scoff, "yes and that is precisely the problem." he won't elaborate, and won't give her the chance or time to ask after what he might have meant, "don't you have something better to be doing, like paling around with the little hedgehogs."

"it IS a compliment, cousin julius." because what were the robotniks if not odd? they certainly weren't what the average would call normal, as much as she might have enjoyed some normalcy, but then again...she was alive because they were not 'normal'. so she smiles at him, shaking her head and goes on. " odd means different. i don't think there's anything entirely wrong with being different. it makes us who we are- robotniks."

PSA: WHAT IS BLOCKING?

Blocking is;

A way to not see a particular user & their posts

A way to cultivate your space

A way to avoid conflict

Blocking ISN'T;

Inherently selfish & immature

Something you need an explanation for

'An awful thing to do to someone'

There's this odd movement of people trying to de-normalize blocking users. Trying to hide behind excuses such as "you need to communicate with your partners, it's immature to block someone out of the blue" and... No??? No. More likely than not, people who tend to get blocked the most by users are strangers they don't vibe with or rp partners they didn't even interact with that they no longer see themselves interacting with for any reason. More people need to see it as a red flag when people get super genuinely upset when one of the billions of people on the internet block them "out of the blue". If you cannot handle being blocked online, whether it's someone you apparently know, or some random who might've just fat fingered the block button and doesn't even know you exist, you shouldn't be online. Are there freak scenarios where someone shouldn't block someone? Maybe, but people should prioritize their mental health and simply block someone instead of engaging with someone out of obligation. This is a hobby, I can click what button I please. Not to say people will block their mutuals willy-nilly or you should be walking on eggshells, but it's time to stop viewing blocking someone as a "bad thing" or a "last resort".

he can feel a headache threatening him, more out of annoyance than any actual sheer anger. julius inhales, running a hand through his hair as if that'll help. what an insistent little- "neither of those colours would suit me." he sees sonic frown, and quickly amends, "but. if i must choose.... ginger. i suppose." sonic smiles then, and julius huffs, "....you'll not stop until i relent, will you."

"yeah, i know you know what wigs are," sonic returns, smirking at the scowl that julius gives him, "i'm thinking blonde. or maybe a ginger." his hand lifts up, 'framing' julius' face through some of his fingers as though imagining it. "we can grab one'a those massive floppy rimmed hats, for the sun."