I'd Like To Know You ⸻ Hearing Those Words Felt, Bizarre. As Precious And As Warm As Sunlight, They

Interview with the Vampire 1.04

@blckfckinmsk

[txt:] hey.

[txt:] sorry i don't really text very much

[txt:] lol

he felt like he were disappointing sonic. he could tell that sonic were trying for his sake. hell only knew why, but sonic was. and that meant more to julius than he could properly admit, or even begin to process and parse through. he inhaled a touch through slightly clenched teeth, a hand coming up to rub at the side of his own face. "i.... think that would be for the best. i cannot stand these crowds. and the smell isn't something i'm fond of either."

at that, sonic coughed a little laugh, grinning up at julius, "you really are picky, huh," but it sounds fond, and at that, julius scowls a tad but a blush does cross his expression.

"i can hardly stop myself. you try standing around hundreds of people with enhanced hearing and scent and try not to feel dizzied."

"hey. it's alright, julius." sonic's hand is on julius' arm again. julius pauses, and sonic continues, "these things take time, yanno? small steps are still steps. n'hey, once you're feeling better, you can always try again. maybe at a smaller get-together."

what did i do, to deserve you? julius inhales a spell, before he's suddenly dropping down onto one knee, and then tugging sonic forward before hugging him. he can feel sonic tense up slightly, not having expected it. truthfully, julius hadn't either, but ⸻ he had just felt, compelled.

"i just thought you deserved to have a fun day out." sonic replied, and maybe it was the earnestness of his tone, but julius looked momentarily startled silent at what sonic had said. not wanting julius to feel awkward, he continued, "but i can also see that this's gettin to ya bit. hey how about we sneak down one of the side roads. letcha breathe for a spell." gloved hand lays on julius' arm, & sonic smiles easily up at him.

"....very well." & julius motioned for sonic to lead, since sonic knew the streets of station square forward and backwards by this point. and so sonic did, led them away from all that hustle and bustle, toward one of the roads that had less car & foot traffic because the road had been blocked off due to the festivities.

"thanks, for trying julius. i really mean that." sonic's glancing over at julius, "you don't gotta stay for the whole hour. we did say five minutes, originally."

fyi i do not “crush” i experience violent, all-consuming devotion and yearning that leaves me physically ill

When you are writing a story and refer to a character by a physical trait, occupation, age, or any other attribute, rather than that character’s name, you are bringing the reader’s attention to that particular attribute. That can be used quite effectively to help your reader to focus on key details with just a few words. However, if the fact that the character is “the blond,” “the magician,” “the older woman,” etc. is not relevant to that moment in the story, this will only distract the reader from the purpose of the scene. 

If your only reason for referring to a character this way is to avoid using his or her name or a pronoun too much, don’t do it. You’re fixing a problem that actually isn’t one. Just go ahead and use the name or pronoun again. It’ll be good.

that frown doesn't leave him, head lilting to the side just a fraction. "and you're bald, how quaint." his arms cross, an eyebrow jutting upwards as his other demands to know who he is. a fit of laughter threatens him, but julius quells that urge. for now. "i'm you. well, an alternate version of you. we've led different lives, no doubt." am i going to go bald? he certainly HOPED not. & there was no chance in hell julius would ever grow such a horrendous looking moustache.

@drrobctnik (julius) sent : he stares, then frowns, a low scoff leaves him, "why on earth do you have that god forsaken moustache." what a lovely way to greet your alternate self, julius. insults.

"you mean my utterly handsome moustache?" ivo replies as he twists the ends of said moustache to further emphasize the word, then tilts his head as he observes the man before him. "who the hell are you?"

indie julius ivo robotnik. a villain, well, depending on who you ask. neither games nor movie canon, but a secret third thing (my own). 21+. heavily mature themes inside. studied by wilhelm. carrd.

at the question, a laugh bubbles out of him, the sound equal parts disbelief that stone is genuinely asking, and maybe some shock that someone wants to hear. mostly, a sort of bitterness, at everything and everyone else⸻

"....h," voice catches, stuttered breaths, gasped exhale. feeling that squeezing on his shoulder, julius grips at stone's hand so tightly. & yet it's conscious enough at least to ensure he isn't hurting stone while doing so. if julius weren't careful he was more than capable of shattering stone's hand without much thought. "horrible thoughts, or at least i've been told they're horrible. directly, indirectly."

his fingers twitch but still upon feeling stone's skin on the top of his hand. his gaze is darting along the ground as he tries to piece together what it is he wants to say, how to say it. whether or not it'll make sense. whether or not he means it. whether he should. can he?

finally, julius glances upward, meeting stone's face. he pauses, gaze locked with stone's. though that self-conscious, anxiety spiked pit of himself wanted to look away, afraid, he didn't. wouldn't. h-he had to, face this, even if it meant being vulnerable. only with stone,

"i wanted, to give you everything. i thought you deserved a throne. if you'd wanted to kill everyone, then i'd help you with that. not because i get any real joy out of it ⸻ well, maybe a little ⸻ but it'd mostly be by proxy of you. knowing that's what you wanted. ....so long as you're, fulfilled, then i'd be content just to be there."

he trails off, gaze dropping again.

there's more, of course there is. that barely scratches the surface, and julius isn't even certain that he's explained that properly. he's never trusted his own words. he could barely make sense of his own emotions mentally, how was he supposed to vocalize his wants and desires in a way that anyone else would understand, or listen to, let alone ever accept or view as 'healthy' or 'good'?

whatever brief smile stone had on his face was wiped away instantly when he heard what julius said, which caused stone's blood to run cold. 'I can't lose you', words that paralleled the ones he had said to ivo in desperate attempt to get him to stop what he and his grandfather had planned. he clears his throat at that as he buries the memory, planning to revisit it at another point in time.

at least he seemed to have an idea on what happened to this robotnik's stone...

he listens to him, his grip on julius' shoulder never faltering. if anything, he gives it a gentle squeeze, a silent affirmation that stone would not judge him for anything he was saying or would say.

"what thoughts do you have?" he asks, voice soft as he waits for julius to answer.

Anaïs Nin, from The Voice

he thought that johnny looked far better than just 'fine enough' now, but julius didn't think saying that would be best at the moment. maybe another time. though at what johnny says about pompadours, julius' eyebrows lift in slight surprise, "really? er, sorry. i don't actually know what a pompadour is, hair style, wise," he wasn't exactly into the latest hairdos, never had been. mostly into fashion, but he guessed if he tried he could learn. nothing a quick read couldn't remedy.

"but i'll take your word for it."

then johnny's mentioning that he can show him around, nothing better to do. at being told he seemed like he made better company, julius' feels a blush warm at his face. at being told to lead the way - johnny was calling him by another name again. that confused him.

"i'll do that...." he motions for johnny to follow, and starts walking down the hall. speaks to johnny as they go, "i'm wondering, er, why do you keep calling me by different 'r' names? is robotnik difficult for you to pronounce?"

Awww, man. Of course this place expects him to be all formal-like about everything, too. Johnny was far from the formal type—he could hardly pull it together even if he tried. He felt like a fish out of water around here.

He awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. "Ah, right... Just Bravo, then. Heh... But I'm tellin' you, man—if you saw my hair then, you'd probably think I look a whole lot better than just fine enough. I had a big ol' pompadour that could make any lady swoon in two seconds flat!"

Okay, yeah, that was a major exaggeration, but Robotnik didn't need to know that. Nonetheless, the mention of receiving a tour of the base piqued his interest, at least a little. After all, if he's going to be staying here for a while, he might as well get familiar with it, he reckons.

"Sure, yeah! I ain't got nothin' better to do right now, anyway—n' you seem like you make better company than all them big boss guys who've been screamin' in my face all day, heh. Lead the way, Robertson!"