#like you do have to specify and then i guess its rude after if they continue in english after you say no im learning your language

[vogelmeister]

Hmmm I'm also a native English speaker who has two cents here that she would love to throw in to the void.

I lived in Amsterdam on exchange. If you have been on my blog for more than two seconds, you would know that I absolutely adore the Netherlands. It's kinda my brand here.

My actual Dutch? Well let's say, this quote from Pitch Perfect 2 says it all.

You know, a mess, but heat is applied to it so what was once a little messy is now super messy. Yeah.

During my adventures in Nederland, I decided to actually throw myself into learning some Dutch. Honestly, reading Dutch is wild but mostly fine. This is because Dutch is the type of language I look at and go “huh, do I understand this because of English mutual intelligibility or because I actually know some Dutch.” However, actually speaking a language is always the hardest to master and people tend to not believe you unless you can speak it. Even with Dutch, words spelt similarly in English would be pronounced differently in Dutch, which messed me up.

Furthermore, as a naturally shy person, applying my Dutch into actually practical spoken word contexts was a whole other ballpark. I have a clear memory of literally pacing my room for a solid half an hour about to voice message my Dutch friend some questions in Dutch, before going... she doesn't actually care lol. I was deathly afraid of the good ole "switch to English" and possibly even more afraid the Dutch would get too complex. While in the end I managed to elevate my Dutch to "courtesy Albert Heijn level" Dutch (wherein I could easily manage my way through the cash register at the appie), I do kinda regret not trying more.

(That said, I remember once I was going to order in Dutch and the fucking waiter recognised me from the other night, which scared me off because the whole point there was that they didn't know me. I also remember when I was out with people from my Dutch class we would sometimes dare each other to all order in Dutch so that helped. Also drunk me once powered through ordering in Dutch even when the guy responded in English and I love drunk me for that)

In the end, I remember finding it too hard to use Dutch on my friends, maybe because it was a relationship in English, maybe anxiety, maybe because I knew them already. It could have been the weight of trying to talk to someone I was close with and cared about in their native language. I have no clue what stopped me. I do remember her saying that it was weird speaking to her friends in English when I was there, because she never does that.

Enter, Dutch Boy. We will call him Jan, that is not his name but it is a common one. I met Jan at a party. Jan was in love with me. A foreign girl from Australia who was showing interest in his country? Can only imagine why he was intrigued. Unfortunately for Jan, he overestimated my Dutch. Massively. Jan would constantly flaunt how good he was at English and how great it was that he could just speak English to me and not suffer through my Dutch. Kinda cocky imo. However I almost wanted to practise my Dutch with him, knowing I needed a native speaker that wasn't my very good friend. What really got to me, and makes me realise that this guy was not prepared to actually date an exchange student was when he messaged me "onder het bord" indicating he was under the Centraal Station sign in Amsterdam. This confused me, as I had only encountered het bord as "the plate." That night I also made the mistake of saying "my Dutch is fine" basically meaning, for the level I was at, I was doing okay. He basically was like "Ava, you thought het bord was a plate" to which I replied "yes, because in A1 Dutch... it is." Afterwards, my Dutch teacher basically told me that I shouldn't worry as some Dutch people think you either know all the Dutch or none of the Dutch. I have never forgotten that bord is a het word, at least. Also for a guy who was proud he could speak English to me, getting upset at my Dutch was not the right move especially because I never implied I was fluent. We never saw each other after that night, except for in my dreams a year later where I finally stood up to him.

(One day I absolutely will write that entire situation into a book lol)

Point is, I am not sure if I find it rude. I actually don't think it is. While it can be discouraging, I think it depends on the context. Like the person above said, if I was in a customer service situation, or giving directions, and they were speaking in broken English (situations I have been in before) could find some way to make it easier and switch to their language which I had been learning from a young age, I would. It is exhausting. I was coming home from work once and this guy, clearly first day here in Sydney, was asking if our train stopped at a certain station. His English wasn't great and the answer was actually complex as I would need to tell him he had to change trains, as ours would terminate before his station. If I could speak his language, I absolutely would have switched. I think in transactional conversations you have probably got to read the room. If you're the only one there, it's fine to probably mention you wanna practise your Dutch/German whatever. If it's rush hour at the appie, I almost don't blame them for switching out of habit and efficiency (probably NOT on you and thus Not rude). Once I remember I tried ordering soup in Dutch, realised it wasn't working and humbly switched to English in front of my whole Dutch class because it was busy and we didn't have the time. I tried in Dutch. I failed. Let's move along so the next person can order in Dutch. Most people probably think they are helping by switching to English transactionally. They are not mind readers, they don't know you have an interest in learning unless you tell them, honestly they probably think you're doing a tourist guidebook getting by approach.

However, in personal life, I did think this Dutch guy... didn't handle it correctly, since he knew I was interested in the Netherlands and learning Dutch. He could have gone around it a lot better than chastising my Dutch. I am all for being corrected, I am learning, but not like that. It is a whole other language and I don't know everything, yet. My brother is dating a German girl. I have no clue how it worked when they were in Germany together but here they would sometimes blabber along in German, and its very cute. She actually seems interested in helping my brother improve his German and it was refreshing to see. They both have the time to help each other and so she won't switch, although sometimes I think she gets sick of speaking English. When I was with some family friends in Germany, they translated things for me and were super happy when I learned new things or found something in the supermarket by myself. My Dutch friends were happy when I said like one word in Dutch, and when I progressed a little, they told me that I was learning a whole new language so of course I was going to have moments. I sent them my homework and they would correct it. And, yeah while I got lots of people basically saying "why would you bother, we all speak English" I had loads of positive interactions surrounding it too that cancelled that out. So yeah. I truly think that it is absolutely about intent and context. If you show interest in actually learning, the reception could be a lot more positive. However, some people are just mean.

Yes English has a lot of French and Greek/latin in it but most of our everyday words are still Germanic. We did have that great vowel shift though. Idk what was so great about it but it makes it so we can’t understand Dutch anymore

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Characters with Bothersome Traits

Debut: Tetris Blast

I am the kind of person who is delighted by, among other things, a certain pairing of words that many (sad) people may never think to consider in their lives. This pair of words is "Tetris Characters". I have already told you about some of those in the form of personified blocks, but there are even more, and this will certainly not be my last time mentioning the topic!

Tetris Blast is a Tetris spinoff, in particular, a version of the Bombliss game mode made for the Game Boy. It is like Tetris, but each Tetri- or Tri- or Domino has at least one Mino that is a bomb! The standard completed row does not automatically disappear, but if it contains a bomb, that bomb will detonate, destroying blocks around it. And this is what I was doing, playing the standard mode, when every five stages, I was greeted by a new little critter dancing on a stage! What a lovely surprise! But who were these creatures?

It turns out this game also has a Fight Mode! Where you Fight some guys! The manual refers to them as characters with bothersome traits, so that's as close to a band name for them as we'll get. Let's meet them all RIGHT NOW!

Cubit Cubit is a bit spunchlike, but if our favorite sponge was a grumpy nudist! It is the most basic of all these creatures, and just wanders around. I like its round armless hands. A very easy guy to obliterate.

Scraptor No offense to Cubit, but Scraptor is already way more interesting! It's a very geometric creature, a square "diamond" whose body is split into two halves. It is actually one big mouth, and the halves detach on a tiny hinge to open and eat bombs! This was the very first of these creatures I saw, because it is the first one that dances in the intermission scenes. What an incredible first impression!

Gloop Gloop is a little cutie! It is like a drop a dollop a squeezing. It also looks like an extremely simplified cartoon whale! You know how there is a whale emoji and also a cartoon whale emoji? Gloop could be the next stage of evolution. I also really love the way it laughs. It looks so innocent, but then laughs in a way that looks SO mocking, it feels like the cuteness is a facade!

Creepa Creepa is another little cutie, which there are bound to be many of when looking at little guys exclusive to a Game Boy game. I like that it is cylinder-shaped, like it came out of a can, or is a can! Though it looks cylindrical, its bothersome trait is to make extra blocks. And I also like its shoes. If it didn't have the shoes, it would be as basic as Cubit, probably. But basic isn't bad!

Squidly Squidly is my favorite of these guys! Look at it!!! It is like they distilled everything cute about Creepa into an even cuter form! Its smile is smaller, more gentle. Its eyes are bigger and bulge from the sides of its head, like its namesake, a squid! It has no arms to make it feel even more like a Video Game Creature, and yet still wears those excellent shoes. I guess the shape isn't necessarily an upgrade from Creepa, but this would be precious regardless of shape, and I am neutral about the change. Actually, it reminds me of a well-used eraser, and now that I thought of that, I like the shape even more! If this wasn't enough, Squidly has the ability to make entire rows of blocks, and after it does this, it dances happily, like it knows you can't get it now. This would typically be rude, but it's so cute that it can't be rude. I think it is truly just delighted!

Dug Grub Dug Grub probably has the best name in the game! Any name related to larvae is a winning name to me! If my name was Maggie I would always specify "like maggot" when telling it to people. Dug Grub is like a blob with a frog's head, and its eyes bulge SO much that they sometimes even appear to be floating! It has the bothersome trait of eating Mega Bombs, which is one of the most bothersome traits of all, because those things are precious resources. But if anything has to have an Eating Something Large Special Attack, it would be a Frog Blob.

Shadow Shadow is a cheeky little potato of a cyclops creature. Oh so cheeky, but also seems to be a bit of a sore loser! Get over it, am I right? It's just Bombs. It has Squidly's row creation ability in addition to probably the coolest ability in the game: it is able to enlarge its eye and envelop the playing field in darkness, which momentarily freezes the player's actions! I guess that is how it gets its name. I also must assume that the reason the screen goes dark is that its eye gets so big and effective that it is Seeing all that light before any of us gets a chance to. Save some for me! *Shadow's pupil burps*

B-Boy Finally we have B-Boy. Probably short for Ball-Boy. But there are so many possibilities... Buddy-Boy? Buckaroo-Boy? Boisterous-Boy? Maybe his real name is Baby-Boy and his parents dote on him so much, and he changed it out of embarrassment. He also adopted a new persona. Smug. Mischievous. Don't worry, he'll probably grow out of it after middle school. But for now, he is a real Bothersome-Boy! He ALSO has stolen Squidly's row creation ability! Squidly is such a trailblazer and I think would be justified in suing. Worst of all, though, B-Boy has a Bomb Attack that can actually regenerate his own health! Not an orb to be underestimated! Indeed, this is an orb to restart the level multiple times as a result of. A real Bad-Boy!

[redditreceipts]

Hey, so i am a teenage radfem (dont wanna specify age but over 14) or not rlly radfem but heavily rad-aligned, i guess, i dont like labelling myself . Sorry if i bother you with this, i know this ask is probs going to be long but . How to deal with my female peers bullying me without being misogynyistic abt them when i tell my mum or writing it down in my diary ? Because they often ask me really inappropriate questions (stuff like "are you a virgin" "do you touch yourself" "are you a lesbian), talk behind my back or just laugh at me . They often target me for my autism too, and because i don't perform femininity like them (they wear really revealing clothes and fake lashes and fake nails) . At first i tried to be nice to them but bcuz then they started asking me these type of questions and bullying me for other stuff, i became uncomfortable and told them to stop that, i told the teacher and suddenly im the bad guy . It really bothers me, i even got so stressed out i cried . I often catch myself saying misogynyistic stuff abt them when telling my mum like "theyre wh0r3s" or calling them other degrading names based on the fact that they already are really sexually promiscous at THIS YOUNG, because that is one of the other things they bully me for, that theyve had boyfriends and did the thing and i didn't (its because i am a lesbian but its nun of their business) . And i know it's wrong to say such stuff about other girls/women, and i know their behavior is probably a result of grooming/hypersexualization and internalized misogyny, but their bullying is so bad i feel like there is no excuse for that . They even tried to spread the rumour that the reason i am so quiet and shy (which is not true i am not even shy) is because i got m0l3st3d by my father . Its just offends me because ive done nothing wrong for them to behave like this, and that i need to "put them in their places" for the bullying to stop . And i wish i could stop writing all kinds of sexist stuff and calling them names when venting abt it in my diary and try to deal with it without being so rude and degrading about them because i realize its unfeminist but sometimes their treatment of me i so rude and disgusting i cant critically write about it only after just writing angry and depressed rants .

Hey :) So first of all, I'm sorry to hear this. I personally think that there is nothing wrong with you writing whatever you want into your diary. You are not responsible for female oppression by calling them names in a diary that no one else reads. But I mean it's still important that you think about how this kind of thinking can impact yourself as well, in the long run. How you are going to condition yourself into thinking that a certain type of female presentation or sexuality is inferior and that can backfire on yourself as well.

In your bio, you say that you are Hungarian, and I assume that you write your diary in Hungarian, so I searched for creative insults in Hungarian and this is what I found:

Segítene, ha egy óvszergyártó cég plakátja lennél. (You could be a poster child for a condom company.)

Puncinak foglak hívni. De hiányzik belőled a melegség és a mélység. (I would call you a pussy. But you lack warmth and depth)

Vigyél magaddal egy növényt, hogy pótold az elpazarolt oxigént. (You should carry a plant with you, so it can replace the oxygen you just wasted)

Ha szemetet ennél, az kannibalizmus lenne. (If you ate garbage, it would be cannibalism)

Fogadok, hogy a szüleid témát váltanak, amikor a barátaik rólad kérdeznek. (I bet your parents change the subject when their friends ask about you)

Úgy nézel ki, mintha valaki épp most nyomta volna meg a “Random” gombot a testreszabási képernyőn. (You look like someone just hit the “Random” button on the customization screen.)

But I know what you are referring to, and I myself have been heavily ostracised for being autistic as a teen in school. And it's impossible to not notice that the biggest bullies sometimes have a specific presentation, like wearing expensive clothes, getting their nails done every week, wearing a lot of make-up etc. I got into some kind of "zoo visitor mode", in which I looked at the people in my class as if they were monkeys fighting on a hill and pushing each other down, trying to be the boss monkey of the horde. I felt like a visitor of a zoo who accidentally fell into the enclosure and now had to survive with 30 monkeys until the zookeeper let me out (graduation).

But, let's be honest: The main reason for misogyny is not an autistic teenage girl who is being bullied and uses misogynistic terms in response. The main reason for that is men and boys who uphold the patriarchy. You thinking so much about your own influence on patriarchal and misogynistic structures shows that you are quite mature and reflected, as well as very considerate, but as long as you write it into your diary and talk just with your mom about it, I don't think that you're a bad person. If you find better insults, you should obviously use them, but please please PLEASE don't feel worse about yourself than you already do.

Just keep in mind that most people who were bullied in high school turn out to be the coolest people afterwards. There are people who understand you out there, and you got this. I believe in you ❤️

[dravidssideblog]

"Do I really HAVE to reform them? This is such a pain." "It would be a lot easier if you had kept their soul together." "They're PREY, I don't bother holding onto my food's soul." "Okay, if you're going to live here, you seriously need a lesson on vore etiquette." "Etiquette? I'm a predator, I eat people, there's no etiquette for eating people." "There is here, and it's the reason why prey is so easy to catch. It's also the reason why there's no consequences, so unless you want this to be a repeat of what happened back at your home town, you're going to learn it." "Ugh, fine, whatever, I just gotta reform any prey I eat, right?" "Yes, absolutely, but there's more than just that. For one, you can't hurt prey while eating them, so next time watch it with the teeth and claws." "What?! That's ridiculous, how am I supposed to subdue my meal?" "You don't have to, because the prey can't hurt you either." "… Okay…" "Second, you can't keep prey for any longer than a week. Doesn't matter if you digest them or just keep them inside, after a week, you gotta reform them or let them go." "Eh, that's fine, I guess. Not much of a long-term guy anyhow." "You can't eat someone with a prey in their belly." "Wait a sec, that means that if I catch a prey, no one can eat me? That sounds pretty nice! Hanging out with other preds was always too risky before…" "If you eat a prey who's with a group, you have to offer to eat the rest of the group too." "Wait what? Offer? This one does make sense…" "Well, if a group of friends are hanging out together, it'd be rude to separate one from the rest. You can still eat them, of course, but if the others want to join their buddy in your belly, you have to eat them too." "If they… want to? That's common enough that there's an etiquette rule about it?" "Yeah. Reformation is guaranteed, remember? Makes prey a lot less opposed to getting eaten." "Huh… And to be clear, even if they don't want to, I can still eat the whole group anyway right?" "Right. Another thing, you can't break into someone's home to eat them. Well, you shouldn't break into people's homes in general, that's rude, but I felt like I should specify to you. Homes are a safe zone." "A safe zone, huh? Sounds annoying… What if they invite me in? That's not breaking in, right?" "Yeah, if you invite a pred into your house you're kinda accepting the risk of getting eaten. But if you're just relaxing in your house, you shouldn't have to worry about someone sneaking in to eat you." "… Yeah. Yeah, that sounds nice. Okay, what else?" "Uh… Oh, some prey and preds here have committed relationships." "What, like, preys dating preds!?" "Kinda, except instead of dating its dinner." "Dinner dates." "Yeah. Anyway, you can't eat someone's committed prey without the pred's permission. The pred also can't eat other prey without their prey's permission, but I doubt that'll ever come up for you." "Couldn't a prey just lie and say 'oh yeah I totally have a predfriend, they're from another town, you wouldn't know them, but yeah I'm taken sorry!'" "How did you know they're called 'predfriends'?" "Wait that's actually what they're called? Dude I was joking!" "Well, anyway, a prey lying about that would also be a break of etiquette. If you really think they're lying, I guess you can call their bluff and eat them anyway, but don't be surprised when their pred comes to punch your lights out." "Yeesh, alright, fine. Hey, you mentioned before that prey aren't allowed to hurt preds trying to eat them? Are there any other rules like that?" "Yeah! You mentioned, like, lacing clothes with chemicals or something to stop preds from eating you by making you taste bad? That kinda stuff isn't allowed." "Niiice." "There's also rules about when it's acceptable for a prey to force themself down a pred's throat, but-" "There are prey that do that!? That's awesome!" "Yeah I figured you wouldn't mind that."

[sojourner-between-worlds]

Thanks to @ygobattleroyale 's King of the Autism poll/tournament/thing that's gearing up, I am here to once again spread propaganda for my (current) favorite autistic blorbo, Yusei Fudo, since he rightfully made the bracket.

I had a whole essay started once that I never finished, but here I will be summing up some of the main points. This is also based on the sub. (Not hating on the dub in this post but the two are so vastly different they are practically different canons so I thought I should probably specify.)

Someone on here pointed out once that Yusei has "resting b*tch face" aka flat affect and I've been thinking about that ever since. (Wish I could credit them but I can't find the post again, haha. Had screenshots and everything. Very thorough.)

He's pretty straightforward. He says what he means and he means what he says. He doesn't sugarcoat things or beat around the bush. The first line he has is a very blunt question followed by an equally blunt response to the answer he receives.

My guy oscillates wildly between semi-verbal and hyperverbal. He's the main character but you literally do not hear his voice for the first seven minutes of the show and when he's not in life-threatening situations he's really pretty quiet most of the time. But then you also have the episode with Bruno where Crow comments how Yusei has never talked to him that much at once -- maybe in total ever -- and along with that, Jack being offended that apparently Yusei never has important conversations with him (also pertains to the above point since Yusei was being very blunt in that moment and a little bit mean, though that's not the way he obviously meant it to be, lol.)

The whole of meeting Bruno, okay? All Of That. He makes friends with Bruno in about .2 seconds to the point of sharing Super Secret Plans with him all because of a shared interest in mechanics and engineering. #autisticbonding

Crow also points out that Yusei really seemed to perk up while talking to and working with Bruno, which is very on point for engaging with a special interest especially when you have someone to engage in said interest with.

He's obviously shown to have a strong interest in Duel Monsters (obviously) as well as mechanics and engineering. He built his first fully functional d-wheel out of scrap parts by the time he was 16, after all.

During the WRGP opening gala, one of the other teams comes up to him and are excited and wanting to talk to him and he completely brushes them off and walks away. Crow calls him out on it (“hey man, that was really rude!”) and he’s like “oh whoops, yeah I guess you’re right.” He may have been distracted by other things, but this is still peak "failure to read social cues".

Having a strong moral compass gets him into trouble on more than one occasion. Because of his circumstances, he has a strong (and justified) distrust of authority, and he’s not afraid to break laws that he deems unjust. Even though breaking out of Satellite isn’t in itself for any moral reason (its just the means to an end), he isn’t afraid of breaking the law that says he isn’t allowed to leave because he sees that law as unjust and doesn’t understand why it exists. (For the record, it is unjust but that’s not the point, haha.)

I am sure there are more points, but that's all I've got for now, haha. Feel free to add anything I missed, and be sure to vote for Yusei when the polls start!

[altocat]

DMing you is something I've been considering for a while. It's a bit scary. It has its + and - but it makes sense to do it.

However, I have already told you that you hurt my feelings by being rude to me out of nowhere. You said I made it up for shits n giggles, assured me you were extremely self-critical and always owned up to your mistakes, assured me that it was impossible that you were rude to anyone throughout your entire chat history, accused me of lying again and said it was just trolling and mind games.

So I guess it covers every topic I wanted to discuss with you and gives me all the answers. You are absolutely sure everything you say is right and I am wrong to be hurt.

I don't think you or anyone would DM a person after that. Unless there's anything you want to add, thanks for this convo.

If you could DM me and SPECIFY said incidents that upset you, I'm sure we could come to some form of diplomatic resolution. I'm willing to have a cathartic dialogue, even apologize for any unintended wrongdoing on my end. But we will never come to that level of understanding unless you try. And the more you attack me, the harder it's going to be.

This is the last public message I'm offering you. DM me if you wish. I'm offering that opportunity to you in good faith if you actually mean what you say. Otherwise, all further messages will be disregarded. You've said some genuinely hurtful and nasty things to me that go beyond any perceived "rudeness" on my end. Things that were irregular and unprompted and given no context at all. Which, I'm sorry, isn't an appropriate response. It's harassment. So unless you'd like to peacefully resolve this on a private channel, I don't have any more reason to keep entertaining this.

[winderlylandchime]

I’ve been waiting for 2x04 bc it’s one of my faves so i should say this ep was watched after his check up where he told a nurse about it and the nurse told him he actually watched it when it aired. To which my brother went ‘well watch it again bc I have to talk to someone about it man, she *points to me* is about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle.’ Anyway: ‘oh it’s pride weekend? Wait WEEKEND? Don’t you fuckers get a whole month? *points at me* dont start, that was meant lovingly’.. ‘so Godiva is like the Trixie of Libery Avenue? That reminds me i gotta watch her new youtube video..’ ‘maybe.. the reason your drink isn’t selling is that hair, sir that is outrageous!..why is he helping a homophobe. Although he’s just an employee so i get it, ill allow it one time Bri Bri’ ‘oh she has a motorcycle? I do too! Maybe this is how i start to like Mel..but mine is broken bc i fell..*he is currently sad over the motorcycle*’ at this point he was so angry at Mikeys coworkers that he paused the ep, went outside for a smoke, came back looked at the tv and went ‘not cool guys, that’s just tacky’ ‘who’s godiva again?! THE LIBERTY VERSION OF TRIXIE IS GONE?! OH NO POOR TRIX- i mean godiva’ ‘OKAAAY TED GET YOURSELF SOME DICK! Good for you! Maybe less talking bc it doesn’t seem to be your thing’… ‘is he making the drink gay? well that’s- WHY DID HE PUT ON THE GOOGLES TO SUCK HIS DICK? SIR YOU WILL CHOK- well i guess that the point’ he got very sad at the scene of Justin painting the sign. He forgot Justin was an artist and now he’s sad bc he can’t do it anymore..’ITS JEN! AT PFLAG! I knew i could count on you! She reminds me of our mom (cut to me saying our mom is a black woman) well..i didn’t specify HOW she reminds me-you know what? Leave me alone, I’m clearly going through something..oh god the shirt. I’m happy for her but Michael would not make me proud…unless he changes like 60 things about himself overnight’ btw he is feeling so proud of himself rn bc he swears that he is “chill” all while bouncing his leg so much my house is shaking. ‘IS THAT THAT BAT FUCKER?!! AT A GAY HOSPICE?! IS THIS SOME KIND OF A FUCKING JOKE?! HE DID NOT JUST WISH AIDS ON HIM AND DURING PRIDE?! oh kid i am your biggest fucking enemy right now, i hope you have an explosive diarrhea’ ‘okay so Mel used to be fun? What happened? Where did she go wrong?…A PITY FUCK?! TED DESERVES BETTER! WHAT KIND OF FUCKED UP JOKE IS THIS! That guy wasnt even that pretty so don’t worry Ted’ he got mad again here but less mad then before so no smoke break! ‘Oh he sobered up fast when he realized it wasnt a dream. Bri bri we need to talk about how youre in love. I swear I won’t tell anyone! OH FINALLY I AGREE WITH MIKE, IT WAS A SICK JOKE! Oh..i just know if that fucker did anything, Brian would be fighting right now..now i want to see Brian throw a punch, do you think he knows how to?..OH NO JUSTY, WE ARE GOING TO PRIDE! You are supposed to be proud of..wait what is he supposed to be proud of? Dick sucking skills? *looks at me genuinely* id be proud of that if i was him’ ‘oh my god! The ugly hair homophobe! NOW WHY DID HE SAY THE F WORD?! HE ISNT ALLOWED TO SAY THAT WHAT THE HELL! AND DURING PRIDE?! FUCK YOU!’ And we are back outside for a smoke break.. not to make my brother a liar from the last ep but he is NOT calm. ‘Okay im cool again..as long as no hetero pisses me off anymore. I love that big flag! Do you think they filmed this during actual pride?..WE ARE NOT LETTING BAT FUCKER WIN! Okay seriously now, how bad is Brians mom because he keeps making people march with their moms.. is that bc she wouldn’t do it if she kne- oh god i am now sad for Brian wanting to march with his mom but cant. This is too much for me to handle on a random Friday!..oh brian knew about that fucker? You know what? Hes a little rude but he keeps wanting everyone to just be them. I fuck with that! I shall do that too! But after i get back to my normal life bc this *waves hands* is not it’ 1/2 of 2x04

ANON I AM SCREAMING.

Your brother being pissed about Brian working for a homophobe... wait until he gets to Stockwell arc.

Does your brother watch...drag race? Is he a Trixie Mattel fan? I am seriously dying over this. Comparing Godiva to Trixie... bless. I don't know how accurate I feel that comparison is but I would need to sit with it to think of a better comparison. I take my drag race comparisons seriously.

Mel used to be cool... what happened? Lindsay! LOL

And that bat fucker! I love it. He's so protective over Justin and Brian. He's so worried about what Joan did to Brian and your brother is in for a sad sad shock.

And his take on Brian and Ted - "He keeps wanting everyone to just be them" is so so so accurate.

Your brother may be high off his butt on painkillers but he's very accurate in his takes.

[thencitytales]

Work of art - HHJ

🌷Pairing: Hwang Hyunjin of Stray Kids x fem!reader

🌷wc: 1.9k

🌷 FLUFF, info: reader likes art.

🌷 warning: drinking but it's never specified alcohol, it can be non-alcoholic cocktails :) , use of one sexual word (c*ck-blocked)

🌷 Hey!! Check out this little thing I wrote! I think it's pretty cute! Feedback is always appreciated <3 Hope you like it!!

(not my GIF)

You have no idea how you ended up there.

Well, you actually did but the whole thing was just a new kind of crazy to you.

Let's rewind a few weeks.

You were out with your best friends, just a chill night out, having dinner and going to the cinema. After that, though, you thought that it was still early to go home, so when one of you suggested going to the bar you would always go to it seemed like a good idea.

It was one of those bars always filled with new people. Living in a city like Seoul seeing the same face twice was a pretty rare occurrence. But your group of friends found this bar, which was the perfect spot to have a drink because it was more or less the same distance for everybody, the aesthetic was just right and the prices were pretty good considering how amazing cocktails and snacks were.

So, when you got in, the waiter recognized you immediately and, noticing that your table was still free, pointed in its direction and asked you:

"The usual?" looking at you with a bright smile.

"Yeah! Thank you Hae, you're the best!" your friend answered, at which the waiter winked at her and moved to the bottles so she could start preparing your order.

Sitting at the table waiting for your drinks, you and your friends made small talk to each other, further commenting on the film and the actors' acting skills as if you were the ones giving out the academy awards for this year.

In the middle of a sentence, you just stopped listening to them because another conversation at the table right beside yours caught your attention.

It was involuntary, just a habit you picked up, finding it interesting to know what other people were up to, even if it wasn't your business.

In this case, there was a guy and a girl about your age, both very attractive if you had to say so yourself and it seemed like they were on a date, but if you had to guess you'd say a pretty bad one. She was totally a pick me girl, just agreeing to everything he said and faking interest in things she clearly didn't know anything about.

As for him he just seemed like a very nice and cool guy, long and black hair moving every time he moved his head while speaking about what he liked, eyes sparkling and a smile that was just completing it all very nicely.

Then you heard the girl quickly excuse herself to the bathroom so you tried to get back to the conversation about the film. But the guy spoke up again:

"You know, technically my conversations are none of your business" a light chuckle escaped from his lips.

You were pretty confused as to whom he was talking to seeing as there was nobody around.

Then he turned to look you in the eyes, while your eyes trailed down his half-opened black shirt for a second before realizing he was talking to you.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to be rude! I just... it's something I picked up when I was little and..." You started panicking.

"Yeah, if I was you I wouldn't take it too personally, my friend here has been doing it for years." Your friend started to defend you.

"Nah, You don't have to worry. Actually, I was way more interested in finding out your name than whatever Minjae and I were talking about." He said with a smirk.

"How did you even know I was listening?" the question suddenly popped in your head.

"Oh, when I am bored I listen to other people's conversations too. I just noticed you hadn't said a word in a while and kept glancing in my general direction"

"I see... well my name is..." you were suddenly cut off by the girl returning from the bathroom.

"Hyunjin! Have you found some of your friends?" She asked giving you and everybody else a dirty look. You looked at him and noticed a hint of desperation in his eyes. He clearly couldn't stand another minute alone with her.

"Yeah! Hi! I'm y/n, Hyunjin and I go way back! it's been years since the last time I saw him, we were just catching up, I hope I am not interrupting anything?" You said with a bright smile looking between the boy beside you and the girl in front of you.

"Well, in fact..." She started.

"No of course you are not!" He cut her off, offering you a grateful smile.

"Oh, I was thinking we were ready to go?" she interjected.

"Actually, you know what? It's been so long since I saw y/n last time and you know how busy I am, it's going to be difficult to meet each other again. I would like to stay a bit if you don't mind. If you want to go I can call somebody to come and get you, you know that."

She rolled her eyes and answered: "I'm just going to call a friend, I guess, but thanks for the drinks."

After a few more dirty looks in your direction, she just went out the front door, leaving Hyunjin behind with the bill.

"Yeah I earned that," you said laughing at the last glance she gave you.

"Well, she does think you cock-blocked her just like that." he laughed.

"All right, I'll take the blame if you pay for the next round, or I can just bolt out there and tell her everything was a prank and bring her in again as soon as I see a car approaching."

"There's no way you're that fast, y/n"

"Do you really want to take the risk, Hyunjin?"

"You make great points," he said as he stood up to see where the nearest waiter was to call them over.

"Yeah being my friend is not easy, right guys?"

All they could do was nod and laugh.

After an hour and a half or so, your friends were ready to leave and, given that they were your ride home, they told you, so you could bid goodbye to Hyunjin.

"Can't you stay? One more drink and I promise you I'll let you go." He said pouting, with a little help from the alcohol he'd been consuming.

"I would love to, but my friend, right there" You pointed at her and his gaze followed your finger,

"She has to get up pretty early tomorrow," You looked at the rather expensive watch on his wrist "Or should I say today? Anyways she's got to go home and she's my ride so, you know..." You said with a bittersweet smile.

"I can get you home!" He said, but you tried to reason with him.

"Hey, you seem like a great guy, a nice one if I've ever seen one. But I'm still a girl alone with you in a big city, I hope you understand how I can't entirely trust you tonight." He looked at you, puzzled.

"Damn, you do make some good points, then I guess goodbye." He faked wiping a tear from his cheek.

You laughed and said goodbye to him. Before closing the door you could've sworn you heard him say:

"See you soon, y/n"

A few weeks went past but you never saw Hyunjin again, neither at the bar nor anywhere else. You were feeling a bit bummed out about it because you really liked him but let your fears stop you, and for some reason, you also did not exchange numbers or anything, so he was lost forever.

Or so you thought.

"Hey, you! I think you owe me a drink or two!" You heard behind you.

You were getting home from work, stopping at Starbucks to pick up coffee when you heard a familiar voice. You turned around and you were met with a beautiful sight.

Hyunjin was standing in front of you in casual clothes. A pair of black jeans adorned with some chains, an oversized blue sweater, and some combat boots were his choice that day. All you could think about was how he looked good in everything, at that point.

"Next!" You were, in fact, the next in line so you quickly told the barista your order and then added:

"And I'll pay for whatever he's having," you said nodding your head towards Hyunjin, as you got your wallet out of the bag.

"I was kidding you know"

"No, you're right, order whatever you want," you added with a smile.

He promptly told his order to the barista and you paid. Then you moved to the waiting line.

"Do you want to sit at a table?" He asked nicely.

"I would love to."

You ended up talking for two hours straight about every possible thing that came to mind, neither one of you wanted to say goodbye, so you just kept bringing up whatever topic.

After that, though, the bar was closing. This time you gave him your number and happily returned home.

After this last episode, you texted each other more and more. Even went out for coffee one or two other times. You liked his company. Through these meet-ups (and texts and calls), you found out quite a few things about Hyunjin. But a simple thing didn't come up, on your part you didn't bring it up because you didn't care about it, on his part he didn't want to tell you, fearing it might change your view of him all of a sudden.

The thing is, he was rich. Like RICH rich.

And that's the simple answer to the question "How did I end up here?"

He invited you on a date, offering to go to the museum, knowing there was an exhibition by your favorite artist.

You gladly accepted, but what you were not expecting was being the only two people there.

"Why's nobody here? Like, look at this masterpiece!! Do they not want to see it?" You asked, baffled, looking at one of the best works of art there, in your opinion.

"Oh, no. Trust me, they would love to be here..." He chuckled.

You turned to look at him with a puzzled face.

"Then why are they not here?"

"Well... I may or may not have rented out the place... You know, not to have any distractions and to be alone, it's a date after all."

"You did WHAT?" You whisper-yelled that last part.

" I... rented out the place," he chuckled lightly.

"What? How? That's crazy!! You are absolutely bonkers!! That must've cost you a fortune!! I can not just pay this back! I-" You were cut off by Hyunjin embracing you.

"Listen... This is seriously nothing. You are paying me back by enjoying this with me, that's why I did all of it. To see you happy. I like you y/n, don't know if you've noticed, but my attention is always only on you. You are honest with me and you don't want to get to me because of my money or the people I know." It was now your time to cut him off.

"Well, not that it changes things, you know... I liked you even before you did this whole thing."

"Yeah I know," He smiled looking into your eyes, slowly leaning in for a kiss that you gladly accepted and returned.

"Well, I thought this only happened in movies or something" You laughed as you both continued your visit through the exhibit. You were looking thoroughly at every piece, trying to find a meaning or just basking in the beauty in front of your eyes.

Hyunjin on the other hand couldn't keep his eyes off of you, because you were the only work of art in the entire world he cared about then and there.

[malaky-nightm4r3]

Hello from Midnight!

Its been long enough, practically a year and a half since it was discovered this system existed, and we've debated coming out on Tumblr for quite some time. Months, really. And given the absolute silence of this account, I felt it was time to take it upon myself to truly take care of this.

I am Chance! A co-host of Midnight, but more on that later. For now I'll introduce you to our 'main' host (more of just who we all pretend to be to pass?), and my twin!

Meet Chai! (Co-host)

Art by @felix-fabulous

Chai, as you can tell, is very openly an Ink fictive! And a cat furry. He derives mostly from the former host of the system, Ink (yes we survived 3-4 years with an Ink as a host we discovered), and doesn't have anything against that! Formed directly off our former host, he took the role quite easily. So easily infact he didn't know he was a different person at all for a good near half year of his existence! He fronts the most besides Chance (Moi). He also acts as the main front personality. Even around some people we trust, we act as him with not much deviation most cases unless we feel like individualising ourselves for a conversation. He's sporadic, excitable, and quite awkward socially, but with good intentions. He struggles to quite grasp his own and others emotions in situations and occasionally that can cause communication barriers, and makes him come off rude or blunt. Chai also tends to worry about others and tries to help with anything he can.

He can change his form as he pleases and is often seen wandering around the headspace as a black Maine Coon- or a Moon as we call them.

Acts as Co-Host, protector, caretaker, and a few more things.

Birthday (form date!): December 3rd, 2020

Chai is gay, demisexual, pronouns are he/him

Meet Chance! (Co-host)

Art by @felix-fabulous and me! Don't mind the 'mistake' with the heart chain, I change it up depending on my mood when I draw myself. My drawing is also a slightly different outfit anyhow! The suit is sparkly!

The charming, dazzling, and incredibly attractive other co-host of this system! Also a fictive. While he may not be a front personality, he sure is a fun act to put on to amuse others in conversations. When he fronts around trusted people he typically speaks with an accent, though it fluctuates which one it is because he dislikes the accents that naturally came to him in this body. Its why it cannot be named or pinpointed, its never a specific one. To throw a guess out there, generally stays in the realm of English accents, though which one it is varies (Please understand I am not trying to be offensive in using it, it happens on its own). Occasionally he throws it out the window entirely. Who needs a false accent anyways? Often called the Theatre kid, or more accurately, 'Theatre Kid #2'. While he does enjoy performing and making everything a fun show, he'd much rather sit and have genuine interactions nowadays.

Can change his form as much as he pleases, and uses it to express himself. Unsure why both hosts are capable of this.

Acts as Co-Host, protector, and a few others

Birthday: December 3rd, 2020

Chance is biromantic, asexual, and any pronouns will do!

What about the others?

Perhaps soon once we have more drawings of the others we will do full introductions, but for now here is a short summary of some fairly important individuals!

Ink - Fictive (obviously). Former host, estimated from around somewhere in 2017 til Chai and Chance's arrival. Similar to Chai in many ways but much more socially awkward and immature. Bisexual, he/they. Birthday unknown :(

Error - Fictive (again, obviously). Been around probably since a few months after Ink, but definitely nearly just as long. Those two are inseparable. He's short tempered (and just short) but all around a fun guy, but doesn't talk to people often, nor does he really like people at all. Bisexual, he/him. Birthday unknown

Dream - Fictive (I should not keep specifying). Sweet, polite, kind, and caring are the first words to come to mind. He's energetic and has a positive (hah get it) outlook, really just...a ray of sunshine in our system, helps out and makes things easier. Acts as the 'librarian', or memory keeper. He uses that to help us get through things or recall what happens between switches if we have especially bad memory blanks. Panromantic, asexual, He/Him. Birthday May 29th, 2021

Cupid - A SPECIAL case! Cupid actually resides in Chance's subsystem, 'Pink Palette System'. Like a much more energetic and fabulous version of Chance, and far more flirty. Bisexual, Any pronouns but he prefers He/They. Birthday unknown.

We are open to questions and are very excited about finally coming out like this!

Thank you for reading! Have a nice day <3

[sxltedcxramel]

Lover’s Quarrel

c!techno x gn!reader

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

: ̗̀➛ Summary:  You and Technoblade have been friends for decades, always by each other’s side you two faught alongside each other. That was once in a lifetime, and should never happen again. Unfortunately life doesn’t play out that way and you happen to need him one more time... or maybe they’ll be a change in plans?

: ̗̀➛ Word Count: 1515

: ̗̀➛ Chapters: 1/1

: ̗̀➛ Tag(s): No beta reader we die like ghostbur, c!techno, gn!reader, immortal reader x immortal techno, angel!reader, god!techno, angst, friends to enemies to friends, complicated ik

: ̗̀➛ Warnings: slight cursing, mentions of torture and death

: ̗̀➛ Taglist: Here

: ̗̀➛ Link(s): Ao3

: ̗̀➛ Notes: *screams into oblivion* one this is all platonic I didn’t specify 😓 two I barely survived the writers drought (no friken inspiration) but I bring to you my first c!dsmp x reader fic (please be kind I tried-) basically this taks place in really old times and not modern considering how its writter like I just finished reading shakesphere although the idea came while listening to classical music so that it how you will. Also this isn’t edited so my bad if theres mistakes-

The room was dimly lit with candles and the r oaring fire that burned passionately at the fireplace. White tiles were plastered with gold diamonds, the shade almost as if it was antique jewelry, Old but could tell an amazing story. The colour completing the beige-coloured room

You waited patiently, cross-legged glaring at the clock that ticked every second or so. 10 minutes you thought to yourself while you grind your teeth. That man seemed to be early only when it was for his own convenience, how distasteful.

Just as you finished that thought you saw the dark oak wood door being pushed open. A man walks in, he wears a white loosely fitted blouse, with bishop sleeves which was decorated with frilly fabrics. Along with death-black dress pants that were worn up to the waist. His face where his mask usually is is replaced with glasses and the man's delicate bubblegum pink hair is loosely braided and thrown on the right side of his shoulder.

“Your late” you glare crossing your arms

He let out a sigh “Well pardon me for taking a while to get ready, It's almost like you didn’t come here unannounced” he spoke sarcastically.

He walked over to the glass tray and picked up a small glass cup with a gold ring around it and poured himself a drink. He eyes you “Would you care for a drink y/n?”

“I don’t drink”

He shrugs “Suit yourself”

“Technoblade, I didn't come here for idle chatter.”

He arched his eyebrow slightly “Oh?” Techno placed his cup down “Pray do tell, what exactly did you come here for?” You watched him walk to the other side of the room as he said that.

“I-“ you could even finish before being rudely interrupted by a rustling noise. You watched as your patience grew thinner by the minute he took out a black vinyl disc and placed it on a wooden box making sure the oin was adjusted well. A soft tune of the piano came out of the music player.

“Would you care for a dance?” He holds out his hand, you stare at it contemplating whether you should grab his hands, you really shouldn't, you didn’t want to play his games, you wanted what you came for, but then again it would harm a dance. Or course your brain chose the latter considering how you delicately placed your hand in his letting him place his hand on your waist the the other on your shoulder. He lead the way,(just like he always does)

“Apologies for interrupting music helps me think.” He spoke as he spun you around the floor “They calm the voices” . You knew all about the voices, how much they love to chant and clog his brain with different variations of thoughts, perks of being his ex-partner you suppose. But you watched as he hid a smirk, you guess he’s just telling only half the truth. You roll your eyes

“You can finish”

“Wouldn’t you mean start idiot” you snap

“Meh”

You clicked your tongue in annoyance, his inability to ever grasp the mood of the situation was flawless. It seemed as if he never cared about the other person's feelings, unless you were the god of death you were out of luck for a serious conversation. You’ve dealt with that for decades

You could remember once in a lifetime the two of you were partners, fast and precise that's how the job went. The blood god and the angel of destruction are an amazing duo. You remember when the two of you used to watch as people begged on their knees for their life or perhaps a mercy kill. Watching as your foes tried to retreat to their bases only for their pitiful lives to end in such a disgraceful manner. At the end of the day the two of you stood in the battlefield side by side knowing the world could shake in fear knowing you two were alive

And you loved it like that desire to make people fear you brought giddiness to your body and enlightened your world. You wanted one thing and it was to get revenge.

Revenge on all who did you wrong from your youth up, and now you were strong enough to bring it tenfold.

Everything was fine, It wasn’t until one day the two of you had sat down for a cup of tea like you usually did on Thursday evenings. He told you he wanted to retire, he was done with the killings and the torture.

He was finally putting down the title ‘Blood god’

At first you thought it was a joke but then you saw his eyes and they were as serious as he could ever be, anger rose up in you unable to process the statement.

How could he leave you like this, he promised to be by your side when no one else would.

A liar that's would your made him out to be

A slap to the cheek was all you left him that day

Now here you were decades later, hand in hand dancing to the sounds of the instruments harmonizing becoming one just the way you two were.

He spun you around gracefully on the tiled floor, there's something about dancing in an empty room that makes you feel weird inside. What was this feeling? Him making you feel weak in the knees, perhaps it was the fact the last time you did this it was when you two were young and reckless. He always seemed to know how to brighten your life,even to the point the friendship you two had was envied amongst the other gods.

He twirled you across the room dipping you slightly “Cat caught your tongue”

You rolled your eyes “As if”

You saw outside the glass panes, the sky was painted a blood orange mixed with lavender purples and hints of blue. The sun slowly sets,bringing the nightfall.

You chuckle to yourself, how romantic of the sky to show such a sight for people who would die before dating each other.

You turn your gaze to the god “I need you one last time” you say cutting to the chase

Technoblade glared at you “I already told you I’m retired, don’t be so stubborn”

“I’m not, your being selfish putting your needs before anyone else's”

He snorts “Isn’t that what you're doing y/n? Or am I reading the situation wrong?” He says sarcastically “Plus I thought you made it clear that you wanted nothing to do with me, or was that slap something you did on impulse and you couldn’t face me after?”

You grind your teeth “It was not, and why are you making it seem like you're the victim? You're the one who wanted to leave me!” You snapped

He took his hands away from you and pinched the bridge of his nose “See, this is why we cannot have a conversation. You always jump to conclusions” he growls

“I do not!”

“You do! I never intended to leave your side, only retiring. Is it so bad I wanted to stop killing and do something better with my life, and here I thought you’d be happy with it.”

You stared at him shocked, “I..”

Was he right? You were known to act on impulse which did cause problems in the long run but he’d be there to be by your side every time. But yet, you couldn’t fathom the thought of him leaving his life behind to start a new one. Why? You weren’t sure.

Techno sighed “You act so tough when actually you're broken inside. The thing is you weren’t mad at me for retirement, you were mad that things were changing. You're scared of change because you don’t know where you’ll fall between it all.”

The piano falls into a soft handsomely rhythm

The violinist quietly drag their bows delicately

You cast your eyes aside, you couldn’t argue with the truth. You swallow hard fighting back the tears. You couldn’t fathom the amount of times you’ve been in the wrong or how much you’ve hurt him

Stupid

Stupidstupidstu-

A hand is placed on you head

“You think too much, stop that”

“I’m sorry”

“For overthinking or for being impulsive” he questions

“Both” you whisper keeping your eyes on the floor

“And?”

You huffed “You were right about everything”

He grinned showing his pearly whites “I’m sorry what was that? I couldn’t hear you?”

You laughed slightly making your worries go away for the time being “You asshole, get your head out of the skies as if I’m repeating that again”

He chuckles shrugging “Worth a try”

“So, let's get something straight. I’ll help you one last time then I’m forcing you to retire. Seriously you have no say so.” He eyes you “You probably need therapy too jeez”

“Fuck You I’m perfectly fine”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night” he responds ushering you out the room

“Bold of you to assume I sleep”

“Bruhh”

Taglist: @ttakinou @angstyx

[space-mermaid-writing]

House Arrest [Reader X Loki] Chapter 3

Summary: You are Clint’s 'little' sister and actually a trained Shield agent. But you gave that up a few years ago and became a Chef, because you wanted a normal live. Then one day Natasha shows up at your door and takes you to the Avenger Tower for a while for security reasons.

Tags: Reader is an former Shield Agent, chef!reader, Reader Barton, 2012 Avenger vibes, everything is still alright, Slice of Life, Avengers Family, Loki has a good heart, still the god of mischief, Slow Burn, mention of food and cooking

Read it on AO3

Chapter 3: Nighttime pancakes

The next few days you got to know everything a little better: The tower, the Avengers - as far as they were present and showed themselves - and the rest of the staff that you ran into from time to time. You also discovered that the tower had its own training halls. Actually this was just logical given the team that lives here. Often when you were out and about in the building, you got the faint feeling of being watched. It was a little disturbing, but you dismissed it by saying that the environment was still new to you. Also, you had learned that JARVIS had access to all the public rooms and most of them were probably video monitored too. You weren’t sure about your own quarters yet, but you were also not sure if you wanted to know the answer.

Unfortunately the nights are very long, because you sleep very badly here. Despite the short time, you miss walking outside, through the streets, and besides, you are used to a rather strict daily routine. Sure, it's nice to switch off for a few days and not have to do anything. A little vacation, so to speak. But you're someone who soon gets bored with that. You chose a profession that requires you to spend hours running around the kitchen, preparing dishes and finishing orders for a reason after all. The price of your now lazy life is that you toss and turn in your bed at night without really being tired. Maybe there are some additional worries that keep you awake. For example, the Hydra question that was still unresolved.

This night you turn from side to side again, sighing, and at some point take a look at the digital alarm clock. Its digits glowing a light red in the darkness. It's three in the morning. Or night. Depending on how you see it. After a few more unsuccessful tries to sleep, you give up and decide to roam the halls a bit. Just walking around and stretching your legs. Outside, it's quiet. Only the soft whirring of some working machines can be heard. The corridors are discreetly lit, so you have no trouble finding your way, which leads you into the large lobby. It’s actually the first time since your arrival that you find it completely empty. Still, you have the familiar feeling that you are not alone. Jarvis probably never sleeps.

Out of habit, you end up in the kitchen and take a bored look into the fridge. Nothing in there appeals to you, but you're not really hungry either. Not even for a little snack. Still, you feel like cooking. Maybe pancakes. You could eat them for breakfast later. Without thinking too long about it, you get a bowl from the cupboard and tie an apron around yourself, which you have obligatory lying here by now. Flour, milk and eggs are quickly mixed and a few other ingredients are added for flavor. You put some butter in a pan on the stove. When it became liquid, you start to fry the first pancake and gradually got more and more, so that you quickly have a respectable pile together. Quietly, you hum to yourself.

"It's been a long time since anyone has been here at this hour”, you suddenly hear an unfamiliar voice behind you. Surprised, you whirl around, holding a knife that had been lying next to the stove. A dark-haired man in a green shirt is standing by the kitchen island, watching your actions curiously. When he sees the knife, he raises both hands to calm you down. On each of his arms you notice a narrow silver hoop with a red dot flashing. You hadn't heard a door, and you're not sure how long he's been standing there. "What’s your deal? Can’t sleep?", you ask him. "Just like you apparently." You raise an eyebrow and set the knife aside as the pancakes demand your attention. "You're Loki, aren't you?" It's more of a statement than a question, and the man nods. "And you're the archer's sister", he respond, which makes you in turn nod. "I‘m Y/N, pleasure to meet you." "You don't often hear that as a prisoner", he says amused, but still keeps eye on you, waiting for your reaction. "Heard about it. I guess we're sitting in the same boat." "Oh, really?" "Well, I probably won't be tasered right away if I try to leave the building." "Probably?", Loki follows up. "Yeah, I'm not entirely sure about that."

You talk for a while until you hear the elevator ping quietly in the lobby. But you're not paying attention right now, as you're busy scraping the last bit of dough out of the bowl and then turning off the stove. "Would you like some?" you ask Loki, turning to him only to find that he has disappeared. Taken aback, you turn your attention to the room next door, where you hear muffled voices. Then the door opens. "THAT'S what I call a nice welcome," Clint grins, looking at the stack of pancakes. "Brother dear", you greet him equally pleased and surprised at his unexpected appearing. Smiling, you walk up to him and hug him. Along with him, Steve Rogers, whom you've also already seen on the news as Captain America, came in. He seems a little confused at first, but after you fill him in on who you are, he welcomes you as well.

"What are you doing here?" your brother then asks you. "You can see that. I'm making breakfast for you." "No, I mean, what are you doing here?" He specifies the question with a gesture that included all the surroundings as well as the Tower. "Oh..." It's clearly too middle of the night for you to be that precise. In a few words, you explain your situation. Clint has some encouraging words for you, but can understand that you are not enthusiastic. "At least we can get more on each other's nerves again. Why don't you start right now and join us while we eat?", he laugh, putting his arm around your shoulder in a brotherly fashion as he pushes you toward the stove. You have to laugh, too. "You mean while you eat my breakfast." "Exactly." You go get two plates from the cupboard and serve the men each a good stack of pancakes with maple syrup. They thank you and the group of you make yourselves comfortable at the kitchen island. "Where and how do you guys usually eat here?", you ask in the meantime. "We each order our own food. Probably have a flat rate with all the suppliers in the neighborhood," Clint explains. Steves' gaze is on you questioningly. "Don't you want some pancakes, too?" "In the middle of the night? No thanks, I'm not hungry." "Then why did you made them, if you don't mind me asking?" "I knew you'd come and could use something in your stomach", you reply with a serious expression, to which Steve shoots first you and then your brother a scrutinizing look. He’d seen enough weird shit while working with the Avengers to take such a statement quite seriously. And he wonders whether you, unlike Hawkeye, have superpowers. But only until you can no longer stifle the broad grin, because his facial expression is just too funny.

Before you can say anything, though, Clint interjects. "As siblings, we've just developed some sort of telepathic ability." You nod in agreement. "Exactly. That's how I always know when he's going to say something stupid and deserve a head butt." "To be honest, I never heard him talk about you before”, Steve admits. "See”, you wink, "It‘s working out just fine." You laugh, and while they continue to eat, Clint tells you about the mission they just came from.

Afterwards, you put another stack of pancakes on a plate to take it with you back to the lobby. "Hungry now, are you?", your brother asks you, clearly tired after the long journey and at this late hour. Just as the super soldier. "Maybe”, you answer shortly and wish them both a good night. The greeting comes back double and you head into the large lobby with the elevators. "Jarvis?" "Yes, Miss Barton?" "Where is Loki's apartment?", you ask the computer. "You are not exactly authorized to receive this information." "I just want to get him something to eat."

You raise the plate in your hands a little higher and apparently your answer is analyzed, because for a few seconds there is silence. But then you get the information you want and are directed to the door you are looking for. It was on another floor and at the end of a long corridor.

You knock, but at first there is no response. So you try again. "Come on, my prince, I know you're not asleep and it's rude to leave a lady at a locked door." You hear an amused sound from the other side and shortly after the door is opened. With his arms crossed, Loki stands before you. "It's also rude to disturb a prince in the middle of the night, M’Lady", he replies. "Rude would be to refuse a dinner from a lady. Especially when she personally hands it to you", you add, giving him the plate. It's impossible for you to tell if he's amused or annoyed as he looks from you to the pancakes in his hand. "I never said I wanted any“, he states. "But you didn't say you didn't want them, either. Just give them a try. I'm pretty good at cooking." With that, you turn to go. "Good night, dear prince," you wish him, but without turning around. So you miss the grin on Loki's face as he closes the door.

[venusdeus]

Court of Kings - Chapter 2

Summary: Sent to a neighboring kingdom to secure an alliance, forced to give up your dreams and ambitions, disregarded as a means to an end. You however have no desire to fulfil their wishes. And neither does Oikawa.

Pairing: Oikawa Tooru x female reader

Genre: Fluff, comedy, angst, royalty au, arranged marriage au, enemies to lovers au (more like enemies to allies to friends to lovers), eventual smut maybe?

Word count: 2165

Warnings: All the characters are adults unless specified. This chapter is sfw. Minors do not interact.

Notes: This is part 2. To start from the prologue, you can use this link.

Chapter 1 <...> Chapter 3

You prided yourself in not expressing your thoughts or your emotions on your face and having full control over your body language. In this situation, you thought, it was certainly a blessing. You did not want this man to read your thoughts even though hawk like eyes of his that were focused on you made you think he could.

“A very beautiful garden indeed.” Oikawa remarked for a second time that night, his hand resting behind his back “We do not have this many varieties when it comes to plants up north. It is rather cold there, especially when compared to here.”

The ball was still going on inside the palace walls and the music that was filling the rooms still managed to reach your ears no matter how far in the gardens you went. You two were thrown out together after the first few minutes into the reception, suggested, or more like ordered, by both parties to take a walk in order to get to know one another. Followed by royal guards and an entourage of maids and butlers of course. Thankfully, other nobles that would usually be following you, such as your ladies in waiting, were not present thanks to the ongoing event inside. Never truly alone as it wouldn’t be proper. And you never did something that wasn’t proper. Or at least when someone else could see you.

“As you mentioned previously your Highness.” You replied looking ahead. It was not because you were scared that you did not look at him, or so you tried to lie to yourself, it was because you concluded from his rather rude entrance that afternoon that he disliked you. A man who had disgust and anger written on his face before just as he was supposed meet his future betrothed was not a man worth knowing.

He went as far as not to speak unless spoken to when your family decided to give him and his company a tour of the palace that afternoon, your father being absent of course. And even your normally chatty brother trailed hiding behind you, not daring to talk to him. Oikawa looked too broad, too much like a giant next to his sickly form. His hand never left his sword either. Did he not know what a grave insult he gave you when he behaved as if you were after his head, you wondered. You would not blame him of course, not like you did not know the strained relations between the two countries. But it was rude, nonetheless.

The only interaction you had that day before the ball was limited to greetings and if you counted it, walking next to each other in the halls. In the evening, a dance to open the ball. And that was it until now.

“Princess,” he started as you winced at the name, he did not even bother to use your proper title when addressing you “I heard you also had an exquisite greenhouse. Would you be so kind to show me? I am quite curious.”

You finally decided to look at him, fully expecting to see the previous icy expression on his face but found him to be surprisingly smiling. No, maybe not a smile but a smirk, you thought, the kind that gives you shivers and makes you speechless.

You were certainly not stupid. Nor blind. Since the first time you laid eyes on him that day, you knew that all those rumors about him were true. He had a face that looked like it was painted by the master artists of the past, an angelic feeling to it. He was also tall, towering over you or even the guards. The ladies gushed about how lucky you were and how regal he looked.

If only he did not have that God awful expression on his face when you first saw him, you would have been as starstruck as the Palace staff. It was evident that he made up his mind about you before he even met you. So why should you try to get to know him.

“It would be my pleasure.” you answered turning right towards the greenhouse. You have passed it once or twice every week in your walks but you were never allowed in when the gardeners were present.

He did not speak again until you both stopped at the gates of the glass building. That's when he turned towards the staff and the guards that were following you and addressed them with a voice so sweet that could catch vermin.

“If you could please give her Highness and me a few minutes to tour inside I would really appreciate it.”

It was such an inappropriate suggestion that you could feel your face getting hot with anger. You knew he was rude, but you did not expect him to behave with the manners of a dog. It was no secret that he had done countless things you did not dare voice with other ladies or even commoners in places that seemed innocent enough until he was left alone with them. But to taint the reputation of a royal with such suggestion was another thing.

One of the wives of a southern Duke even recalled one evening, after the announcement of his upcoming visit, that one of the most magical nights she had was at his library at his court, giggling while you sat at the same round table as her, playing cards not even a meter away. It made your stomach turn and not just because of the story, but because of the look she gave you afterwards. It reminded you of the smug look your father’s mistress gave you whenever your paths crossed.

You couldn’t stomach the thought of having a similar faith wherever you went.

One of the butlers, god bless his soul, opened his mouth to object but was quickly shut down by Oikawa’s honey voice.

“The path inside looks very narrow you see. And I am not used to being in such a humid and small space with too many people. I can promise you that we won’t take longer than five minutes.”

In hindsight they should have not let him get away with such proposition. But he was the crown prince of one of the strongest kingdoms in this part of the world and he was also to be your future husband. You were not betrothed yet officially but it was as good as done. If it wasn’t they would not even be invited here.

Or maybe, you should have refused his request or asked only two guards to follow you. But one look at his face and your curiosity was peaked. You wanted to know what he wanted to achieve with such a risqué favor. So, you followed the wolf to its den. If any of the nobles heard of this, or god forbid your family, you would be as good as dead. But you could always order your maids to keep their mouths shut. You could never trust anyone to not talk of course, but a threat could do the work.

“I am bit of a botanist myself.” Oikawa said just before the doors closed behind you.

You couldn’t properly see your surroundings as the only light inside came from the moon shining above the tall glass ceiling, and sadly it was not enough to illuminate your path. Oikawa on the other hand was behaving as if he owned the place itself, walking ahead of you, only turning once to check if you were still following him.

“Though it is mostly a hobby.” He continued, finally stopping in front of a cactus like plant with lovely white flowers and turning to you.

“I am guessing you did not ask to come here alone just to talk about your botanical knowledge. What is it that you want to know?” You asked with a cold tone just as your eyes started to adjust to the dark setting.

The corners of his mouth lifted into what could be called one of the most sinister similes you have seen so far before he chuckled.

“I’ve been told you had a kind and warm disposition but that you are very naïve and certainly not very bright.” He said seizing you up.

You knew of your reputation. What other people did not know, however, was that this reputation of yours was created by non-other than you. Carefully thought of and highly fabricated. The life was easier when people did not expect much from you. It also made it easier to listen in on conversations. Afterall, they did not think you would understand or care. But something about Oikawa aggravated you so much that your delicately built facade crumbled into pieces in seconds.

“And I’ve been told you are a very handsome, intelligent and proper gentleman. What a shame we’ve been both lied to.” You replied before taking a step towards him as if to challenge.

He let out the first genuine laugh since his arrival at your rebuttal, his head tilting back. If it were any other person, they would be insulted at your words, but he seemed to be amused.

“What a shame indeed.” He answered also stepping towards you. “Truly disappointing.”

“Is it what you wanted? A naïve, dull and ignorant wife?���

“Is it important what I want?” he pondered crossing his arms.

“A submissive wife than.” You replied “Let me rephrase that. You needed a submissive and naive wife. For what reason may I ask?”

He acted as if he did not hear your question, opting to not even acknowledge it “If we are to come back to the topic at hand, you are right your highness. I wanted to come here alone to see your true character. I know firsthand how exhausting it is to play pretend with others around.”

“And what did you find?”

“That you are very spirited.” He said moving closer.

“Thank you.”

“That was not a compliment Princess.” He stopped a step away from you.

“Anything you deem disappointing in a woman is a compliment to me.” You replied closing the distance between you two, your bodies only inches apart. He seemed to be taken aback for a second before his eyes narrowed and he turned his head towards the plant you were standing next to.

“Selenicereus grandifloras.” He sighed.

“Huh?” the unladylike sound left your mouth over your confusion before you could stop yourself.

“It is also known as the ���queen of the night’ for it only blooms once every year at night before its petals wither before the morning. We must be extremely lucky.” He elaborated tilting his head towards the fully blossomed flowers. “Even the most beautiful and spirited of flowers cowers when the light shines. Do tell Princess, where will you be once the morning comes?”

He inched towards you, bending down until his face was directly opposite of yours. It was the most indecent position and against your better judgement you were at a loss of words over it. The humidity inside felt ten times worse than it was as you could feel his hot breath on your face. He was so close that you could smell the soft leather, citrus and cinnamon in which you did not know if it was coming from him or from all the greenery around you. Only thing you could think was one wrong move and your noses would be touching. He seemed to be thinking the same as his gaze fell on your lips before he took a step back.

“Because I do not know where you will be your Highness, but I can tell you where you won’t be.” He scoffed “You won’t ever be standing next to me. You certainly won’t do.”

Turning his back, leaving you stunned and stuck he walked towards the path you took just a few minutes ago.

“I can tell you this with the uttermost confidence. You will never rule beside me. I will never marry you.”

And with that, he was gone.

Finally an interaction? Reblogs are appreciated! And also this was not edited I posted it right after writing it so if you see any mistake let me know.

I would love it if you could give me feedback! Thank you!

Disclaimer: No portion of this story may be reproduced in any form without permission. I do not own the character of Oikawa Tooru. This is a work of fiction.

TAG LIST: Let me know if you want me to tag you. If your name is in bold it means I can’t tag you.

@sassyglassesbunny​ @triskoof​ @m-a-r-i-a-s-b-l-o-g

[comic-the-adventurer]

Time to Choose for Yourself!

Wordcount: Around 650

Summary: Here comes the boyy! Hello, boy! Welcome! ...oh...oh no... NOT THE BOYY! GOODBYE, BOY! FAREWELL!

Notes: I'm& not good at coming up with titles kasfkaj I& wanted to write something (for a change) and always felt like Volo's reveal was so... well-made imo; it really caught me& off-guard. That said, this writing doesn't do the reveal justice so klsfnlla. ANYWAY, yea, Kiran might be ooc but like... he's evil in this au apparently (this counts as mixing pot au, no?) so I& think it's excusable xD.

Also, I'm& being dead-serious with the choice at the end so tell me& which one you'd want to see play out if ya want ^-^ I'm& def leaning towards one of the options (though I& won't specify which one; can you& guess o.o ?) so maybe I'll just write all of the different "paths" if asked aksfka /g

This was suppooooosed to be angsty and comedic but likeee... a lot of people don't understand my& jokes or sense of humour so um... it might not seem that way asfalkfj

KFJAKJKLA nearly forgot to tag her afajkljaksda @ihopethisendswell gift for youuu :>

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen.

Seventeen plates. All seventeen, with the hope that it won't stay that way for long. Some plates were gifted to Dan after he appeased certain, sacred pokemon. Other plates required pacifying rampaging pokemon, blindly hoping his lethal efforts might reward him and Kiran with another plate. In rare cases, even some humans surprisingly owned these plates.

…But Kiran was one of them?

Even with the distant howl of wind, the air felt still, dry to Dan's throat. Kiran was only joking, right? He wanted to be funny by sending Dan on this goose-chase, ramble about Sinnoh’s history together, and surprise him with the final plate, right? The final plate they needed? So they could hopefully reconcile with the creator of all creations, Acreus? And return Dan to…whatever seemingly-similar universe he came from? With the moon slowly climbing higher in the sky and Kiran’s mischievous grin taunting, Dan felt his heartbeat quicken; this couldn’t be the end!

“Now hand over the plates you’ve gathered! I will be the one to put them all together!” Kiran ordered and, at that instant, Dan figured out the significance of Kiran's extravagant change-of-outfit. Was their outfit somehow alluding to something?! Certainly, but what? Maybe if Dan had time to analyze Kiran’s getup, he would’ve noticed the green-gemmed, golden circle and put two and two together but-

“My desire to meet Arceus cannot be contained any longer!” Kiran announced, with a vengeance. Dan wondered if he screamed bloody murder loud enough, could a recuser hear him from this crumbling temple, so high above the region? Solid backup plan, solid backup plan. Kiran persisted: “I need to know what it is!”

Dan wanted to say something but, turns out, purple-haired weirdos don’t understand it’s rude to cut someone off when they’re talking. Thus, when Dan opened his mouth, Kiran loudly interjected:

“I MUST know what it is! If I can meet Arceus myself, then I may also be able to subjugate its power... And using that, I will attempt to create a new, better world! Of course, if I create a brand-new world, then the Hisui region that we currently exist in will be undone and returned to nothing. You, everyone you know, and all the Pokémon living here will vanish in an instant as if you'd never been. And do you know why…”

Kiran kept babbling on, but Dan turned his attention to surveying the historical area. Should he run? Truthfully, Kiran seemed so distracted with his evil yapping, would he notice if Dan fled the scene? Did Dan want to find out? But where would he run to? For now, at least, Dan didn’t have to answer those questions.

"If you want to keep this world from disappearing…” Kiran refocused Dan’s attention, though Dan was uneasier than ever and borderline nauseous. “...then face me in battle!”

WHAT-

Kiran wanted a battle? It's unfair; Dan isn't a trainer so Kiran has no chance of losing! Then again, Kiran isn’t a trainer either, right? Maybe they would be even-matched if neither of them could battle to save their lives? Although in this case, if Dan lost and forfeited the plates to Kiran, the cost would literally be dying, along with the rest of the universe. Not to mention, we must keep in mind that pokemon-battling was Kiran’s idea; did Kiran have a kind of trick up his sleeve to ensure their victory? Or is Kiran above cheating?

OH RIGHT, RUNNING IS AN OPTION! RUNNNNNNNNNNN

Flinching, Dan took a step back to prepare himself but-

“Don’t try to run,” Kiran said, almost tauntingly. “You don’t have a choice. Even if you don't wish to battle me, I'm not above using force to take those plates from you."

Run

Fight

Give Kiran the plates

Something else A

Something else B

It’s time to choose for yourself!

[wh0reyp0tter]

Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? F.W

Song fic based on Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High by Arctic Monkeys

Fred Weasley x fem!reader (house not specified but I pictured Gryffindor)

Includes: Swearing, angst, FWB, unresolved pining, a bit of crying, and “one-sided” love

___________________________________________________________

The mirror's image, it tells me it's home time

But I'm not finished, 'cause you're not by my side

I look around confused as I realize Fred’s no longer beside me. I look around to see him standing in front of a small blonde Gryffindor. She’s laughing at something he says. I sigh softly as I shake my head and make my way to the table full of alcohol. I pull one of the red cups off of the stack before pouring firewhiskey almost to the brim. I fill the rest of the cup with pumpkin juice. 

“Y/N!” I hear my name called. I turn to see Lee and George waving me over. I smile at them as I walk over and join them on the couch. “Where’s Fred?” 

“Over there,” I reply, pointing out the tall ginger. The two look at the boy before they shake their heads. 

“Didn’t he ask you here?” Lee asks confused. 

“Yep,” I say, popping the last syllable before taking a big swig off of my drink. The liquid burning its way down my throat. 

“He’s such an idiot,” George murmurs. Lee nods in agreement before taking a sip of his own drink. 

“At least someone’s having fun,” I say with a soft laugh. I turn to look at Fred, only to see him being pulled up the stairs by the blonde. I bite the inside of my cheek as a twinge of pain runs through my chest. George looks over at me with a soft look in his eyes. I down the rest of my drink before standing to get a refill.

And as I arrived I thought I saw you leavin', carryin' your shoes

Decided that once again I was just dreamin' of bumpin' into you

I wake up with a loud groan before I sit up and rub my head. “Bloody hell,” I mutter. I stand up before pulling clothes over my torso and walk out of my door. I see Fred tiptoeing out of the door across from mine, shoes in hand. He closes the door softly as he turns to look at me. 

“Morning,” he says with a bright smile. I look at him with a tight-lipped smile as I walk out of the hallway and towards the Great Hall. 

Now it's three in the mornin' and I'm tryin' to change your mind

Left you multiple missed calls and to my message, you reply

I’m woken up by a loud buzzing beside my bed. I blink a few times as I sit up and reach over to grasp my phone. I squint at the almost blinding brightness. As my eyes adjust to the new brightness I see Fred’s name across the small screen. I roll my eyes before I click the answer button. 

“Hello?” I say into the phone. 

“Hey, love,” Fred giggles. “Miss you.” 

“Bloody christ Fred, it’s,” I pause to pull the phone from my face and check the time. “Fucking 3 in the morning! What could you possibly need?” 

“Just missed your voice,” he hums into the receiver. His words slowed and mixing together. “Wanted to hear it.” 

“What are you doing awake? We have class in like 4 hours!” I exclaim. 

“Got bored, so Georgie and I were smoking,” he laughs. I close my eyes before I take a deep breath. 

"Why'd you only call me when you're high?" I ask softly, my voice cracking at the end. There’s silence for a few moments before a giggle rings through my ear.

“Hi,” Fred says, I can practically hear the grin in his voice. 

"Hi, why'd you only call me when you're high?" I repeat my question. There’s more silence, this time not followed by a laugh. I shake my head in annoyance as I click the red button and put my phone back on the table before laying back down. 

Somewhere darker, talkin' the same shite

I need a partner, well, are you out tonight?

I feel someone pull me into a dark corridor as I was walking towards the Gryffindor common room. “What the fu-” I begin to say loudly. My sentence was cut off by someone’s lips on mine. My eyes widen as I push them away from me. 

“Calm down darling, ‘s just me,” a voice chuckles. 

“Christ Fred, you gave me a bloody heart attack!” I say in a hushed voice as I slap his chest. “What are you doing.” 

“Just figured we could help each other out,” he hums as he begins placing soft kisses down my neck. I close my eyes as I let out a soft sigh. 

“I’m supposed to be meeting Hermione,” I say as I feel his hand trail under my skirt. Fred pulls away from me with a smirk. 

“Guess we’ll just have to be quick then,” he replies before I’m being pressed against the wall behind me. 

It's harder and harder to get you to listen

More I get through the gears

“C’mon love, we can keep the boys waiting for a little bit,” Fred pleas as his hand tugs on mine.

“Fred, no,” I say sternly as I look at him. 

“You always want to,” Fred argues. 

“We agreed to hang out with George and Lee. I’m not blowing off more of my friends just so you get a shag. I’m going. You can join me, or get your dick wet somewhere else,” I reply. I pull my hand out of his grasp before I continue towards the boys’ dorm. I push my way through the door as I let it slam shut behind me. 

“Y/N/N, are you alright?” A voice asks. I bite the inside of my cheek as I move to sit on George’s bed with him and Lee. 

“I’m okay,” I say with a soft smile. 

“Fred?” Lee asks. I nod silently as I feel a soft hand rub up and down my back. 

Incapable of makin' alright decisions, and havin' bad ideas

Now it's three in the mornin' and I'm tryin' to change your mind

Left you multiple missed calls and to my message you reply

That night my phone buzzes a few times and my screen flashes showing multiple text messages. I roll my eyes before I pick it up only to see five missed calls from Fred and a few text messages. 

‘hey u up?’ 

‘u can’t stil be ignoring me’

‘fuk Y/N/N, i’m sorry alright’

‘just com 2 my dorm’

‘miss u’

‘every part ;)’

I close my eyes for a moment before texting my response quickly.

‘Why'd you only call me when you're high?’

Moments later my phone begins buzzing in my hand as I see Fred’s name flash across my screen. I take a deep breath before answering it. 

“Hello?” I ask, clearly annoyed. 

“You answered,” Fred says softly. “Hi.”

"Hi, why'd you only call me when you're high?" I ask.

“You walked out earlier, just wanted to see if you fancy a meetup,” Fred replies. I let out a scoff before hanging up quickly. I place my phone back where it was before laying down, staring at the ceiling. 

‘Is that all I’m good for?’ I think to myself. I feel a few tears roll down my face as I close my eyes.

And I can't see you here, wonderin' where am I

It sort of feels like I'm runnin' out of time

“Where’s Y/N?” Fred asks as he sits beside his brother. George shrugs as he leans on the wall. Fred looks around the room to see the small girl standing in front of Cedric Diggory with a bright smile on her face. ‘She only looks at me like that,’ Fred thinks to himself. Before he knows what he’s doing he’s already across the room. 

“Hey mate,” Cedric says offering the tall ginger a smile. “Good job on your win today. You played great!”

“Thanks, can I borrow Y/N for a second?” Fred asks. Before either of the pair could argue, Fred pulls her away from him. “What are you doing?” 

“Talking, before I was so rudely yanked away,” Y/N scowls.

“Why were you look at him like that?” Fred pries. 

“Like what?” Y/N laughs. 

“Like you fancy him!” Fred exclaims.

“Maybe I do,” the smaller girl scoffs. “Why does it matter?”

“You’re supposed to fancy me!” Fred argues. 

“Yeah, I did,” she says softly before she walks away. Fred stands in place for a moment, in shock, before disappearing. 

I haven't found all I was hopin' to find

You said you gotta be up in the mornin'

“Oi Y/N!” A loud voice calls after me. I turn to see Fred jogging up to me. “Fancy coming to my dorm with me?”

“I can’t,” I reply. 

“It’s been ages! I miss that pretty little pussy of yours,” Fred says. The last little bit of his sentence turning into a whisper pressed into my ear. I feel my cheeks heat up as I shake my head at the boy. 

“As much as I would love to, I have class in the morning. Have a good night Fred,” I say before I walk away. 

Gonna have an early night

And you're startin' to bore me, baby

Fred sighs softly as he stares up at his ceiling. He pulls his phone out to see it’s only 9:30 at night. ‘I’m never in this late,’ he scoffs to himself. Fred sets his phone on the table beside him before closing his eyes, trying to sleep. After what felt like an eternity he decides against sleeping. He stands up before pulling a hoodie over his torso. Fred puts on a pair of trainers before walking out of his dorm. He quickly makes his way up to the astronomy tower, only to be met with a figure standing in front of the large opening. Fred moves further into the room only to be met with the girl who’s been occupying his thoughts. “Y/N?” He says quietly. She turns around as he sees tears evident on her face. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks. 

“Why'd you only call me when you're high?” She asks, tears falling down her face. 

[ushiwakaa]

𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐈 𝐌𝐈𝐘𝐀 ; 

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : you’re a new hire at onigiri miya and you just learnt your boss has a brother.

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : miya atsumu x soft!reader

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞 : fluff ?

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 : none

𝐚/𝐧 : this is it. this is my debut as a fanfic writer. it’s definitely miya - centric, not sure if we properly conveyed a ship tho ..,,. there could b a pt 2 , we’ll see (:< anyway , a BIG thank u to the volleyboy cheese cult who encouraged me thru my whole creative process uwu

You duck under the curtains, precariously balancing two plates of rice balls along both arms. The door chimes and you look up with a bright, welcoming smile. But, looking at the customer for another moment, you find yourself tilting your head in confusion.

“Ah ��� Miya-san? When did you step out?”

You could’ve sworn he was just in the kitchen.

“What d’ya mean when did I step out?”

“Sorry,” you say quickly, averting your gaze — Maybe you were too forward.

“Don’t cha know who yer talking to?”

Taken aback by the harshness to his tone, you falter momentarily before furrowing your brows. “Miya-san, I… I’m really confused right now.”

In spite of the short amount of time that you’ve worked at Onigiri Miya’s Tokyo location, you’ve classified your boss, Miya Osamu, to be a fairly quiet and polite man. In fact, it was his demure constitution that convinced you to apply for the store. With good hours and pleasant co-workers, it seemed like the perfect part-time job for a student like yourself.

“(Y/n), can you get out of the way—”

Scuttling to the side, you’re suddenly more confused as you move away from the curtain. As your boss steps into the front, he stops with a deadpan stare. You find yourself frozen in place. Because Miya-san is right in front of you. But, also… right behind you?

“Yer late, Tsumu.”

The other man sticks out his tongue at that. Osamu sneers. He blows a raspberry. Your boss proceeds to a sigh before gesturing at the other man.

“Sorry, (Y/n). This is my brother, Atsumu. Our mom dropped him on the head when he was a baby. He’s a fuckin’ scrub.”

“Who ya callin’ a scrub, ya scrub?”

“You, ya scrub!”

Atsumu gives an indignant grunt at that.

While you’re still sort of confused while watching this banter happen before your eyes, you offer a shallow bow to Atsumu. He gives a benign nod in reply. Sure, you can put two and two together — they’re definitely brothers — but are they… twins? It might be rude to ask since he doesn’t specify so you leave the question unspoken. After all, you and your sisters look like carbon copies and you’re not a set of triplets.

When neither of them offer you anything else and continue to dig at each other, you decide to get back to work. You give an apology to the table waiting for their food and make a point to refill their waters while you’re there. You waste a couple of minutes by wiping down couple of tables but once you finish up your rounds, you retreat to your spot behind the counter.

You don’t necessarily want to interrupt their conversation. Not only is it not your place to, you also don’t want to enter in Atsumu’s bubble. He’s kind of like a bomb you’re afraid to set off. But, when your boss disappears into the kitchen and his brother takes a seat at the bar, you realize that if you want anything else to do, you have to walk past him.

You try not to meet his eyes, but you can tell he’s staring at you.

“What’s yer name?” He finally asks.

Your eyes meet his, wide in surprise. His hooded eyes provide an unfriendly stare — more mocking then anything. You don’t really want to tell him but you do in the end.

“You a student?”

You nod.

“Stop lookin’ so scared.”

You apologize.

“Whatever.”

He turns away from you, successfully disinterested. With that, you escape to the back of the store. While it’s clear that Atsumu is handsome, he’s a little too pushy to be your type. It’s weird to imagine that he’s related to your boss. While you feel a sense of comfort working with Osamu, you feel particularly on-edge in the presence of his brother.

You pull down the brim of your hat as you scurry behind the curtain. Your face is flush; even redder than you think possible.

“Ah, (y/n),” Osamu chimes, elbow deep into the rice cooker. “You’re here.”

“Hello, Miya-san,” you mumble.

He looks up at your unnaturally diffused tone — his eyebrow quirks as he notices your red countenance. “Ya feelin’ alright?”

Embarassed that even Osamu can see the affect Atsumu has on you, you pull down your hat even further.

“It’s just a little warm!” You squeak.

Thankfully, Osamu leaves it at that.

He continues to work while he addresses you, “I guess you probably seen him outside, but don’t mind my brother too much. He’s got nothin’ better to do than hang out here until the season starts back up again.”

“The season?”

“He plays volleyball.”

Atsumu-san must be pretty useless if all he does is play volleyball, you find yourself musing. But, you nod at your boss’ words and create your resolve. Be nice to Atsumu-san, he’s a burden to society.

“Say — Do ya mind bringing that negitoro out for him?”

Despite the residual heat at your cheeks, you give him an affirmative reply (after all, it is your job) and bring out the dish for Atsumu. He raises a brow as you shuffle out — the look is a mirror-image of his brother’s a moment previous.

“Here’s your meal.” You awkwardly place the dish in front of him. “Enjoy.”

“Yer doing it again.”

Your eyes widen as you apologize.

He shakes his head, fixing you with a look. “My eyes up here, sweetheart.”

Your chest suddenly feels uncomfortably tight. Is this what it feels like to explode? Mustering all the courage you have in your body, you meet his level gaze. As your eyes meet his, you can feel yourself melt and its takes everything within you to keep your knees from buckling.

“You keep lookin’ at me like I’ll eat ya.” His tone comes off cheeky — watching you with hooded eyes. “I won’t y’know.”

You break eye-contact first.

“Uh… Um… I —” You bite your lip. “I heard you play volleyball.”

He crows and at that, you feel confident enough to look at him again. Thankfully, his eyes aren’t on you anymore.

He grins proudly. “I do.”

“Are you any good?”

He laughs again. “Really good, actually.” When he meets your eyes this time, you don’t flinch. “You should come watch me sometime.”

Surprisingly, your lips curve into a smile as you nod. “…I’d really like that.”

“Next game we play,” he promises.

Just like that, the tension melts away and the mood levels into a comfortable atmosphere. The next time he looks at you, you still feel weak at the knees and you think you might explode but it’s a feeling you want to get used to. 

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 : @akaashichigo @drainedjaz @haikkeiji @annalyn-annalyn @writingsbycrackhead @sosugasweet @cali-writes-sometimes @simping4ratsumu @shishinoya @from-left-to-write @akaashit-baeji @kxgeyamasmilk @agaassi @hanibuni @shinsukestan  (  cheese cult taglist  ) 

[sp00kworm]

Silence (Part 2)

Part 1 - A Bar Brawl

Part 3 - The Star Goddess (Bloodhound’s Ending)

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Pairing: Revenant x Gender Neutral/ Non-specified Reader

Warnings: Threats of Violence. 

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A Totem to Remember - Revenant’s Ending

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Loba’s debut seemed to attract more customers than you were ready to deal with. On the night of the test match, you had to refresh the beer kegs twice and you were almost out of a brand of whiskey known as the Red Devil. It was annoying, but you knew you had to refresh stock as you stacked freshly cleaned glasses back under the bar for the next day. Your bot in the back chimed happily as he opened his great washer stomach and offered you another tray of red hot, freshly cleaned glasses.

“Thanks buddy.” You cooed at the robot before taking the tray and patting his head with one hand. Spinning back around, you headed back out into the bar and hummed to yourself as you started moving towards the cabinet of tumblers. You held the tray on your hip as you plucked open the cabinet before carefully putting the glasses into their correct places, in order of size and shape. Mindlessly, your fingers moved on muscle memory as your little washer buddy moved to plug himself back in for the night, waving before he powered down and his battery began to charge. You patted him softly as you placed the tray away for him and turned to lock the kitchen for the night.

 The lights flickered. You looked at the ceiling before a gravelly voice spoke above you.

“You’re oblivious, skinbag.” Revenant purred from the ceiling.

You looked up and realised his face was close to your own, his arms extended, and his legs pinned into the metal of the ceiling. His body contorted monstrously before his head twisted and he dropped from the ceiling with a soft thump.

“What the hell are you doing on my ceiling, Revenant?” You tried to keep calm, but you were quick to fly into fury with the Simulacrum, “You don’t get to just waltz in here after…”

“You don’t get to waltz in here after what you’ve done.” He mimicked back at you with his hand snapping in your face, “Tell me something I haven’t heard before.” Revenant drawled as he looked at the whiskey behind you. He pointed a sharp finger at it, “Give me that.”

“Uh, no.” You gave an exasperated huff and snatched the liquor, “I suggest you pay for it first, plus, we’re closed.”

“I think you’re forgetting just how much money I’ve given you already, squishy.” Revenant purred, “I gave you a thousand credits last time I was here, that pays for more than seven of those whiskey bottles, I know they’re not that expensive.”

 With another hum, his metal fingers reached for a glass, snatching it before you could rescue that from him too.

“Okay. I don’t think you understand that you literally killed a man in my bar, and that your hush money doesn’t just sweep that under the rug.” You pointed a finger in his face angrily, “You pay, or you get out.”

The threat made him laugh. Revenant threw back his head and laughed a deep metallic noise, his mouth opening slightly to reveal the sparking copper inside of his mouth, “I like you. Not just anyone gets away with pointing a finger in my face.” He purred but his hand snapped up and grabbed hold of your wrist. Slowly, his cold sharp fingers crawled down your arm before they grabbed hold of your fingers and pushed, “But point it at me again and I’ll take the nail and skin off and pin your eyes open to watch.”

“This is not the way to get a free drink.” You uttered, in shock at the severity of his threat.

Revenant hummed again before his electronics whirred and he released your hand back to you, “Sure. You’re something odd, skinbag. Get me that drink, I need something to do.” It wasn’t polite nor happy, but you relented and opened the cabinet to retrieve his drink. The expensive liquor was strong, and you turned back around with it in your hand before undoing the screw cap and pouring it into an icy tumbler.

 Revenant eased himself into the bar stool, ignoring your disgruntled look as he took the tumbler and admired the dark colour of the whiskey. He swirled the liquid for a while before taking a small amount into his mouth and swallowing, his neck jarring with the pumps before he gave a small hiss.

“Nice burn.” He commented as he slumped over the bar and looked at the clock on the wall, hardly fazed by the lateness of his visit or how inconvenient he was being to you, “I see you’ve been making a killing with the games broadcasts.”

You didn’t know whether he was being genuine, “Well…I guess that money came in handy.” You shot back at him, “Blood money seems to have made my business flourish.”

“Sometimes money buys happiness.” Revenant drawled, “I got plenty of it. Just ask.”

“I don’t want your money.” You scoffed, “I’ve had plenty of that already.”

Revenant growled, “Then just what do you want from me?!” His fingers rapped along the bar top.

“If you didn’t get it, Revenant, I want you to get out and leave me alone!” You shouted.

 The Simulacrum watched you, his black and orange eyes bright before the orange went small and he snatched his drink back off the bar. He lifted it to the separation in his face where the skull like white met red and opened the hinge to dump the rest of the alcohol inside. Before you could snatch the expensive bottle away from him, he had it in his hand. Revenant said nothing to you as he held the bottle by his leg, his long arm popping upwards with a shrugging readjustment before he whipped around and headed to the door, stalking on long legs. He didn’t glance back as he stormed away, slamming the door behind him with a grunt before disappearing beyond the bright LEDs of the streetlamps and into the night. You looked at the bar and scoffed at the scratch marks down the wood, running your finger over them before you locked the door and shut off the lights to head up to your room above the bar for some well-earned rest.

 Revenant didn’t show up for the next few days. You were glad for the peace again as you ran through your normal daily routine, until it came to cleaning day for you little dishwasher friend. The robot unit chirped happily as you slapped at his dishwashing compartment and watched it open, the cogs and pistons whirring as the racks and doors stretched to their full capacity. Carefully you took a spanner and went to carefully unscrew the back of the water pipes from his back and laid them over the counter and into the sink to avoid any gross water dripping through onto the floor. The pipes smelled. You coughed as you reached for the cleaning fluid and whistled gently as you opened the back of the washing compartment to expose the hose outlets. The robot chimed a whistle as you poured the cleaner inside his belly and started scrubbing, whistling back softly as the suds started to foam up.

“You love cleaning time huh buddy?” You asked.

The robot chirped with a smiley face appearing on the screen which acted as its face.

“Hey, I know, I won’t be too long!” You promised as you took a wire wool to a particularly rough spot of dried grease. You continued to hum as you worked and poured the cleaning fluid down the water pipes to clean them.

 “Okay buddy, lets get these back attached to you.” The washing bot chirped and span for you again as you held his water pipes up and reached for your spanner to crank the bolts back into place.

“And…” You cranked the bolt one last time, settling it in place tightly, “There!” You declared, “Right, go and set yourself for a full rinse and you should feel like brand new!”

The robot chirped and tugged himself into the corner again before starting his cycle. A happy face trundled across his screen as he started the timer for his cycle and plugged himself back into to the charging point to continue the wash in sleep mode.

“See you in a bit buddy.” You patted his washing compartment and headed back into the bar, wiping your hands on a towel before you looked at the empty place and the bright sunshine outside. You weren’t open just yet. It was too early for serving and you felt tiredness seep into your eyes as you looked for the coffee machine. It was usually only used for Expresso Martinis. It needed water and you took the coffee jar and filled it before pouring it into the machine and looking through just what you fancied to drink. If anything had come out of the war, it was the new, expansive range of hot drinks. Tea from far off planets you had never heard of. You plucked free one box with a curious looking fruit on the front before taking the strainer and filling it with the leaves and letting the hot water drip through into the large pot.

 As you watched the water drip, you heard a noise above you. The clink of metal. The barest noise of a scrape of metal over plaster. Slowly, you peered upwards. Nothing. The ceiling was its normal, usual painted colour, the metal support beams poking out of the plaster. You frowned but looked back at your tea. There was another noise. Metal scraping over each other. The noise was coming from behind the closed door to the kitchen. You left the tea unattended and reached for the door handle, pressing the pad to open it with a whirr of mechanical locks. It clunked open. Nothing. Your washing robot chirped at you in confusion his screen flashing with a question mark across his face before you smiled, trying to ease his nerves.

“Hey, don’t panic. I just thought I heard something…” You trailed off as you looked past your washing robot and into the room. Nothing was out of place.

It was then that your washing bot gave a strangled beep and danced away from where he was attached to the wall, pulling the water pipes tight as he beeped in upset.

 “Pah.” A silver clawed hand retracted up back on top of the fridge after taking a rude swipe at your friend, “Stupid tin-can.” Revenant hissed from the giant chrome refrigerator, flashing his claws back at the robot once more.

“How the fuck did you even get in here?” You asked as you looked up at the Simulacrum, “I told you not to come back.”

Revenant’s body contorted on the top of the fridge, his head twisting to the side as his orange eyes span and swirled in the shadows, “I know.” He rumbled, “I…” He went silent as his pistons clicked and he slid over the top of the furniture and down onto the floor with a click and a hiss.

“You what? You needed another bottle of whiskey?” You challenged.

Revenant stood to his full height, looming over you, the joints of his fingers clicking before he gave a grunt, “Something like that.” He rumbled as he looked down at you before he looked back at your washing bot and flexed his shoulders, “I didn’t know you had company.”

 Suddenly, that tension was gone, and Revenant stepped past you to flash his hand at the other robot again. It was a threat perhaps, but your washing robot chirped unhappily again.

“Stupid bag of bolts.” Revenant grumbled at it.

“Hey.” You intervened, “Leave him alone. He’s just a washing bot.” You grabbed Revenant’s arm.

It was like the Simulacrum froze in time, his eyes glaring down at the place where your fingers wrapped around the metal. With a snort, Revenant tugged his arm free from your grip.

“It’s just a washing bot, like you said.” Revenant stalked from the kitchen, his mechanical legs thumping softly as he went. As he left you made sure your friend was safe. Beyond a small nick at the base of his neck he was fine. You nudged him back into his power station to continue his cycles in sleep mode.

 You followed Revenant into the bar to see him picking through your cabinet again, his metal fingers tapping along the labels of the liquors as he decided back to pluck from your reserves.

“What happened to the rest of that posh stuff?” Revenant asked with a hum as he looked through the back of the cabinet.

“You had the last bottle. The supplier hasn’t been in a while.” You watched him look back before he selected another expensive looking bottle. This time it was tequila. You didn’t say anything as he took it out and eyed the label before disappearing into the corner of your bar, slinking into the booth farthest away from you in silence. The Simulacrum didn’t glance back at you as he cracked open the bottle and placed the glass neck between his metal jaws before tipping his head back and emptying a good portion of the alcohol into his synthetic stomach. You watched with a small cringe as he seemed unfazed by the burning liquor. His orange eyes snapped to you as you watched him from the bar.

 His gravelly voice carried well across the room, gracing your ears with the deeply pissed off timbre, “What are you looking at?” Revenant asked with a roll of his optics, “I’m not going to steal anything.” He rumbled.

You watched him for a moment before replying, “I’m more concerned why you want to be here.”

Revenant looked you dead in the eyes as his mechanical thumb stroked the label of the bottle, “Call it a whim, whatever. It’s quiet and there isn’t that annoying Andrade brat. Don’t go thinking anything different. You tell them where I am, and I’ll take great pleasure in making you squeal like the little meatsack you are.”

“You know. There’s no need to threaten me with a good time every time you come in here.” This was a new tactic, and you watched his optics twitch from his bottle to your face.

“Are you making fun of me, skinsuit?” Revenant growled, his two metal jaws parting slightly to reveal the sheen of copper in his mouth with an angry snarl.

“Hardly.” You scoffed, “Fine.” You relented as you headed for the light switch, “Stay here, but I’m going to bed. Enjoy your pity party.” With a snap of the lights, you walked back into the kitchen and to the back staircase to your own apartment. You made sure to lock the door firmly before stripping off for a shower and heading to bed.

 Revenant peered into the darkness with a hum, his fingers tapping along the table before he tugged the bottle of liquor closer and snapped on the holoscreen in the corner, searching for something to fill the noise in the dark bar with outside of his own memories playing over and over again behind his eyes.

 “Skinsuit.” There was a grunt before the bed shook and dipped either side of your body, “Skinsuit!”

With a jolt you woke up, just to come face to face with the skull-head of Revenant and a sneer.

“Finally. I thought I was going to have to choke you awake.” Revenant grumbled as he peered over you, his legs splayed like a spider either side of you as he looked down at you tucked into the covers. His hands pulled back from either side of your head and you watched him flash his claws as he sat back, still perched over your legs, looming like a deranged killer.

“Do I need to ask why you’re up in my room?” You asked groggily, wiping sleep from your eyes as Revenant watched you sit up with great interest. The Simulacrum purred, a low rumbling from somewhere in his throat, as you met him face to face, glaring at his orange and black eyes.

 “Your little washing bot is screaming downstairs. It sounds horrendous.” Revenant didn’t move away, his skeletal nose rushing with air as he inhaled the smell of you.

“If you did something Revenant…”

“You’ll what? You’ll kill me?” He wheezed a great laugh as his claws dragged at your sheets, “Good luck with that, skinsuit. There’s millions of bodies just waiting for me to be reuploaded into them.” He snarled before rasping again as his arms and legs whirred into downwards positions, allowing him to snap, flip and crawl off your bed in one, bizarrely fluid motion before he clicked back into place and stood over the side of your bed with another, odd, calculating rumble.  

 You decided to ignore his snide remark and bitter tone, “Is he malfunctioning?” You asked as you threw back the covers and climbed out of bed to face the Simulacrum. He was intimidating at nearly seven feet tall but slim and streamlined with the ability to move silently at will despite being made from entirely heavy bulletproof metal. He looked down at you, his metal lips parted, unimpressed with your pyjamas covered in small Nesse prints.

“Not a clue.” His orange eyes looked you up and down before he strolled over to look through your desk.

“Hey, asshole.” You snapped at him as he tugged a thick looking document from a fat wad of paper, “No one invited you to look through my things.”

Revenant chuckled, “No. They didn’t…” He pulled open one of the drawers underneath him and hummed at the pens and random assortments of stationary in there, “A penis pen.” He held the phallic pen between his fingers, “Practical.”

 You ignored his taunting swaying of the pen back and forth and hastened down the stairs towards the sound of your screaming washing bot. As you opened the door to the bar kitchen you ducked as a pot came flying towards your head. It clattered against the wall and smashed into several pieces. You avoided the shards as you pushed into the kitchen and saw the pipes spraying water down onto the floor and the robot trying to slam his front closed.

“Oh my…” You didn’t finish your sentence as he caught sight of you and screamed again, the screen in his stomach covered with crying faces as he rushed towards you, holding the severed and burst pipes in one hand and his drawer closed with the other. He screeched again waving the dripping pipes in front of you before shrinking behind your form, ducking as low as it could get as Revenant filled the entrance way into the kitchen.

 His raspy laugh made you scowl. Revenant slinked in through the doorway and set about scratching his claws along the tiles, making a noise that was so ear grating you had to clench your teeth.

“I didn’t expect for him to piss all over your floor, I’ll admit.” The Simulacrum laughed, harshly and entirely mean.

“I knew you had something to do with this!” You pointed a finger in his face, “Why can’t you just leave me alone?! Why do you have to insist on being foul for a reaction?” Your anger seethed out of you as you hid your little robot behind you.

Revenant sneered, “You’re no fun, skinsuit.” He snarled before he snagged the pipes from your robot’s hands and grabbed the mechanical washing bot along the floor, kicking and screaming. His claws crunched into the metal of the washer bot’s shoulder as he pulled it towards the wall it had previously been stationed at. It wiggled violently before Revenant heaved it up and held the pipes up before driving them together with a metallic thunk. The connectors clicked back together easily, and the washing robot beeped confusedly as Revenant stood him against the wall and banged on the front of his tummy, slamming the door closed with a vicious thump of his metal palm. The door remained closed and the washing robot chirped in confusion.

 You looked at the floor and then back to Revenant as he trudged back through the puddles of water and loomed over you again. He gave a long, low, robotic chuckle as he spun his hand and curled the claws towards his palm.

“I fixed your issue.” He stated with a look at his claws before he snapped them into a spike and made sure to push you back against the door, “Your welcome, skinsuit.”

You felt anger boil in your gut, “What? Do you want me to thank you or something?” You spat as you looked up at the unnatural orange optics. They span, the robotic pupils clicking as he focused on your face and the anger that painted your expression.

Revenant’s fingers curled into the wall, “Something like that.” He whispered as he stared at the anger on your face, “I didn’t do this, before you blame me.” With a scoff, he released you from the wall and sauntered through the puddles of water towards the back door, “Nice seeing you…” He turned to look at you, his headscarf rippling in the breeze, “You look nice when you sleep.”

“FREAK!” You screamed after him as he disappeared up the smooth concrete wall and over the next building with a hiss of pistons.

 Your washing bot chirped sadly and held out his hands to you with a shake. You looked and spotted the spanner in his hands as he sheepishly rubbed his washing compartment.

“Well. At least I don’t have to bill him for this as well…but maybe I will to spite the bastard.” You considered as you carefully took a towel to your friend and then grumbled, wading across the kitchen to find the mop to get rid of the rest of the puddles.

 Revenant seemed to lurk in the corners of your vision after that, always sat in the back of the bar, with some bottle of hard liquor and a deadly, judgemental gaze turned on the rest of the patrons. Those who knew him from the Apex Games did not dare approach him. He took great pleasure in launching a young man over the table once from a handshake, laughing as he stalked over to him and signed his name on the boy’s cheek in his own blood. You had promptly doubled his price for drinks that night, but the Simulacrum did not complain, he paid at closing and disappeared into the night. Sometimes he lurked after closing time. More often than not, you found him glaring down at your washing bot as the robot thrust a mop at him to try and get him off the cupboards or fridges. Angry beeps were then met with your angry glares. For some reason, Revenant adored the look. Anger furrowing your brows and a snarl on your lips made him feel smug, almost joyful. He was positively gleeful when he was tormenting you.

 However, the bar was shut for the workers day, a holiday for most of the city, and Revenant was left without his normal activities to entertain himself. He stalked around his room for a while, jumping and reaching for items he had hung from his ceiling as exercise before he looked at the charging port and bed. There was nothing else in his room. A spare scarf was hung in the wardrobe along with the scraps of a suit he had taken great pleasure in peeling apart in front of the other legends before a conference. With a huff he opened the ventilation shaft and rotated his spinal column before his shoulders snapped and tucked in close underneath his arms, allowing for him to fit into the vent and scuttle along to the next room. Noxious fumes made him pause, but with another slow filtration of air he scoffed and opened the grate on the other side.

“Mercury won’t rot my insides, Nox.” His head turned one hundred and eighty degrees before his body followed in a contortion of metal, spilling out and rotating on top of Alexander’s glassware cabinet.

Caustic looked at him with vicious cold green eyes, “I’ve yet to find anything but charged copper dispersals that will have an effect.” He uttered softly, clinical and effective as he opened his filtration systems and watched the mercury vapours swirl away into the chambers above, “Why are you bothering me, Simulacrum?”

Revenant lowered his head over the side of the cabinet, “I smelt rotten eggs. Sulfur. But maybe you just passed gas.” He jeered as he watched Caustic cork the rest of the reaction and pull another yet of heavy metals from a rack alongside various acids.

“Maybe hydrofluoric acid will make you quieter?” Caustic hissed, “I’m working.”

“I know.” Revenant hummed from the cabinet, “But you’re not that busy.” He dragged his claws over the top of the metal with a laugh.

 Caustic closed the arm opening of his experimental chamber with a slam as he peeled free his gloves in order to point a scarred finger at the Simulacrum, “You never come in here unless you’re bored.” He observed as he removed his goggles and respirator, “And that isn’t often…Not after you found that little toy to play with. Did Bloodhound not warn you off enough with that slice to your oil recycler?”

Revenant growled from the cabinet as he leaned over the top, leering at the Chemist underneath him, “It was fucking ugly bleeding shit down my legs but there’s always another body for me…Bloodhound didn’t heal to quickly from my blow I think.” He flashed his claws and hummed as he tucked himself back on the unit, far out of Caustic’s reach, “Besides. That feral brat doesn’t tell me what to do.”

“No but they might be inclined to give you another cut for harassing a…what do you call them…skinsuit?” Alexander’s eyes lit up with silent glee as he watched Revenant click and adjust on top of his glassware cabinet.

“Carry on old man and I’ll show you just what I did to Bloodhound.” Revenant hissed as he laid over the top, his metal legs hanging down over Caustic’s head.

 Caustic binned his gloves and hung his goggles after washing them before he turned on the air conditioning and moved back towards his desk, “I have no desire to taste steel today. So,” He span in his chair, his rectangle frame glasses perched on the end of his nose, “Are you going to tell me what you’re here for? Evidently your little toy isn’t around to entertain you today.”

Revenant propped his head up on his arm, tapping a claw against the metal beneath his eye before he rumbled, “Its…boring.” With a small sigh he looked down at Caustic, “I didn’t think I could feel but its exciting to watch them, like a little rat running around. A little angry rat.”

Alexander was turned back to his desk, working over something before he replied, “You might be an illegally made conscious robot but you will still carry humanity…even if your programming was once to kill.” He shrugged up at the robot, “Perhaps you are having a mild fascination? Infatuation if you will. I can’t say I have felt it myself… The idea of such intimacy disgusts me, but perhaps you are more human than you originally thought?” Glee laced Caustic’s tone as he smirked up at Revenant.

Anger churned in Revenant’s processors, “Human am I.” He slipped from the cabinet and slid in one movement, grabbing for Caustic’s throat.

 His fingers were cold, but Caustic let him grapple from the chair. The Chemist was far shorter than him but was large, bulky and strong despite his love for poisonous gases.

“Did I hit a nerve?” He asked with a laugh and a wheeze which was followed by a cough.

Revenant looked down at him, orange eyes swirling before he leaned close to Caustic’s face, “Compare me to you soft bellied sacks of skin again and I’ll slice you from groin to neck just for the fun of it…Then maybe I’ll show your little apprentice what you look like.”

“I dare you to try Simulacrum.” Caustic whispered before he pried the robotic hand off his throat and sat back down in his chair, slicking his hair back with a huff, “Why not just ask to see them?”  

“Pah.” Revenant’s joints clicked as he climbed back onto the cabinet, “Like I want to see them.” He hissed, “They do nothing but tell me to leave.”

“Have you considered that is because you are foul?!” Caustic shouted as he leaned back to see Revenant disappear back into the vent, “Idiotic fool.” He cursed softly before erasing the measurements for the next reactions he had planned.

 Days suddenly past without Revenant in the corner of the bar. Your washing buddy seemed quiet and contemplative without having to beat him off the countertops, and you found yourself slowly relaxing until it was concerning. The Simulacrum was never gone for long. It was a week since before you knew it and you knew they were still in the downtime between seasons. He had no reason for being gone. You caught yourself one night as you worried about where he had gotten to.

“Probably finally got what was coming to him for that big mouth.” You whispered as you took the cleaned glasses from your robot and began to place them away.

The door opened with a creak and you huffed, “We’re closed!” You shouted over your shoulder, “I swore I turned the sign around…”

There was no one in the bar. You scowled as you opened the bar door and walked towards the entrance where the door was propped open an inch or so, letting the warm air into the bar.

“Hello?” You asked quietly as you opened the door and peered outside.

“Skinsuit.” Revenant hummed from above you.

 You peered upwards and felt a sense of relief wash over you as you gazed into the orange eyes of the sour looking Simulacrum above you. His head turned, much like a bird, as he regarded you.

“You’ve been gone a while.” You commented idly as you stood outside the door. Your foot hit the pavement and the Simulacrum held up one silver finger.

He pointed down at your foot, “I think you just stood on something.”

You jumped when cardboard crumpled and something rattled around in the box, sending it shooting towards the taxi rails. With a rush you grabbed for the box and frowned at the largeness of it.

“Why did you get me an animal?” You asked as you heaved the box to the front door, eyeing the air holes stamped in the side.

“Call it an investment.” He grunted as he dropped from your roof and stood behind you, watching with eager eyes as you carefully opened the lid.

 A growl sounded from within and you jumped back at the sight of the small Prowler cub pacing back and forth in the box.

“REVENANT, WHAT THE FUCK?!” You screeched as the Prowler cub scrambled from the box and hissed, flaring the bare bones of its frills at you, trying to appear intimidating.

“No need to shout. You’ll scare the little guy.” Revenant insisted as he closed the door, “I found him is all. Thought you might like it. Kings Canyon…well its not great but if you head into the jungles of Leviathan there’s still some of these things that survived the purging of the planet.”

“How did you even find one?” You asked as the cub rushed underneath a table, quivering and hissing sadly, “They’re…endangered.”

“It was stuck in a pit. Probably game hunters. I nabbed it. Its weedy and pathetic looking so I thought you might like it.” He shrugged, “I can’t keep animals in the tower so he’s yours.”

You stood silently for a moment, trying to figure out just what the gift meant. That Revenant trusted you? That he thought about you? You didn’t know what to make of it.

 “Are you going to pay for the food?” You asked with a smirk aimed at the Simulacrum stood over you.

The seven-foot robot gave a single, dry laugh before he held up a large bag, “Way ahead of you, skinsuit.” He reached in and pulled out a heavy looking metal dish, “Don’t give me that look.” He gestured to your face, “So happy, doing that thing with your little beady eyes. Its revolting.” With a scoff he pushed past you and headed towards the cowering cub before plucking it from the floor, ignoring the black teeth snapping at him as he pulled at its frill and admired the deep blue and orange colours along his back.

“Hey.” You cautiously approached, “Put him back on the floor, I have a good idea on how to win him over.” You gestured to Revenant who rolled his eyes but dropped the cub with a huff and grabbed a bottle of liquor to watch from the bar as you took off your sweater and gently eased it under the table.

 The Prowler ignored you, mouth agape and dark under its neck. Next you took the food bowel and pulled out the food Revenant had gathered. A small amount of cubed beef was enough, and you placed it in his bowl before filling the other and leaving for the bar.

“Really? That’s it?” He droned, “How boring. I thought you might wrestle it and get eaten alive.” He trailed his fingers over the wood, “Now what?”

“We leave him alone. He needs to settle in. Its all new and traumatic.” You insisted as the cub took a sniff of your sweater and laid in the mass with a sad whimper.

“How dull…Maybe he’ll chew through a pipe in the night.” Revenant wondered as he tipped his head back and poured some liquor into his mouth.

“Hopefully not…but thank you. I didn’t think you were capable of being nice.” You whispered as you watched the Prowler bed himself down.

“Don’t get used to it.” Revenant snapped, but without as much of his usual bite, “It might come back to bite you.”

“Well, it very well might. Look at his teeth.” You joked, for once feeling at ease with the murderous robot in the room.

Revenant only gave another series of dry laughs.

“Demonio.” You cooed at the small cub as he attacked a hunk of meat with talons and teeth. It chewed on its back teeth before its ears pricked behind the frill around his neck.

“Demonio.” You cooed once again and the Prowler looked at you with a grumbling chirp, licking the blood from around its mouth as it eyed the small, marrow filled bone in your palm, “Come on boy.” You wiggled the bone back and forth as the orange eyes tracked your hand along its course.

“Do you like making fun of me?” Revenant grumbled from his seat at the edge of the bar, “That damn brat is the only one who calls me that.” He hissed.

Demonio eyed the bone before he got to his feet and prowled over before licking at your fingers. He took a nip before waiting for the bone.

“Good boy.” You reached with your other hand and touched his frill, gently running your hand down his nose before you gave him the bone and stood up to head back to Revenant.

 “He seems fonder of you.” Revenant observed with a hum, “Almost like a soft little dog.” He spat at the cub, “How delightfully boring.”

“Maybe, but I appreciate not being bitten by him anymore.” You answered as you looked back at the Prowler. He was already growing, and you were more than happy to look after him, but he was going to get large, “Even if he might outgrow me one day…well and maybe try to eat me at any moment.” You huffed.

Revenant snorted, “Ha. Maybe he will, but I’m sure Predators are less inclined to eat people they like.”

You looked at the Simulacrum, “Is that why I’m still alive?” It was barely a whisper, “Because you like making my life miserable?”

 Revenant looked taken aback, his orange eyes turning into pinpoints as he considered his next words, “Miserable…No.” His metal jaws clicked, “You’re the only person that can make me laugh.”

Those words were heavy, and you watched him struggle for a moment with himself, “I don’t understand anything. I was programmed to kill for…I don’t know. A long time. This is new for me and I have hated every second of feeling more than I did being nothing but a slaughter machine.” He growled.

“You should call me by my name then.” You smiled as you said it for him, and the Simulacrum nodded once before repeating it back to you and turning to watch Demonio gnaw on his bone.

“Oh,” Revenant looked back at you and you poured him another drink, “For the record, I like you as well Revenant.” You smiled as you sat down next to him and watched Demonio work on his bone a little longer.

 “Demonio!” You rushed after the Prowler as he launched himself at a customer. He was now a juvenile, and the hound like beast was quick to dislike anyone that touched you over the bar. You kept him behind the bar, but the creature was quick to jump at people that took hold of you. Revenant laughed from the end of the bar, tucked in the shadows of the wall as he ran his claws back and forth over the bar, “He knows people shouldn’t touch what isn’t there’s.” The Simulacrum sneered as the patron whipped around to look at him.

“Oh yeah, you metal fucker? What are you saying?”

“That your disgusting little skin sack hands don’t deserve to be near ‘em.” Revenant’s fingers snapped together, the fusion metal slamming together as he raised himself over the bar, spun and stuck up against the ceiling over the man, “Maybe I’ll take more than your hand like the hound would.” He ran the sharp spear of his hand down the man’s cheek, “I think your innards would make a lovely adornment to my mantle.”

“Revenant.” You tugged the hand away, “Enough.” You hissed at him, “Sir, I’m sorry for the drama…”

“Save it. I’m out of here.” He shoved his drink over the side and rushed to the door, “Bunch of fucking weirdos.” He snarled as he left.

 The night drew to a close and Revenant spent the rest of the opening hours sulking in the back of the bar, alone on a table, with his feet propped up on the metal, his drink untouched as he watched the patrons with a vicious glare.

“Revenant.” You uttered as Demonio pattered along behind you, his frill flared as he dragged his tug rope for play time, “Are we going to talk about what happened, or are you going to sulk forever?” You asked as you sat across from him, pushing his feet to the side in order to see his gaunt metal face.

The Simulacrum snorted, “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Oh, there is.” You huffed, “You threatened to kill a man tonight who grabbed hold of my hand.” You sat back as Demonio pushed his head into your lap and you rubbed the scaley skin around his ears.

“Is there? I wasn’t aware that it was a problem.” Revenant moved his feet from the table, “He was an asshole. I won’t apologise for my actions.”

“I’m not…”

“And I sure as hell won’t be giving you money for his drinks..”

“Will you shut up and listen?” You snapped.

 Revenant felt anger threaten to spill over, but he slumped back in his seat as you pushed your finger down against the wood and scowled. He watched you with a huff.

“You’re lashing out and I want to know why.” You demanded, “From day one you were horrible. A cruel and mean machine that wanted nothing but to inconvenience me every day, but now you’re…giving me gifts. You’re here constantly and you just…You stopped me from getting a very horrible string of abuse. So, explain this to me, because I’m at a loss.”

Revenant was silent. His chassis was still and his wiring and pistons clunked as though he was being jolted back to life. He opened his hand on the table and dared to reach for one of your own. Smooth, cold metal fingers grazed your fingertips before they gingerly moved up and over your palm to stroke the soft skin. His orange eyes watched the pulse in your wrist before he linked the fingers once, squeezing tightly before he moved away again and guarded himself, crossing his arms out of your reach.

 “I…” He paused again, “I care for you.” That was it, he was silent again, his eyes watching you as you took in the meaning of the words he had dared to utter.

“Care for me?” You whispered back at him.

Anger laced him once again, “Yes, you stupid skinsuit! I might even feel something like love or joy!” He hollered as he flashed his claws and scraped them against one another, “Its infuriating and…And it hurts!” He threw his hand at the wall, “It hurts because I know I’m nothing but a giant killing machine! I’m stained in so much blood I could swim in it and nothing can ever make you love a disgusting creature like me!” Revenant heaved, almost like a human, his spinal column lurching as he screamed in frustration again and moved to stand up.

Like a viper, you grabbed at his hand and tugged, hard enough to jolt his fingers, but he was unfazed. He towered over you and watched, looking down at you with lonely eyes as his fingers dared, once again, to wrap around your own, seeking the heat they no longer possessed. He uttered your name, once, softly, as though he wasn’t allowed to say it, and then he looked you in the eyes.

 “That week you didn’t show up was like torture.” You said carefully, “For the first time, I was actually worried about you. It was then that I realised I liked having you around. Everything you did it was not to piss me off… well it was, but you haven’t had to speak or make friends with someone in so long, you just forgot how to do it anymore.” You felt your hand begin to shake in his, “But then the gifts started, and you thought about them. I said I wanted a dog one day, and well Demonio isn’t a dog but he’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever been given…So,” You smiled at him, “What I’m trying to say is that I think I might love you too.”

Revenant’s hand fell from your own and he looked to the wall for a moment before replying, “You really think you can love me?” He whispered, appearing small despite his towering height.

“Yes, I think I can.” You affirmed before leaning up to wrap your arms around him. The Simulacrum flinched before wrapping his thin, cold arms around you, taking in the warmth of the hug before pressing his face to your neck and humming at the gentle sensation of a kiss against his cheek.

“What was that for?” He asked quietly.

“Because I love you.” You whispered as you hugged him tighter.