[ hemlock closes at three, so there should be more than enough time to accommodate him. in any case, when bradley arrives, shylock is right at the counter where he always is, polishing a wineglass with the usual serene smile on his face. there are less patrons at this time of night, which should be more than ideal for the both of them. ]
[ he arrives very soon, as he was already on his neck of the woods looking for the bar. he walks in and immediately plops himself on the counter, grunting. ]
…You don't change even in hell, huh? Opening a bar and shit.
Of course. I established Hemlock a month after I arrived here. Tamamo culture has always reminded me of the West, so you could say that I feel right at home all ready.
Whatever's your strongest. Anything that could take me out as soon as possible.
[ he just wants to Not exist for a little… though that’s a tall order considering his incredibly high tolerance for alcohol that shylock is quite aware of. ]
[ shylock huffs out a chuckle. the wine cabinet behind him opens, and out flies a bottle of one of his strongest vodkas. nothing too fancy as it pours itself into a glass and lands in front of bradley. ]
I suppose I stand corrected. Did you not like your faction?
[ don't kick him when he's down… he only knows how to speak roughly but he doesn't mean anything by it. he'll down it all in one go just as he said he would, setting down the empty glass in front of him. ]
…You didn't change. I didn't change, either. Then how come other people did? …It makes no fucking sense.
[ you think he wouldn't give up his arm to get nero to stop beating himself up and be neurotypical for once?? because he would. he would also give his remaining arm to make himself stop loving nero - not because he wants to, but because nero wants him to. ]
Hah. You think anyone could stop likin’ me?
[ he says it in a haughty, rhetorical way, but… he's really asking. he pushes his empty glass towards shylock again. ]
Murr would never. No matter how much I train him, he'll always do whatever he wants... That's one aspect of him that I can never control.
[ why did he have to put it that way? because it's pretty much that. ]
If you want this certain person to be at your every beck and call, just do what I did. [ he jests. maybe. not everyone can read shylock's true intentions, after all. ] But I won't guarantee that it'll work.
[ but as weird as shylock is, he's one of the few wizards bradley actually likes. gross. terribly slim pickings. he reaches for the glass finally, gulping it down in one go again. it takes him a few seconds to continue. ]
...I said something stupid. Something I've never said out loud. It was fucking horrible to hear myself say it, but he dismissed it like it was nothin'. I didn't make a big deal out of it 'cause he's a spineless coward and he woulda cried on the spot, but I wish I could take it back.
[ he's making it sound more dramatic than it was, but showing vulnerability and admitting that he doesn't want to live alone? probably the worst thing that could happen to a northern wizard. he might as well have shot himself in the head. the second best thing is to come here and hope shylock poisons him. ]
[ that's the first thing shylock zooms in on. chuckling, he summons his pipe with a flick of his wrist, taking a long drag from it as he thinks. bradley really is being dramatic about all this, isn't he? it's rather unlike him; usually it's the twins who would ramp up the drama, not the sanbaka. ]
This spineless coward you were talking about... He's here, isn't he? It'd be easy for me to figure out who it is, considering that you'd only just arrived here.
[ incredibly easy, not that shylock doesn't already know. what if he just wants bradley to say it outright? ]
For someone like you who wished you could take it back -- you must love him, don't you?
[ as long as he doesn't say his name, there's plausible deniability, but he doesn't like how know-it-all shylock has to sound about it. he glares at him, daring him to not say a word or Else.
but his bravado falters the moment shylock says the l word. bradley doesn't think about that and never bothered naming his feelings, so it's both shocking and offensive to hear it in such plain terms. scary, too. mostly scary. ]
Shut up. You don't know shit.
[ says, even though shylock knows everything. he'll continue in what will feel like a sudden change of topic even though it's really not - not in his head, anyway. but also a little bit because let's not talk about love, ever. ]
...These "apartments" or whatever... they're fucking stupid. No self-respecting Northern wizard would take something given to them. We take it by force or not at all. Of course you and the others wouldn't get it.
[ his smile widens. northern wizards may be universally feared, sure, but there's nothing like being read by western wizards that makes the skin crawl at times. bradley and nero's conversations on the app may be available to be read by everyone, but who's to say that shylock read it? he's a tad too busy and he doesn't often try to use technology if he can help it.
but who knows, really :)
anyway! shylock goes along the topic change just as well. ]
Well, you'll need a roof over your head whether you like it or not. Is it any different from taking residence in the Manor despite our initial protests?
[ his tone also sounds wistful as he agrees with brad. ]
I miss them too. But we must try not to be too homesick, else our magic will go awry. After all, the heart wants what it wants, whether we like it or not.
As a matter of fact, [ shylock this time locks eyes with bradley. ] I don't mind. You might find this surprising, Bradley, but I do have my moments of solitude. And sometimes, I might even prefer them than being in crowds of people.
We wizards are all too accustomed to loneliness, after all.
[ he looks at him only because shylock is defying him with his eyes, not because he wants to. but then he says the thing about loneliness and he doesn’t know how to react. being lonely and being a social creature forced into over a century of loneliness are very different things.
eventually, he looks away. shylock is free therapy but at what cost? he clicks his tongue, annoyed. mostly at himself. ]
You'd still rather live with him than not. [ tch. he’s jealous. ] …Maybe I should kill him and move in with you instead.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 06:43 pm (UTC)i’m heading there right now
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 06:53 pm (UTC)[ hemlock closes at three, so there should be more than enough time to accommodate him. in any case, when bradley arrives, shylock is right at the counter where he always is, polishing a wineglass with the usual serene smile on his face. there are less patrons at this time of night, which should be more than ideal for the both of them. ]
Acclimating to the hell life, I presume?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 06:56 pm (UTC)…You don't change even in hell, huh? Opening a bar and shit.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 07:03 pm (UTC)[ he sets the wineglass down. ]
Now, what would you like to have?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 07:06 pm (UTC)[ he just wants to Not exist for a little… though that’s a tall order considering his incredibly high tolerance for alcohol that shylock is quite aware of. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 07:11 pm (UTC)I suppose I stand corrected. Did you not like your faction?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 07:15 pm (UTC)[ …oh, that. he doesn't really pay attention to whatever is happening there. ]
…Sure. Let’s go with that.
[ he picks up the glass, and right before he drinks it, he looks at shylock. ]
I can't pay you yet, though. That better not be a problem ‘cause I'm drinking this anyway.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 07:19 pm (UTC)We'll see about that.
[ just because they're sage's wizards doesn't mean bradley's going to get preferential treatment??? only murr gets that.
he lets bradley drink his fill, the bar falling into a comforting silence. ]
Now, tell me what's truly ailing you.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 07:27 pm (UTC)…You didn't change. I didn't change, either. Then how come other people did? …It makes no fucking sense.
[ “other people”. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 07:39 pm (UTC)There were certain circumstances that were out of our control. I of all people would know.
[ a bitter smile crosses his elegant features. ]
Did you not like them anymore? Or is it the other way around?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 07:47 pm (UTC)Hah. You think anyone could stop likin’ me?
[ he says it in a haughty, rhetorical way, but… he's really asking. he pushes his empty glass towards shylock again. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-15 11:15 am (UTC)I don't know. Do you?
[ haha, take that. time to pour him another glass, then. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-15 12:29 pm (UTC)………I dunno. Gettin' mixed signals is way worse than being outright rejected.
[ he lifts his gaze from the glass back to meet shylock's eyes. ]
Not that you'd know. You have a stupid cat sucking up to you all the time no matter what.
[ okay maybe that's not exactly what’s going on between shylock and murr but let him have this for a moment. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-15 11:10 pm (UTC)Murr would never. No matter how much I train him, he'll always do whatever he wants... That's one aspect of him that I can never control.
[ why did he have to put it that way? because it's pretty much that. ]
If you want this certain person to be at your every beck and call, just do what I did. [ he jests. maybe. not everyone can read shylock's true intentions, after all. ] But I won't guarantee that it'll work.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-15 11:32 pm (UTC)Man, you're so creepy.
[ but as weird as shylock is, he's one of the few wizards bradley actually likes. gross. terribly slim pickings. he reaches for the glass finally, gulping it down in one go again. it takes him a few seconds to continue. ]
...I said something stupid. Something I've never said out loud. It was fucking horrible to hear myself say it, but he dismissed it like it was nothin'. I didn't make a big deal out of it 'cause he's a spineless coward and he woulda cried on the spot, but I wish I could take it back.
[ he's making it sound more dramatic than it was, but showing vulnerability and admitting that he doesn't want to live alone? probably the worst thing that could happen to a northern wizard. he might as well have shot himself in the head. the second best thing is to come here and hope shylock poisons him. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-15 11:40 pm (UTC)[ that's the first thing shylock zooms in on. chuckling, he summons his pipe with a flick of his wrist, taking a long drag from it as he thinks. bradley really is being dramatic about all this, isn't he? it's rather unlike him; usually it's the twins who would ramp up the drama, not the sanbaka. ]
This spineless coward you were talking about... He's here, isn't he? It'd be easy for me to figure out who it is, considering that you'd only just arrived here.
[ incredibly easy, not that shylock doesn't already know. what if he just wants bradley to say it outright? ]
For someone like you who wished you could take it back -- you must love him, don't you?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-15 11:54 pm (UTC)but his bravado falters the moment shylock says the l word. bradley doesn't think about that and never bothered naming his feelings, so it's both shocking and offensive to hear it in such plain terms. scary, too. mostly scary. ]
Shut up. You don't know shit.
[ says, even though shylock knows everything. he'll continue in what will feel like a sudden change of topic even though it's really not - not in his head, anyway. but also a little bit because let's not talk about love, ever. ]
...These "apartments" or whatever... they're fucking stupid. No self-respecting Northern wizard would take something given to them. We take it by force or not at all. Of course you and the others wouldn't get it.
[ maybe owen would but fuck owen. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-16 10:04 am (UTC)[ his smile widens. northern wizards may be universally feared, sure, but there's nothing like being read by western wizards that makes the skin crawl at times. bradley and nero's conversations on the app may be available to be read by everyone, but who's to say that shylock read it? he's a tad too busy and he doesn't often try to use technology if he can help it.
but who knows, really :)
anyway! shylock goes along the topic change just as well. ]
Well, you'll need a roof over your head whether you like it or not. Is it any different from taking residence in the Manor despite our initial protests?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-16 03:30 pm (UTC)[ the thumbs his empty glass… thinking of the mansion… ]
It was full of idiots.
[ doesn't specify if this is a good or a bad thing, but clearly sounds wistful about it. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-17 11:28 am (UTC)[ his tone also sounds wistful as he agrees with brad. ]
I miss them too. But we must try not to be too homesick, else our magic will go awry. After all, the heart wants what it wants, whether we like it or not.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-17 12:31 pm (UTC)…Do you live with the cat guy?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-17 12:33 pm (UTC)Of course. Where would you think he'd rather be?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-17 12:38 pm (UTC)Hah. So you also can't stand the idea of living alone?
[ ignore the “also”. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-17 12:48 pm (UTC)We wizards are all too accustomed to loneliness, after all.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-17 12:55 pm (UTC)eventually, he looks away. shylock is free therapy but at what cost? he clicks his tongue, annoyed. mostly at himself. ]
You'd still rather live with him than not. [ tch. he’s jealous. ] …Maybe I should kill him and move in with you instead.
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:look it was murr's idea!!! also if u do actually wanna thread the smut just lmk heheh
From:i'm always down to clown, let's do this :3
From:rubs my hands together let's fucking goooooo
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From: