A Sideblog

Here is a page for premodern weapons, broken down into a ton of subcategories, with the weapon’s region of origin. 

Here is a page of medieval weapons.

Here is a page of just about every conceived superpower.

Here is a page for legendary creatures and their regions of origin.

Here are some gemstones.

Here is a bunch of Greek legends, including monsters, gods, nymphs, heroes, and so on. 

Here is a website with a ton of (legally attained, don’t worry) information about the black market.

Here is a website with information about forensic science and cases of death. Discretion advised. 

Here is every religion in the world. 

Here is every language in the world.

Here are methods of torture. Discretion advised.

Here are descriptions of the various methods used for the death penalty. Discretion advised.

Here are poisonous plants.

Here are plants in general.

Secret Santa gift for @save-the-villainous-cat 🎅💝 I hope this will do your prompt justice!! Bit longer than originally planned, because I got carried away xD

“Get some sleep,” the villain had said.

Like slumber wasn’t some near unattainable, elusive enigma on the best of nights. Like the hero wouldn’t find themself tossing and turning for hours, haunted, even when their sorrows and worries were unfounded.

If they already couldn’t sleep under normal circumstances, how were they supposed to find any rest when they, for once, actually had good reasons to be upset and anxious?

Reasons. Plural.

As if being abducted by Supervillain wasn’t nerve-wracking enough by itself. To add insult to injury, she’d dragged them right off their living room couch, hauled them halfway across the city while offering only the most cryptic of half-explanations for her actions, and then presented them to the villain as a ‘Christmas gift’.

This had to be the most humiliating and terrifying thing that had ever happened to the hero, and all their nemesis had to say to them was to 'get some sleep'.

What were they supposed to do? Let go of their fury and frustration and climb into bed with the villain, pretending the two of them were good friends having a fun sleepover and not enemies sharing a damn prison cell?

Yeah, fat chance.

Besides, the hero hated sleepovers. Sleepovers always ended in darkness and isolation, with the hero lying awake in the early morning hours, forced to listen to their friends’ even breathing ringing through their own sleepless silence like taunts.

But it hardly mattered. They didn’t plan on sticking around anyway.

They stomped through the half-lit room again and tried the door one more time for good measure. Still locked. Of course it was. They muttered a few curses. All right, the window then. Maybe they had missed something. Maybe they could—

“Hero, please.” The villain groaned, face half-buried in a heap of cushions. “Stop pacing round the room like a caged tiger. I’m trying to sleep.”

They were not pacing. Pacing implied aimlessness. They had a purpose. While the villain had plopped down on the stupidly soft-looking, king-sized bed, fluffed their pillows, and turned off their bedside lamp, the hero had been scanning the room, attempting to form an escape plan.

“I’m trying to find a way out,” they hissed. “Because, in case you haven’t noticed, we are trapped. This is a cage.”

“Actually, it’s a suite. Supervillain’s nicest guest-room even.”

“Right. A guest-room with a locked door and barred windows.” The hero scoffed. “What does that make you? Supervillain’s most esteemed guest?”

“It’s a temporary arrangement,” the villain said crossly. “If you must know, Supervillain and I had a disagreement about … work-related issues. I'm only here so I won't get in the way of her plans. Once she’s finalized her current project, she’ll let me go.”

The hero glared into the night beyond the open window and trailed their fingers along the gold-plated ornaments of the, sadly, perfectly solid metal bars. “You’re an idiot,” they said, “if you think a cosy bed, expensive wallpaper, and a fluffy carpet make this any less of a cage.”

“You forgot to mention the flat-screen TV and the gaming console.”

The hero turned their glower on the villain, who sighed.

“Fine,” their nemesis said. “Let it be a cage then. A gilded cage with excellent room service. Which is a million times better than the alternative. So, I’d very much appreciate it if you would kindly behave yourself, be patient, and not get us relocated to the dungeon. Thank you.” The villain rolled their eyes. “Come on. It’s late and I’m tired. If you aren’t going to sleep, can you at least lie down? Please.”

The villain really did sound tired. Despondent almost. It didn’t suit them. Not that the villain’s pitiful state changed anything.

“Don’t do that. Don’t pretend I’m the one being unreasonable. You don’t get to act like my presence here is such an inconvenience to you after you asked Supervillain to kidnap me.”

“You think I wanted her to—” To their credit, the villain seemed genuinely appalled at the notion. “I’d never—”

“Funny.” They spit the word like a threat and felt somewhat gratified when the villain subtly shuffled a bit closer to the headboard with every step the hero took towards the bed. “Because when I asked Supervillain why she’d taken me, she told me, and I quote, ‘Villain wants company’.”

Their nemesis cringed. They averted their gaze and wrapped the covers protectively around themself in a rare display of … remorse? Fear? Vulnerability?

Yep. Something was definitely off about the villain today.

Curious, the hero sat down on the empty side of the bed after all and leaned back against the pillows. Dammit, the stupid things were even cosier than they looked.

“I’m sorry,” the villain said softly. “When I said I didn’t want to be alone on Christmas, I thought Supervillain would send a henchman to play boardgames with me or – I don’t know – get me a cat? I never thought she’d go and kidnap my favourite frenemy.”

Why did the villain have to sound like they were about to cry?

Great. Now the hero was beginning to feel guilty too.

A bit reluctant, they reached across the empty space between the two of them and awkwardly put their hand on the villain’s shoulder.

Their nemesis sucked in a sharp breath, but otherwise made no protest.

“Villain,” the hero said after a moment of tense silence. “How long have you been here?”

“Five weeks,” the villain replied in too matter-of-fact a tone, “two days, and roughly” – there was a bit of shuffling as they turned to throw a glance at the alarm clock on their bedside table – “seven hours now.”

The hero didn’t know what to say to that. They pulled their hand back.

Neither of them spoke for a minute or two.

“So…” the hero said eventually. “I’m your favourite?”

The villain tsked, though not without humour. “Honestly? I would have preferred the cat.”

More silence.

The hero stared at the ceiling. They were beginning to think the villain might have fallen asleep already, when they felt a soft tug on the sleeve of their t-shirt.

“Hey, Hero?” the villain whispered. “Could you touch me again?”

“Excuse me?”

“Not- Not in a weird way! Just, maybe, a hug? … I really miss my friends and family,” the villain added, as if that was explanation enough. Perhaps it was.

The hero sighed, grumbled incoherently, then sighed again. It wasn’t like they’d get any sleep either way. “Okay,” they said. “But if you do anything funny, I’ll smack you.”

The villain chuckled. The mattress dipped as they scooted over and wrapped their arms around the hero with a tentativeness that, given the two of them were technically enemies, bordered on sacrilege.

“Thank you,” the villain murmured, dozing off right then and there. “I was so lonely.”

The hero couldn’t bring themself to push the villain away after that, even if it meant they’d likely remain in this position until the villain woke up again. They closed their eyes, resigned themself to another long night, and let their thoughts drift into reverie.

When the hero blinked their eyes open again, they were met with the disorienting sight of daylight, ruffled sheets, and their bed-headed nemesis still curled up in their arms.

Wow. They’d slept. – Kidnapped, locked up, and cuddling with their enemy, the hero had finally managed to have a good night's sleep. After weeks of restlessness and insomnia in the safety of their own bedroom. What irony…

They lifted their head to get a better look at the small smile on the villain’s sleeping face.

I enjoyed how everything came together. Hero starts out uncomfortable (to say the least) and Villain is annoyed that they seem to refuse to sleep. From their point of view, Hero is overreacting. It was funny how different their reactions were; as I said, Hero is lowkey freaking out while Villain is trying to enjoy their accommodation. Though i honestly can't blame Villain. Imprisonment sounds like it sucks, but there are worse places to be held.

I was happy they were able to talk with each other and better understand one another. It was really sweet how they could open up and talk. Villain definitively needed some company, or a cat like they suggested. They were isolated for far too long. It was also cute how Hero was able to sleep well with Villain. I'm sure it means nothing. I'm glad they got the hug they needed. That was so sad. They really needed it. Well, they both needed things, but the point still stands.

This is my secret Santa for @yourheartonfire , I hope that you like it!

Prompt: A swordfight, between a protagonist with fancy formal training and an antagonist who's a back alleys dirty tricks kind of fighter. It can be friendly sparring or deadly combat, but there should definitely be some suppressed romantic feelings there

“Wooow,” the assassin drawled, spinning their blade lazily in their hand. “Nice uniform. Did they also give you that fancy sword?”

The soldier’s knuckles tightened on their weapon’s hilt, making the leather wrappings creak. “Don’t do this.”

It was not what they had imagined saying to the assassin if they ever met them again. No part of this sick situation had ever intruded upon their many daydreams and curious musings. In their minds eye, their friend was always still back at the orphanage, teaching kids the basic steps of combat like the old swordsman had once taught them. Or if not there, somewhere far and free from this land that hated them. Somewhere warm. And safe. They weren't supposed to be the very type of person that the soldier had sworn to fight.

“Why? Because we know each other?” They still spun their shortsword nonchalantly, as if none of this, their personal history or the soldier’s battle prowess, mattered, but even after all these years, the soldier still knew their tell: the tufted end of their tail lashed anxiously at the earth, stirring small puffs of dust around their ankles. “Gotta say, I heard you’d grown up, but I wasn’t expecting time to be quite so generous.”

The soldier’s cheeks flushed involuntarily. They had to fight the urge to hug themselves as the assassin’s golden eyes roved up and down, hungry and sharp-edged, cutting right through the plating and undoing every link in the chainmail beneath, exposing them to the world. 15 years ago they might have welcomed it. They still would have blushed, and the assassin would have teased their shyness, but they also would have gently guided them through it. A relationship at their own pace, soft and slow as leaves in a late summer creek.

They did not feel that same safety now.

The soldier raised their sword higher. “This is you’re last chance to walk away. One more step and I will consider you a threat to the crown.”

The assassin raised their brows. They stepped forward. “You probably should have considered that a long time ago.”

They lunged.

The solider barely braced themselves in time, catching the assassin’s wicked blade along the edge of their own before it gashed open their face. It was a bold move, if the soldier was a little slower it would have gotten them, but the footing wasn’t firm enough to hold against their strength.

“Sloppy.” They shoved forward, pressing all their weight all at once against the assassin’s weapon.

The assassin stumbled.

The soldier’s sword slid up and free with a light shink.

“You still go right for the throat. No care for how you’re going to hold the position later.”

The assassin glared. “Don’t preach your fancy training to me.”

“Don’t be jealous–”

The assassin scoffed. “Jealous? Jealous? Being jealous would imply that you have something I want, and I would die here, crawling in the mud, before I rolled over as one of their dogs!”

They lunged again, this time nimbler, feigning another blow and ducking the soldier’s return swing. The soldier barely whipped around in time before the point of that wicked blade found itself a home between their shoulder blades.

“You’re really trying to kill me.” As soon as it was out, the soldier bit their tongue.

“Were you not? I’m sorry, sweetie, it seems there’s been a misunderstanding.”

Suddenly the assassin was right up in front of them, one hand flat against their chest.

“What are you–” The soldier cranked their head in search of the sword, but then Villain’s tail wrapped around their knee. The end brushed the inside of their leg, sending a traitorous shiver down their spine.

“You still like me,” the assassin said, hand drifting up to their cheek now. Clawed fingers slid into their hair, just gentle enough not to scratch the surface, and their thumb trailed gently back and forth along their cheekbone. “Even after all you’ve done. After selling your soul to see mine damned, you like me.”

They laughed, a musical, hissing sort of sound that showed off the pearly points of their fangs.

“Does your boss know?” The points of their claws sank into their scalp. The soldier winced, attempting to pull back but only earning themselves a tighter grip on their hair. “I’m sure the king would have quite the shock to know one of his precious vassals consorts with demons. Or is it fine because it’s just the one? It is just me, isn’t it?”

They wrenched the soldier’s head to the side. It was almost as if they were on the verge of tearing their hair straight out, even as their face leaned carefully in, breath soft on their cheek and voice oh so gentle.

“It might hurt my feelings if you’ve been playing around with other monsters.”

“Get off me!” The soldier beat the flat of their sword against the assassin’s hip. A sharp, searing pain ripping through their thigh immediately followed. The soldier screamed.

The assassin drew their sword back scarlet, and the soldier collapsed the to the forest floor, a gush of warmth soaking their pantleg.

For a moment the assassin only stood over them, twirling their bloodied blade once, consideringly. “Huh. It seems I don’t want you dead. But don’t think I won’t do it if you press me. Just stay down and let me finish my job.”

They strode for the crashed carriage, dead driver still hanging out of their seat.

“No!” the soldier pressed their palm to their wound and wobbled to their feet. They gritted their teeth against the muscle-tearing agony as they dragged themselves stiffly forward. “You don’t understand!”

The assassin glared over the shoulder. “No, [Soldier], you don’t understand. You think we’re still kids playing games. We just whack each other a few times until we both get tired, call it a draw, and go home, but sorry, dear, we’re not kids anymore. I’ve been charged to kill the prince, and that is what I aim to do. Stay out of my way or die with him.”

“You’d…you’d really kill me?”

“I wouldn’t be killing my [Soldier]. I’d be killing another piece of the putrid infection that took them away.”

The assassin took a couple of steps forward before pausing again. This time they didn’t turn when they spoke. They stayed facing their target, shoulders straight and taught, tail lashing.

“You know they burned it down?” Their voice came out barely louder than a whisper. “Right after they took you and everyone else who benefited them out. They did it in the night while we were asleep. Most of them died.”

The soldier’s stomach clenched, almost like someone had taken their insides in a nauseating death grip. “I…I didn’t know.”

“Of course not. You were busy preening.”

The soldier surged forward furiously, slick hand slipping off their leg. “You don’t know a thing about me! I’ve been doing all I can to save you! All of you!”

The assassin scoffed. “Really? And where are the fruits of your labor? Have you actually done anything?”

“It’s a long road to peace.”

“Not so long as you’d think.”

The assassin wrenched open the door to the carriage.

“No!”

The soldier stumbled on their next step, falling to their knees a few feet away.

The child scrambled back against the back of the carriage, knobby, white breached knees drawn to his ridiculously large cravat.

“What…” In a blink, the uncertainty was gone and the assassin hauled the child out of the carriage by the arm. “What is this?”

“The crown prince.” The soldier dragged themselves a little closer and held up both hands cautiously.

“No. No!” The assassin shook the prince in their fist causing him to whimper. “The crown prince is grown. He’s the pompous, pretty brat who gives all those puff speeches and insipid sneers.”

The soldier swallowed, not taking their eyes off their charge.

“That’s what we would call a stand-in. A double. An assassin deterrent. If you thought he was the prince why did you track my carriage?”

“Because I knew it would be you.”

“What?”

“Who else is good enough to be the prince’s personal bodyguard? I know what I saw when the carriages left, but I knew, somehow, he would be with you.” Their gaze flicked down to the trembling, wet-eyed child in their hand–he was doing a remarkably good job keeping the majority of his emotions on the inside. “I still have to kill him. Child or not. This line has to end.”

“Wait!” the soldier grimaced at their own abrupt movement, gripping their leg once again. “Wait. Just…let me show you something. Please.”

The assassin hesitated. “Put down the sword.”

The soldier dropped the heavy, gilded blade without hesitation.

“It’s about the kid. Can you…can you bring him a little closer?”

The soldier was beginning to feel a little dizzy, but they had to hold on a little longer. For the kid. For [Assassin].

“If this is a trap, I will gut you,” the assassin said, but they still took the few steps between them, transferring the point of their blade from the child to the soldier’s throat.

The soldier made brief eye contact with the prince. “Forgive me, my liege.”

The young royal nodded, squeezing his eyes shut. He must have known what the soldier was about to do. He still felt humiliation over his differences, defects the other royals called them. The soldier was doing everything to cure those notions before they took too deep.

With a strong wrench either direction, the soldier ripped a large tear in the back of the prince’s trousers.

A black, tufted tail slipped out.

The assassin dropped him.

“Wh-what…? What?”

The soldier siezed the child up in their arms, scrambling on their rearend a few painful paces back before looking back at the assassin’s pale and confused expression.

Their mouth moved numbly. “[Assassin] meet [Prince]. The crown prince. His safety is not the only reason the royal has hid his identity with a double. He… He’s not the queen’s, but he is the king’s. That doesn’t make him legitimate, but it does make him fit to rule. And with no other heirs…” The soldier met the assassin’s eyes. “He’s going to change everything. He’s going…he’s going…” Their voice cracked. “Please.”

The assassin stared, predator eyes swimming with something unreadable. Mercy? Regret? Determination?

The soldier fumbled behind them for their abandoned sword. They weren’t getting out of this by running.

The assassin took a step forward. They brought their blade in front of themselves just as the soldier’s fingers caught the end of their sword hilt. The soldier pulled the blade toward them, one arm shaking as they used the other to clutch their charge close. They raised the sword in front of themself, and…

The assassin stabbed their short sword into the earth.

In moments, their old friend was knelt beside them, ripping a long piece of fabric from their tunic.

“Ridiculous, stupid, noble-hearted…” the rest was lost in a spew of unintelligible grumbling as the assassin wrapped the length of makeshift bandage taughtly around their leg. Their fingers moved fast and gruff, but they lingered a moment over the tie.

“I thought you changed. I thought you were like them.”

The soldier took a shuddering breath. “I have changed. But never like that. I’d never betray what I know is right.”

“Why are you such an incessant goody-two shoes?” The assassin chuckled lightly, giving their leg an awkward but playful shove before pushing to their feet.

“One of us has to be,” the soldier joked nervously back.

The assassin yanked their sword free with a small spray of earth and leaves, wiping it briefly on the ground before sliding it back in its sheath.

A beat of silence passed as the assassin turned back toward them.

“I’ll tell the guild the situation,” they finally said. “You…may see me again soon.”

Their tail flicked softly against the soldier’s ankle. It was light enough that it could have been an accident, but from what the soldier remembered, the assassin very rarely made accidents…

They smiled softly. “I’ll…keep an eye out.”

The assassin nodded and turned to the prince, bowing shortly. “My liege.”

The future king opened their mouth to respond, but when nothing came out, they only nodded nervously back.

The assassin chuckled. “I’m not being forgiven so easily, am I?”

The prince huddled closer to the soldier’s chest.

“Yeah, didn’t think so.”

With one last nod, they turned on their heel and began the trek back into the trees. They only got a few steps before stopping again.

“I missed you.” It came so quiet the soldier barely caught it against the wail of wind in the branches. They did not wait for a response. With a last flick of their tail, they were gone.

The soldier stared after them, barely seeing the empty clearing in front them as they murmured a reply to the empty air.

I really enjoyed the interaction between the assassin and soldier. The friends-turned-enemies dynamic is simply a great one I can't help but love. I loved how well their current relationship was written. It's very complicated and has obviously changed a lot since hey last saw each other. They both are struggling between holding onto the memory they have of their childhood friend and fighting against the person they've become now. This is portrayed well in various ways (For example, the soldier criticizing the assassin's tactics as they fight or the assassin basically saying that soldier is two distinct people: their childhood friend and the soldier they've become).

Merry Christmas! I'm your secret santa hehe! :D

So the prompt was: I would like some hurt or sick to comfort (I’m a sucker for those tropes). Kinda want civilian x villain/hero or villain x villain :)

While thinking of what to write for it, I thought "why choose one pair when it can be both." So I found a way to have a little dual pairing with civilian x hero and villain x villain! Hope you like it! :D

A Warm Christmas

Though Hero has many secrets, one in particular was that they were Villain's older sibling. Not many people knows about, only their family and some very close friends. It wasn't that they were ashamed, in fact, they just wanted to protect them as Villain does the same thing.

Despite working for completely opposite sides, Hero and Villain has a closely knit bond. They love each other and as siblings are, would have a lot of friendly banter, though their jobs allowed for the excuse of getting a little bit rough and physical.

And that leads to their current situation.

Hero tightly wrapped themself in a thick blanket, sitting on the couch with a scowl on their face, sniffling every once in a while. Villain laid on the floor by the couch, wrapped in a blanket as well and whining so loudly.

"I HATE THIS! I HATE THIS SO MUCH! I'M IN PAIN! IN AGONY! I'M GOING TO DIE!"

Hero gave them a light kick and groaned, "Will you be quiet already?! My head is throbbing so badly and you're not helping! Stop being so dramatic!"

"SHUT UP!" Villain slapped their foot away, "Who's fault was it that I'm sick and miserable right now?!"

"You aren't the only one that's sick and miserable!" Hero argued back, kicking them again with a little bit more force this time, "Who's bright idea was it to pick a fight in the middle of winter! AND RUN OFF TO A FROZEN LAKE!"

"We could've just chased each other off of it! But nooooo! You crave for blood and fought me on it!"

"And you're making me crave for blood right now!"

"YOU'RE THE WORST OLDER SIBLING EVER!" Villain sat up to hit Hero.

"NO! YOU'RE THE WORST YOUNGER SIBLING!" Hero climbed down the couch and tackled Villain to the floor.

I love the idea of a hero and villain pair being siblings. There's just something kinda funny about bitter enemies also having the petty problems having siblings bring. These two aren't bitter enemies, of course, but the point still stands.

I love how dramatic Villain was being. Getting sick sucks, but they were so dramatic about it (they're also childish, which is hilarious). I also liked how Hero tries to be the voice of reason when they start yelling, only to also start yelling. Peak sibling relationship. I also love the idea that Other Villain also tries to annoy Hero. My sister's boyfriend and I also do that.

Their prompt request is: Villain exhausted mind body everything rip poor dude and then uh hero can catch him easily.. Either hero takes him to uh prison? Or then helps him lol up to the person whether it's angst or fluff

OMG!!!! I had SOOOO much fun writing this!!! Sorry that it's so long 😅 I just couldn't stop!! I hope this is all you wanted!! Merry Christmas!!!!! ❤❤❤

TW: MENTION OF BLOOD, SLIGHT DETAIL OF FLESH WOUNDS, MENTION OF THE WORD DEATH (I think?)

Fluff and stuff

Ignorant to love

*you are ridiculously heavy*

That didn't even rank in the top ten blaring thoughts of the evening. It was the most relevant though. 

     I hefted his body up the last couple steps of my apartment building. 

     I tried to ignore the growing pain in my own ribs and I quickly unlocked the door and half laid half dropped him on the couch. And like the blarringly loud alarms going off in my head, I couldn't ignore it much longer. 

     I took in slow, long breaths, slowly and agonizingly bringing my heartbeat to a normal rhythm. 

     What an eventful morning. I entered the kitchen and immediately grabbed the first aid kit stashed wisely under the sink, went back to the comatose figure on my couch and lifted his shirt. 

     Let me backup a few hours. Today I was on shift for the back allies that ran straight into the sewer system. I was supposed to report any activity and keep any of the homeless from killing each other. 

     I WASN'T supposed to run into Jake, the local, mildly harmless, villain that worked these areas. I say mildly because of the ache in my ribs. 

     He wasn't expecting to see me, and his usual flirty facade was put on hold while a grumpy, I-obviously-haven't-slept-in-at-least-three-days composure took over. That alone was worrying, he was annoyingly good at keeping composure and shooting face burning remarks easily. 

     I had clearly interrupted him leaving a fight. His lip was bleeding and the way he held himself suggested at least 1 broken bone. His hair was unusually ragged and his clothes hadn't been ironed, which he usually prided himself on. 

     It honestly hurt to see him like that. He was never one to ask for help, and the amount of times he ignores his personal health is exhausting to say the least. He had just enough energy to throw a rather crippling punch to my abdomen before he passed out in front of me. 

     Protocol stated that I had the authority and the Duty to arrest. 

     That would bring me to now, and the other blaring thought in my head. Because instead of arresting him and calling a medic I've taken him to my house. 

     *NEGLIGENT OF DUTIES*

     *ACCESSORY TO A VILLAIN*

     *TRAITOR TO THE HERO COMMITTEE*

     I rubbed my eyes, hoping that maybe that will force out the thoughts to make room for something useful.

     I pulled off his shirt and examined everything. The minute I saw the damage, the theory that I scared away his attacker seemed more relevant. I couldn't see how he was even standing when I found him. He had bruises in streaks over his chest and around his neck. Small cuts littered his collarbone and one large old gash had reopened and almost split his shoulder. 

     I planted my hand on his chest tenderly and closed my eyes. 

     I was considered a healer, but it wasn't that simple. I couldn't force healing on anyone, if they are awake and unwilling then I don't have enough strength to fight them. As well as that, I can only heal internal bleeding and recreate certain bone structure. I can't fix flesh wounds or give people strength, like some of the other healers in my sector. 

     That didn't take away from my relevance to this situation though. 

     With my eyes still closed I felt around, mentally healing some internal bleeding while fixing 3 ribs and repairing 1 completely. I felt out this old gash, by the way the stitching was done and the fact that it was healing incorrectly I'd say he was supposed to rest but didn't. I healed most of the internal  damage, returning to my med kit and applying bandages over anything that bled. He would hurt like hell when he woke up but he'd be alive. 

     With the dangerous bit out of the way, I poured a glass of water, crushing up ibuprofen before stirring it in. 

     Next I finally sat down and attended to my own wound. I don't think he realized but he hit where an old cut was healing, it had ripped, which accounted for most of the pain. I bandaged it up quickly. Looking out across my apartment from the kitchen. Tattered, torn, and bloodied fabric laid in a pile, clothes didn't even describe them anymore. It looked like a crime scene. 

     *It will be when they arrest me.* 

     The thought was met with a small grunt. I stood up, grabbing a wet rag and kneeled by the couch. 

     His features were pale, but still just as nice to look at as before. 

    "Ick" he flinched, moving his hand to his ribs, I grabbed him before he could ruin his bandages. 

     "Hay, hay, your alright, don't move, it's me, JJ,"

     "JJ? W-what? W-what hap- ppened?" 

     "Drink this," and before he had enough time to resist I forced the medicine infused water into his mouth. He didn't even open his eyes, just fell back asleep. 

     I held my breath an extra second before standing up and gathering up the remains of bandages and shredded clothing, laying a blanket over him before entering my bedroom. 

 *quit pacing* 

     It had been two hours since I'd broken my vows to the Committee. Since then I called and said that I needed someone to cover the rest of my shift for the week, explaining that I was sick and needed rest. They apologized and even asked if they could send someone over to see if they could help. 

     Just what I needed, another hero entering my home only to find a badly beaten villain asleep on my couch. 

     I respectfully declined their offer. 

     I lapped around the room again. Biting gently on my lower lip. I didn't regret saving him. That wasn't my issue, my issue was the hole I was digging with lying about it. But if I turned him in, yes he would get medical attention, but he would be put in an isolation cell. 

     The Isolation program was still very politically affected. And many people couldn't decide if it was humane or not. It basically was a 3 course injection that rid you of your power. 

     I don't think I could bear to see that happen to him. Being broken that badly didn't seem moral to me. 

     "Hello? Anyone home?" 

     I ran into the room, visibly relaxing when I saw that he looked just a bit more alive. His pale skin was starting to absorb color, and his eyes were no longer glazed over, he was awake. 

     "Hey, how do you feel? Do you have a headache?"

     "Hmmm, my head feels fine, body feels fine, the only thing I need now is a shirt. Although I'm willing to be swayed on that front." 

     I laughed, some of my anxiousness fading. His stupid sense of humor was back.  "Here,"  I handed him the glass of water, he hadn't finished it earlier.

     He looked at the glass with a raised brow. 

     "Is it poisoned?" 

     "Yes. I saved you only to kill you."

     His eyes lit up, another good sign, and he took a long swig. "Hmmm, I didn't take you for enjoying that sort of thing, hope it's slow." He winked, followed by a wince and another grab at his ribs. 

     "Don't touch, don't move, don't speak" I half grumbled that last part, moving into the kitchen, "Are you hungry? I have... " I looked at the empty basket and instead opened the cupboard, also empty.... "I can order something? " 

     Knock, knock, knock 

     I nearly jumped into the cupboard door. Running quickly into the living room with a finger to my mouth. 

     "One second!" I hollered haphazardly at the door. I helped Jake into my bedroom, setting him on the bed before shutting the door, only to answer another. 

     "Hey, what are you doing here?" I tried to keep my voice light, it came out breathy and raspy instead. 

     "Hay," the girl at my door was my supervisor, a sweet woman that really needed a haircut. "I heard what happened, are you ok? Do you need anything? Can... I come in?" 

     I blinked at her, realizing that I was fully blocking the doorway, I eased up. 

     "Actually I should really get back in bed, I appreciate you coming over to check on me, but I'll be ok, healing just takes time."

     "Ok..." Her gaze flicked past me into my apartment, "I won't keep you long I just wanted to let you know that a local assassin came into the E. R. In really bad shape, claiming that he stabbed a villain and that he was stranded by the gutter," She paused, giving me slightly apologetic eyes, "he said that he would have finished him off, but he was cut short when a local hero interrupted him... The description he gave matched yours, and you were shifted in that area... I was just wondering if you saw anything?"

     I'm a bad liar, it's why I choose not to most of the time. Hesitating wasn't my best option, but I froze. 

     *LIAR*

     *TRAITOR*

     *ACCESSORY TO A VILLAIN*

     "No, he might have seen me leave though, I wasn't able to go my full rounds."

     She stared at me a moment longer, "Ok, if you see anything in the future feel free to call me." 

     She left, and I shut the door, entering my apartment. My stomach knotted hard. 

     I shook it off, entering the bedroom to find that he had settled sitting up on the edge, a tight but tired look in his eye. 

     "Sooo, are they gonna take me away now?" 

     "What?" 

     He stared at me blankly, a small nervous smile peaking on his face. 

     "I assume they came to pick me up? Orrrrrr....."

     "No, She was just checking up on me, but it's not safe for you here, we need to leave."

     "Pretty sure that was my stand from the start" He said his words unsurely, a frown expanding in understanding of my words. 

     I didn't give further explanation, just grabbed my biggest hoodie and threw it in his direction. Packing a small bag and snatching my keys. 

     I went downstairs first, checking the perimeter to make sure no one was waiting for me. Then I helped him down and into my car. He was unusually quiet, and the moment we were on the road and my senses were more relaxed, I looked over at him. 

     "Tell me how to get to your place,"

     "Keep going straight," was his flat answer. 

     We drove in silence for a while. 

     "You winced when helping me to the car." 

     "I did?" I glanced back at him, he was staring at me. Oh, oh, "yeah, I have an injury on my stomach, I'll be fine."

     "I... I remember.... He stabbed me... Then, you were there, I.. I swung at you. Did, did I hurt you?"

     The worry in his voice struck hard, "You happened to open a wound that I had previously, it caused more damage than would have if you had struck somewhere else, I'm fine." 

     "Turn here." 

     He was quiet for a long while after that, simply giving short instructions until we were at an old, abandoned warehouse at the edge of the city. Trees and foliage covered half if not more of the sides, and broken windows seemed to let in light at all angles. 

     I parked the car, and for a moment, we sat in simple silence. The only sound was the gentle hum of my car's motor. 

     "Why are you helping me?" 

     Great question. I didn't quite know the answer. Yet.

     We had always kinda got along. It always seemed as if he knew my schedule, because he would, without fail, make an appearance on my shift. Throwing witty banter and flirty comments at every point. He never really fought either. His power was the ability to control gravity. Which made fighting him extremely hard because he would simply make it so I would float. I secretly loved it, and while I think he had caught on to that, I would never voice it. 

     Everyone at the hero committee seemed fake. He never did, when he laughed it was genuine, and while I didn't agree with all his morals, he always was set in them. At the Institute it seemed opinions changed based on political structure, a new mayor changed small things. Nothing was ever set in stone. He was real, it was refreshing. 

    "I couldn't just leave you there."

     It surprised me the finality in my own voice. But was that all?

     "Yeah... But you could have sent for the others, send me away, I still would have gotten medic."

     I didn't answer him. Maybe it was that I didn't want to admit it myself. How terribly scared I had been that he might die. That I might lose something I never had. Maybe that's why I saved him, why I didn't turn him in. Why I lied to my commander. But I wasn't ready to admit that. Small feelings that probably amounted to nothing. That was  nothing. 

     I simply shrugged, helping him out and into the abandoned warehouse. 

     The inside didn't look any better than outside. The room we entered had no ceiling, the walls were cracked and bruised. The memory of pale blue paint clung weakly to walls and foliage ran wild. 

     "This definitely isn't a sanitary place for you to heal." 

    The corners of his mouth quirked into an amused smirk. "Oh come on, how long have you known me?" 

     He pointed to a door, like the rest of the place looked as if it had seen better days, and together we pushed towards it. 

     He pushed around some vines, revealing an old button. After a push and a seemingly jumbled sound of clicks the door slid to the side revealing an elevator. 

     "Just great," I muttered, heaving him into the elevator. 

     Very quickly I could see that this wasn't an abandoned warehouse. Underneath was a busy and bustling unit. We pushed past groups of people, some busy writing in notebooks or analyzing data on screens while others gave curious glances in our direction. 

     We nearly ran into a bumbling scientist. She seemed more outraged by his condition than I was. Quickly using some sort of telepathy ro place him on a gurney. 

     "6 lacerations, at least 3 broken bones! I don't know how you don't have massive blood loss? And I told you to rest! By the looks of this you also ripped your stitches from last time!!" 

     I walked beside them quietly, too out of my element to try to leave. Combat was never my specialty and some of the people we passed made my stomach knot up. 

     "You have her to thank for the lack of blood loss." He answered, his voice more bored than worried. 

     She eyed me, suspicion spiking in her features like an ugly scowl. "And who is she? If she's a heal type why isn't she in proper attire? You know how dangerous bringing people here is??"

     "Calm yourself my dead" he huffed, dragging a hand over his bruised face. "She's with me, and she needs medical attention."

     I went to protest but was immediately cut off. 

     "You are definitely top priority-"

     "First of all," he sat up, "no, I'm not top priority, while you were all selling information to the bloody informant that tried to kill me, I was being stitched up by this girl, who was probably risking a lot more than I was. Secondly," he turned to me, a slight red formed on the tips of his ears. "She has a badly ripped wound on her side, and she needs anti-inflammatories and some pain medi." He turned back to her, she seemed to shrink at the eye contact. "As for you. You will tag someone in from the institution, since they are the only people I can apparently trust. They  will attend to her wounds while we have a talk in my office." 

     There was an infinite silence, the once loud, obnoxious science girl was mute. Hands balled up and stiff at her side. Features emotionless. Her eyes were the loudest part about her. Without another word she typed in something on her tablet and another science lead took me away for tests. 

     I looked at my clock. A full 8 hours had gone by since I seemingly ruined my career by helping Jake. At the moment I was in some sort of Infirmary. People were busying themselves everywhere. I needed to get home. 

     That was my second problem. The door was locked. 

     When I tried it the first time I just thought I needed someone to open it for me. So I hadn't started panicking, simply asked the nearest person if they could let me out. 

     It was the fourth time that I realized that I was fully being ignored. 

     My head was starting to really hurt. Based on the jarble that the doctor relayed back to me, I did in fact lose an unhealthy amount of blood, I would have noticed earlier if my 'fight or flight systems weren't engaged'. I didn't quite understand, but I knew enough to know that resting was smart. 

     So I watched people exit and enter, huddled up and whispering. Some would look over in my direction with honest curiosity while others couldn't have cared less if I was a unicorn. 

     After a while the door opened and it was Jake. He looked a lot better, and despite everything, I visibly relaxed at the sight of him. 

     "Have you even tried to rest?" He stated, noting the monitor at my side, "the whole reason for locking you in here was so that you could rest!!?" 

     I laughed at that, "how are you feeling? You look much better, looks like someone treated your flesh wounds?"

     For a moment he just stared at me. Big, golden, disbelieving eyes. Brown hair pushed back with some sort of hair gel, and dressed in something much more flattering, at least without the bloodstains. 

     "Don't worry about me, I'm fine, I'm more worried about you, the doctor said you lost a lot of blood? Are you ok to walk? Your welcome to stay here but if your people weren't suspicious you disappearing definitely will be."

     "You're the one that should be resting, I can take the bus." 

     "And risk some stranger realizing how perfectly wonderful you are and taking you for themselves? I could never, let me drive you." 

     My brain just kinda stopped. I was used to flirty, small compliments and mild suggestions from him. Even small things like brushing my hair out of my face. It was the perfect thing to get me distracted and red. 

     This hit differently. It felt real, not some silly comment. I felt something... Different. 

It brought back his question, 'why are you helping me?' 

     Maybe.... 

     "Hey? You ok? " 

     His words reeled me back to the present, I just blinked at him. 

     "Yeah, yeah, lead the way." I responded dully. 

     Maybe.... 

     We got to the car, it wasn't mine, but I was sure that mine was probably already back at my place. The silence was thick. A weird haze of emotions that both of us didn't speak of, I wondered what his were?

     "Thank you again." He blurted.

     "You're welcome." 

     "I was thinking..." He paused, his eyes glued to the road ahead of him. His knuckles were white. "I was wondering.." He reiterated quietly. "I've known you for a few months now, seen how you react to things, watched you help others... Watched how you avoid war like the plague. Hell," he coughed, his face getting slightly red. "We've even gone to the movies together. Which is great! And I quite enjoy the company! Im just saying.... Well..." 

     I stared, baffled. 

     Maybe.... 

     He fell silent, letting his words trail off. We arrived at my apartment complex shortly after. 

     "Thanks for dropping me off." We both got out, just staring. 

     Maybe... 

     "Do you?....." He bit his lip, he was standing almost flush against me. 

     'Why did you help me?'

     Maybe.... 

     His hand brushed my cheek. He dragged in a long breath, a smile burned on his face.   

     "Do you know why I was at the sewers entrance?"

     "Why?" 

     "Because I wanted to see you." He whispered, his eyes flicking down to my lips, I found myself doing the same. 

     Maybe... 

     He leaned in. His lips pressed gently against mine. His hands held my face. He was so stupidly tall. I kissed right back. 

     Maybe I helped him because... Because I loved him.

Though I feel like I would be annoyed by Jake, I do feel bad for the guy. Sounds like he went through the wringer and was generally in terrible condition. On top of that, the guy apparently can't even trust his own people, and this isn't even touching on the threat of the Isolation Program(which is an interesting concept).

A Favour

This was honestly the last situation Hero wanted to be in at this moment. Or any moment, honestly.

Well, maybe that was a bit harsh. In a different context, the hero could get behind being on their knees in front of the villain.

But having to beg for their help?

It was humiliating.

“Mmmm… I liked the sound of that one, but be a bit whinier will you?” Villains eyes twinkled as they stared down at the hero at their feet. “I love it when you whimper, sweetheart.”

The blush that slapped the hero in the face was almost painful, they wanted to curl over themselves and rot in their embarrassment. The villain had a way of acting that drove them mad on one hand and absolutely head over heels on the other.

It was sickening how fast their heart was beating.

The villain leaned forwards, displeased with the hero’s lack of servicing, they grabbed them sternly by the chin, tilting their head up almost to the point of being uncomfortable as they looked them in the eyes. A grin lacing their features with an intensity that made Hero shiver.

“Hero. I’m not going to ask you twice. Don’t make me drag those pretty whines out of you with my hands instead…”

The crime-stopper yelped as the grasp on their jaw was released. Trying to pull themselves together after what they had just heard.

But they couldn’t waste any more time. They needed Villains help.

“Villain… please—“

“Ah, eyes on me, precious.” Villain tutted, smiling down at their captive.

If it was at all possible to perish, Hero truly wished for it in this moment.

They took a deep breath, “Villain, I-I need your help. Please, help me. I-I’ll do anything…” Holding eye contact with their overly amused nemesis was definitely the worst part.

The way their eyes drifted hungrily across the hero’s body and how they left shivers in their tracks. It was dangerous.

It was delectable.

The feeling was invasive and the hero welcomed it. The attention, the intensity… It was terribly flustering, but they craved it at the same time.

Villain hummed in contempt, nodding their head as they pretended to ponder the hero’s pleads. Tapping their chin, deep in thought and Hero secretly hoped for this to be over.

“It was… decent. I suppose good enough for the time being, but throw in a few more ‘please’s’ for a gold star later, hm?”

Hero nodded vigorously, too nervous to speak another word in fear that Villain would make them restart the whole begging process. The villain on the other hand seemed very pleased with the other’s obedience.

“Good hero… such a good hero for me, hm? You must be really desperate to do all this, huh?” The criminal chuckled, finally standing up off their seat and leaning over to ruffle the hero’s hair.

“Villain I—“ The hero stood from their kneeling position on the ground. Turning to face their sworn enemy with a pink dusting on their cheeks.

The villain smiled as they booped the hero on the nose gently. “Anything you want, sweetheart. You’ve earned yourself a favour.”

They took one more deep breath, trying to steady themselves for their final request. Hero’s face already burning before a single word could leave their mouth.

I thought this line in particular was good: "The blush that slapped the hero in the face was almost painful, they wanted to curl over themselves and rot in their embarrassment." I don't know if it's the imagery or how it's described, but I really liked it and it stood out to me(on that stood out to me, anyway). I don't know why, but I also thought this one was good too: "If it was at all possible to perish, Hero truly wished for it in this moment." Honestly, the more I think about, the more I like the writing.

I'm kinda curious what Villain's reaction would be to Hero's request. I would think surprise, but perhaps not. I guess there is the question of whether or not they knew about Hero's mission. Maybe I'm off base with this, but they definitely seem like the type of person who would already know things and still make the other person tell them about it for their own satisfaction or whatever. They seem like just enough of a bastard to do it.

@mirohtron here you go, darling <3

And thank you so much to @creweemmaeec11 for making Secret Santa possible! Merry Christmas!

“I think someone is poisoning me.” It didn’t even reach the volume of a whisper because quite frankly, the hero wanted to keep this to themselves.

“Oh, you think so?” It made them jump a little. They frowned and looked at the villain who was occupied on their phone. It was sort of a tradition to pause when the fight got too heavy.

The hero felt like a lunatic, like a hypocrite. All of it was a play and the hero was the unillumined player on the stage, unknowing of the script and the outcome.

“No, let me rephrase that,” they said. “I think you are poisoning me.”

With a facility that astonished the hero, their enemy laughed at that. It wasn’t a joke on their part. They were being serious.

But the villain didn’t even bother to look up from their phone.

“I mean it.”

“You think I’m poisoning you?” The villain smirked when they switched off their phone and turned to their enemy. The hero had given them a black eye — purely accidentally — and when their gaze fastened on them, the hero could feel their heart skip a beat.

“For that matter, I do,” they said. Now being confronted like this, they felt uneasy. The villain was unpredictable. They could increase the dose anytime if they felt like it, especially when they knew that the hero knew.

“What makes you think that? What are your symptoms?” the villain asked.

“Stagnant trail of thought. Sweating. Dizziness. Being short of breath.” The hero picked on the skin around their nails impatiently. They were often violent enough to make their fingers bleed.

“Fast heartbeat, sweaty palms?” their enemy asked.

“Sort of.” The hero’s fingers hurt from the fight. On their knuckles was dried blood. They tasted iron.

It had to be a poison. Other explanations were too vague, too pervasive.

“It is pretty brave to address this, then,” the villain said. There was still a slender smile on their face.

“Are you gonna kill me now?” That made the villain laugh again, throwing their head back. When they didn’t get a reaction from the hero despite a blank stare, they leaned over.

“Little hero.” They snatched the hero’s chin, pulling them into their own personal space. “Believe me, you’d be dead if I poisoned you.”

They traced their enemy’s bottom lip carefully, their eyes fixed on the way they parted.

“I would’ve killed you a long time ago if I wanted you dead,” they explained casually. “And it wouldn’t be poison. I would kill you with my hands around your neck.”

The hero’s mind reeled. They felt nauseous. The villain’s fingers were oh so soft. It was intoxicating.

“I don’t understand…” They grasped the villain’s wrists, searching for something close to steadiness but they felt more vertiginous than ever. The air felt thin. Their throat pulsed.

“I’m not poisoning you, darling,” the villain mumbled. They let go of the hero and tilted their head. “I’m almost offended you think that I would.”

“But I only feel like this around you. You’re doing something.” Half a minute or so passed before the villain said anything.

As for Villain, I found their indifference to Hero's initial conclusion funny. It was also great when Villain not only assured Hero that if they wanted them dead, they would be, but also describe how they would go about it. Not only do I love that level of confidence in characters, but I also liked how it was done here. Villain in general was a fun character whose intelligence and perceptive nature was a nice balance to Hero's obliviosness.

Hello @onlywhump, and welcome to your secret santa! The request was for ‘Hero being a gift to Villain’, but I saw from your pinned post that you also like the living weapon trope and I loooooove that trope, so I hope you like this combination ;)

—–

Hero struggled not to tug at the ribbons. Weapons didn’t have thoughts, obviously, but it would be nicer if their decorations were a little looser. Maintaining circulation to their hands was key to retaining their effectiveness as a fighter. Of course, so was not being tied up with power dampeners and handcuffs overlaid in fat red ribbons, but Superhero hadn’t seemed to care about that. Superhero hadn’t seemed to care about them at all. 

Hero had thought…well. That they had been a good weapon, strong and unceasing, always following orders. They had apprehended Thief, hospitalised Vigilante, overpowered Henchman, taken down Villain. Wasn’t that enough to make them good? To make them worth keeping?

Apparently not. One missive from Supervillain demanding Superhero’s greatest weapon or secrets would be spilled, and that was it. Superhero had ordered them to be stripped of their uniform, gift wrapped, and dropped off here, kneeling on the concrete at the entrance to Supervillain’s lair. 

And despite the frigid wind biting at their skin, Hero stayed kneeling. Because they were a good weapon, and good weapons followed orders until the very end. Even if Superhero wasn’t their handler anymore, they would keep following her orders until- until-

Hero shivered. The concrete was biting deep into their knees now, leaving little red smears when they shifted. At least the colour matched the ribbons. Superhero had always liked that sort of coordination—it was why Hero’s uniform had been red, to match all the blood. Or to hide it. They had never been quite sure. 

They’d never thought they would miss that uniform, but they missed it now. It had been a sign of ownership, of belonging. It had designated them as a hero. It had kept them warm. They shivered again, curled up tighter. Weapons didn’t feel cold—or at least, they knew better than to complain about it. But…maybe a blanket would be nice. Just one. To prevent their muscles from seizing, and keep them ready to fight. Or a cushion to kneel on, so the concrete would stop shredding their knees. Hot soup would keep them nourished and warm and sort out the horrible dryness in the back of their throat. And, only to make them operationally efficient, it would be nice to have a handler that wanted to keep them, maybe train them, maybe take off the shock collar every once in a while, treat them to people food, explain why certain targets had to die, show them just enough mercy to explain what Supervillain wanted and what he might do to them-

“You’re not the weapon I was expecting.”

Hero flinched. They knew that voice. Everyone at headquarters knew that voice.

They sat up straight, like a good weapon greeting its owner, and looked Supervillain in his masked eyes. “I am Superhero’s greatest weapon,” they said. “Or, I was. Now I’m yours.”

Though it sucked reading how Supervillain didn't believe them, I can't exactly fault him for that. It's not unreasonable he assumed it was a trap to play on whatever mercy he has, or some sort of scheme to infiltrate his ranks. I'm glad he realized (or started to) what exactly Hero's situation was. With that said, I do have to question his motivations a bit. Hero will (probably) have a better life, but will Supervillain ultimately be using them as well? They're better off with him, but will they be stuck there for the rest of their life? What happens if Hero decides they don't want to go after Superhero anymore? That they find their path to getting better doesn't involve revenge against Superhero? It just left me with some interesting stuff to think about.

their prompt was: Supervillain isn't the type of person to celebrate the holidays, but villain and their henchmen want to show their appreciation for Supervillain being the best boss they could ever have so they plan a secret Christmas party! The villain could drag any heroes along too for it as well.

—

The betrayal went like this: the hero, leaning against the wall, panting, exhausted of all their powers, yet satisfied and content. The villain, leaning on the wall opposing them, them, too, exhausted, overexerted, but eyeing them curiously, unusual creature they were.

"Oh, fuck," wheezed the hero, leaning on their weapon. "God, those minions were terrible. Uhm. Is this it?"

"For us." The villain leaned up from the wall, paying no mind to their exhaustion. They were like that. A little robotic, forgetting they had a human body sometimes. The hero assumed they were going to work more. Poor thing. The hero eyed the corpses on the ground.

"And for you?"

"I'm not done," they said. "Not with you, at least." And after saying that, they knocked the hero out with the butt of their gun. Splendid. Perfect.

The hero woke up mad that they felt well-rested and ready to curse the villain out with all their fury. Unfortunately, they couldn't do that, because the villain slept soundly beside them on the bed their wrists were cuffed to--and it was already a very obvious courtesy that the villain cuffed them to something as comfortable as a bed--and the hero knew how horrible the villain was at taking care of themselves. They wouldn't be so cruel as to wake them up.

But still. The hero cursed the villain out in their mind. In fact, as they soundlessly tugged on the handcuffs and looked around for anything to pick them with, they busied their very hyperactive mind to come up with insults and lectures they'd spill onto the villain the second that they woke up. You two-faced buffoon. You... you... disappointment? Damn it. You shitfaced brick wall. That was a little funny.

The hero twisted their wrist a little wrong and made the chains of the cuffs clink together too loudly. The villain jolted awake at once and stared at them a little like a deer in headlights on the offensive, ready to jump onto the hood of the car. Then they quickly caught themselves and their usual annoying sangfroid slipped back into them.

"Oh. It's just you."

"Just me?" The hero's hackles rose as they watched the villain get up from the bed and slowly strip. What, like this was a one-night stand? "You brat! You could've given me a concussion!"

The villain looked back at them, bemused, as they unbuttoned the top of their uniform. "No, I know where to hit to give you a concussion and where to hit to not give you a concussion. It was uploaded in my memory before I was changed to this body."

"Brat!"

The villain's brows furrowed for just a moment as they thought of an insult back. "Loser."

"Cunt!"

The villain looked off into the distance, deep in thought, before they nodded their head in approval. "Whore."

The hero gasped. They watched the villain make their way to some wardrobe to the side of the room and fish out a button-up, shucking it over their shoulders like a jacket. "Wait. Is this a warehouse? You can't experiment on me--"

"It's not a warehouse. And your consent wouldn't matter," they added as an afterthought. "It's supervillain's compound." The hero gasped again, then went to pull the damn handcuffs off of their wrists with fervour. "Calm down. You won't be, like, Christmas Turkey, or whatever."

The fact that the villain was using filler words such as whatever and or, like was a serious smack in the face. But the hero had bigger problems. "Then?"

The villain finished buttoning up their shirt and rolled their shoulders now that they were in more comfortable fabrics. The hero heard a bone pop and the villain stared at their own shoulder in alarm, still not used to their human body, before they quickly muttered an oh and moved on. They hummed in thought, which was very odd and concerning because they rarely ever paused to think because their brain was so fast. They tapped the side of the wardrobe doors and looked back at the hero. "You're boss's favourite hero."

"So I'm a Christmas present?!"

"No." The villain frowned. The hero had to admit, the frown was a little adorable on their usually serious face. "You're a...hm, I suppose you can be called a guest."

"A guest to an all-villain party. Only hero. How amazing."

"Not all-villain." The villain raised up a finger. "That fireball-blasting vigilante's going to be there."

"Oh. Okay. That one's head over heels for me." The villain blinked in the hero's peripherals. "All right. So what's the party about?"

"Christmas."

"I know, stupid, but why are you guys hosting it?"

For a beat the villain stayed silent. Then they stared at the ground and then the bed sheets and anywhere else but at the hero's face. They walked to the bed and sat down and the hero saw that the tips of their ears were pink. That put the hero off to a very great degree, but it wasn't bad. The hero often thought that it was endearing whenever they found a new idiosyncrasy in the villain because of their human body.

"Well, supervillain made me," the villain said. "They gave me terabytes of information to preserve and keep and then they risked losing all of it just to save me with a human body. I have to give them something back somehow. This is the only good place I know to start from. They barely ever stop working."

...oh. The hero suddenly felt the very urgent compulsion to hold the villain's human face in their hands. Would the flush in their ears travel down to their cheeks if they did that? The hero quickly exhaled. Don't think. Do not think.

"Anyway." The villain quickly picked themselves up and got up from the bed for the second time that day. "Their henchman is also very eager to give back their generosity somehow. I'm kind of competing against them for best employee. And you're supervillain's favourite toy."

"That's so dehumanizing. So dehumanizing. You of all people should understand that."

The villain cocked their head to the side. The hero didn't think that the villain knew how endearing the confused tic was.

The hero shook their cuffs. "Well, get me out of these. We've got a party to fix, right?"

It was funny how despite being knocked out by Villain, Hero isn't rude or disrespectful. They're not a monster who wakes people up for no reason. It was an accident that Villain happened to wake up. Also, despite the snippet being about planning the perfect party as a thank you to Supervillain, I liked the way the heroxvillain stuff was added. It didn't feel forced or jarring, and it went perfectly with the rest of the snippet. And while mutual romantic feelings is implied, I like how they have a solid friendship to stand on first.

Took part in the secret santa event @creweemmaeec11 hosted and this is for @laffy-taffy-creations! I hope you like it ahhh writing this kind of topic was new T-T really hoping its fun to read *scream*

The prompt request was- heroxvillain who have pent-up emotions from both being oblivious to their (and eachother’s) feelings and that realization moment of just ‘oh, I’ve been so desperately in love with them for years- WAIT WHAT?’ in their thinking

I love a good fancy party plot. Those are always fun to read about. And write (though I haven't written one yet). Villain was a really fun character. I liked his sarcasm and his generally laid-back attitude. I liked Hero. I felt bad for her being alone at the party. Either she went with a group and they all abandoned her, or she had no friends to dance with. Neither possibility is a nice one. Anyway, they work well off each other and I enjoyed their interactions.

It was a little funny that Villain used trope terminology to describe their feelings/relationship while Hero just flat out said they were in love with each other. Though we don't know the characters well, I think it gives us a good idea of what they're like. As I said, I liked their interactions and had fun reading about them.

Secret Santa Snippet for @hufflepuffwritingstuff2! I'm sorry it took a bit longer to get out, but holy shit was this a long piece.

What the fuck do you mean it was 2618 words???

My prompt was: fluffy hero gets "kidnapped" by Villain because they've been sick, and Villain wants to take care of them <3

Which I may or may not have slightly strayed away from? Unsure

Anyways, here you go!

I felt bad for Hero. They shouldn't be overworking themself (especially when they're sick), and yet they do so anyway. They need a break or a rest or something, though I guess it at least makes somewhat sense why they aren't taking one (though it does sound like they've been sick or something for a while). Also, I know it's not the point, but the idea of clothes with built in heaters sounds so nice. Lucky them.

I love how Hero goes from patrolling and keeping an eye out for villains to being cared for by one. At least this villain seems pleasant for the most part. Though there's definitely the question of whether or not they're trustworthy. I also found it kinda funny how they kept on passing out then waking up to Villain or their family. I enjoyed the conversation they had with the sister (especially because we got some insight on Villain), though I have to judge their taste in food.

The prompt request is: a hero and villain that both like civilian, and civilian ends up dating villain bc they genuinely like them, and hero getting super jealous and kidnaps civilian because of it.

Here’s your snippet, Lumi - enjoy!

CW: delusional thinking, and kidnapping of course

“Oh, here’s [Villain],” said the civilian in entirely the wrong tone of voice. It was far too relieved. Happy, even, happy to be interrupted despite all the work the hero had put into making this perfect Christmas Eve - the cabin, the music, the candles, their special homemade peppermint cocoa that the civilian had said just last year was the best they’d ever tasted… 

But the civilian was right, that was definitely the villain flying up the mountainside right towards them. The hero shoved that thought away for later and stood, careful to position themselves in front of civilian.

The cabin door exploded open in a burst of snow and splinters and the villain skidded in. “[Civilian]!” they cried.

The hero was definitely not getting their deposit back.

“I’m fine, everything’s fine,” the civilian said immediately. Their voice was still so strange and pitchy, not like them at all. “[Hero] just wanted to, uh. Talk. Catch up. Okay! This was nice, but I should go…”

The civilian tried to move past the hero, towards the door. Hero’s arm snapped out, catching civilian before they could put themselves in danger. More in danger. 

“[Civilian], you don’t have to go with them,” the hero said again. “I’ll protect you.”

The villain, balanced on the balls of their feet between attack and defense, gaped at the hero. “Excuse me?” they said.

They had the nerve to look genuinely baffled. As if the hero hadn’t figured out what was really going on. What must be going on.

“You heard me,” the hero said coldly to the villain. “Undo it. Whatever you’ve done to them - blackmail, mind control, whatever! - undo it. Now.”

“[Hero], stop it.” The civilian grabbed for the hero’s face, trying to turn their gaze back towards them, away from villain. “I told you, [Villain] hasn’t done anything to me.”

The villain’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, wow. That’s your play here, [Hero]?”

“It’s not a play!” the hero cried - too loud. They wanted to throw villain back out into the cold, grab civilian by the shoulders and shake them out of it. They rounded back on their mortal. “Do you know who [Villain] is? What they’ve done? Who they’ve hurt?”

“You’re hurting me,” the civilian tightly.

The hero looked down, and let go with a guilty start. The wacky blue and white holiday sweater they’d gotten for civilian (civilian hated green and red) was wrinkled where hero’s hand had squeezed too tight. “Sorry,” the hero gasped. “But-”

“Stop! Both of you stop! Do you remember our deal?” the civilian snapped, rubbing their arm. The hero’s breath caught again at that helplessly fragile, mortal body. So goddamn easy for the world to break if hero wasn’t there to defend them. To save them.

“You agreed you’d abide by my decision. Both of you,” the civilian added, shooting a look to villain. “No gloating. No envy. We were all going to be adults about this.”

“Yes, but-” The hero cut themselves off.

The civilian’s beautiful mouth twisted. They looked a little scared - of course, with the villain so near! - but mostly they looked so, so disappointed. “But you thought I would choose you?” they finished.

“You’re so kind and caring and good,” the hero whispered. “How could you choose them?”

“Step away,” the villain said softly, knuckles lighting up in frosty blue light. “[Civilian], they’re not going to hear reason.”

“Okay, you can go screw yourself!” the hero snapped at their old nemesis, their own power flaring red and gold. They grabbed civilian by the waist, hardening themselves to the startled yelp, the frantic twist trying to break away. One problem at a time - get rid of villain first, then back to trying to make civilian see the truth. They were definitely not getting that deposit back. “You knew how I felt about them and you had to swoop in-”

“That’s not what happened!”

“-and steal them from me!”

“[Civilian] is not a thing to be stolen!”

“Enough, stop!” the civilian screamed. “I’ll stay!”

Both supers snapped their heads over to the civilian. Their powers settled and the light in the cozy little vacation cabin dropped back down to the soft glow of the embers in the fireplace and the flicker of candlelight, dancing off the civilian’s hair and their wide, scared eyes. They slumped in the hero’s arm. “Please, don’t fight. I’ll stay, just for tonight, okay?”

The hero’s heart leapt. The villain looked stunned. “Civilian - ?”

“You heard them,” the hero said. “[Civilian], you’re making the right choice-”

“Trust me, this is what needs to happen,” the civilian said, voice strained but staring at villain with an unblinking gaze. They leaned over to pick up their cocoa cup, straightened back up into the hero’s side. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready. Oh,” they blinked down into their mug. “This has gone cold.”

“I got it.” The hero grabbed the ceramic, careful not to overheat it. A moment later steam wafted off the top - flawless! “There. Now, [Villain], will you leave or do I -?”

“Ready,” said the civilian and flung the steaming cocoa into the hero’s face.

The hero yelped and sputtered - and let go of civilian. A flash of cold and a hard blow sent them sprawling backwards over the couch. In the moments it took them to pick themselves back up - the fire had gone out and the civilian and the villain were gone into the night.

The hero stood there in the dark and the growing cold, peppermint cocoa soaking into their sweater, Bing Crosby singing Christmas carols in the background.

While we didn't get to see the events that led up to this, we can get an idea of everyone's relationship with each other. In Hero's case, I think they ultimately don't respect Civilian (and they certainly don't respect their decision). In fact, I'm not entirely sure if they actually see them as a person or not. That's mostly based off of this: "The hero’s breath caught again at that helplessly fragile, mortal body. So goddamn easy for the world to break if hero wasn't there to defend them. To save them." They certainly have an idealized version of Civilian in their head, judging by the things they say about Villain. I think it's also made worse by the black and white thinking They have going on. They firmly place themself as the "good guy" and Villain as the "bad guy". Because of this thinking, it doesn't make sense Civilian (who they view as a innocent, kindhearted person) would want to be with Villain. Despite Civilian clearly being on edge because of them, they don't see it as their fault. They even try to rationalize it by placing all the blame on Villain. Also, funny how Hero respects Civilian's choice when it aligns with their opinions.

This snippet is a secret Santa gift for @gingerly-writing ! I hope you like it, Ginger! Your request was super fun, I hope I did it justice!

It started out as a normal work relationship. Supervillain would work in the shadows while Hero tried to undermine them from outside. But eventually Supervillain stopped sending villains and henchmen and started showing up to fights themselves. Now, Hero was narrowly dodging balls of electricity while simultaneously sending out their own ice beams.

“You won’t get away with whatever it is you’re planning,” Hero shouted across the warehouse, “I’ll make sure of it!”

Hero sent throwing stars made of ice in Supervillain’s direction, which Supervillain destroyed with carefully aimed electric bolts.

“My dear little Hero,” Supervillain said, seemingly unbothered by Hero’s threat, “whatever do you think I’m planning that’s got you so worked up? Global destruction? The collapse of society as we know it?”

“Well, yes!” Hero said, “what else could you be up to?”

As they were speaking, Supervillain had slowly been closing the distance between them and Hero. Now, Hero had been backed into a wall, with Supervillain mere inches from their face.

“Have you ever considered that I’ve merely been trying to get your attention?” Supervillain asked.

Hero froze.

“W-what?”

“I’ve been watching you for some time, Hero, and I must say, you’re quite the distracting little thing. It started as mere surveillance, making sure you weren’t a threat to my plans. But then… then, all my plans fizzled out as you became the only thing I could think about. I stopped sending my subordinates out to fight you, you’re mine to fight and mine alone. Let’s just say, I’ve become infatuated with you, and I intend to make you mine.”

Hero felt fear twist in the pit of their stomach. Suddenly the threat of global destruction or the collapse of society seemed a lot easier to deal with.

“I’ll give you some time to put your affairs in order,” Supervillain said, “after that, you’ll be coming with me.”

“Excuse me?” Hero blurted, “no- I, I’m not coming with you! I’m not yours to have!”

“One week should be ample time to let things sink in,” Supervillain continued, ignoring Hero’s protests, “until then, little Hero.”

Supervillain put a hand on Hero’s shoulder, letting electricity flow from their body into Hero’s. Hero cried out and fell to the ground. Their eyes fluttered shut. When they came to, Supervillain was gone.

…

One week later

Bolts of lightning shot down from the sky all over the city, catching buildings and trees on fire and causing outages on across the power grid. In the center of it all, a figure stood over another on a rooftop.

“Accept that you’re mine, and all of this stops,” Supervillain said softly.

Hero tried and failed to push themselves off the ground. They crashed back down on the rooftop, tears springing into their eyes.

“I’m not yours,” Hero bit out.

Supervillain chuckled, like a parent patiently trying to explain something obvious to their child. The storm only grew stronger as they summoned another bolt of lightning right toward Hero. Hero screamed as the electricity rippled through them.

“Please, please stop,” Hero whimpered.

Supervillain crouched down to Hero’s level and petted their hair lovingly.

“Only you can make it stop,” Supervillain whispered.

Supervillain shot another weak stream of electricity through Hero’s body. Hero cried out as their body convulsed on the ground.

“Alright!” Hero sobbed, “Alright, I’ll come with you.”

“Good Hero,” Supervillain said.

Supervillain picked Hero up as though they were the most fragile thing in the world, and carried them bridal style off the rooftop and into the city sky. As soon as Hero was in their arms, the lightning across the city ceased to strike.

…

Supervillain landed inside their lair, Hero still in their arms. The ceiling closed over them as their feet touched the ground. They carried Hero down several hallways until they reached a large, modern-looking bedroom. They laid Hero down on the bed.

“Now, little Hero,” Supervillain said, pulling off their gloves, “I hope you realize that I except total and complete surrender from you if you want to keep your city safe. We’re going to have to establish some ground rules.”

“G-ground rules?” Hero asked, still twitching from residual electricity.

“Mhm,” Supervillain said, “for instance: you’re free to roam the grounds at your leisure, but if you want to leave my lair, you’ll have to be accompanied by me.”

“But-”

“The next rule is you are not to use your powers against me, is that clear? I don’t fancy becoming an ice sculpture in my own home.”

Supervillain tucked a strand of hair behind Hero’s ear.

“I think you’ll become accustomed to living here soon enough,” Supervillain said, “in fact, I daresay you’ll enjoy your new way of life. Anything you want, within reason, name it, and its yours. You’ll never have to work a day in your life again. All you have to do is be mine.”

Hero looked out the window at the city outside. Some buildings were partially destroyed from Supervillain’s lightning, and firefighters were still putting out the blazes on the trees. It would only get worse if Hero fought. So, Hero became Supervillain’s, and the city was finally at peace.

At this point, I like that the snippet could go in a few directions. Supervillain could have actually started to fall them, they could be distracting Hero, or they're obsessed with them. Unfortunately for Hero, it's the last one. I feel bad for them, because they're clearly not comfortable with that revelation. It worse that Supervillain is very matter-of-fact about it.There's no "I'll give you a week to decide what you want", it's "You're coming with me in a week and you have no say about it".

Thanks to @creweemmaeec11​, writers on the Writing Misfits Discord server are able to be a part of a secret Santa with each other! Sun’s request was for a villain x civilian where Villain is hurt and Civilian helps them. I noticed a lot of your writing, and snippets you’ve reblogged have he/him and she/her pronouns, so I decided to include that. Enjoy! ✨

Villain could barely feel his legs from the cold. His feet had gone numb long ago from walking through the iced-over snow. Each time his boots crunched through, even more freezing powder and ice bits made their way into his shoes.  The heroes had given up their chase, but it didn’t leave Villain with much relief as he trudged through the cold with no hope of escaping back the way he came. Suddenly, his heart thrummed to life with hope as he saw light in the distance: a saving grace through the darkness. Muscles alight with newfound purpose, he picked up his pace towards the glow. His cracked lips formed a painful smile as he saw the light was coming from a house, complete with some smoke coming out of the chimney. Oh, he could practically feel the warmth from here. He sped up again, wanting nothing more than to collapse inside. He dropped to his knees outside the door, managing to pound his almost purple hands on the door a few times before he crumpled into a ball. After what seemed like an eternity, he gave another small knock and the door finally opened. He leaned into the warmth coming from the house as the person that opened the door gasped and breathed out something that sounded like oh my goodness under their breath. Fearing they would slam the door in surprise or fear, Villain reached forward and slapped his hand on the ground, reaching just across the threshold into the house.

“Please help.” Villain’s throat was burning from the amount of freezing air that had slowly tore through it. He felt his arms being lifted as the person started dragging him inside. He lifted his head up as much as he could, straining to meet the eyes of his savior. Unfortunately, as soon as he was able to make contact with her, she let out a gasp and the hold on his arms was released. His face smacked against the floor, causing him to let out a weak groan.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to drop you. It’s just, I’ve seen you before. On TV. Are you Villain?” The person asked.

“Yes,” Villain whimpered, fearing it would drive the homeowner to literally kick him out. To his surprise, the civilian did not. In fact, she simply grabbed Villain’s arms and resumed dragging him into the house. He eventually got his feet under him and was able to shakily stand on his own. “What’s your name?” He asked the civilian as she guided him to a purple couch near a bookshelf and old record player.

“I’m Civilian,” she said. The villain nodded. It was a nice name. Civilian rushed over to a bin at the side of the room and started gathering armfuls of blankets. She hobbled over to Villain, dropping them into his lap before arranging them so that three were over his shoulders and two were across his lap. “Oh! You probably need a hat too!” Her fluffy socks nearly caused her to slip on the way to the door to grab a beanie off one of the hooks. She pulled the hat over Villain’s head, trying to situate it so it would stay on. The villain waved her off as she struggled to fit the evidently too-small beanie on his head. Villain pulled the hat on, pressing it down before pulling one of the blankets over his head to keep it in place.

“What made you decide to help me?” He asked.

“I mean, I would have helped just about anyone who showed up half frozen to death on my doorstep. And after I recognized you, I mean even if I wanted to throw you out, a villain probably wouldn’t be the best person to refuse care to.” She let out a shaky laugh.

“You thought I would try to kill you?”

“Well I don’t really know. From the news, it doesn’t look like you’re a very cruel person, so I probably wouldn’t have done it even if I wasn’t scared of you. But there’s a lot of other villains out there that would probably gut me if I threw them out into the snow.”

“You’re scared of me?”

“A little,” Civilian admitted. Villain nodded, feeling it would be ineffective, or even counterproductive given the right tone, if he assured her she didn’t have to be. That he wouldn’t hurt her. “Uhm, would you like some food? I have a few different types of soup.”

“No thank you. I’ll have some later. Right now I’d just like some water.”

“Oh, yeah, of course. I’ll go get that.” Civilian turned to run into the kitchen, fumbling for a glass from the cabinet. Villain found himself smiling at Civilian; her slightly messy hair, pink cheeks, fuzzy pajama pants and oversized sweatshirt… Everything about her made him want to smile. When she got back, she held out the glass of crisp water, giving a small smile when Villain took hold of it. “I-I think I’ll just go make some soup for myself. Let me know if you want any.” Civilian went back into the kitchen, letting out a quiet, breathy laugh out of pure shock as she pulled a small pot out of a drawer.

“You know, I think I will have some soup now,” Villain’s voice called from the den.

“Okay! It’ll be ready soon.” Civilian set the pot on the stove, emptying a container of her favorite tomato soup into it before adding in a bit of basil and milk. Once it started to bubble, she took it off the heat and poured it into two bowls. She stirred both of them for a bit before carrying them into the den and setting one on the coffee table in front of Villain, sticking a spoon in it before sitting in the armchair across from him. Her eyes shifted around the room as she considered what to say as Villain looked at her with a slight tilt of his head.

“You’re pretty cute.” His grin was lopsided as he took a sip of water. Civilian’s eyes widened, and Villain could see the pink in her cheeks grow darker and spread further around her face.

“I… Well, thank y-you?” She sputtered out.

I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions between our Villain and Civilian. It's hilarious how she immediately drops him and sweet how she helps him despite knowing who he is. I like the whole "civilian character/good guy helping the villain/bad guy despite known who they are" thing. It's fun. Anyway, their whole conversation was nice and I thought it was cute how Villain thought of Civilian.

Heyo y'all, I am participating in @creweemmaeec11's Secret Santa yay!!!! My prompt was from @beanswoo, and I really enjoyed writing it, so I hope they and you'll enjoy reading it just as much!

Hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 1,123

[Hero] glanced around their roo- cell for what had to be the twentieth time. It was nice on the outside. The walls were painted, the floor was a plush carpet, and the furniture appeared to be made of high-quality wood. It was all a front. [Hero] knew it was all a front. The dresser was just wood glued over hard metal, and the walls were painted cement.

It was a trick, it was always a trick when [Villain] was involved.

They wrung the sheets in their hands as they glanced towards the door. It, too, was wood, or at least it looked to be. There was undoubtedly hard metal under the thin planks and a variety of different sensors and locks keeping the thing closed. The windows must also be bulletproof.

[Hero] nearly tore the bed sheets apart as they felt the walls closing in on them, the air growing thicker and thicker, their impending death looming over them like a ticking clock. They didn’t know what [Villain] planned for them, but they had some ideas.

[Mentor] had told them of the things [Villain] had done to their other students. Awful, horrible things. Some of the students even survived long enough for [Mentor] to save them, but not for very long. [Mentor] said they had high hopes for [Hero], hopes they would surpass their other students, and their failures.

They knew they were letting [Mentor] down, and after everything, they had done for them. They were disgusting, they were a failure, they were nothing but tra-

The door to the room creaked open, and it sounded so much like a real wooden door. [Hero] guessed there was some kind of speaker in the door or next to it, making it seem more realistic.

I really enjoyed it when things started to feel not right, when Hero started thinking about what Mentor told them. It starts off normal as Hero remembers what their Mentor told them about Villain. How Villain is basically a monster and that they've lost heroes to them before. Then things become not quite right as Hero insults themself, calling themself disgusting, a failure, and a traitor. They probably would've kept going had they not be interrupted. It leaves the reader questioning why they would do that. As Hero and Villain interact, it become a bit unsettling.

Hero notes the wooden door sounds real, they note that Mentor hates to see them upset, how Mentor's voice is hard and judging, then Villain talks, and they seem to be the opposite of what Mentor claimed and how Hero perceived them. Things just keep piling on until the reveal. The build up is just really good and I think is pulled off well. Initially, I thought Mentor had been killing their previous heroes and Villain was one who managed to escape and was trying to help Hero. Nope! It's arguably worse than that. In a really good twist, Hero was the other students all a long. I like how everything slowly unfolds. I just have to wonder how many times everyone's been through this, how long has it been going on.

Secret santa gift for @epiclamer ✨✨✨

Originally I was going to do a spice thing between a captured hero and captor villain but I hit a dead end halfway through then I got the idea of hero/sidekick captured together and, well…. ✨✨✨enjoyyy

Cw// hero thinks bad thoughts, mentions of past torture, slight unreality, inevitable future torture

Despite the horrors they're going through, I'm glad they can at least find some amount of comfort with each other. I guess there's nothing like the little threat of freezing to death and inevitable torture to bring people closer together. I mean seriously, this villain is particularly cruel. Though while they suck, it does make for a good story.

I felt really bad for Hero, thinking they failed. Anyone with half a brain would know the situation isn't remotely their fault, though it's not easy for them to understand that. At least they have each other. For now. I actually enjoyed the bleak tone throughout this piece. This line was especially painful: "If they were awake, they couldn’t be caught off guard." Despite their best attempts at surviving, Villain's torment is inevitable. They know they'll be back to inflict more harm. They know there is currently no end in sight for the torture they're experiencing.

(A Secret Santa Snippet)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! This year I chose to participate in a Secret Santa snippet exchange! I got to write for @kitsunesakii this holiday season! I really hope you enjoy your snippet! I hope I did it justice haha 😊

Prompt: A hero that is hated by the community after they find out that they are secretly a vampire and a villain that confesses that they knew (and that they love the hero even though they are a vampire)

Hero looked out the window of the café that they sat in, it appeared to be just after dusk outside. The little coffee shop was empty of people except two of the baristas, in which Hero could hear their whispers as to whether or not they should kick them out. They just wanted a relaxed start to their evening with no trouble, they could not even drink the coffee, but it looked like they would have to leave soon.

 Many of the customers made their way out as Hero walked in. Despite their status of being a hero, they were all afraid. It hurt Hero’s heart to see the civilians they strived to protect for years quickly turned their backs on them. 

They sat in the café, watching the sun go down. The other heroes were wary of them as well. As soon as their secret was discovered, they suddenly were not included in activities and hangouts anymore.

Their head turned to look around when they heard the bell ring for the door of the coffee shop. To Hero’s surprise, Villain walked in. And even more so when they did not look scared or hateful, rather they just looked politely surprised as well. They did not turn around to leave, rather they walked over and sat down at Hero’s table. 

“Hero? What are you doing here at this hour? I heard there was a party tonight for a lot of the city's major heroes. I’m surprised you are not there?” Villain looked genuinely concerned, it almost felt endearing to Hero, they have not seen that in a bit.

“I don’t want any funny business tonight Villain.”

“None to be had, it was a real question.”

A silence fell between the two for many moments before Hero spoke again. 

Hero sighed, “You are not exactly welcome to parties anymore when you can’t have the party food.”

“Because of um, the blood thing?” Villain asked hesitantly, hoping they did not overstep. 

“Exactly because of the blood thing.. I’ve been like this for years, and now when it suddenly comes out,” Hero waved their hands in a dramatic fashion, disdain filled their voice, “I’m no longer wanted like all my effort and time I’ve put into helping citizens in this city is for nothing.”

Villain sat there quietly, listening to the hero talk. Hero sighed again, putting their head in their hand. “I apologize, you walked here probably for a coffee and I’m dumping this on you,” they laughed nervously. 

Villain shook their head, encouraging Hero to continue talking. “Don’t say sorry, it sounded like you needed it. Please go on.”

“But anyways, my point was you don’t get invited to parties when they think you will eat the guests.” Hero did not understand the audacity of people to think such things. They had more sense than to do that, they would never want to do that. 

Villain reached across the table and took Hero’s hand in theirs, ignoring the fact it was ice cold. “Well.. for the record.. I knew, and I didn’t care.”

“Everyone knows now, Villain.”

“No, no,” they shook their head, Hero misunderstood them. “I knew you were a vampire while it was a secret. I didn’t tell anyone. I saw you uh, feeding on some animal. I never brought it up because you never mentioned it or tried to bite me.”

Hero’s eyes widened, how had they been so careless? “How long have you known?”

“A few months,” Villain answered. 

Hero fell quiet again, trying to think of an appropriate response. They looked outside, it was completely dark now. Their head rushed with thoughts and questions, but they eventually landed on one to ask. “Then- then why did you not hate me like everyone else?”

Villain could see Hero’s conflicted expression as different thoughts flew through their head. They squeezed their hand reassuringly. “Hey, remember to take deep breaths okay? I’m not like those other shit heroes. I can see in your everyday actions that you just want to help people despite being a vampire. I know you don’t want to feed on me or anyone else.”

Hero nodded, taking deep breaths like Villain said. 

“And well.. this last part is a little silly.. but I really do care about you, a little too much. Yeah we fight because I commit crimes and you have to stop me, but even if you think your heart is cold, I see so much differently. It is so caring and kind..” Villain started to ramble, they looked away sheepishly when they caught themself in the act. 

“You think that?” Hero asked.

“You being a vampire means nothing to me. You are still the same Hero, and I love you, especially for who you are, vampire or not,” Villain admitted on impulse. 

“Oh wow.. okay.. um haha yeah, love you too then.” That was one way to get Hero to stop talking bad about themself. 

“You said you couldn’t go to that party? Let’s just go have a small one at my apartment, you and I. We can just watch movies for the rest of the night for that matter,” Villain said, standing up, gesturing for Hero to do the same. 

“That sounds.. that sounds like fun,” Hero smiled nervously, their fangs showing through slightly, standing up. 

“It will be, I promise you.”

Villain took their hand in theirs again and walked out of the coffee shop into the cool evening air. Hero felt happy for the first time in awhile as they walked with them to their apartment.

After Villain appeared, I like how it went from "Oh Villain's here to gloat/make my everything even more miserable" to "This isn't so bad, and at least they aren't afraid of me" to the mutual love confession. Just Hero starting out uneasy until they grow more comfortable/relaxed in Villain's presence was nice. I'm glad Hero could vent to someone about their feelings because it sounded like they needed it.