#i finally found a computer where i could upload this madness

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 42: Mission: Omega

''E-123, you didn't know – now I'm gonna show you the power that is me. You try to take me down- stop the show, seems you've never tasted fear- or loss of control. The power lives in me- The power that is me!''

– This Machine by Sonic Heroes (Team Dark Theme Song)

xXxXxXx

''Seriously?! He wants you to do that!'' Minami exclaimed in surprise.

''We were just as surprised,'' Touka said.

''I wonder what Egghead is going to say about this,'' Sonic said with a devious smirk on his expression.

Touka, Shadow and Rouge had earlier in the day a briefing with the Commander in regards to their mission, and once they were done with it, they quickly went to Touka and Shadow's room to call Team Neos about it. They were told that ARMS had found one of Eggman's bases and wanted to send the three for a recon mission, clearly seeing the Doctor as a huge threat. Team Neos' reaction to this was… strangely positive, with Sonic even looking excited. The three ARMS Agents figured that this was because they would be dealing with a familiar foe rather than some random Irregular. Not to mention, Dr. Eggman was currently their ally until they resolved this situation with ARMS, so they could discuss their next move.

''I hope you better have some good news if you're calling me!'' Dr. Eggman finally appeared on the screen, looking as irritated as ever.

''It depends on what you define as good news, Doctor,'' Rouge said, pressing a button on the holographic screen, opening a map with coordinates. ''ARMS is targeting one of your bases, specifically the one located here.''

''What?!'' Dr. Eggman said, less in disbelief and more because he couldn't believe the audacity of the organization to go after one of his bases. He looked at the location, a bit lost in thought as he tried to recall which one of his bases this one was. ''Huh, never expected they'd find this one.''

''Is it important?'' Lucas asked, with the whole of Team Neos staring at him in curiosity and anticipation. Dr. Eggman just waved him off.

''It is actually a storage facility for my E-100 Series of robots. I haven't used it in ages. As a matter of fact, I had discontinued it a while ago,'' he explained.

''Why would you discontinue them?'' Tails asked.

''I moved on to different projects, but I might revisit this one,'' Dr. Eggman said, suddenly grinning deviously as he turned to the ARMS Agents. ''You said that ARMS is targeting this Egg Base?''

''That's correct,'' Shadow answered, not liking the look the Doctor was giving them. ''This is supposed to be a recon mission.''

''Ho ho ho, that's excellent! Let me guess, they're hoping to steal some information from me,'' Dr. Eggman said, with the ARMS Agents nodding, slowly starting to regret their alliance with the mad Doctor. ''Then, I have the perfect answer for this situation.''

''Which is…?'' Makoto trailed off.

''I recall that your idea was to blackmail ARMS, wasn't it, Kinomoto?'' Dr. Eggman turned to Lucas, who just nodded in response, furrowing a brow as he wondered where this was going. ''Well, let's just say that I had been inspired and had been working on a special virus that cannot be detected, and once it enters the ARMS network system, it would start to download all of their sensitive data to the EggNet, and eventually delete itself once it is done.''

''That's… Is that even possible to be done?'' Silver asked.

''Of course it is! Don't question my genius!'' Dr. Eggman shouted back in indignation, getting several eye-rolls in response. He groaned, but decided to continue, ''Regardless, I will leave the virus at the computer within the Egg Base Omega, along with some dummy data that will send ARMS on a wild goose chase. All you have to do is to download it and make sure it is uploaded into the ARMS systems. The virus will take care of the rest. Understood?''

''Loud and clear, Doctor,'' Touka responded in a snarky tone. Dr. Eggman shot her a glare, with Touka sighing. ''I suppose this shouldn't be too difficult then. We'll be in and out in no time.''

''That's what you think.'' Dr. Eggman's comment caused everyone to stare at him suspiciously. ''I don't plan to make this easy for you just because we're in an alliance. As a matter of fact, since you'll be breaking into my property, I'll make sure that all of the defenses are activated.''

''I guess we should've expected that,'' Lily suddenly said. ''Not to mention, if ARMS keeps tabs on the Egg Base, they would get suspicious if there isn't some kind of retaliation.''

''Lily's right,'' Amy said. ''If things are too easy, they might want to know why.''

''Tch, do I look like care about that?'' Dr. Eggman interrupted her, grinning. ''While having your teammates succeed would benefit me in the long run, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't relish in them being beaten by my robots.''

''No one is surprised by that,'' Lucas commented. Dr. Eggman just narrowed his eyes, but then disconnected, figuring this was enough information he had provided them with.

''I don't trust him,'' Knuckles said once the Doctor was disconnected.

''None of us does, Knux, but we all have the same goal now,'' Sonic said.

''Honestly, while I agree with Dr. Eggman's plan, I don't like the idea that he would be the one who have full access to such sensitive information,'' Lucas said.

''Well, if we knew where exactly this information is being uploaded to, I suppose we could create an encrypted file that Eggman wouldn't be able to access,'' Warren said. ''Actually, I'm sure that a file protected by a password or several of them would be enough to ensure that Eggman wouldn't be able to get through it, considering the poor security of his own network.''

This caused several of his teammates to chuckle in amusement, with Tails adding, ''Unfortunately, we won't be able to do this from here, as we would need a more direct access to the EggNet and the virus itself, but you guys could do that.''

''What do we have to do?'' Rouge asked.

''Once you have access to the computer at the Egg Base, you'll use the program we sent you and follow the instructions we've written down. If everything goes well, the program will trace down the location of the file, and you'll be able to encrypt it,'' Tails explained.

''No problem,'' Rouge said, glancing at Touka and Shadow, who just nodded in acknowledgement.

xXx

Shadow's ears flicked as he heard soft buzzing and opened his eyes, reaching underneath his pillow and taking out the AR Visor he kept hidden there. He turned to the bed on the other side of the room, taking note of Touka being fast asleep, her back turned to him and then sat up, throwing the blanket over his head before answering the call.

''Sonic, why are you calling me at 2AM?'' Shadow stared at the small screen that was showing Sonic, who was lying in his bed. Sonic, in turn, gave him a sheepish smile.

''I couldn't really sleep, so I wanted to check on you,'' Sonic replied innocently, having realized the moment he saw Shadow's annoyed expression that he really shouldn't have called his rival this late. However, he spent most of the night tossing and turning in his bed, until he decided to call Shadow for his own peace of mind.

''Well, I can sleep and you just saw me a few hours ago during the team meeting,'' Shadow replied in a matter-of-fact tone, his eyes narrowed as he wondered whether there was something more to this conversation. ''Is there anything you want to talk about? I sincerely doubt that's the only reason you had called me.''

Sonic fell silent for a moment, then sighed, a small smile forming on his lips, as he should've known that Shadow would be blunt about this. ''It is really dull without you.''

''I suppose you just got used to us having our daily sparring matches, so it is not surprising that you would feel like that,'' Shadow replied, keeping his voice in a whisper to make sure that Touka doesn't wake up.

''Yeah, you're right…'' Sonic trailed off, wondering if he really should continue the conversation. He knew that Shadow had a mission tomorrow and he probably shouldn't interrupt him like this, but on the other hand, he was genuinely happy to see him and hear him.

''Sonic?''

''Huh, yeah?''

''You're staring at me.''

''Oh, sorry.'' Sonic was flustered to be caught like this. Was it really that obvious?

Shadow sighed, wondering what this situation even was. His mind was still occupied with the mission, so having Sonic call him out of nowhere to talk to him was a bit jarring, albeit not unwelcome. Perhaps having someone to take his mind off the things that troubled him would put him at ease, if only a little bit. ''How was your day?''

''My day? Well…'' Sonic had to admit that he was genuinely surprised that Shadow would initiate small talk. ''Lucas, Warren, Tails and I had talked to Loki, the wolf Commander of the Hunters, and he knows about ARMS, but doesn't trust them because of an accident where an Irregular like us was taken by them and never appeared again. I don't think that the Hunters are too familiar with ARMS.''

''I wouldn't be surprised,'' Shadow said, narrowing his eyes. ''After all, ARMS treats Irregulars like dangerous weapons. They even wanted me to absorb as much of Touka's BioEnergy as possible, so I was forced to use Chaos Surge to stop it.''

''Are you okay?'' Sonic asked worriedly. ''I know that you're not to keen on using BioEnergy, even if it's for a Chaos Surge.''

''I'm fine, since Touka has also recovered from the ordeal. I'm concerned what ARMS might do if they attempt to investigate my Chaos Surge ability. They might go after the rest of Team Neos,'' Shadow told him, rubbing his temple as he felt an oncoming headache.

''Don't worry about us, worry about yourself,'' Sonic told him, giving him a confident smile. ''I wish I could just bust into ARMS HQ to get you out.''

''If it weren't for the current circumstances, I would've done it by myself,'' Shadow told him. Sonic gave him a sympathetic look.

''You know, I am a bit jealous that you get break into Eggman's base,'' he said, smiling cheekily. ''I bet it's going to be exciting.''

''You could join us,'' Shadow suggested. Sonic sighed.

''I wish I could, but you know, that would blow up our cover. I also don't want to get my friends into trouble by doing something stupid,'' Sonic told him. Shadow rose an eyebrow, giving Sonic a scrutinizing look, leaving the latter confused. ''Uh, Shadow? Is something wrong?''

''I believe that's the first time I heard you say something sensible. Maybe you aren't the real Sonic and were replaced by a look-a-like,'' Shadow told him. He couldn't help but smile when he heard Sonic groan in annoyance and saw him roll his eyes.

''I know I can be reckless, but this situation is different,'' he said in an exasperated tone, then muttered, ''I also talked to Lucas about there being a possibility to break in, and he told me that we can't do that.''

''There is a reason Lucas is the leader and you aren't,'' Shadow said in a teasing tone, only to add in a more resolute tone. ''Not many would have enough sense to admit that.''

''Not many have the humility to admit that,'' Sonic said proudly.

''Humility? Your ego is the size of a skyscraper,'' Shadow said, with Sonic snorting in amusement.

''Right back at you, Shads. You aren't better than me, Mr. Ultimate Lifeform,'' Sonic told him. Shadow rolled his eyes, but Sonic could see the faint smile on his lips, making it clear that the dark hedgehog was amused by their banter. It made him feel quite happy to see his rival being this relaxed. ''In any case, you have to tell me what happened once you return from the mission. I want to hear all of the details.''

''I will, because knowing you, you'll probably spam my inbox with questions about what had happened,'' Shadow told him in a dry tone. Sonic gave him a sheepish smile.

''Sorry about that,'' he said, knowing well that Shadow was referring to the event right after their meeting with Mephiles and Toshiro, where Sonic just wouldn't leave him alone. ''I guess I should let you sleep now.''

''I didn't mind having a conversation with you, even if it was this late,'' Shadow said, surprising Sonic, who smiled back warmly as he looked at the screen. ''Good night, Sonic.''

''Good night, Shads. I miss you,'' Sonic said, the holographic screen before him turning black. Sonic then lied back down on his back, taking a deep breath, only for his brain to finally process what he just said to Shadow. He turned on his side, a faint tint of red spreading across his fawn muzzle, his emerald green eyes wide as he placed his gloved hand on his chest, feeling his heart race as if he just returned from his nightly run. Wait! Why did I tell him that? I mean, I do miss him, but that wasn't necessary! I just hope Shadow hasn't noticed anything, because that was just weird.

Meanwhile, Shadow placed the AR Visor back under his pillow and lied down, pulling the blanket over his shoulder, turning on his side and staring at the wall, his mind in a disarray. Unfortunately for him, the image of Sonic giving him a soft and kind smile just wouldn't get out of his head, and he groaned, furrowing a brow as he tried to fall asleep.

''Of course that idiot misses me,'' he grumbled under his breath, trying to ignore the wave of warmth that spread through his body and the tint of red appearing on his tan muzzle. ''Who else is going to be his rival?''

xXx

''We are at our location, but I can't find a place to land.''

''Then, we'll get out here!''

''W-What?!''

The pilot of the ARMS helicopter turned his head around, stunned to see Touka, Shadow and Rouge get up and stand in front of the open cabin door. Before he could even say anything, Rouge leapt out of the helicopter, spreading her wings and flying down. Shadow was the next one out, using his air shoes and nearby trees to cushion his fall. Touka was the last one to leave, taking off the hoverboard that was attached to the strap on her back and jumping out, placing the hoverboard under her feet and descending down to the ground safely. The pilot just shook his head, flying the helicopter away from the dense woods he couldn't land in. Touka, Shadow and Rouge observed the helicopter as it left, with the three exchanging glances.

''I guess we're on our own now. Let's go!'' Rouge said, flying up and through the woods. Touka and Shadow followed her on the hoverboard and skating via air shoes respectively until they had reached what appeared to be a building built into a hillside. It had a steel gate with an Eggman Empire insignia on the front, with Egg Pawns patrolling the area. Touka took out a pair of binoculars from her waist bag, carefully observing the area.

''From what I can see, there are at least five Badniks on patrol,'' she said, giving the binoculars to Rouge, who hummed in interest.

''Eggman did say he won't make it easy, but this still feels a little disappointing,'' she said, offering the binoculars to Shadow, who shook his head, declining the offer.

''We should still be careful. We don't know what the Doctor has in store for us,'' Shadow told the two. Touka and Rouge nodded, with Shadow suddenly dashing forward, drawing the attention of the Egg Pawns. Touka and Rouge then followed closely and split up, with Rouge joining Shadow in fighting the Egg Pawns, while Touka went to the keypad panel at the front gate to type in the passcode Dr. Eggman had sent them to enter the Egg Base Omega. When she turned back around, she only saw scrapped robots lying on the ground, some being smashed to pieces and others having visible scorch marks.

''That was easy,'' Rouge said in a confident tone, grinning at Shadow.

''We're not done yet,'' Shadow reminded her, joining Touka at the entrance. Rouge shrugged, following the two into the Egg Base.

''Considering what Dr. Eggman had told us, this place is probably filled with Badniks,'' Touka commented as they walked down a narrow corridor.

''You know, I wouldn't mind exploring this place a bit more once we're done with our mission. Eggman said that this is a storage, so he might be hiding something more than just robots here,'' Rouge said, smiling at the thought of there being a secret treasure inside the Egg Base.''

''Don't lose your focus,'' Shadow told both of them, walking a bit ahead of the two and keeping an eye out for any enemy Badnik. However, as they walked deeper and deeper into the Egg Base, they came to a chilling realization that they hadn't seen any Badnik aside from some scrapped parts.

''What happened here?'' Rouge asked as they stopped at a pile of robot parts, with Shadow examining it, lifting a piece of the broken torso.

''It looks like something or someone had blasted them apart,'' he said.

''So, someone had been here before us? But, that shouldn't be possible,'' Touka said. ''We know that ARMS was just observing this area before they sent us here.''

''You're right,'' Rouge said, narrowing her eyes. ''It is possible that whoever had done this is not affiliated with ARMS, and it is also possible that they're still here. Although, if they destroyed the Badniks inside the base, why not destroy the ones who were patrolling outside?''

''I don't know,'' Touka said. ''However, I believe we'll find out soon.''

The three continued walking through the base, finding more and more destroyed robots, like some kind of macabre marking that led them towards their destination – the control room with the main computer. However, just as the door to the room had opened, they heard gunfire coming from it and hid behind the entrance so they wouldn't get hit by a stray bullet.

''Worthless consumer models!''

As Touka, Shadow and Rouge peered inside the room, they saw a sturdy black and red robot with red eyes, a yellow head casing and wristbands studded with large spikes, and a large red ''Ω'' on the front of the left and back of the right shoulderpad, a jetpack on his back, destroying the Egg Pawns that were inside the room with the rotary cannons his arms had turned into.

''I guess that's one of those E-100 Series robots Eggman was talking about. At least this solves the mystery of the destroyed Badniks,'' Rouge said, exchanging glances with Shadow and Touka.

''You two try to get to the computer. I'll deal with this one,'' Shadow said.

''Okay, but be quick. I have a bad feeling that this berserk robot is going to tear the whole place apart,'' Rouge told him. Shadow nodded, getting quickly inside the room and taking advantage of the robot being distracted to attack him, while Touka and Rouge sneaked inside, trying to get to the computer. Unfortunately for them, even though Shadow kept the robot distracted, he kept blasting his weapons around wildly, trying to hit the elusive dark hedgehog and forcing Touka and Rouge to crawl behind some machinery to not get hit.

''Must eradicate all Eggman's robots!''

''Huh, this one is committed…'' Rouge commented, only for Touka to quickly grab her by the shoulder and pull her away when a loose missile hit the machinery before them, causing it to explode.

''Are you okay?'' Touka asked her.

''Yeah, I am, but that one was close!'' Rouge replied, glancing back at Shadow, who tried to distract the robot, spin-dashing into him to knock him back. Rouge narrowed her eyes. ''Something's not right…'' She turned to Touka. ''Make sure that the computer didn't get damaged. I'll try to stop these two from blowing us up.''

''Got it!'' Touka nodded, and once there was an opening, she dashed towards the computer, while Rouge flew towards Shadow and the robot.

''Hey, hold up!'' Just as they were about to clash again, Rouge suddenly appeared between them and intercepted the attack, pushing both apart to break up the fight and breathing heavily as her gaze shifted from one to the other. ''I think we have a misunderstanding here!''

''My name is E-123 Omega. I am the ultimate robot. All who get in my path will be crushed!''

E-123 Omega pointed his cannon arms at Rouge, with Shadow stepping in front of her in a protective manner.

''Stay back!'' he said, but Rouge pushed past him.

''My name is Rouge and this is Shadow, and the girl over there is Touka. From what I've seen, you want to destroy all of Eggman's robots, right?'' she asked, with Shadow giving her a questioning look.

''Affirmative!'' Omega responded.

''Fortunately, none of us are Eggman robots, so how about we all calm down now and discuss the situation,'' Rouge suggested. Shadow shifted his gaze from Rouge to Omega, at whom he glared apprehensively, while Omega just stared back at them intently.

''Registering the presence of a human and two biodigital lifeforms. My sensors are overdue for a maintenance,'' Omega said, turning his arm cannons into arms with four-fingered silver claws.

''Is that supposed to be an apology?'' Rouge asked, a little confused. Shadow remained silent, still wary of Omega, considering how the robot had no issues fighting him just a moment earlier.

''Guys, I'm in!'' Touka called out, drawing their attention. Fortunately, the computer had survived the onslaught, with Touka placing an USB stick inside that the Commander had given her and started downloading the dummy data and the virus Dr. Eggman had sent. Shadow, Rouge and Omega had joined her, looking at the monitor. ''Okay, I think we should use now the program Tails had sent us.'' Shadow took out the AR Visor, with Touka connecting it to the computer and activating the program, following the instructions that were in it. Soon, a file had opened and she opened another window that enabled her to password-lock the file. She turned towards the three. ''So, what kind of password should we use?''

''I believe that we agreed that there would be multiple passwords,'' Shadow said.

''What do you plan to do with the data?'' Omega asked.

''It's a long story, but we currently have a temporary alliance with Eggman so we can deal with a different organization named ARMS. Once we're done with that, we'll go right back to being enemies with the Doctor,'' Rouge explained, her arms folded across her chest.

''You are enemies of Eggman?'' Omega asked, clearly wanting a proper confirmation.

''Correct,'' Rouge replied, tilting her head. ''Why are you so mad at Eggman?''

''Dr. Eggman has sealed me inside this base and abandoned me. I desire revenge!'' Omega said firmly, with Rouge, Shadow and Touka exchanging glances, all of them having the same thought on their mind.

''You know, you could come with us. Once we're done with ARMS, you'd be free to go after Eggman instead of wasting away at this base,'' Touka suddenly voiced their thoughts. There was a moment of silence as they all processed what she just said, only for Rouge to break it.

''Then it's settled! Now you two make up so we can finish our mission,'' Rouge said, pulling the wary Shadow and Omega closer, and placing Shadow's hand over Omega's and then motioning for Touka to do the same, as she placed her hand over their. ''Aw yeah, baby, this makes us a team! Now, all we need is a team name.''

Shadow and Touka exchanged glances, both of them feeling somewhat familiar with this scenario, as if they were experiencing some kind of déjà-vu. Shadow then sighed, feeling as if he was about to say something he was going to regret. ''How about Team Dark?''

''Team Dark, eh? I like the sound of that,'' Rouge said, elbowing Omega. ''What do you say, Omega?''

''Team name is acceptable,'' Omega replied. Touka just smiled at the trio.

''The only thing that remains is to explain the Commander why we have returned with a rebellious Eggman robot. However, I think this might get interesting,'' she said.

xXx

''Boss, we've got activity at Egg Base Omega,'' Orbot said, reporting to Dr. Eggman.

''Good, that must mean that Kageura, Shadow and Rouge have gotten inside,'' Eggman replied, smirking. ''What about the defenses? I hope they had a lot of trouble passing through.''

''Actually, someone else had destroyed your robots before they had even arrived,'' Cubot said, only to get startled when Eggman suddenly turned towards him.

''What?! And you're telling me this now?!'' he yelled at the cube-shaped robot assistant.

''Well, you never asked,'' Cubot replied, shrugging. Eggman groaned.

''Orbot, pull up the footage from Egg Base Omega,'' he said, with the orb-shaped robot assistant doing as he was told.

''This is footage from a few hours ago,'' Orbot said, with the three observing the huge computer screen before them. Eggman narrowed his eyes as he saw one of his robots, recognizing the individual as E-123 Omega, booting up and starting to tear through the facility. The Egg Pawns that were stationed around attacked back, but they were easily destroyed.

''Eh, I think this E-100 Series robot is really angry at you, Boss,'' Cubot added as they listening to Omega's declaration about destroying Eggman.

''I know that!'' Eggman growled, turning his attention back to the screen, with the footage now showing him Touka, Shadow and Rouge getting inside and meeting Omega. ''Why did I even create- Ah, right… It was all part of the game.'' He leaned back in his seat, leaning his chin against his hand in thought. ''I suppose this is what happens when you are an evil genius with the memories of your other self. While it is insightful, it is also incredibly troublesome...''

While Dr. Eggman was musing over the situation, Dr. Starline was standing at the entrance, peering silently into the room. While he would usually fawn over his idol, he did feel a slight sense of concern in regard to this situation. He certainly wasn't happy about the alliance with Team Neos, let alone allowing them inside one of the Egg Bases, as he felt that this was giving them too much freedom. Why should they even sacrifice their own forces to aid his enemies? It just didn't make sense.

Starline turned on his heel, walking away. ''Still, I have great faith in the Doctor. I assume that his mindset is that there need to be sacrifices to achieve a greater goal, but an alliance with the enemy is still too much. There had to have been a different way to get this done.''

''You're being really loud, you know.''

Starline was startled by a familiar voice and quickly turned around, only to see Ferra being leaned against a wall, her arms folded across her chest. Metal Sonic was standing next to her.

''Don't you have something better to do than scaring people?!'' Starline shouted at her. Ferra just smirked back.

''It wasn't my intention to scare you like that,'' she told him, with Starline wondering if she was being genuinely apologetic. ''Not gonna lie, it was fun to see you make that expression.''

''Tch, you have absolutely no manners,'' Starline responded, continuing to antagonize her. He didn't even see Metal Sonic's red eyes flaring up and him glancing at Ferra, who just shook her head in response. Unfortunately, Starline was their ally, meaning that he couldn't beat up the platypus for insulting Ferra… yet.

''You shouldn't be talking so loud like this, especially when voicing your concerns. People might think you're conspiring against the Doctor,'' Ferra told him. Starline gasped dramatically.

''Conspiring against Dr. Eggman? How dare you to suggest even something like that?! I live to serve him!'' Starline responded angrily. Ferra shrugged.

''If that's the case, then you'd follow him every step of the way, right? No matter how nonsensical the plan is,'' she said.

''Well, of course-'' Starline cut himself off, a sense of doubt creeping into his mind. He certainly admired Dr. Eggman, but he had to admit that he felt that he believed that there was always a different approach to a certain situation, one that required… a different way of thinking, to put it simply. Or, to make it precise – his way of thinking. He then huffed, walking away. ''I will not discuss this any further. You are simply trying to get a raise out of me.''

Starline then walked away, lifting his head proudly, while Ferra kept an eye on him until he was out of her sight. ''Dr. Starline is going to get kicked out of the Eggman Empire if he doesn't keep that beak shut.''

'Indeed. I hope I get the honors of kicking him out,' Metal Sonic replied, causing Ferra to snort in amusement.

xXx

''Ugh, this place is awful,'' Shiro muttered under her breath, entering an old warehouse. ''A proper lady like me deserves to be at a place much more luxurious than this.''

''You're absolutely correct, Shiro.'' The kitsune Irregular suddenly turned around, spotting a teenager sitting on one of the crates stored inside the warehouse, one of his elbows propped on his knee as he gave her a mischievous grin. ''After all, most parasites in society tend to be high up on the hierarchy ladder.''

Shiro gritted her teeth and lifted her fan to attack the teenager, only to get immobilized by a bunch of purple and light pink crystals that shoot out from the ground. She felt her heart racing as she realized that the sharp tips missed her only barely, else she would've been impaled on them. She looked up at the teenager, whose eyes were now glowing in a dark periwinkle purple colour, realizing that he was the one who had summoned the crystals.

''Let me guess, you had no luck in finding more victims so you decided to turn on me,'' Toshiro said, sounding quite amused. Shiro didn't respond, instead just glaring at him. ''I'll take that as a positive answer.''

''It is your fault that there are so many Hunters patrolling the city!'' Shiro yelled at him. ''You had forced me to lure them out and now my own life is at stake!''

''Yet, you still failed at your mission.'' Shiro suddenly turned to the other person in the building, a shadow-like figure whose eyes were glowing in the same dark periwinkle purple colour as Toshiro's, and his body was crackling with energy. ''The Irregular Hunters were never our target.''

''Then all of this was for nothing?!'' Shiro screamed, only to quickly shut up when one of the crystals' sharp tips touched her neck. She knew that if she moved, she was dead.

''Fortunately for you, it wasn't a complete failure,'' Mephiles said. ''The Hunters can reach their breaking point if a powerful Irregular causes enough chaos within Neos City.''

''If that's all you wanted, then you can let me go now…'' Shiro hissed, holding her head up to avoid being impaled by the crystal through her lower jaw. Toshiro leapt down from the crate, glancing at his partner.

''I don't know, Mephiles… Should we really spare her life?'' he asked, a smile of pure malice appearing on his expression. ''After all, she had hurt many people.''

''At your request!'' Shiro yelled in protest.

''You could've simply refused and we would've been merciful enough to make your demise as swift as possible,'' Mephiles pointed out. ''Besides, you would be lying if you claimed you didn't enjoy at least part of your task.''

Shiro suddenly felt a chill flowing down her spine. She had no idea how she had managed to get herself involved with these two, but she remembered how she believed that she could manipulate them similarly to Ao. Unfortunately for her, Mephiles proved himself to be way more dangerous than she had anticipated.

''On the other hand, it would be an act of cruel mercy to let you live,'' Toshiro said. ''You have enemies everywhere, and the Hunters know what you have done. Your life, which had been so comfortable at this point because you had others working for you, had become a game of survival. I suppose we could let your someone else decide your fate… someone who has a more personal connection to you.''

Toshiro then waved his hand, the crystals disappearing and Shiro fell down her knees, shaking and her eyes were wide in horror. Toshiro and Mephiles just walked past her, leaving her in the warehouse.

''This was quite disappointing,'' Mephiles commented.

''She won't last long, that's for certain. Besides, we currently have more pressing matters to focus on,'' Toshiro told him. ''We need to force ARMS to finally reveal themselves to the public, and to do that, they need to have a target that can challenge them properly.''

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[chaoticremnants-wattpad]

Hi! :) I posted my first oneshot on Wattpad and chose to also upload my stories on here as well. I hope you enjoy my first Jake x MC oneshot!

~~~~

Duskwood felt like a foreign land after being away for so long. He had always dreamt of moving back and settling in after running his entire life, but it was nothing more than a distant dream... one he could never have; one he thought was unrealistic. Perhaps in another life, Duskwood would’ve been home. After some time, the boy accepted the fact that his life would consist of poor takeout food, hiding in motels and moving around frequently. Perhaps it was the life he thought he deserved… but everything changed when he met her.

A small café in the heart of the town by the name of Midnight Bloom was bustling with life. It had recently opened, explaining the crowd in such a quiet town. Jake sat across the square hidden behind a computer screen as his fingers glided effortlessly across the keyboard due to years of experience.

A distant laugh made his ears perk up a bit, the familiar sound breaking his concentration long enough to tear his gaze from the brightness of the screen, fingers frozen over the keys.

There she was, approaching a table with a smile on her face, strands of hair coiled around her fingers as she finished braiding the tip of her hair. The boy sat there, no words capable of explaining her beauty in person. Captivated by the girl across the street, it took everything in him to not walk over and take her into his arms and leave this town behind.

Their relationship flashed across his memory, recalling the late night phone calls and the future they planned together after all the madness came to an end. Jake was determined to see that come to fruition – willing to fight with his last breath and draw blood for it if it came down to that.

The distant chatter brought him back to reality, gaze fixated on his girl. The black haired boy found himself smiling.

Would she recognize him? Maybe he’d be able to catch her on her break. Or maybe –

No.

The boy bit down on the very tip of his tongue, silencing any thoughts that dared to evade his mind. He couldn’t risk the safety of the girl he loved; he swore to protect her. He couldn’t do that to her. He had already done enough to flip her life upside down in the few short months they’ve known one another.

With furrowed brows, Jake cleared his throat before turning his gaze back to keyboard, brewing silently. Perhaps it was selfish to hold her back from pursuing other relationships, but he just couldn't bring himself to let her go. He wanted her more than he could possibly fathom, unable to deny their connection as soon as they began talking. She was the first one to break through his walls and care enough to learn who he truly was.

The fool… 

In all these years, he avoided growing close to anyone after what happened between himself and Hannah. He couldn't afford to put anyone else in harm's way, but this was different.

He was in love with her.

Hours felt like days as the cafe served its final customer; the hostess walking a young couple towards the entrance. The girl flipped the sign in the window while glancing across the square out to the darkness, a deep breath of relief escaping her mouth.

“Another day in Duskwood…” The girl mumbled quietly to herself, a small frown forming on her lips as her eyes skimmed the tree lining in the distance. “I wonder where you are right now.” Exhaling, the brunette spun on her heel and began collecting her belongings, slinging her purse across her body.

Before she could turn the knob on the front door, a kind voice caught her attention from the kitchen. “Hey, kiddo. I hate to bother you after a long day, but do you think you could take the trash out before you go?”

It was hard to say no to Grant, the older gentleman showing her nothing but kindness since the day she started the job.

“Of course, Grant. I’m happy to help.” With that, she made her way to the back door, a black garbage bag in tow. Walking into the alley, she tossed the bag into the dumpster before heading back in, using the nearest sink to wash up one last time.

With a wave, the girl wished her co-workers a good night and stepped outside, the cool air washing over her immediately. Had she not been running late for work, she would’ve packed a coat, crossing her arms over her chest as she began walking down the alley. It’s been a few months since they found Hannah, finally able to rest after all that has happened.

Fortunately, her relationship with Jake remained intact, throwing herself at her phone whenever he called or simply messaged. The butterflies still fluttered within her stomach as she recalled the first time Jake told her that he loved her. The euphoric feeling was unlike anything she had ever experienced, never admitting that she cried that night – mostly due to fear for his personal safety. It has been a few days since she’s heard from him, praying desperately that the boy was okay.

Distracted by her own thoughts, the girl collided with a wall of flesh when turning the corner, stopping instantaneously in her steps. Without glancing up, the brunette sputtered out an alarmed response, “Oh! I’m so sorry! I –” The words disappeared in her throat as her gaze flickered up to meet the person who she bumped into, only to be met by familiar blue eyes that she’s only seen through a computer monitor.

“Jake..?” She mumbled, voice breaking softly as her voice pitched an octave, vision blurring with tears. Before she could react, his arms wrapped around her form, pulling the girl into him as his warmth consumed her. Perching her chin on his shoulder, she held him close as she whispered. “I can’t believe it. You’re really here? In Duskwood?” She pulled away enough to gaze up at him, tiny hands clutching his forearms gently. “Wait, for how long? Holy crap… I have so many questions!” She raised her voice a bit, Jake’s eyes twinkling with amusement at the change in her demeanor.

She was simply exquisite, feeling his heart flutter in delight at their reunion. “I missed you. I couldn't help myself. Seeing you tonight, it reminded me of what I’m fighting for.” Leaning down to press his forehead against hers, Jake let out a soft sigh, shoulders easing as he felt her hands cup his face. Her fingers felt like icicles against his warmth, breaking away once he realized she had no jacket. “You’re freezing... Here.” Shrugging the coat off, he ignored her quiet protest as the fabric wrapped around her shoulders, smiling proudly to himself. “There you go.”

“Jake. You’re all I’ve been thinking about. I didn’t hear from you for a bit. I thought –” The crack in her voice was enough to alarm him, brows knitted in anguish. “I thought they found you and I lost you forever.” The street lamps overhead illuminated the tears in her eyes, Jake taking a step closer.

“Nothing is taking me away from you, okay? I had to go dark for a bit so I could come to Duskwood without them knowing. I don’t have long, but I’d rather spend whatever time I have with you.” His blue orbs softened as he kissed her knuckles, smiling against her skin as the girl chuckled happily.

“I’m just happy that you’re safe. After everything we’ve been through, I’m certain of one thing.” She stepped closer to the boy, chin tilted up confidently to meet his gaze. “I love you, Jake Donfort. With everything that I am. I love you.”

Jake felt his heart slam rhythmically against his rib cage. Every concern – every fear he had – disappeared in that moment. For the first time in his life, Jake felt wanted by someone, a concept that was far-fetched to him. He couldn’t place his finger on what he did to deserve her. He sure as hell wouldn’t dare question it either.

With no hesitation, Jake brought his hand up to cup one side of her face, lowering his head to press a gentle kiss to her lips, savoring the faint taste of cherry gloss. The girl's hands dropped down to wrap around his waist, pulling him close enough to align their bodies. Breaking the kiss with a soft smack of their lips, he found himself leaning into her with their foreheads pressed together. “I love you too. So, so much. Don’t ever forget that. I swore to protect you, didn’t I?”

Feeling nothing but pure bliss, the pair shared a quiet chuckle, unable to wipe the grins off their faces, exchanging a few more kisses under the night sky.

[moonslust]

Ok so *wildflower wildfire starts* here's the deal...I'm deciding to write down this dream cause I had an unintentional lucid dream and I find really cool that every scene from it connects to present things in my life. I had woken up (in the dream duh) and I opened tumblr (cause what else to do when you wake up in the middle of the night), I decided to watch a video, a louis...video...(that's cause I watched that IGTV some hours prior) but for some reason it wouldn't start, wi-fi sucks I guess, so I go to my living room and play the video on tv thinking it would work, it doesn't, so at that point I'm shouting curse words cause hey why the fuck doesn't it work?? I decide to make me a cup of tea when all of a sudden, the video starts!!! and louis is nowhere to be seen, what appears instead is a kid SCREAMING and it's like 5 am I suppose so I am shouting yet again at the tv for making so much fucking noise, I try to turn down the volume but the video ends and when it finally stops being so loud it STARTS AGAIN and I just ugh what what what is this. I have a mirror in my living room and I notice that my hair is LONG very very extremely long and I'm shocked cause my hair is super short rn so I stare at it and I think "wow time goes by so fast", it then turned BLONDE outta nowhere and I started playing a game in my iPad cause I'm rich in my subconscious (and this relates to the fact that the day before I was sat beside a classmate and saw her playing this decorate your house game, where the character was also blonde so it all makes sense see??) Apparently, after all that chaos, I've woken up my mom, so now my mom is in the living room with me and decides to make herself a cup of coffee and there's where I remember...I had left the water for my tea BOILING. So anyway, forget breakfast, I was too stressed from that video. Time goes by and my mom starts heading to work, I decide to go with her and to get there we take a TRICIMOTO which if you don't know what that is, it's a motorbike with a small "cabin" with seats?? attached in the back (this happened cause the day before I was talking with a friend about Ecuador), the driver drives (hih🤭) us to my mom's job and the most gorgeous sunrise appears, actually no, I only see the sun but it's soooo orange and full and round it's crazy (and that's my latest obsession with sunsets), we say goodbye, cause everyone is always so friendly in Ecuador it's cool. I tell the guy to take me back home and vroom vroom you know. BUT butbut what happens instead of life being nice to me is this guy takes me to a house yes, HIS HOUSE THO. So...uhmm...fuck I guess?? There, he introduces me to two of his friends and I'm all cool you know Idc, I can have conversations with strangers as long as they don't start shit, we're all looking into a giant mirror when BAM this guy at my left TOUCHES my shoulder in a sensual way so I'm like 'kay FUCK this I'm outta here! Good news, I was surprisingly calm, and this is the lucid part of the dream, I was running from them but the usual feeling would be PANIC overwhelming PANIC right? Well I was calm and instead of desperately running, I sorta jogged LOL, anyway, I recognized this house, apparently I had seen it in other dreams and I HATED IT hated it. I started looking for an exit, when I looked into a room and saw a girl from middle school, she looked miserable and I didn't really like her much either so...I go my own way cause fuck everyone from that time period! And finally, I find IT! MY ESCAPE!! But the door doesn't open and I don't have any keys, so I remember someone had told me there's a trick to opening this door and that someone is obviously HARRY STYLES cause I DON'T.HAVE.PEACE. (harry and these fucking doors man...). The trick didn't explicitely appear in my dream, I still managed to open the door, but...ugh...I know...right behind this door, there was ANOTHER ONE. This one was sage green pretty oh so pretty but I still didn't have any keys,,,,,,I saw above the door there was a small window, so I broke it. and a portal appeared outta nowhere cause this

IS a dream after all, but the buts are not over, this portal was useless cause it led to BRICKS. A WALL. OF BRICKS. But I was so close, I didn't give up, I started tearing it down cause apparently I have ROCK HARD HANDS here and phew, I wake up. I'm laying there remembering all I just dreamt and thinking it was so cool having control of my emotions and intentions. I was shook nonetheless and then a sigh of relief could be heard,,,,,I realized I had dreamt all that cause I slept with my tummy upwards and that is why one should NEVER sleep with their tummies upwards. Also, remember when I said "demons come get me"? well fucking hell

[alpacaparkaseok]

Inside “The Pact”

Hello! For those of you that followed along with The Pact, I received a few questions and requests to get an inside look. I’ll link the post here that explains a bit more about what this is gonna be about. 

We’re gonna break this down into sections: first will be answering your questions about The Pact & the characters. Then I’ll show you guys a little about my notes & decision making process (which is very obscure because I just tend to keep a hypothetical tab open in my brain most of the time lol) as well as some pictures of my ideas!! 

Thanks for requesting such a fun thing to do now that this series is over. It’s been fun to look back!

Q. What song did the boys dedicate to y/n?

A. “Her” || This is a sad song, but I felt like it fit so well with how the boys had to hide a part of themselves (their feelings) away for the sake of the pact!

--

Q. Did the boys get mad/how did the boys react to Jungkook’s kiss?

A. Jungkook was a little shocked, and felt extremely guilty on the drive back home. He wasn’t sure if he could stand to tell his hyungs, but he also knew he couldn’t lie to them. Naturally, the second he walked in the house and everyone saw his face, they knew. It was just quiet, everybody was a little hesitant to say anything/bring it up because they were all upset. Only Jimin has heard all of the details of JK’s kiss, whereas the others are simply aware that he kissed her and that’s that.

Namjoon was the most upset, although he didn’t say anything. He just sat there on the couch and did the jaw-clenching thing he always does. Yoongi just tried to change the subject and ask about other aspects of the date. Taehyung was actually pretty pissed, especially because he’d been so good about refraining from kissing you even when you’d asked for it. Hobi had a chat with him later that night and calmed him down. Jin wasn’t angry so much as he was worried that he missed his shot & couldn’t stop replaying his date in his head.

--

Q. Who fell for y/n last?

A. Namjoon. He’d had a little crush, and that’s why he was willing to go along with the pact. But it hit a point less than a year ago when he fell hard and fast. (you called him in the middle of the night when he was on tour and he realized that your sleepy voice is possibly the most beautiful thing he’s ever heard) The boys noticed and as a result teased him endlessly about it, because he doesn’t quite know how to navigate his feelings. 

--

Q. Who did the boys bet on? (We already know that Jimin bet on Yoongi and won lol)

A. Namjoon bet on JK, Tae bet on Hobi, Hobi bet on JK, Jin bet on JK, and Yoongi bet on Jin, and JK bet on Namjoon (because we all know JK would pick Namjoon lol)

--

Q. Didn’t y/n ever date other guys? How did the boys react?

A. hahaha ok I actually would have such a fun time writing this Yes, she dated around a bit. For the first year of the pact, she had an on again, off again bf. It wasn’t very serious, and she always made that clear to the boys. They still hated the dude. After they broke up, she only went on a few dates here and there. Didn’t really seriously date. (except for that one time she went on vacation and had a fling, but everyone has decided to forget that) They just smiled and supported her, although Tae was always very clear that he didn’t like any of the guys she dated. 

--

Q. In Namjoon’s date, who was the 1950′s author mentioned?

A. Agatha Christie, the queen. 

--

Q. How did y/n meet Jimin? (he was the one that introduced her to the rest of the group)

A. She was a PR intern for Lee Hyun. Jimin and Lee Hyun are close, and they crossed paths fairly often until Jimin decided to invite her to hang out. 

--

Q. What is y/n studying in school?

A. Public Relations (which will honestly come in handy with her new relationship lol)

--

Q. Where was Jin in the last chapter when y/n came to the studio?

A. Agh how could you ask me this and bring back all that pain?! Jin was at his brother’s restaurant for some much needed R&R. He ended up staying the night with him, not wanting to go home just yet and have to face his decision.

--

Q. Who would you personally choose to end up with and why?

A. KIM SEOKJIN. Date #5 was basically for me lol. Like, unapologetically wrote that for myself. Not just because he’s my bias, but because I personally felt like I could picture myself chilling on that couch watching Dateline with him. And it was beautiful. 🤧 Also, while Jin can be loud and goofy, he’s an introvert. I’m an extravert with introverted tendencies, so I just feel like his date would have been the most comfortable for me.

--

CREATING THE PACT - AN INSIDE LOOK AT MY NOTES

First thing’s first, I have an on-going page in my notes on my phone which is FILLED with ideas & half-formed thoughts. Before I began writing The Pact (or even Spooked, for that matter), this happened:

So you can see that I had no idea what I was doing lol, but I thought that it would be cool. Mainly I wanted an excuse to write OT7 and display all the members in a sweet light. Also, we see that not all of these actually made it into the series. (Tae w/ the family)

BUT THEN, “SPOOKED” HAPPENED, AND A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY POPPED UP 

ngl, I cracked up when I looked back at my notes and saw this. 

“Sweet Gloria what am I doing to myself” 😂😂 this was when I was pushing “Lost & Found” out and planning for Taehyung’s series (which is why so much is blocked out on my notes, because it’s riddled with spoilers lol) so I literally had no idea why I was jumping into another project as I was already super busy. That’s why I scheduled it for just Saturday’s! (and also why I sometimes posted super late at night lol)

As you can see, Seokjinnie’s date was literally always on my mind. From the very beginning. Which is odd, considering the fact that he didn’t end up being endgame. wow it’s like he’s my bias or something

Occasionally I’d take breaks from hw and work on getting to know how the boys were with y/n. Quotes and poetry serve as a great source of inspiration, and I assigned a quote to each member. (notice the little stars by Jin, Yoongi’s and JK’s names lol, they were my top three as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now)

There were a couple of things that I didn’t think of adding until I was reading through your theories and got an idea of what you needed to push the series in the right decision. i.e. bringing Gina back to explain that she closed the door in Spooked. 

I have a whiteboard in my room that I use to map out what I need to do that week for whatever series I’m working on (as well as jot down ideas for new series, which I why this photo doesn’t show the whole board haha) 

So here’s a peek at my thought process for writing about how the pact was formed. Sorry if you can’t read it haha

NOW, the last few questions you guys had:

Q. Did you ever change your mind while writing the pact?

A. Yes! I actually originally intended for Hobi to have written the note. It fit very well with how angry he was at first and how worried he was during the date. But by the time I'd gotten to Jin’s date I kinda knew that he wouldn’t be that petty but Jin would haha

I also planned on Yoongi kissing y/n on their date. It was supposed to be on a rooftop somewhere, which we know didn’t happen. In fact, I didn’t really intend for their date to be so disastrous until I was coming closer to having to write it. I think I was a mess, so the date was a mess lol

I had no idea what I was doing for Tae’s date until I wrote it, all I knew was that there had to be a museum. The rest I just made up as I wrote and hoped that it made sense. (also, for some reason I hated the museum portion of the date. Idk why, but it just felt so stark to me. still don’t like it lol)

Q. When did you know how it was going to end? 

A. That’s a....difficult question lol. Honestly, I thought of just doing an audio recording and uploading it because it I didn’t really know how to put it into words, but then I realized that most people probably wouldn’t wanna listen to that lol. So here we are. 

I had the ending scene in mind before The Pact even became a thing. I knew I had a series that I wanted to end with baking cookies. (weird, I know.) It didn’t exactly go how I planned, but I remember having the thought while writing Spooked (when I thought I was just writing a one shot) that it would be nice for y/n to be with Yoongi. I just instantly felt like they had a connection, when he was the first one she went toward. From then on out, I always kinda kept Yoongi in the background. 

I had a crisis about halfway through (right before Jin’s date) when there were a bunch of people rooting for Tae, because he hadn’t even been on my radar. But then Jin’s date went much better than I thought it was going to/received better, so I think that got me back on track. 

But from the beginning, Yoongi was #1. (I wrote this in the back of my Career’s notebook lol) when I was trying to figure out for myself who wrote the pact. 

So yeah! There you have it! Just an FYI, I had to physically restrain myself from throwing caution to the wind and making Jin endgame. Especially when so many of you were on board. :( However, the survey helped because Yoongi was the majority of votes (closely followed by Jin & JK) and that showed me that we were still on the right track! 

Ngl, my brain stopped working around Wednesday of last week, so writing the finale took FOREVER because nothing would compute. But I’m so happy you guys enjoyed it and reached out to me about it! This really is like a part-time job most days, and I really felt like this series paid off. 

Hopefully I covered everything! To end, here's the most satisfying part of every project for me:

Thanks guys!

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

A Miraculous TikTok Account

Part 22

First

Previous

Next

My brain really gave me ideas for four different stories at once and then said ‘good luck’ huh

There were a few moments right after they realized that it was Hawkmoth that the miraculous holders had panicked. They had all half-ran to their rooms and started looking around to make sure their identities were safe.

And, surprisingly, it seemed that they were.

Carapace’s backpack had been thrown across the room hard enough to dent the plaster but the books and folders inside were untouched. His computer screen had been cracked but Hawkmoth hadn’t even tried to unlock it.

Right, so apparently he was just trying to scare them. A kind of ‘I know where you sleep, don’t test me’ situation.

He fixed his overturned desk chair and took a seat with a heavy sigh of relief. His room was in shambles and he was going to have to spend one of his few nights off cleaning and maybe beg for money from the rich kids, but at least his family was safe.

“Hey, guys?” Called Chat, his voice laced with concern.

Carapace was on his feet in a flash. Considering Hawkmoth was only really concerned with getting the cat and ladybug miraculous, it was entirely plausible that he’d only been looking to figure out those two identities.

(Why had he decided to trash the house if that was just it, Carapace didn’t know. It would be better to not let on the fact that he knew who they were. Pettiness, maybe?)

He was the first to Chat’s room, but he could hear the others running over, too.

Chat was standing in his room, a confused frown playing at his lips as he nudged things around with his feet. He looked up at the others. “He didn’t do anything to my room… I don’t…”

“Huh?” Said Ladybug.

There was a beat where everyone looked over the room. Chat was right, he realized. The room was a mess but not in the same way everyone else’s was. Nothing was broken.

And it wasn’t like Hawkmoth would have just missed the room. It was in the middle of the hallway, and everyone else had been hit. It wasn’t a time thing, he had just… somehow not done anything.

The four in the doorway exchanged wary glances.

And then Rena snickered. “He must have thought he’d already done your room. I mean, look at it. It’s enough of a mess, he didn’t need to do anything.”

“That’s true. I’d assume I’d already done it, too,” said Chloe.

“Maybe we should stay in here for the night,” suggested Ladybug. She bunched up the front of her dress in her hands. “It’s safer, no broken glass to step on or anything.”

“The bed’s certainly big enough,” said Rena.

Chloe nodded. “And it’d be nice to have something to do. At least he has a working TV, still.”

“Sleepover in Chat’s room it is!” Said Carapace with false cheer.

If Chat noticed anything off about their demeanor, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he started walking around and picking stuff up.

They all went off in different directions.

He detransformed and changed into a designated Sleeping Hoodie (which was definitely different than his everyday hoodies) and a pair of sweatpants… then he reluctantly added socks. Ladybug had been right about the floor being more than a little dangerous. Still, wearing socks around the house was weird to him.

At least it wasn’t shoes.

He walked down to the kitchen for some snacks and found Ladybug mourning the broken coffee machine. She was curled up on the ground, hugging the few remaining coffee pods to her like she thought Hawkmoth would come back and steal them.

He slowly knelt down next to her to make sure she wasn’t going into shock or something.

She blinked at him, and then her face hardened. She no longer looked sad, instead she looked absolutely livid. He wasn’t sure this was an improvement.

“I’m killing Hawkmoth.”

There was no response to that that didn’t sound stupid (and he didn’t want to mess up and add himself to her hitlist), so he just reached out and rested his hand on her head. He had no clue what he was doing, but it worked, somehow. Her shoulders relaxed.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Murder is bad or whatever.”

He couldn’t really disagree, so he just nodded and withdrew his hand.

He got up and realized he’d forgotten why he’d come down to the kitchen in the first place. He stood there for a moment, fruitlessly trying to recall why he was there, before dejectedly going back to his room. It was there that his stomach growled to remind him that food was a thing and he headed back down.

Chloe and Rena were in the living room. Chloe had changed into a nightgown and Rena was sporting a sports bra and pajama shorts.

Chloe had her phone out and she motioned for him to move so she could get a better shot. He did so, moving to hide behind the couch.

She beamed at him before tapping her phone once and beginning to speak:

“Hawkmoth is so lame. I mean, look at all this. He comes into our house when he’s completely sure none of us are around like a --”

“Fucking,” Rena swore for her.

“-- coward. Imagine being so scared of what five teenagers would do in retaliation for trashing their house that you don’t even have the guts to do it while they’re there. And all he did was throw --”

“Shit.”

“-- around! Do some damage! Congrats on wasting maybe a few thousand euros, but maybe step up your game a little. Even your akumas do more than this.”

She walked over to show the message Hawkmoth had written them and then rolled her eyes.

“I mean, look at this --”

“Shit.”

“What does he think he is? A 90s cartoon villain? PLEASE. At least those have the --”

“Balls.”

“-- to actually show up once and a while at the season finale. Give me a break. Hawkmoth, if you want us to be scared, maybe you should try being an actual threat, don’t you think?”

She stopped recording and uploaded the video as is.

He got out of his hiding place.

… did he really forget what he was doing? Again?

Well, he knew whatever it was he was doing was in the kitchen. He walked in and realized that, hey, it was a KITCHEN. What could he be doing except for getting food? He walked to the fridge and found that, to his horror, Hawkmoth had just straight up stolen their food. Like an asshole.

He dejectedly made his way up to Chat’s room, intending to collapse on his bed and whine until the rich kid ordered pizza or something, only to pause in the doorway.

Chat’s room was… clean? The floors were spotless, the bed made. The room smelled faintly of lavender.

His brain scrambled for an explanation. Maybe Chat had been akumatized. Or, maybe, someone else had gotten akumatized into a copy-Chat and they’d taken the wrong one home by mistake. Or Rena was playing a prank on them.

Chat looked up from the game he was playing and gave a half-smile. He was wearing a set of silk pajamas, because of course he was.

“Are you coming in or are you just going to stand there forever?”

He didn’t know what was going on, which was really just a summary of the entire night if he was being honest, so he just went on autopilot and picked up the other controller.

The others filed in one at a time. Ladybug was first and she blinked a few times before she slowly walked over and sat on Carapace’s other side. He had no clue what she was wearing, because she had wrapped herself up tightly in a thick blanket -- wait, wasn’t that just the comforter on her bed?

Before he could ask her this, she wriggled her arms out of her blanket and started sketching. (Everyone knew not to interrupt her when she was working unless they wanted to risk her snapping at them, and the loss of her coffee could only make that worse.)

A few minutes later Rena plopped herself down beside Chat. Carapace flinched and ended up dying in the game. He hadn’t heard her come in, but that wasn’t surprising anymore, just annoying. He glanced at her and saw that she looked angry enough to make an akuma.

Oh. Right. Rena was the one always cleaning up after Chat. He’d be mad, too, if he had to do that for months only to find out that he was perfectly capable of cleaning up after himself.

She calmed down a little when she saw that their game was currently not going well. Karma.

Chloe came in last and, as always, was the most blunt: “Who are you and what have you done with Chat?”

Chat paused the game and pulled an awkward smile to his face. “I… it’s still me. It’s just… I didn’t want to have my first sleepover to be so messy.”

There was a moment as this registered in everyone’s minds.

“This is your WHAT?!”

Fuck the Hawkmoth thing, this was way more important.

~~~

Taglist

@nathleigh @sassakitty @th1s-1s-my-aesthet1c @blueslushgueen @woe-is-me0 @ladybug-182 @cas-and-their-refusal-to-write @trippingovermyfeet

[itgetsdarksometimes35]

Revenge is Best Served out of the Ice

Warnings: Non con, dub con, death, cursing, blood, rough vaginal sex, other things, Bucky isn’t okay. 18+

Word Count: 2,529

Prompt: I’m as mad as Hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore

Pairings: Dark ex-Hydra Bucky / Ex-Hydra Reader

Summary: Reader is in hiding after the fall of Hydra.

~ Indicates a time change

--- Indicates a POV change

A/N: This is my very late submission to @kellyn1604 challenge hope you guys like it. I’ll be in the woods for about a week, but I’ll upload an equally late submission to a challenge when I get back. 

XXX

It was never meant to go down like this. You had answered a silly job as an assistant with a company; never did you think you’d be helping a man who leads a terrorist movement looking to take over the world. 

You wanted out the minute you saw the asset. The way Alexander treated him wasn’t human. Even though he insisted he wasn’t, he was an experiment of sorts, it still didn’t sit well with you. His icy cold eyes held life, even if they did make you queasy every time you looked into them. 

Very rarely did you go into where the assassin was kept with Pierce, but when you did he always stared at you until his attention was drawn back to his abusers. The instruments made you feel awful, so you avoided invitations inside as much as possible. The machines that tortured him when he did wrong, the ice he was put in to keep him alive, the electricity that would go through his brain to make him forget. You wondered how old he truly was and who he was. Did he have a family? What did he do to get here?

~

You gasped as you woke up with a jolt from your nightmare. The same blue eyes that had met yours for 5 years refused to go, even in your dreams. You saw him everywhere; the Winter Soldier. After he was ordered to kill Captain America, Hydra was found out. Many were arrested and tried, some people had to go into hiding, including yourself, and others were ordered to rebuild under a new name. After Alexander was killed you had faked your death and ran away to Vienna. Nobody knows where the Winter Soldier went. 

That all had been nearly two years ago. You had moved on in every sense. You had gotten a new job, and this one you loved. Sure, it wasn’t anything you dreamed of doing as a little girl, but it awarded you the privacy you sought. You weren’t ready to reconnect with the world yet. Plus the hours were flexible and no job beats the one where you can be at work in your home in your PJ’s. 

You went out once a week for groceries. You didn’t have a tv, a computer, and the only time you used your burner phone was for work. You kept yourself entertained with the old books left in your old apartment. It was a life different from the one you were used to, but that’s what you liked about it. 

Today was the day you go shopping for food. You sat up in your bed, noticing the little bit of sunlight that passed through the black blankets you’d hung on the windows as makeshift curtains. 

You got up and started your routine before heading out the door. The small market was filled with buyers bargaining for better prices and sellers yelling their final price. You make your way from the seafood to the fruit; the seafood was always the first thing to go in the market. Vienna seemed to have too much fruit. 

As you’re checking out the apples you start feeling watched. You look around but see nobody. Weird. You get enough fruit to keep you satiated for the week so you leave the market as soon as you can. The less human contact and time outside as possible the better, and you were starting to feel off. Someone was watching you, you could feel it, but no matter how many times you turn you see nobody looking. Thank God the walk home is short. 

When you get near your apartment you run up the brick stairs and shove the key into the door, pulling it open and slamming it closed then locking it. You didn’t realize you had been running until you tried to catch your breath and calm your crazy heart. 

You look outside through the peephole before concluding nobody followed you. And if they did they at least left you alone for now. You walked to the kitchen to set down the mesh grocery bag before unloading everything. 

That’s when you heard it. 

The only way into this apartment other than the front door was the fire escape that was connected to the window in your bedroom. The sound of the window opening, no matter how faint it was, has been trained by you to be heard. Your irrational fears of being robbed or found while you're sleeping has finally helped you as you quietly reach for the knife on the counter. 

You continue unpacking and pretend like you didn’t hear a thing in order to trick the intruder. You keep the knife in front of you on the counter, hidden by your body, as your ear strains to listen to what’s happening behind you. 

“You don’t live where I expected.”

Your eyes widened at the voice. The amount of times you heard that voice is less than the amount you saw the face connected to it, but you could recognize it in a concert of sounds. 

You spin around with the knife in your hand to see the man who plagued your nightmares. The Winter Soldier.

He looked down at the puny weapon in your hand. It would do little to protect yourself against the super soldier, but it helped your confidence a bit. He smiled at your shaking grasp on the knife.

“Do you think that’ll work?”

“What are you doing here?”

The man narrowed his eyes at you a bit before ignoring your question. He made a move and you stuck out the knife in a threatening manner. It did nothing to the assassin as he reached for the milk you had just bought, and popped the cap off before taking a few sips. He wiped his mouth before continuing. 

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere. You’re hard to trace, you know.” Your breathing is getting more erratic and your heart is beating so loud you can hear it. But even if you couldn’t you know the superhuman before you could. “Do you remember me?” His eyes seem searching, like he’s not sure he’s got the right person. Or if he’s confused as to why you’re scared to see him. 

“Yes.” The man nods at your response. 

“After my last mission I was on the run from Hydra. I wasn’t sure what would become of it, but after figuring out I started a plan. I started tracking down the people who the government failed to bring into custody and killing them one by one.” Fuck. “At first I wasn’t looking for you, you hadn’t hurt me after all. I could see your hesitation every time you saw me.” Then why are you here? “But then I remembered the way you looked at me. How disgusted you were. You saw me for the monster that I was.” The man paused, waiting to see if you’d argue. You didn’t. You couldn’t. He was right, even if you felt bad for him, you saw him as a war machine, murderous monster.

“So, I tracked you down. I found you on a car camera at the market, but you never leave. I thought I had the wrong place for the longest time, but today I finally saw you. моя маленькая сука.” The blue eyes that haunted you weren’t dead anymore, they held a flame now that terrified you. 

“Listen, I’m sorry. I am. If I had any idea what was going on I would’ve never accepted the job. I was just trying to work, I’m sorry. Please, just go.”

The man just scoffed at your words. “You would’ve never taken the job, but you wouldn’t have helped me. You wouldn’t have helped innocent people. You think I wanted to kill all those people? I still see their faces, no matter how many times they fried my brains, I can’t fucking forget! I don’t have the option to just run away. Unlike you, you fucking bitch!”

You jumped as he was starting to get angrier, the container of milk crushed in his metal fist, leaking down to the floor. Tears started to sting your eyes and you were shaking even worse. “Please, I get why you’re angry, but you don’t have to do this.”

“And you didn’t have to keep quiet for all those years, but you did. Didn't you?” You shook your head. He didn’t get it, you could’ve died. You had no choice but to stay silent. “My name’s James Buchanan Barnes by the way. Everyone called me Bucky. I had a life, a family, friends. A career that I loved. Hydra took all that from me and turned me into the thing you see today. I should’ve died a long time ago; but now I’m as mad as Hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

The soldier suddenly lunged at you, twisting your wrist causing you to scream out. You dropped the knife to the floor with a clang, and you were shoved against the counter with your back to the man who had broken back into your life. 

“I could easily kill you, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t always have a thing for you. The way your ass would look in your pencil skirts, it made me feel normal again, the feelings I’d get when I’d see you. Well, that is until Hydra just fucked me up again.” He whispered low in your ear as you felt him unbuckling his pants. Your struggles were kept to a minimum due to the metal arm holding your body uncomfortably close to the wooden counter. 

“I used to even daydream about a life with you. White picket fence, big house, two kids, the whole nine yards. The normal shit I had as a kid.” the man dryly chuckled, “How stupid of me.”

Without warning he slaps your ass. Hard. He gripped your panties before shoving them down your legs, riding your dress up your thigh to reveal yourself to him. You squeezed your eyes shut as you felt your face get hot with embarrassment. 

The soldier suddenly drops to his knees and grabs your ass cheeks in his hands, spreading yourself more for him to see. He moaned before diving right in, licking at you slit. You moaned out before you could catch it with your hand causing the man to groan into your core. 

“You like that don’t you?” Slap. “Fucking slut.” 

The man continued to eat you out as you reached hopelessly for an escape. He held you steady and firm up to his face, and you had no control over the vulgar sounds that were leaving your mouth. 

You let out a high pitched scream as the soldier started sucking on your pearl of nerves, driving you over the edge into ecstasy. He continued to suck up all that you had to offer him before standing up.

“You’re slutty cunt has me hard as a fucking rock, you know that?” Another slap to your backside has you jolting forward just a bit and groaning out at the pain that blurred the line of pleasure.

You heard more clothes shuffling before you felt something hot poke at your entrance. “Ready Babygirl?” The man chuckled as you shook your head. 

“Please, you can still stop! I won’t tell anyone, just let me go!”

“Aw, imagine it being your choice.” With that he shoved himself to his limit within you. You both moaned out at the feeling of your walls stretching around the thick member inside you, pulling at him as he moved deeper.

“You’re tighter than I always imagined, Doll.” the soldier moaned into your ear, starting to find a rhythm inside you. He wasted no time using your body as his toy. He deserved this after all that Hydra put him through. After all that you allowed him to be put through.

“Y-you’re hurting me!” 

“Good.”

You’re closing your eyes so hard you can see stars. You feel hot tears escape from your eyes as you’re trying to wait out the torture your body was being subject to. Pretty soon the pain is too much and you’re sobbing.

“What are you crying for, bitch?” the man grabs a handful of your hair and yanks it back, your scalp burning from his roughness, “You don’t get to cry, not after what you let happen to so many people. You don’t know true pain.” He shoved your head forward and you barely miss hitting your head on the counter. Your neck still hurt from his force, though. 

The Winter Soldier’s movements start to get harder and he starts hitting a spot within you that makes you clench around him, your orgasm creeping up in your lower stomach.

“That’s right, clench my cock, cunt. Just like that and I’ll cum for you. You’ll like that won’t you?” Bucky slapped your ass three times before grabbing your left cheek, making you squeeze him again. “Answer!”

“Yes! Please cum inside me, Bucky!”

That was a mistake.

Bucky shoved your hips into the counter for sure causing bruises to rise. You cry out, more tears escaping down your hot and inflamed cheeks. “Don’t call me that. It’s sergeant to you,” The man growls out at you, “You know that? I was a fucking sargeant before this shit. Respected. Now look at me,” he chuckles humorlessly. 

You can feel blood trickle down your leg as the sergeant continues to abuse your pussy, any orgasm you might’ve had is gone now, replaced with a painful yet numb ach. 

“God, fuck-” You feel warmth spill into your channel as the soldier stills inside you. He pulls out of you, letting your weak and overused body fall to the tile floor painfully. You draw your legs up to your chest as you examine the blood on the floor, some of it gushing out from under your inflamed core. You have no idea what he fractured, he had to have done something, but it sure as Hell hurt. 

You hear a click and look up just as a loud bang is heard. Then everything went black.

---

Bucky looked down at the woman he just fucked, saw how the blood trickled from the bullet wound in her head down to the floor to mix with the blood from her pussy. 

He looked around at the dump she called an apartment. It is a place where nobody can trace easily, he thought. She was the last person he had to kill on his path of revenge, and now he needed somewhere to lay low. Maybe he’ll stay, nobody will realize a difference. The bitch never talked to anyone or interacted with people, and those who did know she existed would probably assume she left or that he was her boyfriend or something. They wouldn’t ask questions. They didn’t care.

Bucky finished putting the food she had gotten away before working on disposing of the body. He smiled to himself, content with the job he had done. It wouldn’t right all his wrongs, but it certainly helped. Besides, revenge is best served out of the ice. 

XXX

Tags: @coconutqueen21 @kellyn1604 @jtargaryen18 @collette04 @nsfwsebbie @what-just-happened-bro @gigistorm @avengerimscreaming @venusavengers @saharzek @navybrat817 @bucksgoat @xoxabs88xox

[jalapeno-princess]

Write Me a Letter

Mark Tuan X Reader

Genre: THE CHEESIEST OF FLUFF (Featuring the best friend BamBam that everyone deserves)

Word Count: 10.6K

Summary: Being a full-time college student with a full-time job is a hard thing to do. One day when you’re scrolling on your explore page, you stumble on a post with a link to a pen pal website. You’ve always been curious about how pen pals worked and you’ve been interested in making a new friend and writing mail back and forth to one another. After exploring a couple of profiles to make sure you choose the person you feel you’d enjoy writing to, you find Mark’s profile and you end up choosing him from his profile picture of his adorable puppy Milo, his personal interests and the way he seemed passionate about the entire pen pal experience. Over the course of writing to and receiving letters from Mark, you come to the realization that he means much more to you than someone you write letters to that you’ve never met before. When the opportunity comes for the two of you to finally meet, you and BamBam plan out a vacation to California where you finally get to meet the man behind the heartfelt letters.

A/N: Hey guys; so this has to be one of the cheesiest (if not the most fluffy ball of cheese story that I’ve written) and if I’m being honest I don’t know how I feel about this story but I’d like to think it’s cute and I’ve always wanted a pen pal (I love writing letters and I prefer writing letters and receiving mail over getting text messages sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong era but hey GOT7 and I exist at the same time so that’s all that matters) please enjoy! (Oh yeah, by the way, I was 1/4 in to writing this I write all my stories on my phone and I meant to highlight a word in order to delete it but I accidentally highlighted the whole story and ended up deleting it i was so mad at myself and I actually considered not writing it again because I was already so deep in to writing the story but I was very determined to finish it)

“Hey y/n, boss man wants you finished with that proposal by Wednesday.” The groan that fell from your lips was unintentional and as much as you hated showing disdain for your manager in front of your fellow colleagues because of how much pressure and stress he put you through, BamBam was used to seeing you get so worked up over things like this. But he couldn’t blame you; you had a lot on your plate as it was and your manager had a tendency to expect the world from you. 

Working as a paralegal in one of the most prestigious law firms in your state on top of being a full-time student wasn’t the easiest thing to do and some days you found yourself wanting to give it all up entirely. However, you had a goal and you were going to do everything in your power to achieve it; no matter how frustrating juggling both your education and your job could be. 

Your boss would always assign you different projects, expect you to come up with proposals, write essays and find as many clients as possible and what upset you the most, was that he expected you to do it in a few days time. He told you time and time again that he knew you were capable of such amazing things and you weren’t the lead paralegal in your company for no reason. 

There were so many nights where you stayed up working on both your school work and the tasks assigned to you just so you could impress your boss with the amazing quality of your work that you just so happened to finish the same day you were given it. If only your boss knew how much blood, sweat and tears you put in to perfecting all your work before turning it in. 

A tear of frustration fell from your face and you hated showing that you were weak in such a cutthroat business, but BamBam was one of the only coworkers you could trust. Especially because he just so happened to be your best friend. As soon as he heard you sniffle, he made his way over to your desk and gently ran his fingers through your hair before motioning for you to stand up so that he could pull you in to his embrace. He wrapped his arms around your waist as you brought yours up around his back and placed your head against his chest. 

“Hey, don’t cry. I know it can get frustrating sometimes, and I know you’re tired but it will all be worth it in the end. Okay? Hang in there. You’re the most hardworking and dedicated person I know y/n and I admire you so much for it. He wouldn’t give you all this work load if he didn’t think you couldn’t handle it, but if it does get too much for you to manage, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Better yet, remind him of just how much you have on your plate. You’re a student as much as you are an employee y/n. And more importantly, you’re a human. Don’t give me that look, I know what you’re going to say. “But BamBam, I want to be the best. If I don’t do everything I’m supposed to, then I won’t be able to handle opening up my own law firm.” I hate how you belittle yourself all the time. You are the best y/n. Once you graduate and finally open up your own law firm, all the hard work and dedication will be worth it. Your law firm will shit on this law firm, I can already see it.” 

You couldn’t help but giggle at his words. BamBam always knew the right things to say and you were extremely grateful that he applied to the law firm you were working at because he was the only reason you weren’t going insane with everything you had to deal with. He was a breath of fresh air in an office where you felt like you couldn’t breathe at all. You didn’t know what you would do without him there. 

As much as you knew he should’ve been getting experience in his own field, he explained to you that he wanted nothing to do with the fashion industry until he graduated and had to go in to it. Some days you wish you could be like him, you wish you didn’t have to worry about the real world until it was time but you were such a perfectionist and you wanted to experience was the world of law had to offer. 

“He’s going to kill me one day Bam, I swear to God. That man is overworking me to the bone and at this point I don’t even think it’s because he trusts me or because he thinks I’m great at what I do. I think it’s because his lazy ass doesn’t want to do the dirty work. I’m sick and tired of having to do everything for him only for him to get the credit, it’s bullshit.” 

BamBam began to run his hands along the side of your arms and released a frustrated sigh. Everyone in your company knew how much time and energy you put in to your job. They knew how much you wanted to be a lawyer, and that you were one of the most talented and extremely intelligent paralegals in the field. Your boss was very lucky to have you; but at the same time he took advantage of your kindness and generosity and made you work until he was satisfied with the end product. 

“I got an idea, why don’t you and I go on a vacation? You deserve a break y/n. Hey, don’t you have vacation days saved up? You should seeing as how much overtime you’ve been working. Plus winter break is just around the corner. Why don’t we go to California so you can finally meet that lover boy of yours—ow! What? I’m being serious y/n and you of all people should know that violence is not the answer. I can’t wait for you to become a lawyer so I can sue you for emotional and physical abuse—I’m kidding—well not really but the two of you have been at this for months and didn’t he imply that he wanted to finally meet you in his last letter? I should get going, I have to finish that contract with the bank. But think about my suggestion okay? I’ll wait for you to finish so that I can take you home, or if you’re up for it we can go eat somewhere. My treat. Good luck y/n! And don’t stress too much. You wouldn’t want Mark to see those wrinkles and dark circles—I’m out!” 

He playfully squeezed at your cheek before leaving your office and once he was gone, you let out an exhausted groan while bringing your thumb and index finger up to the bridge of your nose and pinched it out of frustration. The idea of writing a five-paged proposal in less than two days made your head hurt. 

Sometimes you wish you had the guts to confront your boss of expecting so much out of you but you were afraid of the aftermath that came with it. Plus, BamBam’s words stuck with you and it was all you could seem to think about. Around six months ago, you were scrolling on the Instagram explore page when you came across a very interesting post about pen pals. From a young age, you were always curious about how pen pals worked and you would get excited at the thought of writing letters to a stranger. 

You were always a hopeless romantic. Everyone in your generation were all about technology and social media, but you still believed in sending postcards, taking pictures with polaroids and writing notes instead of having to use your phone or computer. You were constantly writing out emails and text messages for work and you’ve grown tired of technology and your devices, so you found yourself clicking on the link that led you to a website that gave you a list of people who were interested in finding a pen pal. Once you made your account, uploaded a photo and some information, you began exploring the website and seeing what they had to offer. 

After going through a few profiles, you grew interested in one in particular that just so happened to belong to the boy BamBam was referring to. You were quick to reach out to Mark and to your delight, he responded back in less than five minutes telling you that he just so happened to take a liking to your page also. What you had thought would just be a one time thing, turned out to be letters he would send once every two weeks. 

The longer the two of you wrote to each other, the more constant he would write to you. One letter every two weeks became three letters in one week and you’d find yourself waiting patiently for him to write to you. His letters seemed to be the only thing you looked forward to. Each and every letter you received from him never failed to bring a smile to your face and it wasn’t up until a month ago that you realized you were developing feelings for him. 

Although you had yet to meet him, he already found his way in to your heart and when BamBam mentioned finally getting to meet him, you couldn’t help but grin like a little school girl. Mark had a way with words. He told you he couldn’t even write essays as long as his letters and it was because he just had so much to tell you. If you were being honest, you were a great listener but at the same time, you’d find yourself getting bored of a conversation if someone were to talk about a topic you weren’t interested in for so long. 

There were even situations when BamBam would go in to depth about fashion and you tried your best not to seem like you weren’t interested, you just had no idea what he would talk about but you would always give him your undying attention nonetheless. However, you would read each and every single letter Mark had written to you over and over and you’d never get tired. He would tell you about his life, his job, his dreams and aspirations, memories from his childhood, the new puppy he just adopted name Milo, how living with his best friend Jackson was like and so much more. 

The two of you talked about exchanging numbers in order to text, call and FaceTime each other, but you both agreed that the whole point of the pen pal situation was because you both enjoyed waiting for each other to write back. It was unique, it was fun and writing back and forth with Mark was your little escape from reality. He did mention wanting to meet you, and finally getting to put a face to the letters and you too were curious of what Mark looked like. 

His avatar on his account was a picture of what you assumed to be Milo whereas yours was a picture of GusGus from Cinderella that you got off of the internet. You wanted to keep your identity somewhat of a secret from Mark because it added to the mystery and eccentricity of this whole experience. You were afraid of things changing between the two of you if and when you were to meet and you didn’t want things to stop between the two of you if he were to come to the realization that maybe you weren’t who he thought you were. 

It’s been almost two weeks since you’ve last heard from him and he informed you in his last letter that he was going to be busy for the next few weeks and that he was going to miss writing to you but that you could continue writing to him in the mean time. You’ve sent him at least three letters since he’s last written to you and it was in the moment that you found yourself missing him that you realized you saw him as more than just a pen pal. BamBam wouldn’t let you hear the end of it when you told him of your entire situation and he kept teasing you the minute he found out about your crush on Mark. 

“You haven’t even met the guy y/n. For all you know, he could be a 65-year-old divorced man with two kids living on a farm in Arkansas or even worse, he could be a serial killer trying to lure you in with his sweet and charming words. You do know we have social media for a reason, why don’t you search him up and see exactly who he is before continuing this weird ass relationship.” 

There were times that curiosity got the best of you and you wanted to go and search his name up on Facebook or Instagram, but you told yourself you would wait. BamBam however, was the definition of nosy and would meddle in everybody’s business even if he knew it was wrong to do so. For the business aspect, your boss loved the idea that BamBam would dig up dirt and search for any information that could throw competitors and ex-clients under the bus. What you could care less for, was when it came to your personal life. 

He hardly had anything to be nosy about when it came to you. You haven’t been in a relationship in years and all you had going for you was your job and your schooling. Unlike BamBam, you hated clubbing and going out to bars; you didn’t see the point in wasting your money on overpriced alcohol and pressing your body up against a random stranger. 

Staying in and watching reruns of Cake Boss while eating a whole pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream was how you spent your days off. In BamBam’s words, you were practically a grandma. Even more so when he found out about your pen pal, but he was never once to force you in to anything you didn’t want to do and if you were happy, so was he. When BamBam suggested searching him up, you didn’t think he’d actually go along with it but then again, it was BamBam. What did you expect? Usually whenever he put his mind to something, he’d go along with it. 

“Wow y/n, if this is the guy, you’ve lucked out big time. Damn, if I were a girl, I’d go for him. Not to sound weird or anything, but he’s hot. You didn’t hear it from me though. But who knows, I could be looking at the wrong guy. I’m sure there are hundreds of Mark Tuans in the world.” 

A huge part of you felt like he was bluffing and only saying things like that to make fun of you. But another part of you wanted to yank his phone and see for yourself what he was talking about. 

“Come on y/n, I know you wanna see what he looks like. There’s no harm in taking a peek. Why are you so adamant on not knowing what he looks like? God, the two of you are honestly meant for each other, you’re both elderly people in young people’s bodies.” 

Once you reached the third page of your proposal, you decided to call it a day. As much as you wanted to hang out with BamBam, especially because he offered to treat you which was a very rare thing knowing how much of a cheapskate he was, you were tired beyond belief and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. Although he was disappointed when he heard of your plans, he couldn’t blame you for wanting to go right to bed and he wanted you to get some rest. 

He was also pretty happy he didn’t have to spend money, but he wasn’t going to tell you that. Like the gentleman he was, he took your things for you and led the way to his car. The car ride was quiet, which was unlike most of the rides he gave you considering how outspoken and talkative he could be. At a stop light, he reached for your hand and gently squeezed it as a nonverbal way to let you know that everything was going to be okay. 

There were moments where he’d open his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but after seeing your breakdown earlier, he probably decided that he’d give you some space and not aggravate you more than you already were. Around twenty minutes after the two of you left the office, he pulled up to your guest parking and gave you a gentle pat on the head. 

“Get some rest please? I’m tired of having to correct people when they assume you’re my mom—I swear you get more and more abusive the longer we’re friends for.” You let out a scoff as he rubbed the spot that you hit him at. 

“Nobody thinks I’m your mother asshole. Thank you for the ride home and for comforting me earlier. I really appreciate it Bam. I don’t know if I say it enough but I’m very thankful for all that you do for me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He gave you a knowing smirk and cupped your cheek in his palm. There were times where people assumed that the two of you were dating by how much time you both spent together and because of the skin-ship you shared. 

The lingering touches and gentle kisses on your cheek and forehead every now and then weren’t those normally shared between best friends, but you’ve never questioned it. You and BamBam have been friends for almost 20 years, he never showed any romantic interest in you nor did you feel anything for him and you felt it was better off that way. 

The older boy was extremely supportive in each and every one of your endeavors and although you were slowly getting tired of how silly he was acting towards the entire Mark situation, deep down you knew he was just messing around with you and even if you didn’t admit it to him out loud, he had a hunch that you were falling for Mark. All BamBam wanted was for you to be happy and if Mark was the reason for your happiness, then he supported whatever it was going on between you both. 

“Ew, don’t get all sentimental on me. GROSS! Since you’re off tomorrow, if you’re feeling up for it maybe we can go try out that new sushi place. It’s kind of pricey so I’m not offering to treat, I’ll tell you that right now. I’m only a phone call away if you need me. Have a nice rest of your evening.” 

When he drove away, you released a breath you didn’t even know you were holding. Honestly BamBam and Mark were the only people keeping you sane as of right now. If it wasn’t for BamBam’s endless amounts of support and Mark’s kind and motivating words, you’d be an alcoholic. You trudged up the stairs and debated on whether or not you should check the mail because you knew there was no way Mark could have written to you since he was still quite busy and you hardly ever ordered anything, so there wasn’t anything for you to look forward to. Yet you still found yourself making your way to the mailbox and lazily opened the box, not being expectant of anything. 

The minute your eyes landed on the single envelope, your heart felt as if it was about to jump out of your chest. You didn’t have to read who it was from, you could tell by the envelope alone that it was from Mark. He had a unique choice in cards and he would even draw cute little characters and they never failed to bring a smile to your face. Even if you were exhausted and wanted nothing more than to flop right on to your bed, you were now wide awake and had every intention on reading his letter. 

You made a beeline up to your apartment and didn’t give yourself time to do anything before you rushed in to the door and practically jumped on the couch. For a guy, you felt that he had such neat hand writing and if you were being honest, his penmanship was adorable. You’ve mentioned it to him a few times in your letters and he was always quick to disagree. Something about the way he wrote a tiny heart next to your name always made your cheeks warm up. You found it hard to believe that he was turning twenty-seven in just a few months by the way he seemed so childish not only in his writing, but in the little doodles and the way he would write your address in bubble letters. After giving yourself a few seconds to calm your racing heart, you took the note out of the envelope and began reading.

“Dear y/n,                            July 12, 2019

Hey stranger, it’s been a while and I’d like to apologize for that. I’d say work was driving me insane, but I know you have it just as hard juggling your career and your education so there’s really no excuse. How have you been? I’ve missed writing to you and hell, I’ve missed you even more. Thank you for continuing to write to me over the last few weeks even if I failed to do so for you. I promise you I’ll send you so many letters this week the mailman will probably start hiding them out of irritation. Maybe I should pull a Harry Potter and have an owl deliver them to you so they can get to you faster. Just a little update, I got the promotion I told you about earlier which I’m pretty excited for and I know what you’re about to say; I’m sorry for not believing you when you told me that if anyone deserved the lead position, it was me. You know how I can get sometimes, especially when it comes to my job, but I’m very thankful that you see the best in me and you never fail to support me in each and every thing that I do.

I finally went out and tried the strawberry cheesecake ice cream from Baskin Robbins that you recommended and I’m so mad at myself for not trying it earlier. It’s sooooooo good. Oh, Jackson and I went to the bookstore the other day and I saw the fifth installment of the “Series of Unfortunate Events” books and I thought of you and how you finished the entire series in less than a week. You’re insane you know that? But you’re also pretty amazing. Jackson keeps bothering me about meeting you and I keep telling him when it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen. I want you to know though that I can’t wait to finally meet you. Sometimes I forget how old I’m getting when I find myself bouncing off the walls the minute Jackson brings in the mail and I see your letters. I’m not rushing you, but I do have a break coming up here in a couple of weeks (hint, hint) so if you’d like to come up here to California for the holidays, I’d love to show you around ;).

Well, I’d better get going, I have more letters to write. By the way, I have a surprise coming your way in the next few days so be ready for it. Don’t forget to eat all your meals and try not to work so hard. Maybe I should come visit you instead and give your asshole boss a piece of my mind. Anyways, I hope you’re doing well and I don’t care how busy I am, I will make time for you. So if you’re ever feeling sad, upset, tired or lonely, just remember that I’m always going to be here for you. I may not be there for you physically, but just know you’re always on my mind every single day. I’m sure your workload is overwhelming right now, so feel free to take as long as you want to get back to me(but don’t take too long your letters are the only thing I look forward to) Take care and hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely, Mark.”

The tears were hot against your cheeks and you didn’t even realize you were crying until the words started to smear and you were quick to pull the letter away to prevent it from getting ruined. Sometimes you had a hard time believing this was all real and not a figment of your imagination. Pen pals were considered taboo; writing back and forth to a stranger about your life and things that went on in it wasn’t something you’d thought you’d be doing but here you were. Mark wasn’t even considered just your pen pal at this point, he was a friend, a confidant; your safe haven. 

His words never failed to move you each and every time he wrote to you, but something about this letter in particular was making you feel things in your heart that you’ve never felt before. For someone you’ve never met before, you felt as if you’ve known him forever. He seemed extremely sincere and always checked up on your mental health and physical being. 

Did things like this actually happen in people’s lives? Were there other people out there who had a unique relationship like you and Mark? The more the two of you would write back and forth to one another, the more you were afraid in actually meeting him. You didn’t want things to change. What if unlike in your letters, he wasn’t as invested in you and what if interacting with him was awkward and uncomfortable? 

You didn’t want to lose his friendship if he came to the realization that he preferred the postal version of you and not the actual you. You reread the letter at least five times and his words had a stronger effect on you each and every time you read it over again. He missed you? It wasn’t the first time he was cheeky in his writing, but this was the first time he admitted that he’s constantly thinking about you and waiting for your letters. But what did it mean? Was it possible for someone you’ve never met to develop feelings for you? 

Surely there was no way Mark could harbor any romantic feelings for you. He didn’t even know what you looked like; so what else other than your letters made him think about you constantly? You came to the decision that you weren’t going to overthink this entire situation and allow yourself to go to bed. All your worries were just going to have to wait until the morning. Unfortunately, your mind was running a mile a minute and there was no way you could find it in yourself to fall asleep. 

As much as you hated bothering him, you knew the only way you’d get to get your well deserved slumber was if you talked to BamBam and told him what happened. You crossed your fingers and hoped he wasn’t asleep and when you heard his raspy voice through the phone, a soft sigh of relief fell from your lips. 

“I’m so sorry to bother you and even more sorry if I woke you, I just—I couldn’t sleep.” He let out a soft giggle, nonverbally letting you know that it was fine. It wasn’t the first time you’ve woken him up in the middle of the night, and he was aware that he was the only one who you could trust in listening to you and getting you to calm down. BamBam felt honored that you could confide in him and he was even more appreciative knowing that you would do the exact same for him if he needed it. 

“You’re fine. You know you can reach out to me whenever you need to. I know I don’t expect anything from you, but just remember; I really like taro bubble tea with boba. 100% sweetness. But that’s besides the point. What’s up?” You nibbled on your bottom lip out of nervousness at the thought of his response to your dilemma, but everything just came flowing out of you. 

“I—I got another letter from Mark today.”

“That’s good! Isn’t that what you wanted? You’ve been acting so gloomy these days and I am completely aware it’s partially because of work, but you and I both know that Mr.Pen Pal has a lot to do with your melancholic mood. So why do you sound so upset?”

“He told me he misses me, that he has a vacation coming up and wants to finally get to meet me and that he can’t stop thinking about me. Isn’t that—doesn’t that sound weird? Like, we’ve never met each other in the flesh. All we do is write letters back and forth to one another. He’s never heard my voice, he has no clue what I look like and other than the information I write in my letters, he doesn’t know much about me but at the same time, he knows everything. Isn’t that strange? And what’s worse, is that I’ve been feeling something, something in my chest that I’ve never felt before and it scares me. He’s practically a stranger Bam! And like you’ve joked around about countless times, he could be hiding his actual identity. He might be writing me from jail, or in divorce court—“ 

Although you couldn’t see him, you’ve been friends long enough with BamBam to know that there was a huge chance he was frowning at your words. You were infamous for rambling on and on about the most unnecessary things sometimes. However, he knew you were genuinely confused and had no clue what to do about this entire situation. But BamBam, considering the joker he was who lived with the “you only live once” lifestyle had a gut feeling that your relationship with Mark was no longer just letters to a stranger. 

He witnessed how distressed you were over the last few weeks not receiving anything from Mark. He’s seen how happy you’d get when you finally did get a letter. He’s heard you squeal and giggle at Mark’s sweet words and he would observe the way you would bite your lip and scrunch your nose in excitement. You’d always go in to great detail about how intelligent, kind-hearted and charismatic Mark was and your eyes, there was always this particular glint in them whenever Mark came up in a conversation. 

BamBam has never been in love before. Hell, he’s never experienced being in an actual relationship, so he never knew what it felt like to love and to be in love with someone. Even if you weren’t in love with Mark, he knew you must’ve had some kind of feelings for him and if he was being honest, if it wasn’t love; he didn’t know what it was. 

“I don’t mean to interrupt you, but can I be honest? I think you’re in love with Mark. And before you can call me crazy and try to disagree, think about it. You don’t need to say it out loud, he’s constantly on your mind the way he claims you are on his. You practically live in front of your mailbox, waiting to get anything from him and don’t you think I didn’t see the small note he wrote for you in your wallet. You spend hours writing notes to him, not knowing exactly what to say because I’m sure you’re afraid of boring him or scaring him away and you’re worried at the thought of no longer having him in your life. If you didn’t love him y/n, you wouldn’t give two shits whether or not he were to stop writing to you nor would you be calling me up to vent about your concerns. I know it’s a lot to take in and it might seem weird because he’s a stranger, but is he really a stranger to you y/n? I feel like you know more about him and talk with him more than you do some of your family members. He makes you happy y/n, in ways that not even I can and I like the effect he has on you. Consider finally getting to meet him won’t you? If it doesn’t work out the way you want it to, then you can end this entire thing completely but I’m sure he will love the physical you as much as he does the person he writes to. Like I said, I’ll come to California with you! I wouldn’t mind going to Disneyland, but I come with a fee—so feel free to pay for my ticket. We can continue this conversation over breakfast tomorrow okay? I hope I helped, goodnight y/n.” 

The following week came and gone in the snap of a finger. You finished the proposal the day after your day off and turned it in just a few hours before your boss was expecting it. Since work was so hectic which you both hated and loved for obvious reasons, it took your mind off of the many worries going on in your head. A few days later, you received another letter from Mark and a box you assumed to be the surprise he wrote about in his last letter. When you opened the box and saw the snow globe that had a couple inside going around an ice skating rink, a huge smile rose on your face followed by a stray tear. 

“This snow globe can be your reality if you come to see me. I remember you saying you have yet to experience snow, so let me be the first one you share that experience with. It’s getting pretty cold up here, so pack wisely; but just know that I’m practically a human furnace and I’d love to warm you up ;). Sincerely, Mark.”

After getting breakfast with BamBam the morning after your little breakdown, you came to the decision that you were going to fly up to California and finally meet the man who owned your heart. You also came to the conclusion that BamBam was right. 

You were in love with Mark. 

You didn’t have to see him or interact with him physically to know that he was where your heart now resides. All those late nights you stayed up thinking about his passionate and heartfelt words, the feeling in your chest that’s been going on for the last few weeks, always looking forward to the mailman coming to see if he’s written to you, reading his letters over and over again to the point where you memorized each and every word. It all made sense. 

You didn’t care what would happen once you got there, your heart was stronger than your mind and it craved to finally meet him. In your recent letter, you told Mark about your plans, and you could only hope he was serious about wanting to meet you and not just messing around. Poor BamBam had to hear you go on and on about rethinking your decision and that it was going to be a mistake, but he did his best to reassure you that everything was going to be okay and that you were overreacting. 

Two weeks after you received a letter from Mark saying that he was over the moon at your decision to fly up to California, you and BamBam started to plan out your trip and put in your vacation time at work. Since you needed a quicker way to interact with him, the two of you ended up exchanging numbers to let him know when you landed so that he could pick you up at the airport. The idea of meeting him as soon as you landed both worried you and excited you. However, you couldn’t stop thinking that the car ride to your hotel was going to be awkward. Luckily BamBam was an amazing conversationalist and if you ended up not being able to converse with Mark, he could do it for you. 

You were extremely grateful that BamBam offered to go on vacation with you. Sure, he kept telling you that he’s been dying to take a vacation and that there were so many places in California that he wanted to visit,  but nonetheless you were glad that you had someone to go with you not only for safety reasons, but to keep you company and to console you if meeting Mark didn’t end up the way you expected it to. The entire months of November seemed to pass you by so quickly and before you knew it, you and BamBam were on a plane to California. 

“How are you feeling? You finally get to meet your Prince Charming, aren’t you excited? Oh don’t give me that look—what do I keep telling you? I swear to God I can’t wait to tell your kids one day about how their mom was so nervous to meet their dad—the first thing I’m going to warn mark about is how abusive you are. There’s really nothing for you to worry about, if things end up going to shit then what can you do? That’s life. But they’ll only end up that way because you made them that way. If you’re worried about what he looks like, like I told you before he’s hot—if I were a girl I’d go for him, if it is the same guy who’s Instagram I’ve been stalking for the last month. If he turns out to be some old dude let’s just hope he has money—ENOUGH WITH THE HITTING. Mark will love you for you, no matter what and if he doesn’t, he’s missing out on such a wonderful human being. I’ve already searched up bars in the area that we’re staying in just in case you need to get drunk. You’re welcome. Now try to sleep, we have a 7 hour flight and those eye bags aren’t cute y/n.” 

You gently squeezed his hand and rested your head on his shoulder. You wanted to retaliate against his playful comments, but you were too tired to even think of anything to fire back with. BamBam smiled softly at your now sleeping figure and playfully ran his fingers through your hair before falling asleep himself. After sleeping for what felt like hours, BamBam woke you up to let you know that the plane was landing soon. The nerves started to kick in again and you found yourself releasing a couple of deep breaths which BamBam got a kick out of. 

“How do I look? Is my outfit okay? Should I go change? How’s my hair? Do I have any dried up drool on my chin?” He gave you a look of disgust and brought his hands up to your face and pinched your cheek. 

“You look beautiful y/n. Especially for someone whose been on a plane for quite some time. Stop worrying, you’re giving me anxiety. No drool, you’re good. Now let’s do this.” Once the plane landed, you sent Mark a quick text saying that you and BamBam finally arrived in Los Angeles and gave him your gate number to which he responded immediately with a smiley face and a thumbs up. From the time you gave him your number up until now, he’d only send you emojis, funny videos or memes. The sweet, heartfelt messages were saved specifically for his letters and you liked it that way. BamBam stood up as soon as the plane landed but you yanked his arm and had him sit back down. 

“Come on y/n, why does it seem like I’m more excited to meet Mark than you are.” You rolled your eyes and motioned toward the line of people that was building up. 

“We’ve traveled together many more times than I can count and you still never learn. Everyone knows not to stand up to try and leave once the plane lands dumbass. I want to meet him, but three extra minutes won’t kill me. Don’t use him as an excuse, you just want to get off the plane.” 

After everyone practically cleared the plane, BamBam reached for both of your carry-ons in the storage bins and led you towards baggage claim. Your heart began racing, time was ticking down extremely fast and your anxiety was building up. You couldn’t help but wonder how Mark was feeling at the idea of meeting you. Was he just as nervous? Or was he excited to finally meet the person he’s been writing to for the last six months? 

When BamBam picked up both your luggage’s, the two of you made your way to the gate and when you saw the person holding a sign with your name on it, your breath hitched. You were so focused on the devastatingly handsome man who you assumed to be Mark that you failed to notice the huge grin on BamBam’s face. His smile was practically cheek to cheek at this point.

“You know, I should quit fashion and become an investigator of some sorts. I fucking knew it was him. I’m fucking amazing.” You let out a small snicker when you remembered the first time BamBam searched up his profile to make sure you weren’t interacting with some freak on the Internet. When he said Mark was good looking, you felt like BamBam was just playing around with you but now that you’re looking directly at him, BamBam’s words were an understatement. He had yet to notice you walking towards him and you were right about to wave him down until the most embarrassing thing possible happened. As much as you were thankful BamBam was there with you, you should’ve known the possibility of him embarrassing you was quite high. 

“Ayo Mark! Over here man!” You shoved the older boy and shamefully tried to hide behind him, but he dodged your movement and continued to wave at him. In your peripheral vision, you could see Mark walking towards you and you allowed yourself to take a look at him so you didn’t look stupid. God, he was beautiful and his smile was indescribable. He began jogging towards the two of you and before your mind could process anything, you were being pulled in to his embrace and he swung you around as if you were light as a feather. He was right, he was practically a furnace and you could feel your cheeks warming up at the feeling of his arms around your waist. 

“Wow, I—you are—wow—hi. I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I just—hi. It’s nice to finally meet you. You are so beautiful. Jackson’s description of you doesn’t do you justice. Oh, hello! BamBam right? Nice to meet you too man. Y/n always raves about you in her letters. Thanks for always taking such good care of her. How was your guy’s flight?” 

You remembered Mark mentioning his roommate in a few of his letters and you couldn’t help but smile with the way he was interacting with your best friend. They had only just met, but during the walk to his car they talked as if they were good friends. You were shocked at how natural this all was and you felt so stupid for overreacting at the idea of meeting him. With the way he was acting so friendly and bubbly towards you, you regretted not meeting him sooner. 

Once the three of you made it to his car, he took the luggage’s from the both of you and told you to get settled in. When you took a seat in the front, you turned around and looked at BamBam with a content look on your face. 

“See, I told you. I fucking told you. This guy is perfect. Are you sure you need me here? You’re doing fine on your own. Maybe I’ll have him drop me off to the hotel and you can go with him and get to know each other if you know what I’m saying.” 

You knew exactly what the cheeky boy meant and you rolled your eyes at his words but your chest tightened up at the idea of being alone with Mark. When he made his way back in to the car, he handed you the beautiful bouquet of flowers and buckled up before starting the engine. 

“You’re giving these flowers a run for their money with how beautiful you are, you know that? Sunflowers are your favorite if I remember correctly right? It makes sense. You’re bright, you stand out and you light up an entire room. So, which hotel are the two of you staying at? I’ll drop you both off and then we can go get some lunch or something. I have a few things planned for us but if you guys have other things in mind then that’s fine too.” 

He wasn’t real, he couldn’t be. There was no way. Were you dreaming? Were you and BamBam still on the plane waiting to land? He was charming, gorgeous and quite the gentleman. This had to be a set up. Out of all the people in the world that you could’ve chose to be your pen pal, how did you end up with an actual Greek God who was driving you to the brink of insanity the longer you stayed in his presence? 

“We’re staying at the Grand Californian in Disneyland. We both got the 5 day park hopper pass, so feel free to join us. I’m sure y/n would enjoy it if you came. In more ways than one.” 

The last part came out as a whisper but you were sure Mark heard it and if looks could kill, BamBam would be six-feet-under. Hearing him giggle made your heart flutter; for someone who was just a few years away from thirty, he had the most adorable high pitched laugh and you knew you’d never get tired of hearing it. How could someone at his age be so damn cute? It wasn’t fair. 

“That sounds cool. I’m always up for Disneyland. Wintertime is the best time to go, so you both made a great decision in visiting right now. What do you think about snowboarding? My friends and I are planning to head up to big bear mountain this weekend and it’d be awesome if the two of you came. It’s actually where I planned on taking you to see the snow y/n. It’s one of the only places that actually snows around here, but if you’re not in to snowboarding or sledding, we can go somewhere that requires less physical activity and more sight seeing.” 

You could only pray that BamBam didn’t make his last comment seem dirty and secretly thanked God when all you heard was a soft snicker. The rest of the car ride seemed to go off without a hitch and conversation was mainly between Mark and BamBam, but you weren’t complaining. Since the airport was almost two hours away from your hotel, BamBam fell asleep around 45 minutes in to the drive and a part of you wanted to pretend you were sleeping so that things wouldn’t be awkward, but Mark had other plans. You were playing with your fingers out of nervousness when you saw Mark reach over the console to intertwine your fingers together. His laughter filled the car when he saw you practically freeze at the skin ship. 

“Is this okay? I’m sorry if it seems like I’m rushing things and if I’m being quite honest with you, I’m not normally like this. I’m very shy and extroverted around strangers but we’re not exactly strangers. You know more about me than most of my friends do. Hell, even more than some of my family members. I don’t know what it is, I just feel so comfortable around you. I’m sorry if I’m making it uncomfortable for you, but I’m very excited to spend these next three weeks with you.” 

His words, just like the ones in his letters were pulling at your heartstrings and you gently squeezed his hand to let him know that it was fine; and that you too were just as excited. To both your surprised, you brought his hand up to your lips and kissed the back of it. 

“I’m totally fine with it, really. It’s shocking to hear you’re a shy person when your letters say otherwise. If anything, I’m normally such the extrovert but you’re making me flustered. I’m excited too by the way. We can always ditch BamBam and hang out together, just the two of us.” 

Seeing his cheeks redden at your words made you feel at ease. Thankfully you weren’t the only one who was whipped. The two of you continued the conversation; he updated you on so many different things going on in his life and told you about all the different places he wanted to take you. 

“You have really small hands, but it’s cute. Honestly I think they fit perfectly in mine. You’re so cute you know that? If I wasn’t driving right now, I’d take all the time in the world to admire your beauty. Not to sound rude, but I’m glad BamBam is sleeping. He’d probably laugh at how cheesy I‘m acting right now. That’s why I didn’t want to bring Jackson. Jackson Wang is my version of BamBam and if you think BamBam is embarrassing, just wait until you meet him. I’m actually reconsidering having you meet him, he might just be the one that drives you away. But he’s been wanting to meet you from the moment I accidentally told him about you. I hope you know I’ve never been this way around anyone before. It’s just you. Only you have this effect on me and I like it.” He let out a soft sigh and began to graze your wrist with his thumb before continuing. 

“I um—I—fuck. You know what? I’ll just say it, I like you—no scratch that. I love you. I’m sorry if it’s weird to say considering we just met for the first time less than two hours ago, but I do. I fell in love with you y/n. Honestly right now is not the best time to admit it, but I’ve been bottling it up inside of me for the last few months and now that you’re finally here, I just needed to say it. This whole pen pal situation was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You—you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me and if we weren’t on the freeway, I’d show you just how much I love you and how much you mean to me. You were my sweet escape—my getaway from how shitty life could be and every single time you wrote to me, I had to prepare my heart from practically beating out of my chest. I always thought the idea of butterflies flying around in someone’s stomach was so childish and if I’m being honest, I didn’t think it was possible but shit—you cause actually elephants to run around in my tummy. I promise, I really don’t mean to rush things and feel free to stop me at any moment—“

Since the freeway was not as busy in your opinion considering the fact that Los Angeles had some of the worst traffic in the entire world, or so Mark has told you about many times, you took this chance to reach over and place a soft kiss on his lips. 

“I love you too. You can thank the loud mouth in the back for helping me come to the realization and I too thought it wasn’t normal to be in love with someone I’ve never met or knew what you looked like, but your words—they never failed to put a smile on my face. Whenever I was sad, or if work stressed me out too much, I’d go back to one of your letters where you included a terrible pun or a dad joke and I found myself smiling like an idiot. When I read your letter from a few weeks ago where you said you missed me and that you were constantly thinking about me, I knew that most pen pals and even friends don’t feel that way towards each other. I was afraid of meeting you—I felt like things wouldn’t work out between us but I really don’t know why I was so worried. Being around you is such an indescribable feeling; I can’t find it in myself to stop smiling. And you’re right, you are really hot—temperature wise. But I guess physically too. I just want to thank you, for always supporting me and being there for me even if we still had yet to meet one another. You make my life so much easier and I’m a lot more happier now that you’re in it.” 

You leaned over one more time to place a chaste kiss on his cheek and Mark let out a soft groan causing you to look at him in curiosity. “The next rest stop is in 15 miles, I really want to kiss you right now. You’re a dream come true y/n. I don’t think three weeks is going to be enough time for us to spend together I might need to follow you back home.” 

You softly bit your lip out of excitement before facing the other direction so that he couldn’t see the blush on your cheeks at the thought of him wanting to spend more time with you. 

“I have my own room at the hotel if you wanna come and stay with me during the duration of our trip. Maybe then you can show me exactly how much I mean to you?” Right as he was about to respond to your cheeky remark, the groan from the back seat caused you both to laugh. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely happy for the both of you and I’ve been so supportive of your relationship from the start, but I swear to God if I hear y’all fucking through the walls I’m dropping you as a friend y/n. Lord, what did I sign myself up for. The two of you really are perfect for each other. And stop kissing him y/n. I don’t want him crashing before I can go to Disneyland. No more pda in front of me you freaks! Keep your eyes on the road lover boy. I’m going back to sleep, no more funny business you two!” 

Finally Mark took a cut off and ended up on a highway, bringing the three of you to a red light and Mark was able to steal a chaste kiss from your lips. When you felt him smile in to the kiss, you found yourself returning the ministration. 

“You think BamBam would hate us if I dropped him off at an in and out? I don’t think I can wait to relinquish in our love much longer and I don’t want to continue risking our lives having to kiss you especially since your lips are extremely addictive.”

“He’d be pissed! Don’t y’all dare even think about dropping me off—you horny little bastards can’t even wait half an hour more—you’re getting toilet paper as your wedding gift.” Even if he continued to embarrass you in front of Mark, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself at the idea of marrying Mark. It was still too early to think about your relationship together, but if things were to go in your favor, you wouldn’t mind getting to be the lucky girl who got to marry him.

A little more than half an hour later, you arrived to your hotel to both BamBam and Mark’s delight. After checking in and making your way to your rooms, BamBam gave you both knowing looks since you’re rooms were right next to each other. 

“It was nice meeting you Mark. You make y/n very happy. This is the happiest I’ve ever seen her. You guys are cute together. I’m going to get my well deserved rest. Let me know if you guys are actually going out for dinner. However, after hearing your conversation, you’ll probably eat each other instead—prepare yourself Mark, y/n is extremely aggressive but maybe you’ll be in to that. I’ll tell you both this right now if y’all get loud, I’m switching hotels. THIS IS A FAMILY HOTEL YOU FREAKS. You know, for someone who was so worried to meet this man, you’re taking things extremely well y/n. Okay, with the look on your face I’m going to take this as my leave. Have fun—but not too much fun—you know what? Don’t have fun at all. Suffer.” 

BamBam ran in to his room and left you outside of yours with Mark standing right behind you. You cursed BamBam under your breath for always saying the wrong things. “I know you said earlier that you were worried to meet me, but can I ask you why? like, can you go a little more in to detail? I mean, I was pretty nervous to meet you too, but much more excited.” 

You released a soft sigh before turning around to face him. Since you wanted to have Mark all to yourself before explaining your worries, you entered the room and sat down on the bed; quietly thanking him for bringing in your luggage before patting the spot next to you for him to sit down. 

“I don’t know, I just—I think it’s because I had a hard time believing this was happening. Our friendship—even right now. It’s too good to be true. But I didn’t worry about you, I know you were genuine and I know that the feelings I have for you are the product of how you’ve been treating me and taking care of me in the last few months. Every time I wrote to you, it didn’t feel like I was writing to a stranger. I felt like I was writing a letter to my best friend; someone who I can trust with my entire being. Someone who means a lot to me. But you’ve never gave me a reason to even question whatever it was going on between us. When I came to the realization that I was in love with you, I couldn’t stop thinking that it was wrong and that you’d want to stop things between us if you didn’t feel the same. I was actually afraid that you’d see me in person and think I was some horrendous looking creature and come up with some lame excuse to end our pen pal ship, if that’s even a thing—“ he lifted up your chin so that you were making eye contact with him before stealing a soft kiss from the corner of your mouth. This man was honestly going to be the death of you. 

“Jackson—he did the unthinkable the minute I told him about you but I can’t say it was unexpected. He always meddles in to my business so I should’ve known our situation would be no different. He searched you up on every social media platform and he wouldn’t stop raving about your beauty. I almost caved in and took a look for myself but you had a point in wanting to keep up the mystery. You want to know my real opinion of you y/n? I think you’re gorgeous. I can’t even fathom your beauty in to words. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met and actually it goes beyond just your beauty. It’s how kind and gentle you are. Your words, although they were short, sweet and to the point, I couldn’t stop smiling at the way you would add in nonsense words to describe your boss with and your little drawings were always so cute. I could tell that you were an optimistic and passionate person with the way you’d talk about your goals in life and your plans for the future. I found myself wanting to be apart of it and although I’d find that weird in any other situation, with you it just felt right. Would you like to be my girlfriend y/n? The distance will be rough, but we’ll make it work. You’d make me the happiest man in the world if you said yes.” 

You internally screamed at the idea of dating the beautiful boy in front of you but you nodded quickly before connecting your lips together in a passionate and heated kiss. Your lips melded together so naturally; as if you’ve kissed one another many times and it was a feeling you knew you’d never get enough of. 

“I love you Mark. So much.”

“I love you too baby. Normally I’d be able to explain in to detail just how much, but you have me at a loss for words. Now, I think it’s time to wake BamBam up from his nap shall we?”

[onebadwinter]

Baron Helmut Zemo Tropes

Taken from Here and Here

Anti-Villain: Sometimes verges on this, though it's a case of Depending on the Writer.

Arch-Enemy: After his father's death, he takes this role to Captain America and leads the Masters of Evil after inheriting the title.

Aristocrats Are Evil: He's a baron after all, and believes his aristocratic heritage entitles him to rule.

Avenging the Villain: Helmut's original motive was to kill Captain America because he killed his father. Eventually, Helmut came to the realization that actually, Heinrich was an awful father and an even worse person.

Badass Normal: Has no powers, but regularly fights the likes of Captain America and the Avengers. He usually has a contingency that will allow him to deal with his opponent's plans anyway; it's only when these contingencies fail (as happened during his battle with Moonstone at the end of the initial run on Thunderbolts) that he's in trouble.

The Big Bad: Of his fare share of arcs, particularly those involving the Masters of Evil.

Brain Uploading: He only survived being decapitated because Techno uploaded his consciousness to a computer.

Butter Face: A Rare Male Example. He has the body you'd expect of somebody who can keep up with Captain America in terms of physique... but that handsome form is contrasted by a hideously malformed visage. For a while, he had a young, dashing look again after hijacking the body of the Helmut from another Earth, but only two years later his face got disfigured again. When he got Carla Sofen's Moonstone, he used it to fix that, but when Melissa broke it again...

Calling the Old Man Out: During his trip back in time, he ran into his father while the latter was gleefully doing mad science for the Nazis. Helmut had long since discarded any Nazi prejudices he had once had, and was fuming watching his father put down other races, the handicapped, etc. Finally he had enough and started beating the hell out of him while giving a "Reason You Suck" Speech. Quite the sign of Character Development for the guy who started out worshiping and avenging his father's memory.

Captain Patriotic: At the beginning of the Thunderbolts, he disguised himself as Citizen V, supposedly the son of a previous hero who'd gone by that name, whom Zemo had killed. Zemo went the whole hog, even decking himself in a cape designed after the American flag.

The Chessmaster: Zemo has a plan for everything, and lays them out months in advance.

Cool Mask: Wears a tighter fitting version of his father's mask.

The Cynic: Has a generally negative view of humanity.

Daddy Issues: He loved his father, and his father loved him... until the Adhesive X incident, where he became outright abusive in every way. Originally, Helmut blamed Captain America. Now, he acknowledges that his father was just a horrible human being.

Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: He once shot the Grandmaster, one of the Elders of the Universe and a being way outside his normal weight class, through the head. Admittedly, there were mitigating circustances that allowed him to do this, and the Grandmaster did get better (because, hey, comics).

Disney Villain Death: Many, many times (see Never Found the Body below).

Even Evil Has Standards: Arranged the death of one of his ancestors during a time-travel jaunt, after he found out the man was a rapist and a mass-murderer who did it all For the Evulz. He later clashed with another ancestor when he thought he was harassing a girl (the two were actually in love, and he quickly apologised).

Evil Genius

Evil Is Petty:

The Faceless: He rarely ever removes his mask, due to his face being horribly scarred in a accident.

Facial Horror: His head has been slashed up so badly that it's practically a skull, with ribbons of flesh draping over his eyes and sliced-off cheeks and lips. The sight of his face visibly disgusts everyone in the original Thunderbolts.

Freudian Excuse: Raised by his father to believe in his inherent superiority. There wasn't a lot of dad hugs down in that South American jungle, mostly just rants and lectures.

Good Scars, Evil Scars: Hideously disfigured beneath his mask.

Grand Theft Me: After becoming a "ghost", his mind was transferred to the actual son of Citizen V (Techno noted it was basically him playing a joke). That is, until an energy conflict - the V-Batallion tried to teleport Citizen V as the body was being sucked into a portal - made his mind be expelled into Techno's machinery. But given he arrived at Counter-Earth, this meant Zemo could do a literal case of the trope, and took the body of his self from this world.

Heel–Face Revolving Door: Cannot make up his mind which side he is supposed to be on. He even once took a bullet for Cap despite being his sworn enemy.

In the Blood: The arrogance and the drive for control certainly are.

Joker Immunity: Unlike his father, he can never seem to be put down for long.

The Leader: Of the Masters of Evil and the Thunderbolts.

Legacy Character: To his father, Baron Heinrich Zemo XII.

Manipulative Bastard: Zemo's very good at getting other people to do what he wants, playing on their emotions and desires.

Master Swordsman: One of the best in the Marvel Universe. Zemo's dueled the likes of Captain America and survived several decades worth of warfare on a time travel jaunt.

Nazi Nobleman: Started out as one, though he's moved away from fascism in recent years. Nowadays his goals align more with Dirty Communists.

Never Found the Body: During the run of Thunderbolts alone he was declared dead on four separate occasions, all of which turned out to be false. In each instance, his body was never found. By the fourth time, most of the team just assume he'll turn up eventually (not that they want him to).

Noble Demon: He's much more noble than his father,for sure.

Purple Is Powerful: Signifies his aristocratic leanings.

Secondary Color Nemesis: Purple, to oppose Cap's blue and red.

Take Over the World: He insists it's to save it. Some people (like Songbird) aren't convinced.

Taking the Bullet: Once leapt in the way of an energy blast an insane Moonstone aimed at Captain America. Messed his face up bad.

There Are No Therapists: This guy is seriously messed up and would probably have turned out differently if he got professional help.

Token Evil Teammate: Alongside Techno, he serves as this for the first iteration of Thunderbolts. While most members of the team fall somewhere between The Hero and the Anti-Hero, Zemo shows no signs of having softened whilst playing-hero, and alongside Techno manages to almost conquer the world and turn it into a Darwinist nightmare. He also constantly mocks his teammates for wanting to be heroes, calling them "weak" and "traitors to the cause" when they show the smallest signs of heroism outside of their pubic duties.

Unlucky Thirteen: He's the thirteenth Baron Zemo.

Well-Intentioned Extremist: In his mind, at any rate, after some Character Development, he becomes determined to take over the world for its own good. That doesn't mean that he's not an Axe-Crazy terrorist who's willing to perform some truly heinous actions for the sake of the "greater good." Zemo: I would never have hurt a world I worked so hard to save.

Western Terrorists: More like this than a Nazi.

Wicked Cultured: When being held at swordpoint by his worst ancestor, an evil aristocrat who believed only in the absolute of power, said ancestor's son (who'd struck up a friendship with Zemo) asked what was more absolute than power. Zemo's answer? "To be, or not to be."

Worthy Opponent: Sometimes sees Captain America this way, and definitely sees Sharon Carter this way.

Xanatos Speed Chess: He's good at incorporating the gambits of others into his plans, as evidenced by his deft manipulation of Moonstone when they were both members of the Thunderbolts.

One of his nastiest acts of spite was destroying a box of Cap's treasured belongings, including some of his last links to the past, right in front of his eyes.

What was his initial plan in founding the Thunderbolts? Pretend to be heroes, earn America and the world's trust, become famous and respected, and then gather knowledge on the other heroes to... sell to the criminal underworld? Eventually, Moonstone points out this is a freaking stupid plan.

Taken to the highest extreme possible. When he actually did have the power to implement whatever change he might have wanted, Songbird shut him down with the intention of killing him out of not trusting him. What were what he believed could have been his last words?

MCU Zemo Tropes

Adaptational Attractiveness: He's quite handsome here, while his comic counterpart usually has to wear a mask to hide his hideously charred, disfigured face. This is true to his first appearance in the comics as a one-shot villain, before he was scarred upon becoming a recurring character.

Adaptational Heroism: In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when he does don his iconic comic book alter ego, unlike in the comics where he was a straight-up one-note supervillain, Zemo here is depicted so far as an Ambiguously Evil Anti-Hero ally of Avengers Sam and Bucky without mostly ever betraying them until his escape from the hotel in the fourth episode with most of his redeeming and justifiable qualities shown upfront more than his villainous qualities that Civil War mostly showcased, but still likely an on-and-off antagonist simultaneously during his Enemy Mine with the two superheroes.

Adaptational Nationality: In the comics Helmut Zemo is German, but here he is a Sokovian. Ironically, his actor actually is German, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sees a bit of his German accent creep in. He also has a vast array of vehicles and a private plane in Germany, and seems very familiar with both Berlin and the German language. Whether this is a Retcon into making him part German or just a Mythology Gag is yet to be seen, though he does identify Sokovia as "his country".

Adaptational Nice Guy: His comic counterpart and that of his father were literal Nazis who wanted mass genocide and world domination, and while the Helmut of the comics did grow out of the former, he still tends to try the latter. This version of Zemo, despite being on a black ops killing team, has a much simpler and more sympathetic motivation, while his father was merely a civilian. Neither have any ties to HYDRA (aside from Helmut's exploitation of HYDRA's Winter Soldier project), while the versions from the comics are both prominent members of that organisation.

Adaptational Wimp: In the comics Zemo is a major adversary of Captain America and the Avengers, with a particular emphasis on his skills at fencing and manipulation. While this version retains his cunning, he is also presented as much less of a direct threat to anyone despite being a former black operative; when Black Panther decides to bring him in alive, he goes down with barely a struggle. Most of his success ties into this, with him exploiting his lack of obvious supervillainous affect to stay under the heroes' radar until his plan requires him to show his hand, then relying on Steve and Tony's flaws and personal issues to do most of the work for him. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier shows that he hasn't forgotten how to do his own dirty work, however, putting his soldier skills to use alongside his usual guile and strategizing once he gets back into the fray.

Adaptation Personality Change: In the comics, Zemo is generally depicted as an unapologetic villain who is primarily driven by a selfish desire to rule over others. His film version, on the other hand, has a much more sympathetic motive for his villainous actions, as he's just a victim of the Avengers' collateral damage in Sokovia seeking revenge for the death of his entire family.

Affably Evil:

Alas, Poor Villain: His defeat in Civil War is treated as an utterly somber affair, with him having nothing left after completing his plan and hoping to commit Suicide by Cop at T'Challa's hands before trying to kill himself when T'Challa refuses to be consumed by vengeance as Zemo has. Even though he got what he wanted (up to a point), it doesn't change the fact that his family is gone forever.

The Alcoholic: Following his escape from prison in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Zemo reveals himself to be a little bit of a tippler, partaking in shots, champagne, helping himself to Sharon's expensive liquor collection, then taking more shots at a club. He apparently approves of the way they party in Madripoor.

All for Nothing: He wanted to destroy the Avengers and was content with them dividing. Thanos's arrival and the events of Endgame undo all of that. In fact, the Avengers are no doubt more beloved than ever as a result.

Anti-Villain: Despite the grim and often hypocritical in hindsight actions he resorts to, he does have some good traits and was hoping for a cleaner way to get what he wanted first. Also, his motive — revenge for the collateral damage-induced loss of his family — is at least a little sympathetic.

Apple of Discord: His Evil Plan is to find evidence that Bucky Barnes murdered Tony Stark's parents while under HYDRA control and show it to Stark, so Bucky's friend Steve Rogers and Tony will turn on each other over whether to spare or kill Bucky, and the Avengers will be ripped apart as they side with one leader or the other.

Arch-Enemy: Since the death of Ulysses Klaue, it seems Zemo has taken his seat as Wakanda's most wanted for the death of King T'Chaka. Not a day after he breaks out of prison, Ayo is already hot on his trail to capture him.

Aristocrats Are Evil: It's revealed in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that he is a nobleman like his comic counterpart. Though unlike said counterpart, his upbringing had nothing to do with him becoming a villain since his father was by all accounts a decent man in this universe.

Badass Longcoat: The events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier have Zemo wearing a stylish winter coat, complete with Conspicuous Gloves.

Badass Normal: Unlike most of the Avengers, he's just a plain old human. But, through sheer patience and ingenuity, he still managed to tear them apart. During the trip to Madripoor he proves to be no slouch in combat either, reminding everyone he was former special forces. He also comes much closer to permanently stopping Morgenthau than Falcon or Bucky have ever managed so far, largely because he's fully willing to kill.

The Bad Guy Wins: Downplayed. Zemo has achieved his goals but with never with the fully desired outcome.

Batman Gambit: He's good at finding ways to make other people do things for him by exploiting their predictable behavior.

Beard of Evil: He has grown a beard during his eight years in prison as seen in Episode 2 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Beware the Superman: His return in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals his own take on the idea. While he is against the idea of a Super Soldier on principle, he is not specifically against them as people, but more how they are precisely put on a pedestal, their flaws washed away/ignored and subsequently inspire Blind Obedience. He specifically notes how the personal loyalty inspired by Steve Rogers to Sam and Bucky (then, even now) precisely drives them to such extremes—even breaking the law much like they did to free him. Sam and Bucky do not protest the point. He admits that Steve was not corrupted by the power he was given but points out there was only one of him compared to the many who would abuse it. He is proven right on this point by John Walker taking the super soldier serum and going off the deep end.

Big Bad: Of Captain America: Civil War. He exploits and exacerbates the ideological differences between Captain America and Iron Man, resulting in the eponymous Good vs Good conflict that threatens to destroy the Avengers.

Big Damn Villains: As Sam, Bucky, and Sharon are pinned down by bounty hunters in the Madripoor shipyard, Zemo suddenly makes a grandiose entrance in full villain garb on a ledge, killing several assassins by shooting a nearby gas tank with his pistol before going to ground and taking down the rest in close combat, opening up the heroes' window of escape.

Blue Blood: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier reveals that he was always a baron. While the fall of Sokovia took away most of the power of the title he still has a lot of money and connections as a result of his position.

Breaking the Fellowship: Thanks to his efforts, the Avengers are severely compromised, with several of the foundational friendships that held them together torn apart and anyone who sided with Cap imprisoned or branded a fugitive. Even Tony and his supporters still bear physical and mental scars caused by fighting their friends.

The Bus Came Back: After being imprisoned at the end of Civil War, Zemo returns in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, with the title characters seeking his assistance in tracking down the source of the Flag Smashers's Super Soldier powers.

Cape Busters: Has a personal grudge against the Avengers and plots to destroy them by pitting them against one another. By the time of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he has apparently narrowed his vendetta to all super soldiers, stating that they "cannot be allowed to exist." At the same time, as stated above in Beware the Superman, his is more nuanced compared to other versions of this trope.

Character Tic: He has a habit of tilting his head whenever he's attempting to manipulate someone. It seems to be a subconscious thing he does, as he immediately stops doing it when Sam notices and lampshades it in Episode 4 of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

The Chessmaster: He plays all the Avengers like pawns. He frames Bucky for a crime, to have the world hunt him and lure him out of hiding. This partially causes the Avengers to turn on each other, divided over Bucky's innocence. He takes the UN interrogator's place, extorting information out of Bucky and using the trigger words to activate Bucky's soldier conditioning. Before finally showing Tony the tape of what really happened to his parents, sending him into a murderous rage to kill Bucky.

Colonel Badass: He used to be a Colonel in the Sokovian Special Forces, and he is one of the most effective foes the Avengers have faced — though not because of his combat abilities, but because of how effective he is about executing his plans.

Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: In Civil War, he's never called "Baron Zemo", the title he goes by in the comics, and is instead referred to by his military rank Colonel. This is subverted in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which reveals that he was Sokovian royalty and has several characters address him as "Baron".

The Comically Serious: His stoic demeanour tends to stick out when he's in the same room as Sam and Bucky, like when he awkwardly jumps to the defense of Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" soundtrack, or his crappy dancing in Sharon's nightclub.

Composite Character: He takes Klaue's role as the man who murders King T'Chaka.

Cool Car: He actually has a lot of these. His family owned an impressive collection of classics, with plenty of Rolls' and Bentleys in his garage. It's a taste he himself had acquired, as he, Sam, Bucky and Sharon make their getaway out of Madripoor in a super-charged muscle car he had stashed in the docks.

Crusading Widower: His wife was among the civilian casualties in Sokovia. He keeps a recording of her last voice message on his phone.

Cunning Linguist: Zemo's multilingualism allows him to assume different identities. Aside from his native Sokovian, he speaks English, German, Russian, and presumably French, given that he was able to convincingly impersonate a French-speaking psychologist.

Death Seeker: Once he has put Iron Man against Bucky and Cap, he first attempts to persuade Black Panther into killing him, then decides to shoot himself. Black Panther catches the bullet before snagging him a headlock so he can face justice.

Determinator: He manages to find new resolve after Civil War, and Iron Man's sacrifice has done little to change his views. With Iron Man dead and Captain America retired, he decides he will stop the creation of any and all super soldiers in the world no matter what happens.

Divide and Conquer: His plan against the Avengers, seeing that there's absolutely no chance he can fight them on his own. He even compares the Avengers to some sort of a mighty empire, which can only be felled by using this tactic.

Driven to Suicide: Tries to goad T'Challa into killing him, and then to shoot himself when he refuses. Neither works out for him; making enemies of a guy with Super Strength and a bulletproof suit was a bad idea, evidently.

Elites Are More Glamorous: His family is Sokovian nobility and he was colonel in EKO Scorpion, Sokovia's black ops kill squad. Even if Sokovia was a developing Balkans country, that still makes him pretty dangerous.

Enemy Mine: Downplayed Trope. Despite not personally hating Sam and Bucky, the latter two consider their alliance with Zemo this due to Civil War and the damage he caused; the only reason they tolerate him is that he can accomodate them with the resources they need to take down the Flag-Smashers. To his credit, Zemo doesn't hesitate in helping their cause because of his Beware the Superman beliefs, even expressing interest in facing Karli Morgenthau herself.

Even Evil Has Standards:

Evil Genius: While he has combat training, his greatest strength is his intellect. Aside from his abilities as The Chessmaster, Zemo was able to crack the encrypted HYDRA files on the Winter Soldier program that Black Widow released to the Internet and build a very effective EMP bomb in his hotel room.

Face Death with Dignity: When T'Challa finally catches up with him at the end of Civil War, he's completely calm and fully prepared for T'Challa to kill him to avenge his father, even seeming to acknowledge that in his mind T'Challa's revenge against him is just as justified as his own revenge against the Avengers. Later, in episode 5 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he's completely calm and accepting when it looks like Bucky is going to execute him, and later he calmly walks away with the Dora Milaje when they show up to take him into custody, knowing there's a decent chance he's going to be executed in a spectacular fashion in Wakanda for killing the king (for some reason the Dora Milaje went to all that trouble just to turn him over to the U.N. where he'll be held in the same prison that used to hold Captain America's half of the Avengers, but he's got no way of knowing that).

Facial Scruff: His brief appearance in the second episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has Zemo with this due to his time spent in prison. Downplayed in that it looks relatively thin despite having been locked up for eight years at this point, and he shaves it off shortly after.

Fantastic Racism: He has a distaste for enhanced individuals in general, and super soldiers in specific. Specially if such super soldiers are put on pedestals he deems completely unearned.

Flaw Exploitation: He turns the Avengers, particularly Steve and Tony, against each other through a series of Batman Gambits with the ultimate goal of making them fight each other to the death — or if not that, at least to the point of no longer being a cohesive unit. In particular, he reveals to Tony the truth of what happened to his parents knowing that he'll go into an Unstoppable Rage against Bucky and that Cap will prioritise keeping Bucky alive even at Tony's expense.

Friend to All Children: Invoked in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In the fourth episode, Zemo earns the trust of a few children in Latvia by offering them sweets in exchange for information. But he also uses to opportunity to manipulate them into thinking Bucky and Sam aren't to be trusted.

Four Eyes, Zero Soul: When he infiltrates the UN compound to activate the Winter Soldier, he wears a pair of glasses as part of his disguise.

From Nobody to Nightmare:

Gambit Roulette: The final part his master plan relies on little other than his assumptions on the personalities and capabilities of various characters after studying thousands of pieces of intel from HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. that Black Widow dumped online back in Winter Soldier. The whole thing would have fallen apart if...

Godzilla Threshold: Sam and Bucky see recruiting him to stop the Flag-Smashers at this...and ultimately cross it when they run out of options.

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: Even if any of the above had happened, Zemo still would’ve won because his entire goal was for the Avengers to disband - whether through an amicable parting-of-ways or a bloodbath - it was always a matter of how big his win would be. The only real flaw in his plan was the interference of Black Panther, and the creation of the Sokovia Accords, both of which he’d have no way to account for.

He Who Fights Monsters: He wants to take revenge for the death of his family, which he blames on the Avengers for causing collateral damage in the Battle of Sokovia. In doing so, he is responsible for the deaths of dozens of innocent people himself. He even earns someone coming after him for revenge in T'Challa.

Hidden Agenda Villain: His motives remain unclear for much of Civil War and are only revealed as the final battle is taking place.

Hidden Depths: Like Sam, he's a fan of Marvin Gaye and considers "Trouble Man" a masterpiece.

High Collar of Doom: He does the Marquee Alter Ego and Not Wearing Tights through the whole of Civil War, but his winter gear in the third act features a large collar turned up, giving off this vibe. His supervillain gear in Falcon and the Winter Soldier also features one of these, albeit with his comic self's fur trim included.

Human Shield: Thanks to his EKO Scorpion training, is fully capable of taking hostages to hide and shoot behind, as a group of assassins in Madripoor discovered.

Hypocrite:

Interrupted Suicide: After explaining his motivations to T'Challa and apologizing for the death of his father, Zemo tries to shoot himself in the head. T'Challa, however, has none of that, and stops him to make sure he pays for his crimes and turns him over to the authorities.T'Challa: The living are not done with you yet.

It's Personal: Zemo has a personal vendetta against the Avengers. His family was killed during the Battle of Sokovia and he simply wants revenge on those he holds responsible. As pointed out in Beware the Superman, he extends this to any Super Soldier held in such high regard, which is why he has no problem teaming up with Sam (who's more or less Badass Normal like himself) and Bucky (who is a Super Soldier, but isn't exactly held in high regard).  When he, Sam, Bucky, and Sharon come across the HYDRA scientist responsible for creating more Super Soldiers after the failed Siberian Winter Soldiers, Zemo quietly and stoically shoots the man before the team is attacked.

Jerkass Has a Point: In episode 4 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Zemo explains why he doesn’t believe that super soldiers should be allowed to exist. By his own previous statements, Sam would probably agree with much of what he says, and John Walker spends the rest of the episode illustrating his arguments.

Kick the Son of a Bitch:

Kill and Replace: Murders the psychologist who was supposed to be evaluating Bucky and takes his place, taking the opportunity to activate Bucky's brainwashing during the evaluation.

Knight of Cerebus: He's a Villainous Underdog, but he manages to tear the Avengers apart through tactics. Unlike previous villains, his methods includes manipulating Tony into trying to execute Bucky to avenge the deaths of his parents and turning on Steve in the process. Averted in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier when his Laughably Evil side lightens the mood.

Know When to Fold 'Em:

Laser-Guided Karma:

Laughably Evil: Downplayed the next time he makes an appearance as he becomes The Comically Serious in an Endearingly Dorky kind of way when he joins in Sam's conversation with Bucky to praise Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" soundtrack, or his lame dancing in Sharon's nightclub.

Manipulative Bastard: He is very skilled at manipulation, having studied the Avengers' psychological profiles in order to exploit their individual weaknesses and play them against each other.

Man of Wealth and Taste: Zemo is a baron and more than loaded, owning a private jet, a fleet of classic cars, a personal retainer, and plenty of money and stashed resources.

Marquee Alter Ego: In Civil War, Zemo does not wear a mask — or any kind of costume at all, unlike his comic book counterpart. This changes in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Master of Disguise: Zemo uses prosthetics and heavy makeup in order to convincingly make himself look like Bucky Barnes in the security cameras, fooling just about everyone into thinking the latter was responsible for the UN explosion. He later pulls a Kill and Replace on the psychiatrist who was intended to interview a contained Bucky with no one none the wiser until things start going wrong. Although the latter example is downplayed as when Tony finally discovers the real psychiatrist's body, he looks decidedly nothing like Zemo's impersonation of him.

Misplaced Retribution: Zemo holds the Avengers responsible for all the damage Ultron caused; while Tony and Bruce did create Ultron (after the former was influenced by Wanda), the "end all human life" thing was still his idea. The rest of the Avengers, however didn't know about Tony's plan, and did their best to stop Ultron once he went rogue.

Moral Myopia: He seeks to avenge his family, but he ends up killing multiple innocents who surely had family of their own. He acknowledges this, seeing as how he apologizes to Black Panther for killing his father but by that time he’s hoping to be killed so he can join his family, either by T’Challa or his own hand, so it’s more about easing his conscience rather than remorse for what his actions indirectly caused.

Movie Superheroes Wear Black: Instead of the purple and gold costume he had in the comics, he sticks to dark civilian clothes. Near the end of Civil War, he has a pitch-black coat with a large collar. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier trailers and promo images however reveal he’ll be getting a new costume featuring his signature purple mask and even incorporating the classic ermine trim on his collar.

Nazi Hunter: As part of his Adaptational Nice Guy he's no longer a member of the Nazi-affiliated and fascistic HYDRA group, but is shown to despite and openly oppose them, telling Karpov that "HYDRA deserves its place on the ash heap". The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has him openly despise Nazis and reveals that he'd been hunting down and killing HYDRA members for years as part of his quest to destroy the Super Serum, long before the destruction of Sokovia.

Necessary Evil: How Bucky, and especially Sam, view him in their fight against the Flag-Smashers. No one knows more about the super-soldier serum and Hydra than Zemo, and fortunately for them, they have a common enemy in the Flag-Smashers.

Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!: While his plan does succeed in its goal, it does allow Steve to find Bucky, after fruitlessly spending two years scouring the Earth for him, and gives them an ally who can get the brainwashing out of Bucky's head.

Nice to the Waiter: He is quite friendly and courteous to both a staff member of the hotel he stayed at for Civil War, and his old family butler.

No-Nonsense Nemesis: Zemo is an extremely pragmatic man who knows full well that he's just an ordinary person in an extraordinary world, and realizes that it will give him no quarter if he were to dally about with regards to his vengeance. He has no choice but to be utterly cutthroat if he wants to complete his goal. This is especially shown in his first full-blown action sequence in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, taking down assassins after himself and the heroes in a surprise attack that wouldn't be out of place in a first-person shooter game.

Non-Action Big Bad: Although he has military training, he never directly fights any of the Avengers in Civil War, acknowledging that he could never physically stand up to the likes of them. Instead, he relies more on subterfuge and deception. Becomes a Subverted Trope by the time of Falcon and the Winter Soldier, showing he's fully capable of taking down several assassins after the heroes, though all of them are still normal humans.

Not So Above It All: After being freed from prison in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Zemo shows that he isn't a stoic and unpleasant individual 24/7. Notably, he jumps in on Sam and Bucky's conversation about Marvin Gaye's Troubleman soundtrack to give his own thoughts on the record, and he can be seen thoroughly enjoying himself Madripoor, drinking quite a bit of hard liquor and awkwardly dancing at the Little Princess nightclub.

Nothing Left to Do but Die: After getting Tony to fight Steve and Bucky, Zemo decides to listen to his wife's voicemail one last time, before deleting it and attempting to commit suicide.

Nothing Personal: He tells T'Challa that he is sorry for killing his father and that he seemed like a good man in Civil War. While conversing with Bucky for the first time since the events of that film in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he says this verbatim about using him to tear apart the Avengers.

Not Wearing Tights: He doesn't wear anything remotely resembling a costume in Civil War. However, he dons the purple mask in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Outliving One's Offspring: His son was a casualty from the Avengers' fight with Ultron.

Old Money: He is generationally wealthy due to his family being Sokovian royalty.

Only Sane Man: In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it says a lot about Sam's present circle of associates that (other than Sharon Carter) Zemo is by far the most mentally well-balanced individual Sam has around him at his job.

Papa Wolf: The reason he's out to destroy the Avengers? His family was killed in their fight with Ultron.

Patriotic Fervor: Averted. As Zemo himself remarks ruefully, while he served in Sokovia's armed forces, his drive for vengeance isn't out of any love for the country, as he never actually had much patriotic feeling. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier shows that he does have some serious grievances over how it ended up, though, even chastising Sam and Bucky for not visiting the memorial.

Politically Correct Villain: As part of his Adaptational Nice Guy he's no longer a member of the Nazi-affiliated and fascistic HYDRA group, but is a fan of Marvin Gaye and understands Trouble Man (Sam's favorite album) to be a condensation of the African-American experience. Also berates Sam for stereotyping himself as a "pimp" just because he's flamboyantly dressed.

Purple Is Powerful: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sees Zemo don a purple mask, coat, and gloves as he resurfaces to the criminal world.

Put on a Prison Bus: Zemo is taken to prison by Black Panther before he can commit suicide, ultimately sitting out the next few years until his return in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.  And it happens again in Episode 5 of the aforementioned series, where he's taken by the Dora Milaje to the Raft.

Pyrrhic Victory: Zemo succeeds in fracturing the Avengers and getting the majority of them branded as fugitives, but he is also captured by Black Panther and still has to face prosecution for the murders he committed. It also works vice versa on his capture being a Pyrrhic Victory for the heroes. Best summarized by the following exchange:Everett K. Ross: So how does it feel? To spend all that time, all that effort, and to see it fail so spectacularly? Helmut Zemo: ...Did it?

Revenge Myopia: Getting his revenge was worth anything — including inflicting upon others the same pain he complained about suffering. Lampshaded at the end of the movie, when T'Challa observes that the revenge he seeks has consumed him. Worse still, because he tore the Avengers apart, they had no gameplan and were unable to present a united front against Thanos, leading to even more families the universe over being devastated by the Snap.

Rogues Gallery Transplant: Downplayed. While Zemo is still an enemy of Captain America and The Falcon as he was in the comics, he also ends up becoming an enemy of Black Panther's, due to his involvement in King T'Chaka's death. It extends to the entire nation of Wakanda as well, as they immediately dispatch Ayo to apprehend him when he escapes from prison in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Royals Who Actually Do Something: His noble lineage while serving in the Sokovian special forces makes him this.

Secretly Wealthy: He may have been living the gritty villain life in Civil War (probably to fly under the radar), but The Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals that he is a wealthy Baron like his comics counterpart. Sam even reacts with "So all this time, you've been rich?"

A Sinister Clue: Zemo is left-handed and is the Big Bad of Civil War. Shooting a gun with his left hand starts off his Big Damn Villains moment in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Sucks at Dancing: While the gang rests and spends the night at Sharon's club in Madripoor, Zemo's dancing moves leave him wanting. Let's just say he was channeling his inner Commander Shepard.

Suicide by Cop: After apologizing to T'Challa for killing his father, he says that he seemed like a good man "with a dutiful son", saying this last part with a meaningful glance, obviously hinting that he's fine with T'Challa taking vengeance upon him now. When T'Challa refuses to do so, Zemo attempts to just shoot himself, but T'Challa thwarts this effort as well.

Superhero Movie Villains Die: Subverted. After completing his plan to turn Iron Man and Captain America against each other, he first attempts Suicide by Black Panther. Attempts being the operative word, as T'Challa refuses when he realises how close he came to turning out like Zemo. As a result, Zemo attempts to shoot himself in the head, but Black Panther stops him and turns him into the authorities, leaving him incarcerated but very much alive.

Supporting Protagonist: Of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as most of Bucky's and Sam's story and dynamic are sometimes told from his viewpoint during his team-up with them.

They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: There's nothing from his looks that would suggest that he's more than just an everyday guy.

Took a Level in Cheerfulness: He's much more upbeat in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier than he was in Captain America: Civil War. Which makes sense: in the latter he had just lost his family and was on a revenge quest whereas in the former the stakes aren't as personal and he's had time to grieve for his family in prison, meaning he has the time and temperament to joke around, make fun of "allies" and dance badly.

Took a Level in Kindness: Downplayed, but in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he's much friendlier with Sam and Bucky than he was with Tony and Steve in Civil War. Justified, as this time around he's working together with them to take down the Flag-Smashers and even then he still takes the time to engage them in relatively civil conversations.

Tragic Villain: He pursues his vengeance purely because he feels he has nothing else to live for without his family. This is highlighted by his decision to goad Black Panther into killing him and, when that doesn't work, shoot himself.

Tritagonist: Of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when he teams up with Sam and Bucky in their crusade to defeat the Flag Smashers, while being more developed as a character in contrast to his debut in Civil War along the way of the narrative.

Tranquil Fury: Despite spending the whole movie on a murderous crusade, Zemo avoids all the theatrics of Loki or Ultron and seldom even raises his voice. This includes when he finally spells out his motives to the heroes.

Troll: Even when he's not manipulating or killing everyone around him, he's kind of a dick, as seen in his reappearance in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, reciting Bucky's trigger phrase, knowing it doesn't work, just to upset him, needling Sam about his experience in the Raft, and later telling his retainer to serve Sam and Bucky them any food that's gone off.

Truer to the Text: Zemo in Civil War was a borderline In Name Only depiction of him. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier retroactively adds a lot more aspects of the original comic character, such as his noble status, his costume, and his physical prowess.

Unknown Rival: To the Flag-Smashers, particularly Karli Morgenthau. Do to being enhanced with the super-soldier serum, Zemo considers the Flag-Smashers to be dangerous individuals, and is more than willing to form an Enemy Mine with Sam and Bucky to take them down. Karli on the other hand, isn't even aware that Zemo exists until he shoots her and destroys the serum right in front of her. Even then, she seems more content to get up and run than to try to confront him for his actions.

Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He successfully managed to break up the Avengers, hoping to bring down the most powerful team of beings in the universe to avenge the deaths of his family. Unfortunately for him, it worked a little too well, as they don't stand on a united front when Thanos arrives and, despite putting up a good fight, get flattened by the Mad Titan. Said Mad Titan then uses the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life in the universe, turning the world into a total mess that it spends five years trying to recover from until the Avengers find a way to set things right. Even when they do undo the Snap, the world falls into utter chaos once again trying to handle those that were restored to life, leading to the Flag-Smashers taking rise and causing just enough trouble to force Bucky and Sam to bust Zemo out of jail to help them.

Villain Protagonist: So far of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when he teams up with Sam and Bucky to take down the Flag Smashers, getting more screen time and more of his development unlike in Civil War.

Villain Respect: As of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Zemo develops this towards Sam Wilson due to his refusal to be ehnanced into being super soldier while maintaining his idealistic outlook. He also concedes that Steve Rogers was not corrupted by the power he held but holds him as an exception.

Villainous Underdog: He's not a Physical God, not an alien, nor a Super Soldier. He's just a former military colonel with patience, a simple yet effective plan, and The Power of Hate. This is exactly why Sam and Bucky decide to bring him into their crusade against the Flag-Smashers.

Weak, but Skilled: Invoked. Zemo is a professionally trained special ops colonel who has the combat skills to take down regular men with ease. However, he knows that no amount of skill can destroy a group of enhanced individuals like the Avengers, and so relies on his manipulation and espionage skills to turn them against each other instead.

Weapon of Choice: A Smith and Wesson 6906 pistol, which he uses to execute the other Winter Soldiers and attempt suicide.

Well-Intentioned Extremist: Zemo's objective in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is to stop the creation of any and all super soldiers, believing that they create symbols of facism like the Red Skull once did. He accomplishes this in the fourth episode by shooting Karli Morgenthau multiple times and then smashing the remaining vials as Nico is helping her escape him.

What You Are in the Dark: When Zemo corners Karli and discovers the last of the Super Soldier Serum in her possession, rather than take it for himself, which would have made his mission a lot easier, he smashes the vials and would have successfully destroyed them all had Walker not intervened.

Wicked Cultured: He's a connoiseur of music and art, as revealed in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: He has quite a sympathetic motive for his mission of revenge against the Avengers, namely that he blames them for the death of his family.

Xanatos Speed Chess: He's not in control of everything that happens in Civil War (for one thing, he has nothing to do with the Sokovia Accords), but he's good at taking advantage of unexpected situations to further his plans. Even more so in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In Civil War, at least he still instigates most of the events, but in the show, he's broken out of prison without having expected to and is more or less thrust into an ongoing conflict he has nothing to do with. He still manages to play the heroes and the villains—that he utterly disagrees with—and so far has gotten away completely unscathed, once again having succeeded at what he set out to do.

He's the Big Bad of Civil War and is more than willing to commit mass murder to achieve his ends, but the times he acts polite or remorseful are genuine. He states he'd rather avoid unnecessary deaths if he can, has a few standards, apologizes to T'Challa for killing his father, has regular courteous interactions with a staff member of the hotel he's staying at, and even eventually apologizes to Bucky for using him. Considering he's just a grieving man who's dedicated to avenging the deaths of his family, it makes sense he wouldn't act like a cackling maniac.

By The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, he is shown to be fairly courteous to those around him (who, apart from his family butler were his enemies before) and he is capable of holding civil conversations with Bucky, even offering him a genuine apology for his actions in Civil War. He also agrees to join Sam and Bucky's crusade against the Flag-Smashers, without the driving of a hard bargain one might expect from him. He is also fully willing to lend his resources from the criminal underground to Sam and Bucky to take the Flag-Smashers down, no questions asked.

While none of the Avengers die as a consequence of his plan in Captain America: Civil War, he accomplishes his main goal in dividing them and is content with this. While the looming threat of Thanos forces them back together in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the reunion turns out to be temporary — by the time of Spider-Man: Far From Home, WandaVision, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Avengers are still very much defunct.

In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he successfully killed the man who recreated the super soldier formula and destroyed all but one of the remaining samples while inadvertently leading to John Walker gaining the Super Serum for himself. This turns in Zemo's favor after Walker brutally executes a defenseless Flag Smasher in broad daylight in front of civilians, corrupting the image of super soldiers in the public eye. He willing gives up a chance at pulling a Villain: Exit, Stage Left to visit a memorial and allows him self to be captured, his work done.

He framed Bucky Barnes for bombing the United Nations, then relied on everyone else including Captain America hunting him down for it, and further that no one but the Avengers would even be capable of killing Bucky, to get access to Barnes and his knowledge of HYDRA bases.

He arranges for his ruse to be discovered by the media, relying on Tony to find out and make amends with Captain America, so they'll both find the Siberian compound where Zemo reveals to them that Bucky killed Tony's parents.

His entire plan is based on assumptions from the S.H.I.E.L.D. intel on the Avengers he's studied that Captain America's over-protectiveness of his friends and Iron Man's complex over the death of his parents would mean not only that the two would turn on each other if Bucky's involvement in the Starks' death was revealed, but that Steve wouldn't have talked to Tony about Bucky's potential involvement beforehand.

His setup gambled on the fact that it is a conflict that only works if there are no voices of reason to hold either of them back. The fact that the airport fight left only two active members of the Avengers, Bucky and a third party present in the Hydra compound in a place where no one would interfere was a happy accident for him since most of the Avengers present could have prevented things from reaching the breaking point. Of course, this is covered under Heads I Win, Tails You Lose.

Notably, this is also why he finds Bucky a bit tolerable, since he is being bewared of.

In a stark contrast to his comics depiction, he lacks any affiliation with HYDRA and outright states that they deserved to be brought down. A conversation in Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals he despises the Red Skull and those who idolize him, and he kills Doctor Nagel while the man is gloating about being a god.

Despite his profound hatred of the Avengers, he declined to unleash the other five Winter Soldiers and shot them dead rather than risk someone else doing so, as they were worse than Bucky and would do untold damage to the world given the order. He also seems uncomfortable with the concept of experimenting on humans in general.Zemo: If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep. Did you really think I wanted more of you?

Zemo was "just" a special forces operative, but when his family was killed, he used his intel on HYDRA to take on the Avengers and came closer to destroying the team than any previous villain.

Falcon and the Winter Soldier reveals that at some point, he became involved with the criminal underground, under the simple but accurate alias of "Baron".

A) Captain America and Bucky had captured Zemo before Iron Man arrived (then again, he was in a fortified bunker that would take serious fire-power to break through).

B) Iron Man had not figured out where Cap and Bucky were headed in the first place.

C) Iron Man had not come alone, meaning there might have been someone to restrain him or talk him down after he learned the truth.

D) Black Panther had succeeded in killing Bucky during one of their three fights during the course of the film (of course it’s highly unlikely that he even knew the Black Panther existed).

E) Captain America told Iron Man that the deaths of his parents were orchestrated by HYDRA.

Zemo hates the Avengers after the collateral damage they caused killed his family. So he decides to split the team up and in the process causes collateral damage that kills other people's family members.

Zemo believes that "gods" like the Avengers should not be allowed to exist. Sam points out that be decreeing who deserves to exist, he's speaking like a god.

Tortures and kills Vasily Karpov for information. Karpov is not only a still loyal HYDRA operative but one of the main leaders of the Winter Soldier project and ordered the death of the Starks and his slow death is just desserts. He does the same to  the HYDRA scientist responsible for making more Super Soldiers in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, finishing his work from Siberia.

He also happily participates in the interrogation of Doctor Nagel, the Mad Scientist who recreated the Super Soldier Serum via human experimentation, and personally guns the man down.

Zig-zagged; he knows very well that he can never kill the Avengers himself, since more powerful men than him have tried and all have failed, which is why he makes a plan to get them to kill each other for him.

In the secret HYDRA lab in Madripoor, he and his comrades come under attack. Not knowing where the assailants are, Zemo makes a quick getaway, causing Sam and the others to think he bailed... only to show up moments later when the assassins are in plain view, making it much easier for him to take them down.

 When the Dora Milaje apprehend him a second time in episode 5 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he surrenders himself without a fight, presumably both because he knew he had no chance of victory and because he had already achieved his goal of destroying the current iteration of the super-soldier serum.

He uses Bucky's Trigger Phrase while the latter's locked in an apparatus, making him go on a rampage. By the end of Civil War, he himself is locked in the same apparatus.

He kills T'Challa's father in the course of his Evil Plan. After T'Challa learns the truth about this, he foils Zemo's attempted suicide to ensure he faces justice for his crimes.

[selfcareparker]

(lovely anon) i'm so happy to finally be answering this oh my goodness hi gorgeous human being i feel that it has been too long 🥲 SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE LAST TIME I'VE WRITTEN ONE OF THESE HOW HAVE YOU BEEN

to answer the things you have said most recently- i'm so mad that spring break is over bc now i have to go back to life??? like dancing and school and shit that feels so unnessacry 😭 and like i can't just do nothing anymore? i was so used to it and now...... ugh. i STILL haven't played sims (i think it's because ✨depression✨ be hitting sometimes) lol but MWAHAH IM SO HAPPY FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR!AU AND THAT THEY HAD LITTLE BABY LEO!! i feel the name thing.. i just come up with something that sounds nice? i think leo is a nice name, it makes me think about lea michele and the fact that her son's name is Ever Leo but anyway. i don't name my sims after what i want to name my children irl either... idk why though. (i don't know why i'm telling you this but for boy names i love Liam🥰 and if i had twin boys i think i would do Liam and Peter though i am not married to the name Peter.... anywho)

LMAOOO the therpaist coming made me laugh thank you :)) i hope it's helpful? this may be tmi but i've only really had negative thoughts recently and not many healthy outlets so i'm hoping crossing one thing off this sad list will make me feel better :') i think during spring break my anxiety and my depression really spiked? idk, it comes in episodes but yeah THIS GOT REALLY SAD

i think a lot of things when i read your posts but i never say them hahaha so imma say it now: i googled what bon appetit meant ( i also just had to google how to spell it ) but ur right, i feel like bone apple tea makes more sense than bone apple teeth.. the "th" is throwing me off bc how i say it bone appa (like app-a) teet (like you're saying tit but teet lol) so bone apple tea makes more sense to me lol

i never know really know the time difference for anything lmao but est to germany (that's not gmt is it?) is like 6 hours wOAH so it's like 9pm while it’s 3pm here? wowee

i feel mega weird after watching this show called hollywood (darren criss is in it, so is laura harrier and a bunch of other people) but i don't like it💀 i feel really icky rn and idk why but reading your last response to my ask (?) always makes me feel better :')

i am doing what you said btw, i'm typing this on my computer first then gonna transfer it to my phone's tumblr lol but when you said a digital detox, it's interesting cuz i feel like i've been having one since tom's new project was announced? gOD i don't wanna get into it bc i get so triggered but i've been off of instagram since then bc instagram stans literally stand by tom through whatever even when something ain't right- i’m just gonna leave it there bc i’ll continue the rant, but yeah so i took a break lol

also heard abt your driving lesson thing (?) was it that bad? i can't find the old post but someone asked if you hooked up with your lesson person and i was sOOO CONFUSED LMAOO LIKE OK ARIA GET SOME BUT UHH HUH?

now to address the actual response HAHA the way you touch my heart :') by :') bringing :') up :') halle :') being ariel :') (i honest to God don't remember if i brought this up first, forgive me if i did, it's been a minute lmao) i'm always talking about it and i'm pretty sure my family is so tired of me talking about it lmao, but YEAH when i found out they weren't twins i was so surprised but idk why i always thought they were twins? but YOU ARE SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE WITH THE DISNEY TALK- everyone is always like "tiana is my favorite princess" and yea she's strong and stuff but...... she was a frog. for almost the whole time. it's about time we got another one!! i do agree with some people on the fact that disney should just make another black princess but halle is adorable and i was ariel on stage so it's already really special to me :')

yeah lol there are good times with my brothers but they make me mad for a good portion of the time (there's the 12yo vincent and the 7yo daniel but vincent??? psshhh he is a piece of work and i'm not sure how much longer i can put up with him HAJAH AND YES VINCENT IS THE ONE WHO WAS 👁👄👁WHEN I CRIED AND THE ONE WHO DOESN'T LISTEN TO MUSIC- writing this now makes it sound like vincent is awful. which he isn't... we're working on him ig. not to add to the awfulness but no, he listens to obnoxious loud VIDEO GAME MUSIC and won't stop when we ask him to stop... he gets beat up a lot) anyway i imagine being an only child is really calming.. like you have time to yourself and its just you and your parents 😌

yeah let me know if you end up watching it (wandavision)! i think it's great but if you like it lmk!! tfatws is sooo good like PHEW i am honestly loving it. sidenote: j*hn w*lker makes me wanna jump through the screen and choke him to the ground. i was thinking right, and the falcon and the winter soldier (THATS SO MUCH EASIER FAJHKDAH) would techinally be like a 10 hour movie right? because every episode is an hour long and there'll be 10 episodes? like wow. i get what you mean though, abt the racism in the show etc, like looking forward to it but not like..... no i get what you mean i will not try and give another example lol but you make me wanna learn more languages like really badly (bc of what you said about the german to american translation) & if you end up watching hamilton PLEASE LMK ABT THAT TOO HAHAHA i love it so much, same thing with lion king lmaoo

speaking of germany, i was at lunch on saturday with my mom and her friend and we were talking about my schooling and like-- she planted this idea in my head lol like what if i just got my GED and went around the world (to england probably) to get a theatre experience??? and i think it sounds so cool but no where near practical lol, it's just..... the dream haha and i would then try and learn a language 😉

uh yes we absolutely should order basically a resturant meal at a cinema, how about burgers, chips (fries), and a large drink? any time next week works for me, should i pick you up?

also about cherry (which i still haven't watched yet lol) i got the timestamps from tumblr😌 i couldn't find them anywhere else, but i agree, i probably wouldn't even look twice at cherry if tom wasn't in it? like i liked tdatt a lot, but it's not a movie i would be itching to see ya know?

HAHAHAHA THE 24 HOUR NOTIFICATION- i think i have around 1030 hours on sims? but i've had it since 2019 lmao (reading the screenshots, yes u are 100% a genuis, i take screenshots too but on anon you can't upload them so i just read them and retype what i wrote lmao) i think the university experience in the game is fun, but time consuming and it's all work imo. idk why i do it so often tho 😭😭😭

and agreed!! when you're making good money in the game you have to find other ways to make it interesting. my cousins who play it just continously do "motherlode" and i'm like.... then what do you do in your game?? it just sounds boring to me... my current sims household, i had a famous comedian sim, her name was dylan, aND SORRY IM LAUGHING SO HARD WHILE WRITING THIS BC ITS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THE UNI THING UNLESS IM JUST DUMB, she went to college for communications when i wanted her to be a comedian and when she graduated i realized that degree did nothing for the career 🥲 so yeah, i think i'm just dumb. but she had a kid in college, guy didn't stick around and she was pretty broke HA but then she got married to this (great) guy named steve, made good bank, had 5 more kids (two sets of twins and one more lol) but then she passed. uhm... yeah that's still an open wound . lol i'm kidding, but when you get rich like that, you have to find a way to make the game interesting and i chose a million kids.

(this was one giant paragraph until i broke it up uhh yeah) i seriously don't pay attention to the sims prices and just end up spending way too much money and not being able to finish the rest of the house😭 but then again, i'm so used to having sims live in apartments... if i end up building a house FIRST OF ALL it'll look like what you explained before lmao but i'll tell you if i actually end up building a house HAHA & planning out your sims game is so fun to me lol, did enisa and michael take in his daughter yet? i may be thinking too far ahead lol and i love that they fucked woohooed (i say woo woo lol) in celebration HAHA but when i was playing with this one couple i had them woo woo every night hoping the dude would have horrible pull out game and they would concieve, but one night they were too tired and i was like why? get back in there man. if i was in college and lived with my partner we would be fucking every night homie. be grateful. i have been talking a lot about sims, and like you said: enough 💀 i just love this game a lot 😭😭

SORRY LAST THING i think the sims romantic and sexual stuff is so nice bc its what i want?? LMAO IDK like the whole hot tub thing you're talking about- puh lease ITS JUST NICE TO SEE OKAY

i'm reading the german section over again and i said aloud "my german friend is so cool" lol (i was saying that to my brothers & i know they don't care LMAO) (& i'm glad the uni zoom call went well!!) so on a form, in german, it could possibily say Einführungsveranstaltungsteilnehmer because you would be a participant to an introductory event? i swear german sounds so cool 😌 but i love reading your german lessons!! it's really interesting, most of the time my brain can't comprehend it tho?? like that word makes sense to you, but i need a translation. like to be able to look at that and know what it says.... its just appealing and seems so cool lol i kinda wanna write something out in german but i feel that google translate will fail me. während googeln "google übersetzen" mein Computer war so verdammt langsam und es fühlte sich einfach wie etwas Gutes auf Deutsch zu sagen. ich bin nicht sicher, welches Wort ist "fucking", aber ich mag es lmao (did it fail me like i thought it would??)

LMAOOO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP JUSTIN BC WHILE AT THE RESTURANT THEY PLAYED A JUSTIN SONG AND I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF YOU AND THIS STORY😭 lol i was thinking it's depending on your age but not even that either... i really don't know.... but tom's fans are hollanders💀 i would consider myself one? he's the only person i'm really into like that (like a lot lol) so idk lmao (directioners 💔💔the pain is real)

LMAOOO (both of these paragraphs started off with “lmaooo” smh) "i like my men when they look like they are on the brink of death" PLEASE, i don't like pete's blonde hair... i just don't. i'm not sure if i wasn't watching the most recent snls but yea. my mom thinks he looks like trash, but i think he's okay? like he said staten island people just look like trash LMAO and I STILL HAVEN'T SEEN KING OF STATEN ISLAND GIRL I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT THAT!! now i'm gonna make plans to watch it lmao, & yes agreed i find pete hot, don't ask why i really couldn't explain it to someone he's just .

my favorite songs from rex are from pony oh my goodness 🥺 anywho i'm gonna go eat cereal (i ended up eating bun and cheese instead) and listen to the Stormzy songs you recommended... aria. aria aria aria. i would like to thank you for introducing me to stormzy i- i don't have any words or any emojis to express HOW GOOD STORMZY IS. i hope he's popular in germany/the uk because i haven't heard of him but GURLLLL

one second - delicious i love it. it's really good. it’s not my favorite from the album, but its great.

superheroes - at first i played the non-explicit one (on accident) and wondered why the words weren't playing but i was reading them in the lyrics??? THIS ONE THOUGH??? IS THE BEST SONG I THINK I'VE EVER HEARD. i am so SO SO into black people empowering songs (like brown skin girl by beyonce) and this song???? PHEW I CRYYYYY ITS SO GOOD.... i was gonna quote some lyrics BUT THERS TOO MANY I LOVE, "i am young, black, beautiful, and brave" "black queen, you're immaculate, it's coming at the world, they ain't ready for your magic yet, and that was never your fault" THAT WAS NEVER YOUR FAULT- I ALMOST CRIED THIS SONG IS SO BEAUTIFUL (i played it twice lol)

lessons is another beautiful one, like its slow and it feels intimate and nurturing and just OO chefs kiss, beautiful . like you can feel the apology and the regret... it’s so good

own it - OWN IT OWN IT OWN IT IS AMAZING!! swear you would catch me dancing to this song, this song is so fucking good i cannot comprehend like this one might be my favorite for real... "it's the way you wind up your waist, i'm so in awe, you never have to worry abt nothing, you know its yours, you know you own it" 🥲 i played it two or three times honestly

rachael's little brother - YES I DID LISTEN TO IT LMAO AND YES I LIKE IT, its a very complex song and it's very layered in terms of emotions i think and i really like that about it. i probably won't listen to it that often, but its really good. i would recommend this song to my "older brother" bc he would just absolutely love this

shut up - i was taking this song seriously (also very good) until i heard him say shu-T up LMAO, this one is good, i probably wouldn't listen to it 24/7 like rachael's little brother but honestly its still fire

before listening to blinded by your grace and vossi bop, i know you brought up the religion bit, i definitely don't mind that, especially because i'm Christian lol and i actually liked that he brought up God in some of his songs like idk i just like it🥰🥰

(i then went to bed after that lol but first thing in the morning i listened to superheroes and... that song is probably my favorite tbh, i was gonna write MORE quotes that i loved from it but, yeah no there's too many. if you want i'll tell you lmao but this is already so long i would just be quoting the whole friggin song)

VOSSI BOP IS A BOP (lol) I CANT EVEN LIE, i love a song that hypes up a dude's girl so the line- i love that my phone decided to fail to load the lyrics, lemme google it, okay the lyric "looking at my girl like what a goddess" i was like AYEEE its honestly just really good. and no one in america says "sauce" like "i've got the sauce" but now i do (thanks to love island and Nas from last season) and now stormzy so (also im gonna watch the music video for superheroes bc it looks great so 😛)

(because this is already so long i feel like i shouldn't finish the rest but . no i'm gonna do it)

now for blinded by your grace pt2 idk why i’m nervous lmaoo PAUSE I'M NOT EVEN DONE WITH THE SONG GIRL THIS SONG IS *chefs kiss* no words, speechless PHEW y'all gon make me start jumping around. why did i not know about stormzy before, he is amazing i- ok yeah i finished the song, all i have to say is that Stormzy is immaclucate. period. i am literally sending his music to all my friends he is..... amazing

you want my song recommendations 🥺🥺 hmm uh okay lol i listen to a lot of old music, whitney houston, marvin gaye, queen, celine dion, i love "more than words" by extreme uhmm okay, but for actual music i listen to on the daily? (this is a lot of different music like.... they do not go together lmao so be prepared) a song about being sad by rex orange county, betty by taylor swift and lover by taylor swift and... most of that album lol, treasure by bruno mars lmao, OOOO and versace on the floor by bruno as well, lazybaby by dove cameron, creep by tlc has been on repeat lol, deja vu by olivia rodrigo (i saw what you said about drivers license and AGREED LMAO but i like deja vu a lot more haha) and two albums that i listen to in general, rare by selena gomez and ungodly hour by chloe x halle 🥰 you don't have to listen to all of them or any of them lol but that's a sense of what i'm into :) so basically everything haha, i'm into literally every single kind of music really so i wasn't too surprised that i enjoyed stormzy :’)

HAHASBSJHAHA your h20 story cracked me up,, like "wow these actors are so dedicated, learning german just for us" 😭 the beauty of overdubbing

once again, math and maths, in my mind maths makes sense because its mathmatics, but saying maths doesn't feel right to me lol, like if i said maths i feel like everyone would look at me like ??? and yea i was taught it as math so its just more natural for me. but yes math/maths is disgusting, easily one of my least favorite subjects so .

mkay. i- the first time i read this i could not contain my laughter when you said the only pollen you know is sex pollen LMAOKOOSHBABJFAJF STOPPP I'M EVEN LAUGHING WRITING THIS,, anyway. wow! that's interesting, my dad (<<< mostly anything else) gets migraines from the sun and the heat and stuff, yesterday (sunday, i was outside for like hours watching my brothers play football, the american kind lol) i was in the sun for like ever and i got a headache😔

summer clothes🥲 i need to go shopping fr fr. for my birthday my mom and dad got me a giftcard like dedicated to a shopping spree and we've yet to go so..... i should bring it up to my mom lol, but!! i went bra shopping (ended up returning literally all of them cuz they honestly didn't work for day to day work? its a long story) and if i could i would walk around in this new "summer bra" i got, i would. it's so fricking cute and its really light fabric (which isn't perfect for my nipples but still) so i don't get hot in it, but that bra and some shorts would be perfect. its the closest thing to being naked so

IS THE BIRD STILL BOTHERING U ARIA, TELL ME NOW ISTG, i laughed really hard that the bird isn't stupid and is really trying to torture you LMAOO like i was rolling, it wants you to suffer, badly

when you said "mensus" it was still close to mens!!! latin speaking queen 😌😌

okay STORYTIME i was reading back your response and started (fake) crying bc i love you lol and my youngest brother (daniel) gon say "oh man, catherine's crying about something we don't care about, again" I--- i swear when i tell you about them they sound awful, but they aren't that bad, just the stuff i say about them is sounds really mean LMAO

but the thing you said about being kind, same, what i always say is: don't be the person that makes people say "i hate people" ya know? like there's no reason to be a jerk or anything.... but its true 🥺🥺🥺🥺 you are really kind and every time i talk to you i would like to personally fly to germany and give you a hug 💖💕💞💗💓💝💖💘

& i'm gonna show my stretch marks some love bc of you 🥺😭 i really hate how men have basically everyone conditioned that you can't love your own body </3 fuck them, y'all beautiful :')

also thanks for what you said :')) you literally are the kindest, sweetest person i think i've ever spoken to and i love you 🥰🥺🥲💓💗

READING YOUR TAGS HAHAHHAHA the spelling errors makes everything so much funnier. once again, i like your german lessons & yea!! i'm gonna play sims after writing this hahah

#catherine's tags are back #i don't think i've told you my name before?? #anyway it's catherine🥰🥰🥰 #i'm typing this on my computer (without emojis) and if i didn't edit this you would be reading shit shite like #heartface and pout and cry LMAO #yeah abt the tattoos #some stuff with my parents i'm like deal with it??? lol #my mom tells me "if there's something you enjoy or you like but i don't have the same opinion on it... why would my (my mom's) opinion matter? #and i love that #like i'm not gonna go and do whatever i want #but if my mom doesn't like that i swear (which isn't true just an example) #its like okay.... #but whatever #and your tattoo ideas sound really cute!! #and yeah @ your parents, i mean you aren't getting something wild #and the tattoo album>>> #i'm gonna look up ariana's butterfly tattoos just so i know what you mean lol #but i'm guessing you don't want something so incredibily simple, but not super like over the top? #correct me if i'm wrong lol #LMAO the tags were in order don't worry ! #and yeah lol ily2 <33 #and once again, again, sorry for this post JSHJS ITS A MESS AND LONG AS HELL #and you don't need to go in order of my post its literally longer than your german compound words #u're fine #also !!! while writing this the birds were chirping outside and i was like 😳 #and one of your fics (i’ve read all of them, i don’t remember lol) that valentine’s day one where y/n had lingerie on (the pancake one lol) #inspired me to buy lingerie #like when i look back on me “growing up” #that fic & basically you lol really helped with that #that made no sense and i don’t know how to make it make sense... but... yeah. like ily

hiiiiiiiiiii <3333

Dear catherine, 😌

(you have said your name before, but it wasn‘t like an introduction or anything i think you were talking about .... was it possibly the incident at the cinema??? And you said something like ‘calm down catherine‘ like you were telling yourself to calm down idkd dkdkkdkd anyway i didn‘t mention it cause i wasn‘t sure if it was an accident or not dkdjd but now i know 😌❤️ Catherine is such a cute and lovely name btw omg and so are your brothers‘s names 🥰

Sorry that I‘m answering this so late, it‘s been an emotional rollercoaster for me since last week but i‘ll get to that in a second lol

Sksklssk girl i haven‘t played sims in like 2 weeks now ekejdkdlldld ok that‘s not that long at all actually but i keep wanting to play but then i end up not playing for whatever reason, so no news about my sims game 😔 but i love the names Liam and Peter and for twins!!! That sounds really nice actually

okay i‘m trying to answer your ask in chronological answer even though i wanted to wait for the depressing stuff and write it at the end or something OKAY so. i thought that i‘d feel so good when i start uni and that i‘ll like... have a purpose in life again and just be happy (cause in the last year i didn‘t do much and i was depressed like half of the time lol).... anyway i kind of feel even worse now? 😭 i think it‘s because in my brain it‘s like: university!!! that means your life will change and it‘ll all be so exciting. and don‘t get me wrong it is exciting butttt..... idk the online thing is so weird cause you‘re not meeting any new people (i‘m introverted anyway but still lol) and it doesn‘t feel like you‘re listening to/talking to actual people cause it feels the same as just watching a video?

also i thought i‘d be busy again but i only have one lecture (90mins) a day and theres one day where i dont have any lectures at all and just one day where i have 3 hours but.... idk i mean i shouldn‘t complain about having so much free time but i just don‘t know what to do all day and in a pandemic there really is nothing to do but i also can‘t relax bc it‘s like during the week and i know i have uni the next day and .... yeah.

There‘s also this one assignment i had to do that took me AT LEAST SIX HOURS AND IM NOT EVEN EXAGGERATING????? so that was the only thing i‘ve been doing besides “going to“ lectures. for this one course we have to read two (really really long) texts (like it literally took me 3 hours to read them) and we‘re supposed to post it on this website that all the professors in our uni use. So after 5 days of anxiety (✌🏼) i posted mine this morning bc last night i realised that i didn‘t even know why i was having anxiety so i just posted mine today. The deadline is tomorrow at 12 and no one except me has posted theirs yet........ so i have anxiety again 🥰 cause idk if i‘m the only one who did it or if i even did it correctly

Edit while i‘m rereading this: my anxiety about uni is a lot better and i‘m not as d*pressed anymore maybe it was just hormones? idk but i‘m better so that‘s good

(I started writing this like 5 hours ago and then i randomly completely forgot lol)

I‘m in a better mood now though so let‘s move on from that (oh wait also, i think i‘m gonna see if i can find a psychiatrist bc with my anxiety symptoms (long story) i need to go to a psychiatrist, and so far i‘ve only gone to like psycholgists and it didn‘t help but i think that‘s just bc i was meant to go to a psychiatrist and not a psychologist so dldjdjsj

n e ways but yes you‘re not alone, ily, things will get better and yes i love you (i‘m not good at this type of thing🥲 but i‘d hug you right now if i could <3)

Yess i think the time difference between est and me is 6hours but gmt is uk time i believe? i think mine is called.... cet? For central european time? I could be completely wrong though lmao

Oof i completely forgot about hollywood, i remember when laura kept posting about it on instagram but i never actually watched it and i definitely won‘t now lmaodkdksjsn

Okay my driving lesson LEBDJDKDK I DID NOT HOOK UP WITH ANYONE AKSJSKSMMLM especially not my 40 or 50 year old driving instructor lol i like her but NOT LIKE THAT, the lesson was really really really good actually and i think i‘ll have my driving test soon, but i don‘t even remember why the anon would have thought that??? Oh wait now i remember okay KEKSKDLDL so during the lesson my instructor was like do you mind if i turn on some music? AND THIS WOMAN TURNED ON ONE DIRECTION I LOVE HER so i made a post about it and i said something about the song up all night and i guess i phrased it in a .... idk in a dumb way 💀 so the anon made a joke that i stayed up with my driving instructor all night and NO. No.

Wait did i read that right? YOU WERE ARIEL ON STAGE? SIALDBDJDKSLMSBDKDMDMDKDJSLSMDJFJJEDMBFEKLEFBJDLDVSIDLESKSKWKDKDJDOWNYUEKWNDUWLNSUFLWVSUDLEHDOENSIDBEISBEHENJELBSIEMWUDNRIW KB WOBE JO ON SBEUU HIII S HWS LV W ICH US KB okay this keyboard smash is getting out of hand but uh please do elaborate on that 💘😌???? Like you can‘t just drop that information and not say more??? I forgot if you‘re in like your school‘s drama group (is that a thing? lol idk anything about acting) or in an independent group? Either way - ARIEL that is so fucking cool

Your brothers loooooool, no i get it though obviously you love them and stuff but esp at their age children are so annoying so good luck with them 😭😭😭lmao

Yeah “anyway i imagine being an only child is really calming.. like you have time to yourself and its just you and your parents 😌“ yeah just me and my parents who constantly fight 🥰 lmao no i like being an only child, like i cannot imagine having siblings but i feel like if i had siblings i would be saying that i can‘t imagine being an only child so? but i do think it‘s quite different like i‘m trying to imagine having siblings and WHAT that‘s just so different omg i‘ve never really thought about it like properly ???

I saw a tik tok the other day that was like “sometimes i forget that my siblings have a life of their own. like i see them as side characters in my life“ and even though i can‘t relate obviously i felt that. lol, like i can really imagine how it feels idk what i‘m talking about like shut the fuck up, daria

(also my actual name is daria not aria but i dont like it, and also i wanted to be more anonymous on tumblr so now i‘m aria lmao. pls don‘t mention it though cause no one knows except for you and mel (peterbenjiparker) dkdkdkdnkdnd. but i‘m starting to identify with the name cause everyone keeps calling me that looool😭😭😭 (but i like the name, more than daria anyway? well it also depends on the accent, cause the way germans say daria is okay. the was Americans say it is also okay, but some of my family in England are from the north of england and i don‘t like how they say my name 💀 no offence to them(?) but yeah pls don‘t mention the name in your ask cause the chance of people seeing it is higher then (or if you want to say something about it just send a separate ask and i just won‘t post it (IDK what you‘d want to say about my name but yeah just in case slsldlldmsndnsns)

I‘m loving falcon and winter soldier so much but when i was watching an episode the week before last week (?) my laptop broke😭😭😭😭 during the scene where the dora milaje came at the end my laptop just shut down? And it had these lines all over the screen and i had to bring it to the shop where i bought it and they said it‘ll take 6-8 weeks to repair 💔💔💔 but at least it‘ll be for free, cause if i brought it back to apple it would cost like 400€ (i think that‘s nearly 500$) so yeah. but it sucks cause now i‘m “going to uni“ on a really old rusty laptop and on my phone which kinda sucks. oh yeah and also i can‘t watch anything on there 😭 i definitely want to watch wandavision but it‘ll have to wait🤧

Yessss you should def get your GED! I googled and I‘m still not entirely sure what it is dldks but from how you described it- YES!!!!!!

Idk if you know this? Like no idea if I‘ve told you this already (hmmm wait i feel like we talked about it actually?) anyway i was originally gonna go study in England, but for loads of reasons I ended up staying in Germany and I‘m def happy with my decision, but I definitely want to go to England sometime even if it‘s just for six months or maybe for my masters or something? And (obviously everyone is different) but i think everyone should go abroad and live in a different country once in their life, no matter if it‘s for school or what, and even if it‘s just for a few weeks. But i think that‘s something that you‘d never ever forget! And combining that with your acting/theatre??? You really would be living the dream 💘💘😌

how about burgers, chips (fries), and a large drink? any time next week works for me, should i pick you up?— sounds good see you soon 🥰🥰🥰

i used to be one of the people who‘d just do motherlode motherlode motherlode and just... what did i do? Why did i do that??? But not anymore lol. Like I said i haven‘t played sims in a few weeks but i‘ve been watching a few legacy challenge let‘s plays and usually i play with the aging off. So my sims just don‘t age 💀 but i could (should) turn aging on so that it stays exciting and i have limited time and everything. and once i get bored with my current sims i can just make them have kids and continue playing as their children when they get older- like recently i remembered that i haven‘t played the acting career in ages? and i haven‘t had a shop in ages? and i think you can even become a vet right??? like those are definitely some things i want to do in the next weeks!!! Also yes sksksjs i have a few hundred hours on sims as well (if not thousands 😭) it was just that one household that i‘d been playing with for 24hrs

AND GIRL SSKSKJD THE UNIVERSITY THING HAPPENED TO ME TOO, it was a while ago so i don‘t remember what degree and what job it was about but i made my sim study something for aaaaaages so she‘d get a better job from the beginning (you know what i mean like get in at a higher level)...... and i apparently studied the wrong thing cause i didn‘t get any benefits from studying and still had to start at level 1 and shit 🥴🥲

Oh also (this was like 2 weeks ago) Enisa and Michael did take in Michael‘s daughter and i think Enisa currently even has a higher/better relationship with the daughter than Michael but um💀💀💀 also i was hoping (since michael and enisa married (in their back yard i think lol) that the daughter (i forget what her name is😭) would have enisa as her step mom? Like you know how you can see the relationship and it says daughter or son or sister.. and i was hoping that it would say step mom but it doesn‘t say anything 🥲 but in my mind (and if the sims had proper family relations) she is her step mom😌 also Leo is a teenager now???? I mean I aged him up lol dkdk he was being too annoying as a toddler but i don‘t like children so i aged him up twice in one day and now he‘s a teen, but that means he can look after his half sister when she becomes a toddler which is good (the game recognises them as siblings tho even if they‘re just half siblings? why can‘t they have step family members in the sims🥲) okay i‘ve annoyed you enough with sims ✋🏼

I‘ve been a bit sick these past few days and now i‘m getting a headache so i have to finish this response tomorrow 😭😭😭 </3

.

It‘s not tomorrow, it‘s 3 hours later but i‘m better lol

oooff when sims are ungrateful and won‘t woo woo (lol i like that) cause they‘re too tired like?? Be grateful that you‘re not living with your parents anymore 🙄 no okay dkdkdkdl idk if you play with mods (i don‘t) but i know there is a mod (or it‘s part of a mod idk maybe wicked whims?) where you can adjust the percentage of how risky a normal woo woo is, like you still click woo woo (3dksksks okay i‘ll say woohoo again— wait is that what’s it called? 😭) but there‘s like a 25% chance that your sim can still get pregnant just like in real life there‘s always a chance of getting pregnant even if you‘re using protection (just not 25% lmao) but yeah i personally don‘t play with mods sksk and you can always just click try for baby but it would be cool if you could add stuff like risky woohoo to the game without mods (i have no idea how to download mods and i play sims on a really really old laptop and sims is literally tje only thing that works on it anyway so—) i repeat my words from earlier: okay i‘ve annoyed you enough with sims ✋🏼

okay i‘m so sorry i‘m gonna watch fast & furious 1 now cause i need to watch f&f 1-5 until the 30th of april cause they‘re only on netflix til then (i mean i could watch them somewhere else but the quality is never as good) so i will finish this tomorrow after all😭

it is now 1 am, i finished the film, can feel a new obsession coming up again (i always have these f&f obsessions for six months before and after a new film comes out)

THE GOOGLE TRANSLATE wkekdjdj tbh it sounds like someone is speaking with some kind of foreign accent i guess that‘s probably because it just is a direct translation and so anyway slsjsj i don‘t know if you asked me what the word fucking is in german? like idk cause the translation is a bit weird but in case you asked lol sidjsjs theres not really a good translation like we just say fuck for fuck lmao, i don‘t know if you typed in fucking in google translate and it came out as verdammt? cause that means damn (or damned sksjjs) ummm yeah idek if/what you asked so imma move on🤧

I‘m not gonna comment on what you said about every stormzy song cause you already said all the important things but SKSKSJSJSKNSNDBDUDOENWBSLSKKHSULSLSKSBSJSKSK I WAS SMILING SO HARD WHEN I READ YOUR RESPONSE FOR THE FIRST TIME BECAUSE AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH finally i know someone who loves him as much as i do 💘💘💘 also since you brought it up, i‘m pretty sure he‘s considered the most successful UK rapper or if not then at least top 3 so he‘s defffffffffinitely big in the uk, in germany more and more people are listening to uk rap too but not as much stormzy cause theyre dumb apparently 🙄 but anywY i‘m sooooo sooo happy that you like him. i think hith came out end of 2019 (i could be wrong but i think it came out on the 13th of december so (in a european way) you‘d write the date: 13.12 and obviously i don‘t KNOW this but i can definitely imagine that he chose that date because ACAB and yes, Michael. Yes. But he hasn‘t made too much music since then so i hope he‘s working on some new stuff 🤞🏼

Also i ordered the stormzy poster😌 also a nicki minaj one bc i decided i‘m gonna have one wall with red-ish posters (i already have two kinda red ones) and one with blue/green-ish posters (already have two) and i can add stormzy to the blue one and nicki to the red one, but i think that‘s it cause if my walls are tooo full it could look cluttered? I‘m not sure how that type of thing works lmao but my room is generally untidy so i don‘t want the walls to look unorganised too so i think that‘s it for now

I really want to finish this now but my brain is getting kinda slow and i need to sleep soon so this will have to wait till later after all 🥺🥴 (not that it makes and difference to you bc you‘ll see this whenever i post it buttttt i wanted you to know that i want to talk to you again but with my slow brain i‘m just taking too long to do it in one day😭😭😭 and i‘m so busy tomorrow hmm but i‘m sure i‘ll have 30 minutes to finish this then <3)

Okay wait I‘m so dumb I didn‘t realise I‘d nearly answered everything i could have posted this yesterday 😭😭

Oooohh that summer bra sounds so nice like if i was confident enough i literally would just wear a top that resembles a bra (or really is a bra lol) cause my tiddies always be looking amazing i‘m just insecure about my stomach sometimes 🙄🙄🙄 but recently i‘ve been loving myself more and more tbh 😌

also i hope you can go shopping for some nice clothes soon ✨😌

I‘ll be honest I haven‘t listened to your song recs YET but only because i wanna take my time with them and i‘ve been so busy and slso AJ tracey‘s album came out last week and I haven‘t listened to that one yet either so ekdkdj (he‘s also a uk rapper like quite popular and successful as well, but i feel like i‘m not gonna like his album cause whenever i‘m looking forward to an album it ends up being really bad and the albums where you weren‘t expecting it turn out to be bangers.... so yeah but i‘ll let you know when i listen to your songs!!!! :)

Omg i keep having to scroll up all the way to see the next thing you said so sorry if I completely miss some of the things you said😭😭

So when you sent this the bird was still bothering me oh my FUCK DKDLDMMDMDMD but now i‘ve been going to bed at like 1-2am so the bird is probably still asleep lool

Okay and for the rest of your ask my response is: 💘💖❣️💚❣️💛❣️💛💕💞❤️💓💟💞💕💕💖💘💝💟💟🧡❤️🧡💞💛💚💓💚💚💚❣️🧡💖💘🧡💝🧡💕💘🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥺🥺🥺🥰🥺🥺💘💘💘💘💘 (okay that looked cuter in my head i don‘t really like the green hearts dldkkdksndnd)

[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss acts as playwright when he writes songs. He’s far more confident, and certainly more vulnerable, when he allows himself to play the part. In such a way, songwriting opens up a whole new world that pulses with untapped potential. So much of what he has accomplished in 15 years resides in his willingness to expose himself to what his imagination and intuition have in store. He steps into a playwright’s shoes with considerable ease (just look at his resume), and always one to put on plenty of bravado, especially during our Zoom face-to-face, it’s the natural order of things.

“As I get older and write more and more songs, I really recognize that I’ve always preferred to write for another context other than my own,” Criss tells American Songwriter. He speaks with a cool intensity, gesturing emphatically to accentuate a sentence, and when you let him go, he’s like the Energizer Bunny 一 “I can tell by just how quiet you already are that you’re fucked,” he jokes at the start of our video chat. But he remains just as engaged and focused when listening.

He soaks in the world, taking astute notes about behavior and emotional traits he can later use in song. His storytelling, though, arrives already in character, fully formed portraits he can then relay to the world. It’s not that he can’t be vulnerable, like such greats as Randy Newman, Tom Waits, and Rufus Wainwright, who have all embroidered their work with deeply personal observations, it just doesn’t feel as comfortable. “I’ve always really admired the great songwriters of the world who are extremely introspective and can put their heart and soul on the chopping block,” he muses. “That’s a vulnerability that I think is so majestic. I’ve never had access to it. I’m not mad about it. It’s just good to know what your deal is.”

Criss’ strengths lie in his ability to braid his own experiences, as charmed as they might be, into wild, goofy fantasies. In the case of his new series “Royalties,” now streaming on Quibi, he walks a fine line between pointed commentary on the music industry, from menial songwriting sessions to constantly chasing down the next smash, and oddball comedy that is unequivocally fun. Plotted with long-standing friends and collaborators Matt and Nick Lang, co-founders of Team StarKid, created during their University of Michigan days (circa 2009), the show’s conceptual nucleus dates back more than a decade.

If “Royalties” (starring Criss and Kether Donohue) feels familiar, that’s because it is. The 10-episode show ─ boasting a smorgasbord of delightful guest stars, including Mark Hammill, Georgia King, Julianna Hough, Sabrina Carpenter, and Lil Rel Howery ─ captures the very essence of a little known web series called “Little White Lie.” Mid-summer 2009, Team StarKid uploaded the shoddy, low budget production onto YouTube, and its scrappy tale of amateur musicians seeking fame and fortune quickly found its audience, coming on the heels of “A Very Potter Musical,” co-written with and starring Criss. Little did the trio know, those initial endeavors laid the groundwork for a lifetime of creative genius.

“It’s a full circle moment,” says Criss, 33, zooming from his Los Angeles home, which he shares with his wife Mia. He’s fresh-faced and zestful in talking about the new project. 11 years separate the two series, but their connective thematic tissues remain striking. “Royalties” is far more polished, the obvious natural progression in so much time, and where “Little White Lie” soaked in soapy melodrama, the former analyzes the ins and outs of the music world through more thoughtful writing, better defined (and performed) characters, and hookier original tunes.

“Royalties” follows Sara (Donohue) and Pierce (Criss), two struggling songwriters in Los Angeles, through various career exploits and pursuits. The pilot, titled “Just That Good,” features an outlandish performance from Rufus Wainwright as a major player in dance-pop music, kickstarting the absurdity of Criss’ perfectly-heightened reality. As our two main characters stumble their way between songwriting sessions, finally uncovering hit single potential while eating a hot dog, Criss offers a glimpse into the oft-unappreciated art of songwriting.

In his own songwriting career ─ from 2010’s self-released Human EP and a deal with Columbia Records (with whom a project never materialized) to 2017’s Homework EP and Computer Games’ debut, Lost Boys Life, (a collaboration with his brother Chuck) ─ he’s learned a thing or two about the process. Something about sitting in a room with someone you’ve never met before always rang a little funny to him.

“You meet a stranger, and you have to be creative, vulnerable, and open. It’s speed-dating, essentially. It’s a different episode every time you pull it off or not. All the big songwriters will tell you all these crazy war stories. Everyone has a wacky story from songwriting,” he says. “I slowly realized I may ─ I can’t flatter myself, there are tons of creative people who are songwriters ─ have prerequisites to just put the two together [TV and music]. I’ve worked enough in television as an actor and creator. I can connect the dots. I had dual citizenship where I felt like it was really time for me to go forth with this show.”

But a packed professional life pushed the idea to the backburner.

Between six seasons of “Glee” (playing Blaine Anderson, a Warbler and lover to Chris Colfer’s Kurt Hummel), starring in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Broadway, and creating Elsie Fest, a one-day outdoor festival celebrating songs of the stage and screen, he never had the time. “I was lucky enough to be busy,” he says. “As Team StarKid’s star was continuing to rise with me being separate from it, I was trying to think of a way to get involved again with songwriting.”

At one point, “Glee” had officially wrapped and his Broadway run was finished. It appeared “Royalties” may finally get its day in the sun. “I went to Chicago for a work pilgrimage with the Langs. We had a few days, and we put all our ideas on the map: every musical, feature film, show, graphic novel, and animated series we’ve ever thought of,” he says. “A lot of them were from the Langs; they were just things I was interested in as a producer or actor. We looked at all of them and made a top three.”

“Royalties” obviously made the cut.

Fast forward several years, Gail Berman’s SideCar, a production company under FOX Entertainment, was looking to produce a music show. Those early conversations, beginning at an otherwise random LA party, showed great promise in airlifting the concept from novel idea to discernible reality. Things quickly stalled, however, as they often do in Hollywood, but Criss had at least spoken his dreams into the universe.

“I finally had an outlet to put it into gear. It wasn’t until two to three years after that that things really locked in. We eventually made shorts and made a pilot presentation. We showed it to people, and it wasn’t until Quibi started making their presence known that making something seemed really appealing,” he says. “As a creator, they’re very creator-centric. They’re not a studio. They’re a platform. They are licensing IP much like when a label licenses an indie band’s album after the fact.”

Quibi has drawn severe ire over the last few months, perhaps because there is a “Wild Westness” to it, Criss says. “I think that makes some people nervous. Being my first foray into something of this kind, Quibi felt like a natural partner for us. If this had been a network or cable show, we would’ve molded it to be whatever it was.”

Format-wise, “Royalties” works best as bite-sized vignettes, charming hijinks through the boardroom and beyond, and serves as a direct response to a sea of music shows, from “Nashville” and “Empire” to “Smash.” “Those shows were bigger, more melodramatic looks at the inside base of our world. I’ve always been a goofball, and I just wanted to take the piss out of it,” he says. “This show isn’t about songwriting. It’s about songwriters… but a very wacky look at them.”

“30 Rock,” a scripted comedy loosely based around “Saturday Night Live,” in which the focus predominantly resides around the characters, rather than the business itself, was also on his mind. “It’s about the interconnectivity of the people and characters. As much of the insider knowledge that I wanted to put into our show, at the end of the day, you just want to make a fun, funny show that’s relatable to people who know nothing about songwriting and who shouldn’t have to know anything.”

Throughout 10 episodes, Criss culls the “musicality, fun, and humor” of Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger and Max Martin, two of his biggest songwriting heroes, and covers as many genres as possible, from K-Pop to rap-caviar and classic country. While zip-lining between formats, the songs fully rely on a sturdy storytelling foundation ─ only then can Criss drape the music around the characters and their respective trajectories. “I wanted to do something where I could use all the muscles I like to flex at once, instead of compartmentalizing them,” he says. “I really love writing songs for a narrative, not necessarily for myself. I thrive a little more when I have parameters, characters, and a story to tell.”

Bonnie McKee, one of today’s greatest pop architects, takes centerstage, too, with an episode called “Kick Your Shoes Off,” in which she plays a bizarro version of herself. “She has her own story, and I’ve always been fascinated by it,” says Criss, who took her out to lunch one day to tell her about it. Initially, the singer-songwriter, known for penning hits for Katy Perry, Taio Cruz, and Britney Spears, would anchor the entire show, but it soon became apparent she would simply star in her own gloriously zany episode.

In one of the show’s standout scenes, Pierce and Sara sit in on a label meeting with McKee’s character and are tasked with writing a future hit. But they quickly learn how many cooks are in the kitchen at any given moment. Everyone from senior level executives to publicists and contracted consultants have an opinion about the artist’s music. One individual urges her to experiment, while another begs not to alienate her loyal fanbase, and then a third advises her to chronicle the entire history of music itself ─ all within three minutes or so. It’s absurd, and that’s the point. “Everyone’s been in that meeting, whether you’re in marketing or any creative discussion that has to be made on a corporate level by committee. It’s the inevitable, comedic contradictions and dissociations from not only rationality but feasibility.”

Criss also draws upon his own major label days, having signed with Sony/Columbia right off the set of “Glee,” as well as second-hand accounts from close friends. “There are so many artists, particularly young artists, who famously get chewed up and spat out by the label system,” he says. “There’s a lot of sour tastes in a lot of people’s mouths from being ‘mistreated’ by a label. I have a lot of friends who’ve had very unfortunate experiences.”

“I was really lucky. I didn’t have that. I have nothing but wonderful things to say,” he quickly adds.“It wasn’t a full-on drop or anything. I was acting, and I was spreading myself really thin. It’s a record label’s job to make product, and I was doing it piecemeal here and there. I would shoot a season [of ‘Glee’] and then do a play. I was doing too many things. I didn’t have it in me at the time to do music. I had written a few songs I thought were… fine.”

Both Criss and the label came to the same conclusion: perhaps this professional relationship just wasn’t a good fit. They parted ways, and he harbors no ill-will. In fact, he remains close friends with many folks from that time. So, it seems, a show like “Royalties” satisfies his deep hunger to make music and write songs ─ and do it totally on his own terms.

“I still say I want to put out music, and fans have been very vocal about that. I feel very fortunate they’re still interested at all,” he says. “That passion for making music really does come out in stuff like [this show].”

“Royalties” is Darren Criss at his most playful, daring, and offbeat. It’s the culmination of everything he has tirelessly worked toward over the last decade and a half. Under pressure with a limited filming schedule, he hits on all cylinders with a soundtrack, released on Republic Records, that sticks in the brain like all good pop music should do. And it would not have been the same had he, alongside Matt and Nick Lang, not formed Team StarKid 11 years ago.

Truth be told, it all began with a “Little White Lie.”

[smallestclowninthecircus]

Tma season 2 notes baybeee

I made myself take several breaks so I could give my frie d who is listening to it at the same time as me a chance to catch up. Honestly just posting them so I have them saved somewhere but whatever.

ep 41: real graham wrote keep watching before he was replaced. Jon feels like he's being watched. But they werent replaced by things related to the eye. It's the web that's on the box that replaces them. Endless hallways and doors to nowhere. I bet nicholas will have ideas what entity this relates to. If it even does. They're like the tunnels in the one with the builder guy. Tunnels closing in etc. Also like the cave diving one. He's assuming it's just one

ep 42: so 100 gecs? (IM SORRY I LIKE 100 GECS BUT LMAO) so there's some entity related to music right? There's the piper episode and the 27 w/ the calliope. Ah yes, this season is gonna be the season of Paranoid!Jon

ep 43: section 31? fucking books. god no. smashed lights? cult lady did that. covered the lights too. she mentioned a spooky clown doll. thats not random.

ep 44: is this that same circus that got mentioned before? it is! the pipe organ! pop off organ! pipe off! mouth on the stomach! yes! mouths in unusual places my beloved!

ep 45: antiques! like that one ep!

ep 46: every time books get mentioned i sigh. hhh sus smells. it got brighter. I get the vibes occasionally that the dark and the eye are sorta at odds with eachother. GRRR BARK BARK LEITNER. ayyy ex altiora. entity go brr. which entity do we thing it is? my guess is The Dark. The book buyer's name is Mike. He has scars? Electricity? The childhood friend of the guy who got it later on perhaps? The Vast? its formatted like an entity idk. This happened before the other one. He got trapped in the wood carving. a win for the web lol spiders go brr

ep 47: did i hear spiral? ITS THE NOT THING FROM THE EPISODE WITH NOT GRAHAM "it didnt move, it shifted" is like the exact same sentence as before. ay john's starting to remember. the laughing woah thats weird. is "michael" one of the entities? "you make it seem like theres a war" supports my theory that theres a struggle between a couple of the entities. I said i thought it was the eye and the dark i believe but im not sure. its whatever entity michael is vs the worms? what did nicholas say the worms were again? The Corruption? still dont know which one michael is tho.

Had to take a break after that episode. smth about the quality of michael's voice makes me feel like im gonna slip into one of those states where it feels like nothing is real, so i got a nice cold glass of water.

ep 48: jesus ok this one's kidna corny. you're telling me love made the crowd go away come on now. Ur losing it big J. also shouldnt it be more sus that "sasha" is so unaffected by the worm incident/ finding of gertrude's body

ep 49: haven't we heard hector's name before? oh is he the crime guy? fucking jared... so it's a throat? chompa chompa. (it's just a little bit hot) the good part about these episodes is that we know whoever's telling the story isn't gonna die. even if it's a close call, they're not dead. hotworth? ok not jared keay. it bothers me how theres so many repeated names, can they not come up with other names? "sasha"'s computer is breaking... sus. Elias our favorite weed man! jon ur so paranoid lmao

ep 50: robert smirk, at it again. this is like that one episode with the old dude who locked his door. who said idle beforehand? was it smirk? fingertips. thats so weird lmao. bahahah tim

ep 51: simon fairchild. im sure jon will mention the name at the end i cant remember where we've heard it. this is just like the cavediving episode. a hand? there was a hand in the last one right? the scalpel! and an eye thing. she's trying to throw them off.

ep 52: thats the guy from before! with the hearts! god i hate this guy writing the statement hh. lights blowing, and brackish water. we know how this ends but its still tense. rainer? reigner? rain man. we've seen him before

ep 53: pls not a leitner. oh boy mans scratched out his eyes. rip skelly. why would gertrude have had this statement off the books? jon stabbed himself?? bruh im? big man are you okay

ep 54: cockney boys! ayy its our favorite delivery men. she cut out their eyes. she knew that the eye was a thing?

ep 55: oily residue like the retirement home!

ep 56: worms? no. spiders?? bruhh. aaah yelling :(( aww martin anyways yeah i called it about paranoid!jon he needs to take a nap and drink some hot chocolate and calm down for once please

ep 57: just remembered, i think theres an entity called The Lonely?? This feels pretty lonely idk. fairchild, lukas/ lucas, some spooky place in norway idk. "sasha" knew he was recordinig hmm suspicious cmon jon figure it out. Sasha and tom. hm sus. for records sake i feel liek i should note here that I did have it spoiled to me simply that that's not sasha, but thats really all. i assumed it was like the thing that happened to graham in S1

ep 58: i feel like i recognize the name eustice (?) wick. someone please tell me im not just watching jon's descent into madness over the course of this podcast. im hoping it isnt so but, (and pardon the dsmp reference) im getting real wilbur vibes from this one.

ep 59: oh dear ok account from the fielding house. swirling designs? Spiral time? oh boyy. oh wait! 6 inch hole in the middle! is it not a spiderweb type design on the table? thats what i had assumed but that description sounds more like a spiral thing. cobwebs is a Web thing. ayy nicholas was right! the box goes in the table! the place that she kissed him was burning. Raymond is an avatar of The Web and agnes is the burning one. Lightless Flame! Why did she save him? i guess she was against this guy eating ppl or wtvr but why was she at the halfway house then? I think she's like michael.

ep 60: the eye go brr

ep 61: breacon and hope once again. tom. sasha's boyfriend. vampires sleep in coffins. the guy just walking in seems similar to the mind control of the vampires

ep 62: bones! its that one leitner. is this mother keay? the mom of gerard? this is what happened to her right? her skin was found on hooks? oh yeah thats what i thought the pages are made of skin. yeesh. The End!! sounds like an entity. phrased like one, and i think i remember it. are the people trapped in the pages? or... kept?

ep 63: eaten by the darkness! cavediving episode! (just like eaten by the sky) did my brain make up one called The Vast? it feels like it should be one, and all these episodes have some similar description about their feelings when they do whatever chosen hobby they have. ok now this one kinda feels like the dark. lights going out and all that. ok so not really a The Vast thing, its more of a Dark thing. feckin smirk gah.

ep 64: dice! the death guy! the death game thing! the person tricked somebody else into becoming death and then they were immortal? but if the egyptians wanted to kill him or punish him or whatever couldnt they just kill him? it worked in the end when he had the person giving the statement stab him, that did the job and actually killed him

ep 65: finally jon is actually acknowledging something is wrong.

So we know Mary Keay was revived most likely with the book by gerard.

Gertrude was way more aware of the entities than Jon. mary keay referenced The End openly and she cut the eyes out of her magazines and all that which makes me think she was aware of The Eye

ep 66: please not buried alive pleeaase not buried alive. lukas of the tundra? didnt we hear the name lukas before? she wanted it to be difficult to find important files because that way bad people couldnt find them?

ep 67: agnes... the girl in the hilltop house? agnes poppin off!! he's really not gonna question how she knew where he lived?? oh no D: the tree. were they the ones working on the house? aww they kissi- OH DEAR. why did she kiss him? it seemed like she cared about him? also she could kiss that other dude on the cheek and he was fine, but maybe it was cuz she was younger? lightless flame go brrrrr.

ep 68: oh god books. yup its bitchboy leitner. mans said "this seems supernatural, its a werd book!" bruuh.

ep 69: heh nice. aw cmon jon listen to martin. gahhh spiders. is that the class we heard about in the other doctor one with the teeth apple? some kind of psych class? oh dear. fucking spiders. aaaah. web do be goin brr. it's like the girl in the homeless shelter! who made the guy leave and she took his bed.

ep 70: is this gonna be the book that mary keay had? Most likely a leitner no matter what. Oh boy latin. Why did it start in latin then become old English? I'm guessing people put them in the book? He cant burn it. Phrophecies go brr. He says eh it's a decade in the future it's fine. Its gonna have changed. Ayy called it. Just accept it, it's a magic book. His death is getting closer. Leitner didnt make them but just collected them? Gertrude burned the book! She burned them down there so no one would know.

ep 71: oh boy tunnels. Our favorite thing /s. is The Buried a thing? Idk this seems pretty buried. Oh dear he's trapped here isnt he. "Not enough space to move, never enough to breathe" is that from the computer episode? With the guy who uploaded his consciousness? Somebody living down there. Hmmmm. Guesses: tom, sasha's boyfriend. Gertrude herself? (Though I doubt it)

ep 72: sweeney todd moment. Meat. The slaughter? Idk we'll see what the supernatural part is. Meat is meat. Similar to the slaughterhouse episode. Is it fucking Jared I swear to God it better not be. Hooligan teenagers, you know how it is. Meat is me lmao. Is the kid gonna be in the freezer. Ok that's good. OWW. Oddly textured candles. Made from people? Human fat or smth? Tom from the meat processing plant!

ep 73: outer bay shipping. Bet it's a subset of breacon and hope delivery. The Dark go brrr. Uh oh mans is gonna die. Leo or whatever. Cult ppl go brr. The people's church of the divine host. Who is the divine host? Is it reigner or whatever his name is? I dont think Jon can quit tbh. Probably an anonymous tip but from who?? One of the entities?

ep 74: fucking teeth hhh. I dont know which entity is related to teeth. Spiral. Isnt the spiral an entity. It feels like it could be related to many things idk. Yeah this sounds like the spiral. Heart attack at 29? Jesus... michael! That's kinda what I was thinking. Sasha goin in the tunnels. Hmm sus. They move the floor. Wack. Bet its tom.

ep 75: Man with a lightning scar. Has one of the leitner books. The childhood friend of the one who first introduced us to leitner. Oh my god that sounds terrifying. Michael crew.

ep 76: scalpel? Hmm spooky. NotSasha... think jon think.

ep 77: another double! NotThem, The Stranger. Not related to the table?

ep 78: what was that at the beginning? Question mark?? Oh boy more NotThem. Decker... what is the deal with the table. Does it contain the creature? Fucking Michael. Bitchboi himself.

ep 79: yes pop off martin. Ugh fucking Michael just leave man. I hate that dude. New person. Hmm. No idea who it is.

ep 80: shitener himself! Ok sir tell us the entities. Ayy The Spiral. Ok we know what that one is. The Eye is the beholding! Oooh. The Stranger. Did elias just kill leitner? Popping off honestly.

[the--sad--hatter]

Mischief & Madness - Chapter 12 (Loki x Reader)

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Loki/Reader (No physical description of reader other than female presenting)

Warnings: LOKI, Angst, lots of violence, graphic gore, extreme cursing, anxiety attacks.

Summary:

Living in New York has its ups and its downs. Upside - You have a cushy job at Stark Industries. Downside - You wind up getting yourself kidnapped by The God Of Mischief.

All you wanted was a decent cup of coffee, now you’re stuck on the otherside of the universe with a sociopath who has only begrudgingly not murdered you.

To get back home you’ll have to work with Loki, and probably stop trying to stab him.

To regain his power, he’ll have to work with you, and probably stop trying to slaughter you.

When Mischief and Madness collide, chaos ensues. Even if you survive this, the universe probably won’t…

Masterlist     Spotify Playlist Link

Chapter Twelve 

Loki was staring at you like you’d grown a second head. You waited patiently for him to process it, occupying yourself by kicking rocks and watching them explode into dust.

 “You want to what?” He eventually demanded, his eyebrows raised so high that they practically merged with his hairline.

 You shrugged at him, your smirk growing exponentially. Flummoxing the actual God of Chaos was satisfying as hell.

 “The Infinity Stones! We just go back to before Taa was destroyed and remove the Deathwaves.” You grinned.

“We can not just go back. Even if we could, we wouldn’t be changing anything. We would just create an alternate timeline with no Deathwaves, this universe would still die out.” He argued.

 “Fine, ok… Let’s not go back in time. Let’s reboot the universe. Look we can try and determine who or what is causing these Deathwaves and we can try and stop them, or we can just delete the program and rewrite it without the bug in the coding.” You tried to explain giddily.

 “How?” He asked.

 “We use the Infinity Stones to destroy the universe, just wipe it all out, clean slate. Then we rebuild it exactly the same way, minus Deathwaves. Nobody will even know what happened, they won’t feel a thing.” You told him.

 “Are you quite mad?” He questioned, a little fearfully.

 “Quite.” You agreed.

 He gaped at you but you could see the spark in his eyes, he could see the (psychotic) genius in your proposed plan.

 “Look, I’m not a hero. Hunting down the bad guys and kicking ass isn’t my thing. I create things, and when they don’t work I burn it all down and start again. That’s the only thing I have to offer this partnership. The universe, it’s just a really elaborate computer program. So we save all the coding, the people and the plants, download the files into the infinity stones and then we upload them to version 2.0. No time travel, no hunting down baddies, just straight up ‘saving’ the universe.” You coaxed.

 “And what do I bring to this madness?” He asked, mirroring your slightly maniacal grin.

 “You’re the god here, you’re not only strong enough to use the Stones, you’re the only person I can think of who’s smart and cunning enough to pull this off. This is going to take more than brawn and power. Besides, come on Loki… Don’t you want to destroy the universe?”

 “This is quite literally the most insane, chaotic plan I have ever heard.” He sighed.

 “Yeahhh, and you’re totally on board aren’t ya?” You needled.

 He started impassively at you while he weighed it all up in his head and when the corners of his lips started to gradually curl upwards; you knew you had him.

 “Very well. Say I am willing to go along with this plan of yours. How do you propose we obtain The Infinity Stones?” He challenged.

 “We…” You faltered as soon as the first word was out of your mouth. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” You admitted.

 “This entire mad scheme of yours hinges on us having The Infinity Stones, how have you not thought that far ahead?” He grouched.

 “How am I the one doing all the work? You could do something more useful than standing around bitching and being pretty.” You shot back, crossing your arms in a sulk.

 “Am I infringing on your territory? I do apologise.” He scoffed.

 “How many are there again? Five?” You asked, ignoring his snide compliments.

 “Six. The Space Stone, The Reality Stone, The Time Stone, The Soul Stone, The Power Stone and The Mind Stone.” He corrected, rolling his eyes at for not even knowing how many of the darned things there were.

 “Well, we know where three are. The Time Stone and Mind Stone are back on Earth so that’s easy.” You shrugged. “Tessie the Space Stone is…”

 And right on cue, as if summoned by your voice, The Tesseract materialised right in front of you. It spun in the air, glowing before it dimmed and dropped towards the ground. You instinctively reached out and caught it, flinching when you realised what you’d just done.

 But nothing happened. You remained on Taa and The Tesseract remained in your hand.

 “Found one?” You breathed out in awe, holding it up to an equally awestruck Loki.

 “Vænn, how are you doing that?” He asked fearfully.

 “Doing what? It just popped up, I didn’t do anything.” You said.

 You tilted your head at it curiously before you realised exactly what it was you were doing. You were holding The Tesseract. You. A mortal.

 “Ahh!” You yelped, dropping it.

 You admittedly didn’t know that much about The Tesseract, just what you’d read from the files you hacked one afternoon and skimmed through in boredom. What you did know was that it was too powerful to be held directly by anyone human.

 Loki’s eyes were burning into you suspiciously as he slowly approached and knelt down to pick it up.

 “You’re human.” It wasn’t a statement, but it wasn’t a question either.

 “100%. I don’t even have any Kree DNA, I got tested after those fish oil pills started turning people into husks.” You confirmed.

 “What?”

“Oh, Inhumans. They gots little bits of alien DNA and can get superpowers. I was curious, I got my DNA tested. I am utterly, unquestionably human.”

 He looked down at The Tesseract, turning it over in his hand before he looked back up at you.

 “Curious.” He said softly, holding it back out to you.

 “Nah. You keep it.” You grimaced, backing away fearfully.

 “Just take it.” He demanded.

 “No.”

 “Vænn.”

 “Nope, not on your fucking life - LOKI YOU BITCH!” He tossed The Tesseract at you in the middle of your sentence and you had a split second to decide whether to catch it or let it smack you in the face.

 You clutched it in both hands, inches from your nose. Looking up at Loki you found him smirking at you.

 “What the fuck Loki? I could have been vaporised!” You screeched.

 “You weren’t.” He replied calmly.

 “You didn’t know I wouldn’t be!” You protested.

 “You were holding a moment ago, so I did know. I’m not sure how you’re managing it but you are. For all your arguments about how you are nothing special, you appear to attract powerful entities Vænn.” He pointed out smugly.

 “You think The Tesseract has a crush on me?” You frowned.

 “Not that kind of attract. You are like a magnet, pulling power into your orbit.” He said, almost… proudly?

 You scoffed and opened your mouth to rebut his claim but paused and actually thought about it. Of all the places in the city, it was your window that Iron Man flew past on his way to The Tower. The intern you’d taken under your metaphorical wing turned out to be Spiderman. Vision inexplicably turned up in your lab on an almost daily basis. Earths Mightiest Heroes had taken to you without any hesitating. And then of course there was Loki.

 “Huh. Guess I do attract trouble.” You snorted, regarding The Tesseract in a new light.

 You knew without a doubt that you were human, nothing special about you. But apparently fate disagreed, because here you were.

 “So now we have The Tesseract under our control, as it should be. There are still five more stones to obtain, and we will need The Gauntlet. Do you have a plan for talking your friends into handing the Time Stone and The Mind Stone over to us?” He prodded.

 “Well, The Mind Stone is literally in Visions head so… no. And it’s not like we can just waltz up to Earth and ask them to hand the Stones over to us. It would take us months to convince them to trust you and we just don’t have that kind of time. Maybe we should leave those two till last. At least we know they’re safe. You don’t happen to have any idea where the other three are, do you?” You shrugged.

 He held his hand for The Tesseract with a smirk. You happily handed it over, grateful not to be touching it anymore.

 “I know exactly where The Aether is but obtaining it will not be easy. We will need to be careful, we will need a plan. I suggest we take refuge somewhere safer while we decide how to get it away from The Collector.” He told you, holding out his hand to you.

 “Wait.” You said softly.

 He didn’t have to ask what he was waiting for, he knew what you were planning and only rolled his eyes ever so slightly as you backed away.

 “Hey, um… We’re leaving now. Would you, would you like to come with us?” You asked gently as you approached The Stranger.

 They hadn’t moved since you’d wandered after Loki and they didn’t move when you spoke. Shining blue eyes gazed into the distance, bearing witness to the lingering death of their home world.

 “We can take you anywhere. You don’t have to stay here.” You whispered.

 “You are standing in the remains of the temple I have spent my life worshipping in. The Temple may be gone but I am not, so I remain. My world will not die unwitnessed.” They finally answered.

 “Your world isn’t going to die at all. We’re going to fix this.” You promised.

 Because if you could reboot the Universe, you could reboot it to the point before anything went wrong and no worlds would fall to the terrible destruction you had witnessed. You weren’t going to bring those worlds back, you were going to ensure they never fell in the first place.

 If fate kept putting you in the path of powerful people, if fate had led you to Avengers tower then this was the reason. The Tesseract chose you to help Loki, and this was the only way you could think that you would be of any use.

 So you didn’t feel bad as you walked away from the lonely Stranger. As you placed your hand in Loki’s, you let go of all the pain of not being able to save the fuzzy Druffs. It didn’t matter anymore, none of it mattered. You might not be a hero, but Loki could be. And you, you would be the Tech Support.

 He gently scooped your slumbering Winnie from his pocket and gave him back to you, watching as you secured the little dreaming Grofflink in your own pocket before he laced his fingers with yours, and then in a blinding flash of blue you left Taa and the Stranger behind.

A/N - What's this? A second chapter in one day? :OBeen a while since I pulled one of these!Honestly, I just got kinda giddy reading all the comments and needed to give you (and myself) more! You guys deserve all the chapters I can give for being so supportive and lovely 💖💖💖

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[n0iseyniya]

Baby-Doll {1/?}

Warnings: A Dark-Fictional Piece, Contains Eventual Non-Con Elements. (18+)  

Characters: (Dark!) Steve Rogers, Reader.  

Summary: (For this Chapter) Steve and the Reader meet for the first time.

Synopsis: Steve begins an unhealthy obsession over the reader, whom he meets at a bookstore. With times comes an unhealthy relationship which sprouts into complete madness. 

Note: Hi guys, this is a pretty bland chapter only because I wanted to set the plot, characters and overall tone of the story up. This is my first time at a dark! fic (and writing for Marvel) so please leave suggestions and notes. There are no warnings for this chapter except for a glimpse of Steve’s attitude towards the reader? Though I doubt that this counts as a warning. The second chapter will be uploaded on 9/23. I hope you enjoy!

-------

You honestly couldn’t remember a time where Steve wasn’t somehow intertwined in your life

It had started off small, a rare fleeting glimpse of him in the crowded city of New York. A small mention of his name when you made your way to the nearest café.  A brief praise of him when you turned on the news for the day. Really, everywhere you went Steve Rogers lingered around you. You never did seem to mind, after all the man did save the world only hundreds of times, it seemed only right for the media to praise him.  

Despite forever being surrounded by his impact, you never did grow tired of him.  

He was humble enough and was always sweet when he was approached, never showing a hint of irritation when all he had wanted was to take a stroll around the city he had come to love. He was unwavering in his diligence to his people. But he had always had a soft spot for quiet secluded places where people never quite lingered.  

So, it never came as a surprise when Steve Rogers had first made his appearance into your tiny, family owned library on the corner of Bleeker Street.  

He was wearing nothing out of the usual when he had arrived for the first time. A plain blue jacket, a plain white T-Shirt, and a pair of black shoes. The only thing that led you to do a double take, was the simple basketball cap that did little to hide his face.  

It was a horrible disguise, if it could even be called that. But then again, it was a Sunday morning, so was there anything for him to be hiding from.  

You watched as he made his way around the library, carefully taking everything in. He walked slow and calculatingly as he examined shelf after shelf, stopping sparingly to examine books that he found mildly intriguing.

Catching yourself staring, you took a small step back, deciding to leave him be. He probably had enough people staring at him on the regular, and you didn’t want to be labeled as weird by him.  

You turned your head back to your computer and focused on the new shipment of books that needed to be delivered to your library soon enough. Your favorite author had just released a new installment of books to her series, and you wanted to be the first library to get them.  

You huffed in annoyance, rapidly clicking the keyboard keys as you typed in your confirmation code. Skimming over the information, you squinted your eyes as you looked for a confirmed delivery date, frowning slightly when you see that there hadn't been an updated delivery date yet. It appears you were going to have to wait the extra two weeks.  

You tapped your fingers on your desk as you pondered what you were going to do, your whole schedule had been around the release of her books. Your mind ran rampant as you thought of other books to advertise, but nothing came up.

You were so wrapped up in your thoughts that you had barely registered the soft ‘ahem’ behind you. Turning around quickly you stumbled on your feet. Grasping the edges of the desk, you steady yourself, finally facing the customer.

You were met with an amused Steve Rogers. He was slightly bewildered at your clumsy state, yet his eyes held no judgement in them.  

You gaped at him, your mind not fully coming to terms that this man is right in front of you. You'll scold yourself for that later, embarrassed that you had made such a big deal out of it. You were supposed to act natural, not be a clumsy, blubbering mess.  

However, he seems to not be put off in the slightest, no doubt use to it. Instead of paying your shock any mind, he sets his books down on the desk, and smiles.  

“Just this, if you don’t mind, please.”

You immediately snap out of your trance and shake your head ‘yes’. Ringing up his books, you scan the barcode smiling when you see the titles. They’re simple books, but they delve into deep topics. One is about LGBT liberation, another on Civil Rights and one on Global Warming.  

You can’t help but to lightly shake your head in adoration, raising your head to him, you see that he is already starting intently as you; almost as if he’s inspecting your reaction. His gaze is sharp and unwavering, but when he sees your reaction, he can't help but to blush, raising his hand to scratch lightly at his head.  

“I just thought I’d brush up on some things. It’s never to let to get educated on some issues, right?” Steve says softly, as if he’d ruin the quiet atmosphere. You giggle and shake your head, “No, not at all. I completely understand.” You reach for a brown paper bag to place his things in, now aware that he’s staring pointedly at you. He reaches for his wallet, pulling it out and digging for a couple of bills, “How much do I owe you Miss?” You stop momentarily, looking at the screen, and then back at him again. You shake your head and smile warmly at him.  

“It’s on the house. It’s the least I can do since you.... you know’ save the world n’ all.”

The grin on his face gets wider, and the tips of his ears flash red. He shakes his head a little and gently pulls his bottom lip into his teeth.  

“Thank you for that. I’ll be sure to remember that.”

You roll your eyes playfully in response, turning your head to the computer to void his transaction.  

Steve’s stare widens, and he finds himself clenching his fist in order to calm down. He didn’t like that. You, rolling your eyes that is. It sent all the wrong messages to him. He tries to desperately shake the negative thoughts out of his head.  

She didn’t mean it. It’s not like that. Just breathe in and out. That’s it...relax Steve.  

He’s back to normal the moment you turn around, broadcasting his dazzling smile, his hands still clenched tightly next to him; as if to remind himself to remain calm.  

You gingerly slide the brown bag across the desk towards him, slowly looking up at him.  

“And there you go. You’re all set.”  

Steve grabs the bag and swings it over his shoulder beaming at you. Nodding his thanks, he makes his way to leave. Opening the old, dingy door, he makes his way out into the quiet street, but not before turning to look back at you.  

And if you hadn’t already turned your back already, you would have seen his eyes stare intently at you before he makes his journey back to the tower.  

-----

1,271 Words. I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to establish the setting and all of that. I hope you guys enjoyed! The next chapter will be longer, and I think you guys would like it! Thank you 😊.  

[aquaticalay]

Siren .Chapter Three.

Bucky Barnes x Sonic Screaming!Reader

Summary: Bucky Barnes fancies you, a singer who performs at a local bar every Monday and Friday night. After a few months of attending your gigs, Bucky finally got the chance to talk to you. One problem: you are New York's sonic screaming vigilante. And the avengers have been trying to figure out who you are for months. (Post-Endgame)

Warning/s for this chapter : cursing lol, mentions of violence

Warning/s for the series: cursing, violence, eventual smut (which you can skip)

Word count: 1800+ 

Disclaimer: I do not own the Marvel characters. 

Note: I'm uploading on mobile for the third time, still won't show up in the tags. Help

I will post a new chapter every two days. Let me know if you'd like to be on the taglist!

"This person did what?" Sam asked, making sure if he heard Bucky correctly. The two of them were in the Avengers meeting room the next morning.

"Screamed," He confirmed. "And it was inhuman. Even I hurt all over."

Sam studied the gun he brought back, then looked back at Bucky, an interrogative look on his face. 

"What?" Bucky furrowed his eyebrows, "You don't believe me? Well–"

"Oh, I believe you," Sam said blankly, "In the last three months, there have been five reports on a high pitched noise. In the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Newark. The fifth was from Harlem last night, your encounter," Sam breathed, "I have been looking into it alone. I thought it was some sort of device. I… didn't even think it might be a person."

Bucky's finger anxiously tapped on the table. He hadn't seen who the person was. The hood she was wearing had given the person the features of a shadow— it's like they weren't even real. It was ghostly, the way they disappeared. 

"If you find this… Siren, tell me. I want to be the one to find them," Bucky demanded, and he wasn't taking no for an answer.

-

You were the first to wake up. Still in the apartment, you noticed everyone around you was a mess, sleeping and snoring like college kids after a long night of partying. Vince and Luna stayed up until four, both of them in a state of panic. They were worried about getting caught, even after Lando reassured them that it was incredibly hard to track you, thanks to the layers and layers of security that he has set for your online presence. Lando fell asleep on the computer desk, after a long night of fortifying the security.

You decided to leave them a note saying that you were going home. You changed into a white shirt and sweatpants, stuffing all your things in a duffel bag.

You took the subway to Manhattan, where your apartment was.

Your home was not small— not at all. 

It was a penthouse in the center of Manhattan, but some sort of guilt always haunted you when you step in. The penthouse wasn't yours, not really. You inherited it from your father, who was allegedly killed after he created you.

You've always loved to sing, ever since you were a child. Three years ago, a desperate ex-KGB spy, who has descended into madness, held you hostage in exchange for your father's money. When he found out your father has secretly contacted the police, he slit your throat, then commited suicide by stabbing himself.

They were able to salvage your life, but your vocal cords has been badly damaged, and every doctor you met told you the damage was beyond repair. You couldn't even talk, let alone sing. 

Your father one of the four founders of Viseur Corps, a scientific research corporation. The other three owners were parents of Vince, Luna, and Lando.

Your father urged a bioengineering project to fix your vocal cords called project 'vox.' After a year of extensive surgeries, you could finally speak again. 

The side effect, however, was unexpected. 

A small miscalculation allowed your vocal cords to vibrate at the speed of sound itself, sometimes even faster.

A week after, all four scientists were found dead, cyanide poison in their systems, and the bioactive particles and chemical radiation used to restore your vocal cords has been stolen. Thankfully, without a proper application method, the sonic characteristics of the vocal cords were hard to replicate. Hard, but not impossible.

The killer has never been found. Two years later, the sonic formula finally popped up in your radar. If you got the formula, you could stop anyone else from weaponizing the vox formula, and you could finally track the murderer. 

You laid down on the couch, feeling utterly useless. You've got a gig to play a day after tomorrow, you could get some well-needed rest today. One problem: you could not rest. Not mentally. The burden of being somewhat responsible for your own father’s death, and your inability to catch the murderer so far has urged you to do more physical activities. Running, swimming, anything to get your mind off the stress. It has been an effective way to deal with negative energy.

You took a shower, and decided to go for a jog. You had your earphones embedded in into your earlobes, shielding you from any conversation attempt. It was a nice day. The sun was not too bright, the wind was not too hard. In the middle of your run, the music stopped. The tune changed into your ringtone, and you slowed down to look at your phone. It was Lando.

You stopped running altogether and started walking as you answered the call.

“Hey,” you greeted. 

“(Y/n),” he said over the line. You could tell he was tired, “Got home safe?” 

"Yeah," you told him shortly, "What's up?" 

"You're on the news," he told you urgently, "well, not you. The other guy. You know, your alter ego.."

"Shit," you whispered, "How bad is it?"

"It's the headline on every news channel," he said worriedly.

As you were approaching a cafè, you did not hesitate to go in. You saw a TV in the corner, and sure enough, there was footage of your confrontation with James Barnes on the screen.

'The Avengers has started a nationwide manhunt for what they call 'The Siren,' said a reporter.

"(Y/n)?" Lando said through the phone. You were struck, you forgot you were still on the phone.

You snapped back to life, "I'll call you back."

Without waiting for an answer, you turned off the call.

You were in the middle of the cafè staring at the TV.

So yeah, some people were already looking at you funny.

When you noticed, you decided to get coffee. It would be weird just to burst in, stare at the TV, and just leave. You ordered a latte and took a seat, where you had a good view of the screen.

You listened intently, taking a good sip of your coffee.

They were describing what they could about your physical features, but with your suit on, the description weren't very accurate.

When you felt a hand on your shoulder, you froze.

"I didn't expect to see you here," said James Barnes. He was wearing a dark denim jacket and jeans, but he was missing his gloves and sunglasses.

He wasn't in 'disguise.’ He wasn’t trying to hide his identity, unlike last night.

Some people looked at him and whispered in awe that there was an avenger in the room, but no one really said anything. He still had his metal arm in his pocket, but it was probably more of a habit than a conscious act.

"Hi," you managed to give a smile. He ran his human fingers through his brown locks of hair nervously, "Do you mind if I…" he pointed to the empty seat in front of you. You tried your best not to panic, "Go ahead."

He sat, a paper cup of coffee on his hand.

Your heart was beating fast, thumping out of your chest. What if he found out it was you? What if he knew? What if he was here to confront your identity as the so-called 'Siren' the news has been talking about?

"Busy day, huh?" You said without thinking, tilting your chin towards the TV. 

"Oh, right," Barnes said, pleasantly surprised that you knew who he was.

You had to hold back a sigh of relief. He didn't know it was you. You had to make sure it stayed that way.

"Yeah, I didn't recognize you last night, James," you forced a smile, but it came out sincere, "probably because of the sunglasses, and it was dark, too." 

"I don't blame you," he let out a hearty laugh, "and please, call me Bucky."

"Well, Bucky," you said, and you have to admit your mouth liked the sound of his name, "what brings you here?" 

He shrugged nonchalantly, "I come here every once in a while. Best coffee in all of New York," He sipped his coffee again, "and you?"

"Just passing by," you told him. In your defense, it was the truth, to some degree.

"I've been meaning to tell you," he said, and you could've sworn his cheeks turned a slightly redder shade, "you have a great voice."

"Thanks," you chuckled, and this time, you didn't need to fake it, "I try."

"No, really," he insisted, "and your performance was incredible. How long have you been doing this?"

Somehow, this was the beginning of a long chat, way longer than you expected. You were trapped in a three-hour long conversation with the charming man. Little by little, your worries fade away until it completely disappeared. You started enjoying his presence, laughing at his childhood stories as well as telling your own. 

Before you knew it, it was four in the afternoon.

"I probably need to get back," he said, a tinge of disappointment in his voice. He masked it quickly with a curve on his lips.

"Oh," you said, followed with a smile, "See you around?" You asked with uncertainty.

"I hope so," he gave you a smile and walked out the cafè. You watched him go through the window, where he gave you one last small adorable wave. You found yourself giggling, waving back.

When he was nowhere out of sight, you noticed a scribble on your napkin. It was Bucky's number, followed with an old fashioned handwriting. 'Text me?'

-

You did not text him right away. You found yourself pacing back and forth in your apartment, frustrated. You had a good time. Such a great time, in fact, that you forgot he was in the middle of hunting you down.

Was it a smart move? You tried to convince yourself that it was a good idea. That this could be one one of those 'hiding in plain sight' tactics. He would never suspect someone he knew, right?

You flopped down on the couch, and grabbed your phone. You already saved his number. All you needed to do was type out the words.

'Hey, James. This is (Y/n). Got your number :)' 

You hit send, telling yourself again and again that this was a good idea. It probably wasn't, but you only told yourself what you wanted to hear.

-

"You seem happy," Sam teased, raising eyebrows at Bucky, who just entered the room. Bucky shrugged, "Maybe I want to be happy."

"Whoa, what?" Sam said. Was this Bucky? Sam wondered, The same anti-social Bucky who only drank black coffee and only expressed his true emotions once in a blue moon?

"What's going on, man?" Sam urged, grinning at his friend's joy, which radiated in his smile.

"You know that bar I've been going to?" Bucky asked. Sam nodded, "The Mermaid- something? Didn't you say you've been crushing on a singer there for months?"

Bucky nodded, "I met her at a cafe," he beamed, "I spent some time getting to know her."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Sam jokingly exclaimed, "Old man Barnes is back it the game, folks!"

Bucky chuckled, hoping to get a notification sometime soon.

A few hours later, his phone gave off a little noise. For the first time in a long time, he couldn't stop smiling.

-

@thejourneyneverendsx @ispepeagain @magykal-777 @sfxsucker @moli1497 @justanothergirlwithdemons @ciochesono @allonszassbutt @hennessy0274-blog @chubby-dumplin @talk-geek-to-me @sebastian-i-stan @iwishthatiwasbuckysgirl @thelureabove @womanontheedgeofnothing @snugglemedaddy @perrythefrickinplatypus @missursulacalmet @angryknightstatesmantrash

[gloriousprofessorhan]

muffin

in which you’re bestfriend with Kyungsoo, and he called you muffin

(re-upload, ‘Muffin’, on AFF 2018)

“Have a nice day.” You said.

“I won’t.” he coldly replied.

You rolled your eyes and left his side to walk with Chen. “If only he could be nicer.” You mumbled and Chen chuckling beside you.

“Then what? You gonna date him if he’s nicer to you, muffin?” Chen teased you with the nickname you got from him.

“Shut up.”

“Ah, sorry, you have a boyfriend.”

Chen continue laughing while you grumbling. You’re waving your hand to your friend, “Wendy! Wait!”

You semi run towards Wendy leaving Chen and your grumpy childhood bestfriend, Kyungsoo.

“How’s the exam?” Wendy asked while sipping her slushie.

“Surprisingly good!” you grabbed her slushie and sip it. “Can’t believe I answered all the question.”

“Hey, ladies.” Wendy’s classmate, Suji greet you and her. You’re not very close to Suji but she’s a pretty and nice girl, “wanna go grab lunch?”

You remember you promised Kyungsoo to have lunch with him after he handed the paper, “I’ll skip, I’m going to have lunch with Kyungsoo later.”

“He’s your boyfriend? I’m in the same science class with him.” Suji said.

“No, no,” you gestured your hands like an X, “we’re just childhood friends.”

“She has a boyfriend.” Wendy pointed at you, “Lay, from Art major.”

“Oh, I see… and Lay’s gonna join you for lunch later?” Suji asked.

“Uhm, no… he got another paperworks… so…”

“And he’s fine with your relationship with Kyungsoo?” 

“Of course,” you laughs, “they’re friends… I know Lay from Kyungsoo.”

-

You’re waiting for Kyungsoo at the College park and you saw him walking with Chen and Kai, “Dyo!” you called him by the nickname you gave him, it’s from his surename, Doh.

He turned to see you and nod, “what?”

“So what are we having for lunch?”

He raised his eyebrows a bit, “lunch? I just had lunch with them.” He pointed the two other boys.

“What???”

“Well, I’m hungry after finishing the paper.” He said it calmly, “you haven’t eat? It’s almost 3 pm.” 

“Because you—“ you harshly inhaled air and finally said, “yeah I haven’t eat, I’m just gonna grab whatever in the convinience store and eat it while walking home.”

You turned around and fished your cellphone from your bag and call your boyfriend.

“Hey, babe.” He answered.

“Where are you? I’m hungry, wanna go grab lunch?”

“I had one, you haven’t eat?”

“Not yet…” you sighs.

“I can’t go anywhere now, I’m still working on my final project.” He said. “You good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine… bye…” you hung up and walking towards your house, it’s not close from the Campus but you feel like enjoying the nice weather.

“Muffin!!”

You knew who’s voice it was but you keep walking.

“Where’s your lunch?” Kyungsoo jabbed your shoulders while panting after he ran after you.

“I haven’t buy one.”

“Let’s go.”

“Huh?” he pull you to a small market and next thing you know you’re sitting in front of bibimbap stall and Kyungsoo already order one for you.

“Even tho I told you to have lunch with me, if you’re hungry then go eat by yourself first.” He said while mixing the rice for you.

“I’m unlike you,” you said, “if I promised something to someone, I’ll keep it.”

He laughs, showing his cute gummy, “good girl,” he patted you head, “now eat.” 

You shove the spoon to your mouth and you know he’s watching you.

“Where’s Lay?” he asked.

“Busy with final project.” You shortly replied.

“Neglected again~” he sang the last part just to make you pout.

You scoffed while busy chewing your food.

“Hey, I saw you talked to Suji before.”

You turned to see him with squinting eyes. Kyungsoo never asked about a girl like this before. “Yeah.”

“She’s pretty like cupcakes.” He said.

You rolled your eyes, you have a history about you nickname that related to Kyungsoo and cupcake.

“We’re at a same class.” He murmured.

“Yeah, she told me that—“

“What if you set me up with her?’

You almost choked on your food, “you… w-what? You like her??”

“Well,” he shrugged his shoulders, “she’s cute.”

“You don’t like cute girls!”

“And who are you deciding what kind of girls I like?” he mocked.

You munch your food slower, “so… you like Suji?”

“I don’t know yet… but I think she’s cute.” Kyungsoo chuckles.

-

it wasn’t a double date since you were on a date with Lay and you told Suji if she wants to join, and you saw a brighter smile when you mentioned that Kyungsoo might be there too.

Lay and Kyungsoo talked about games they were playing and Suji seems to enjoying the conversation and you can’t help but observing how Kyungsoo being gentle to Suji. He likes the girl. You knew.

Moreover when Kyungsoo offering to walk her home.

He likes her.

You knew.

-

“How is it with her?” you asked Kyungsoo when you met him in front of your Campus gate.

“Huh?”

“Come onn… you know whom I was talking about.” You took the cola from his hand.

“We talked a lot on the way home.”

“And?”

He’s turning to see you, “I like her.”

You stop walking.

“Muffin?” he stopped and turned his heels and stretched his arms out, “my cola.”

-

The following week you saw Suji’s social media when he posted her picture with Kyungsoo and the caption was: love.

“Oohh~ my Kyungsoo have a girlfriend~” you teased him when you met him later on at the subway station.

He smiles widely, something he rarely done. “we went out just us few more times before I told her if she wants to be my girl.”

“Tell me the details!!” you asked when he pull you to the train and he found you both seats.

“What details? We went out for a meal and on the way home I told her that I like her, she said yes.” He plug the earphones on his phone and scroll the music directory, press play to a song and offer the other end of the earphone to you.

You took it without saying anything, “you happy?”

He nodded, “told you, I like her.”

-

“Valentine’s coming, do we have plans?” you asked Lay.

“Of course.” He kissed your hair, “dinner?”

You nodded while looking at him designing something on his computer tablet, “I hate your projects.” You murmured.

Lay laughing, “why?”

“I’m jealous that you put more attention to them than to me.”

Lay clicked ‘save’ and put it down on the table, then he joined you on the bed, his bed, “you missed me, aren’t you?”

“I’ve told you that million times but you always said: my final project this, my final project that.” You pouts and he kiss the pout away.

“Let’s go on a date on val’s day. I’ll book a place for us.”

-

He said that but he was the one coming to you asking, “have you book a restaurant for us?”

You can’t  help but furrowing your eyebrows.

“Hey, Soo.” Lay greets Kyungsoo who walks with you towards your class together.

“Me? Do I have to book it for us?” You raised your voice.

Lay looks confused, “yeah, no?”

“No.” You replied, “you said you’re gonna book a place for us, you told me that! Oh my God, Lay, I can’t believe—“

“You guys can join me and Suji.” Kyungso cuts you before you explode.

“Why would us??” you shout at him.

“Hey, babe, come on, we can join Kyungsoo and Suji… come on…” Lay tried to hug you.

“Yeah, me and Suji is gonna celebrate val’s day at the french restaurant down the street, it’s new, the place’s nice and the price is good, not gonna robbed us as student.” Kyungsoo explained.

“Let me go!” you escaped yourself from Lay and left them.

“Book another table for us, please.” Lay said to Kyungsoo and go after you.

-

You know you should’ve been mad to your boyfriend when he called you saying that he couldn’t make it to the val’s day dinner, but you really can’t because he said he’s stuck on train from Seokchon to Seoul due to heavy snow.

Then Kyungsoo came to your house. Alone.

“Where’s Suji?”

“She has to go to the hospital.” He said.

“Everything’s okay??”

He nods, “her little sister fell from bike and she has to be with her mom because her father is out of town.”

“Why don’t you come with her?” you asked.

Kyungsoo shook his head, “I haven’t being introduced formally to her parents.”

“Isn’t it the good time to be introduced to her mom at least?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “she said otherwise.”

You didn’t say anything for a while, looking at the bright winter afternoon, you two just sitting side by side on your house’s patio.

“Cold.” Kyungsoo murmured.

“Let’s get inside.” 

“Let’s just go to the restaurant.” Kyungsoo suggested, “I already made reservation, my reputation is at stake.”

You crinkle your nose, “you made two reservations, right?”

“Yeah, but the other one is under Lay’s name… just let the restaurant thinks that guy is irresponsible.”

-

It’s a set menu you got, pretty appetizers for each, steaks as the main course and one nice vanilla cake and ice cream as dessert for both of you to share.

Kyungsoo read a table tent that said something about special menu.

“Have you ever tried caviar?” he asked.

“Not yet, but I really want to try one… people said it’s amazing.”

“Who’s that people?” Kyungsoo raised one eyebrow.

“Uhm, some people on TV.”

He scoffed, “they give it for free as special val’s day menu.”

“Realllyy??”

Kyungsoo showed you the promotion then you raised your hand to call a waiter.

“Can I help you, miss?”

“Yes, uhm, can I have one sweet potato crème fraiche caviar?” you said, and Kyungsoo silently cooing at how you pronounce a hard name.

“Oh that special menu?”

“Yes,” You said, “it’s free, right?”

“Correct! It only have one super easy requirement to get that menu.”

You both raised your eyebrows, “requirement?”

“Just kiss your partner.”

“You don’t really want that caviar…” he said.

“I’m curious, and this actually a good chance I can taste that expensive shit…” you murmured, “but… well, damn you Lay Zhang!!” you cursed your MIA boyfriend, “where are you when I need you.”

“Okay let’s call that waiter and claim the caviar.” Kyungsoo said.

“What??” You saw him staring at you. “but the req—“

“Don’t act like we’re not each other’s first kiss.” He said just above whispers, and you’ll lie to yourself if you said you didn’t feel that bubble inside your chest.

“But that was…” you didn’t continue because hell, you were friends for ever with him and there’s no way you feel this way, and there’s no way he’s involving any extended feeling when he pick up that first kiss topic again.

Yes, you were each other’s first kiss, but that was because the 12 years old you and him were curious about how it feels when lips meet other lips, and it happened after you two watching a foreign TV series where the heroine kissing the love of her life.

“Have you ever kissed someone?” Kyungsoo asked one day when you both walked home after a piano lesson.

“Yeah.” You murmured.

“Liar.”

“Okay, never, but I know how to kiss.” You said.

Kyungsoo scoffed. “how?”

You gestured your fingers, putting it together, “pout your lips and go forward and stick it to—“

“Stick it???” Kyungsoo flinched, “stick??”

You sulked and walked away while he was laughing.

“Muffin!”

“Stop calling me that!” you walked faster.

He ran after you and pull your shoulder, “let’s try.”

“Try what?”

“Kissing.” He said.

“Gross!!”

“Okay then be a lip-virgin forever.” Kyungsoo walked passing you.

“Huh?” you started to worry, will someone kissed you later? or you will be a lip-virgin forever. “Dyo! Wait!”

“Stop calling me that!”

“Kiss me!”

he turned around, “huh…?”

you stood right in front of him, and your height was similar to him, it was years before he suddenly grew much taller than you. 

He was staring at you, and you can’t help but lowering your gaze. And when you’re looking at him again, he immediately avoiding you.

“So, w-what should I do first?” he asked.

“Just… uh…” you really can’t lift your gaze, suddenly he put his palm on your shoulder, and his feet move forward.

“look at me…” he said.

You lift your face and realised how close you were. Then you saw him started to close his eyes, and so do you, and after a long excruciating second, you’re finally feel something soft touching your lips.

His lips stayed there for another few second before detached them from yours. It was just a long innocent peck. But you and him were walking home in silence after that.

And no one talking about it again.

Until today.

“Are we really… gonna…” you search for Kyungsoo’s ‘I’m just kidding’ but you saw his flat face.

“Yeah, why not.” He shrugged, “I never had caviar, you too, and the requirement is only kissing you… easy.”

“Easy?” you scoffed, “kissing me is easy?”

“Lay knew better I bet, but, come on, nothing to lose, we would only gain two crème fraiche caviar in roasted sweet potato.” He made a yummy gesture by kissing his thumb and index finger together.

Yeah, what would be so hard with kissing him, right?

“Okay.” You said and Kyungsoo casually raised his hand to call a waiter.

“Can I help you, sir?”

“Can we get the caviar?”

“Of course, just show me your love to your girl, sir.” The waiter smiles.

And Kyungsoo reached out to palmed your jaw, briefly caressing your cheek before lift his gaze to meet yours, and your brain start telling you that this isn’t right. You should stop him, you shouls say no, you should—

His face is getting closer, and closer, and he tilt his head.

You hold your breath.

He stop for one milisecond before capture your lips.

You gulp when he touches your lips.

And he kissed you.

And you kissed him back.

And he move his lips between yours.

And you don’t know when and how but your hand is on his nape.

Shit.

You pulled away and he’s startled. The waiter didn’t seem to notice because he’s smiling happily while preparing the caviar for both of you.

You couldn’t focus on whatever happened after the kiss. And the caviar that served tasted bland.

-

“You haven’t forgive me.” Lay sat across you in a fast food stall near your college.

“For?”

“For stuck inside the train in the middle of the snow storm that made me unable to spent val’s day with you.”

“That was two weeks a go.” You continue your meal.

“Yeah, and you act so cold since then.” He tried to get you feed him.

“I’m fine, I’m always fine… even if you’re never there for me, I’m fine.” You fake a smile.

“See… you’re mad at me.” He sighs.

“Do you love me?” you stopped eating.

“Uh-hum.”

“Uh-hum?”

Lay stop trying to steal your food and looking at you instead, “that’s another way to say yes.”

“A lazy way to say yes.” You corrected him.

Lay shrugged his shoulder.

“You never said you love me, you choose lazy way to answer me when I asked if you ever love me. God…”

“Are you on period?”

“This has nothing to do with my period, Lay, you’ve been so insensitive and deserting me a lot! And I’m tired of trying to understand you!”

“Whoa-whoa… wait, babe, when did I—“

“When? When, huh? It was when you always put you final project whatsoever first.”

“But that’s for my future!” he said.

You stopped.

“You’re being selfish.” Lay said.

“Oh…” you paused, “am I?”

Lay nodded.

“Okay, let’s put your future first…” you said, “go focus on your future first… and if we meant to be together, let’s meet in the future.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Let’s not see each other again as couple… let’s just be friends.”

“You break up with me?”

You nodded, “I’m sorry for disturbing you from focusing on your future.”

“But babe…”

“Stop calling me that.”

“You’re just mad, babe…”

You stood up and Lay also standing up, “I’m not kidding, Lay, I’m tired of this relationship where I was the only one trying to hold on the thin thread that connect us… I’m sorry, but I really can’t continue this.”

-

You didn’t cry on the first day you broke up with him, but cried the day after. However, it was a year full of him. Something is definitely missing.

And Kyungsoo, someone who suppose to be your bestfriend is busy with his girl, you knew they’re get along well when Wendy told you that Suji introduced Kyungsoo to her family.

“So… now the family already know you?” you match Kyungsoo’s pace on the way to subway station.

He was a little startled but then he look straight ahead again without giving you any answer.

“I texted you yesterday.” You said.

“Oh, I haven’t replied?”

he hasn’t even read it.

“I called you few days a go.”

“I saw the missed call but I was out with Suji.”

You just nodded while glue your lips together. There was stung in your heart to find out that Kyungsoo doesn’t even know that you broke up with Lay. He didn’t even give you a chance to tell him.

He stepped inside the train. Without pulling you in.

He stand in the corner, the train wasn’t packed but he didn’t go finding a seat either. So you stand beside him.

“Sit there if you want.” He said pointing at an empty seat.

“No, i—uh, I wanna talk to you.”

He pull out his cellphone and plug the earphone. You were lowkey waiting for him to give you one earphone but the hope crumbled when he said,

“Hello, hey, I’m at the train right now… you’re already at campus?”

He’s calling Suji and left you awkwardly standing next to him.

Two stops later you find an empty seat near you, and you left Kyungsoo to sit down, didn’t realised that Kyungsoo finished the phonecall and staring at your sad face.

Next day kyungsoo waited for the subway but he didn’t find you, and the next day, also the day after. You weren’t avoiding him, you just went to Pohang because one of your older cousin’s getting married.

At the fourth day, you were already at the station waiting for the train when Kyungsoo appear beside you.

“Where were you?” he asked but the train coming and the pulled you inside and found seats for you, then he pulled his cellphone, you looked away, trying not to care if he’s going to call Suji again, but then you feel him slip the earphone into your ear.

“Listen, new song I discovered.” He said.

You didn’t say anything, keep your face away of him, and slowly release took the earphone off and give it back to him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing.” You stood up and standing near the door even tho your destination is still three stops away.

Somehow you couldn’t understand what you feel about him, is it about the kiss? Or your disappointment towards him because he wasn’t there when you’re down after broke up with Lay.

“Why you’re sulking?” he asked when you both get off at your stop and walking towards the campus.

“Me? When?”

“Now.” He said.

“Oh, since when you know me that well till you know that I’m sulking?”

“Well, it doesn’t need to be genius to see how you fold that face into an ugly frown.” He shrugged.

“Don’t talk to me as if we’re close.” You walk faster.

“Huh? What do you mean? We are close.”

“You think so?” you turned to him, “are we still close now? Because as far as I remember, I didn’t neglect you when I have a boyfriend but look at you! You didn’t even reply my messages, you didn’t pick up my calls, you didn’t talk to me!”

“I didn’t ask you to do all of that to me while you have boyfriend.”

“Oh, so you think if you’re dating someone, you could just throw away your friends??” you raised your voice.

“I never threw you away! I’m just being a normal me, and I’m sorry if my girlfriend is actually paying attention to me, unlike your—“

“I broke up with Lay.” You said, “more than a week a go. And I’m trying to tell you this, I need you but you’re busy with your life!”

Kyungsoo called you but you runaway.

-

“Muffin…” 

you murmured the nickname he gave you. Muffin. It was from the incident of your birthday years a go, when you had your 11 birthday, when you specifically asking for a cupcake for your birthday and Kyungsoo gave you muffin instead, telling you that they looked similar. You sulked for day and he teased you by calling you that, until now.

And as the courtesy of how Kyungsoo love to get you on the edge, he always giving you muffin in your birthday and told you to eat the cupcake.

You told him it’s a fake cupcake, muffin is not pretty like cupcake, muffin is ugly and by him calling you muffin, you knew he lowkey telling you that you’re ugly like muffin.

“Kyungsoo’s here.” Your mom knocked on your door.

You sat on your bed when he’s get into your room.

“Hey muffin…” he said.

“Stop calling me that!”

he smiles and gave you a cute box.

“If you dare buying me another dozen of muffin, I’m gonna hit y—“ you opened the box and found cupcakes inside.

He sat beside you and took one of the prettiest cupcake and feed you.

“How’s it?” he asked while you munch.

You only responds with a hum.

“Do you like this better?”

you never care about how it taste but actually it tastes like a birthday cake, a classic vanilla with overly sweet icing.

“Do you know why I prefer to call you muffin than cupcake?” he asked.

“Because I’m not pretty enough like cupcake?”

He shook his head, “because muffin tastes a lot better than cupcake.”

You didn’t say anything, just let him continue.

“muffins has various flavour inside, could be banana muffin, choco chips mufin, blueberry… and all flavour is inside the cake… unlike cupcake, cupcake is just a vanilla cake with icing. A plain cake with over decorating outside. And for me, you’re pretty inside, not outside.”

“So, I’m not pretty?”

“Hm, of course you’re gonna take it wrong.” He sighs, “who says muffin is not pretty? Muffin is honest… do you think cupcake is pretty without all the icings?”

“You mean cupcake is like girls with thick make up?”

“Exactly.”

You tried to hold your smile. “I’m gonna tell Suji you said her make up is too thick.”

“When did I said that?”

“Hey! Remember you told me Suji is cute like cupcake?”

“When did I??”

“You did!”

Kyungsoo waved at you in dismissal. “Anyway, I’m sorry about you and Lay…” he caress your back.

“It’s fine… it’s time… I’ve been very patient for too long.” You said, “and you’re right, my boyfriend is not paying attention to me like your girl…”

He chuckled, “you’ll find someone who deserves you soon, muffin.”

You talked to him for another hour before he bid himself goodbye, and when you walked him outside, you realised you want to see him longer.

“Kyungsoo.”

 He startled when he heard you calling him with that name, not Dyo.

“Have you ever think of not being friends with me anymore?” you asked.

He shook his head, “when you were mad at me yesterday, I thought I lost you as my friend, and I don’t want that.”

And that brought you back to your place. He doesn’t want you and him to be more than this. “w-what about something else… other than being enemy.”

He stopped, but his gaze linger, he was staring at you and from his eyes, you knew he get what you mean. You saw the complication in his eyes.

“Sorry, I mean—“

“I have a girlfriend.” He said.

-

And so time flies, spring’s here, the flowers bloom and the weather getting warmer. Kyungsoo still remind friends with you, only he’s few feet farther than before. Many things changed after the whole blurry confession you told him, and you never blame him.

Lay finished his final project and he called you, he even went to see you several times, telling you that he’s sorry and if there’s another chance for him but you haven’t give him answer.

It’s still breezy but you decided to drive yourself to the beach at the city side. Suddenly you saw someone walked towards you, someone very familiar.

“Muffin…” he smiles.

“How did you know I’m here?”

“Your mom.”

You made an ‘O’ with your mouth.

“All good?” he asked.

“Lay wants to reconcile.” You told him.

“Oh…” he walks beside you, “and?”

You just shrugged your shoulders.

“You don’t love him anymore?” he asked.

“I don’t know if I could love him again when I have someone else occupied my mind…” at this point, you don’t care. You knew you like Kyungsoo and if he can’t like you back, and he feels disturbed by your confession, he can leave and you two can stop being friends.

“Oh…” he still walking beside you. “I broke up with Suji.”

You stops, letting him leaving you behind. But after few steps he turned around, “I can’t stay being his boyfriend while my mind is occupied by someone else.”

You can’t help but asking, “who?”

“A friend a kissed on valentine’s day.” He murmured.

“You choose a muffin instead of a cupcake?”

He nodded, “always choose a muffin, because it tastes better.” He smiles.

You scoffed.

“Soo…” he stepped closer, “instead of just thinking about each other… why don’t we date each other?”

“Since when did you like me?” you asked when he come even closer to you.

“Since I called you muffin for the first time.” He put a strain of your hair behind your ear.

“That long?”

“Hmm… but I’m afraid to ruin what we had…” he whispers.

“What about now? You’re not afraid to ruin what we have?”

Kyungsoo pull you into a hug, “being with or without you ruining me in different ways, and I choose to live the present, to show you how much I want you more than a friends do…” he kissed your hair, “muffin… I want to be with you for the longest time.”

You snugged deeper in his chest, “me too…”

He pull away a bit just to tild his head, “be my girl…” he said before leaned down to kiss you before you could say yes.

But you knew, he knew you’d say yes, because you kissed him back.

-end-

[iresecho]

FRACTURED

hey! here’s a draft of a story i wrote recently. feel free to give it a read (it’s only a mere 1500 words) and let me know what you think! 

oh, and about that word count? this short was for my class, so please bear with it. i understand it is very minimal for the amount of substance it contains. i hope you enjoy it regardless though! i’ll upload a finished version once i’ve completed it. any and all suggestions/critiques are welcome! pls be nice :)

Genre: Creative Fiction

Word Count: 1520

!TW: MULTIPLE DEATHS, BLOOD!

I sigh as I tap my pencil repeatedly on the table, the rubber nub of what’s left of the eraser pinging the oak beneath it. What’s it missing? There’s gotta be something missing I ponder to myself. I’ve been working on this poem for ages, but I still feel like it isn’t ready for this contest. I switch back to the website and read the headline ‘Do you want to become a new up and coming writer? Enter this contest to win!’ It’s the New York Times contest for a new up-coming author, and the grand prize would be enough to pay off my entire debt, and then some. I’ve had this poem written for awhile now, yet I still don’t think that it’s ready. I’ve read it over a million times, and I can’t seem to find what it’s missing. My mother was never too fond of my writing, but my father always loved it. He loved everything I did. My father’s always been proud of what I’ve done, and what I do. He’s never once shamed me for choosing what I believe in, and what I’m passionate about. I glance down at the gold-crested penguin pendant around my neck, lifting my hand up to grasp the cool metal. I smile as the memory it holds replays through my head. It was a gift from my father for my tenth birthday. He bought our family tickets to Disney World to celebrate, and purchased this necklace for me after I had mentioned several times in the gift shop how much I wanted it. Ever since it’s been my favourite animal. I hold it in my palm tightly, fingers grazing over the smooth, yet rigid surface of the pendant as I reach for my cell phone beside my open laptop. I begin to scroll through the messages between me and my father, a fond smile appearing on my lips as I read through the texts:

--

YESTERDAY

Dad: Hey, honey! How’s the poem coming along for the contest?

Me: it’s okay… I still feel like there’s something that it needs. I just can’t               figure it out

Dad: When is the deadline to submit?

Me: tonight at 6

Dad: I’m sure you will figure it out sweetheart. You’re a great writer. Love                 you kiddo Xoxo.

Me: thanks dad, love you too

--

I smile again as I set down my phone, peering back to the computer screen before me. What seems like minutes go by and I get lost in the words in front of me. I jump as my phone begins to vibrate loudly on the table. I can’t help but shut my eyes for a second to brace myself:

“Hello?” I answer. 

“Hello, what are you doing right now?”

 It’s my mother. Great. She’s probably at work.

“Working on my poem for the contest, why?”

 “....” There’s silence on the other end of the line. I wait a few moments, then,

“Mom?” 

“...Huh? Oh, sorry. What did you say?” 

“Forget it.” 

“....”  More silence. She does this every time. Doesn’t it bother you?

“Are you still at the hospital?” 

“....” I’ve had it. 

“MOM!!” I yell. 

“What? Oh sorry honey, what were you saying?” 

“Why do you do this to me every time? You never listen to me! You’re always on a call or too busy for me anyway!” 

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? It’s just hard for me when I’m at work sometimes honey but I promise I want to hear it.” 

This is always her excuse. It’s always just too ‘hard’ for her to actually have a conversation with her only daughter. It’s always about work for her.

“You know what. Forget it. Call me when you have time for your daughter.” I hang up the phone.

Ugh she makes me so mad! Why does she never listen to me? First it was denying my talent for writing and trying to force me to go down some boring nine-to-five career hole I’d never get out of, now this?

I peer around my dingy, one bedroom apartment. Maybe she’s right. You’ve been living off chickpeas out of a can and barely surviving. I mean, look at you? You have barely any food in your fridge, and your ‘apartment’ is broken down and disgusting! What did you think your BA in English would get you anyway? You’ve been searching for a job in your field for a while, and still no opportunity has come up. Maybe your mother was right. Maybe you should have studied law. Maybe she would have listened to you then. Maybe you should have listened to her—

--

Me: hey dad, can I talk to you?

Dad: Sure honey, is something wrong?

Me: it’s mom, she’s always too busy to listen to what I have to say. it’s like           talking to a brick wall

Dad: I’m sorry honey, but your mom is pretty busy at work. Maybe on her          break?

Me: i’ve tried. she even calls me and then doesn’t listen! I feel like she hates         me...

Dad: No she doesn't sweetheart, she loves you. And so do I. Xoxo.

Me: I love you too, dad        where are you now?        dad?        helloooooo?

--

Ugh, now my own father is too busy for me too? I guess no one has time for me. Or maybe, I’m just not enough for them. Maybe I’m just some big disappointment, maybe—just take a nap, you’re probably stressed from being tired.

I’m abruptly awoken out of my slumber when my phone goes off loudly. I scramble to find it on my bedside table, slamming my hand down repeatedly to try and locate the device. I manage to pinpoint the phone, and hold it up before me. I squint at the screen, scowling at the newfound brightness and see the word “MOM” in bright bold text. I press accept and hold the phone up to my ear: 

“Hello?” 

I can hear her sobbing on the other end of the line. I sit up straight in bed, eyes wide with worry as I stare at the dark matter in front of me. 

“What’s wrong? Are you crying?” 

“Honey, your dad’s been in an accident.” 

“What? What do you mean?” 

I start to shake, eyes brimming with panic, heart banging against my chest as I wait for her response after an ill-conceived sob:

“He was driving on the highway, and um—I found his phone and he was texting you while driving and he swerved into the other lane and he—” 

“What, he what?!” 

“He’s dead.”

I drop the phone to my side as my life starts caving from the exterior in. I lose my breath as the realization sets in. How did you let this happen? How could you? 

“No.” 

A single tear streams from my face.

“NO!” 

I sob as I wail into the darkness of my room, hands covering my flooding sockets as I scream. A steady river forms blurring my vision for what seems like eternity. I stay like this for a while. You did this. You killed him. 

“I’m so sorry”.

I pace back and forth, raking fingers through my hair, tears streaming down my face as I try and accept the truth. How could I have let this happen? I’m the reason he’s gone, if I just would’ve called him instead, maybe things would have been different. I press my spine against the cool tile of the bathroom wall as I stare at my dishevelled reflection. You’re disgusting. I slam my fist against the mirror, shattering the glass littering shards throughout the room. My eyes begin to pour, as does my bleeding hand from the impact. I look below me at my feet, peering at my skewed reflection through the broken, bloody pieces. I’m sorry dad, this is all my fault. I’m so sorry.

--

“Thank you all for coming”. 

I watch my mother from the church pew seven rows back, wiping her tears as she stabilizes herself on the podium. The room is dimly lit, filled with a few dozen family members I haven’t seen since infanthood. The white, flowered casket sits perpendicular to my mother on the stage behind her. 

“She was always so driven” I hear her say. “She was stubborn,” she laughs, “but we all loved her the same.”

She takes a few new tissues from the funeral-gifted box, looking at my graduation picture surrounded with white roses, taking a breath before starting again with a shaky voice:

“It hasn’t been easy, with my husband passing and now my daughter. But um, I’d like us to celebrate her death. She was a brilliant writer, and it certainly showed when she won the contest for the New York Times Best Up-and-Coming Writer. I’m really proud of her, we all are.” 

My eyes well up with tears as her words hit my chest like bombs. She’s proud of me? She thinks I’m a good writer? I smile to myself, 

“I finally did it, dad. I made it.” 

“I know sweetheart, I’m so proud of you.” He smiles as he wraps his arm around my shoulder. 

“C’mon, let’s go home.” 

-- 

Winter eventually fades

Revealing the unknown golden flowers

Blooming just below