Civilian - Tumblr Posts

OMG, so now we're going to talk about Viper. (this corpsefucker right here)

So, the first story I'm writing is (planned to be) a little 40k word novella about Mia (no powers) and Nico (echolocation). Mia has been on the run from Viper for nearly a decade now (our girl is resourceful af!).

Viper is bad news. He's the chief enforcer for the Fayetteville, NC, crime syndicate (no hate, it's just that my husband lived there for a while before we met, so if I have questions about the location, I can ask him) and he's known for his cruel and ruthless tactics. He has no super powers of his own, but will often lead teams of non-sanctioned supers, which is pretty impressive in the underworld.

Mia's parents owed the Fayetteville syndicate big time, and ended up promising Mia to the syndicate to help pay off their debt. Mia caught word of this right before she was "collected" and thus started her life on the run. Viper took this as a personal insult, of course, and has been obsessively hunting for Songbird (his "affectionate" nickname for Mia) ever since. Word is that he'll pay really well for accurate information that will help him track his Songbird down.

Let’s take a moment and talk about the villain in your story! Is it a person? An obstacle that needs to be overcome? A big fat CLOSING SOON sign on the front of your favorite video store?

Short Prompt #1190

"Why so upset, darling?" the villain asked with a tilt of their head, leisurely walking across the rooftop. "You're not about to do something dumb, are you?"

Civilian huffed, not even bothering to turn around as they looked out over the city. "No. Not in the mood tonight."

Villain laughed, coming to stand beside them. "What's wrong then?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just found out my partner was cheating on me."

"Ah, pity. Want me to steal their kneecaps?"

Snippet #4.01

TW: description of wounds, use of medical equipment

“As fascinated as I am watching you work with this kind of expertise, I am curious as to how you know to stich someone up so professionally. Do you work for Hero, or Superhero perhaps?”

’Twas but an awkward situation, that one. Supervillain had been in the process of fleeing leaving a fight downtown between a few of the city’s biggest and brightest supers on both sides. When they had taken to the air, they didn’t realize how bad their injuries had been. Their vision turned black within moments- and miraculously -Supervillain crash landed on a balcony instead of plummeting to their untimely demise. When they came to hours later, they had been brought indoors and set on a couch, apparently owned by this civilian.

The supervillain had been surprised. This person had an opportunity to do anything. Call the cops, flag down a hero, even unmask them. But they hadn’t. And since Supervillain considered themself as a slow-to-destruction kind of person, the civilian wouldn’t be killed on sight.

Then Supervillain noticed their injuries, treated and either bandaged or stitched, save one rather nasty gash over their ribs.

And it was only after that did they noticed the civilian crouched on the floor. Frozen in place, holding a string-like fiber and a hooked needle in their clutches. This civilian was not normal, that was for certain.

Said civilian, now, shrugged and continued their work. “I don’t work for any super in this city. Maybe once however, I was a super living in a different city. It would have been years ago, obviously. I would have learned how to use sutures to patch myself up because it was the only way I could survive, because there was no one I could go to for help,” They paused to look them in the eye.

Or maybe,” They tugged the thread a little too harshly, getting a hiss out of the supervillain. “I’m a paramedic who does this kind of procedure nearly every day, because ya’know, it’s my job.” They tied the last knot and set the hook-like needle down.

“Speaking of going to some one for help, stitches should come out in two weeks. I assume one of your villain friends can help you with that?” The civilian helped Supervillain to their feet before leaving them in favor of cleaning their equipment.

Supervillain didn’t acknowledge them as they made their way to the balcony, testing their flight abilities and then leaping off the fourteen-story balcony ledge. Today must’ve been their lucky day.

Part 2

Snippet #4.02

Part 1

Tw: use of medical equipment, death mentioned, burns mentioned, car accident mentioned,

(all mentioneds’ are marked as tw.death, tw.burns, ect. ect.)

When the door clicked shut behind Civilain, they all but collapsed into a heap. Their bag slipped from between their fingers and to the ground with a heavy thunk. A breath they didn’t know they’d been holding escaped them as they dragged a hand through their hair. They let the silence stretch around them, as if it could say ‘there is peace in the city, it’s okay, it’s all okay now’. They dropped to a crouch beside the bag they had dropped.

*Cough*

Civilian shot their feet, their eyes darting across the apartment. “Who’s there?” Their eyes landed on a shape at their kitchen table. “Show yourself.” They growled as they groped for something, anything on their belt. Anything they could use as a weapon. The shadow in return, put their hands up in surrender. “Calm yourself. I have no interest in a fight.” Yeah right. Why else would they be here? A thief wouldn’t stick around so whoever this was wanted to be seen. So what did they want?

“I’m only here because the boss wants to talk to you, something about two weeks being up? Said you’d know what that means.”

Two weeks? What did that m- oh. Something close to relief bubbled in Civilian’s chest. Supervillain wanted them. That really shouldn’t have been reassuring, but— hold on, why did they want them?

“I… I told them-“

“Look, I don’t care what your excuse is, you’re going to their base. Grab whatever things you need, you’re coming with me.” The person stood, then crossed the room to stand in front of Civilian. Wow, this henchman-person is short.

“I am not short! I am Supervillain’s right hand, and I am not some lowly henchman.” But okay, they weren’t that short, but then again they only came to Civilian’s shoulder! What were they supposed to say?

“You’re not supposed to say anything. And I am a normal height, I’ll have you know.” They growled before not-so-subtly changing the topic to what supplies Civilian might need and basically dragging them back out of their apartment.

It was a quick ride to Supervillain’s base. At least, from what Civilian could tell with a blindfold on. They’d handed off some of the equipment— a set of tweezers and their trauma shears— to be sterilized, and after had been whisked through corridor after corridor until their guide shoved them towards a door and sped off.

But now here they were, in the presence of Supervillain. Answer the questions thoroughly, answer all of them, the right hand had instructed on the way over. Answer the questions thoroughly, answer a-

“I’ll admit, it took me a minute or two after I left before I realized I wasn’t in pain,” the super swiveled in their chair, now facing the poor civilian. “Care to clarify?” They didn’t hesitate with their answer.

“My jump bag has morphine in it. I took a chance you weren’t allergic to it and administered. I hoped you wouldn’t mind.” The civilian set the bag down and began to fidget with the bagged supplies. “Where and how many stitches, again?”

“You don’t remember?” The supervillain had the audacity to sound surprised.

“I’ve been busy.” Their mind whirred through the scenes, one after another. The flashing sirens and radio calls. The chaos and the screams. The anguish and flat-lines.

“Surely you’d remember stitching up someone in your living room.” The supervillain sounded both smug and incredulous in a way that made Civilian’s blood boil. They didn’t dare look at them, else they might get the urge to throw something at their face.

“Look, in the past few days I’ve been in countless living rooms. I’ve been to three different fire scenes and treated numerous burn victims. I’ve been transport and lifeline for six heart attack victims. I have been to over twenty car accidents and encountered far too many DOAs than I’d care to count.” The images flashed through their mind, one haunting face after another. “So many people, too dead, too soon. So forgive me if I don’t remember the one instance that involved you.”

It was only after that they remembered who they were snapping at.

Their hand flew over their mouth— they didn’t mean to say that! Civilian couldn’t help but look at the supervillain, to survey their reaction or out of pure shock, they couldn’t tell.

The supervillain laughed— they were laughing?! What did that mean? Civilian was going to die weren’t they? And even after their laughter died down until it was nothing more than a sly smirk, Civilian knew there would be trouble for their outburst.

“Two on the left arm and one across the ribs. And the last one is here.” They gestured to a spot just above their hip.

Civilian nodded but didn’t move towards them. Where was Right Hand? Where was their equipment? Surely it had been long enough, right? Between the time they had been separated from Right Hand and now, it had easily been a half hour, probably longer. It didn’t take that long to sterilize equipment. Civilian stared at the door, before glancing back to the supervillain. They grimaced. Supervillain seemed a bit annoyed with having to wait. And they were not known as a patient person.

Civilian had the feeling that if Right Hand took too much longer, Civilian would surely pay for it.

The hero grabbed the collar of the villain’s shirt and pulled them to lean over the tiny island countertop. “Listen here, you bastard. I know that you’re [Villain].”

The villain rolled their eyes. “Well obviously. And you’re not that great at hiding your identity either, [Hero].”

The hero tugged harder, nearly knocking over the ingredients splayed between them. “What are you doing with [Civilian]?”

“Why, we go all the way back to high school.” The villain placed their hands on the counter and pushed upwards, so that they loomed over the hero. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve known them longer than you have.”

“You little – ”

“They didn’t have baking powder,” the civilian said, stepping through the apartment’s front door. “So I just got baking soda. That’s basically the same thing, right?”

They entered the kitchen to the sight of the hero and villain merrily measuring flour and chopping strawberries. They both greeted the civilian with bright smiles on their faces.

“Aw, I knew you two would get along,” the civilian said. “Alright, let me pull the eggs out, and then we’ll really get started.”

The civilian turned around to root in the fridge. The hero flipped the villain off, and the villain mimed stabbing with their strawberry-chopping knife.

“Alright, that’s everything,” the civilian said, turning back again with the eggs.

“Great!” the other two said in unison, beaming from ear to ear.

Asking Courtship

It was almost pretty, the view that was—not Villain. Villain obstructed the view with his massive ego, and you know, the whole dangling Civilian over the city. Well, dangling wasn’t the right term either. Villain carefully held her in his arms as they flew over the city, bathed in an orange glow from the sunset.

“Let me down, please—slowly,” Civilian said.

A half-smile graced Villain’s face when they looked down at Civilian. “Don’t worry,” they said, “We’re almost there.”

She groaned and hoped that whatever scheme Villain cooked up this time, would wrap up quickly. She had to get home soon and finish getting the apartment clean. Still, she considered Villain far better company than her parents, so perhaps this would be a good excuse. Being kidnapped by a villain was the best of excuses, right?

Even without the excuses, Civilian couldn’t deny that she always found flying with Villain an interesting experience at the least. Well, interesting and slightly apprehensive were close enough to each other that it didn’t matter what description she used.

While the wind was nice and they never flew too fast, enough hero-centric horror stories had been told that she developed an entirely healthy fear of being sucked into a plane turbine or something equally gory. It didn’t help matters that Villain wore a cape, but, somehow, there had never been mention of a single cape incident in any of the records.

Not that Civilian had looked them up. Never. She maintained her rationality. And no, her fear was not paranoia. See, she was flying without panicking or any flight risk movements. She was perfectly fine up here. Besides Civilian could tell that the view was pretty. See? No paranoia here. Nope. Not at all.

Civilian clung to the view, hoping to erase the height from her mind. Pretty. It was pretty. If she focused on the scenery or her evening plans, she could forget about being in the air where planes could easily hit them before they ever saw a hint of Villain.

Relief flooded her as he finally set them on the rooftop—slowly and gently like Civilian had asked. Not that she chose to dwell on that. She merely took it in observation.

“You okay?” Villain asked, rubbing their side. “You were hanging on a bit tight. I’m pretty sure I’m gonna have a new bruise tomorrow.”

“I’m sure you’ll handle it,” Civilian said, taking in his smile and joking tone. She shouldn’t be in the mood for this. She twisted her face up into a scowl proving just how much she disapproved of him deciding to kidnap her today of all days.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Villain said. “Are you okay?”

Civilian heaved a sigh, “I’ll be fine. I just need to get my bearings.”

“You’re always so calm. Are you sure everything is okay?”

She rested her hands to open her lungs more. “Yeah. So, what’s the plan for today?” She ran her hands down through her hair and pulling it tight against her neck. “You don’t often fly around that long. What? Is Hero standing you up?”

“I thought you’d like the view.” He shuffled and gestured towards the sunset. “And you looked like you were having a bad day.”

“And Hero?” She asked, trying to determine how she fit into the picture today.

Villain shrugged. “I don’t need her to do this. It’s not like I exist for her. I have my own life, you know.”

Civilian laughed at the thought of him dressed in white collar clothing and working in some cubical. “And so many friends to prove it.”

“Well, I have you, don’t I?”

“Sure thing, Fabio.”

“Fabio?”

“I don’t know, it’s something my Pops would say.”

Villain turned towards her. Huh, she hadn’t noticed how soft his face was tonight, but his smile shown just as bright as usual. “You know,” he said, “Every time I think I’ve got you figured out, you surprise me.”

“Oh?”

“I mean, ‘Fabio?’ ‘Pops?’ Who says those things anymore?” He started laughing for some reason. “Anyway. You sure you’re okay?”

Civilian shrugged, “I mean, I did just get kidnapped.”

“Do you want me to take you home?”

“I’ve got company coming tonight.”

His face froze. “Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

She waved her hand off. “It’ll be okay. The view is pretty.”

“Pretty’s what you say when you aren’t serious.”

She waved him off and sat down on the ledge, taking in the sunset in all its glory. “It is beautiful. It’s amazing how much color there is in the clouds. I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

“Like what?” He sat down beside her, close enough that their shoulders touched.

“My parents are coming to visit.” She stretched her arms, trying to subdue the tension that had built up in her.

“Didn’t you say you had a good relationship with them?”

“Yeah, but they’re so nitpicky… They’ll clean the house for me and talk about the best way to cook and clean and everything.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I mean, I’m an adult now. You’d think that they’d let me do things my way.”

“It sounds like they’re just trying to help.”

“They are,” she gestured towards the city below. “That just makes everything harder. I can’t get upset with them about it because they’re so nice about it.”

“I’m glad you have someone looking out for you.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “I was getting pretty worried about how easy it is to pick you up off the streets.”

“Well, sorry that I’m don’t have defenses against supervillains.”

He acted all bashful at the term though he was clearly trying to play it off in that melodramatic persona he put on for Hero. “Please I don’t deserve the honor.” For a long moment, they sat there in silence admiring the scenery before Villain spoke again. “I lied. I wanted to talk with you tonight.” He brought his legs up to the roof and sat, crisscross applesauce, facing her. “You’re a good friend. Probably the best friend I’ve ever had.”

Civilian adjusted herself to look at him.

“I’m serious! I mean, I know we didn’t get off to the right foot and everything, but you’ve become really important to me, and I don’t want to lose you, even as a friend.”

Oh, Civilian knew where this was going. She couldn’t keep her heart steady.

“And I know that I’m a villain and everything but, I’d like your permission to pursue you? Like, romantically?”

She knew her face flushed at the question. “I would like that on one condition.”

Villain’s posture snapped up, almost as though he were at attention. “What?”

“I get to pursue you too.”

Villain’s eyebrows scrunched up, “You can’t do that if I’m trying to pursue you though. That doesn’t make sense. It’ll be like running at each other.”

He was going to make her spell it out for him, wasn’t he? “I think I like you too. I’m not sure if it’s like-like or just like though.”

“Oh, okay. That’s fine then. We can try to pursue each other and see where it takes us.”

A small smile came to Civilian’s face, now feeling more comfortable. “Thank you.”

“I should probably take you home then. Need help cleaning?” He’d brushed off his pants as he stood up and offered his hand.

“How good are you at dishes?” She took his hand.

“I’d make a 5-star dishwasher.” He pulled her into his arms and took to the air once more.

“Great.”

A little girl is running down the streets.

The air is cold and nothing covers the full moon. The streets are empty. The street lamps are shining with a dim light. The windows closed, the doors locked. No one knows, no one wants to know about what's happening on these streets.

A dark figure is running down the streets.

Full-bodied, not athletic, but strong and fast enough to catch up with the girl. She turns one wrong corner and the cat and mouse game is over. He is persistent, she is tired and scared.

A shadow is gliding down the streets.

He keeps an eye on the little girl and the figure. She turns the wrong corner. The man follows her, trapping her in a dark little alley. The Villain goes after them.

The man grabs the little girl, his hands going places it's not supposed to. The little girl's screams are heard only by the Villain.

Before the man can take off the girl's clothes, cold fingers run around his neck.

Villain's grip is getting tighter. The man lets her go and desperately tries to pull Villain's hand away. In vain.

Villain pushes him onto his back. The man sprawls on the ground. Before he can get up, Villain's knife is at his throat.

The little girl crawls into the corner and begins to sob softly. Villain's eyes soften. He hits the man in the head hard enough to knock him unconscious.

"Hey, it's okay... I'm not going to hurt you"

His voice is soft, soothing. He puts away the knife and reaches out to the girl.

"Come on, let's go home"

She stands up in disbelief and steps closer.

"It's going to be alright, but you have to go home, okay?"

The little girl follows Villain, who takes her by the hand and walks her home.

"Please be very careful next time"

He makes sure she gets in the house and then walks back to the alley.

- »♪✯★✯♪« -

A man's dead body was found this morning. The victim was brutally executed. Several parts of his body were removed, and his internal organs were destroyed. He was beaten and stabbed. According to the doctors, he was still alive when the perpetrator mutilated and tortured him. Neighbors said they were amazed they didn't hear his screams. Next to the man's body, a message was written on the wall with the victim's blood, presumably by the perpetrator:

"Memento mori!"

Latin text means "Remember death"

Imagine Your OTP Au

Thief Au: Person B has been know as a notorious Phantom like thief. Slipping in an out of museums, gala, parties and grand events leave no trace of their whereabouts, only a calling card which they leave before stealing said magnificent item. Which comes to a surprise when Person A a regular 9-5 worker gets one left at their door…

Person A: (Pacing around their small apartment) “Oh, no! What are they going to steal from me? I have practically nothing of value, let alone something valuable enough for a thief. You know what it’s probably a mistake. Just calm down…*inhales* just breath, breath everything will be fine.... I hope.”

But Later that evening Person B knocks on the door to which Person A comes a little closer with an umbrella on hand as a means of defence if it goes that far and slowly unlocks the door…

Person A: (Peaking a bit through the crack they opened with the door) “Are you the Phantom Thief? Well I should tell you that I have nothing of value, I work a 9-5 at (Cafe/Restaurant/Etc) and am really tired and if I’m honest a little scared so please. I don’t want any trouble!”

Person B: (Looking a little puzzle but chuckles) “I’m afraid there is a misunderstand for you see you do have something quite valuable. Which I hope to acquire with your permission, my dear~” (They pull out a big lovely bouquet of flowers) “For you see I happened to visit your fine work establishment in my civilian form and I have to say that you have quite frankly stolen my heart and if you would be so kind if I may steal some of your time for a date … on a different day perhaps when you’re free and perhaps one day earn your heart in return?” (They asked hopefully holding out the bouquet towards them)

Person A: “Um, I, uh Alright! That’s a relief! Okay then yes, Friday is a good day for me about 6-7 o’clock would be nice!” (They take the bouquet from their kind admirer)

Person B: (Smiling brightly at them) “Then it’s a date, my dear~” (Picks out a flower from the bouquet to put it behind Person A’s ear) “See you then, my dearest jewel~”

☆ Snippets Masterlist ☆

DISCONTINUED

New Link

────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────

Refuge.

Summary - Hero and Supervillain got into a huge fight that injured Hero fatally. No one would help them, so they only knew one other place to go to seek refuge; Villain. Angst

Part 1 | Flashback

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Familiar.

Summary - Villain's feeling annoyed when they find something about Hero familiar to them. After going on a stealth mission to steal documents at [ Hero HQ ], they find out why. Angst

Part 1

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A Caretaker.

Summary - After being defeated by Hero, Villain quickly fell unconscious. They found themselves in a random home, and slowly feel safe near the host.

Part 1

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Playing With Their Food.

Summary - Supervillain kidnapped Sidekick, letting Hero get away. Sidekick gets restless and angry, and Supervillain decides to play with their food.

Part 1

────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────

A Caretaker.

I don't like how this one turned out. Feel like the beginning and end don't really match. I might remake it with a completely different plot if I feel like it :(

Summary - After being defeated by Hero, Villain quickly fell unconscious. They found themselves in a random home, and slowly feel safe near the host.

TW - Swearing, injuries, neglection, going missing, assumed dead

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“I-.. I won.” Hero panted, barely standing up while they stared at Villain’s body on the floor. “I bested you. I won.” If Hero didn’t pay attention, it would look like Villain was dead. But Hero could see the faint movement of fingers and their ragged breathing. “The deal was if I won, you’d leave.”

“I fuckin’ heard you,” they said, their voice barely over a whisper. “I’m not dead yet, no need to scream.”

“I’m not screaming,” Hero pointed out, “And you’re practically dead. You can barely stand up.”

“Whatever,” Villain mumbled, trying to stand up. A pain shot through their back and they fell once again, their tears and blood mixing. The area around them was once a city full of light and life. Now it was just rubble and dust. “I’ll… leave when I can stand up–”

“No. Get up.” Hero limped over and grabbed them by their hair, yanking them up. Villain let out a blood-curdling scream as they screamed. Their pleas and begs went over deaf ears. “You said you’d leave. Now leave!” Hero screamed, their throat feeling sore. When Hero let go, Villain couldn’t do much but fall back to the ground. Loud noises were all around them, clouding their mind. Their vision started fading as it grew blurry, but indistinct chatter was barely heard. They made our frantic questions, probably a news reporter, sounds of a vehicle and moving parts, and the yells of victory and worry. Villain didn’t need to see to realize it was others from the Hero Agency.

Their blurry figures rushed towards Hero’s weak state, but no one came for Villain and their broken body.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Gasping for air, Villain shot up, breathing heavily. They instantly regretted it, as their entire body felt like collapsing on the spot. They groaned with pain and fell back on the soft, comfortable surface.

Wait.

They shot back up again, disregarding the pain and observing their surroundings. The ash-gray walls and gloomy bed were unfamiliar. Their breathing grew more frantic as their eyes darted around, looking for something they could rely on. Questions flooded their brain. Where were they? Who took them here? Did Hero–

“Not the best idea to be moving, the bandages might come loose.”

Villain perked up and looked around, spotting a figure leaning on the doorframe. Villain tried to get up, but the figure rushed towards them. Out of reflex, Villain flinched and tried to back away and go to the opposite end of the bed. The person realized and calmed themselves.

“I… I know you don’t-... know me, exactly, but I don’t have any ill intentions, okay?” They spoke slowly, letting Villain digest all of it. “Uhm…” They seemed awkward. “Oh! I, uh, I bandaged you!” They spoke, suddenly energetic. “Your arms, your back, basically everything was wounded. Bad, actually. Wounded bad.” They seemed odd to Villain. The way they talked and spoke seemed nervous and broken. Villain found it cute.

Still, being awed at something was no reason to let your guard down.

“Uhm… wait, you bandaged me?” Villain spoke cautiously. “Did… did you do anything–”

“NONONONONO!” The stranger quickly spoke, a blush coating their cheeks. “I did nothing weird! I am so sorry it seemed like that!” They ranted, their arms moving around as they talked. Of course, it startled Villain, but they were getting used to it.

“So,” they started, “You can call me!-...” They trailed off, lost in thought. The silence was awkward as Villain anticipated their response. Frowning, the stranger just shrugged it off while trying to change the subject. “Well, that doesn’t really matter right now–”

“You kidnapped me.”

“Either that or you’d bleed out.”

“Doesn’t make a difference.” Villain’s eyes narrowed as they looked at the strange, nervous mess in front of them up and down. “Who are you?” The stranger’s face turned slightly red.

“Just-.. Call me Civilian?” They chuckled nervously. Villain sighed. It was obvious that wasn’t their real name, but that would have to do. They weren’t in a position to fight, anyway. “Well, you don’t look too hot.”

“I’m fine,” Villain shot, “I’ve had worse.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s not bad.” Civilian started to reach out to touch Villain’s back, but Villain tensed up. Noticing, Civilian backed down. “I–I’m sorry, but I’ll need to–”

“I can bandage myself,” Villain snapped, seemingly distressed at the attempted contact.

Civilian seemed a bit disappointed but nodded. “Right, uhm… I’ll get some fresh bandages. A–Are you hungry? I can go get something, or-...” They gave a nervous smile, attempting conversation. When Villain didn’t reply, their face fell. They murmured sorry and strode out.

The moment the door clicked and closed, Villain let out a sigh. They felt crowded, weak, pathetic. They felt humiliated. What kind of idiot gets kidnapped by a person so easily?! They were lost in thought, negative thoughts swarming their head.

God, they felt useless.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

After Civilian gave the bandages, nothing too much happened. They barely made small talk, but Civilian acted more like a caretaker than a kidnapper. Which, of course, was good in Villain’s scenario. Civilian was sitting near Villain on the bed, reading a book and tending to any of Villain’s needs and requests. The silence was deafening, and Villain felt weird sitting on the bed while eating the chocolate chip cookie Civilian baked. They wanted to say something, like a thank you for helping, or an apology for being a bother.

…

UGH! Villains weren’t supposed to feel soft. Emotion is weakness. Emotion is vulnerability. It’s everything they were taught not to do, not to have.

So why did being near Civilian make them feel safe?

“Uh, Villain?”

Villain snapped out of their trance and turned to Civilian. “Yeah?”

“You’re just staring at a wall.”

Oh.

“Sorry,” Villain mumbled. “Just lost in thought.”

Civilian giggled at them, and Villain froze. It wasn’t a mocking laughter like most would do. It was more teasing than anything. “No need to apologize. I was just concerned.” Civilian let out another small laugh. “Do you need anything else? Maybe another cookie? Or, you’d want something more–”

“Can you turn on the TV?” Villain asked. They stared at Civilian.

“Well… this room doesn’t have a TV–”

“Can you watch TV and tell me about it? Or do you have a phone instead?” Villain was curious about what was going on outside. Sure, there were windows, but they didn’t see much other than birds and buildings. Civilian seemed reluctant to let Villain hear about what was going on, making Villain feel anxious. “What… What’s wrong? Is there something I shouldn’t–”

“I’ll go get my phone.” Civilian quickly shut the book and set it on the nightstand. They shot up and walked out again, leaving Villain in the dark.

When Civilian arrived again, they sat down and held their phone out to Villain. They took it cautiously and looked. A video was pulled up, and they pressed play. It was a woman holding a microphone in front of a camera. And next to her?

Hero.

“This just in! After the recent disappearance, and supposed death, of Villain, the [ Hero Agency ]’s been grateful a giant threat was removed from the premises of the city. They were kind enough to let Hero,  who defeated Villain, speak with us.” She spoke enthusiastically, holding the microphone towards Hero’s mouth.

“Hi!” Hero said, sounding nervous. “Uhm…” They trailed off, not knowing what to say. The interviewer chuckled and spoke again.

“Mind telling us about your experience with Villain?” She started. Despite being uncomfortable, Hero still responded.

“Well, they were a damn good Villain. Always got up, fought with ‘passion’ and ferociousness, and…” They thought for a moment. “They were really creative.”

“Could you elaborate on that?”

“They always had different ideas than the rest,” Hero started, feeling awkward while discussing the person they thought was dead. “And a different personality than most. Usually, villains would be either cold and stoic or flirty and teasing. Villain was cautious of others. They’d try to think outside the box, figuring out traps and plans. But the day when-... when we were fighting, I think I caught them off guard.” Villain might’ve hallucinated, but if they knew any better, it seemed like Hero felt sorry.

“Now, what an incredible story to share! Mind telling us how you defeated Villain? Any specific tactics you used?”

“Sorry, m’lady, but that’s classified. You can understand, right?”

If she was disappointed, she hid it well under her plastic smile. “It’s aye-okay! Anything else you’d like to say to your new fans?” Smiling, Hero looked at the camera and waved.

“Bye! See you all later!” The camera closed and the video ended, leaving Villain confused, angry, and annoyed.

“What… they all think I’m dead?”

“Missing at least.” Civilian tried to speak calmly. “I didn’t know whether to tell you or not. I thought you might’ve tried to leave, and with your injuries still healing… I didn’t know what to do.”

Villain didn’t know how to feel. They were angry and annoyed Hero tried to act sympathetic and seem upset about their death. Hero would pull by their hair, and leave scars, yet now they’re pretending to be disappointed for some love and attention? They were upset Civilian didn’t show them this earlier. It would’ve cleared up so many thoughts stuck in their head, questions they thought would’ve been unanswered.

“I know you must be confused. I’ll give you a minute if you want–”

“Stay.” Villain quickly clasped their hand around Civilian’s. “Don’t leave me.”

Civilian was shocked at the sudden contact but gave a gentle smile. They held Villain’s hand as they sat in the chair again, a peaceful silence embracing them.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You guys have no idea how much I hate this rn. Again, might recreate it with a different plot. I was originally gonna make Civilian a supervillain in disguise, but it didn't feel right after writing it. I hate this :(