“Oi, Hero.”

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Outcast Heroine x her rival

The thought of inviting her, 

it didn’t even cross their mind, did it?

Heroine stared at the rest of her team, who never seemed to notice her existence. By the loud laughs and noticeable drop of seriousness, they were heading to the bar. Leaving her to be the only to work on their shared case. Again.

Who cares.

She will be the one who laughs at the end.

She might be the outcast here, but it only proved her worth. She works harder, she is more serious, she will solve this case. I will get to see the shock of her so-called teammates as she stares with cold, satisfied eyes.

She just needs to wait patiently until that happens.

Yet it somehow still hurts. And unwillingly, she caught herself stealing glances at the noisy group. Especially at one she thought would act differently. Her rival. 

He laughed with the others, seemingly forgetting her existence. He just never acted that way. He always argued with her, competed against her, sent her way his grin when he cracked a case and eye rolls when she beat him to it.

Called when she was sick, noted her insights, listened to her

But apparently there was a company he liked better.

Heroine’s tension calmed a bit when the noisy group finally left. She went over her suspect’s files again, looking for a loose thread. Loneliness was her curse, but mysteries her blessings.

The man she suspected was a history professor.

He is known to lock himself in his apartment and write books, rarely interacting with his colleagues and students.

The victim was a writer who’s newly published first book became the crowd’s favor immediately.

The two have barely known each other. 

But Heroine knew how deep jealousy could go. There were days she planned in her mind how she would hide the bodies of her teammates.

He had sent to someone else, the victim’s advisor- several ‘erroneous’ emails. They were clearly separated by words, but each was complete gibberish. 

Still, it seemed too weird, and she never saw an ‘error’ such as that.

She had earplugs, a workspace all of her own, and the calming feeling of unveiling another secrecy. 

Nothing could invade the mind, 

block any worries  and make someone forget about their existence like a good mystery.

She didn’t know how long she was in peace, until someone coughed from the other side of the room.

Rival stood there, with a lopsided smile, holding two cups of coffee.

“Something interesting?”

He walked to her desk and placed one cup beside her, having some awkwardness in his movements.

It was a cold coffee, with little milk and ice cubes.

He remembers-

“Oh, umm, thanks.”

Heroine cleared her throat.

“I have a hunch,”

She said, then questioned his motives.

“but it’s just a theory.”

He nodded slightly, getting the hint. But didn’t go yet.

“Well, you, want some quiet or-”

“Aren’t you going with the others?”

He blinked. Then shrugged, still having some awkwardness.

“I can’t let you be the only one who stays over. It makes me look bad.”

“Don’t blame your ugliness on me.”

“Ouch.”

He gave her a half-laugh, and sat in his place. There was silence for a little while. Heroine continued to go over emails, silently listening to Rival unpacking his equipment and playing with his pen.

“So, wanna share some ideas?”

He said it trying to sound unintrested, she noted.

Is this why you stayed?

“What’s it to you?”

“My job, actually.”

He expected a reaction for a moment.

Rival cleared his throat.

“I won’t take your credit.”

Heroine crooked an eyebrow.

“Promise. I wanna catch this bastard as much as you.”

Another’s comments may be helpful, and Rival, as cocky as he is, always kept his word.

“Come take a look.”

He came over, a little too quickly. Then leaned into her desk, right next to her chair. close

“The emails. There are several supposedly emails with errors, they make no sense and only contain one line or so, but there are too many of them.”

Heroine completely immersed herself in the mystery, trying to ignore the warmth she sensed from Rival.

“I tried to check some simple ciphering methods. The thing is, some words make sense when decoding them using straightforward letter-shuffling. But in each email there’s at least one word that never makes sense after deciphering.”

She passed him her papers, and he tilted down to examine it. For a moment, she could see his face from so close. Her gaze immediately turned to the printed emails.

“I highlighted these words. They are the only ones with special characters. If we decipher them, we might have proof that the suspect purposely wrote these emails to hide messages.”

“hmmm…”

His hand was quite close to hers, she realized, some part of her wanted to touch it. Learn exactly how warm he is.

Heroine took her coffee and drank almost all of it in one slip.

“He is not a mathematician, isn’t he? or a puzzler?”

“An historian.”

“It’d be tough to convince he made up a cipher.”

“True.”

“What did he research?”

“He had a fondness for royal families. He’d write about grand schemes and falls and such.”

“Did he write anything about Mary, queen of the scots?”

She tilted her head, trying to remember if she read about such character. 

“She’s been the queen of Scotland since she was six, but also wanted England. She got imprisoned and plotted to assassinate Elizabeth the first from a cell.”

“Well, you are knowledgeable, I’ll get you a paper star later,”

Rival rolled his eyes.

“but how does it help us?”

“She communicated her plot using a cipher.”

Heroine’s eyes widened.

“What kind?”

“Quite simple, but hard to decrypt- she used letter switching like you did, but she also made special symbols to refer to people.”

“So if we try to assign to each special character a possible name-”

“We’ll reveal the message.”

She was smiling. This mystery could be solved. Her hunch might be right. Oh, the looks on her teammates’ faces will be wonderful

“This is so much better than a drinking night.”

Rival chuckled, probably amused by my rapture as always.

Only now she noticed that he was smiling brightly, too. But it looked different. It looked softer.

She cleared her throat.

“We should get into it. I made a chart of how the letters shuffle, here, take, just think of things he’d want to hide and see if the texts make sense.”

She leaned over her desk, making a list of possibilities that jumped into her mind.

“Mind if I’ll work here?”

“Sure”

It only took an hour.

Heroine eagerly showed Rival her findings. A possible interpretation of the messages, in which the victim’s name and the place of the murder had code words.

Her hand rushed to her cup, only to see that it was empty long ago.

So this was it. She looked at Rival, and and he seemed a bit saddened, too.

“You can take some credit, you know.”

He waved his hand dismissively, packing his things.

“Nah. You’d figure it out anyway.”

“Oh, absolutely.”

Heroine started packing as well, already realizing she’ll immediately miss… whatever this is that they have now.

“Still, we… we did this together.”

Rival froze for a moment, staring at her with something akin to… awe.

“It’s yours,”

He smiled, incitement returning to his features.

“the fun is enough for me.”

They started walking together towards the door.

“More fun than drinking night?”

“Much more.”

Fortunately, their cars were in the same direction. There was still one more mystery.

“Why did you stay?” “Hm? I told you-”

“Seriously. You never stay overnight. You could actually be drunk right now, with, you know…”

The more amusing parts of our team

There was silence for a few moments, growing more noticeable every second. Rival was rarely out of words.

“It’s kinda nice when it’s just us”

Heroine stopped mid-walking and stared at him. It was her turn to be speechless. Is this…? Is he really…? 

“It is”

She agreed, eventually. Both of them stood on the road, blushing.

“We can… um… be tog- ”

She took a big breath.

“We can hang out the office. If you want.”

A small smile came back to Rival’s face.

“Yes. Sure. Great.”

MUCH better than drinking night

Made a drawing of the champions for my father (this is the first video game he has ever played) #legendofzelda #breathofthewild #botw #zelda #link #champions #fanart #botwfanart #art #sketchbooktour #sketchbook #sketch #sellartonline #artoninstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/B-EwwaMBQ0q/?igshid=1c180pcjklbhl

VERY important things to consider from carmen season 4

Prompt #4

Villain was especially slow today. They had been off for the entirety of the week, but today it was like fighting a different person.

"Say," Hero asked in between punches. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Since when do you care?" Villain scoffed and landed a punch on Hero's jaw. They barely felt it.

Hero retaliated by punching Villain's gut, which caused them to grunt and double over in pain. Hero swore they hadn't hit them that hard.

They slowly approached their enemy, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible. Villain hated the pity in their eyes.

"Stay away from me." They growled and attacked Hero once more. This time, Hero didn't fight back.

Instead, they wrapped their arms around their nemesis, preventing them from moving. Even that small amount of pressure earned them a pained hiss.

"I didn't hurt you that bad." Hero stated. "Who did this to you?"

"That's none of your business-"

"Tell me." They demanded.

Villain sighed. "Supervillain."

"Your boss? I thought you guys were a team?" Hero questioned.

"A team?" Villain chuckled. "We're villains, Hero. As soon as I stop being useful, the alliance is over. Considering how many times I've lost to you this week, I'm lucky to be alive."

Hero felt their stomach twist. This was partially their fault. They knew they had just been doing their job, but they still felt responsible.

"You're coming with me." It wasn't a question.

"No way." Villain struggled against Hero's arms. "I don't need your pity nor your help."

"As a hero, it's my job to take care of those in need." Hero declared as they scooped them up into a bridal carry. "That includes you, whether you like it or not."

"I don't like it." Villain sulked.

"I know."

Hallo! Could I get some fluff where Hero wakes up in Villain's arms, but doesn't realise immediatly and cuddles, while Villain is VERY confused but not against it? +Very proud of your recent follower gain! Great job, but never feel pressured to overwork yourself on this blog.

Thank you so much! I'm very happy with how things are going with my blog too, and don't worry I know overworking leads to burn out, so I always make sure to pace myself and take breaks when need be!

Prompt #200

[Hero] slowly started fading into consciousness, but their body still felt heavy and fuzzy around the edges. They ached from last night's battle, but none of that mattered because of the warm embrace they felt around them.

Countless times [Hero] had awoken from their restless nights all alone and in pain. Having to drag their bruised and bloody body out of bed and into the shower to lick their wounds and take care of themselves. But this morning, they weren't alone. They weren't sure why, but they were sure they were going to enjoy this for every second they could.

[Villain] braced themselves for a fight as [Hero] began to stir but their body completely froze as [Hero] snuggled into their chest and arms, smiling. [Villain]'s heart and mind raced with possibilities and implications.

Did [Hero] know it was them? If they didn't, is this ok? If they did... did they like them the same way [Villain] liked [Hero]? Maybe they were hit by a love potion or mind control device. Do they have a head injury?

[Villain] felt their head go light and heart soar as [Hero] smiled and curled more into them.

Hi! I absolutely love your writing! It's beautiful! I was wondering if you could write one where the villain crashes a Hero's party? That would be splendid! Thank you!

“You…you can’t be here,” the hero mumbled. 

“You’re drunk.” The villain’s head tilted. “Happy Birthday.” 

The hero blinked up at them, uncertainly. Their mind was stuck somewhere between ‘what the hell are you doing here?’ and ‘why the hell are you so beautiful?’ 

“How come you’re skulking outside at your own party?” 

“How come you’re skulking outside my party?” the hero pointed an accusing finger. “You better not be planning something. Wait. Did you say ‘happy birthday?’”

“I got you something,” the villain said. 

The hero shot to their feet, eyes wide, expecting a bomb or something horrible and - 

“What’s wrong with the chocolates? Have you poisoned the chocolates?” 

“I would have to be truly evil to poison the chocolate,” the villain said solemnly. There was a hint of a smile on their lips. 

“You’re mocking me.” 

“I wouldn’t dare.” The smile was even bigger now. 

The hero accepted the box of chocolate, with a wary brand of touched. They smelled delicious. They ripped the ribbon off and stuffed one in their mouth. 

The villain raised their brows. 

The hero offered them one. 

The villain took it, before sitting down on the back garden patio next to them. The sounds of the party, warm light, filtered through the windows. Music thumped. 

“The - the person I like,” the hero said. “They like someone else. Got together. Kissing.”

“That sucks.” 

“What’s your excuse for lurking in my garden?” 

The villain shrugged and took another chocolate. 

“…do you want to come in?”

“No. That would ruin my reputation as a gate crasher.”

“Just come in. You can be my bad decision for the night.” 

“Flatterer.”

The hero glanced over at them. It was a poor idea, but the villain was - well, the hero knew they weren’t that bad. At least not all the time. They seemed softer tonight. And they gave the hero potentially evil chocolates. And the hero’s chest hurt because they’d thought - they’d thought - 

They turned and kissed the villain, hot and clumsy. 

The villain froze.

The hero cleared their throat. “Thank you for the chocolates.” They stood. “Come inside. At least then I can keep an eye on you.”

The villain followed. 

It occurred to the hero, later, that perhaps the villain had just wanted one night to belong. To be another ordinary teenager. To not be what they were. 

One night. 

After that, everything went back to normal.

I bought those colors yesterday and they ended in the middle of the drawing. https://www.instagram.com/p/B9JiC_bB3m9/?igshid=1bqiunhrbunt8

"You'll be left alone here."

Hero didn't even look back. Seemingly not hearing him as she looked for arrows on the ground.

Villain stood at the other side of the room, gripping the rusty dorknob.

"This is hopeless."

She made no indication that she heard him. Only threw a chair that stood between her and a single, glinting arrow.

She then moved next to the arrowslit, trying her bow with it. Not sparing him a glance.

"Do you have death wish? Hero, they have spears and axes and torches- This whole town will turn to ashes."

She kept watching the window. Her posture tense and her breaths shallow.

"Her-"

"Then go,"

Her voice came out as a whisper.

"I am not stopping you."

To that, he found himself to be at loss for words. Because somehow, she did. His nerves urged him to run away, but he could only stand there watching her.

He knew that running away is what he needs to do now.He knew that these bastards marching here will take no prisoners. He knew Hero will not move from where she stands, prepairing to delay the mob for as long as she breaths. Ready to give her life for a chance that the townspeople will manage to get away.

Curse her tenacious soul.

She slightly tilted her face towards him. But in moment they locked eyes she seemed almost... surprised. As if she didn't expect him to still be there.

"You do not have to stay."

She said softly, fully looking at him now. She was battle-ready, but her rich walnut eyes shone with something softer. Will this be the last time he sees them?

"No."

She frowned, studying him carefully.

"Hero, please, this is crazy. How many do you think you'll take? And for WHAT?"

He gestured outside, where panicked families ran away as fast as they could.

"For som- some FOOLS who brought hell upon themeselve?"

"What did they ever do for you? What could possibly ever make you face an army for them!? Th-"

"But you are still here, too."

Hero's voice turned almost hopeful.

Villain looked aside. He should not be here. Maybe he was the crazy one.

"Some things in life are worth protecting. Even from an army."

He didn't even look at her, but could tell that she said it with a smile.

"I know you had it rough, we both had, but can you not imagine this?"

He dared looking back at her. Her eyes stayed steady on him.

"Having something you will fight for until your last breath?"

The way she said it was filled with purpose and hope and... and maybe even...

Before he thought of it, he took out his sword and stepped closer to her. She turned to face him, a relived smile on her features. Her shoulders relaxed when he gently touched her cheek.

A first wave of rushing warriors could be seen from the arrowslit.

"I can, actually."