#it's such a dark movie with so much threat of suicide

[ennaih]

Every Film I Watch In 2023:

280. The Apartment (1960) -- customary New Years Eve rewatch

of course bonus:

[olderthannetfic]

People going to you to say they didn't like a book instead of just posting that in their own blog and blocking the rabid fans is so fucking sad to me. Is this where we're at? Instead of blocking the sea of lost teens and 20-somethings in the dark academia tag who try to use "dark academia" as a substitute for having to develop their own interests and hobbies, we're now going to whisper on anon, "I don't like this one book"? That's how scared of negative interaction people are? It's the dark academia fandom. They're morons. They don't even argue with you that The Secret History is good, they reply with your post quoted and emojis inserted inbetween every sentence and think they're big smarty smart-smarts who showed you, or they say you didn't get it. "The fandom is absolutely insane" by what metric? Speaking as someone who's been sent suicide bait, death threats, rape threats, pictures of dead animals, Holocaust pics and actual CSEM by other fandoms, if you're too afraid of someone replying, "wow lmao ur not smart like us u no get it" or spamming your original post's text with emojis, maybe you're not old enough to be on tumblr or be reading a book aimed at adults.

The fact that people are now so afraid of pushback that they won't even say they dislike something off anon is honestly really pathetic. This is like people on Reddit who say, "I wouldn't say this if I weren't deleting my account later today, but I don't like MCU movies." It's the same vibe and I have the same question: you know you can just block people if they cry about shit you say, right? I got sent a dead rat once by a Yandere Simulator fan and the police + a restraining order is basically blocking but for RL, but most people in the fandom for The Secret History aren't going to actually interact with another person. They don't even usually bother to write fic or make art for it, they just repost quotes from it with some pics they swiped off of Pinterest for it.

Those are the people who you're so afraid of that you can't even say, "I don't like a book" lest they hurt you. You're afraid of Pinterest moodboard makers who ask things like, "what religion is the most dark academia? I want to convert to that" with a straight face who think wearing a white button-down shirt and brown pants makes them the embodiment of wealth and class and quiet luxury.

As someone who's actually had interactions with crazy fans IRL - especially Star Wars fans, as they're almost all frothing at the mouth to rant about how much they hate Star Wars - I am happy to report that this is a survivable thing and not one you need to be so afraid of that you don't dare mention it for fear of backlash.

Speak freely. Block people. Move on. Their tears are embarrassing for them, not you.

--

I spent some time in anon spaces, and it felt like a nice break at the time... but I have to say, I really notice the difference now that I'm findable again. For all the shit that comes my way, a hell of a lot of people have tried to befriend me over the last few years. I wouldn't have met any of them if I hadn't been visible.

[meetmyothersouls]

Darling Death

A collaboration with @sufferingstarlight

Warnings: thoughts about death & suicide, dark thoughts, unprotected sex, smut, dirty talk, not proof read

Chapter 7 - Day 7

In all of my years of living, I couldn't recall a time that I felt similar o this. This is what it felt like to truly feel for someone. Want someone. Need someone. I'd never been close with my family, and I'd only had a handful of close friends. Men that I had dated in the past were nothing to brag about, and I realized at that point why. They weren't Timothee. Of course. I'd spent the last thirteen years looking for the person to spend my life with only to fall for the one who was waiting for it to end. The realization brought forth many questions, questions I'd made a mental note to ask Timothee about the next time I saw him. But a singular thought outweighed everything else: would dying really be so bad if it meant spending eternity with him?

I only had six more days left on Earth and I found myself not the least bit upset. The less days I had the more Timothee came around. In public, he wasn't as obnoxious as he had been the last few days and after our sexual encounter under my desk at work, I made him promise not to give me another public orgasm, not with my state being in a precarious spot with my boss. Timothee reluctantly agreed, though he used every opportunity to use is invisibility to kiss or touch my birthmark, which always sent icy hot chills through my body.

On day seven, the library closed early, due to an installation of new carpets. I took in my surroundings as I walked, noticing all the potential threats and ways that I could be taken out. There were so many. It'd be so easy to just...let one happen.

Just as the thought began to sound promising, a cold, lanky arm found its way around my waist, pulling me into him. I noticed instantly that he was allowing himself to be seen. People tended to notice him, with his dark curls, piercing eyes and devilishly attractive features it was hard not to. I pushed myself further into his side as if to say he's mine.

"So, where are we headed to?" Timothee asked.

I smiled, happy that he now referred to us as a couple. "Home? I think maybe we can watch a movie together...maybe a little more."

"Your mortal movies are always so dull and sad. But I'd like you to elaborate on 'maybe a little more' that sounds interesting."

"Sad?! Look at what you do for a living and then we'll talk sad, Mr. Grim Reaper. And you'll have to wait and see!"

Timothee laced his cold fingers in between my warm ones. The metal from his rings, the same ice-cold temperature as his skin stinging my skin. We walked in comfortable silence until we made it into my neighborhood. I wanted to so badly to tell him my thoughts about my death, but thought better of it, recalling his words in the graveyard.

Now that I know you exist, I don't want you to cease to.

"What thoughts are troubling you?" Timothee asked as we approached my apartment.

I dropped my keys, wondering if mind reading could possibly be another one of his abilities. If it was, he didn't let on. I picked them back up and unlocked the door.

"Just...I just have some questions," I said. Immediately, I reach under my shirt and unclip my bra. Groaning at the relief as I slide it out from under my shirt.

Timothee's teeth pushed down onto his bottom lip, and I realized I was already way too comfortable with my reaper.

"You expect me to focus on questions?"

"I'd like for you to, perhaps we make it into a game?" I walked Timothee into my bedroom, and he followed much like a puppy.

"A game?" He asked, shutting my door. He clicked the lock shut and my stomach flipped. His eyes were as dark as the leather he wore.

"Mhmm. A question game. We-" my voice caught in my throat as he began to walk in my direction, his eyes half lidded. He looked lethal. Then his face was inches from mine, his lips barely touching mine as he spoke.

"Game with the dead are quite dangerous, you do know this right?"

"I...yes, but, oh-"

He ran his tongue across my lips then down my neck, stopping at the my birth mark on my collarbone. He swirled the tip of his tongue around it, almost bringing me to my knees. "Mmmm," he groaned, as if his tongue on the mark brough him great pleasure. "Go on then, tell me the rules of your game, I'd love to hear them."

I attempted to regain my composure. "We each ask a question, and if you can't answer you remove an article of clothing."

"How about we skip the questions and just remove the clothing?" At that moment, Timothee sucked hard on the mark. My knees buckled, no longer willing to carry my weight. Timothee splayed a large hand across my back and led me to my bed, lowering me onto the mattress. "Or I can just take you right here. You're more than ready for me." He breathed deep into my neck. "I can smell it."

"Can Grim Reapers have sex?" I ask.

Timothee smirked wickedly, "I can do whatever I please." He slid his hands under my shirt and tugged it off. Starting with this. He reattached his lips to my birthmark, suckling it and nipping it lightly. The sensation alone enough to make me come. I whined in protest when he left it, kissing his way down to my breasts. My back arched as he reached a nipple. He wrapped his lips around it and sucked hard, earning a whimpering moan from me. My back arched off the bed, pressing my nipple further into his mouth. He hummed, chuckling at my reaction, pulling my nipple with his lips as he popped off. "Any more questions?"

"Where will I go when I die?"

Timothee frowned for a moment, then took his shirt off, before hovering back over my body. He placed a soft, passionate kiss my lips. "I don't like that question."

"Why not?"

"Because I told you I'm not letting it happen."

"But-"

"Next question, y/n," Timothee growled. He was leaving soft, quick kisses down my torso, one hand playing with my nipple, the other making its way down to my paints.

"What's so special about me?"

Timothee stopped mid-kiss and looked up at me, his dark eyes now darker than they were before. "Darling," he breathed against my skin. "You are everything. You are both virtue and sin. Life and death. Heaven and hell. You are an angel and a demon, and I will set fire to this world and any other that keep me from you."

My heart was beating at a rapid pace, I could feel it in my stomach, hear it in my ears. "You are meant for me and me alone, y/n. I feel this more than I feel anything else. You bare my number on your skin. That is no coincidence." Timothee's fingers hook into my pants and tug them down. He groaned at the sight of my pussy, dripping entirely for him. He pulled his belt loose from his pants, sending it crashing to the floor, followed by the thump of his boots. He stepped out of his pants and took his length in his hand, pumping it at the sight of me. I gasped at his size, wondering how in the hell it would fit inside of me. Timothee hovered over me, brought a finger to my chin and lifted my face to meet his, engulfing me in a passionate kiss. His tongue swirling with mine again. He moaned into my mouth and pulled me into a standing position. His cock between my thighs, I slid my pussy along his length, wetting it with my arousal. Timothee threw his head back, exposing his beautiful neck.

In an instant he switched places with me, sitting on my bed, his back against my headboard and his cock, jutting out at seemingly impossible length.

"Come now, my queen, sit upon your throne."

"I...I don't know if it will fit," I admitted in a small voice.

"I'll make it fit," Timothee responded darkly.

I straddled his waist, steadying myself with my hands on his shoulders. Timothee held his cock for me, guiding himself into my entrance. I hissed in slight pain as I impaled myself with him. Timothee's head slammed against my headboard, as he arched his back toward me. I lowered myself on him for what seemed like eternity, until finally our skin met. I had so many more questions for him, but they seemed fuzzy now. They could wait.

Timothee's mouth attached to its favorite place, his hands resting on my hips, pushing me, begging me to move. I rocked my hips against him, feeling the head of his cock press against my stomach as I rode him.

"Fuck, fuck, ahhh," Timothee moaned, his fingertips pressing into my skin so hard, there were sure to be bruises on my skin later. "Slow down, slow-" Timothee steadied me on his cock, slowing me to an agonizing pace. "I'll empty myself inside of you right now if you-"

I brought his hands to my breasts, forcing him to squeeze them. Slowly, I rode his cock, picking up speed once his breathing steadied. He kept one finger on my birthmark, needing to touch it at all times. I kissed his lips before attaching them to his neck, sucking lightly as we fucked each other into bliss. One of his hands left my breast and traveled down to my clit, rubbing sweet, tantalizing circles on the sensitive bundle of nerves. I felt my self clenching around him, and Timothee steadied me as my movements became erratic and sloppy.

"Timothee," I whined. "Fuck, I'm gonna-"

"Yes, yes, y/n let it go. Give it to me, baby."

I collapsed on his shoulder, shuddering and convulsing as my orgasm took over me. Timothee wrapped his arm around my back tightly, still thrusting into me as he chased his release. Then, I felt it, cold and warm all at the same time spurting inside of me, filling me completely.

I woke up with a jolt, sitting straight up in my bed. Timothee was gone. My thighs and my core ached, and a strange hollow feeling overwhelmed me. Where'd he go? I padded to the bathroom, every muscle in my body burning.

I half expected when I returned Timothee to be waiting for me, in my bed or hiding in my closet, but there was still no sign of him. I climbed back into my bed, tossing and turned for hours. Finally, at 3am, I felt the side of my bed dip down with weight.

"Missed you," he whispered into my neck.

"Where were you?" I asked, turning around the face him. It was dark, but I could still make all his beautiful features out in the moonlight.

"I had some...business matters to attend to."

I arched an eyebrow, "you're not reaping anyone else, are you?"

Timothee kissed me sweetly on the lips, "It doesn't work that way, y/n, Darling. And if I had to choose, I'd reap you and only you until the end of time."

We kissed each other quietly, lost in the graceful movement of each other's lips.

"So, there are more of you then?" I asked when we reluctantly pulled away from each other.

I saw his eyes search my face, bouncing around all of my features. "There are many."

"So, how did you, out of all the others, end up with me?"

Timothee thought on this for a moment, his finger tracing my birthmark.

"I believe," he said, bringing his eyes back up to mine, "that important events are set to happen, planned out by the souls long before your body sets foot on this earth."

"So you're saying its' fate?"

"You can call it that." Timothee tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "May I ask you a question, Y/n, Darling?"

"Mhmm?" I ask, feeling myself begin to doze off.

"When was your first encounter with death?"

My eyes snapped open at that.

"What?"

"Your mark," he tapped on it. "You said you were born with it. A birthmark."

"Yes."

"I mentioned to you, that you were marked with my number. I didn't fully explain then. This mark on you means you've died before in your lifetime. Died and came back in the same mortal body. It is quite literally, a mark of the dead."

"When I was born, I wasn't breathing. I was dead. For thirteen minutes."

"You were mine from the beginning," he said, pulling me back in for a deep kiss.

I pressed my face into his neck, breathing in his underworldly scent. "Let's go to sleep," he whispered into my hair.

"I thought Grim didn't need to sleep?"

"I don't," he said, "but you do, and I love watching you. I've got you, I won't leave this time. I'm yours."

I drifted off with thoughts of him and how to make sure I'd be his forever.

This has been a sufferingsouls project

Tags: @dayafied @soulofendlessbook @fashphotolife @scentedkittenperfection @weasleytwinscumslut @timotheel0ver @mxciscastleintheair @marvelmaniac2000 @lovelyrocker @divine-1 @love-poems-only @starberry-cake @inlovewithphantasy @alexagirlie @misswestfall @softhecreator @livresjaunes @timmymyluv @inannamoon @harrys-thick-thighs @s-we-e-t-t-ea @timolaurence @its-schmackin-dude @justagirlwhoneedshelp @kteezy997 @sufferingstarlight @xoxoloverb @tropicalrozmajzl @iloveneilperry @syirnge @patronsaintofthetwinks @roseboysareprettier @onlyenoughiamweird

[themattress]

Posting here due to having talked about this very subject recently (manga vs. anime).

I basically think that this guy is way off in a lot of his critiques, notably:

- Criticizing the monster-of-the-week structure for the anime in favor of the manga's plot!plot!plot! pacing. I feel like that sort of pacing works fine for a monthly (not even weekly) manga, but not so much for an anime with this concept. Toei actually approached Naoko Takeuchi with the suggestion to do Sailor Moon (a tokusatsu series) based on her earlier Codename Sailor V work, which actually had a monster-of-the-week structure, so honestly the anime's style of pacing was ironically more what the Sailor Moon concept was tailored around than the manga! It also allows the world and characters to be more fleshed out than in the manga, which always had difficulty in that area especially for side characters and villains.

- His criticism of Usagi and Rei was totally off-base. He was correct in how Usagi's constant regressions as the anime went on did her no favors, but she was fine to start with. Her freezing up and giving into despair over her friends' deaths in the first anime season's climax isn't any less weak than her attempting suicide over Mamoru's death which would leave her friends at the mercy of Metalia in the first manga arc's climax. Rei's personality change in the anime was for the better, IMO, and her dynamic with Usagi may have been overplayed at times but I never got the impression they legitimately hated each other nor did I get the impression it was sexism on the male writers' parts. Vitriolic Best Buds is a legitimate thing.

- While I also don't much care how Usagi and Mamoru's romance develops in the anime compared to the manga (and I absolutely hate the pointless age gap the anime added between them), I have to defend Mamoru from his accusation that he was hypocritical to give righteous speeches as Tuxedo Mask yet be an asshole as a civilian. Unlike in the manga, Tuxedo Mask was initially a split personality from Mamoru. He didn't know he was Tuxedo Mask at first, the two didn't get integrated until he got ahold of a Rainbow Crystal in Episode 26. After that, he actually began treating Usagi with more kindness. He was too proud to just apologize and still tried to act stand-offish, but he clearly didn't have it in him to be a complete jerk anymore and was actually fond of her now. The romance still pulls too abrupt a 180 given that Usagi doesn't soften on him until Episode 34, and even then not on the level justifiable enough for love, but the fact remains that Mamoru did straighten out his act after integrating with the Tuxedo Mask persona (which is good since he really was insufferable beforehand).

- The Dark Kingdom was superior in the anime, period. Yes, it was a bigger threat in the manga, but being threatening doesn't always equate to being interesting. He has a point that Queen Beryl is more interesting in the manga than in the anime and I do wish the anime had included more of that stuff rather than just allude to it, but I still say she's stronger as the Big Bad than just as Metalia's chief pawn. Metalia is boring; she's made of evil and does evil because she's evil and can't be anything else. Beryl actually has a motivation, and one that is directly tied with the main heroine and her romantic interest. That's why it's more satisfying to see her infused with Metalia as the Final Boss instead of just her as the third-to-last Boss.

- Lastly, he got the Silver Crystal thing wrong. The Rainbow Crystals are shards of the physical Silver Crystal, but what gives it its power, its spiritual essence, is still Usagi's soul. That's why they couldn't just be merged into the Silver Crystal even after Kunzite had all seven. That only happened when the tear from Usagi, with all the feelings of her soul, was added. The Silver Crystal is thus linked with her soul and is still its manifestation, as seen in the R movie where she dies when its shattered but when she is restored to life it is repaired.

Things I agree with: axing Princess Serenity's suicide was a good choice, the stretch of episodes with Evil Tuxedo Mask were dumb, the changes in powers for the girls and Tuxedo Mask was stupid and pointless, Minako's character regression across the anime was annoying and kind of disrespectful when you really think about it, Yuichiro should've amounted to more, the age change and adaptational jerkassery of Mamoru was terrible, Jadeite's sudden misogyny in his final episode was really fucking weird, the scene where Artemis is "revealed" as Luna's contact makes no sense and should've been cut, Usagi's suicide in the original manga and Crystal did her character a grave disservice, and the Shitennou's adaptational expansion in Crystal was utterly botched and ended laughably.

[losergendered]

hiii prbbly a weird question do you have any media suggestions? especially songs, bands, comics, shows and the like ... asking you bc i like your tastes lawlsies :]

oh my god ANON… i love you… putting this under the cut cause i have a Tonnn and a lot of em need content warnings LOLL

- Inside Mari (manga): a popular high school girl and an asocial hikkikomori swap bodies! …or do they. a bodyswap manga with a horrorfic emotional twist. its really visceral and transgender. cws for sexual content, unreality/dissociation and child abuse

- Erased (manga/anime): a disillusioned mangaka has a supernatural ability that involuntarily sends him back in time in order to prevent tragedies. when tragedy strikes close to him, hes sent back to investigate a series of murders that happened when he was in 5th grade. cws for mentions of pedophilia, child abuse and child death in both versions, but the manga has more explicit sexual assault and suicide

- The Lost Boys (movie): two brothers and their mother move to a beach town that is super infested with 80s biker vampires. no(?) cws really? i mean its kind of a horror movie by virtue of vampires but its not like super violent or anything. its kinda just campy

- Bang Bang You’re Dead (movie): following a student making a false bomb threat, a theater teacher decides to cast him in a play about a school shooting, much to the disdain of the rest of the community. its basically about a kid escaping the mentality of violence through theater and it made me cry. cws for an (attempted) school shooting, uh, you know. that kinda shit. but this one has a happy ending actually i promise

- Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (movie): BARELY a plot. its like a bunch of 1960s french people falling in love surrounding a music festival? its mostly just pretty looking. its also a musical. no cws! that i can remember at least

- Beryl and Sapphire (donghua): a series of alternate universe vignettes of the characters beryl and sapphire! sometimes theyre boys, sometimes theyre girls, sometimes theyre rivals, but theyre mostly in love with each other :) some of the episodes are angsty/have death but its mostly lighthearted!

- HOPEUROKAY (music): a duo of two trans people makin cool electronic music! electropop i guess?? digicore?? genres are fake but their music fucks. and they have like 500 monthly listeners. fave songs: ghostinthecorner, day 400, insight, pink ps2

- Gezebelle Gaburgably (music): do you LOVE electronic incelcore? do you wish that it was made by a woman so you felt less bad for liking it? boy do i have the gal for you. fave songs: quarter pounder, death by dodgeball, heads up, sanrio girl

- Fairy Idol Kanon (manga): a kids manga about three girls on their journey to become idols with the help of a fairy princess! meanwhile, they must also use the power of song to save the fairy realm from the dark faires!

- What Happens Next (webcomic): a trans guy who was an accessory to murder as a teenager has to navigate the rest of his life. follows both him and the other affected parties, through the lens of modern day internet culture. cws for WHOOH BOY. (child) death, gore, trauma, transphobia, abuse, ableism, self harm. like everything basically. but the comic also provides cws itself

- SoraMafuUraSaka (music): a four person utaite group made of soraru, mafumafu, uratanuki, and tonari no sakata! they make yearly videogame themed songs together, as well as each being just like. independent artists in their own right. if you've seen the rpg animation meme, that songs by them! my personal fave of theirs is noryoku hikitsugi de otome game no sekai ni tenseishitaken ni tsuite, though i also like their most recent one (jinsei muri game)!

indiv song recs now!

- Tonari no JK (The Highschool Girl Next to Me) by Konori feat. GUMI: ok yeah the lyrics might be a little questionable but it SLAPS.... konori's metal vocals combined with gumi's melody combined with the cheery backing music... its just perfect. and "watashi wa watashi, ne! "ne"?! JANEE YOOOOOO" is like the best part of any song ever

- A Favor House Atlantic by Coheed and Cambria: so this is off of a concept album, apparently, which i haven't actually fully listened to, so i dunno what this song's actually about, but it IS really good. it's got that high-pitched male pop punk vocals (esp on the line "good eye sniper") and it reminds me of vrisrezi like a lot

- Chuis Bo! by PZK: do you like early 2010s french dance pop. would you like to. Les Filles Adorent and Ce Matin Va Etre une Pure Soiree are also bangers

- My Magical Romance by Sophie's Magic Diary: Sophie's Magic Diary is actually a really cool series of animated shorts about a girl with a crush and her puppy fairy familiar thing who tries to help her woo him. hilarity ensues. my magical romance is an original song made by the artist to accompany the story! its a banger

- Tamara is a Punk by The Queers: a punk jam about having unrequired feelings for a girl named tamara! got into this song cause my mutual made ocs based off of it.

ok that was LONG. but im an enthusiast. feel free to ask for more random recs this ask lowkey made my day sjgfbh <3

[guardianjameslight]

How, in my opinion, DCEU should've been made.

For the record, I enjoyed most of the DCEU, but I think it could've been done better.

-OK, we start with Man of Steel, I don't think there's really need to change much in a plot.

-Then we make Batman where we see him fighting crime across the years, recruiting Robin, apprehending Deadshot, Harley, the beginning of his rivalry with Deathstroke that would explain why Slade hates him so much. No killing Dick Grayson because that's wasting character potential. Instead, he would leave to act as a solo hero, which would lead to him becoming Nightwin.

-Wonder Woman movie that would pretty much stay the same. The only difference would be lack of the opening scene in today's time.

-Batman V Superman Dawn of Justice, only maybe without Batman killing people, and maybe brainwashed Superman by Luthor to fight Batman.

-The Flash movie where we see his origin, getting his powers, etc. I think the main antagonists would be The Rogues (Reverse Flash would appear in sequel).

-Aquaman movie, where the main antagonist would be Black Manta (Orm would serve as an overarching antagonist that would be a mysterious benefactor of Manta). Mera and Vulko would also appear to help Arthur with Manta.

-Justice League movie where most would remain the way it was in Snyder Cut, only with few differences.

At this, we would start getting sequels and movies about new characters. (The order could be different)

-Batman 2, where he would continue to fight crime. More members of Bat Family could be introduced like Batgirl and Jason Todd or Tim Drake. Dick would return as Nightwing. The main antagonists could be the Court of Owls or League of Shadows.

-Wonder Woman 2 that would take place in the present day, and the main antagonist would be Cheetah.

-The Flash 2 would focus on Barry learning more about his powers and attempts to prove his father's innocence. The main antagonist would be Reverse Flash, who turns out to be murderer of Barry's mother.

-Cyborg movie that would focus on Vic's attempts to go back to having "normal" life. There could be more exploration of his and Barry's friendship. The main antagonist would be The Grid, which would begin as a virus in Vic's body before obtaining his own body.

-Aquaman 2, which would have most of the plot of the 2018 movie with Arthur fighting Orm to take back the throne.

-Man of Steel 2, which would focus on Clark trying to go back to his life and taking the next step in his relationship with Lois. Supergirl would appear, and the main antagonist would be Brainiac.

-Shazam movie that would remain the same. The only major difference would be a Superman appearance that would tease Billy to join the Justice League.

-Green Arrow movie that would show his origins, etc. Black Cannary would appear, the Dark Archer would be the main antagonist, and Batman would make an appearance.

-Suicide Squad movie, in this version, the Squad would be formed because of the fear of the government of new Meta-Humans that started to appear after the formation of Justice League. The main antagonist would be The Joker.

-Justice League 2, the main antagonist, would the Legion of Doom led by Luthor, and it would focus on trying to find the Anti-life equation. There would be few new members of the League and big tease about Darkseid coming to earth.

This is the "Phase 3" where we come to the Great finale

Batman 3, that would focus on Bruce trying to come up with a solution on how to prevent the future he had dreams about from coming true. He would also prepare his family to live without him. It would also show the end of his rivalry with Deathstroke.

-Wonder Woman 3, here are 2 ideas for the plot, 1) The main antagonist would be Maxwell Lord, which would be more comic accurate than the version we've seen in the 1984 movie. 2) It would show Diana coming back to Themyscira, which would face the ancient threat connected to the Gods. I think Shazam could also appear to help Diana in the fight.

-Cyborg 2, unfortunately I don't have an idea for this movie, if you do then share.

Aquaman 3, I think here could be used the plot of Lost Kingdom.

-The Flash 3, here the plot of his 2023 movie with Flashpoint, could be used. But it wouldn't change Batmans or anything, but it would delay a bit Darkseid arrival and would give a possibility to change the future Bruce has seen.

-Shazam 2, I think here some part of the plot of the Fury of the Gods could stay.

-Black Adam movie, that would be way more connected to the Shazam movies. Shazam and Superman would also appear.

-Green Arrow 2, here I also don't have an idea for a plot.

-Green Lantern movie, here I think we could introduce both Hal Jordan and John Stewart. The main antagonist would be Sinestro.

-Suicide Squad 2, here plot of The Suicide Squad could be used.

-Peacemaker show, pretty much the same.

-Man of Steel 3, Lois would be revealed to be pregnant, so she and Clark would start thinking about the life they want to have. Batman could also appear with a major role. I don't know who could be the main antagonist.

-Justice League 3, which would serve as a big finale, some of Snyder's ideas could be used like earth uniting against Darkseid and Batman sacrificing himself to save Lois.

I know it looks like MCU plan, but that's exactly the point, DCEU problem was that they tried to catch up with Marvel while they should do this slowly, step by step.

[mamamittens]

Went to a friend's baby shower yesterday and it was kinda wild.

(lose the plot under the cut. Gets dark. TW: suicidal ideation, childhood SA, and assault/light attempted murder?)

(I'm rambling, tired, anxious, and it got weird... I feel better though. Maybe those journaling girlies were onto something)

Saw her a few months ago and she was the same as ever. Skinny little athletic goblin.

And now she's got this big watermelon under her shirt as she grows a whole as kid.

We've been friends since early elementary school, like, third grade maybe? And now we're almost thirty and she's having a kid... Really makes you a little introspective about where all that time went.

I'm not of the opinion I wasted anything. I've only ever done the best I could given what I've had on hand. But the timing is just so that I've been getting a little too in my head about the less than stellar parts of life. Behind me and ahead.

The kind of shit that makes me want to cry and throw up and I really should have gone to therapy for by now but the timing never seems right. And I'd be lying if I said I wanted to face the root of my issues.

Guess I've always been a coward like that.

Can't even hate myself for it cause being scared is the only reason I'm still alive--not in the sense that I kept alert to outside threats, though that did very likely save my ass from at least two SAs (technically just one since the second wound up being much more... Mild--what an ugly thing to say about the incident, it sits foul in my mouth as much as it still confuses me).

Just too scared to go through with it. Not enough reasons to stay but fear of the end.

I still feel that.

Still the fourteen year old girl somewhere inside me wondering if there's peace in any way that matters. Desperate to let go but whiteknuckle grip on the fear of regret. What right did I have to those emotions, I'm still not sure.

My life is not a great tragedy or even particularly interesting enough to warrant such feelings.

But I carry them all the same at the end of the day. No point denying it.

I wonder if that intense self loathing and desperation to throw myself into anything I could get my hands on is why I barely had any friends. Was it as unpleasant to know me as it was to be me?

I want to apologize to them all sometimes.

For putting up with me.

To the sad, desperate kid sitting in her room with nothing to do but rewatch old movies or, very soon, read fanfiction.

But it never really filled the space like we wanted, did it? Just another hole to hide ourselves in...

Did we ever really learn what it's like to be safe? To really, truly, feel safe and loved in our skin? I don't think we ever have--and I'm sorry for that. I wish we were any other way. I wish we were the wild child our mother expected. The confident, brilliant life in the room instead of the weirdo people expected to either shoot up the school or ourselves.

We didn't know how to try to be better, we just were as we are. Not even sure what 'better' would have been. We were not trusted. I don't think we were liked by more than a handful of people. A little too weird. Too... Something. Other, I suppose.

Other enough that no one commented when a 'friend' pulled the ends of your scarf (that you wore in the summer as you had every day for a few years now, not long after a grown man placed his teeth on your neck) and choked you for several seconds.

It felt like several minutes.

You stopped wearing the scarf, but you wore headphones around your neck whenever you could afterwards.

I'm sorry.

You didn't know what was wrong. And I don't think anything ever really was. We were--are--different. And not in a way that can be fixed.

And I am sorry for that.

There was so much more and...

We didn't deserve any of that. No one could.

Not even you. Us. We.

I think we were just tired. By then.

We just wanted to rest in the moment where nothing was overtly wrong.

I'm still tired.

I've been tired for so long.

But I'm learning to rest.

I'm learning how to meet my gaze in the mirror after so long not being able to.

How to love myself and what that even means. That it's not a word but action. Every day. A choice.

If I told you we were getting better, would you believe me? Would you believe me if I told you the stupid ass way I've been working on it? I guess it's more believable than hours of yoga but still...

Even back then, you were too afraid to offend to disagree so I think you'd find a way to believe it anyway.

I'm sorry believing is still so hard. Easier to remain uninvested than give your whole heart to something and realize the ugly parts of yourself.

It's going to be okay, kiwi.

Things have changed a lot but... Most of it is for the better.

You're still not good at a lot of stuff. Mostly people stuff. You're still spiteful and stubborn. You still hate being mad but love to complain. Can't stand crying or talking out loud about how you feel.

Still not sure if it was really cowardice that stayed our hand or not...

But... You're curious about tomorrow now.

You can almost bring yourself to invest in a new show (14 years old, this isn't a problem but you'll feel that rut in a few years yet, I assure you).

Romance is still confusing to you but it's not... TOTALLY a foreign concept now. Like, why you specifically.

I'm sorry it's taking so long, kiwi.

But if we're being honest?

You didn't expect to feel like this for long either. One way or another.

I think we're going to make it, kiwi.

Even if it's a long, confusing road. And you don't have to believe me, kiwi.

We'll just have to wait and see.

[maybeamiles]

Saw the last voyage of the demeter today. HOLY SHIT IT WAS FUN. 10/10 good first horror movie.

I am pleased to report that I was not too scared by it. The jumpscares were, well, jumpscares, but between knowing the monster in advance and not actually being scared of vampires, blood, or gollum-esque monsters, I was able to enjoy the movie and not be constantly looking over my shoulder when I got out of the theater.

(Of course, it helps that I live in the middle of a fucking desert and saw the 12 O'clock show. If I'd been in, say, Edinburgh and seen the evening show, I would probably be far more spooked.)

Anyways I have more thoughts but they are SPOILERS SO BE WARNED. THEY ARE UNDER A CUT FOR A REASON.

But if you want a TL;DR without the spoilers: Changes were made to the version we saw in Dracula, they were good and necessary changes, and Dr. Clements is going on my list of favorite characters who deserve a happy ending.

Alright, so yalls have seen the movie now? Okay let's go.

First of all, 10/10 for including a multicultural/multiracial cast. More period shows should do that.

Second of all, I love Dr. Clements. He is such a good protagonist for this story. He would fit in so well with the main dracula crew, and I now want to write a fanfiction where he meets Van Helsing in a bar somewhere and joins the Vampire-Hunting squad. Or bumps into the crew at the Abbey. That would be good, too.

It was fascinating to see Clements, a man of pure science, deal with the threat of the supernatural, and it was nice to see him go "this shouldn't be possible, but here we are, so I'm going to figure out why, and how to stop it." Then the more superstitious crew tried to blame anything other than what was in front of them. Him and Anna are a tiny microcosm of the whole Vampire-hunting crew, minus Van Helsing's expertise.

All of the new characters were good additions. Even the dog. I liked the little detail where, as things got more dangerous and the crew got whittled down, Anna put on mens clothes and integrated into the crew. And the stuff with the kid? GOD, THAT WAS HEARTBREAKING.

They did make some changes to the story of the crew. They didn't try to put blame on the first mate, they made the captain lose it a little bit over the death and vampirification of his grandson, they didn't have the captain tie himself to the wheel, and they didn't have anyone commit suicide in order to escape Dracula.

I think that these changes, while not the most accurate version of the original Demeter's story, worked very well. In the novel, the Demeter's story is dark foreshadowing, another glimpse at the terror that will be inflicted upon the main characters. They never learn the nature of the monster. That wouldn't work for a modern audience that would immediately think "vampire" the moment blood loss was mentioned. As such, we needed a sense of resolution that we wouldn't have gotten if they had just been "yep everyone died. We never see what killed them. Wow, that sucks."

There were even some changes to the vampire lore in dracula. Vampires are no longer repelled by crucifixes, and they burn in direct sunlight (which they don't do in Dracula). That makes Dracula a much more physical threat (and maybe means they actually had a chance of killing him).

The horror we got was very much a "bad things are happening, but we don't have the skills to fully stop them" kind of horror. The decision to have some of the crew members turn was amazing. It made things so much tenser when I realized there were two vampires they had to deal with, and then the scene where the kid turns and the captain kinda looses it? OUCH. And then Anna. Poor Anna. She had it so rough. I think she died in the water from cold or injuries or something, but her death was a very narratively satisfying end to her story.

And finally, the ending. GOD THAT ENDING. Logically, I know there's no way that Dr. Clements would survive if he actually found Dracula. He doesn't have the tools or knowledge to defeat him. But I still think it would be very cool to have a Dracula AU where he teams up with the main cast for whatever reason. I think this guy deserves a proper victory after everything. I had no clue how they would make an "everybody dies" story end in a satisfying way, but BOY did they pull it off. I want Clements to survive all future encounters with Dracula even if I know he shouldn't.

[the-firebird69]

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Clip - "Bane Breaks Batman's Back" (2012) DC

So certain level armor it's not very high and it's not cosplay but it is pretty much on the level of leather but it is carbon fiber with plastic and it's usually quite effective in fist fights but not in this kind and the mask is broken and this mask goes all over the place and it is a famous mask as our son and daughter designed it it's made to have a face mask attached and goggles as the integral part or an attachment and it is for multi-use and it goes into a suit and it is airtight. But the most important part is our son put it on and they all want to be Batman and they put it on a strange place he saw his brother had one they want to try it on and people know what he looks like he looks intense so you're trying to imitate him all the time it is a nasty nightmare what they say is horrific but they keep doing this nasty so we are coming in this is coming up a lot sooner than people think these stashes and caches of trumps all over the world and that's what a lot of the movies are it goes on for a couple months no it's really a month a little less and it's over and the cities the other cities they begin and a lot of movies are about that suicide suicide squad one and two about five of the Batman's have part in there and we're all the obvious ones escape from La escape from New York free Jack City sin City is even smaller ones like the town but there are buildings that are taken from Sturbridge village like places. There's a bunch of other movies that are actually in different cities the Terminator has several palms go off and you see them they're saying is here it's a threat it is not and there's a couple more where and so forth we ask but this is how it goes it's a very dangerous business and this cow is extremely famous Batman several of them and here is broken it gets repaired and it's worn by several other people and finally it's worn by bane and the one that you see here in the fighting Tommy f coming up very soon and you would not believe what this actually means to us that our son is planning on wearing it

It won't have a face in it and it says yeah well but it's going to be rubber or neoprated or whatever that stuff is and I get it it's going to be plastic plastic. And I am hoping that he cleans it or something yeah that's weird that's strange things to say

Sarah

Thor Freya

Olympus

Hera

[adamwatchesmovies]

Smile (2022)

Bits of Smile may be reminiscent of other horror films but they’re nonetheless effective and the way these are woven together makes for a strong, frightening, memorable nightmare. This sort of picture is the reason I hate the term “elevated horror”. This film is too gory, too violent and its scares aren’t subdued enough for the package to be “tasteful” or “classy” but the way it explores its themes of mental illness is inspired. 

As psychiatrist Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosia Bacon) begins treating Laura (Caitlin Stasey), a student who saw her teacher commit suicide and has since begun acting irrationally. During their sessions, Laura claims to see something coming for her. Moments later, she grins from ear to ear before slitting her throat. In the following days, Rose begins having the same sort of delusional episodes as her former patient.

If you’ve seen The Ring and It Follows, you’ll recognize their influence on Smile. I say if you’re going to take inspiration from another piece of art, it might as well be some of the scariest movies we’ve seen in the last 20 years. Smile is like those movies because whatever it is that’s latched onto Laura is now after Rose and will wear her down in only a few days. Until then, she's plagued by hallucinations. The thing can appear as a stranger or as someone she knows. The only giveaway that the person is actually “the entity” is that it will be grinning unnervingly.

What's unique about this film is that ultimately, it’s about mental illness. Flashbacks to Rose’s childhood tell us that she saw her mother commit suicide. As an adult, she works long hours trying to help others deal with their inner demons. You know the person she’s actually trying to save is her own mother. Knowing that her family has a history of mental illness and that she's made a career helping others deal with their delusions, what's the worst thing that could happen to Rose? Losing her mind and turning into one of her patients; the kind of person who grins uncontrollably while babbling about death before becoming a threat to herself and others. What’s even worse than that? Being perfectly sane while the rest of the world THINKS she’s crazy.

The thing that’s after Rose could be trauma, grief and guilt and the disastrous effects they can have on someone when left untreated. It’s also a literal threat to our heroine. Diabolically, the monster wants to do more than just kill Rose; it wants to get her to the point where she wants to kill herself. When she spots it in the dark, grinning at her, it’s obvious if the thing wanted her dead, it could take her out right away. That’s not what it wants. It toys with her, savoring each time our protagonist (and the audience) lets their guard down so it can show up suddenly before disappearing once more. Technically, these sudden scares could be called “jump scares” but I say they’re legitimate. We’re not talking about someone walking up and grabbing their friend’s shoulder while in complete darkness and with no warning. This is a supernatural being with an agenda.

We've previously seen stories about a mysterious supernatural creature that gets into your head and grinds away at your psyche in The Bye Bye Man and Slender Man films. The difference is that those movies were dreadful and this one is effective. Sosie Bacon gives a powerful performance. You like her. You feel her pain and dread what’s coming next as much as she does. Writer/director Parker Finn knows exactly how much information about the monster we need to know, and how much to hold back. When there’s gore, it’s there just long enough for it to hit you, and then it’s gone - like a bad dream.

Often, horror movies become less frightening the closer to the end we get because we’ve figured out all of the monster’s mechanics and we kind of know how we would beat it. Because of the way the story integrates Rose’s trauma into the monster’s agenda, the terror only increases the closer to the conclusion we get, leading to a terrific finale. It kept me guessing until the last moment.

I remember reading some comments about It Follows that were fixated on the unanswered questions it left. The person who wrote them became so frustrated they wound up hating the movie. If you need your movie to be obvious and clearly defined - to the point where it's overexplained and not scary at all - then Smile probably isn’t for you. This is a smart film that knows when to hold back, with many refined elements added to flesh out its heroine. Most importantly, it gets under your skin. (December 11, 2022)

[themoviejunkiesite]

The Boys Series on Prime Video - A Reality Check for Superheroes

The Boys series on Prime Video is not for the faint-hearted. Those who can sit through its ample gore and graphic violence, are rewarded with an explosion of morally challenged heroes on a quest for glory.

The Boys series gets its name from a bunch of rag-tag brave hearts that take on superheroes for personal vindication and the good of society. Here’s a headcount:

Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) - the former British SAS operative who blames Homelander for the disappearance of his wife.

Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid) - the only civilian in the mix. He joins to avenge his girlfriend Robin after being killed by A-train

Frenchie (Tomer Capone) - the weapons specialist and chemist who’s in the group to protect his criminal homies.

Mothers Milk (Laz Alonso) - the former Marine Corps medic turned muscle, in the group to avenge his father who worked to bring Vought down

The Female/Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) - the mysterious supe (superhero) who fights against those who turned her into a supe against her will.

Cast

The Cast is a great mix of faces across genres and ones that we are used to seeing kicking ass. Karl Urban seen in Dredd, Doom, and Thor 3 has a platinum certification in kicking ass. Antony Starr, you would recall from Banshee and American Gothic. Erin Moriarty is no stranger to the superhero genre, starring in Jessica Jones, and Karen Fukuhara played the sword-wielding Katana in Suicide Squad.

Among the more well-known faces, Elizabeth Shue delivers a great performance, and Simon Pegg a good cameo.

Superpower Tally

Amazing Scenes

Any scene where the Deep ends up as unintentional comic relief, where the soundtrack devolves from a triumphant bellow to a downright comical needle scratch stop to the music is funny.

Background Score and Soundtrack

The soundtrack and background score are as dark and grimy as the basement Butcher’s Boys stay in. It would be worth downloading the soundtrack of the Boys as a workout anthem.

Comic Book Source

The Boys is an American comic book series, written by Garth Ennis and co-created, designed, and illustrated by Darick Robertson. It was originally published by Wildstorm (DC Comics) before moving to Dynamite Entertainment.

The Amazon Web series version has subtle yet significant differences from the comic that comic readers might notice.

Bonus Read Marvel Studios What If... Series Review - Marvel's Animated Imaginarium

Plot of The Boys

The plot begins with Hewey losing his love for Robin to A-train’s error. A-train runs through her like human whipped cream (yes, it's THAT graphic - get used to it!).

The series is worth watching for the super-powered scenes alone, but there’s so much more to The Boys than a dark superhero medley. It touches upon the many social ills that ail society today.

It brings up corporate greed and unethical scientific practices with Vought and its compound V, along with workplace harassment between the Deep and Starlight.

There’s the problem of immigration that is hinted at with Kimiko and her brother. It generally talks about the misuse of power by organizations and people of great wealth and influence, and about how human nature is deeply flawed.

You might like Project Power - Netflix Movie Review

Season 1

You see the group getting used to each other and complementing each other’s strengths throughout the first series.

Not only do they end up capturing and killing a supe, but they even go after the rest of the hallowed “Seven” by getting dirt on every supe. The Deep gets railroaded by Vought after assaulting Starlight under false pretenses comes to light.

Things get crazier and gorier until an expectedly shocking finale where an important character is killed in a horrific way.

A main point of contention between the Vought corporation and the government is whether supes can serve in the military. The end of the series shows a global threat that only Vought's superheroes can handle. That's where they leave us.

Read The Suicide Squad Movie Review: James Gunn's Fun Action-Adventure Team-up

Season 2

Here things get better with a fresh truckload of supes in every episode! You get to know Frenchie’s backstory along with Butcher’s past. It moves faster and is funnier than season 1.

Vought steps in to eliminate the global threat that they themselves had created.

However, Kimiko's happy reunion is short-lived as Stormfront executes her brother mercilessly with her watching on.

The Boys mocks a gratuitous female empowerment moment in Avengers Endgame where all women superheroes come together in a forced team-up. They call it "Girls get it done."

The Deep's storyline teases cults and specifically refers to the People's Temple in Guyana where an entire sect killed themselves with Flavor Aid laced with Cyanide. The series hints at this by showing people from the Church of the Collective offering a Fresca drink to everyone.

Season 3

Billy Butcher extracts a weapon from Russia that can kill Homelander which they discover is Soldier Boy.

This new character is played to perfection by Jenson Ackles of Supernatural fame. The Boys make this possible with the help of some Moxie and some temporary V serum giving them powers for a day.

A-train settles scores with another supe named Blue Hawk after he assaults a gathering. The way each character is given its due screen time and organic growth is really amazing considering the number of superheroes in this series.

Butcher teams up with Soldier Boy to kill Homelander which leads a mind-blowing finale where tables are turned at least twice in the span of five minutes.

Should You Watch The Boys Series on Prime Video? - Yes!

There are more Easter Eggs, potshots at the MCU and DC, and real-life events that you lose count of along the way. The graphics here are amazing, with multiple plotlines executed brilliantly with great production value. This series is definitely worth a watch! Especially if you want to make sense of Gen V out on Prime Video now.

Like this review? subscribe for more!

[hischiersjohnston]

Just Desserts (A League of Olympians Short Story)

SUMMARY

Sometimes, karma doesn't just come fast enough. So what do you do? If you're Grace Vandre, you get the rest of your team to help you nudge karma in the right direction and nudge it a little bit faster, that's what you do. Or: someone learns the hard way that trying to ruin Isaac van Doren's life with false allegations brings nothing but the wrath of the League (especially Grace's wrath) upon them.

WORD COUNT: 12.7k

NOTE:

This is the first ever original work I've ever posted anywhere. I used to post some fanfictions back in the day, so posting an original work is very new for me. Technically this story takes place after the first book in the series, but I haven't gotten around to actually writing the first book just yet (just a super vague outline). This short story more or less is just an exploration of the characters and their dynamics with each other, and the way I wrote it, it can be read independent of any of the other (future) works in the series. As of 07/24/2023 this work has only been crossposted on AO3 (under my username @/atvrvxia). I do not give permission for this story to be reposted anywhere else. For context: The League of Dark Olympians is a group of criminals who are hired by the Agency to track down and stop criminals who are worse than them. It's very much inspired by Suicide Squad (2016), Leverage, and even a little bit of Six of Crows. And they're called "The League of Dark Olympians" because of their codenames. And that's really all you need to know going into this story.

WARNINGS: none. just a lot of swearing and some mild threats but nothing too graphic

MOVIE NIGHTS used to only mean Twin Movie Nights: a once a month thing that Grace and Isaac would do together. They hardly get to spend time together now that they were older and had their own busy lives: Isaac was the CEO of van Doren Tech, and Grace travelled the world with her team of criminals, chasing after even worse criminals and occasionally conning a rich person.

You know, typical adult things.

But now Movie Nights aren’t just Twin Movie Nights; sometimes it’s Team Bonding Movie Nights, or Team Bonding Featuring the Twin Brother Movie Night. Tonight it was just a regular Team Bonding Movie Night, and it was hosted by Laurel (codename: Hephaestus or Heph).

Like always, Grace showed up at least half an hour early at Laurel’s apartment. Out of everyone in their team, the two were the closest. Not only were they able to talk about technology and machines with ease, but Laurel was the closest in background to Grace; who understood better than the others what it was like to be underestimated and what it was like to feel like you have to constantly prove yourself.

Safe to say, Laurel was like the sister Grace never had and the one she wished she actually had, as opposed to the younger brothers she did have.

“You know you’re not due to be here for another half hour, right?” Laurel asked as she opened the door to let her inside. Grace simply smiled and held up the brown paper bag.

“I come bearing gifts… mainly that gross beer you like to drink,” she said in lieu of a greeting. She also made a face at the mention of the beer. How Laurel can drink it was beyond her, but taste was subjective after all. Grace was more of a rum and coke kind of woman. “’Sides, I figured it would be easier to set up with two pairs of hands instead of one.”

She stepped inside the apartment, allowing Laurel to take the paper bag and she looked around the place. Laurel’s apartment was just so… Laurel. A lot of people who were well-off or came from wealthy families usually preferred a modern, minimalistic, looks-like-a-mausoleum approach when it came to their apartments. But not Laurel: her studio apartment was warm and inviting, and even though she had tidied around the place, there was still some of her projects that were laying about. One of which was on the coffee table.

“You working on something new, Elle?” Grace asked as she walked towards the coffee table and leaned down to inspect it. “Wait, is that a password decryption device?” Her eyes lit up, and if she didn’t know any better, she would have reached over to touch the item. But she had been around Laurel enough to know that she did not appreciate it if you touched her projects without her permission.

Dylan learned that lesson the hard way when they first started working together. It ended with him on his back on the floor, wheezing and promising he won’t swipe any of Laurel’s projects unless he was given permission.

“Yep,” Laurel answered, beer bottle cracked open and in her hand. She took a sip and gestured towards the device. “Go ahead and check it out. I’ve made some modifications so that it takes a lot less time to decrypt passwords. Figured you’d be the only one to appreciate it,” she smirked.

Grace chuckled. Wasn’t that the truth? She was the hacker (her codename was Athena), and Laurel was both the mastermind and maker. Who else would better appreciate such a device, other than the person who would use it the most? She carefully picked up the device, examining it closely.

Meanwhile, Laurel had turned on the television and changed the channel to the news. “Seriously? The news?” Grace asked, without tearing her eyes away from the device. She gingerly turned it around to continue her examination. She could do without the news, if she’s being honest. The whole world was shit; nothing new there. It’s been going to shit since she was a kid, and it would probably continue to go to shit until long after she was dead.

Laurel ignored the comment; not a single peep out of her. Despite her intense examination of the password decryption device, Grace can hear the news report from the television.

“… been arrested at her vacation home in the Hamptons for embezzlement and money laundering… Sources say that this had been going on for years,” the news anchor person said.

“Idiots,” she heard Laurel sigh. It was only then that Grace lifted her head to look at her. She can tell that Laurel was more or less judging the woman for getting caught, rather than embezzling from the company she worked at.

“Not everyone’s a criminal mastermind like me, or the others,” she reminded her.

Laurel cocked her head, raising a brow. “If you all were masterminds, you wouldn’t have gotten caught.”

Grace set the device back down on the table before she waved her hand dismissively, despite the now-familiar way her stomach twisted at the reminder of how and why she worked with Laurel now. She’d long since accepted it, of course. But that didn’t mean she liked being reminded of her failures. It was definitely a pride thing. Even if getting caught might have been the best thing to happen to her, she’s not going to just forget it easily.

“We still lasted how many years before the Agency caught us?” Grace asked innocently, batting her lashes at Laurel, who simply rolled her eyes and took a swig from her beer.

“Touché,” she conceded. “Anyway, you said you wanted to help out?”

The news was still going on in the background and Grace glanced at it, and saw that the topic had now moved on to… the increase in carjackings around the city. Considering that she doesn’t own a car anymore since this was New York City that she lived in, it wasn’t going to affect her.

“Yep,” Grace nodded. “What do you need me to do?”

“Bring out the pizzas from the kitchen, as well as the sides. I’ve got the plates, cutlery, soda and cups all ready for us,” Laurel instructed her.

Seems simple enough. Grace nodded again and went to bring out the five boxes of pizza that Laurel ordered. The first time they had done Team Bonding Movie Night, Grace thought two pizzas between five people was more than enough. Then she saw how Will and Dylan demolished the pizzas. Ever since then, she learned to order at four to five large pizzas whenever she would be the one to host. “Oh, did you get one with extra onions?” she asked as she carried the boxes to Laurel’s dining table.

“Yes. I know how much you like your onions. I made them add a stuffed cheesy crust too,” Laurel told her with a grin.

Grace returned it with a beam. “You’re the fucking best, Elle,” she said seriously. She went back into the kitchen to grab the other boxes of sides: fries, potato wedges, fried pickles (which only Laurel would eat), as well as chicken wings and dips. She set them down on the table, arranging them so that they’re surrounding the pizza boxes, which were laid out across the table. It was a lot of food, but better a lot than not enough.

As she finished up setting the table, there was a knock on the door. Laurel went to answer it, and Grace followed her once she was done.

The door opened to reveal the remaining three members of the team: Morgan (codename: Nemesis), Will (codename: Deimos) and Dylan (codename: Hermes). Each of them were carrying two brown paper bags each. “More booze, guys?” Laurel asked with a grin.

“Don’t you know it, Elle,” Dylan winked, before he stepped inside. He bumped his shoulder against Laurel’s in greeting, then grinned at Grace. “Ace!”

Grace chuckled at the nickname, a warm feeling spreading throughout her body, before taking the paper bags from Dylan. “Dyls,” she nodded, smiling back at him.

She could feel Laurel, Will and Morgan’s gazes burning the back of her head, but she didn’t turn around to look at them. She was not in the mood to hear it. She carried the paper bags to the dining room, peering inside. “Oh sweet! You got rum!” And it was her favourite brand too.

Reaching inside, she took out the bottle and opened it. She grabbed a plastic cup, filled it a quarter of the way before she topped it off with some cola. “Well, I figured that you would be nicer with a little bit of alcohol in you,” Dylan spoke up, waggling his brows at her.

She rolled her eyes, but there was a fond smile that curled on her lips. She’s grown used to his teasing over the past year. And it wasn’t like Grace couldn’t handle a little teasing; her tongue was as sharp as her mind, after all. “And is this your way of saying you’d rather I be nice and an alcoholic?” she asked as she brought the cup to her lips.

“I can neither confirm nor deny,” he declared, before he took a fry and popped it in his mouth.

“Hmm, we both know you like it when people are mean to you, Dyls. You have a kink,” she shrugged casually, which made him cough.

“I do not!”

She simply hummed under her breath, believing she had won that round against him, and took another sip of her drink before she joined the conversation that Will, Laurel and Morgan were having.

• »»————-　➴　————-««

If Grace was being honest, half the time that they did Team Bonding Movie Night, she could scarcely pay attention to the movie(s) that they watched. Even when she had done these movie nights with Isaac, it was more about spending time together rather than watching the actual film. She was lounged across Laurel’s armchair, legs dangling from the arm of the furniture and working on her third slice of pizza. Her phone was on her lap and she was watching the others.

Dylan was across the room from her on the other armchair, while Laurel was in between Morgan and Will on the couch. Will was watching the movie intently; so intently that you’d think that he was studying a building’s blueprint. Grace had no clue why her cousin was so invested in the movie; it was a horror comedy after all. Maybe Will was trying to get ideas. Although she was pretty sure that he’s already thought of creative ways of murdering people, considering he’s a hitman.

She shrugged those thoughts out of her mind and went back to her pizza, but not before glancing at Dylan. His legs were pulled to his chest and he had a thoughtful expression on his face as he watched the movie playing out on the screen. The chair he was sitting on was the closest to the television, which caused the colours from the screen to reflect onto his face. Objectively speaking, she’s known that he’s an attractive guy with his dark hair, blue eyes and roguish smile. If he wasn’t attractive or charming, he wouldn’t be the best thief in the world nor would he be one of the best grifters she’s ever encountered. Grace used to wonder if Dylan was constantly faking his charm, especially when he was around the team; trying to get them to lower their guards down. But then she had come to see that he’s just like that. Of course he laid the charm on thick when it comes to a mark, but his friendliness and charm were genuine. She subconsciously bit down on her lip, before she caught herself staring; cheeks flushing.

Fuck.

She glanced again at the trio on the couch and saw that they were all still watching the movie. She let out a quiet sigh of relief. Grace knew she would not be able to live down the teasing from them if they caught her staring. She shook her head again, finished the last bite of her pizza and turned on her phone. Pulling up Instagram, she scrolled through her feed and swallowed.

Thank the gods above that she did, or else she would have spat out the bite she had been working on.

“What the actual fuck?!” Grace yelled in outrage and disbelief.

Her outburst caught the attention of her friends. “Grace?” Laurel’s voice— it was Laurel who spoke up, but Grace was glaring at the screen as she read through the post.

“Oh that mother—“ a ton of expletives in different languages slipped past her lips. Her grip on the phone tightened. Each word of that post made her sick to her stomach and simultaneously make her blood boil with unimaginable rage.

She liked to think that despite being quick to anger, she was almost always able to rein it in and be able to act accordingly. Plans were not made in haste, after all. It took careful planning and strategizing— she was a strategist. And yet, every cell in her body was screaming at her to hunt down Elizabeth Campbell and strangle the woman.

She forced herself to tear her gaze away from her phone. The more she saw those words, those false accusations— yes, she knew they must be false because she knew her twin brother like the back of her hand— the stronger the urge was to throw something at Elizabeth Campbell’s stupid face. And she can’t act based on emotion— it had never served her well in the past.

Her gaze landed on her friends, all who had their phones out. From the way that Dylan’s brows were furrowed, Morgan’s look of contempt, Laurel’s wide-eyed shock and the nearly imperceptible way that Will’s jaw clenched— Grace knew that they were reading the exact same thing she had read.

“Oh this is so messed up…” Laurel breathed out.

Grace’s hands clenched into fists and she had to force herself to take a deep breath. How dare Elizabeth Campbell blatantly lie? How dare she hurl a false accusation against Isaac? Take ten deep breaths, she told herself, before she can do something she was going to regret. She tried to focus on her breathing, but all she could think of was her brother— her kind, sweet, caring brother and what he must be feeling right now.

Despite being twins, Grace and Isaac couldn’t have been more different. He was technically older (by only three minutes and yet sometimes he acted as if he was three years older) than Grace. He was the picture perfect heir to the van Doren’s computers and electronics company: polite, charming, kind, intelligent… he was the perfect son. The perfect child. Growing up, it was clear Mark and Elizabeth van Doren favoured their eldest son over the others; over their only daughter and their three younger sons. She should resent Isaac. She’s supposed to resent Isaac for the love and attention he received, while she had been deprived of both.

But she didn’t. Because he was the only one of their siblings who ever stood up for her; the only one who ever gave a damn about her. Even when she had been disowned at fifteen, he was the one who tried to help her in any way that he could— whether that was leaving her a box of groceries so that she didn’t have to steal food or leaving her some cash so she can fill up on gas— he was the only one who ever cared.

The entire world could be against her and it had been against her for over half of her life. But none of that mattered because she had Isaac in her corner.

And now, it was time for him to know that she’s in his corner.

“As if it wasn’t bad enough she left him at the literal altar and ran off with another man, she’s now claiming that Isaac abused her?” Grace fumed. “Who does that? Who the fuck does that?” she exclaimed, waving her hands around. Cursing and venting helped cool her down a little— just a little. She was still very much seeing red at this point.

It was Dylan who spoke up. “Someone who wants to control the narrative.”

That was actually a pretty smart answer and the one that made the most sense. Sometimes it was hard to remember that for all his dumbass remarks, Dylan can be quite smart and observant when needed— you don’t become the best thief in the world if you were oblivious. But there were times when you could almost doubt him… and then he goes around and point out stuff like this. Of all of them, he and Will were the best at reading people; their motivations, desires and even their tells. She shouldn’t be surprised, but Dylan had a habit of constantly surprising her.

There was a loud crunching noise, and Grace turned her head towards the source. Morgan was standing there with a crushed plastic cup in hand; the remaining liquid inside the cup had spilled over her fist and dripped onto the wooden floor. She looked downright murderous. “False accusations to control the narrative?” Morgan asked through gritted teeth.

Grace had no doubt that had it not been for Laurel’s comforting hand on Morgan’s shoulder, or even Will’s gazed locked with Morgan’s, that Morgan would have flung all self-control out of the window, hunted down Elizabeth Campbell and murdered her within the hour. As furious as Grace was, as livid as she was, this was a very touchy subject for Morgan.

False accusations had a way of ruining people’s lives and no one knew it better than Morgan Wilson. Grace at least was able to rein in her anger, thanks to years of practice. But Morgan? She wielded her anger like a weapon. Too many times they had almost risked a heist or a mission because of her temper. It used to annoy Grace how hot-headed Morgan got. But she understood her better now. So if Morgan was going to seriously hurt Elizabeth to teach her a lesson or even murder her, Grace quite frankly, wouldn’t stop her. Or, ideally, she wouldn’t stop her. Realistically, she would have to stop her because then that would mean a one-way trip back to prison for Morgan, and also because getting physically hurt was not enough of a punishment for Elizabeth.

“What do you mean about the controlling the narrative?” Grace found herself asking out loud. If her head was any clearer, she would have been able to figure out the motivation behind the accusation. But the blood was still roaring in her ears and the heat coursing through her body had not receded. She can’t think clearly.

"It was all over the media when she left Isaac at the altar," Dylan explained. "People were not kind to her at all, calling her names and sending her hate. They called her heartless."

"And a few other choice words and names that are more accurate," Grace mumbled under her breath.

"So," he continued as if Grace hadn’t spoken, "her reputation was ruined. From what Grace had told us about her, she's the type of person to care about her reputation, her looks and her wealth more than anything else. She's trying to justify her leaving and cheating by claiming abuse. People would see her as a more sympathetic figure now and then Isaac would be the one vilified by the press."

They all fell silent at that. "And we know how the justice system works… It's not even 'innocent until proven guilty' anymore. The press already got wind of this and we all know that that basically means he has to prove his innocence if he wanted to save his reputation but even then… it would never be the same," Morgan snarled.

"And if his reputation is ruined, then it would also affect VDT's stocks, which would affect the employees," Grace finished. The anger had left her body, leaving her feeling hollow and empty. Was this what her brother was feeling right now? She should call him. But she also knew that since the news just broke, he would be talking to his lawyers and his PR team.

She didn’t care about the family company. She didn’t care about the van Doren legacy. She stopped caring the moment she was told she was no longer their daughter. But Isaac cared about the company. He cared about the people who worked for him because he’s a stupidly kind person with the biggest heart she knew. She didn’t care about those people, but she cared about him.

"So what do we do about this? We can't let her get away with this," Morgan declared, looking at each and every single one of them, almost as if daring them to argue with her. None of them did.

“Well, we have to be covert about it,” Laurel decided.

“Yeah. Which means Chloe can’t know,” Will said with a pointed look. Chloe Lacroix was technically their boss. She had been the one who had come up with the idea for the League and had thus formed the team. She had final say in everything, and Laurel was her subordinate; there to make sure that these criminals they hired would stay in line.

“It goes without saying,” Laurel sighed a little exasperatedly, rolling her eyes. Grace was quite proud. There had been a time not long ago when Laurel would have hesitated and outright denied them the opportunity. After all, their work ‘contract’ had a very specific clause about not abusing the immunity the Agency gave them for personal use.

“Guys,” Grace spoke up, sitting on the arm of the chair she had occupied earlier. “I appreciate this, I do.” Because being appreciative and grateful is how you feel when people want to fight for you and your brother. “But we can’t just act without Isaac’s approval. I mean…” She hesitated. “It’s his fight.” She doesn’t like it, of course. But they were adults and they were more than capable of fighting their own battles.

Will folded his arms across his chest, taking a few steps until he was directly in front of her. He towered over her easily, especially since she was sitting down. “So text him,” he said. “And ask.”

It actually was that simple. Isaac knew what she really did for a living and he had met Laurel, Morgan and Dylan; even hung out with them a few times. Of course her twin brother would endear himself to her team. He took the whole ‘team of criminals’ thing in stride— barely blinking an eye when Dylan swiped his watch the first time they met, and barely flinching when Morgan glared daggers at him for the first hour that same night.

She knew better than to text anything incriminating. So she took out her phone and took a few minutes to type up the text.

To: Womb Mate Say the word and it would be taken care of.

It took a few minutes because she kept going back and deleting what she was writing, before she eventually settled on that one line, and sent it. By the time she looked up, Will had gone and in his place stood Dylan who was peering down at her phone. She glared at him. "Must you be nosy?"

"I wouldn't be me if I wasn't," he countered. "And seriously? Not even a 'hey, how're you holding up'?"

"That's a stupid question to ask him, because I'm assuming he's not okay. Would you be if your ex fiancée leaves you at the altar for another guy and then claim that you've been abusing her to the press?"

Before Dylan can utter a reply, Grace’s phone buzzed. She checked the notification screen to see a new message from Isaac. She opened it and was greeted by two words:

From: Womb Mate Do it.

A smirk crept on her lips and there was a gleam in her eyes as she looked up from her phone to look at the rest of her team: Dylan was practically vibrating with excitement; Laurel’s lips were pursed, a calculating look on her face that Grace had dubbed her ‘scheming face’; Will’s arms were folded across his chest and she can see the way his hands clenched into fists; and finally Morgan with her narrow eyes and a tension in her jaw, her fingers still wrapped around the crushed plastic cup.

They were all furious on Isaac's behalf but they were all also itching for a chance to utilize their skills for non-mission purposes. Sure, it was nice to send horrible criminals to jail, but there was something so thrilling and exciting about using those skills to ensure that a regular person got what they deserved. It was feeling just like old times— when they were on their own and wrecking havoc where they went. The only difference was that they had each other now and they’re able to utilize their skills together to make the job easier and more efficient.

"He gave us the green light,” Grace declared, a warm feeling spreading throughout her body.

Elizabeth Campbell won’t know what hit her.

»»————-　➴　————-««

The goal was simple: expose that Elizabeth Campbell was lying about the allegations. But discrediting her was not enough: this was not just punishment for lying, but a punishment for ruining an innocent's life for selfish reasons. Elizabeth Campbell was a rich girl. Grace (as well as Laurel and Will) knew better than anyone that people with that upbringing often had skeletons in their closet; skeletons that they wished would remain hidden because if it was exposed, they would be ruined forever.

When she’s not working with the League, Laurel had to go in at the Agency and help out other agents, but she also did promise them that she would do everything in her power to keep anyone else from finding out what they were up to. So that left Grace, Dylan, Morgan and Will to do the digging.

Grace was pretty sure that Morgan, Laurel and Will had discussed a plan of sorts that ensured that she and Dylan would be paired together because Morgan was very quick to volunteer with Will on tailing Elizabeth, leaving Grace and Dylan to case Elizabeth’s apartment and bug her place.

It took over a week to properly case her apartment, and way, way less time than that for Grace to hack into the surveillance system of the building. It was necessary in order to put the footage on a loop; ensuring that neither she nor Dylan would be caught on camera when they made their way into the building and all the way up to Elizabeth’s penthouse suite, disguised as cable providers.

Dylan carried a bump key with him, which he used to let them inside of the suite. Grace immediately wrinkled her nose in distaste the moment they stepped foot inside.

Everything about the suite screamed 'wealth': the spacious entryway with the high ceilings and marble floors, floor to ceiling windows that showed the skyline of New York, the artwork displayed on walls, the state of the art sound system and TV along with a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The furniture was sleek and modern in the living room and the kitchen had granite countertops and top-of-the-line appliances. Grace hated it. It reminded her too much of her family home and the mere association made her stomach churn.

The two of them made their way through Elizabeth’s place, and Dylan let out a low whistle. Grace turned, watching him as he stared up at one of the paintings that hung on the wall. If they were in a cartoon, Grace was quite certain there’d be hearts in his eyes. There’s nothing Dylan Reeves loved more than art, that was certain. “Wow… do you know how much that Monet would sell for on the black market?”

She did, but now wasn’t the time nor the place. With a roll of her eyes, she reached out in front of him and snapped her fingers a couple of times. “Focus, Dylan,” she sighed, a little exasperatedly. “We’re not here to steal anything from her.” They’re just there to bug her place and hack into her devices.

A quick glance at the watch on her wrist showed the time: 2:09pm. Morgan and Will had both assured her that Elizabeth would be out during that time, as she had a yoga class till 3pm. The studio she went to was about ten minutes away, but regardless of how much time they had, she didn't want to risk it. "You have the bugs on you?" she asked Dylan, who nodded. "Good. Place them in her bedroom, behind a vase… Make sure every room has at least one. Even the bathroom."

It may sound gross, and it was definitely gross at times, but it’s been proven from experience that people talked when they were in the bathroom. And Grace needed all the dirt she could get on this horrible woman.

Dylan started placing the bugs in various places, while Grace went to find Elizabeth's bedroom. It was large, with an ensuite bathroom and the same view of the skyline from the living room. There was a glass desk at the corner with her laptop and tablet. Grace hurried over to the desk, taking out a flash drive from her pocket along with Laurel’s upgraded password decryption device.

She easily bypassed the login screen on the laptop with the decryption device, before inserting the flash drive. She clicked on it, downloading the software that would allow her to have remote access to Elizabeth's laptop as well as her webcam, which would take a while to fully download and install.

Grace then took the tablet, used the decryption device once more and downloaded the mirroring app, which she then hid under one of the apps that was already installed. It would be hard for Elizabeth to stumble upon the app, as Grace chose to hide it under one of Elizabeth's never-been-used apps before (according to her tablet's storage details). While waiting for the software to finish downloading, Grace found herself staring at the different photos framed on the wall, frowning.

"Okay, all the bugs have been placed in every single room," she heard Dylan announce as he came into the room, but she paid him no mind, her attention focused on the photographs.

"Come here and tell me what you see," Grace instructed him. Dylan looked at her and she stared right back, before he sighed and looked at the framed photographs.

"No pictures with Isaac," he commented slowly, chewing on his lip.

"Yes, but what else?" Grace prompted.

"I see… photographs of her and Frederic Astor, which isn't unusual since she left your brother for him and they’re in a relationship," Dylan continued before stopping short at a photograph of Elizabeth with a brown-haired man, a sharp jawline and an arrogant look. "Isn't that…?"

"A photograph of her with Adam Lancaster, the heir to the Lancaster estate and fortune in England," she finished. The Lancasters were an aristocratic family; very wealthy and had quite the collection of family art and jewels. Grace had stolen a few pieces from them some years back. They were wealthier than the Astors (who owned a chain of luxurious five-star hotels worldwide) and the Campbells (who were quite famous in the film industry) combined.

It seemed like a normal picture; the two of them at a gala with Elizabeth dressed in a low-cut gown and diamonds dripping from ears and wrist and Adam Lancaster in a tuxedo. But Grace saw more than just that. There was something about the way the two were posed together that seemed innocent enough, but her gut was telling her that something else was going on. There’s no time stamp on a the photograph so she can’t be certain when this was taken. But she did make sure to snap a quick picture of it with her phone.

"You’ve got that look on your face again,” Dylan remarked. Grace looked away from her phone, blinking at him.

“What look?”

“That look when you’re deep in thought about something. You scrunch your nose, you frown at whatever you’re staring at, and I can practically see the gears turning in that pretty head of yours.”

She definitely was not flushed when he said that. Normally she would deflect. No one wanted to know what she’s actually thinking about. Years of being brushed aside for your brother would do that to you. But she was also learning that Dylan and the others did care what she thought. They wanted to know what she was thinking about and her thought process. “I’ve seen pictures of them together before. But there’s something different about this one,” she admitted. “I just need to figure out when it was taken and then I’ll know for sure if my suspicions are correct.”

She looked back to the devices. Once the software had been installed, she pocketed the flash drive and the decryption device. "C'mon. Let's get out of here." Another glance at her watch showed the time as 2:56pm. "Let's hurry. Her class is almost done," she added as they both left the room, but not before ensuring that nothing seemed out of place.

Dylan locked the door once more with the bump key and then they exited the apartment building. Once they were outside of the building and back into Dylan’s car (parked a couple of blocks away), Grace took out her laptop and stopped the loop footage, taking it out and allowing the surveillance footage to operate in actual time.

“You think maybe she was also messing around with Lancaster?” Dylan asked as he began to drive them back to Grace's apartment.

“Maybe,” she admitted. “She’s a social climber. And Lancaster… he’s the golden ticket.” Never mind the CEO of a computer and electronics company or even the spare heir to a chain of luxurious hotels; the aristocracy was right at the top, just below actual royalty. Once you were in, you were in.

And she knew better than most just how desperate some people were to be a part of the elite.

»»————-　➴　————-««

Later that night, Grace’s laptop was turned on and connected to several of the monitors that hung on her wall: a real-time footage of Elizabeth's bedroom from the webcam, still showing a dark and empty room; Elizabeth's social media accounts and finally, her banking and credit card statements. Grace was looking through her own tablet, which she was using to look through Elizabeth's tablet, trying to look through her messages and emails.

"So she just… had her phone synced with her tablet?" Morgan asked. She had pulled up a spare office chair to look at the numerous monitors. Will and Dylan were both huddled together on the small sofa that was pushed against the wall— the sofa that Grace often slept on when she was too tired to go to her bed after surveillance. Laurel was perched on the arm of the sofa, also staring at the screens.

"Yep, and it makes it easier for us. We don't have to get near her phone, but all her messages, emails, notes… We can see everything as soon as it's synced," Grace smirked. God bless whoever decided to invent online storage and syncing all your data across all your devices. It made it a lot easier for her to get the information she needed.

She kept looking through Elizabeth's emails— dear lord did that woman not know how to read her emails? Nothing made Grace shudder more than seeing all those unopened emails; that number was way too high in her opinion. Elizabeth was an actress, so most of her emails were about auditions, although Grace can see she's been getting emails about being the spokesperson for a charity for abused women and other similar charities. She wrinkled her nose and her lip curled in disgust at that, before she moved on to other emails.

That being said, the photograph of Elizabeth and Adam Lancaster was still lingering in her mind. “Hey, Will?” she called out, looking away from the emails to look at her cousin. “Any chance you and Morgan saw Elizabeth meeting up with Adam Lancaster?”

"Lancaster?" Will echoed, narrowing his eyes as he raised his head to meet her gaze. Of course he knew who Lancaster was; she’s pretty sure that he had gotten into a physical altercation with him when they were younger. Not that Grace blamed him: Adam Lancaster was completely unbearable to be around. How he was related to someone like Adelaide Lancaster, who so disgustingly kind-hearted and sweet was beyond her.

“Adam Lancaster? Of the Lancaster estate?” Laurel questioned, raising a brow at Grace.

“The very same one,” Grace confirmed. Of course Laurel would know of him: her family ran in the same circles as the van Dorens. Except, while the van Dorens were old money in America, the Beauforts were old money from France that had only moved to America in the late nineties.

"Give me a second…" he began to flip through his notes, stopping after a few moments. "Where’s he currently residing at?"

Grace put her tablet down on the table before taking her laptop. She first went on social media, easily finding Adam Lancaster's Instagram page. "So he's definitely in New York City," she announced, seeing the geotag on his latest post, which was dated a couple of days ago. She went through a few more posts, looking at the dates and the geotags. "Looks like he's been here for a couple of months, which means…" She pulled up the DMV database and began doing a search. Almost instantaneously, his American driver's license popped up. "He's staying at the Rivereast, probably renting or owns an apartment there. It's on 92nd in the Upper East Side."

"Well fuck me," Morgan breathed out as she looked at Will. Grace caught the way Laurel was staring a little too long at Morgan when she said those words, but she also saw the way Will was eyeing Morgan. Huh. Interesting. There was a tease to be said there, but now wasn’t the time nor the place. "We saw her go there a couple of days ago but we had no clue who she might have been visiting. She went in there for about a couple of hours then left."

"So she's cheating on Astor with Lancaster," Dylan deduced.

"It makes sense. Frederic Astor may have come from old money but Adam Lancaster comes from an aristocratic family," Will pointed out. "And Lancaster is the heir to his family estate; Astor's not even close to inheriting it, since the chain of Waldorf-Astoria hotels is owned by his cousin, Wyatt."

Grace then exited the DMV database and went back to the tablet, trying to see if she could find any messages between Elizabeth and Lancaster, but found nothing. "Alright, no messages between them to confirm anything; not even on her socials. They follow each other, but that's about it…" she trailed off before shrugging. "If she makes any calls to him while she's at her apartment, I can definitely listen in and record them. But just to be safe, Will and Morgan, can you continue to tail her and try to get evidence of the cheating?"

"Yeah, for sure," Will nodded in agreement, as did Morgan.

"It's getting late," Laurel interrupted. "We should probably get some rest.” A quick glance at the clock on the wall showed that it was a little after midnight. They’ve spent hours pouring over the information they’ve gotten and it wasn’t a bad start, since they’ve deduced Elizabeth having an affair.

Everyone left after that, but not without saying their goodbyes. Laurel was the last one to leave, and she gave Grace a comforting hug, which she awkwardly returned. She’s still getting used to physical affection, but she was getting better at it, she liked to think.

Grace glanced at the footage on her laptop from the webcam in Elizabeth's room, still empty and dark. There was no noise, no audio being transmitted by the bugs into her laptop either. Grace pulled up an audio recorder on her laptop and pressed 'record'. That way, if Elizabeth did make any sound or call anyone, she could still listen the next day. Grace was nothing if not prepared and she was determined to get the proof that Elizabeth was lying about the abuse allegations, no matter how long it would take.

But she can’t sleep. Not yet. There’s still too much adrenaline coursing through her veins and she’s determined to find more of the dirt that Elizabeth Campbell was surely hiding. She wasn’t just going to humiliate her by exposing her affair. That was too nice, too tame for what she did to the most important person in Grace’s life.

No; Grace was going to destroy her.

»»————-　➴　————-««

A couple of nights later, Will and Morgan returned to Grace's apartment with the photographs taken from the digital camera they brought with them. Grace was elated and began looking through them. All of the photos were taken in broad daylight so there was no denying their identities: there were a few of them holding hands and looking too close to be just friendly, and several of them kissing, along with a couple of them going into a motel room and a few of them on their way out. Each photo taken had a date and time-stamp solidifying proof that the photos were recent. "Good job guys," Grace grinned as she looked up from the camera.

"So when are we sending the photographs?" Will asked, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"We need proof of her lying about the allegations first. I can't believe that's the one taking forever for us to find proof of. I figured she'd be going on and on about it to a friend or something," Grace complained. "Seriously; I listened to her rip her assistant a new one because the girl brought her a cup of coffee with regular milk instead of almond milk." If she hadn't despised Elizabeth Campbell before, she certainly did now. "And don't even get me started about the couture talk!"

"Sucks for you," Dylan smirked from his place on the living room couch, ignoring Grace flipping him off. He was on his phone, playing Candy Crush while Grace had been looking over at the photos. She can confirm it was Candy Crush because of all the sound effects she’s been hearing. It used to irritate her, hearing these sounds and all the noises that came with working in a team. She had been far too used to quiet her entire life. Now though, it was welcoming, because it meant that she wasn’t alone.

Laurel, unfortunately, was not there that night. Something about working overtime and having to deal with the paperwork from that other mission she was supervising on. Although Grace did make sure to keep her updated on everything using a burner phone.

There was something else too that she required Laurel’s help with, and thankfully, she had given Grace the names of some contacts who can help her out. She had sworn on her skateboard collection that Grace won’t be in trouble with this person and she won’t tell the others about it until the time was right. Considering that Grace knew how much Laurel treasured her skateboard collection, she believed her.

"What I don't get is why someone who's all about the high-end life check into a motel like that," Morgan commented as she went to Grace's fridge and took out a bottle of beer. She took out her pocket knife and used the bottle opener part to take off the cap, before taking a long swig from it.

"Counter-measure," Will replied as he moved to sit beside Dylan. "Famous people who have affairs definitely use motels to make sure paps don't catch them. 'Cause who would think that someone rich would willingly check into a dumpy motel when they can be at a five-star hotel?"

"Rich people, I swear to God," Morgan huffed, shaking her head. She moved to sit down beside Will, who was now wedged between Dylan and Morgan on the couch. “The things they do to hide their affairs.”

"Tell me about it," Grace replied wryly, before going back to listening to the audio tapes and hoping that Elizabeth could just talk to someone about the allegations and explicitly state that they were false. This part was the one she hated the most— the waiting. But she had to push through because she was doing this for her brother. He had been patient with her for over thirty years (and it was not an easy anything when Grace was involved); she can afford to attempt being patient for another few weeks or however long it took to get the proof that he didn't hurt his ex.

»»————-　➴　————-««

Four more days.

That was how long it took.

Four more days of eavesdropping and having to endure listening to rants about the incompetence of her assistant, the snarky comments about her so-called friends and the incredibly disgusting phone sex with Frederic Astor (Grace felt the urge to wash her ears with holy water after that). That was how long it took before Grace got the proof she so desperately desired. Once she realized that Elizabeth had called her best friend Maya Johnson (some trust fund baby she barely knew anything about), she immediately began to record the audio. Lucky for her, Elizabeth had put Maya on speaker phone, so Grace can hear both ends of the conversation.

MAYA: Elizabeth, babe! So, what's the deal with you and van Doren? Did he like, seriously hurt you? I mean, you should have seen it coming, Elle. Like he's got a freaking psychopath for a cousin and wasn't his twin sister like, psycho too? Didn't she like, throw a drink at someone and ruined their attire? That entire family is just psycho as hell!

Grace rolled her eyes and scoffed. Like she hadn't heard that one before. Still, she felt mildly offended that Maya Johnson was calling her 'psycho' over something so trivial.

If anything, she should be considered psycho for other things she had done. But throwing a drink on someone was so… not grounds for being psycho. Although Maya calling Will a ‘psychopath’ made her frown. You could say whatever you wanted about her, but she drew the line at insulting or talking shit about the people she cared for. Did Will have anger issues and post-traumatic stress from his time as a Navy SEAL? Yes. But that definitely didn’t make him a psychopath. If only she could jump in and correct these two idiots who clearly lacked the presence of a braincell. But, she needed to keep quiet since the conversation was being recorded.

ELIZABETH: C'mon Maya. As if he could ever hurt me. MAYA: But didn't you say that he did? ELIZABETH: Of course I said that. Isaac isn't capable of hurting anyone even if he tried. He's too soft for my taste. I mean seriously; I tried to get him to choke me or tie me up in bed and he wouldn't even agree to do it.

Grace made a face and nearly gagged. She did not need to hear about her brother’s preferences in bed or his non-preferences. Nope. She was sorely tempted to tap out of this conversation, but she steeled herself and powered through. You’re doing this for your brother, she told herself. Do it for Isaac.

MAYA: So he never even hurt you? ELIZABETH: Not even once. I just said that so people would like, stop coming to his support. Do you know how many producers took back offers for roles when I left him at the altar and my reputation pretty much tanked? One of them even said that they can't even hire me for the role because people would see me as the lead and immediately give shit reviews. Now, I'm getting so many offers and I think someone even offered to do a biopic for me. MAYA: Well, sucks to suck for him. That's pretty smart of you to do though. It's your word against his and you know how easy it is to believe that a woman is being hurt by a guy. ELIZABETH: I know, right?

Grace tuned out the rest of the conversation. Her hands had clenched into fists and were shaking. It wasn't even just about Isaac anymore; Grace was completely disgusted at the utter lack of care and remorse that Elizabeth had about lying about being abused. She might not have been the model citizen or even the nicest person in the world, but she would never claim to be abused or even raped by someone when nothing ever happened. Those were serious allegations and Elizabeth just didn't care. There were women who were actually being abused being too scared to speak up because they feared they wouldn't be believed by authorities and someone like Elizabeth had the audacity to lie about it?

She took a few deep breaths in an attempt to quell her anger. It would do no good for her to lose her cool. Besides, she got the proof and that was what was important. She waited until the call was over before pressing the ‘stop recording’ button.

Grace saved that audio file into her folders, before deactivating the bugs in Elizabeth's apartment. She then grabbed the digital camera that contained photos of Elizabeth and Adam Lancaster's affair, plugged it into her laptop and downloaded the photos. Once they had been downloaded, she began to compose an email to her contacts who were journalists and bloggers, attaching the photographs of the affair.

The moment she hit ‘send’ and she heard the little ‘whoosh’ sound that came with sending an email successfully, she leaned back against her chair and smirked.

Phase One was complete.

»»————-　➴　————-««

LATEST NEWS: HEIR ADAM LANCASTER AND ACTRESS ELIZABETH CAMPBELL SPOTTED TOGETHER IN NEW JERSEY! WHERE IS FREDERIC ASTOR?

LADIES: IT SEEMS THAT HEIR ADAM LANCASTER IS OFF THE MARKET!

WHERE IS FREDERIC ASTOR AND WHAT DOES HE THINK OF THE LANCASTER-CAMPBELL AFFAIR?

DISCULTURE 🗸 @disculturenews ● 17 hours ago ( 09/06/2023 ) [photo] [photo] Adam Lancaster and actress Elizabeth Campbell are caught locking lips! Does this mean that she and Frederic Astor have called it quits? 12k replies 24k retweets 64k likes

↳ emma (taylor’s version) @emmaswiftie293 ● 16 hours ago

if they’ve called it quits, wouldn’t they have announced it or something?? plus, she was just seen with frederic a couple of weeks ago out on a date

↳ jenny loves 21 days of anarchy @21doafanforever ● 16 hours ago

girly either moves fast or she’s been cheating because the math ain’t mathing

↳ joaquim nowak stan account @criticizerule ● 13 hours ago

calling it now: she’s totally cheating on him! she has a history of cheating, didn’t she???

↳ ethan sanders is my husband @peachpride ● 12 hours ago

well for that one, she had an excuse: @isaacvd was ab*sing her and hurting her!!

↳ joaquim nowak stan account @criticizerule ● 12 hours ago

so what’s her excuse now??

monica higgins @flyroughly ● 5 hours ago ( 09/08/2023 ) [video] [video] no way guys, this is insane bc?? @fredericastorofficial1 straight up threw a f*cking tantrum so this means that @ellecampbellxox was totally cheating on him!! 8k replies 15k retweets 25k likes ↳ ethan sanders is my husband @peachpride ● 4 hours ago

@ellecampbellxox : so was @fredericastorofficial hurting you too??

TROUBLE IN PARADISE? ADAM LANCASTER SPOTTED IN HEATHROW AIRPORT WITHOUT HIS BOMBSHELL ACTRESS PARAMOUR

ELIZABETH CAMPBELL IN NEW YORK LOOKING WORSE FOR WEAR: DID SHE CHEAT ON FREDERIC ASTOR OR WAS SHE CHEATING ON ADAM LANCASTER ALL ALONG?

marry me elian barnes @bulletbeachstan ● 1 hour ago ( 09/09/23 ) so anyone else find it kinda weird that @isaacvd hasn’t done any sort of meeting or conference yet?? i mean his ex went and told the entire world that he was hurting her and he didn’t say anything?? and now that his ex is revealed to have been cheating on two guys, still nothing?? 80 replies 2k retweets 3k likes ↳ joaquim nowak stan account @criticizerule ● 58 minutes ago

i don’t think it’s weird but it is a little concerning and confusing. he should be setting the record straight but he hasn’t done or said anything yet. altho personally i’m beginning to think that maybe the allegations were false because if she can cheat twice… who’s to say she won’t lie?

↳ marry me elian barnes @bulletbeachstan ● 46 minutes ago

no i get it! i know he doesn’t owe anyone anything, but from a business standpoint, he should say something. and i’m with you. getting the vibes that she might be lying and she hadn’t said anything about frederic hurting her… it’s all just weird and sus to me.

»»————-　➴　————-««

If there was something Grace loved, it was watching how the media ran with stories, especially gossip stories. The Lancaster-Campbell affair dominated social media; trending for a good week before everyone eventually forgot about it and jumped onto the next scandal. Nevertheless, the damage was done.

But Grace wasn’t finished just yet. Now that Phase One was done, she was moving onto Phase Two.

About three weeks after the first round of stories about the affairs circulated the internet, the same journalists and bloggers who posted about the affair opened their inboxes to see an email sent to them with no message and only an audio file attached to it. The subject line simply said "Listen Now". Each of the people who received the messages downloaded the file and listened. Once they were done, they all began to write and within hours, the first round of articles were posted and began to circulate the internet.

»»————-　➴　————-««

ELIZABETH CAMPBELL: EXPOSED AS CHEATER AND LIAR

CAMPBELL REFUSES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS REGARDING LEAKED AUDIO

DIOR ANNOUNCES SEVERANCE OF TIES WITH ELIZABETH CAMPBELL; CONDEMNS ACTIONS AND LIES

DISCULTURE 🗸 @disculturenews ● 10 hours ago ( 09/26/2023 ) [audio] [audio] Shocking! Leaked audio clips reveal that actress Elizabeth Campbell had lied about the abuse allegations against CEO Isaac van Doren. 24k replies 50k retweets 75k likes

↳ carbonora is the best pasta change my mind @pastaismylife ● 9 hours ago

holy shit… listening to this audio and i’m completely and utterly disgusted?? how remorseless and coldhearted can you be?

↳ linda harrison @lindaharrison1 ● 7 hours ago

i liked to think that no one was ever really evil, but holy fuck @ellecampbellxox just proved me wrong

↳ connor loves kat evans @katevansstanforever ● 6 hours ago

right?? like how heartless can a person be??

HAUNTED MOVIE OFFICIAL 🗸 @hauntedmovieofficial ● 5 hours ago ( 09/27/2023 ) Due to recent revelations, we will be recasting the role of Anya. The role will now be played by the talented @aileenrhodes who had blown us away with her talent. Welcome to the #HauntedFamily Aileen! 2k replies 40k retweets 25k likes ↳ anya ivanova is the love of my life @bookscooksandsocks ● 4 hours ago

oh thank god!! i’ve seen @aileenrhodes ‘ previous projects and can honestly say she’s a much better anya than @ellecampbellxox could ever be

↳ cordelia barnes @ deliabarnes872 ●1hour ago

right?? pretty sure a lot of roles that @ellecampbellxox got were not deserved at all! @aileenrhodes you’re going to kill it as anya &lt;3

↳ aileen rhodes @aileenrhodes ● 10 minutes ago

ty delia&lt;3

Elizabeth Campbell 🗸 @ellecampbellxox ● 4 hours ago ( 09/27/2023 ) no room in life for fake friends who take what was said in confidence, twist your words and spill them out into the world. 24k replies 50k retweets 10klikes ↳ joaquim nowak stan account @criticizerule ● 4 hours ago

wow, you are so delusional?? i really hope that you learn your lesson someday.

↳ ethan sanders is my husband @peachpride ● 3 hours ago

@ellecampbellxox hang in there girl!! the ‘leaked’ audio was probably doctored or faked. anything is possible with the technology today!!

↳ dominik nowak thirst bot @fasterthanabullet ● 3 hours ago

why do you keep kissing her ass?? she’s never going to notice you.

TRANSCRIPT FROM ISAAC VAN DOREN’S MEDIA CONFERENCE ON 09/28/30 IN FRONT OF VAN DOREN TECH HQ

[ISAAC VAN DOREN stands behind a podium that was set up in front of the entrance of VDT HQ. Cameras are flashing in his face; questions are being thrown at him by everyone. he looks somber, but not unhealthy] ISAAC: [raises his hand and everyone instantly quiets down] I didn't want to hold a press conference when these allegations against me were presented to the media nearly a month and a half ago. I know people would think that I was only going to do that to try and save face; to deny the allegations. [pause; everyone is quiet. he looks at the crowd that had gathered before him] Because if I deny, then it would just prove my guilt; that's how we do things now don't we? We presume someone is guilty until they are proven innocent. And the truth is, I never laid a hand on Elizabeth. I had loved her enough to ask her to marry me. [he pauses and takes a shaky breath] When I first heard about her claims, I was confused, more than anything. What had I done to her to make her hate me so much, when all I ever did was love her and try to make her happy? [he blinks several times; eyes shining with tears; clears his throat and stares into one of the cameras] For the longest while, I asked myself that question. And having heard that audio… Well, I don't know if it would ever bring me any sort of closure. I was told that… forgiveness was the way to go, so Elizabeth if you are listening or watching this.. [he breaths a little shakily; tear rolling down his cheek and small sad smile] I forgive you. [silence for a few moments, before noise breaks out] RANDOM REPORTER: So you had nothing to do with the conversation being leaked? ISAAC: [wipes away tear and looks at the reporter in genuine confusion] I genuinely had nothing to do with it. How could I? I haven't spoken to her nor been around her since she left me at the altar. [clears his throat] I’m afraid that’s all I have time for today. No more questions. [turns around and heads back into the building, ignoring more questions being shouted at him]

sage becker @sagelybecks ● 2 hours ago ( 09/28/2023 ) [video of van Doren conference] kind of wild but also he’s not wrong? we spend so much time assuming people are guilty and make them prove their innocence. it’s a shame that his rep was almost ruined because of someone who was a selfish liar. wishing @isaacvd nothing but the best &lt;;3 1k replies 5k retweets 25k likes

»»————-　➴　————-««

A few blocks away from VDT HQ in Manhattan, at a small café, Grace sat alone at a table beside the storefront window. A cappuccino and sandwich, both untouched, were on the table before her. The press conference was displayed on the TV at the café, with nearly every customer and staff watching eagerly. She brought the drink to her lips, a small and private smile hidden behind the rim of the cup. Once the conference was over, she took out her phone to look through her Twitter and Instagram feeds. She doesn’t even hide the delighted and satisfied smile at all the tweets and messages, as well as the trending hashtags regarding Elizabeth Campbell.

Her phone buzzed with a notification banner. Grace set down her drink on the table and clicked on it.

From Womb Mate Thank you.

Her smile turned fond and a little soft, before she texted back a reply of her own.

To Womb Mate Any time.

»»————-　➴　————-««

A couple of months passed. The air turned colder and the leaves have fallen when the League came back from yet another successful mission in France. They decided that the best way to unwind would be to have another Team Bonding Movie Night, and this time, Grace volunteered to host it. She ordered Chinese for takeout, rather than the usual pizzas. They were munching on dumplings and noodles, with Scream playing on the TV, when the intercom buzzed; signaling that Grace had a visitor waiting to be let in.

When she heard the voice speak, she grinned and buzzed them right in. Not even a few minutes later, there was a knock on her door and she rushed to open it, revealing her twin brother. He was several inches taller than her, but they had the same dark hair and brown eyes, which was where the physical similarities ended. He was also still dressed in a navy blue suit and tie, which meant he had literally just finished working before he arrived at her apartment. “Nice of you to make time in your busy schedule for your favourite sister,” she teased, stepping aside to let him in.

“You’re my only sister.”

“And therefore, your favourite by default.”

He simply rolled his eyes, though there’s a smile tugging at his lips. He’s exasperated by her, but there’s no denying he loved her. Grace knew Isaac like the back of her hand after all.

“Hey guys,” Isaac nodded and grinned at the others, who all greeted him back with enthusiasm. “I also didn’t come empty-handed.” He had a couple of white boxes in his arms and Grace helped him carry them to the coffee table in her living room. They opened the boxes to reveal a variety of pastries: chocolate croissants, slices of different-flavoured cheesecakes, cookies, brownies, and even a few donuts.

Dylan let out a whistle. “Damn. See, this is why I love it whenever you join us for Team Bonding Movie Night, man. You bring the good stuff!”

“Glad to know that you love me for what I bring to the table, Reeves, and not for who I am as a person,” Isaac chuckled, sitting down on the carpet right next to Laurel. Grace took a croissant and sat at the edge of the couch, right next to Dylan.

“Hey, I like you just fine. But the stuff you bring us every time you come over? Unmatched,” Dylan explained as he grabbed a donut.

“I’m surprised you were able to join us tonight,” Will remarked, “I figured you might be a little busy.” He was sat on the armchair by himself, still working on his fried rice.

To anyone else, that might have sounded a little snarky or judgmental. But Will spoke like that to everyone— even his own cousins. It was why Isaac was unfazed and not at all offended like others would be. “It has been a busy couple of months following the… Elizabeth incident.”

“You can say it, dude. It’s not just an ‘incident’; it was a fucked up scandal that almost ruined your life and nearly undid all the progress you made with your company,” Morgan said bluntly.

Isaac made a face: nose scrunched in distaste, and brows knit together into a frown, before conceding with a nod. “Yeah… Well, I never did get the chance to thank you guys for that. I mean, I thanked Grace but I never did thank you. All of you,” he said, looking at the others.

“What makes you think we had anything to do with it?” Morgan questioned.

Isaac smiled. “Because I know you wouldn’t have let her done anything alone.”

“Well, of course we won’t let her do it alone. Well… they wouldn’t let her do it alone. For legal purposes, I unfortunately could not have helped out the way they did,” Laurel said with a small smile, although there was a twinge of guilt in there. Grace knew that she hated not being more involved, but she really couldn’t do anything without risking her job. Covering for them was the best that she could do, and Grace had tried to assure her it was more than enough. “And besides; she’s one of us.”

Isaac’s smile turned fond at that. “I know. Still, thank you.”

The conversation turned much lighter after that. They told him about the mission in France: how successful it had been, and also how fun it had been to enjoy Paris for a bit before they had to head back home. Morgan recounted the story of Dylan trying to flirt with a French girl as part of a bet with Grace, and how he mixed up the words for ‘fuck’ and ‘kiss’ and ended with coffee getting poured all over him— which had Isaac laughing loudly. “I will say this, Dylan: never bet against my sister, because you will almost always lose,” he declared.

“I know that now,” Dylan grumbled, ears turning red from embarrassment. It was quite cute seeing him like that. Had Grace been a little jealous when she saw him flirting with the French girl? A little bit (but she would forever deny it). But, seeing him strike out and her winning the bet did make her feel better about it. Just a smidge.

She looked at her brother again; seeing him laugh and smile so freely and without care. It was a good look on him. The last few months (or the past year if you were to include his disaster of a wedding day) hadn’t been kind to him. She hadn’t seen him look so relaxed in ages. At one point, Isaac had taken off his suit jacket and tie, and the sleeves of his button-up were rolled up. He didn’t look like the CEO of a multibillion dollar tech company. He looked like just like every other thirty-something year-old man, who was hanging out with his friends and having a good time.

It was nice seeing him without the stress and heartbreak that had been weighing on him.

“Um, guys? Why don’t we turn on the news?” Laurel suggested with a frown, interrupting the conversation. She had been looking at her phone while Morgan was telling Isaac the story and something appeared to have caught her attention.

Grace exited Netflix and switched to the cable news channel, where they were met with breaking news. The camera showed Elizabeth Campbell being escorted from her apartment building and into a police car and the banner under the shot read: "Disgraced Actress and Socialite Elizabeth Campbell: Arrested on Charges of Embezzlement".

"What the hell?" Isaac breathed out, sitting up and his eyes were wide.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Morgan gasped out. Even Will and Dylan looked shocked and surprised. The only ones who didn’t look surprised were Grace and Laurel.

"Embezzlement?" Isaac repeated, staring in disbelief. Everyone fell silent when the news anchor began to speak.

"NYPD is collaborating with the FBI in this investigation, but a source within the NYPD has told us that Elizabeth Campbell has been funneling funds from her family's charity foundation and depositing them into her banking accounts. An employee at the foundation who wishes to remain anonymous has confirmed to the authorities that the missing funds were taken out by Campbell on a nearly weekly basis…"

Isaac turned to look at them. "I never saw that coming… and I’m guessing none of you guys knew?”

Everyone but Grace and Laurel shook their heads, which made them all stare at the two. Laurel and Grace exchanged looks. “Wait, did you frame her for embezzling?” Dylan asked, turning to look at Grace.

“Surprisingly enough, I didn’t have to,” Grace said honestly. “I was just looking through all of her banking and credit card statements, and noticed the insanely large amounts of money she’s been transferring into her accounts. I did hack into the bank accounts for the Campbells’ foundation to confirm my hunch and I was proven correct. She moved the funds to an offshore account first, before sending it to her own account.” It was honestly one of the laziest embezzling she’s ever seen: most people moved their money to several offshore accounts and they never send it to their own personal chequing accounts.

Let it be said that Elizabeth Campbell, for all the lies she’s said and the people she’s hurt, was not a criminal mastermind.

Morgan and Will looked at Laurel. “And you knew?” Will asked.

“Grace did tell me about the embezzling, and all she asked for was that I give her a list of people she can send the evidence to without getting in trouble,” Laurel admitted. “I figured she was going to tell you guys.”

“I didn’t want to say anything about it until I was sure that she was going to be charged,” Grace explained, looking at the team. She had finished her croissant by this point, and her hands were a little clammy and her lips were a little dry. She was thrilled and satisfied that Elizabeth had been charged, but she also did just keep a secret from her team.

They didn’t look mad. A little confused, and a little annoyed maybe. But nothing that indicated anger or betrayal. “You’re a fucking genius, Grace,” Morgan grinned, holding up her drink as if to toast to her. “I’m not happy you kept it from us, but I have to say: that reveal was stunning.”

Grace grinned back, a warmth spreading throughout her body and her shoulders relaxed when she realized that they were not at all pissed off at her. “Thanks for not being too mad that I kept it from you guys.”

“Why would we be mad? You found something that destroyed her for good,” Dylan told her with a proud smile. Her heart most certainly did not flutter in her chest at the sight. “And I agree with Morgan. The reveal was absolutely amazing. Ten out of ten.”

“Proud of you, Gracie,” Will nodded, giving her a small smile.

She met Isaac’s eyes and he nodded subtly towards the direction of the balcony. She stood up, wiped her hands on her jeans and pushed open the sliding door. Winter was coming; she could feel it in the way the air bit at her cheeks and the trees that were now nearly barren. At least she was wearing a sweater so she wasn’t completely freezing. Isaac followed her on the balcony before sliding the door shut.

The twins stood there, silently staring at each other for a few long moments. The only sound that could be heard were the cars driving below them and the occasional horn being honked. “You know that I can’t really read your mind, right? Twin telepathy is not an actual thing,” Grace said, breaking the silence.

Isaac chuckled slightly. “No, I know. I just…” he sighed and shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers. “I don’t know how to thank you. I thought that… the Lancaster affair and the leaked audios… I thought that those were it, you know? I didn’t expect there to be anything else.”

Exposing an affair and a liar should be enough to ruin someone’s life. But Grace didn’t just ruin Elizabeth Campbell’s life— she destroyed her. “Well, there was. Ruining her reputation wasn’t enough, Zac.”

He leaned his elbows against the balcony railing, staring out at the city skyline. Grace angled her body so she was also staring out at the night sky, but she was staring up at the crescent moon above them. “I wanted to destroy her for what she did to you,” she admitted.

Isaac was silent, but she could see the way he perked up slightly, showing that he was listening. “I don’t…” Articulating her feelings was rather difficult, especially when she spent so much of her life repressing them. “You had no idea how angry I was when I first heard about how she left you at the altar,” she breathed out. She glanced back up at the moon, because it was easier to talk about her feelings when she’s not making eye contact. “I wanted to go after her then. But you didn’t want me to. And I respected that.”

“But then these allegations… I knew they were fake because I know you. And I just thought it was so fucking unfair, Zac.” She closed her eyes, the cold air helping her not feel as heated as she had been months ago when she first found out. “She doesn’t get to succeed in life when she tried to destroy yours. She doesn’t get to have a happy ending, when she robbed you of yours. When you gave me the okay to handle it, I vowed that I wasn’t just going to ruin her. I was going to destroy her. Because you did not deserve any of the shit she put you through. The heartbreak, the stress, everyone wanting to fucking cancel you over some fake allegations…” Grace opened her eyes and exhaled loudly. Her eyes stung and she clenched her hands into fists; nails digging into the skin of her palms as she tried to keep herself from crying.

“You’re my brother. My twin brother. You’re the only one who has ever looked out for me, who ever stood up for me, even when we were kids.” She was getting a little choked up now. “You’ve always been in my corner; supporting me and helping me and being so patient with me.” Despite her best efforts, a few tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with her sleeve hastily, glancing at her brother, who was now facing her. “For once, I wanted to be the one to do something for you.”

She turned to look at him, and was surprised to see the tears in his eyes. Grace’s bottom lip wobbled. Within seconds, Isaac had wrapped her in his arms, pulling her in for a tight hug. She let out the softest exhale, and she slowly returned the hug. “Thank you,” he whispered. “And honestly, Grace… I know you didn’t have to do this for me. But I really, really appreciated it.”

Grace let out a watery laugh and they pulled away from the hug, both of them wiping away their tears. “You’d have done the same for me if the roles were reversed. Although I’m sure your methods would have been way more subtle,” she joked.

“Oh definitely more subtle. I don’t have your expertise when it comes to hacking,” he smirked, elbowing her playfully.

“We should head back inside,” she suggested.

“So you can sit next to your lover boy?”

Grace nearly choked and she elbowed him back, hard. “Shut up!” she hissed, cheeks turning red. “Unless you want to talk about the little thing you’ve got for that redhead interior designer who was working on your apartment?”

Isaac stared at her with his mouth open. “How do you know about…?”

She wasn’t blind or an idiot: she had stopped by his apartment, met Evangeline Connors-Reed and saw how Isaac looked at her. “I read it on your face when you introduced me to her,” she said with a grin. “I’d say to go for it, if you’re ready. She seems nice and genuinely sweet. You know, perfect for you and your Prince Charming…” she gestured at his frame. “Whatever.”

“So articulate,” he teased.

Grace did the mature thing and stuck her tongue at him. “Fuck off,” she grumbled, without any heat. “Let’s get back inside because it’s freezing.”

She pushed the sliding door open and stepped back inside to the warmth of her apartment. Once Isaac was inside as well, she slid the door shut. She walked over to the dining table and poured herself her usual rum and Coke. With her drink in hand, she turned around and watched Isaac interacting with her new family; laughing and joking, falling into easy conversation with them as the movie played on in the background.

Elizabeth Campbell had hurt her brother; humiliated him and tried to ruin his life. In the end, she was exposed for the true liar and serial cheater that she was. Plus, she was facing criminal charges and she no longer had a career to go back to. Her life was destroyed. In Grace's opinion, Elizabeth got her just desserts and more. She would do it all over again without a single ounce of regret or hesitation.

After all; no one messed with Grace’s family and got away with it.

[headspace-hotel]

It sucks cause I sympathize with people being in pain and feeling helplessness and grief, but coping with grief and hurt is different from wallowing in it to the point that you receive gratification from bad things happening—it is coming from the same place in your heart as self-harm and suicidal ideation, and like self-harm and/or suicidal ideation it can provide you with comfort and security although it is toxic. I'm truly sorry for people within it, it is a dark and awful place to be.

Have y'all seen the movie "Don't Look Up?" My mom and dad did, and they interpreted it as being about Covid, but I hear it is supposed to be about climate change.

I think this is THE great failure of public communication regarding climate change.

Many still think being "moved to action" is a matter of gritting your teeth, summoning inner strength and maturity, and "facing" painful, unpleasant truths, and people do not take action because they would rather avoid pain and not confront "the reality," so they do not become informed. A comforting lie rather than a painful truth.

So the response is to be more threatening and alarming and scary with the public messaging, to describe even more horrifyingly the bad things that will happen—hell, the most popular book on climate change on Goodreads right now is called "The Uninhabitable Earth" and its supposedly so harrowing that people congratulate themselves for having gotten through it. They write reviews that say, essentially: "Read this book if you want to GROW UP and confront the REAL REALITY of climate change, instead of being a PUSSY."

But...does it work?

We are wise enough now to know that emphasizing pain, fear, and consequences over support or advice for how to live is a toxic way to parent a child or to teach a student, but this method has essentially dominated public messaging about climate change...even more so in the past decade, as the problem has become more urgent.

And it DOESN'T WORK. IT DOESN'T FUCKING WORK. I'm not going to be subtle about my belief about this.

Exposing a human for decades of their lives to a constant radiation of despair and fear doesn't keep them continuously motivated to take constructive action. Does a person that grows up feeling constantly unsafe develop into a resilient adult with a high capacity to face threats? No! They have C-PTSD resulting in an overall lower level of tolerance to stressors because the Deal With Bad Thing circuits are just straight up fried to hell.

Terror seems like a great motivator, if you don't think very hard about it, if you think a little harder you realize the function of fear is to fuel a very brief, explosive pulse of action in which the part of your brain that thinks thoughts is almost entirely inactive. When the source of the distress is inescapable and unrelenting, the human brain is made to basically shut down and shut out the conscious processing of the distress. This is why trauma causes shut-down and sometimes even amnesia. Experiencing terror is incredibly costly in terms of energy and the health of your body. Severe stress damages your body deeply, it is a poison that erodes at every bodily system and destroys your ability to think and to solve problems.

Therefore, it should have been easy to guess that a continuous stream of communication about how scary and bad the climate crisis is—with minimal tangible, tactile, experientially real options for working against the threat—would result in much of humanity either mentally blocking the subject out and alienating themselves from their feelings and relationship to nature as a whole, or embracing suicidal fantasies as a means of obtaining security. And yet.

I had a look at r/collapse (for those that don't know what that is, it's basically climate doomerism subreddit) and behold, there you can find all the evidence you'll want for Doomerism making you into a complacent, misanthropic little bitch.

I mean there are many people on there that aren't horrible, just sad and hurting. But the community as a whole isn't so much "accepting" of oncoming climate disaster, as actively wanting it to happen.

Theres a thousand comments and posts about how human nature is evil and wasteful, how we destroy everything we touch, how it was inevitable from the beginning of our species that we cause our own extinction (!!!), and though I think outright discussion of eugenics or genocide is banned there are still a lot of references to how people "breed" too much and how the human population needs to be reduced to under 2 billion or something

There's also a weekly post that's like "Comment signs of collapse happening in your area!" which is weird as hell. I clicked on one and the first comment was someone talking about how there are lots of stray dogs wandering around and animal control won't pick them up. What does that have to do with anything??

also people keep talking about being smarter than everyone around them

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

"Tom Riddle effectively destroys the country from the inside out, which I believe was his true goal the entire time" (c) wait a second, so you think that he wasn't going to really take over or anything, just destroy the fuck out of w britain?

I have avoided this ask long enough.

I’ll start by saying that asking me about Tom Riddle is like staring down into a bottomless rabbit hole. We could travel down that path, but it is a dark and perilous journey, and by the end of it I will come out looking like the Mad Hatter.

It also requires a few prerequisites that you’re just going to accept as true (or else got off the crazy train here).

We know very little about Tom Riddle or Voldemort

What we do know of Tom Riddle comes to us from suspect sources

I’m just going to go out there and start with the basis that Tom is not crazy

Elaborating a little on number 1. We never actually see much of Tom Riddle or Voldemort directly. He’s a bit like Thanos in the MCU, or Palpatine in the first two movies of the Original Trilogy, he’s this looming threat that we pass by and glimpse every once in a while but never really get quality time with.

Generally, Voldemort makes an appearance in a moment of crisis.

He and Harry fight over the philosopher’s stone for Tom’s very survival. He and Harry fight over the diary for Tom’s very survival. He resurrects himself with Harry as a witness. We get those very strange dreams from Voldemort’s perspective (half of which we later learn are fabricated).

None of these really lend to our, or Harry’s for that matter, understanding of Tom Riddle. There’s too much going on, it usually happens far too fast, and there’s usually something Tom Riddle desperately wants or needs that eclipses all other concerns or else he has an audience.

This is part of the reason we get those Halfblood Prince pensieve lessons: Harry knows nothing of Tom Riddle and doesn’t understand him at all.

Which leads us, of course, to number 2, most of what we know about Tom Riddle comes from Dumbledore. I’ve talked about this before, so I won’t spend much time on it, but Dumbledore has a very clear agenda in relaying these memories to Harry. Dumbledore already has strong suspicions of what objects are horcruxes and where they’re located, he already has Snape as a very reliable agent to continue work when he’s gone, his job here is to convince Harry there is no path but suicide. And that involves portraying Tom Riddle as the most evil man who ever eviled, was born eviler than the antichrist, and will die eviler than the antichrist. 

Now, does this make Tom necessarily good or bad? No.

However, it does mean when Dumbledore tells us things like, “See, Harry, an impoverished child was upset when I lit all his belongings on fire! What a monster!” (especially given that, in a similar situation, Harry thought it was hilarious when Hagrid gave Dudley a permanent physical deformity and Harry was told he was an angel child) we should take it with a very large grain of salt.

Right, so, with all that backdrop what I’m getting at is that a) we can’t take Dumbledore at his word b) even if we could he could be wrong c) Harry doesn’t have the introspection to be able to figure himself when a or b is happening. I won’t elaborate on this last much, suffice to say that Harry’s world is very black and white, divided into the camps of those who personally like him and those who don’t.

So, why do I think Tom’s goal was not to rule the wizarding world but instead to destroy it?

A few things.

First, there are so many easier ways he could have ended up ruling the wizarding world. More, even when he effectively does rule the wizarding world in book seven, he takes very strange actions so that he’s never directly in power.

Second, I never really bought Tom’s racism. It’s too convenient and too contradictory with his backstory.

The second first, because we’re going out of order today. I’ve gone over this before, but I don’t believe Tom had minions early and I think he was effectively treated as a muggleborn (see here and here) until he took on the Voldemort persona many decades later. I’m hard pressed to believe someone as intelligent, angry, and proud as Tom Riddle would willingly believe and accept he was inferior to the likes of Abraxas Malfoy. More, even if he wished he was a halfblood, I think the evidence of him being muggleborn would be stacked too high against him to deny even to himself (and when he finds out it’s not true, he has maybe a month or so before he realized that he’s the bastard son of a squib). 

And it’s just so convenient. All the people with the power, with the money, who are itching for a cause against a threat that doesn’t really exist believe in blood purity. Ergo, Voldemort shows up suddenly espousing over the top blood purity rhetoric (rhetoric that directly clashes with his “there is only power” philosophy at that). 

In other words, I think Tom Riddle gave himself a line that he knew would get him places very quickly.

And now for the first. For a guy who has had the entire country in the palm of his hands twice, one time taking it over in a bloodless coup, he’s really big on causing collateral damage and really small on actually doing the ruling thing.

The first wizarding war, Tom Riddle as Voldemort has the backing of the heirs of the most prestigious and wealthy noble houses save a select few. These are people with seats in the Wizengamot, which has a frightening control over the government itself (including the minister of magic). I imagine, in 1980 had Tom Riddle wanted to be elected as Minister of Magic, he would have been elected as Minister of Magic. If he wanted a friendly face in office then he probably could have made that happen to.

More than even this though, by this point, Tom had already won. By having control over the majority of the Wizengamot he owns the government. He’s done, it’s over, it’s finished, and many of the characters admit as much which is why Harry Potter was such a miracle. So why all the seemingly random, exceptionally pointless, terrorism? 

One answer is that Voldemort is crazy bananas. And sure, I guess we can go with that, except for someone insane he’s oddly effective and very consistent. 

I believe Tom was systematically destroying the very foundations of the country through its core aristocratic families. Within a few short years Tom decimates the Black family, it goes from having five heirs to none, and while some of this isn’t Tom’s fault he does take care of quite a few of them. He brands Lucius for life, while Lucius rises high in politics he never escapes the stigma of being a known Death Eater and in the end cannot escape the consequences for his actions. The Malfoy family is very nearly destroyed by the end of the series, had Draco died in the Fiendfyre. The LeStrange family, presumably decimated as well.

More, this is mostly me headcanoning, but I imagine Tom fuels an extremism that the Wizarding World had never contemplated. I imagine, previously, anti-muggleborn sentiment was probably fairly rampant among purebloods. Oh, some were very pro-muggleborn I’m sure, but I think most were fairly “eh” on the people and felt they were a drain on society (such as requiring constant funding for the obliviation department).

However, when Diagon Alley starts getting blown up every other week, when muggleborns start being tortured and murdered, when purebloods who aren’t anti-muggleborn enough are being tortured and murdered, this starts wigging people out in a way they’ve never wigged out before.

By the time we get to Harry Potter’s canon, it is now only a minority that are anti-muggleborn, and they’re perceived as raving lunatics. Nobody wants to be grouped with these people. Which, just goes to show, how much Voldemort rattles the wizarding world in a very small amount of time.

Then there’s Deathly Hallows, rather than become minister himself Voldemort installs a puppet minister. He shows no signs of wishing to change this and instead does things like destroy the sorting hat (which again shakes the very foundations of the wizarding world as whta will we do if we don’t know who’s a Gryffindor anymore?!)

So, where is this ramble going?

Given the results we see, that more than any others it seems to be the purebloods and often Tom’s own followers that suffer colossal losses, I think Tom’s actions are, in part, a means of vengeance against the entire damn wizarding world (but especially the purebloods).

He makes fools of these people, brands them as his slaves, and has them participate in the most over the top ridiculous rituals (the cloaks, the masks, the entire theatrics of it feels like Tom got drunk one night and planned this whole thing out). He destroys them entirely, and better, enables them to completely destroy themselves and the country they believe they’re trying to save.

Basically, I think by the time the series begins Tom is fueled by a nihilist rage that knows no bounds. But dammit all, the wizarding world is going to burn.

[misslovasstuff]

Why Dazai is a complex character

We all know how hard it is to get in this man’s mind, right?

First, let’t take a look on what makes a character complex:

- Conflicted or contradictory motives - Change or grow as a result of the story’s actions - Decisions advance the story’s plot - Create conflict in the story’s plot or theme - Learn something about themselves

 It fits Dazai perfectly, right? Now let’s take them one by one.

1. Conflicted or contradictory motives

- to die/to find meaning/to save others/? What the audience is given to realize is that Dazai wants salvation through death. His desire to die comes with a shade of humor to hide how sad and tragic it really is. Other than that, one motive of his is the promise he made to his friend who died on his arms. You see it right? Dazai’s motives are contradictory because he saves people but can’t really save himself. Although Dazai is on the side of ‘good’ which is actually something that doesn’t really exist in BSD world because everything is more like in a gray area, his motives are more focused on others rather than himself. While on the mafia, his focus was on himself, his doom and suffering. That’s what made him so miserable. People aren’t sure whether Dazai has changed, and they question his conflicted motives. But in reality, it’s very simple. Dazai has no hidden motives other than the ones we already know. He’s not the type to aim for power and fortune. Dazai just wants a bit of happiness, he wants to answer questions that are impossible to answer. I’d like to quote a Dostoevsky saying:

“Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.” ― Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment

2. Change or grow as a result of the story’s actions Dazai’s grow is something people fail to see. I’ve read thoughts on this matter and some claim that Dazai hasn’t changed at all. That is partly true.  Before Oda’s death, Dazai was not open to people (and still isn’t) but the difference stays on how he dealt with it. In the dark era, Dazai drowned himself in misery, seeing only darkness and claiming that this is how it always has been for him. Whilst in the time being, Dazai hides his misery behind a smile and happy facade. Bsck then, he made no attempt to change, nor did he tried to look things differently. Dazai was alone, completely. There were times he was surrounded by people he genuinely cared about, like Oda. Now, the thing is, without Oda, Dazai may have never gotten the development he got. Hardly would the things lead differently if Oda was still alive. With Oda, Dazai felt comfortable, not judges. He felt like he could open up with him because Oda would always listen to Dazai without joking around or judging him. That’s the reason why Odasaku was the only person that came close to understanding Dazai, because he was the only one Dazai opened up to. I believe that is becuase in reality, Dazai trusted Oda. We know how easily he can see through people. Perhaps, he saw in Oda that kindness and goodness that intrigued him. He saw such integrity and selflessness that made him lower his guard.  Their relationship was beautiful. They let aside the ranks and always had each other’s backs. Sometimes, between two people, it just clicks. It feels like you’ve known each other for a long time and you find yourself comfortable, you let yourself be. That’s how Dazai was. Maybe, the only thing that kept him happy, was his friendship with Odasaku and Ango. Because those were two people that accepted him the way he was, people who appreciated life and had dreams and goals, something that Dazai longs to have. When Odasaku died, Dazai’s hope died with him. Although extremely intelligent, Dazai is optimistic. He had hope that he’d find a solution to his problem, but Oda’s words shattered him.

Dazai did not cry. But you can tell that he’s ready to. Look at his face and tell me that that’s not the most devastating Dazai you have ever seen. His lip trembles and his eyes give away how hard it is for him, how hard it has always been. This is the moment that Dazai takes the decision to change, keeping the promise of his friend to become a good man and protect others.

3- Decisions advance the story’s plot Dazai is the one who comes up with brilliant strategies, but that’s not all of it. 

- He took Atsushi under his mentoring and hired him as an agent in the ADA.  Atsushi plays a very important role in almost every mission or situation that ADA is in.  If Atsushi wasn’t in the ADA, things might have gone completely different. - Dazai decided to join the good side. Yet again, if Dazai didn’t join the ADA, there would be no Atsushi, no shin-soukoku and probably the ADA would have already fallen due to the immense power the mafia would have with Dazai in it. More people would die, wars would destroy the city and things may have gotten to be worse. - The creation of shin-soukoku The plot goes around Atushi and Akutagawa as the new generation of the double black, a powerful duo brought together for the good of the city, to defeat the greater evil. Their mentor, who sees the potential in them better than everyone else, has forcefully made them work together, which had successful results. If Dazai didn’t make such decision, Atsushi and Akutagawa may had already killed each other. - Dazai decides almost any plan and strategy there is. He plays his cards well and the way he thinks and acts determine the aftermath.

4- Create conflict in the story’s plot or theme - Dazai’s a problematic character for a lot of reasons. He’s lazy, distracted, unbothered, mysterious and secretive. Sometimes, unwillingly he creates conflicts that sometimes as viewed lightly by the audience. Like the shin-soukoku conflict. A part why Aku hates Atsushi is because he is Dazai’s junior  and that he gets almost everything that he himself once desired. He gets praise and acknowledgment from Dazai. The latter, has not acknowledged Aku that way he wants to, but surely he has acknowledged him on his own way. Dazai made him part of the new double black and puts his trust in him and Atsushi. Dazai too believes in the quote that ‘only a diamond can polish a diamond’. Furthermore, we have the conflict between the mafia and the ADA. You may think that it’s not directly tied to Dazai, but he plays a major role. Having Dazai in the opposite team, makes it harder for the mafia to create successful operations. Not only Dazai’s intelligent and cunning, but he’s an ex-member himself which makes him even more of a threat to the mafia. His suicidal tendencies is the reason why he met Atsushi in the first place. So in a way, Dazai drives the plot of the story.

5- Learn something about themselves I believe that this is the point we are all looking forward to. Although we have already caught a glimpse of Dazai considering his worth as a human being in the Dead apple movie, but also in the manga countless times.

Just look at his expression. How his eyes close so peacefully when Atsushi claims that he does things that let him know that Daza’s a good guy (visiting graves and also in the end of the movie...)

Dazai sees himself rather harshly. He judges himself for his past and puts himself in constant misery. Maybe he doesn’t accept the fact that he’s a ‘good guy’, but he’s desperately trying to be.

Take a look to the following panel (chapter 50)

You can tell how much Dazai wants to help and this warms my heart so much.

“Yosano could heal me and I could help in the search”

 He clenches the sheet because of the frustration of not being able to help; that his ability is holding him back. 

HE’S BLAMING HIMSELF.

Like one would say that he’s injured, or that he was shot, but no. Dazai puts the blame on himself like he always does.

I’d like people to acknowledge Dazai’s growth because our boy is trying so hard. Dazai literally went from hell to salvation. He has already found his salvation but he hasn’t recognized that yet.

In conclusion, Dazai is the complex character we so much love. In the future, maybe we’ll be able to see him a bit more happy. Genuinely happy.

(sorry this was very sloppy but I hope you get the point)

[writingtoforgetreality]

Stockholm Syndrome (Helmut Zemo x Reader)

[Marvel-Masterlist]

Summary: During the fight with the Dora Milaje in his safe-house, Zemo made an exit. But not alone. For inexplicable reasons, he dragged you along. Probably because he wanted to mess with Sam & Bucky. Would the Baron kill you? Or worse?

Words: 4,083

Warnings: language, angst, fluff (?), kidnapping, spoilers for TFATWS, (Let’s put the angsty shit in this part & the fun stuff in the second one.), (Y/E/C) = your eye color, REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

If you like my work & wanna support me: a coffee would be highly appreciated ❤

The fight in front of you held your entire attention. Eyes focused on moving bodies, kicking, punching their way through. While you were not inexperienced when it came to battling, you preferred holding back. Bruises were not necessarily your favorite. Not these kind of bruises at least. All your ears could make out was the grunting radiating from the combat. Hence why the movements behind you stayed inconspicuous. Only when a cloth pressed against your nose & you had no choice but to breathe in, did you notice the jeopardy of the situation. Darkness enveloped you. The last thing you perceived was a dark silhouette picking you up. As much as you wanted to fight back, to defend yourself, it was impossible. All strength had dissipated. Whatever was happening, you hoped you would wake up again. This could not be how you died. You would not die.

Pain woke you up. But you were not hurt. At least that was what you remembered. Then it came to you. Someone had kidnapped you. If your eyes did not open soon, you would regret it later. Heavy eyelids slowly opened. Though it took many attempts to keep them that way. You scanned the room. There were no windows, no light which would have made that task easier. It took a few minutes to adjust to the obscureness. And once you did, you found yourself as perplexed as before. No restraints were obstructing your motions. Technically, you could up & leave. But it was never that simple, was it? The door was opposite of you. Your muscles were still sore. The act of standing up & waltzing over seemed like too much effort for you. The bleakness of the wall your back rested against was a more welcomed sensation. Your knees scooted closer to your chest. Arms raking around them, you hugged yourself. Hoping it would bring you a bit of comfort. Your brain failed to work properly. Because you were stumped. Who could have possibly seized you? Walker was busy getting his ass kicked. Lemar imitated his partner, pretty much. Sam ordered Bucky to help out & went into the battle right after. And Zemo was… Yeah, where the hell was Zemo during all of that? If you recalled correctly, he held a drink in his hand. Like you, he kept away from the fight. And then? You were aware that the Baron was not a saint. Neither were you. But you did not believe he would pull something like that. Then again, it was Zemo. Nobody knew his next step. Nobody but himself. Your foot tapped a rhythm on the cold, grey pavement. Usually, when your anxiety acted up, you distracted yourself. Fiddling with your hands or bouncing your legs. Something you could focus on that was not life threatening to your mind. The unknown beat managed to calm you down the slightest. Whoever held you hostage would be back soon. Your gut feeling told you so much.

Maybe you dosed off again. Because your body flinched when a creak reached your ears. Quickly, you looked around for possible threats. The only thing that had changed was the door sitting ajar. Only a diminutive gap. It was noticeable due to the light illuminating the room. There was no piece of furniture which meant that nobody lived here. It resembled a cell. But even cells had a bed, a chair. Something. The room turned dim again but only for a second. A shadow, you figured. Your captivator was here. So close, in fact, goosebumps erupted. A chill ran down your spine. This single interaction could modify your imprisonment. You still needed time to consider a successful escape plan. Which meant that you needed to observe the person keeping you here. Movies displayed such situations more than once. It was manageable. If they decided to show themselves & reveal their identity. Your eyes fell to the boots first. Black or a dark brown that was not detectable due to the lack of brightness. Next were the pants. Black again. The end of a coat came into view. Dark grey, almost anthracite. Your thoughts instantly went to one person. You could be mistaken. He was not the only one with a coat like that. Your gaze flickered up to his hands. The leather gloves were proof enough. Your (Y/E/C) eyes locked onto his brown ones. There was no shock written over your features. After all, deep down, you awaited this sight to be met with. As much as you wanted to withhold it, your eyes rolled & the sigh that left your lips was one of pure exhaustion. Zemo never made a secret out of it. His dislike for you started off the moment he first laid his eyes on you. From then on, it only seemed to increase steadily. You were a simple person. If someone treated you like shit, you returned that favor with pleasure & ten times worse.

“You are awake.” he stated the obvious after his frame entered through the doorway.

“Pretty sure I’m still dreaming.” you replied sarcastically, your elbows propping onto your knees. A smirk formed at the corners of his mouth. Whatever you said, it was the wrong thing.

“You dream about being locked inside a small cell? And I make an appearance as well? This does sound problematic, (Y/N). Nothing I would not be able to help you with.” he enjoyed this. Disgust made itself shown onto your face.

“Yeah? How could you possibly help me with that?” it took you a second to fully realize what you said. Immediately, you corrected yourself. “You know what? I don’t even wanna know.” your head rested in your hands, slightly embarrassed by turning this conversation awkward. Maybe it would have been more convenient if you just kept quiet. Zemo chuckled shortly but did not comment on it again.

“I assume you wonder why you are here.” the Baron observed your small frame on the floor. It was easy to recognize how uncomfortable you were.

“Your assumption might be correct.” your head tilted upwards, trying to hide the fear. Burying it deep down. You needed to think clearly so you could escape him.

“Would you like me to declare your purpose?” he questioned, eyebrows raising.

“Enlighten me, Baron.” you wasted no time with your reply. Maybe you imagined it but you could have sworn that his muscles tensed up when you called him by his title. You were the weaker one here so you kept your jokes at bay.

“I have no desire to get involved with the Wakandans. A getaway is more enjoyable with a suitable associate.” his hands gestured & you fathomed the seriousness behind his words.

“Oh, so that’s what I am now? An associate? Could’ve sworn I was your enemy. Improvement, I guess.” you focused on a lighter spot that interrupted the evenly dark color of the cement wall.

“I never declared you my enemy. That is solely your imagination.” Zemo stared at you but you would not give him the satisfaction of holding eye contact with him. He did not deserve it.

“I prefer my imagination then.” you stated & earned another chuckle from the Baron.

“Our departure is soon.” he let you know & left you alone once again. Great, so he did have a plan for you. But it did not seem like he wanted to murder you brutally. Basically, you could do nothing. The lock of the door clicked. No way out of this room. And your cellphone was no longer with you. He probably removed it from you while you were unconscious.

The drug Zemo had you breathe in really affected you. Tiredness rushed through you still. Falling asleep once again was inevitable. A steady, loud noise stirred you from your slumber. When your eyes opened, the chair you were seated in felt familiar. Your surroundings were not new to you. It was Zemo’s private jet. No sight of him. No sight of Sam & Bucky. The only company was the engine of the small plane, creating a ringing in your ears. Surprisingly, you were well rested. Your sleep schedule was messed up. On a good day, you slept for three hours. On a normal day, though, you were lucky if the dreamland even invited you in. Did that mean that you should thank Zemo? For drugging you? Your gratitude could stay inside, for now. It was kind of embarrassing to admit that you had enough rest because of him stunning you. All it would do was feeding his ego. He had enough of that already. Would it be clever to hop out of a plane that was thousands of feet in the air? A clever suicide mission, maybe. Zemo would not harm you. If he truly wanted to, you would be a ghost already. Where was he anyway? Certainly, he would not leave your side after kidnapping you. A look down your lap confirmed what you had feared. The trembling of your hands was noticeable. Almost worse than usual. If push came to shove, you could defend yourself perfectly fine. The Baron did not strike you as a fighter type of guy. Sure, he could handle a gun. In reality, the one thing he could really handle was his alcohol. If you had been in a cell for almost ten years, you would not be able to cope with this world either. Now that you were thinking about it...when was Zemo not drinking? Ever since you guys had teamed up, he had taken every chance to get some liquor into his system.

“How are you feeling?” a voice startled you. The cause of it was your dear captivator. His strut brought him over to you, taking a seat right opposite of you. Plopping down onto the soft cushion with a sigh, he intertwined his fingers in front of his chest. His chin rested on the back of them. The intensity with which he eyed you was unsettling. Your body curled together, shifting away from his rigid glance. The man in front of you frowned. Never before had you behaved that way. Usually, you were sarcastic, humorous. Your current state was uncommon. The fight or flight instinct kicked in. If you played by his rules, the cards were on your side. So the only natural thing was to answer him.

“Okay.” it was short but the tone held much meaning.

“Okay is not good.” he mumbled quietly, though you could still make out his words. The clouds outside of the window you were sitting next to looked like cotton. Smooth, soft. Perfect if you wanted to jump in. The sunset colored the sky in various, bright hues. A phenomenon. That was something that had always fascinated you. “Astonishing, is it not?” the silence broke when he spoke up yet again. You nodded, still gazing outside.

“We will arrive soon.” another voice joined you. The startle from your side could not be stopped. You hated how jumpy you were. Especially during such a situation. The strong, independent woman you usually were was gone. Right now, you were like a little girl, awaiting punishment for misbehavior. Apparently, the Baron was a mind reader because he soothed your worries immediately.

“You did nothing wrong, if that is one of your concerns.” he started. His eyes then flickered to the other man on the private jet. “Thank you, Oeznik.” small smiles were exchanged between the two of them. The assistant disappeared through a door again. Zemo being the only company left.

“Where are we going?” you had to know.

“Somewhere safe. Where nobody can locate me.” as his eyes met yours, he finished. “Us.” your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. His explanation was not helpful at all. You were still left in the dark. Your destination was unknown but he assured you that you would be safe. Zemo would never lie about something so significant. This bugging feeling was still present. If he did not tell you more about the location, maybe he could elucidate this.

“Why me? Why, out of everyone, did you kidnap me?” slight anger was behind your eyes but one could only notice if they looked precisely. The Baron’s head tilted. In amusement, you guessed. His forming smile held a hint of another emotion you could not quite identify.

“Kidnapping is such a harsh word, don’t you think?” was it mockery you could hear? “I believe there is no need for us to repeat our previous conversation. I told you why you’re here.” he stood up from his seat, dragging his body to the very end of the plane. There, he picked up two small glasses. The liquid of the half empty bottle of scotch poured a good amount in both of them. Evidently, one for him & one for you. His hand stretched out towards you & he offered you the drink. You eyed it suspiciously. While you were not one for drinking alcohol, maybe it would assist to calm your nerves. In the end, you reached for it, touching his hand in the process. The skin contact sent an unintended chill down your spine. Goosebumps were forming. The pit of your stomach felt odd. Never before had you experienced such a sensation. Though, & you had to admit that, it was everything but unpleasant. Your body language spoke louder than you would have liked. And it did not go unnoticed by the man in front of you. To avoid an awkward tension, he decided against commenting on your body’s reaction.

The first sip made you wince. A burning sensation washed down your throat. The Baron handled his alcohol way better than you did, that much was obvious. Unfortunately, the liquor did not numb your anxiety right away. The effect was awaited but luck was not on your side. Would it be rude to ask for another drink? The downside was not realizing how strong it was. If you got wasted then Zemo could take advantage of your state. Depended on how he defined taking advantage of you. The conversation that had died down for a while was resurrected. This time, it was you. This shocked not only you but also him.

“I don’t like you.” you stated monotonously.

“I am aware.” he chuckled, taking a sip of his drink.

“You don’t like me either.” one of your eyebrows raised.

“An incorrect assumption.” his hands gestured to emphasize his words. You rolled your eyes, throwing your arms up in frustration.

“A freaking obvious fact.” you breathed out, falling back into your chair. The softness caressed you tenderly. A hum left you & your previous desperation was replaced by some sort of relaxation. Why did your emotions change so quickly? One moment, you were scared. The next, you were furious. Then, you untightened. All in the presence of the man who had kidnapped you.

“What is going through your mind right now?” seemed like he was eager to talk to you. Comfortable silence with Baron Zemo was not possible. It was either awkward or not quiet at all. Your head snapped into his direction. He was deep in thought. Occupied with whatever his mind came up with.

“I-I don’t know.” you were being honest. Spending more time with him meant no lies. At least not about such things. The next question came naturally. “What about you?” one corner of his lips lifted slightly. The first step in the right direction. Deep down, Zemo was aware that you did not exactly hate him. Liking him would be too far but at least, you tolerated him. Accepted his presence.

“I am quite fond of bringing you with me. Sam & James are irritating. Helpful but irritating. You are a delight to be around.” he confessed & you had the urge to call him out on his ridiculous behavior.

“Sounds fake but alright…” your annoyance was audible.

“I beg your pardon?” he abandoned his glass, placing it on the small table nearby. Elbows propped onto his knees & his upper body leaned forward, closer to you. But not close enough to make you feel uncomfortable.

“Ever since we met, we’ve been arguing non-stop. This is the first normal conversation between us.” your fingers pointed to him & then to you, signaling what you were talking about.

“Arguments are not an indicator for antipathy.” Zemo explained.

“Oh, they’re not?” the sarcasm was more than obvious. “What then?”

“They are concealing true emotions, burying your urges deep within.” casually spoken, as if he had prepared this exact speech multiple times before.

“My urges?” you questioned, making fun of his statement.

“Indeed.” he wore a winning smile & you hated the effect it had on you.

“Sure.” you chuckled, shaking your head in disbelief. “My only urge is to punch yo-“ both of your heads turned into the direction of Oeznik who unknowingly interrupted your conversation.

“We’re here.” he claimed, nodding briefly, & left you alone again. By the way his face changed, he looked like he was sorry for bothering the two of you. Truthfully, you were glad that he joined you because without him, you would have said something regrettable.

Paris. He dragged you to France. If your situation were any different, you would have felt excited to be here. Before you exited the private jet, Zemo threatened you. If you had the glorious idea to speak up before you arrived at your destination, you would regret it later. Basically, you thought he would kill you. Of course you had no clue that the Baron would never hurt you in any way. After all, you were a victim of his kidnapping. Whether he called it that or not. The small alleyways were decorated with narrow buildings sitting next to each other. The cobblestone street underlined the atmosphere perfectly. Eyes wide, you were overwhelmed by the impression of the beauty of the sweet town. When one of his hands reached for yours, you did not even flinch back. Because, if you were honest, it felt good. Your intertwined fingers brought you warmth. A feeling that spread out through your entire body. Sparks, almost like the beginning of a firework, started forming. The sun shone brightly. Your eyes closed contently. Hence why you did not notice Zemo watching your every move. He reminisced your features closely. The sunlight brought out the beauty of you in a way that was worth remembering. Your body sensed something. It was in your nature when someone stared at you. Carefully, your eyes opened, showing the (Y/E/C) colors that glowed almost mysteriously in the light. Warm brown ones locked onto yours. The two of you exchanged an honest, almost shy smile.

“What?” your head tilted to the side, observing his face. Looking for a sign. Any sign. But Zemo was a clandestine guy. It was almost impossible to look through him. Something inside you took that as a challenge. Maybe you could make his walls come crashing down. Maybe you were the one to change him. Wait. Why were your thoughts running down that road? He was the person to take you away from your friends. The sympathy that started building up was wrong. That much you knew. Resisting felt like a tough task. What did he say during the flight? Something about pushing down your urges. This was the first time you understood the meaning.

If you thought the town was pretty then the apartment you entered was stunning. It was on the top floor. Spacious, furnished in a minimalist way. Overly white, accentuated with colorful artwork. Special pieces to complete the look of it. It screamed expensive. The process of taking everything in took a few minutes. It was overstraining. In the best way possible. You should screw down your excitement. After all, you were part of an incredibly dangerous situation. But you let his touch linger on your skin. Just for a fraction longer. If you really wanted to, you could have retreated. Something told you that Zemo would not have forced you to hold onto him. That thought alone calmed you down a little further. Technically, he was not a stranger. Throughout the missions you had performed together, with Sam & Bucky, you two had become acquainted with. You were associates, apparently. And associates were not supposed to fear one another. Then again, associates would not kidnap each other. Your body was overthrown with mixed signals. Unknown what was wrong & what was right. Your friends would probably describe you as insane, reckless. Maybe you were. Maybe the last few weeks had formed you into a different type of person. That type who sympathized with a criminal. With a criminal who broke out of a high security jail. Since when had criminals become your type? And why were you starting to think in a very friendly, almost amorous way? Looked like you really were insane.

Who would have thought the Baron to be an excellent chef? Definitely not you. But here he was, preparing a meal for you. This was actually pretty sweet of him. His body behind the stove & his eyes focused on the task. It was a sight for sore eyes. Only, of course, if he were not Zemo you were referring to. While he cooked, you set the table. He assured you that you did not have to but it felt like the right thing to do. It was the least you could do. What were you even saying? He kidnapped you, for God’s sake. Your body, your emotions, should be damned.

“Is this something you do often?” Zemo’s question caught you off guard. For a moment, you halted in your tracks. Cutlery was being put down. A deep breath left your mouth.

“What?” your bewildered expression made him chuckle. Funny to watch your perplexity.

“Living in your head more than in the present.” his proclamation cut through the tension.

“I…um, haven’t realized that, actually.” you answered awkwardly. Your hand raised to the back of your head, resting behind your ear.

“You do. When spending time with Sam & James. And now. It is quite entertaining.” he eyed you closely. It made you slightly uncomfortable.

“Why?” your curiosity got the best of you. That was nothing new. Even before he brought you here, your nosiness was on of your more obvious characteristics.

“Because the light in your eyes shifts. You are more at ease. Not to forget your smile…” Zemo trailed off at the end of his sentence, voice a little softer than usual.

“What about my smile?” you really were curious. Would it be in your favor or not? There was only one way to figure that out.

“It differs from when you are actively engaged in a conversation. The corners of your mouth lift in a softer way. No hesitation or restriction.” he finished, his sparkling brown eyes meeting yours. Due to the embarrassment, you could not keep eye contact. So you averted your gaze, facing the almost empty plate in front of you.

“You talk like you’ve known me forever.” your whispers were almost missed. The tone so quiet, even your racing heart was louder.

“I am simply skilled at reading people. You facilitate that process, actually.” every single word he spoke made so much sense that it almost did not make sense anymore. There was no other way to describe it.

“I do? How?” your constant short questions were amusing to him. On one hand, you wanted to distance yourself from him as much as possible. On the other hand, you inquired every single time he finished talking.

“I assume it is because you do not fear opening up to me & letting me in.” people who did not know your history would have believed you two had been friends for years. By the way he discerned the small, almost unnoticeable details about you. Details you did not even know existed in the first place.

“You assume an awful lot, Baron.” you teased, eyes moving to his face gingerly.

“Tell me I’m wrong.” but you could not. Because it would have been a lie. A smirk made its way onto his face when you did not give him a reply. Unintentionally, you mimicked his expression. He had you. Right here, he had you. And he was not the only one aware of the shift in the situation. You were just as deep in it as he was. It was a game with fire. Who would get burned in the end?

~to be continued~

Published (04/28/2021) by Cathy

Tags: @yallgotkik, @noavengers, @lieutenantn, @birdieofloxley, @aisling1985, @trelaney, @hiddlestoner-cumberbitch, @msmarvelsmain, @friday18eo, @crackerjackharkness, @waiting-for-motivation, @obsessedwithfandomsx, @friday18eo, @bibliophilewednesday, @princess-yuna, @trenton007, @pedropascallovebot, @your-lovers-heart, @stressedoutsteph (thanks for your support <3)